PETER SAT AMONG THEM
“When they had kindled a fire ...Peter sat among them.” – Luke
22:55
If
we take this passage of Scripture and add it to the 2nd chapter of
Acts, we will discover three interesting vignettes in the life of Peter.
The
first is that of Peter near the fire. When Jesus was
arrested and brought into the high priest’s house, Peter followed at a distance
and entered into the courtyard. In so doing, he exhibited both courage and
fear. Evidently, he was apprehensive of being found too close to Jesus and His
accusers, so he stayed back with the fringe of the crowd and followed at a
distance. But, at the same time he had enough courage to enter into the
courtyard. The rest of the disciples had all fled and taken refuge in their
homes. Some of the servants of the household had built a fire in the middle of
the courtyard so Peter joined them and warmed himself by the fire.
The
second picture is that of Peter in the fire. He soon got into
trouble. Just a few hours earlier, he had boasted before his Master that he was
ready to follow Him to prison and even to death. But, when a maid and two other
servants confronted him and said, “You
are one of Jesus’ followers,” Peter vehemently denied the charge three
times. Next, we are told that, “the Lord
turned and looked at Peter.” Something in that look must have pierced the
very soul of Peter, for he immediately “went
out and wept bitterly.”
In
the third vignette, we see Peter on fire. After Christ’s
resurrection, Peter was reconciled to his Lord, and was later present in the
Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. He
was no longer the cowardly, fearful Peter. Now filled with the Holy Spirit, he
boldly proclaimed Christ to the multitudes in Jerusalem. He became the
interpreter of Pentecost to the new Christians in Samaria and to the household
of Cornelius. Today we remember Peter not so much for his denial, but for his
faithful leadership in the early church.
Thought for the day: God can pluck us out of the ashes
and set us on fire.
J.T. Seamands
“The penalty for sin is to face, not the anger of
Jesus,
but the heartbreak in His eyes.”