Peter

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Abba, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Abba, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  Matthew 26:69–75 (NIV) Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. CONSIDER THIS As Jesus was taken to the house of Caiaphas for trial, Peter followed him at a distance “right up to the courtyard of the high priest” (Matt. 26:58), motivated perhaps by both love and curiosity. Peter would soon face his own trial in the courtyard and its surroundings for which he was ill-prepared. Though Jesus had warned him earlier in the garden of Gethsemane to watch and pray, he nevertheless slept away. Subsequent events would reveal that Peter should have heeded the words, the pointed caution, of Jesus. A servant girl of the high priest approached Peter while he was sitting in the courtyard and declared: “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” The reference to Galilee may be an indication of geographical pride on the part of the girl who evidently was a Judean and well aware of it. In speaking up, the girl had attracted some attention, and the audience by now was larger than simply Peter and herself. Peter denied the claim “before them all.” And to be even more forceful and emphatic in this, his first denial of Jesus, Peter added, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” a statement that was obviously false. Earlier Peter had boasted in a way in which he had compared himself with the other disciples quite favorably: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will” (v. 33). Again, to indicate just how confident he was in terms of his own resolve, Peter had also exclaimed: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (v. 35). All of this bravado, however, was now gone, revealed to be little more than empty boasts, and Peter’s “trial” was just getting started. After this scene, no doubt shaken, Peter got up and headed toward the gateway which was a vestibule between the courtyard and the door that led to the street. Perhaps he was thinking about leaving the area, then another servant girl spoke up. But unlike the first one, she didn’t address Peter, but the people milling about in the vestibule: “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Once again, for the second time, Peter would deny any association with Jesus. But this time around he did something different, an action that Jesus had warned against earlier, had even forbidden, but none of this mattered anymore. Peter was gripped by fear. What did he do? He attempted to underscore the truthfulness of his own denial of Jesus by confirming it with an oath. In short, he would swear to the truth of his own lie! He should have kept watch as Jesus had cautioned. This whole area was filled with so much potential mischief, with many ways to go very wrong, and that’s probably why Jesus had warned Peter and others earlier: “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (5:34–37). Again, what had Peter done? He had invoked nothing less than a solemn oath as a cover for his own lying.1 Fear can make people do strange things. Though Peter wanted to be near the mouth of the courtyard, perhaps for a quick exit, he nevertheless did not flee but remained in that area. After a little while, Peter was accosted by those standing there who claimed: “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” Peter responded to such a claim in yet a third denial of Christ, and this was his most grave and forceful disavowal of all. Peter not only swore to these people in the vestibule that he did not know the man, as he had stated earlier to the servant girl, but he also began to call down curses. The difficult question here, of course, is upon whom did Peter begin to call down curses? Though our text, itself, does not clearly answer this question, there is more than enough room for ambiguity; nevertheless, there are at least two possibilities that should be considered. First of all, as in his second denial, Peter may have called down a curse upon himself if he were lying. The logic here would be that he would never do such a thing, that is, take such drastic, self-defeating action of cursing himself unless his statement was true. Simply put, this was yet another round of the liar’s game: add strength and force to the pretended truthfulness of what is actually a lie. The problem, however, with this view is that the verb used in our text may not be reflexive. In other words, there is no mention of Peter doing something specifically to himself. Nevertheless, this interpretation remains a possibility given the ambiguity of the text. The second option would be that, in his third denial, Peter actually called down curses upon Jesus himself. This option, however, seems less likely given Peter’s earlier confession that Jesus is “the Son of the living God” (16:16) as well as his two earlier boasts about his deep and unwavering commitment to Christ (see 26:33, 35). To be sure, Peter’s problem, his predicament, in his third denial was that he needed to add weight to the supposed truth of his grandiose lie. Cursing himself in a harsh and damning way would surely accomplish all of that. It would get the job done. There was no need at all to curse Christ. Why do it? That kind of strength and force was simply unnecessary. Whether Peter cursed himself or Christ, although it was probably the former, one thing remains abundantly clear. Peter, unlike Judas, was later restored to the sweet graces of fellowship. He didn’t despair even after committing a very grave sin. Indeed, upon hearing the rooster crow, Peter remembered the prophecy of Jesus (and recall that the religious leaders in the house of Caiaphas had mocked that Jesus was a prophet) and he began to repent almost immediately as he “wept bitterly.” Beyond this, the Gospel of John presents the later encounter of Peter with the risen Christ in an incident that not only demonstrates a hearty restoration of Peter, but one that also prepared him for his generous leadership role in the church at Pentecost (and beyond) when the Holy Spirit was given in fullness. This reconciling text, which offers three affirmations of Peter in the face of his earlier three denials, is worth quoting at length: When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15–17) Another important issue here calls for our attention. Jesus had taught earlier that, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven” (Matt. 12:32). So then, whether people call down curses upon themselves in the attempt to solidify a lie or whether they curse Christ out of ignorance (Who could ever curse Christ out of knowledge of who he is?) or out of fear or darkness or abject pain, they can yet and wonderfully be forgiven. The grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ can shine forth and bring joyous cleansing and renewal. The light that has come into the world knows no equal. He offers the luster of refreshing forgiveness, one that gives hope to all. Peter was restored. THE PRAYER Lord, as I examine my life I may sometimes ask, “How could I have done that?” or “What was I thinking?” Fear drives me away from you and deeper into sin until I cannot recognize the difference between the truth and a lie. Thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace and boundless love that casts away all fear.