HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
As Peter came to the place where Jesus was being interrogated, he did all he could to blend in. He wanted to see what was going to happen to Jesus, concerned for the welfare of his friend and Lord, but he did not want to put himself in danger. Instead of hiding in a dark corner, he warms himself by the fire. He not only denies being with Jesus, but even denies understanding what they are talking about. He even stoops to cursing and swearing in order to avoid suspicion. It occurs to me that we often follow a similar pattern in our own lives. We want to be close to Jesus, maintaining a relationship with Him, but we do not want that relationship to endanger our place in this world. So just as Peter did, we work hard to blend in—to look like, sound like, and act like the world around us, hiding our relationship with Christ. But just as it did in the life of Peter, those actions can only result in our sinful denial of our Lord.
How did Peter’s blending in contribute to his denial of Jesus?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
