This Sunday we will continue to walk with Christ
to the cross through John chapter eighteen.
We will continue to look at the suffering He endured for our sake. In this week’s passage we are shown a deeply
personal aspect of Jesus’ suffering as we see him denied by the very disciple
who had most frequently and vocally declared his loyalty. Peter believed in Jesus and confessed Him as
the Christ. Peter loved Jesus and was
willing to fight for Him. Peter was willing
to die for Jesus. But Peter could not
stand up for Jesus when critical, condemning eyes were upon him. Jesus had called Peter the rock (Matt.16:18),
but on this night that ‘rock’ crumbled under the pressure. Thankfully Jesus, the Rock, did not.
As you prepare for worship please take the time to
read the different passages that give us the full picture of Peter’s denial:
Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s fall (Matt 26:30-35; Mk 14:26-31; Lk 22:31-34; Jn 13:36-38)
Peter’s denial as Jesus’ stood trial: (Matt 26:69-75; Mk 14:66-72; Lk 22:54-62; Jn 18:15-18 & 25-27)
We will
not be critical of Peter as we look at his failure. We will not stand in judgment of him. Instead we will stand with Peter; we “take
our place beside him, and realize that we, too, have given grief to Christ and
grave cause to His enemies to blaspheme.”[1] We will also will look at this dark night in
Peter’s life and be thankful “this was permitted that he and we might learn
that our noblest natural qualities as much need to be dealt with by the grace
of God as our vices and defects.”[2] In John’s account of this night we see the
glory of Christ shining into the darkness of Peter’s denial. Examining what takes place in Peter’s life is
helpful for us in our walk with Christ and our walk with each other, because
the same glory of Christ’s love, grace and forgiveness shines into the darkness
of our failures as well.
You will notice in Luke’s account a detail that no
other gospel writer recounts. Luke says
that immediately after Peter’s third denial and the rooster crowed Jesus “turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord,
how He said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three
times.” And he went out and wept
bitterly” (Lk 22:61-62)
Jesus looked at Peter there in the dark night of
his failure. He looks at us in the same
way.
He looks
and sees your failures long before they occur, and still He faithfully loves
you. He looks and sees your heart in the
midst of your fall, the guilt and the brokenness, and still He continually
loves you. Jesus looks and sees your repentant
heart and hears the cries for mercy, and graciously forgives you.
Jesus looked at Peter knowing what Peter did not
yet know, and what we this side of the cross should know full well. Jesus understood that He was about to go to
the cross to pay the penalty for Peter’s sin.
Jesus understood that He would rise again from the dead securing Peter’s
forgiveness and justification. Jesus
knew that he would soon send His Holy Spirit to empower Peter for the work of
Jesus he would continue. I’m also
certain Peter was thankful for that look.
You and I should also be thankful for that look.
How thankful we should be for the compassion of
Christ, the compassion that shines that bright when seen against the backdrop
of our faults and failures. This
compassion was the basis of King David’s songs of worship and praise like the
one we see in Psalm 103. Pray through this Psalm as you prepare to
gather for worship with us this Sunday.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless his holy
name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
who
forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,
who
crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that
your youth
is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according
to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his
steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our
transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows
compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:15, 8-14)
I look forward to seeing you in church this
Sunday.
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