Archive for March 27th, 2009
April 5, 2009: Peter Denies Jesus
The text for this lesson is Mark 14:26–72.
Key Points
- Though we, like Peter, deny Jesus and His gifts, Jesus cannot deny us because we are part of Him, baptized members of His own Body. Instead, He forgives us and welcomes us back.
- Law: To deny Jesus is to commit spiritual suicide.
- Gospel: Even when I deny Him, Jesus will never turn His back on me, never refuse me, and never stop loving me.
Context
It is Maundy Thursday. The Lord’s Supper having been instituted, Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, their familiar hangout. There Peter refuses to believe what Jesus predicts: that he, along with the rest of the apostolic band, will desert and deny their Master. A few hours later, however, after Jesus is arrested and while He’s being tried in the kangaroo court of the Jews, Peter thrice denies his Lord. Luke adds a detail skipped by the other evangelists, that at the third denial, “the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61), calling to mind the prediction that Peter had fulfilled by his infidelity.
