Tidings for Tuesday
Peter said unto Him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. Matthew 26:35
One of the tricky questions often asked on quizzes asks how many months of the year have 28 days. The correct answer of course is that all 12 months have 28 days, and most of them have more. So our tricky question today is to identify the disciple who vowed never to deny his Lord. The correct answer is, according to today’s text, all of them. We often single out Peter, and rightly so, because Peter actually did deny His Lord, and did so three times. Peter was no doubt the leader in the denial as well. But he was not alone. And in the days and years ahead, he would be able to look back on that scene and remember his great failure, and realize that his pride was not unique.
Of course, we have never publicly denied our Lord. But have we ever boasted that we would never do so? Maybe Peter has more company than he thought! Maybe we simply have not faced the challenging situations that Peter did. If we had, the story might be different. Christians in some parts of the world face torture or death unless they deny their Lord. And many of them are dying, even today. What would you do if, like the Christians in some parts of India, Hindu radicals threatened to kill your children before your eyes unless you recanted your faith in Christ? Where would your good intentions stand then? Could you allow your loved ones to be tortured before you would deny your Lord? Aren’t you glad you will be unlikely to face that situation? But what about the situations we face every day as we live before the world?
Peter and the other ten good disciples had spent years following the Lord Jesus, listening to His teaching, and forging deep relationships with Him and with each other. They could not imagine any situation that would prevent them from being faithful to death itself for their Lord. We have also come to know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and as our Friend. We have learned to love Him and His people. But how faithful are we to Him as our Lord? We deny His lordship when we live any part of our lives outside His will and purpose. We deny His friendship when we associate with friends of the world rather than with the Lord’s people. We deny Him when we fail to mention Him and what He has done for us when the Spirit gives us opportunity. When we consider how we spend our days, and realize how little of our time is devoted to the kingdom of our Lord, we can see that we come far closer to denying our Lord than we realized.
Before we point an accusing finger at Peter for his boast never to deny his Lord, let us acknowledge that we may well be part of his company. -Jim MacIntosh