Word@Work Luke337 - Luke 22:59-62
Published: Mon, 04/18/11
Word@Work from BeaconLight
THE STORM BEFORE THE DAWN
Luke 22:59-62 About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean." Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly. (NIV)
Twice, Peter had already denied that he knew Jesus. Now the third denial comes aggressively out of his lips. He was confronted by a man who had seen him with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. John's account says, "One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" (John 18:26). And Mark says that he began to call down curses on himself and swore at them (Mark 14:71). So Peter, the trainee apostle, was now well out of control. He was betraying the Lord Jesus by disowning any relationship with Him and placing himself under God's curse if he was lying.
At that moment the cock crowed, and just then Jesus emerged into the courtyard pausing briefly to make eye contact with Peter. It sounded an alarm in Peter's mind and heart. But it wasn't the dawn chorus which pierced Peter's heart. It was the words of Jesus who had accurately prophesied Peter's disgraceful behaviour only hours before. It was as though Jesus knew exactly what was in Peter's heart and how it would manifest itself ... which He did. So after three years of ministry training, Peter realised that he was not good enough for God, because of the depths of wickedness which were in his heart. Jesus had been right all along. He knew Peter much better than he knew himself and He was on the way to Calvary to pay for all Peter's sins, and all of ours (www.crosscheck.org.uk).
Although religion encourages people to pretend that they are good, true faith in Christ can only start after we have realised we are not. True repentance is not only an admission of our wrongdoing, but the awareness that Jesus knows the deep inner hidden wickedness of our hearts. Too many people who would like to call themselves Christians are trying to convince God that they deserve to be in His kingdom: but that approach, before the all-seeing eye of God, is a delusion. Although Peter's failure was a shock to him, it did not surprise Jesus. However it was essential for Peter to realise that he could not save himself, if he was to receive the grace of salvation from Jesus. What was true for him is true for each of us.
Prayer: Holy Father. Thank You for knowing everything about me and for understanding me completely; so much better than I know myself. If You had not alerted my heart to my sin, I would never have cried out to be saved. Please forgive me when I try to follow Jesus religiously, comparing myself against others, and priding myself on my devotion. I know that without Jesus I am nothing because He is the only one who can save me from sin and present me faultless before the throne of heaven. So help me to have a realistic view of myself seeing my own heart as You see it so that I may cry out for Your grace and receive it with thankfulness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
Twice, Peter had already denied that he knew Jesus. Now the third denial comes aggressively out of his lips. He was confronted by a man who had seen him with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. John's account says, "One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" (John 18:26). And Mark says that he began to call down curses on himself and swore at them (Mark 14:71). So Peter, the trainee apostle, was now well out of control. He was betraying the Lord Jesus by disowning any relationship with Him and placing himself under God's curse if he was lying.
At that moment the cock crowed, and just then Jesus emerged into the courtyard pausing briefly to make eye contact with Peter. It sounded an alarm in Peter's mind and heart. But it wasn't the dawn chorus which pierced Peter's heart. It was the words of Jesus who had accurately prophesied Peter's disgraceful behaviour only hours before. It was as though Jesus knew exactly what was in Peter's heart and how it would manifest itself ... which He did. So after three years of ministry training, Peter realised that he was not good enough for God, because of the depths of wickedness which were in his heart. Jesus had been right all along. He knew Peter much better than he knew himself and He was on the way to Calvary to pay for all Peter's sins, and all of ours (www.crosscheck.org.uk).
Although religion encourages people to pretend that they are good, true faith in Christ can only start after we have realised we are not. True repentance is not only an admission of our wrongdoing, but the awareness that Jesus knows the deep inner hidden wickedness of our hearts. Too many people who would like to call themselves Christians are trying to convince God that they deserve to be in His kingdom: but that approach, before the all-seeing eye of God, is a delusion. Although Peter's failure was a shock to him, it did not surprise Jesus. However it was essential for Peter to realise that he could not save himself, if he was to receive the grace of salvation from Jesus. What was true for him is true for each of us.
Prayer: Holy Father. Thank You for knowing everything about me and for understanding me completely; so much better than I know myself. If You had not alerted my heart to my sin, I would never have cried out to be saved. Please forgive me when I try to follow Jesus religiously, comparing myself against others, and priding myself on my devotion. I know that without Jesus I am nothing because He is the only one who can save me from sin and present me faultless before the throne of heaven. So help me to have a realistic view of myself seeing my own heart as You see it so that I may cry out for Your grace and receive it with thankfulness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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