Down But Never Out

Luke 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

In Peter’s heart, he knew that he loved Jesus. He never wanted to fail the Lord. In his own mind and heart he was determined to serve Jesus all the way to the end. But Peter did not understand the power of temptation; the power of Satan to try his heart; or the inability of human will alone to overcome. He had to learn to depend only on God and not on his own understanding. Will alone is never enough. Will can only bring you to the point of desiring to be obedient, but it is the power of the Holy Ghost that will give you the strength to be obedient.

Jesus answered Peter’s show of self-will in Luke 22:34, And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Now we joke about the rooster crowing, and preachers getting even by eating all the chicken they can ever since, but none of it was the rooster’s fault. He was just doing what comes naturally. It just happened that when Peter denied Christ, it was the time of day for the rooster to crow. No one else but those who heard Jesus say this to Peter even paid that rooster any attention. But Peter sure knew the sound and what it meant.

At the moment that rooster crowed Peter realized that he had sinned against God. He cried bitter tears; ran off into the night and found a place to hide. But he couldn’t hide from God. I’m sure he went through a time of deep sorrow; perhaps even a time of great depression. I know he did a lot of soul-searching, trying to figure out why he had denied the Lord after all he had said. He didn’t feel so big and tough now. He felt weak, beaten and filled with sorrow. “How could I do such a thing? I do love you Jesus! Why did I deny you? How could I be so weak? How could I curse you? God, can you ever forgive me for failing so miserably?” The heart and spirit of Peter was broken. He was in the hands of the Great Sifter. Satan was doing his worst. But don’t forget that Jesus had already prayed, and the way of Peter’s escape was already there.

Peter repented of his sin. He was converted again; turned again, to come back and serve the Lord. He was not destroyed. And though he never forgot that night of great sin, and it was ever a thorn in his flesh to let him know that he could fail so easily, he went on to become one of the greatest Apostles of the Church whose name is forever recorded in the Word of God and whose testimony still gives hope to Christians around the world every day.

Now what about you? Do you know the Lord and love him today? If not, then you can know him today. Jesus is ever near, waiting to hear the prayer of anyone who will come to him in repentance. He died that you might live. He paid the price for your sin with his own blood. And Jesus rose from dead, as the first one, to give you the hope of eternal life. A Christian never dies. He is only transported from one body to another; and from one world to another to live forever in joy and peace with the Lord. But I want you to know that a sinner does die; and not only once; but twice, and the second death is also eternal; ever dying but never dead. You don’t want to be in that position. It is too horrible to imagine.