Tag Archives: Peter

The Rooster Pulled the Trigger!

Christian Life, , ,

THE ROOSTER PULLED THE TRIGGER!

“Arresting Jesus, they marched Him off and took Him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter followed, but at a safe distance. In the middle of the courtyard some people had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. One of the serving maids…noticed him…and said, ‘This man was with Him.’
“He denied it, ‘Woman, I don’t even know Him.’

“A short time later someone else noticed him and said, ‘You’re one of them.’
But Peter denied it, ‘Man, I am not.’

“About an hour later someone else spoke up, really adamant: ‘He’s got to have been with Him! He’s got “Galilean” written all over him.’

“Peter said, ‘Man I don’t know what you are talking about.’ At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just them, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him…He went out and cried and cried and cried.” Luke 22:54-62 (The Message).

Would Peter ever forget that night? Every time a rooster crowed, for the rest of his life he would remember.

I guess that many thousands of sermons have been preached on this passage of Scripture over the centuries, mostly focusing on Peter’s denial and Jesus’ forgiveness. After all, it’s a message of grace that everyone needs to hear.

But God’s grace comes to us in many different ways. Sometimes we identify God’s grace as His direct intervention in our lives; miraculous healing, forgiveness, times when we cope when we have no strength of our own.

At that moment in Peter’s life, I am sure he would like to have killed that rooster because it triggered a memory that brought him to utter despair. What if Jesus had not warned him in advance that it would happen? Would the sound of the crowing rooster have had as much impact on him as it did? Probably not.

He would have felt bad about denying Jesus but, because of the warning, every time he heard the rooster, he would also have heard his own retort at Jesus’ warning, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to jail and to death.’ It was not Jesus’ words that haunted him as much as his own.

Peter did not know himself. He had no idea of his weak and cowardly heart until the crowing rooster pulled the trigger! He had a long journey ahead and a lot of growing to do before he could say those same words and mean them.

The rooster was only being a rooster but, for Peter, his voice was a forceful reminder of his fallible humanity and his need for God’s grace because he could not do it on his own. It was his failure that caused him to be aware of his constant need of God and caused him to rest in the power of Jesus to give him strength to stand under testing.

Peter could not have penned the words in his letter to believers under pressure had he not experienced what he did on that terrible night. Only tested faith can come out pure, like gold that has gone through fire. Had Peter not fallen that night, he could have claimed victory through his own will-power, but his crash was the best thing that ever happened to him.

The sound of the crowing rooster was a trigger, not of failure and despair but of hope, a reminder of God’s grace that forgives, restores and gives another chance to those who discover, through experience, how weak they really are, and who learn to rest in the strength that God supplies.

Let Them Be, Even In This

Christian Life, , , ,

LET THEM BE, EVEN IN THIS

“No sooner were the words out of His mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss Him. Jesus said, ‘Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’

When those with Him saw what was happening, they said, ‘Master, shall we fight?’ One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.

Jesus said, ‘Let them be. Even in this.’ Then touching the servant’s ear, He healed him.” Luke 22:47-51 (The Message).

Picture the scene. A mob, led by Judas, one of Jesus’ followers, moves menacingly towards Jesus, brandishing swords and clubs. Luke does not mention who was in charge. John tells us that there were soldiers and officials from among the crowd, sent by the chief priests to arrest Him.

Instead of slinking away into the darkness among the tress, Jesus steps forward to meet them. Judas has a pre-arranged signal – ‘the one I kiss’ – to identify Him. A gentle rebuke from Jesus, ‘Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’ does not even touch his hardened heart. How bizarre that Judas would choose a greeting of affection to show the soldiers whom to grab. This was surely an idea straight from Satan whom Luke said had taken possession of him.

The disciples react in a typically human way. “Boys, let’s fight.” Their entire disciple training to be followers of Jesus and to wear the Rabbi’s yoke goes straight out of the window. What happened to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” and, “Turn the other cheek”? They are in no apparent danger. The soldiers are only interested in Jesus.

One of the disciples, the ever-impulsive Peter, lashes out with his sword – slicing off the ear of the one nearest to him. It happens to be Malchus, a high-ranking servant of the high priest. Now there’s going to be trouble! That action immediately involves the disciples and puts them in danger of arrest along with Jesus.

In the midst of the tumult, Jesus keeps His cool and remains who He is, the Son of Man and the Son of God. He stands as God’s representative and does what His Father does – restores the man’s severed ear.

What would Malchus remember of that whole incident when he lay in bed that night? Would he ever forget the face of the man they arrested as a criminal, the man who reattached his ear and miraculously stopped the pain and bleeding, in the middle of His own crisis? Would he ever understand the words and attitude of Jesus – “‘Let them be. Even in this'”? Six simple words in a paraphrase version, but loaded with significance!

Jesus had once informed His opponents, ‘No one takes my life from me. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again. This was given to me by my Father.’ In that statement He pulls the rug from under His enemies’ feet. They may think that they are in charge but they cannot do a thing to Him without His Father’s permission and His submission.

His statement also clearly indicates who takes responsibility for His arrest, trial and crucifixion – all those who were implicated in the event. This is a perfect example of God’s sovereignty working together with man’s responsibility. Our little brains will never be able to work out how He did it.

It was God’s plan, devised before the foundation of the world, working perfectly to effect man’s salvation but implemented through man’s wickedness so that God’s glory – His disposition of compassion and mercy, could be put on display. Wow!

But Peter…

Bible Study, , ,

BUT PETER…

“They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn’t believe a word of it; thought they were making it up.

“But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that’s all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.” Luke 24:9-13 (The Message).

Poor Peter! His mind must have been in torment. Put yourself in his shoes. A few days before, he had said something to a few strangers that would change his life forever. In the heat of a terrifying moment, unprepared because he would not heed his Master’s warning, he had vehemently denied the one to whom he had pledged lifelong loyalty, and whom he had recognised and confessed as the Messiah.

And now He was dead. He would never have the opportunity to express his sorrow and regret for what he had done. The look in Jesus’ eyes when He had caught Peter’s eye as the cock crowed, would haunt him forever. The anguish in his heart was unbearable. He had not slept since then. He was afraid to close his eyes because of the flashbacks of all the horrifying scenes of that day.

And now the women come with a story that He was not in the tomb. Something about the stone rolled from the entrance; about shining men inside the tomb; about their incomprehensible words – “He’s not here. He has risen!”, about grave clothes left as though the body had simply evaporated! It all sounded like fairy stories to him but how he yearned that it would be true.

He wanted to believe them. He wanted to wake up and find that it was all a bad dream. He joined the others in pooh-poohing their story; (after all, they were only women, and women were not permitted to testify in a court of law. They were discredited as unreliable witnesses), but in his heart of hearts he wanted it to be true.

He couldn’t just sit there, wishing and hoping. He had to find out for himself what had happened. Had the authorities removed Jesus’ body to stop any rumours of a resurrection? Had Joseph taken Him for burial to an unknown tomb?

What Peter saw was just as puzzling to him as it was to the women. They had told the truth. The tomb was open. The body was missing. There were no angels, but the grave clothes were not just lying in a heap as though tossed aside by a careless grave robber. If someone had stolen His body, why would they have left the shroud? None of it made sense to Peter. He walked away in a daze, his heart as heavy as lead.

With masterful brushstrokes, Luke paints a picture of mystery and intrigue. Jesus was not there. Everything pointed to a very unusual event, but where was He? The women saw the tomb and the grave clothes and the angels, but no Jesus. Peter saw the tomb and the grave clothes but no Jesus?

Only one thing could change this mysterious situation – Jesus Himself! But He did not show up. He left them to stew in their confusion and unbelief for a while. They had to come to terms with the situation before He could reveal Himself to them and convince them that He was alive so that every other word He spoke would be embedded in their souls and shape their lives forever, and compel them to testify that He had risen from the dead.

The entire success of His mission to earth stands on this one fact – He was crucified but He is alive. We can trust Him and stake our lives on Him and what He told us because He beat death and He is here now with His offer of eternal life for those who stake their lives on him.