11/22/2019
How valuable do we consider Jesus Christ to be in our lives? Do we pay Him homage by worshiping Him publicly before men of faith, but retreat from Him when the crucifixion crowd gathers? Do we fall back into the old ways that once defined us both outwardly, and inwardly? In short... we may have given Him our words, but have we yielded our hearts to Him?
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”
Philippians 3:8 ESV
Peter is a good example of what we are contemplating today. He openly pledged his life to Jesus, but was he really at that point where he loved and trusted Him enough to do live up to such a pledge? Peter thought he was, but Jesus knew that his belief, and faith, hadn’t quite reached that level of maturity yet. Listen to their exchange...
“Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”
John 13:37-38 ESV
So what happened next? Well, when faced with accusations by the crowd, Peter quickly denied that he even knew Jesus, not once, but three times. He had failed three times just as Jesus said he would.
“Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Matthew 26:69-75 ESV
At this moment of realization, Peter grew in his faith and belief; it was here, in the midst of his tears that his heart became what his mouth had pledged... able to lay down his life. Here he stepped forward to become the rock on which Jesus once prophesied He would build His Church.
“And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."”
Matthew 16:17-19 ESV
Did Peter, who denied Jesus, seem much like a rock to you? No, but the Peter who was now weeping bitterly had been transformed, and was ready. Until this moment he had been only a small step away from the rich young ruler who decided he couldn’t sell all he had to follow Jesus. Peter had taken those first steps, but until this instant he hadn’t fully matured in his discipleship... now his heart had reached the level of perfection that Jesus had predicted, and had become the rock. Now Peter needed to hear the risen Jesus forgive him of his denial, ask him three times if he loved Him, and call Him to follow once again... even into death.
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."”
John 21:15-19 ESV
Where are we in the course of our faith? Have we just met Jesus? Has He just asked us to sell all that we own? Have we walked away unwilling to give up our earthly fortune? Have we begun to follow Him? Do we think we would die for Him? Have we denied Him once, twice, three times? Are we walking the road to Emmaus? Are we weeping with Peter? are we answering “You know that I love you.”? Are we mature in our faith, and following Jesus... even into death? Or, is now a moment of decision between two of such milestones?
Let’s go back to where we began today, and ask ourself the opening question again... “How valuable do we consider Jesus Christ to be in our lives?“ Then let’s search our hearts for the answer.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and the road of faith that He leads us down. Thank you Holy Father for the moments in our faith, and spiritual walk with Jesus, in which we must either walk away, stand idle, or step forward towards you. Help us Merciful Father to follow Jesus, and to be more like Peter the Rock. Should we perchance deny Your Son, then reveal to us our circumcised heart, and encourage us in our tears of remorse and contrition as we long for reconciliation with Him, and you. Give us courage, and perseverance as we search the depths of our hearts and answer whether we would give our all, our very lives to you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who quarries us from earthly lives, and hews us into heavenly building blocks of stone. Great are you who calls us to lay down all we have and follow your Son towards you. Praised be your name as you ask us questions such as “Do you love me?”, and patiently wait as we search our hearts for the true answer. Glorious are you whose Son has sacrificed Himself for us, and by whose grace we receive forgiveness for our most flagrant denials. All glory is yours Holy Father, and we will worship you now, and forevermore!
Rich Forbes