Peter (A First Person Monolgue) Series

Peter and the Cross

March 22, 2015

(I dressed up as Peter in this first person monologue)

It was time for the Passover celebration. We knew something big was happening. Even though Passover is a huge celebration for us, we knew there was more going on, but we just didn’t get what it was.

There was the big parade on what is now called Palm Sunday. It was a great celebration, Jesus rode into town, people cheered and celebrated. We were, well, Jesus was the star, the Grand Marshal of the parade.

Then at the Passover, during the supper, Jesus got up and took off His outer robe, took a towel, got a basin of water and began to wash our feet. It was strange, bizarre. How could Jesus do this? No great teacher would ever do this. This was beneath Him. It didn’t make sense, but there was Jesus doing this. Yet, that was typical Jesus. He did exactly what we didn’t expect. He would talk and touch the sick, the lepers, the blind, the wicked, the Gentiles, and even the women. It didn’t matter to Him. We were all God’s children. He was our Creator, but we still didn’t get that!

So, He came to me and I looked at Jesus and I asked, 6 Lord, do you wash my feet?

And Jesus answered, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” I didn’t understand, that’s for sure.

So, I told Jesus, No way, “You shall never wash my feet!” How could I allow Him to do that to me. I was not shocked He wanted to, but you know what? I was more shocked and really angry that others were allowing Jesus to do this to them. How could they?

But Jesus answered me and put me in my spot. “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” WOW! Do you hear that? I would have no share with Jesus. He meant I would no longer have a part in His Kingdom. He was washing my feet to cleanse me for the journey ahead when He was gone. I needed this cleansing. I needed . . . I wanted Jesus to wash all of me. So I told Him, 9 “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

I was always known as someone who was a little impetuous. Actually, I was quick to respond to any situation, most of the time the problem was that I acted but my brain didn’t join in until later. Have you ever been that way. You do what feels good only to you, and you end up hurting other people? It’s pretty easy to do. But part of living the life as a follower of Jesus is to place others before your wants. It’s not easy to do, but that’s what Jesus calls for. It’s part of the cost of following the Master.

Well, back to my story . . . After the supper Jesus made this pronouncement which really hurt. He said, 31 “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

I looked at Jesus, and was furious at Him, how could He include me in that group. I could see a few of them running, but never me. So I said to Jesus, 33 “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

Jesus gave me that look and said, 34 “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

Who was He kidding? He was talking to Peter the Rock. No way. So I shot back, 35 “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” Then all the other disciples agreed with me. But what did He mean, before the rooster crows 3 times I would deny Him?

How could Jesus say that to me and to the whole group? We would never leave Him. He was our Teacher, our Master. I had already proclaimed Him to be the Son of God, our Messiah. Matthew wrote about it in Matthew 16. Jesus had a great smile when I said it, and He told me ‘on this rock He would build the church, and the gates of hell would never prevail.’

It was a great moment. I was so excited. And now He’s telling me I’m going to deny Him? I was ready to die with and for Him. I always had my knife ready for any attack on His life.

But, WOW! Jesus knew what was going to happen. We only partially understood that. It was so hard to fathom that He was God in the flesh. To hang out with Jesus was amazing. He had an answer for everything, but not in a way that made you feel bad. Actually, He tried to get us to figure things out for ourselves. But we were usually to blind to the bigger picture. It’s too easy to only see what we want to see, but that was what He was trying to teach us.