March 29
Bible Reading: John 13:36-38
John 13:37-38, “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.”
While self-confidence might prove helpful in the realm of human endeavors, it holds no power in things pertaining to the spirit (John 6:63, Zechariah 4:6). Peter’s experience highlights this reality. One might suppose that Jesus would have commended Peter for his confident affirmation of loyalty in his readiness to lay down his life for Him. But that’s not what happened. Instead of dying for Jesus, Jesus warned Peter that he would deny Him three times.
Things played out as Jesus foretold. Jesus went with His disciples to Gethsemane to pray. While Jesus agonized in prayer in anticipation of His pending death, the disciples, including Peter, slept. He chided them, saying, “The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). How weak? Peter would soon find out.
Following Jesus’ arrest, various folks asked Peter about his relationship with Jesus. Peter denied ever knowing Jesus and even denied Jesus to a servant girl. Three times he disavowed any relationship to the One he said he was supposedly prepared to die for! The rooster crowed, as Jesus had foretold, and Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
We read of a different Peter in the book of Acts. Following the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, Peter was Spirit-filled to boldly proclaim Jesus. Before a huge multitude, he fearlessly spoke of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and even indicted his audience with Jesus’ murder. Later, we read how the authorities arrested him and John and commanded them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. Their response? “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20)! The Spirit transformed Peter, who had been too timid to speak of Jesus even to a servant girl, into a courageous Apostle who boldly and relentlessly proclaimed Jesus’ name. Peter would ultimately lay down his life for Jesus. According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. But it was the Spirit that made all the difference in Peter’s life, not his own self-confidence.
Someone once asked Dwight L. Moody, “Do you have grace enough to die for Jesus?” He answered, “No, He hasn’t asked me to do that. But if He asks me to, I know He will give me the grace to do it.”
The Christian life is not about trying harder to do better in our own strength, but a walk by the Spirit in which He and empowers us to fulfill the will of God.
JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE
I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Refrain:
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Thro’ this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. [Refrain]
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. [Refrain]
LookingtoJesus 