Mark 14:65-72

Mark 14:65-72  Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.  While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.  When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.  “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.  But he denied it.  “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.  When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”  Again he denied it.  After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”  He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”  Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.”  And he broke down and wept. 

In the above passage, we see Jesus' dire situation overwhelm Peter's resolve to follow Jesus to the end.  These scriptures show Jesus being whipped, degraded, and abused as if he were just an ordinary criminal.  Peter, a believer in Jesus as the Christ, was overwhelmed by the realities of this awful circumstance.  First of all, what could he do?  The forces against Jesus were so much greater than any group of people that Peter could muster together that it was futile to even try to rescue Jesus from their hands.  Secondly, this was supposedly the Christ, the Messiah, who was being beaten and abused.  How could this happen to the Messiah, the glorious one?  How could the all powerful One be taken into the hands of mere men and be so humiliated and mistreated?  I am sure Peter must have been thinking: "What have I been believing in for so long; how could all this happen to Jesus if He were the SON OF GOD!"  Peter's confusion that day led him to renounce Jesus, to retreat into the darkness of the night with bitter tears on his face.  He had not only abandoned Jesus, he had denounced him by calling Jesus "this man."  Jesus was not just "this man," He was the Messiah, the Anointed One.  Peter not only publicly disclaimed any association with Jesus, he publicly proclaimed Jesus was but a man.  Otherwise, he expressed the same disdain for Jesus as those who captured Jesus by stating He was not the Messiah, The Holy One, who was to bring salvation to Israel and to all mankind.  Peter in that day was in great danger, for without faith in Jesus as the Christ, there is no way to heaven.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

We sometimes are overwhelmed by our situations, especially when we feel our prayers have not been answered.  When we find ourselves still sick, still unemployed, still without hope of reconciliation with a loved one, and so on, our spirits may become confused or downtrodden.  We wonder if what we have believed is real.  Is Jesus the Messiah?  Is He the all powerful One?  Is He my healer?  Does God really care for me?  Is faith in Jesus THE WAY?  The answer is to all these questions, is yes: Jesus is your Lord, your everything.  These questions and other questions of doubt or fear sometimes penetrate our thoughts when the situation is dire or unrelenting.  We then wonder.  We then question.  The story of Peter denying Jesus is so very beautiful, for it shows the unfailing love of Christ.  He knew Peter would fall away that day.  He knew Peter would go into the darkness of night, but Peter was not lost.  Christ knew where he was.  He was where most of us are sometimes.  Yet Christ knew Peter would become the leader of his followers. 

He also knows that you will make it through faith in him and his grace.  Christ knew Peter would struggle in his mind when he discovered that He, Jesus, wasn't going to redeem that day by some powerful intervention--when Jesus would seem to be just like all other men with no supernatural answers.  He knew Peter was going to be consumed by doubt and fear, and he would flee not only from the mob but from Jesus, too.  However our Savior always has a plan.  He will perfect that work which He has begun in you.  His voice, his love, will draw you back.  You might wander for a while in the darkness, but you will hear his tender voice say to you, "I am the Way--your hope of salvation."  And your ears will pick out that still small voice and say, "Yes Lord, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Light.  I will follow you."  Jesus' love will draw you back.  Jesus, after the resurrection, reveals himself again as the Messiah to Peter, and Peter becomes the man of God he is meant to be.  Today, regardless of your circumstance, Jesus is Lord of your life.  He wants you to know that.  He is with you, and He will help you through this day.  He loves you, his precious child.  Let him reveal himself to you once again as your Messiah, Lord, and King.