Peter the fisherman found himself outside the high priest’s house, a place oozing with influence and wealth. The sophisticated elite of Jerusalem had just decided to apply the death penalty to Jesus (v 66). Did Peter find his confidence draining away? 

This was the most shameful incident of his life. Hours before, he had insisted that he would rather die than deny his Lord. But now, facing banter from strangers, he denied that he had been Jesus’ friend and colleague for three wonderful years. He denied even that he knew Jesus. He emphatically refused to identify with Jesus.    

Was Peter simply emotionally exhausted after a busy evening: the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, failing Jesus in Gethsemane, drawing his sword and nearly killing someone (John 18:10), and seeing Jesus roughed up by court bullies (vs 67,68)? Can you imagine yourself being cowed into denying Christ by the people around you? Or by unfamiliar surroundings? Or by the dazzle of power? Or by a sense of inferiority? Or…? The fact is there was no good reason for Peter not to identify bravely with Jesus of Nazareth.  

Peter’s sobbing marked real repentance (v 75). He made no secret of his sin. The church came to know all about it. It’s in all four Gospels. His Lord knew it too, and forgave. (See Mark 16:7; John 21:15–17.)   

Lord, help me to know myself better through this reading today. Please show me how I can overcome the weaknesses and shortcomings that you reveal in me.

Peter’s denial of Jesus comes so soon after his profession of unflinching loyalty that it’s easy to believe that his commitment was shallow. His immediate denial to the maid, and his curses when his Galilean accent identifies him to everyone, lead to his disowning Jesus completely. Only after his third denial does the cock’s crowing remind him of Jesus’ prediction. Some suggest this may not have been an actual cockerel crowing, but the name given to the trumpet call heralding the changing of the Roman guard. Whatever the source, the sound makes Peter painfully aware that Jesus knows him better than he knows himself. 

William Barclay has a charitable view of Peter, seeing him less a coward than a man of ‘heroic courage’. He didn’t flee with the other disciples but, in his desperate desire to stay close to Jesus, put himself at considerable risk. He followed him into danger, into the very courtyard of the high priest’s house, and though he denied knowing Jesus to protect himself, his love for Jesus compelled him to stay there. His love was evident in tears of bitter remorse when he realised how badly he had let Jesus down. 

Any of us, facing perils as followers of Christ, might find Peter’s emotional and spiritual struggle in our hearts. We take comfort from the fact that, despite his cowardice, Peter’s faith in Christ never wavered. Scholars believe that the reason this painful story is in the Gospels is that Peter told it to the early church. He wanted everyone to know that even though he failed Jesus in the hour of greatest need, he was forgiven, restored and entrusted with leadership in the church. What Jesus did for Peter, he can do for us. Peter’s story is not of human failure, but of Christ’s redemptive and healing love. It applies to us all. 

Romans 8:38,39 assures us that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.