Day 15: I Don’t Know Him, I Don’t Know Him, I Don’t Know Him!
Read: Luke 22:31-34; John 13:36-38; Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-65; John 18:25-27
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of stories we could look at regarding our friend, Peter. He’s not unlike most of us. He speaks before he thinks, he’s impulsive (remember how he cut off a man’s ear?), he’s selfish, vying for position in the kingdom, and I could go on and on.
Yet Jesus saw something in him from the very beginning. The turn in the story comes in today’s study, which all the gospel writers cover.
The scriptures are pretty clear in the sequence of events. As Jesus was hauled in for a night of mockery and inept courts, his disciples had fled but Peter and John returned to watch the events unfold. As we catch up with Peter outside the gates, he had made a huge mistake and was immediately remorseful. Luke tells us something the other three do not. In Luke 22:61-62 we read, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered….and he went outside and wept bitterly.” I suspect he was ashamed. The Lord saw Peter and Peter saw him. In his greatest failure and regret, the Lord saw him.
Have you ever denied Jesus? I have. I don’t admit that because I’m proud of it—I most certainly am not. There have been times I felt the Spirit’s urging to speak and I did not. Denial. There were occasions I found myself in places I had no business being. Denial. There were times I could have stood up for a fellow believer and I did not. Denial. In fact, many years ago when I was in full-blown rebellion, I laughed with a friend at how ridiculous her “saved” in-laws were. She and her husband later became believers—in spite of me, not because of me. I still shudder when I remember. Astoundingly, when Jim got out of the Marine Corps, he became a pastor. Later I got the opportunity to visit them, talk about Jesus, and apologize for not sharing the gospel. They were so gracious to forgive me and extend mercy. But it still goes down as one of the greatest failures in my spiritual walk.
Just as Jesus had forgiveness for Peter’s denial, he did for mine, too. And he does for yours. Not only is there forgiveness, there is restoration, and second chances. Between Peter’s denial and Acts 2, there is a great transformation.
Peter was no longer the one who denied Jesus or the one who always stuck his foot in his mouth. He was a great preacher and a pillar of the church. Imagine yourself in the crowd on the Day of Pentecost. Perhaps you were in the courtyard and heard the denial. Or maybe you spent three years walking with him and Jesus and you know him. You’re in disbelief as Peter walks up to the front of the crowd. He opens his mouth and the power of his words and his confidence take your breath away. The crowd falls silent and the Spirit comes to life. Three thousand come to faith that day—a day not too far removed from the day of his great failure.
That can be your story. God longs to use you, even if you previously denied him. Peter is proof of that, and so am I.
Prayer: Jesus, I am sorry for those times I deny you by my silence or by my actions. Forgive me and use me to share the truth of your death, burial and resurrection. You withheld nothing from me and I want to withhold nothing from you.