DAILY E-MAIL SIGN UP
PRINTER FRIENDLY
FONT SIZE 
In his book, Peculiar Treasures, Frederick Buechner (refer to June 1) includes a vivid personality sketch of the apostle Peter. After noting that Jesus had prophesied Peter’s three-fold denial, Buechner writes, “That’s the way it was, of course--Peter sitting out there in the high priest’s courtyard keeping warm by the fire while, inside, the ghastly interrogation was in process, and then the girl coming up to ask him three times if he wasn’t one of them and his replying each time that he didn’t know what in God’s name she was talking about.”
By the end of this awful evening, Peter was ready to put himself under all kinds of curses and to swear an oath that he didn’t even know Jesus. This was certainly a defining mom-ent in Peter’s life--and without Jesus’ own intervention on Peter’s behalf in prayer (Luke 22:31-32), it would have been the end of the apostle’s ministry.
Peter did just about everything wrong that night. Earlier, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he had tried to defend Jesus and maimed a man named Malchus (John 18:10-11). But the Savior rebuked Peter and healed the wounded man (Luke 22:51).
Next, Peter unwisely left the other disciples and joined strangers at the fire outside the high priest’s residence while Jesus was being tried inside. Being among this hostile crowd left Peter open to accusations that caught him off guard and led to his quick denials.
But there is one very important thing Peter did right on the night he denied Jesus Christ. Immediately after hearing the rooster and realizing that Jesus had correctly predicted his actions, Peter “broke down and wept” (v. 72).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We all fail, and we are so much like Peter on that night. But our failure is never final, because Jesus remains eternally faithful and He is holding us in His hand (John 10:28). That means we can do anything He asks us to do and declare with Paul: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).
| < Previous Day | Next Day > |
