The Trial of Peter, Phase 1
Peter followed him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end....And a maid came up to him, and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." And when he went out to the porch, another maid saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." Matt. 26:58-72, RSV.
Two trials were taking place that evening, one of Jesus and a second of His chief apostle.
Their responses under pressure would be very different, with Jesus standing firm and Peter caving in. But neither was the work of a moment. They reflect two paths that converged at the house of Caiaphas. We see them becoming evident in Gethsemane, where one Man prayed while the other slept, where one Man surrenders Himself totally to death on the cross while the other failed to face the events that would soon inundate both of them. In short, the differences in the two trials were not the decision of a moment, but reflect the differing habits of Jesus and Peter up to that time.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the incident is that Peter is there at all. Usually we fault him for his cowardice, but the fact that he followed Jesus, even if at a distance, says something about the man who had earlier in the evening pulled his sword in the face of a mob accompanied by a cohort of fully armed soldiers. Scripture tells us that all the disciples fled after Jesus' arrest. But at least two of them--Peter and John--had second thoughts and had gone to Caiaphas' home. That took courage.
So far so good for Peter. Then that pesky servant girl shows up, claiming that he was a follower of Jesus. And how did she make that deduction? It wasn't all that difficult. John tells us that he and Peter both followed the procession to the high priest's house, but that John had been allowed into the courtyard because he was known to the high priest, while Peter remained outside the gate. So John went to the maid who kept the door and asked her to let Peter in. And, according to John, it was that very maid who first put the question to Peter (John 18:15-17).
The "fearless Peter" had come to his hour of trial. And he will fail miserably, not because of a momentary weakness, but as a result of habitual confidence in himself.
We can learn from Peter that our daily actions and attitudes are building characters that we must face in our hour of trial.
Peter followed him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end....And a maid came up to him, and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." And when he went out to the porch, another maid saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." Matt. 26:58-72, RSV.
Two trials were taking place that evening, one of Jesus and a second of His chief apostle.
Their responses under pressure would be very different, with Jesus standing firm and Peter caving in. But neither was the work of a moment. They reflect two paths that converged at the house of Caiaphas. We see them becoming evident in Gethsemane, where one Man prayed while the other slept, where one Man surrenders Himself totally to death on the cross while the other failed to face the events that would soon inundate both of them. In short, the differences in the two trials were not the decision of a moment, but reflect the differing habits of Jesus and Peter up to that time.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the incident is that Peter is there at all. Usually we fault him for his cowardice, but the fact that he followed Jesus, even if at a distance, says something about the man who had earlier in the evening pulled his sword in the face of a mob accompanied by a cohort of fully armed soldiers. Scripture tells us that all the disciples fled after Jesus' arrest. But at least two of them--Peter and John--had second thoughts and had gone to Caiaphas' home. That took courage.
So far so good for Peter. Then that pesky servant girl shows up, claiming that he was a follower of Jesus. And how did she make that deduction? It wasn't all that difficult. John tells us that he and Peter both followed the procession to the high priest's house, but that John had been allowed into the courtyard because he was known to the high priest, while Peter remained outside the gate. So John went to the maid who kept the door and asked her to let Peter in. And, according to John, it was that very maid who first put the question to Peter (John 18:15-17).
The "fearless Peter" had come to his hour of trial. And he will fail miserably, not because of a momentary weakness, but as a result of habitual confidence in himself.
We can learn from Peter that our daily actions and attitudes are building characters that we must face in our hour of trial.
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