Peter’s denial
They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
There is no one who does good, no, not one. Psalm 53:3
Read Luke 22:54—62
I know this story is told for my comfort. I’m sure of that. It encourages me in the light of this day’s failures, that I am in company with the great saint. But there’s more in it than that, of course. People hearing this story for the very first time don’t expect it to end in tears. They are sure there has to be someone, just one stout-hearted disciple who will stand with Jesus. He has earned that loyalty. Yet no one will. Not even the boldest. And it’s hardly a mistake: three times Peter and the disciples refused to believe him when Jesus promised his own cruel death.[1] Three times Peter, with James and John, fell asleep when Jesus called them to watch and pray, to face his agony with him.[2] Three times! Three times Peter denied Jesus. Three times! This is more than a failure of nerve. This is somewhere he cannot go. Peter had been asked to take up the cross, no less, but no one else at all, not the closest, only the Son of God could die on the cross that crucified the world’s sin.
[1] Mark 8:31—33; 9:31—32; 10:33—37
[2] Mark 14:32—42
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you are my Lord as you are Peter’s Lord. You love Peter. You love the one who denied you, who rebuked you, who misunderstood you, and slept through your agony. You look upon me as you look upon Peter. All I have to offer is the ends of a day in which there has been denial, misunderstanding and frailty. I can promise nothing better tomorrow. I need you to look upon me from the place of your finished work, covering my shame, restoring me, flooding me with forgiveness, with your Spirit, with joy, and with your purpose as my chief delight.