"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. "
Matthew 26:41
RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND
Read It: John 18:12-27
In the early hours after the arrest of Jesus, what was left of Peter's spiritual life came unglued. This is the same guy who said to Jesus, "You can bank on me." But then a little servant girl said, "Excuse me, but you look a lot like one of those guys who were hanging out with Jesus." Peter answered, "Me? No, you've got me mixed up with someone else. You've seen one Galilean, you've seen them all." Then they were all standing around the fire getting warm, kind of rapping, ping, when denial number two occurred (v. 25). Finally, Peter was challenged lenged by a servant who was a relative of Malchus, the man whose ear Peter had cut off (v 26). This guy was more sure of Peter's identity, so Peter had to make his point very clear. Mark says he denied Christ with a curse (Mark 14:71). Peter wasn't just swearing like a sailor here. What he did was what you do in a courtroom. He took an oath called a "self-maledictory" oath, which means you take an oath against yourself. That is, you swear that if you are lying, you invite the court to bring down judgment on you. This is no small thing, because in the Bible, swearing a self-maledictory tory oath could cost you your life. So Peter did not just deny Christ three times.
To convince them he was telling the truth, he said, as we would say today, "If I'm lying, may lightning strike me!" That thump you just heard was Peter not only hitting the bottom but breaking right on through. He's got a long way to go to get back up. Now most of us would say, "That's terrible. He denied Christ. I would never do that." But have we ever denied Christ before others by the way we live? If we ever confessed Christ, would the people we know be shocked because they see the contradiction in our lives? Those are tough questions that only you can answer. Peter couldn't remember his promise for even one night. We need to pray that we'll do better when our turn comes. Think About It Have you ever made a promise to God in the morning that you broke that afternoon? Then you know why we all need His forgiving grace.
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