Grace when we fail
Luke 22:54-62
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Here we read that Peter denies Jesus three times in the 24 hours after Jesus’ arrest, just as Jesus predicted (Luke 22:31-34). And when the rooster crowed, and he heard that sound, he was convicted of what he had done, and he cried bitterly.
This is a defining moment for Peter. Cold, afraid, and alone, he is accused, and he behaves very differently than he had expected. Only a day earlier he had boasted that he would go to prison or even die for Jesus (Luke 22: 33). He is humbled by his human behaviour, and cries tears of repentance and asks for God to forgive him and to strengthen his faith. Not only that he might stand strong but that he might help others, in the midst of persecution, to do so too – just as Jesus had told him to (Luke 22:32).
This story of Peter reminds us that we, too, are to follow Christ in humility, not boasting in our own strength but seeking God’s strength to do all that we are called to do. And we are encouraged by God’s great grace, for when we fail to do so, if we repent and turn back to him, he will forgive us and strengthen us anew for the good work he had prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
Thank you, Jesus, for your forgiveness and kindness towards us. Help us to walk in humility and be strengthened by you. Please empower us to build up one another in love for Jesus and to share that love with others around us, even those who may wish to accuse us.
Written by Ps. Zoe Stewart