After class it got me thinking about forgiveness, grace, and mercy. I think part of my train of thought is because it is Holy Week. This past Saturday I had an excellent discussion with a great group of people about Jesus, his message, and what resurrection means. One part of the discussion that really hit me was when we talked about Peter denying Jesus; "Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant woman came and said to him, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But he denied it in front of all of them, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
72 With an oath, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.”
73 A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.”
74 Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably." (Common English Bible)
When I was younger I always thought that Peter denied Jesus because he had given up on believing in Jesus. After all Jesus had just been arrested and I know that if I had been Peter I wouldn't understand how a group of Romans would be able to arrest God. But now I don't think that Peter lost faith in Peter. I think that Peter lost faith in Peter. It wouldn't be the first time that Peter had lost faith in Peter; "22Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the crowds.
23And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone.
24But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25And in the fourth watch [between 3:00--6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
26And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright.
27But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!(A)
28And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
29He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.
30But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!
31Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God!" (Amplified Bible).
Peter is constantly loosing faith in himself. He doesn't think that he is good enough to be a disciple of Jesus.
Back to the courtyard, Peter is afraid not only for his physical life but also for his spiritual life. He never stops believing in God, he just stops believing in himself. Peter doesn't know if he can carry on without Jesus and that scares him.
Peter realizes what he has done and he cries about it. Put yourself in Peter's sandals for a moment, the person you look up to more than anyone in the world has been arrested, you know that he is probably going to be killed, and you have the responsibility of carrying on his message (well you and 11 other guys do but they all ran away). I don't know about the rest of you but I would start to doubt my ability in myself.
One of the great things about resurrection is the forgiveness or to use the appropriate Easter/Holy Week terminology salvation. The disciples messed up a bunch of times before and after the resurrection. Let's look at a few of their mistakes:
1. The attempted to stop the children from seeing Jesus
2. They fall asleep when Jesus is praying in the garden
3. One of them attacks a Roman soldier
4. One of them betrays Jesus for 40 pieces of silver (which is another issue for another night)
5. One of them denies knowing Jesus 3 times
6. A bunch of them run away because they are afraid
7. Only the women go to the tomb to observe the Jewish custom of Shiva
8. Thomas doubts Jesus
9. A few of them don't recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus
Clearly the disciples were just normal human beings. The fact that they weren't Rabbis also makes the idea of salvation even more awesome. They weren't rabbis because they weren't good enough to be rabbis but that didn't stop Jesus from calling them to follow him. Jesus had a great deal of faith in the disciples, way more faith than the disciples had in themselves.
Even after all of the mistakes they made Jesus gives them the great commission;"8Jesus came to them and said:
71 When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
72 With an oath, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.”
73 A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.”
74 Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably." (Common English Bible)
When I was younger I always thought that Peter denied Jesus because he had given up on believing in Jesus. After all Jesus had just been arrested and I know that if I had been Peter I wouldn't understand how a group of Romans would be able to arrest God. But now I don't think that Peter lost faith in Peter. I think that Peter lost faith in Peter. It wouldn't be the first time that Peter had lost faith in Peter; "22Then He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent away the crowds.
23And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone.
24But the boat was by this time out on the sea, many furlongs [a furlong is one-eighth of a mile] distant from the land, beaten and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25And in the fourth watch [between 3:00--6:00 a.m.] of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
26And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright.
27But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!(A)
28And Peter answered Him, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
29He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus.
30But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me [from death]!
31Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33And those in the boat knelt and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God!" (Amplified Bible).
Peter is constantly loosing faith in himself. He doesn't think that he is good enough to be a disciple of Jesus.
Back to the courtyard, Peter is afraid not only for his physical life but also for his spiritual life. He never stops believing in God, he just stops believing in himself. Peter doesn't know if he can carry on without Jesus and that scares him.
Peter realizes what he has done and he cries about it. Put yourself in Peter's sandals for a moment, the person you look up to more than anyone in the world has been arrested, you know that he is probably going to be killed, and you have the responsibility of carrying on his message (well you and 11 other guys do but they all ran away). I don't know about the rest of you but I would start to doubt my ability in myself.
One of the great things about resurrection is the forgiveness or to use the appropriate Easter/Holy Week terminology salvation. The disciples messed up a bunch of times before and after the resurrection. Let's look at a few of their mistakes:
1. The attempted to stop the children from seeing Jesus
2. They fall asleep when Jesus is praying in the garden
3. One of them attacks a Roman soldier
4. One of them betrays Jesus for 40 pieces of silver (which is another issue for another night)
5. One of them denies knowing Jesus 3 times
6. A bunch of them run away because they are afraid
7. Only the women go to the tomb to observe the Jewish custom of Shiva
8. Thomas doubts Jesus
9. A few of them don't recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus
Clearly the disciples were just normal human beings. The fact that they weren't Rabbis also makes the idea of salvation even more awesome. They weren't rabbis because they weren't good enough to be rabbis but that didn't stop Jesus from calling them to follow him. Jesus had a great deal of faith in the disciples, way more faith than the disciples had in themselves.
Even after all of the mistakes they made Jesus gives them the great commission;"8Jesus came to them and said:
I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." (Contemporary English Version)
For me the tremendous trust, unconditional love, and constant forgiveness are what Easter is all about. No matter how many times I mess up God still thinks I am good enough, still loves me, and always forgives me.
For me the tremendous trust, unconditional love, and constant forgiveness are what Easter is all about. No matter how many times I mess up God still thinks I am good enough, still loves me, and always forgives me.
