Most of us have heard the phrase “being in the wrong place at the wrong time”, or something similar to that. Often that happens accidentally, when someone by chance just happened to be in a location when something bad happened. Occasionally, though, a deliberate, but wrong choice of ours can land us in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is what happened to the Apostle Peter in our Scripture today. Let’s look at this time, one of the worst hours in Peter’s life.
It was late at night when the events in our Scripture took place. Earlier in the evening Jesus had celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples, and then instituted the Eucharist. Following that, He took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, then selected Peter, James, and John to accompany Him while praying. Then Judas Iscariot led a group of soldiers and others to the garden where Jesus was arrested and led away. Most of the disciples then ran off into the night. However, as we read, Peter and John followed behind at a distance, undetected by the authorities of the High Priest. This is where our Scripture begins.
After Jesus’ arrest, He was brought to the home of the High Priest, both Annas and then Caiaphas. As we read in verse 15, the Apostle John was known to the household of the High Priest. Though the Bible doesn’t specifically indicate how, many Bible scholars believe it was through his family’s business connections. John’s father, Zebedee owned a successful fishing business along the Sea of Galilee, lucrative enough for them to have servants. It is possible that he supplied fish and other delicacies to the high priest. Since John was known to the household, he was allowed entry into the courtyard, and a word from John to a servant girl allowed Peter entry, as well (vs. 15-16).
As we look at Peter, we can see that his love for Jesus was real. He didn’t flee with the others when Jesus was taken. However, he followed “at a distance” (Matthew 26:58). Spiritual danger often begins when we are at a distance from Jesus. A Christian can have sincere affection for Jesus, yet fall into sin when relying on the flesh rather than the Spirit.
Shortly after entering the courtyard a servant girl noticed Peter and asked him whether he was a disciple of Jesus (vs. 17). That struck fear into Peter, and rather than trusting God and relying on His power and strength, he answered her that he wasn’t, the first denial. The fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25).
The time was after midnight, in the very early morning hours in early spring, and it had gotten chilly out. Someone had started a warming fire in the courtyard, and people were gathering around it to keep warm while they waited for news about what was going on inside the high priest’s house. Many of these folks would have been enemies of Jesus, the others probably at best indifferent to Him. Yet Peter chose to stand among them just to keep warm (vs. 18). He had come into the courtyard to find out what happened to Jesus, but he would have been better off to have stayed outside. Peter is in the wrong place, with the wrong people, doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time. Now Peter was standing with Jesus’ enemies. That is never a good place to stand!
While Peter stood around the fire, a second person questioned whether he had been one of Jesus’ disciples (vs. 25). Again, Peter vehemently denied being with or knowing Jesus. If we aren’t carefully on guard, sin becomes easier the second time around. Repetition hardens the conscience, and Peter’s heart was moving from fear to entanglement.
Also standing by the fire was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off while trying to defend Jesus at His arrest (vs. 26-27). He thought he recognized Peter and said so. However, Peter denied it a third time. Right after the words left his mouth, a rooster crowed. This fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy exactly (John 13:38). Peter’s failure did not surprise Jesus. He had already prayed for him (Luke 22:31-32). This rooster crowing was not a condemnation of Peter. It was conviction. It was the sound of God calling His child back to Him.
Looking back over these short seven verses we can learn some things from Peter. We know that his intentions were noble (Matthew 26:33), but sincerity is not enough. The flesh cannot sustain spiritual faithfulness. Peter followed “at a distance”, and that distance became a doorway to denial. He also made the mistake of warming himself at the enemy’s fire. Where we place ourselves will shape our spiritual temperature. Are we more frequently in the company of Jesus’ enemies or His friends?
And though Peter denied Jesus, Jesus did not deny Peter. He went to the cross for the very sins that Peter was committing. Though this fall of Peter’s was tragic, it was not purposeless. Jesus used it to humble, refine, and then prepare Peter for his future ministry. Jesus prayed for Peter, and He intercedes for us today (Hebrews 7:25). Our failures do not surprise Him, and they do not exhaust His grace. Peter’s story does not end here. Jesus restores, recommissions,, and uses broken people. Failure is not final for the believer.
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