Day 189: Luke 22:47–62

Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed (v. 60).

I am convinced that one reason God placed the account of Peter’s denial in all four Gospels is so we’d sober to the reality that if Peter could deny Christ, any of us could. Never lose sight of the fact that Peter was certain he could not be “had.” Yet he denied Christ not once. Not twice. But three times.

Denying Christ is huge. Do you think the blows Jesus later endured from the whip stung any more than Peter’s denial? Don’t minimize his sin in that courtyard. As we look at this again, I hope we’ll recognize those factors that set Peter up for failure so we can avoid similar pitfalls.

1. Peter was willing to kill for Jesus, but he was reluctant to die for Him. Keep in mind the time element. Only an hour or so before Peter denied Christ to save his own skin, he had drawn a sword and cut off a man’s ear. Maybe Peter’s haste to use the sword was not just motivated by his desire to defend Jesus but by his concern to defend himself.

Nothing displays our self-love like a crisis. But Christ’s disciples, both then and now, are called to live above that human baseline of self-importance. Remember that Christ had called Peter and His disciples to deny themselves and take up the cross daily (Luke 9:23). If Peter had denied himself, he would not have denied Christ.

The reason we can “forget” about ourselves is because Christ never forgets us. We can afford to be less important to ourselves because we are vastly important to God. Biblical self-denial will never fail to be for us rather than against us, whether here or in eternity. When Peter chose to deny Christ rather than himself, he really chose human limitations over divine intervention.

2. Peter followed Jesus, but at a distance. Obviously, if Peter had been holding onto Jesus’ robe, he probably wouldn’t have denied Him. Even though Christ asked the soldiers to let His disciples go (see John 18:8), why didn’t even one insist upon staying, especially after all the miracles and proofs the Twelve had seen? From a divine standpoint the answer is most likely God’s sovereignty in fulfilling prophecy that Christ would be deserted and forsaken. From a human standpoint, however, the answer is pure fear.

The scene reminds me of 2 Kings 2, when God was about to take His prophet, Elijah, up into a whirlwind. Elijah had several stops to make on his way to the Jordan River, and he continued his attempt to say farewell to his servant, Elisha. But all three times, Elisha said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6). If Peter had been as insistent as Elisha, Satan would not have had the room to come between him and his master with a sieve to sift him like wheat. Elisha’s actions showed sheer determination to follow his master to the ends of his earthly life.

When we tiptoe to keep from being too obvious or to obscure ourselves in safe places and remain unidentifiable, we are already bounding toward denial.

3. Peter sat down with the opposition and warmed his hands by the same fire. I’ve been in Jerusalem in the early spring, so I can assure you the night was indeed cold. The semidesert climate may heat a spring day, but the temperature drops dramatically when the sun goes down. Since fear also has a way of quickening the senses, we’re probably picturing Peter accurately as a young man who trembled nearly uncontrollably as he stood at that fire.

But I believe he made a very poor choice of company in the courtyard. John 18:18 tells us Peter joined “the servants and officials” at the fire in the middle of the courtyard. However unintentionally, he ended up surrounding himself with others who, in effect, denied Christ. The risk of failure heightened dramatically at that moment. Can we ever note a point of application here! Being sent by God to be a witness to those who “deny” Christ is one thing. Warming our hands by the same fire is another.

I cannot help but relate some of my own seasons of defeat to Peter’s. I will regret some of my choices every day of my life. Like Peter, I also made some choices in my past that went beyond rationalization. How thankful I am now that I couldn’t just make excuses for my behavior! Any part of me I could have “excused” would still be “alive and kicking.” Listen to my heart carefully: I want no part of myself. None. I want Jesus to so thoroughly consume me that I no longer exist. I am far too destructive. I would do far too much to deny His lordship. One regret I will never have is that God got me “over myself” by letting me confront this truth: in me dwells no good thing.

I do not doubt that Christ’s face was painted with pain when His and Peter’s eyes met in the courtyard, but I think the conspicuous absence of condemnation tore through Peter’s heart. I wonder if Christ’s fixed gaze might have said something like this: “Remember, Peter, I am the Christ. You know that and I know that. I called you. I gave you a new name. I invited you to follow Me. Don’t forget who I am. Don’t forget what you are capable of doing. And, whatever you do, don’t let this destroy you. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”