Luke 22:55-62 (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72) Suggested further reading: Psalm 51 The infinite mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ is brought out forcibly by a fact that is only recorded in Lukes Gospel. We are told that after Peters third denial, The Lord turned, and looked upon Peter (v. 61). Those words are deeply touching. Surrounded by bloodthirsty and insulting enemies, in the full prospect of horrible outrages, an unjust trial and a painful death, the Lord Jesus yet found time to think kindly of his poor erring disciple. Even then he would have Peter know he did not forget him. Sorrowfully, no doubt, but not angrily, he turned and looked at Peter. There was a deep meaning in that look. It was a sermon that Peter never forgot. The love of Christ towards his people is a deep well which has no bottom. There is about it a mine of compassion, patience and readiness to forgive sin, of whose riches we have but a faint conception. Let us not be afraid to trust that love when we first feel our sins. Let us never be afraid to go on trusting it after we have believed. How bitter sin is to believers when they have fallen into it and discovered their fall! Peters bitter weeping (v. 62) shows that he had found out the truth of Jeremiahs words (Jer. 2:19). He felt keenly the truth of Solomons saying (Prov. 14:14) and could no doubt have repeated the words of Job (Job 42:6). Sorrow like this, let us always remember, is an inseparable companion of true repentance. Here lies the grand distinction between repentance unto salvation and unavailing remorse. Remorse can make a man miserable, like Judas Iscariot, but it can do no more. It does not lead him to God. Repentance makes a mans heart soft and his conscience tender and shows itself in a real turning to a Father in heaven. The falls of the man who professes Christianity, yet has no grace, are falls from which there is no rising again. But the fall of a true saint always ends in deep contrition, self-abasement and amendment of life. Let us not make Peters fall an excuse for our sin, but let us learn from his sad experience to watch and pray lest we fall into temptation. *********************************************** Luke 22:55-62 New Living Translation (NLT) 55 The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. 56 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!” 57 But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!” 58 After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted. 59 About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” 62 And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly. Jeremiah 2:19 19 Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken! Proverbs 14:14 14 Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward. Job 42:6 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” For meditation:God always picks up the Christian who stumbles Ps. 37:23-24 23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 04:57:11 +0000
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