“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today – yes, tonight – before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” Mark 14:30
Peter was confident that he would never deny the Lord. He said that if all the others were to fall away he would not. Peter had confidence in the flesh. He was a strong, powerful fisherman who was not afraid of anyone. It seemed ridiculous to him that anyone, especially, Jesus would think that he would disown the Lord.
However, within a few hours Peter not only disowned Christ but he did it three times. What had happened to the brave man who was willing to die for Jesus? Peter showed in his life the principle that Paul had to learn, that is, we are only strong when we stand in God’s strength and not in ours. Paul knew the meaning of the phrase; “my strength is made perfect in weakness.” He understood that it wasn’t his weaknesses that caused his failures but rather his strengths. When he learned to give his strengths to God then God could work through his weaknesses for His glory.
Peter had to learn that truth as well. The day of Christ’s arrest made that very clear to him. He saw how he had been so strong when things were going well but when things went wrong then he turned away and denied the Lord.
It wasn’t until after the resurrection that Peter came to understand his dependency upon the Lord. He had failed but he was not cast out. He was cast down but he would rise up again. His own strength brought failure but Christ’s strength brought victory.
Did Peter ever fail again? One time the Judaizers had come from Jerusalem and condemned the Jews for eating with the Gentiles. Peter succumbed to their criticism and separated himself from the gentiles. It wasn’t until Paul came and rebuked him that he understood that he had once again succumbed to the old temptation. I am sure that Peter went to his grave knowing that whenever he depended upon his own strength then he was heading for a fall.
We are so much like Peter. We take pride in our strengths saying that we would never fail in those areas. We are not like others because we are strong. In our society we look down upon the weak and honour the strong. However, in our strengths we find that we don’t need God. Our weaknesses are the things that bring us to God. We need to take no confidence in our strengths but take confidence in the strength of our God. He is the One that can take our weakness and use them for His glory.
We so often find that we condemn people like Peter who deny their Lord but it was people like Peter that Jesus used to build His church. We are often too strong for God to use but we are never too weak if we give our weaknesses to Him and depend upon Him for His strength. Remember the Lord's words to Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
2 comments:
Good thoughts on growing in the strength of weakness. The cross and resurrection and ascension redefined everything for Peter. It seems he thought that Jesus was going to restore Israel to its former glory and bring about the great Israel - the Israel to which all the nations of the world would stream, like Isaiah prophesied.
But Peter's hopes for Israel were dashed as Jesus stood before Caiaphas. He had wielded the sword in the Garden to protect Jesus. But when the Spirit came in power, Peter saw the cross, resurrection and ascension as bringing about the new Israel. Jesus was the perfect Israel, and that Israel was now being extended through the new 12 and their proclamation of the gospel. The promised land was the message of the gospel to the world. And the blessing was to be included in Christ. The promise to Abraham was being fulfilled. So Peter's hopes were revived because of a right understanding. But first had to come the death of his ideals, his embracing of a crucified Messiah, and then his hopes could be reformed and resurrected.
I saw an interview with an emergent church leader (I think it was Rob Bell but I may be mistaken) who claimed that when Jesus rebuked Peter for his lack of a faith it was because he didn't have faith in himself. Peter couldn't walk on water because he didn't believe in Peter. What nonsense.
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