“Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 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 rooster crowed. 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.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
Luke 22:55-62 NIV
A significant detail in the story… Peter chose dangerous company!
I don’t think that the narrator included the mention of Peter’s nighttime companions just for colour. I think that the soldiers and servants, the ”they” in the story, were the catalyst for Peter’s fall. Had he remained with his fellow disciples, the like-minded ones, they might have supported one another and stayed out of the limelight.
Peter was a square peg in a round hole. It was obvious to those around the fire that he was from out of town. His dress and speech gave him away. He was a Galilean, from the northern province which was closest to Gentile territory, the territory of the prisoner under arrest. Was it coincidence that a Galilean was right there among them? It was like a citizen of Louisiana visiting New York. The difference was unmistakeable.
What was a Galilean doing in Jerusalem? A visitor from up north attending Passover celebrations…at this time of the morning…in the courtyard of the high priest’s residence? Not likely? He was there for another reason…
The atmosphere was electric with tension…suspicion…a “dangerous” prisoner was on trial. Were there spies in the company…was there someone of His group who was detailed to stage a rescue mission…to trigger a revolt? Why were the bystanders so interested in this stranger?
An unnamed servant girl set off the enquiry, rather…the accusation. “You are a Galilean!” Got you! “What is a Galilean doing here? You were with Him!”
“No, I’m not! No, I wasn’t! I don’t even know the man!”
“But we saw you with Him!”
“No, it wasn’t me!”
“Yes. it was you!”
“You are crazy! I wasn’t anywhere near Him!”
And so the “he said – she said” argument continued until…a familiar sound heralded the dawn. Peter stopped short, as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. In the heat of the argument, he remembered!
“..Truly I tell you,…this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
…and he remembered…his vigorous and “cock-sure”defence…
…“Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you”…
Matthew 26:34-35 NIV
…and the sound of all his empty words rang in his ears…
Peter glanced up in his moment of shame and, for a moment his eyes locked onto Jesus…
…and Jesus slowly turned and looked at Peter…straight in the eye.
…and Peter knew that Jesus knew…
…and Peter broke…and the tears flowed down his cheeks in a river of shame and regret…
…and Peter slunk away into the darkness to lick his wounds and wonder…”Is Jesus finished with me?”
In the eyes of the Master, there was everything He wanted to say to His fallen companion, not “I told you so!” not “Why, Peter, why?” or even, “You worthless, you good-for nothing sinner!” From those eyes of fire boring deep into his soul flashed love, forgiveness, compassion…even sorrow for a wasted opportunity.
Jesus was to Peter, even in his darkest moment, what He had always been to every “cancelled” Jewish “sinner” among own His chosen people…gentle, kind, and full of mercy.
This “look” of Jesus lit a spark of hope in Peter’s soul. He fled the company that had triggered his downfall and rejoined his companions who were all in this together. Everyone, in his own way, had denied and forsaken Jesus. They could not return, fall at His feet and beg for forgiveness. The moment for restoration had passed, so
they thought. They could only stand near Him as His lifeblood dripped away…but, somehow, they knew that He knew…and they were comforted.
There is a sequel to this saga…a meeting on the beach, back at the lake where, for some, the story had begun. Breakfast shared at the invitation of the risen Master, a deliberate gesture of reconciliation. An intimate moment…love rekindled, love shared, the commission renewed, “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep; tend my lambs.”
A restored, reassured, revitalised Peter returned to Jerusalem to be the herald and spokesman for Jesus when the Holy Spirit fell on them to jumpstart His church and the glorious New Covenant.
Jesus is the God of the second chance…if only Judas had known…
To be continued…