Mark 14:29> “Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away, I will certainly not!”
The more I read about Peter the more I can relate to him. His heart seems to be in the right place yet, he does not always follow through. He has good intentions that end up going wrong. He means well but…. (OUCH!)
When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” Peter left the only life he had known and he did so immediately. He didn’t know that in following Him he would witness countless miracles and even take part in some of them. He didn’t know the role he would one day play for Jesus. He didn’t know that he would one day be identified as the rock on which His church would be built. He didn’t know he had a purpose. He didn’t know that he had been specifically chosen and not at random. Moreover, he certainly did not know that he would one day die for Him. The one thing Peter did know was he had to follow Him. There was something. Perhaps it was His eyes when He first looked at him, maybe His voice when He first spoke, or the way He approached him. With Jesus, it could have been all three! The one thing he knew at that moment was he had to follow Him and he needed to find out why. Just who was He?
For three years, Peter walked with Jesus. He experienced life with Him. He’d been in a few storms with Him and even got to walk on water once. He learned the importance of keeping his eyes on Jesus, no matter how high the waves got. His greatest lesson from one of the storms was Who had authority over them. He witnessed first-hand the wind and waves obeying this Man. One thing is for sure, Jesus was certainly no ordinary man. It was during these three short years that he learned that the man he had chosen to follow was indeed the Messiah, the Son of the living God. With this revelation came a heart that fully intended to follow Him, wherever He would go. Although Jesus had told him and the other disciples on many occasions that He was going to die, they didn’t seem to comprehend it (or didn’t want to). They heard Him say it but didn’t listen to what He was saying. (That’s another blog!) I wonder if it was because they wanted more time with Him. Had He really come into their lives for a short time just to leave them (even if it was by death)? Surely, that couldn’t be long enough to be a true witness for Him. Jesus knew His purpose on earth; Peter and the others did not. The three years spent with Jesus was preparing them for theirs.
While reclining at the table during the Passover meal, Jesus told the twelve disciples that one of them would betray Him. Just like the others, Peter said, “Surely not I, Lord?” Even the guilty one would say the same thing. Jesus knew each of their hearts, as well as their intentions. Peter believed he could never betray Jesus; he never imagined that he would soon deny Him … more than once. Especially after all he had seen and taken part in. He really had good intentions.
At the Mount of Olives, Jesus revealed to them that that very night all of them would run away because of Him. Peter exclaimed, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!” Nevertheless, Jesus knew different. He knew Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. For him to wrap his mind around denying Christ was something he could not do. “Even if I have to die with You,” he said, “I will never deny You!” He couldn’t imagine denying the Messiah. He knew who Jesus was for crying out-loud! He’d seen the eyes of the blind opened, the dead rise, an adulterous woman be forgiven and changed. He’d seen thousands of people fed from a single boy’s lunch; even a legion of demons letting go to give a young man back his mind. Peter had seen impossible things become possible. Only with the Son of God could those things have taken place. He knew that with all his heart. That’s why he drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. His intent was to defend Jesus; it was never to deny Him.
No, Peter couldn’t imagine that he would ever deny Jesus. Yet he did … three times. Bless his heart he couldn’t even stay awake and pray when Jesus said to. I think it was his intention, if for no other reason, simply because he was told to. (Wouldn’t you try, too?) His response to Peter’s sleeping was for more than just that moment: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) If only Peter had really listened to His words. Maybe by remembering the words spoken it would have drowned the denials as they formed on his lips. Maybe only one denial would have slipped out. Just maybe if we would remember the words spoken to Peter that night we might not deny (in action or word) knowing Jesus, either. Maybe if we watched and prayed more we might not fall into temptation as well. Our intentions may be good also and yet they somehow go wrong, too.
Peter’s intentions, although well meant, were not enough. And he knew it. His heart was broken for denying the very One he never thought he would and he wept bitterly. The Amplified Bible says, he “wept bitterly [in repentance].” That was the key – repentance. With true repentance forgiveness is given. No matter what the world believes, good intentions will not get you to heaven. It is not a pathway there. Repentance is required.
Vonda
**If you find yourself with good intentions
gone wrong, repent and accept forgiveness. God already knows your heart. He’s
just waiting on you.
