They seized Him, led Him away, and brought Him into the high priest’s house. Meanwhile Peter was following at a distance. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, and Peter sat among them. When a servant saw him sitting in the firelight, and looked closely at him, she said, “This man was with Him too.”
Luke 22:54-62 HCSB
But he denied it: “Woman, I don’t know Him!”
After a little while, someone else saw him and said, “You’re one of them too!”
“Man, I am not!” Peter said.
About an hour later, another kept insisting, “This man was certainly with Him, since he’s also a Galilean.”
But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
So, Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times by the time the rooster crowed. Peter did not believe this and made sure he let Jesus know, that this won’t happen!
Peter followed Jesus quite closely as one of His disciples. I’m sure he believed that Jesus knew his character by this point. He did not want Jesus thinking for a minute that he would do such a thing as deny that he even knew Him!
When I think about Peter’s claim, I think of how I often claim that I would not do certain things. I claim that there is no way that I would do_____, ____, ______. I believe in having convictions, but is there no possibility as a human with a sinful nature, that I am beyond compromising?
There are different levels of compromise and getting further and further into sin.
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
James 1:15 HCSB
- Create a desire
- Make a choice
- Compromise
- Spiritual Death
When I think about Eve in the Garden of Eden, she was tempted by a serpent, who first worked on her, he created a desire, she made a choice, then compromised, causing spiritual death. She then brought Adam over to the tree, discussed it with him, created a desire, he then made a choice, compromised and as a result, there was spiritual death as well as physical death also. This is considered the first sin! It separated them from God and they realized their shame(nakedness). Interestingly, Peter also realized what he did, denying that he knew Jesus, and “went outside and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:62). Peter was ashamed too!
So, what did God do about this spiritual death? He made a choice to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to cover the sin of the whole world. If we believe that He has covered our sin by His death on the cross, He was buried and He rose again on the third day, we will have everlasting life! (John 3:16) It is during the Easter season, that we celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday specifically.
…For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
according to the Scriptures.
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