Peter and the Rooster
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Peter Disowns Jesus
66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.[g]
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[h] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice[i] you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
This passage opens with Jesus being taken into custody and Peter following at a distance.
What do you make of the fact that Peter was following?
What do you make of the fact that Peter was following at a distance?
What can we learn about his heart, knowing Peter? Where do you think his head was at. Remember Peter had just told Jesus how "faithful" he was?
How many times do we commit to something or want to do what we know we should, and then we hesitantly follow at a distance instead of fully engaging?
What was the purpose of Peter hanging back?
Do we ever hang back in life in that way?
What is that we are afraid of?
What are we trying to protect ourselves from?
On to the trial.
Who were those in attendance? How is this a warning for us?
Do we ever put Jesus on trial? Don't answer too quickly. Stop and think. Do we ever accuse Jesus of not being there, or being silent, or not being a God of love, or any other accusations? Jesus is silent to the accusations, to the falsehoods.
Then to the truth, he speaks and tells the truth.
1. What can we learn from this?
2. What does this say about Jesus and our God?
Jesus is not even going to try to explain, or defend himself against the false accusations. He is silent. HE didn't need to defend or explain. Then when asked the truth, he boldly without hesitation says, "I am."
How many times do we try explaining our decisions, or defending ourselves against false claims, or just defending our decisions or actions. How was Jesus quiet? What can we learn from that?
NOW BACK TO PETER.
What do we learn from this part of the story?
How does it start and how does it end?
How do these two stories contrast?
Jesus boldly stated, "I am." and Peter, "I don't know or understand what you are talking about."
This morning after showing the new caregiver for grandma around the house, we were ready to walk out the door and Grandma asked if we were going to work, and Chris said, "nope we are headed to church." Grandma said something about it being Sunday and then corrected herself and said she forgot we go on Saturday. Then the caregiver asks what church we go to. I found this tiny hesitation, know what some think of our church. It is not the same, but Peter feared for his life, I'm sure. I have empathy for his decision to lie. What do we learn from this?
I want to be a disciple of Christ who is all in! I don't want to follow behind, and not claim Jesus as my Lord. I want to be a disciple who is boldly there! I want to with God's strength be able to be silent at the accusations and answer boldly and truthfully who I am!
Who are you?
I would like to challenge you to formulate an "I am" statement.
I am adopted, a follower of Christ, a Christian.
Comments
Post a Comment