- The Lord Cares for Me: Stories and Thoughts on Psalm 23
- Faith Lives in our Actions: God's Message in James chapter 2
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Luke 22:54-62: |
| Christ before the High Priest by Gerard van Honthorst |
They seized him [Jesus], and led him away, and brought him
into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed from a distance. When they had
kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Peter
sat among them. A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and
looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
He denied Jesus, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him.”
After a little while someone else saw him, and said, “You
also are one of them!”
But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”
After about one hour passed, another confidently affirmed,
saying, “Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean!”
But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking
about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord
turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he said
to him, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” He went
out, and wept bitterly.
Jesus turns and looks at us
by David Sellnow
That look of Jesus when Peter denied him – what did
that look look like? Luke only tells us
that Jesus looked at Peter, he doesn’t specify how he looked at him. But from what has been revealed to us about
Jesus, we can know something about that look.
It could not have been a
look of shock or outrage. Jesus had known exactly what Peter was going to do that night.
He had told Peter in advance about how he would deny his Lord three
times. Everything was playing out just
as Jesus had said it would go. So Jesus was
not taken aback by what Peter was doing.
His look at Peter was a reminder.
His eyes said what he had already told Peter in words earlier that
night: “You will deny me three
times.” Jesus didn’t have to say
anything further. Peter knew Jesus had
spoken the truth. Peter was reminded
that Jesus is the Truth.
It could not have been a
look of spite or hatred. Jesus was not doing
what he was doing because he hated Peter or anyone involved in what was
happening. Jesus came into this world
because God so loved the world. Jesus “loved
his own who were in the world; he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). And he
demonstrated his love for us in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us” (Romans 5:8). While Peter was sinning against him, denying him with curses,
Jesus still loved Peter and was reaching out to him. When Jesus looked at Peter, it could not have
been a look of indignation.
It could not have been a
look of rejection or condemnation. “For
God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him” (John 3:17). And
specifically toward Peter, Jesus had shown his constant love and care. Earlier that night, before telling Peter the
prophecy about how he would fall into denial, Jesus had said to him: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have all of you, that he might sift
you as wheat, but I have
prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when you have
turned again, establish your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus did not desire to condemn Peter. His overriding concern was to preserve Peter, to save him. Even if we are faithless in our actions,
Jesus “remains faithful; for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). So says the promise of Scripture. And Jesus made good on that promise to
Peter. Satan sifted him like wheat,
that’s for sure. But Jesus held on to
Peter. With just one look, through the
doorway, out into the dim light of the outer court, Jesus grabbed hold of
Peter’s eyes and his heart. And Peter
ran out and wept bitterly. He was
ashamed. He was acutely aware of his
failure of faith. But he had hope. He had a Savior who had told him he was going
to fail but that he would be brought back.
He had a Savior who led him to hear the rooster’s crow as a warning. He had a Savior who in the darkest moment looked
at his friend with a look that showed that he knew Peter, that he loved Peter, that
he was seeking Peter’s soul.
Like Peter, we also have our failures, our cowardice, our weakness of
faith. But as with Peter, our Lord does
not look at us with outrage or hatred or condemnation. The look in Jesus’ eyes is the look of the
eternal God who stooped down from heaven to stand trial in our place, the look
of someone who was willing to suffer unimaginable pain and horror for our sake,
the look of a Savior who was willing to give himself up completely in order to
win us back to our Father in heaven. We have been
turned back to Jesus by his redeeming look at us, again and again. So
with renewed strength, we can strengthen our brothers and sisters.
All Bible quotations from the World English Bible (WEB).
