You know, Believers in Christ sometimes forget that the Jewish religion was a national religion...one that ruled the nation, and it allowed no room for any sort of a personal decision, concerning a personal Saviour. And that's why Jesus was to them, and to many, a threat today...because He demanded a decision. But as we see from John 18.21,22, Jesus was not in the least bit threatened. In fact, He turns the "whys" and the "wherefores" back upon His judges. Jesus always pierces our hearts with the truth..."What I have done is common knowledge, and you could have come to hear for yourself. Instead, you threw those who believed and received, out of their synagogues. Ask them about My doctrine!"
You see, Jesus was not the founder of a counterfeit religion; He came to overturn counterfeit religion, yet in speaking the truth He received a slap in the face...violence toward the Lamb of God, for doing the will of God, and speaking of the ways of God. So "why", is a very good question. Why the blind eyes and the hard hearts of all of mankind? It indeed is, the legacy of Satan and his satanic work.
In Acts 23 we have a very similar experience regarding Paul, during his trial before the council of the Chief Priests, where we have this account..."Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, 'Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.' And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, 'God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck, contrary to the law?”
So, with Jesus' simple comment..."If I have done anything wrong, simply tell Me...", echoing through the Hall of Injustice, Annas sent Jesus off to his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who as you recall, had already declared Him to be a dead man walking! But let's back up to Peter for just a moment...
Do we realize just how easy it is to "fall" into sin, and maybe even deny the very One Who saved us; or at least, deny that we are one of His disciples? It's only by the grace of God that we, as well, are kept from the snare of Satan. When we're being warmed by the comapny of the world and the worldly, our resolve could disappear pretty quickly! Peter might have fared better at Jesus' side, before the High Priest, but in that courtyard he had been "sifted like wheat", as Jesus had earlier prophesied. He hadn't even known he was being tested, until the test was over...just like that!
Just like Peter, in the wrong company we can be as weak as water, even having just fellowshiped with the Lord and His brother disciples. He had failed to prepare himself by praying for strength to overcome; and watching, in order to discern Satan and his dastardly deeds. And most and worst of all, he had allowed himself to back off from an opportunity to declare his faith in, and duty toward, his Saviour and his God! It's no wonder that he had to warm his cold heart by the fire! Think, if you dare, of the "do nots", "will nots" and "am nots" in your own life. We read in the Psalms, 81.12, the Lord's own prophecy..."I will give them over to the lusts of their own hearts, to walk in their own counsels"!
But you know, Holy Spirit later filled Peter up to overflowing, with Himself, so that he came back a wiser and stronger witness that anyone other than Jesus, might have imagined. Really, quite an example for a weak-in-the-knees Believer like me! Peter's fall is not recorded for us in vain...not by a long-shot.
Peter and Jesus; Jesus and Him.
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