| The Christian Life | June 1944 |
In Danger, Fearless
Peter—Impetuous and Devoted
“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”—Matthew 16:21
IT IS conjectural just how much Peter understood relating to the coming suffering and death of his beloved Lord prior to the consummation of the event. But it is supposable that following the rebuke by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 16:22,23—the result of Peter’s attempt to advise Jesus against entering Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes—he had brooded over the matter and had some forebodings of the tragic event coming to pass sooner or later.
It is not to be wondered at that Peter could not understand why Jesus, whom he believed to be, without a doubt, the Messiah of God, so long looked for as the Shiloh of Israel, with the authority and power to render Himself invulnerable to attack by mortal man, should allow Himself to become a victim of the hate and jealousy of the religious rulers, and die at their hands. Self-preservation is the first law of the natural man, and in Peter’s philosophy there existed no allowance for weakness or servility, especially on the part of kings, of whom he recognized Jesus to be the chief. Rugged and courageous himself, with a love of power and initiative, and with unusual power for leadership, he envisioned continued progress toward the subjugation of Israel to the Master’s will, and his own position as an associate in the new administration of this greatest of all kings.
No doubt in this frame of mind, he must have been puzzled and troubled by the occasional references of the Lord relative to His suffering and death. A natural man, he comprehended nothing of the philosophy of the ransom. Natural men comprehend nothing of it today. To natural minded Jews of Peter’s day it was a stumbling block, to natural minded Greeks foolishness. And we can imagine the contemplations of so ardent and impetuous a person as the Bible discloses Peter to have been, relative to the course he would pursue in the event of any physical violence taken against his beloved Master. Peter knew Jesus to be inoffensive, sweet, loving and lovable—one altogether lovely, and endowed with wisdom above any other person of his day—hence not one deserving punishment.
Sincere and wholehearted, Peter avowed his love for the Lord. To him Jesus was worthy of any man’s love. It would be only natural for him to resent any suggestion of insult or offense to the Lord, and no doubt he felt called upon to act as His protector and bodyguard. The fact that he was so close to the Lord, and on all important occasions accompanied Him, probably confirmed his belief that he should regard himself as the Lord’s special protector.
One can readily see that the Lord’s pointed references to the coming tragedy would beget in Peter a determination to be on his guard. So when Jesus suggested the need for weapons of defense, it was Peter who had one of the two swords. His sword, perhaps a common form of brush knife or machete, was probably far from the valuable, keen-edged weapons carried by the Romans; but it was doubtless well sharpened and polished, and with it Peter could imagine excellent execution at close range.
Lord, is it I?
We may know that Peter as well as the other disciples must have been shocked at the Lord’s assertion that one of The Twelve would betray Him; and that they all would be offended—or stumbled, as the Diaglott renders it—because of Him that night. In terms of our common understanding the Lord said, “You will all be offended at My course of procedure and submission to the forces of evil—I who have been sent of the Father to redeem and deliver mankind from tyrannical sovereignty.”
Peter, with unbounded confidence in the impossibility of any wrong-doing on the Lord’s part, and sure of his own fidelity and. loyalty to the one whom he considered his best friend on earth, made it definite and plain that although it might be possible for any or all others to forsake and deny Him, yet he would remain loyal to the very end. Alas, how little did he then realize his own deficiency! But the Lord knew him better than he knew himself. Perhaps though it was the unexpected, the sudden turn of events, that took Peter by surprise and temporarily overwhelmed him. That their acclaimed Master and the future ruler of the earth should be subjected to such indignity seemed unthinkable, no doubt.
Our Lord’s understanding was perfect. Peter, without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,, was utterly devoid of the meaning or the necessity of sacrifice, especially of one so close to God. Sufficient it was to impress upon Peter the one basic idea that his Master must die, and intended to die. Of course there was a reason for it, a purpose in it, but His disciples were first to be tested and tried as to their loyalty to Him before these seeming difficulties would be made apparent to them.
Growth in Grace
And is it not often just so with us as we progress in our quest for the full clear light of His Word and counsel? Perhaps we have not always seen the necessity for maintaining an uncompromising attitude toward the forces of evil and their baneful influence, but as we come to see the righteousness of God as our standard, we become convinced that nothing short of this should be paramount in our lives; and so we are being led by His grace from one stage to another in the path of life and glory.
One wonders at Peter’s lack of understanding of human nature. Being honest and sincere himself, no doubt he regarded others as honest and sincere as well. Therefore it would be inconceivable to him that anyone professing such high regard for Jesus as to become His follower could ever betray Him. However, the Lord knew that Judas was a thief and a traitor. No doubt had Peter known it, he would have taken steps to prevent Judas from carrying out his designs to betray and deliver the Lord. But, regardless of the distinct hint dropped by Jesus relative to the imminence of the coming tragedy and the part Judas was to play in it, Peter was without vigilance, and was sound asleep at his post at a time when, as a bodyguard and protector, he should have been most watchful.
But Peter was in for a very sad awakening that momentous night of our Lord’s betrayal and arrest. It is possible that even then the arousing of his suspicions of foul play was delayed by Judas’ leadership of the crowd. However, the Lord’s words and the sight of so great and antagonistic a company armed with clubs and staves, brought to him a realization of the correct state of things. He saw, with a rising burst of fury, that the war was on. And when the servant of the high priest rushed forward and attempted to seize Jesus, thus placing himself in the dangerous position of an enemy, for which Peter was prepared and armed, it was only natural for Peter to resort to violence. That the servant lost an ear only, was a most remarkable piece of good fortune for him. No doubt Peter’s intention was to deliver a telling and fatal blow. That the event was divinely overruled there can be no doubt.
Divine Help Available
Always self-possessed and always with His chief object in mind, Jesus then, amid all the excitement, explained to the inflamed Peter, not only the futility, but the inadmissibility of the use of the sword. He also stressed the fact that the entire procedure was with His permission and foreknowledge—that He could obtain help and protection from an all-sufficient source, adding significantly for Peter’s future consideration, that this drama was the fulfillment of Scripture and therefore must be carried out.
Obediently, Peter sheathed his sword—but against his will to his mind the occasion called for a fight. He had come prepared to fight; was in the mood to fight, and in his zeal felt equal to the situation. All he wanted and needed was the Lord’s permission to clear the Garden. Perhaps the Lord’s refusal to grant him this permission lay at the bottom of Peter’s mental and spiritual troubles that terrible night and the days to follow. He was probably puzzled, outraged and disappointed.
The other apostles had deserted both him and the Lord, but Peter laboring under high pressure, determined to follow to the high priest’s palace. In. this he may have been placing himself in a position where he might, if opportunity presented, lend a hand in helping Jesus to escape. It was here that his test came and he fell before the pressure of public opinion. Had he so soon forgotten those avowals, of fidelity? No, he had not forgotten them—his heart was right before God—but his mental process and the weakness of the flesh were not equal to the occasion. Under the pressure of those trying hours, and without the full measure of God’s Holy Spirit to sustain him, he faltered, then disavowed the Lord who had come to give His life in sacrifice for him and for all men.
The wording of the Common Version of St. Matthew’s account gives us an improper thought in stating that Peter went in there to see the end. The Diaglott says that he was there for the purpose of seeing the result, which is probably nearer the correct idea. It is, doubtful that Peter even yet understood the gravity of the situation. That the Lord was in a precarious place was obvious to him. But his reasoning surely included the idea that Jesus could, if He would, use His ingenuity to escape their apparently well-laid plans to do away with Him, and that then he would be around somewhere convenient, ready for any call for help that might come. But no call for assistance came from the Master nor from any one else. No doubt this too was upsetting and trying to the natural disposition of the intrepid Peter who ordinarily was a man of action and deeds as well as of words.
Peter Recognized
The unfortunate observation of the court maid that Peter was one of the prisoner’s friends placed him in an awkward position. Above all it was inimical to his strategy not to be recognized. To be identified as a personal friend of the prisoner would handicap him in any effort he might make to render aid to the Master. It was not necessarily fear, nor shame of the Lord either, that prompted him to deny his relationship to his beloved; but it could have been a natural impulse to preserve whatever advantage might accrue to him by remaining unknown, and ostensibly disinterested.
Without the slightest hesitation and seemingly without a qualm of conscience, he declared that he did not know Jesus. Although he felt considerably relieved when the maid passed on; he thought it best to make a change of location, perhaps to a less conspicuous spot. Quietly he arose and made his way to the outside porch, standing in the shadows, watching and waiting. He was soon detected, however, and another woman openly accused him of his former fellowship with the prisoner Again Peter denied it.
Now the situation was becoming increasingly desperate; and fear for his friend was striking at Peter’s stout heart. Perhaps by now, under the stress of excitement he recalled the former words of the Lord that He must suffer and die at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Wildly he cast about in an effort to decide on a course of action. An attempt to rush the palace single-handed, if this had been his plan, had by now become only too obviously futile. Frantic with dread and apprehension for his Master’s safety, he shrank heavy hearted, deeper into the shadows. How gladly would he have welcomed an opportunity to rush to the assistance of his friend, even to die by His side, for he was sincere in declaring his willingness so to do. It was as though he were bound, shackled and fettered with impotence. Then others approached him: You were one of them, they insisted.
Poor, despairing Peter! His last waning claim to hope disappeared. With the crushing realization that his precious Lord was lost, so vanished his reason and his restraint. His efforts having proved unavailing, he saw himself helpless, ineffective as a man of stone such as his name implied, while not a dozen yards away the Messiah of God stood condemned in the midst of ravening wolves, without a friend or hope of escape. With a wildness bordering on insanity he gave way to his despair, even to the extent of cursing and shouting back at his accusers, “I do not know the man.”
Consider the Pit
We all, of the new creation, find it beneficial to consider the pit from which we were dug, rejoicing that our feet have been placed on solid rock. We consider Peter, without restraint and without self-control, helpless in the weakness of his wildness, deep in the pit from which he was afterward dug. And we see him again, years later, proven, tried, steadfast, enduring, enlightened with the Holy Spirit—a strong tower to the Lord’s flock in times of violent persecution, writing one of the most beautiful messages to the church in all God’s Holy Word—“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
We have here the marvelous understanding of the perfect man, Jesus. How did He know that Peter would disown Him. and later prove such a bulwark to the early church? Certain it is that He knew Peter would be at the palace; and who can doubt that He knew why His faithful Simon would be there? For no other reason, obviously, than to be near in time of need. That Peter would be recognized He could also be certain; and that Peter’s natural disposition would lead to his denial the Lord was also able to understand. Imperfect Peter could not, of course, trace subsequent steps leading to the denial of the Lord. But the Lord’s perfect brain traced them, and He had warned Peter in advance that he would deny Him thrice.
It was the early morning crowing of a common barnyard fowl that abruptly brought Peter back to mental equilibrium. We can be sure that the great Jehovah overruled in the interest of Peter’s sanity. As his innate passions subsided his reason returned. With clearer vision he grasped that Jesus had traced it all, had foreseen the effort he would make, would know of his mental reactions, and consequent failures, and had forewarned him of them. It was only with the foretold crowing of a cock that Peter awoke to the true situation with its resultant remorse. It was this comprehension that steadied him during the days to follow.
Jesus’ Death Necessary
One thing was now plain: it had been necessary that the Lord should die, even though Peter found himself unable to understand why. The Lord had _foreknown it, and had foretold it. It was for this reason that Peter’s efforts had proved unavailing from the beginning. He had tried, but had accomplished nothing. Willing, but impotent, he had presented himself in a last desperate effort to save the Savior of men. He had wrought without understanding; and his efforts had involved him in the extremity of having denied his Lord.
The following three days were bitter ones for Peter and the rest of the disciples. What could they do, now that their leader and deliverer had been so humiliatingly treated? We can readily understand how they must have felt at this sudden, and to them, unexpected turn of events. Perhaps as they all talked the matter over, the words of the Lord returned to them, and they measurably realized that as it was written, so it was necessary, known and ordered of the Lord, that the apparently awful tragedy should take place. This realization may have contained a measure of consolation to the more philosophical of the group. But as Peter contemplated the masterful Jesus humbly and docilely submitting to the violent subjugation of His rights, even to the point of unresistingly allowing Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, he was filled with wrath, disappointment and chagrin.
Peter had believed Jesus to be the conqueror and dictator of the world. Jesus, to be sure, had been gentle and friendly; but Peter knew that He possessed miraculous power, not only to heal all manner of disease, but even to direct the elements and the laws which ordinarily controlled those elements. Had he not seen this power exercised on more than one occasion? (Luke 4:30) Peter was not by any means willing to attribute to his Master either cowardice or lack of courage; but he was poignantly and painfully aware that Jesus had failed to stand up for Himself and assert His rights and had deliberately prevented him from doing so. Probably Peter felt deeply humiliated by his experience. In the colloquialism of our expressive day, Peter must have been sore, and very sore at that.
How much of those three days Peter spent with the other disciples we do not know; but he was with some of the apostles the following Sunday when the women returned from the sepulcher bringing an excited account of strange occurrences. And from that time forward the fact of the Lord’s resurrection was thoroughly verified and established. Peter, who had assured the Lord that though all men should be offended with Him yet he would never be, was, it is evident, the most deeply humiliated of them all. Naturally, time would be required to completely obliterate the feeling of bewilderment, if not resentment, that could easily have rankled in his breast. To say that he was overjoyed at the resurrection would be to state it mildly. However, there was a difference in the resurrected Jesus and the Anointed One with whom he had enjoyed such blissful fellowship before the dismal days beginning the previous Friday. And though he knew the Lord to be the same Jesus, and still loved Him, he seemed to have lost somewhat of his former self-confidence and that intense zeal for the cause to which he had been called and chosen by Jesus.
Returned to Fishing
Peter and a number of the other disciples returned to their former occupation, the fishing business. Nothing had been seen or heard of the Lord for some time. Breezes blew in from the sea laden with the smell of sea water and vegetation, stirring up past memories and old impulses. Heavy-hearted Peter turned to his boat and to his fishing. This set the stage for a very convincing miracle which led up to the friendly dialog between Peter and His Master which finally broke down the last concrete barrier of dissatisfaction existing between them.
It was a friendly little gathering by the campfire on the seashore that morning. The fire had warmed them, the food had refreshed them, and the majestic presence of the Lord had filled them with peace and quiet joy. And this quiet, peaceful setting was the occasion for another of those same heart to heart talks which they had enjoyed with the Lord so many times in the past. At the conclusion of this interesting incident the Lord once more directed His attention to Peter, and once more desired to confirm the faith and love of this zealous disciple; for had not Satan sought to sift him as wheat?
Jesus, the understanding one, realized the besetting sin and weakness of this otherwise strong character. As steel is tempered in the fiery furnace, so Peter had been severely tried. But he needed yet to be tempered before he was qualified for his final mission, so Jesus besought him with the question, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?”
Peter’s answer was in the affirmative—“Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee.” But it lacked the old time spontaneity. After awhile the Lord again spoke to Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” This must have caused Peter considerable distress of heart. Plainly the Master understood. Clearly He was gazing into the very heart of the man Peter. But the Lord had thwarted Peter’s endeavor to prevent His crucifixion and there may have been a semblance of resentment in that natural heart of Peter. Yes, he loved the Lord, had always loved the Lord, and said so, but Jesus still questioned him.
The Master’s commission to feed His sheep constituted a source of hope to this disheartened man. It implied future service for the Lord, and fellowship with those whom the Lord regarded as His own. This in itself proved a softening influence. It may have been well along in the morning when the Lord again approached Peter—“Simon, son of Jonas,” Jesus asked the third and final time, “Lovest thou Me?”
Peter was grieved—the godly sorrow that melloweth the soul. His heart was now in a proper receptive attitude. No doubt the Master’s asking the question three times reminded Peter of his three denials, and if he had this in mind—and how could he forget it—it must have brought home his mistakes and the realization of his absolute dependence upon divine grace and help in every time of trial with less and less dependence upon the impotent arm of flesh. All pride and chagrin faded away. Self-will and opposition to his Lord and to his Lord’s plan gave way forever to love and complete self-abnegation. Probably tears filled his eyes. Smiling through them he finally affirmed with enthusiasm, Thou knowest all things, even this poor heart of mine—“Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee.”
As if to assure Peter that He did indeed know that his heart was true, and that there was yet a great work for him to do, Jesus again replied, “Feed My sheep.”