Peter On Trial

Peter's denial happened because he wasn't ready for his trial by the fire. 

John 18:15-18 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest's courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate.

Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, "You're not one of that man's disciples, are you?" "No," he said, "I am not." 18 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 18:25-27 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked Him again, "You're not one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "No, I am not." 26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Didn't I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?" 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

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Peter was in the wrong place at the wrong time, if he truly wanted to make good on the promise that he would never deny Jesus, then he should have been hiding with the other disciples. Maybe Peter felt that hiding out in itself was a form of denial and that would also be a betrayal of his best friend.

Peter did not realize that Jesus was not the only man on trial that night, while Peter was being questioned and as he was answering in fear, his best friend was just the opposite.

Jesus was in control of His situation, He was being questioned but He was answering the questions with one hundred percent calm, He knew that the cup of God's wrath was about to be poured out and He was willingly going to take it.

Matthew 26:40-41 Then He returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Couldn't you watch with Me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!"

It was a cool night and the fire seemed like a good place to be but Peter did not prepare for his trial by the fire, earlier he was sleeping as Jesus was preparing for His trial with praying, the interrogation that Peter would encounter would prove that his love and courage would not be enough to remain loyal to Jesus.

Luke 22:33 Peter said, "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with You, and even to die with You."

Peter's trial began with the servant girl asking the first question. If he was going to be successful at living up to his promise then this should prove to be the easiest questioner for him to handle but instead he fails right away. Two more times Peter would be questioned and each time he would get more anxious and frustrated while Jesus was calmly answered his interrogators.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Others in the circle around the fire took up the same question and one by one they began to ask. The third question came from one of Malchus’ relatives! This man had gotten a good look at Peter because he was probably standing with Malchus when he was injured by Peter.

On the third time Peter swore with an oath that he wasn't one of Jesus disciples and then the rooster crowed to remind Peter that he had done what Jesus had predicted. I cannot imagine the thoughts that went through Peter's head as his heart sank when Jesus looked him in the eye.

It is worthwhile to contrast Peter and Judas. Peter wept over his sins and repented, while Judas admitted his sins but never really repented. Judas experienced remorse, not repentance. When Judas went out from the Upper Room, “it was night” but when Peter went out to weep bitterly, there was the dawning of a new day.

- Warren Weirsbe

Peter failed while he was on trial but thankfully Peter’s failure isn't the end of his story. Peter would be restored and would be filled with the Holy Spirit to give him wisdom and strength to lead the early church.

I need to remember:

• Self-confidence and lack of prayer is a good way to fail when I am on trial.
• Making promises to God that are outside of His plans is useless.
• Making promises within His will without relying on His strength is also useless.

Thank you Lord for your grace that offers me second chances. I have failed miserably when I have been tried by the fire. Help me to rely on your strength to do what you have chosen for me to do.

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God's Children Have Confidence In Christ

Our feelings will try to trick us.

1 John 3:19-24  Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.  20  Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.

21  Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.  22  And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.

1 John 2:28  And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.

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Our actions should prove who we belong to, if we are all talk and no action then we should analyze our relationship with God, a lifestyle of obedience to his commands will prove that we have a reason to have confidence before God. We will know without a doubt that God's promises to his children are true and we will be confident when we stand before him.

A sinful lifestyle is a reliable indicator that a person is not the child of God that they claim to be. It is clear in scripture that the only way to receive the free gift of salvation is to receive it without any good works attached but it is also clear that a child of God will behave differently from the rest of the world. - See more: God's Children Behave Differently

Despite our best efforts to please God and live according to his instructions there will be times when our confidence in his promises will be shaken by the realization of how bad we are. Our brain will begin to recall all of the bad things that we have done and we will think that God couldn't have been thinking of me or maybe he didn't realize everything I have done. The devil will get us to doubt God's word just like he did in the Garden of Eden.

2 Corinthians 3:4  We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.

Our feelings and our conscience are not perfect at judging and they can lead us astray. Sometimes we  justify what we are doing even though God's word is clear that it is wrong. We like to say that something feels right or this is just a part of who I am, all because we are comfortable doing something doesn't mean that it is okay, the Bible has a lot to say about living out our desires that are contrary to God's desires.

Confidence Despite Our Feelings
Hebrews 10:22-23  Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  23  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.

No matter how hard we try, some days sheer willpower isn’t enough to move us closer to where God wants us to be. There is plenty that we can feel guilty about, those are the things that the devil likes to bring up and throw in our face so that we won't live with joy, we know that our standing as a child of God doesn't depend on ourselves but on what Jesus did for us.

2 Timothy 1:12  I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return.

The book of First John tells us that we should be confident when we come to God, whether it is for confession or when we come before him at the coming of Christ or when we pray, we are to approach God with respect but without fear. We do not come to God as strangers pleading for special favors, but as those whom God has adopted into his family and calls them his friend and his children. (1 John 2:1, 2:28, 4:17, 5:14-15)

Thank you Lord for taking care of me and giving me the ability to come directly to you without fear.

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Faith - C.S. Lewis (biblegateway.com)

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