“And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:55-62).
There was no doubt that Peter loved Christ. However, in a weak moment, the Enemy used him for target practice. We can learn from this. Never say, like Peter, that you would never betray Christ. As one of Christ’s disciples, Peter had to wonder what would happen to Christ after the arrest. Would the disciples be the next ones arrested? By telling others he didn’t know Christ, Peter was probably playing it safe—a game he regretted. We wonder how Peter could have done such a thing.
Have we ever faced a situation when we didn’t take a stand for Christ and the right? Even though we often judge Peter harshly, we may have denied the Lord at one time or another.
We find in verse Luke 22:62 that “Peter went out and wept bitterly.” It is with a contrite spirit Peter found grace from a God Who lovingly forgives. The grace of God is there when we have failed Him. He stands ready to forgive and forget.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for George and Kathy Lemelin and their children Josiah, Marie and Isaac, working as Associate Missionaries with FWBHM to establish a Bible-believing church among the Native American Ojibwa people in Ogema, Minnesota.
