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PETER AND THE CHARCOAL FIRES

Christian Life, ,

PETER AND THE CHARCOAL FIRES

“Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.”

John 18:18 NLT

“When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.”

John 21:9 NLT

I write this article because many of us have vivid memories of a “charcoal fire” experience like Peter’s. Why did John specifically record that Peter was standing by a charcoal fire when he denied his association with Jesus? Why did Jesus tie Peter’s denial to the crowing of a cock?

These were the triggers that awakened Peter’s memory to his terrible failure. Every time he heard a cock crow… every time he felt the warmth of a charcoal fire… humiliation would overwhelm him, threatening the bond he had with Jesus in those years of walking with Him, until…

Jesus met him on the beach beside a charcoal fire. Why did Jesus specifically make a charcoal fire upon which to cook breakfast for His disciples? Driftwood would have done the job. Was is to drive the pain of Peter’s failure deeper into his heart, to cement that act of betrayal so that their association would forever be ended, a barrier too high to surmount?

“No!” A thousand times, “No!” It would be so unlike Jesus to do that. It was, instead, the most beautiful act of pure love, to transform the environment of gut-wrenching failure into a moment of forgiveness and restoration.

Jesus changed Peter’s agony from humiliation and regret into the glorious reality of the cross – speaking forgiveness – by that truly kind gesture. The raw wounds in His hands and feet, a stark reminder of His suffering, spoke a silent message of forgiveness as He reached out and gestured Peter to come to Him.

A simple question ended the war in Peter’s heart. “Do you love me?” Peter’s confession of love for Jesus, more real in that poignant moment, overwhelmed his pain, lifted the burden of regret, and flooded his heart with gratitude and relief.

No longer would a charcoal fire be the sword through his heart, the reminder of the events of that terrible night.

What was the difference?

It was the accuser at the charcoal fire who roused fear in Peter’s heart. Fear, the enemy’s favoured weapon, drew the lie from his mouth, “I don’t know the man,” leaving him with a conscience writhing in torment.

It was Jesus, Prince of Peace, standing at another charcoal fire, speaking words of comfort and restoration, who finally brought Peter’s torment to an end.

Isn’t it always the presence of Jesus in the same situation where we fell into fear, guilt, and shame, who knows, forgives, and renews our love for Him?

Peter’s “charcoal fire” would never again be a reminder of his failure. His “charcoal fire”  encounter with Jesus, bringing forgiveness, restoration, and peace, would forever remind him of the grace and mercy that wipes the slate clean.

What if Peter had chosen to stay by the accuser’s charcoal fire in Caiaphas’ courtyard? What if he had never moved on to the charcoal fire on the beach in Galliee?

He would never have escaped the accuser’s voice. He would never have known the presence of Jesus and the peace of forgiveness. He would never have experienced Pentecost or the joy of leading thousands to faith in Jesus. He would never have become the great Apostle Peter.

And so with us. We can cling to our victim status, forever making our failures our “charcoal fire” resting place, forever wallowing in the lies of the accuser or…

We can revel in the presence of Jesus, turning our failures into opportunities, seeing His grace and forgiveness shining through. We can change our perspective, recognise His hand in all the details of our lives, putting us on a path to a life of unending gratitude expressed in our service to others.

We can become victors, overcomers who rise above our selfish misery through grace to sit with Jesus on His throne.

We can choose to live the truly abundant life Jesus promised us. It is not a life of wealth and prosperity, for these are as transient as this present age which is passing away.

It’s not about circumstances because these are always uncertain and changing.

It’s about love, joy, and peace in the heart, knowing that Jesus is always the same and He will never abandon us. It is a life of joyful partnership with Jesus, calling on His name in every circumstance and revelling in His presence, grace, comfort, and strength to see us through.

The choice is ours.

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

Romans 5:17 NIV

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Revelation 3:21 NIV

As Joshua said to the Israelites of old,

“So, fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly… Serve the Lord alone…. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve….  But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:14-15 NLT,

So I say to you today, “Choose whom you will serve…”, your own foolish failures, or the Lord Jesus who offers you forgiveness and a new life with Him.

THE ROOSTER CROWED

Bible Study, ,

THE ROOSTER CROWED

“Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there, warming himself. So, they asked him, ‘You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’ He denied it, saying, ‘I am not.’ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?’ Again, Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster crowed.” John 18:25-27.

Another “meanwhile”! With great skill, the writer moved the action backwards and forwards between Annas facing off with Jesus inside the high priest’s palace and Peter facing off with the servants in the dimly lit courtyard.

It was difficult to identify faces in the pre-dawn darkness, the courtyard lit only by the glowing embers of a coal fire. Peter tried to keep his face down as he warmed his cold hands. He had already been challenged once. In his panic, he had denied any association with Jesus. He didn’t want to be noticed in case someone else who had been there in the garden recognised him.

The servants around the fire knew very well that Peter was not one of them. He was a Galilean, by his accent and they soon began to question among themselves. Suddenly one of them spoke up. With withering scorn, he pointed in the direction of the palace and demanded, ‘Surely you aren’t also one of His men, are you?’ Peter was not caught off guard this time, but he had already lied once. He had to keep it up to save his skin. ‘I am not.’ he muttered.

One man in the group kept staring at him. Peter shrank back into the darkness but it was no use. A relative of Malchus, who had been there when Peter had lashed out wildly with his sword and severed Malchus’ ear, challenged him. ‘Hey! Weren’t you in the garden with him?’ he said. Peter had already cooked his goose.  He had been unmasked but he still persisted with his lie. Did anyone really believe him?

After three counts, the rooster gonged him out! John was silent about Peter’s response to the rooster. The other gospel writers pull the curtain aside. Peter was not only found out by the rooster for his foolish dismissal of his Master’s warning, his threefold denial of his Master and his shameless lying about his association with Jesus, but his utter emotional nakedness was also exposed by the gospel writers and revealed to the world.

Perhaps John still had traces of the old rivalry in his heart and deliberately excluded the heartrending scene of Peter’s regret. Didn’t he have a dig at Peter when Peter quizzed Jesus about John’s future (“Lord, what about him?” – John 21:21). Jesus cut him short with a sharp rebuke: “Mind your own business, Peter.”

“‘Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.'” John 21:22.

Jesus won the first round against Annas. With His insistence on the truth, He caught Annas out and all Annas could do was bow out by sending Him to Caiaphas. Let Caiaphas bear the brunt of Jesus’ astute understanding of the truth and what a fair trial was all about, and see whether he could wangle a conviction against such an opponent!

Jesus was not trying to get an acquittal. He was committed to being the Passover Lamb of God that would be sacrificed for the sin of the world. At the same time, each person involved in the miscarriage of justice and the twisting of the truth to serve his own ends, had to face up to his own guilt. Among all those who were directly involved in His conviction and execution there was only one who remained not guilty — the prisoner Himself.

Even those who loved Him the most and who were the closest to Him failed at the crucial moment. Peter’s guilt was not only his own. Though the others did not verbalise their abandonment of their Master when He needed them the most, Peter represented them all with his words and actions.

And we too, though not there in person, stand among those who were guilty of condemning Him to death because it was our sin that He took upon Himself and our debt that He paid so that we can be free. Don’t point a finger at Peter!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.