Luke 22:54-62
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Reflection
In Luke 22:31–34, Jesus had predicted the tragedy of Peter’s denial, but thankfully, it was not the end of Peter’s story. Unlike Judas, who was also unfaithful to Jesus (Luke 22:47–53), Peter repented and was restored (John 21:15–19). Peter is a model of an enthusiastic and sincere heart, even though he had a disastrous moral failure. He stands in a long line of imperfect biblical men and women who sought God from the heart (for example, Abraham, Moses, David, and Rahab).
God uses these real-life, flawed people as pictures of his loving and merciful kindness toward us. God cares most about our hearts, and even when we fail out of fear and rebellion he restores us out of his abundant grace. Stories like Peter’s reveal God’s heart of acceptance and forgiveness. When we understand God properly in this way, it creates in us a freedom to be honest and open about our weaknesses and failures. Because of Christ we can approach God with total honesty, yet free from shame and fear.
1 Timothy 4:1-5
4: Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Reflection
Having just presented Christ as the source and center of godliness (1 Tim. 3:16), Paul criticizes those who teach that abstinence from certain things is the key to honoring God. Rather than learning how to enjoy God’s good gifts in a healthy way, these people are teaching that moral purity is achieved by avoiding marriage and certain foods. Paul calls such teaching the “teachings of demons” (4:1) because it attempts to replace the gospel of grace with the merits of personal obedience. Our standing with God is based on Jesus’ selfsacrifice, not ours.
Psalm 31:22
22 I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.
Because of what Christ has done, we do not have to fear that God will not accept us. Christ has paid the ransom to rescue sinners like Peter and us, so that those who come to God with humble faith can repeatedly turn to him and find mercy and help in their time of need.