Luke 22:54-62
I am imagining a scene where Peter is being interviewed as his time on earth is drawing to a close. From his prison cell, he is reflecting about His relationship to Jesus.
The interviewer: “Peter, we all know about your behavior that terrible night Jesus was arrested so many years ago. How do you account for your cowardice and betrayal of this man you had professed your willingness to die for?”.
Peter: Much slower to answer at 65 than he was at 35, looked at the reporter, sighing as if the question had deeply pierced him and said,”Thank you for asking that question. I have thought about it much but spoken of it very little. First of all, you are correct, it was a terrible night. The whole day was a series of disasters. I had argued with the other disciples earlier about which of us was the greatest. Later, I had fallen asleep in the garden even after the Lord had instructed me to stay alert. Then the mob came for Him and I panicked, injuring a man with my sword. Then, finally there was the incident you are referring to. Yes, it was a terrible night but there is something you need to understand; it was also a wonderful one in that it was one of the most important milestones in my journey with Him.”
The amazing thing for those of us who have continued on in following Jesus is that our most terrible failures have turned out to be the places of new beginnings, places where His grace has been able to touch us most deeply. These places of our gross failures turn out to be the platforms on which God has been able to build most deeply and reveal Himself. In these areas, we no longer have illusions of who we are and our own greatness. In these areas we know we have nothing – so Christ Himself can then become our foundational-everything. I cannot tell you why, but this is just the way things work out for His true followers; where we are most weak, He is most strong.
The reporter asks; “What did you mean when you referred to illusions as to who you were? Peter, patiently nodding as if he understood, answers, “Yes, excellent question. You see, none of us really knew what this kingdom of God thing was that he was always talking about. We thought it was going to be a government in the earthly sense. We all thought we were going to be high ranking administrators in an earthly kingdom. On top of this none of us knew our own hearts. We loved Jesus but, at the same time, each of us was envisioning our own kingdoms within His. Jesus knew we would not finish the race well operating out of our selfish motives and self-delusion”
Continuing…. Peter added “That is why the evening you have referred to, as terrible as it was, has also become glorious to me. When Jesus turned and looked at me as the cock crowed, this was my first glimpse of something He had known all along. I was not who I thought I was. I was not the great leader of men. I was the chief of sinners. Although it is painful, my awareness of this has created a dependency that opens my heart to His righteousness, peace and joy – the essence of the kingdom He governs now and forevermore.” It would have never happened had I not been mercifully broken.
The interviewer asks if he might ask one more question. “Yes, go ahead“, Peter responds. “OK, what is your advice to me, as a believer, if I want to follow Christ well ?”. Peter is pleased once more at the question. He becomes sober and says, “My counsel is to not follow Jesus from a safe distance as I did the night He was betrayed by Judas. Follow Him very closely. And, do not attempt to blend in with those who do not know Him or care to know Him as I did at the high priest’s home. Instead of saying that you don’t know him. Tell the world around you that you do. Why this is so important I cannot fully explain but we are changed as we identify ourselves publicly with Him.”
Then as if a load had been lifted, Peter said, There is something else that is essential. God is using the events of your life, literally everything that touches you, to transform you into the image of Jesus. My story is relevant to you because we are all made of the same stuff. He may expose you as He did me so that it will be Him you are really trusting in and not in some illusion you have of Him or yourself. Yes, it may seem terrible in the moment but it can become an essential milestone in your journey and a part of the story you were born to tell.”
Our profession is not a one time event. It is a lifestyle of telling others about our milestone experiences and encounters with Jesus. Having a story of our own and telling it will make a dramatic impact on our lives and the lives of those around us both now and in eternity. If you desire to better understand what I am saying about identifying with Christ, 1) Please read: Matthew 10:32-33, Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26, Romans 10:9-10 and 2 Timothy 2:12. also 2) Read The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner. (I understand this book and others by Benner are on the YWAM spiritual growth book list.)
Father, so be it if You must turn Your gaze upon us and provoke the same kind of bitter tears that Peter shed. Help us to recognize the events you are trying to use in helping us appraise ourselves more accurately so that we may trust you more completely. It is a glorious privilege to be called Your children. Do the necessary work in us so that You become our rock and foundation and we will walk openly and in step with You in boldness and joy. Amen.
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Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10
If we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us 2 Timothy 2:12