October 19, 2023

Third Time Guilty

“Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are you?’ He denied it, and said, ‘I am not.’ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with Him?’ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.” John 18:25-27 (NASB)

            So many of us have regrets for things we have said or done over this lifetime. We think back to the scars we each carry from our yesteryears. I know I share my own. From things we did raising our children to decisions or conversations with some, we can never get back. Peter had an encounter he would never forget as long as he lived, but when it came, he knew Jesus told him it was going to happen. We don’t get this type of warning today from Jesus, but we do have the Holy Spirit of God to warn us before we do things we will regret.

            “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are you?’ He denied it, and said, ‘I am not.’” The author transitions from Jesus leaving the court, to Peter standing outside in the courtyard. This area was outside of the court area where Jesus was being interrogated. “Each of the Four Gospels gives three denials, but it is not possible to make a clear parallel as probably several people joined in each time. This time there was an hour’s interval (Luke 22:59).”[1] So Peter, an hour later, attempting to fit in with those around the fire, now underwent another type of interrogation. It is almost as if Peter could have fit into the shadows perfectly, he would have at this time. He didn’t want to be noticed or identified. But unfortunately standing near the fire with the other guards who were also warming themselves gave reason for them to see someone who wasn’t previously there. They asked him the same question posed previously by the female doorkeeper, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” His answer? “I am not.” “The question and answer are almost identical with verse 17 and ‘put in a form which almost suggested that Peter should say, No’(Bernard), a favourite device of the devil in making temptation attractive.”[2] “One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with Him?’ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.” “After the first denial Peter tried to leave the courtyard and went into the πυλών (Matt. 26:71), the long-covered entry that led from the courtyard through the building to the street. Here two maids and a man again charged Peter with being a disciple, and the cock crowed... Driven back out of the entry passage, Peter returned to the court. For something like an hour (Luke 22:59), Peter had respite... Peter himself brought on the second denial by going into the entry in order to leave.”[3] In other gospels, we see Peter's cursing that he knew not Jesus, but we find John’s gospel to be very gentle with Peter. When the “rooster crowed,” “Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times,” (Luke 22:61).

            Peter’s experience of denial was one he regretted, but Jesus would turn that experience into power to what he was previously ashamed. He would become one of the power hitters of his day for the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t let your failures today define your future. Use them to strengthen you for the days ahead when you can be true to Jesus Christ. Fail Forward!

[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 18:25). Broadman Press.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The interpretation of St. John’s gospel (pp. 1206–1207). Augsburg Publishing House.