There are three early morning interactions between Peter and Jesus before the end of John's gospel. If you've not got daily Bible readings at the moment, why not make use of these?
Read John 18:15-29
Following Jesus’ arrest we follow Jesus with Peter and “another disciple” who is probably the apostle John, our narrator. He regularly refers to himself in the third person, more often as “the disciple Jesus loved”. The scene then keeps switching between Peter and Jesus. One commentator puts it this way: “John has constructed a dramatic contrast wherein Jesus stands up to his questioners and denies nothing, while Peter cowers before his questioners and denies everything.” (RE Brown)
· What does Peter deny?
· What does Jesus confirm?
· How must Peter have felt considering his earlier bravado? John 13:37-38 (see also Luke 22:62)
· When have you felt like this?
Main Application:
We are not the Messiah! Like Peter, we fall and fail. We need a perfect Saviour who will stand in our place: Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He; “Full atonement!” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
Let’s Pray:
Almighty God, who does freely pardon all who repent and turn to Him, now fulfill in every contrite heart the promise of redeeming grace; forgiving all our sins, and cleansing us from an evil conscience; through the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Worship, 1946)
Photo by Kazi Faiz Ahmed Jeem on Unsplash