Of the twelve disciples, I believe I like Peter best, mostly because he’s so completely human and he made so many mistakes.
He was prone to blurting out what he was thinking without considering how it would sound. That was what once earned him his sharpest rebuke from Jesus: “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me” (Matthew 16:23).
Perhaps after that Peter waited awhile before he spoke again. After all, it would be a terrible thing to be speaking for Satan. For if Peter was quick to speak, he was also quick to repent. He took to heart the words of the Jesus he followed.
But the mistake for which Peter is most notorious is the moment when he stood outside the high priest’s palace and insisted he didn’t know Jesus. To further validate his words, he also cursed, swearing he didn’t know the man now on trial for his life (and our sins).
Just a short time before, when Peter was feeling strong and confident, he had blurted out, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death” (Luke 22:33). But when that time actually came, Peter ran. Then he denied his Savior.
Perhaps we can feel for Peter. Haven’t we all, at one time or another, in one way or another, denied our Savior? Not always with words. Sometimes our actions and reactions hold no appearance of being Christlike. We can deny Christ with our words. Or with our lives.
I can look back and see too many times when I have resembled Peter. Strong one day and full of good intentions to live completely for Christ. And then failing a crucial test of Christian living before the sun set the next day.
It’s good to remember that God sees our intentions and is always willing to forgive us and send us another chance if we really desire it. The message of the angel whom Mary and Mary Magdalene found at the empty tomb on resurrection morning was meant for each of us too: “Go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee” (Mark 16:7).
“Tell his disciples and Peter. Make sure Peter knows.” Jesus knew that the grief of Peter would be sharper and deeper than the grief of the others. He knew Peter would need an extra measure of assurance.
He also knew that Peter, despite his unruly tongue, was a disciple who would after this serve him unwaveringly.
Charles Swindoll writes: “I cannot find, either in Scripture or history, a strong-willed individual whom God used greatly until he allowed him to be hurt deeply.”22
Sure, Peter made a lot of mistakes. When he denied Christ it seemed he was making the worst one of his life. But out of that terrible moment Peter could learn many things. And was it not perhaps the bitter memory of that denial that helped to make Peter strong enough to live for Christ every day after that? That made him such a powerful disciple? That helped him at the last, when he was also crucified, to die for the name of Jesus?
| Prayer | Reflection |
| Lord, help me to grow as Peter grew. Help me to use my stumbles and failures to make me stronger. | How can I use a bad time to strengthen my faith? |