66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.”70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Pastor Coty Pinckney comments:
Here is Peter, the one who was so confident in his own abilities earlier in the evening. He did not take the opportunity to pray while in Gethsemane, instead choosing to depend on himself. He must be disappointed with himself after the arrest, his wild swordplay, and his fleeing. But he has gathered himself now, and followed Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest. Yet here he fails again. And he fails at the prompting of a servant girl, the lowest-ranking servant in the household. Note the contrast: Jesus, facing most powerful Jewish officials, confesses the truth, knowing it will lead to His death; Peter, facing the most insignificant Jewish official, fails to confess the truth, even though there is no certainty any harm would come of it.
As soon as he denies Jesus the third time, the cock crows. Remembering Jesus’ words, Peter breaks down in tears. Luke tells us Jesus was going through a passageway at this time and looked into Peter’s eyes. What Peter never thought he would do, he has done. He is placed face to face with his own weakness, his own depravity, his own need of a greater power than himself.
What is Peter’s view of Jesus? In effect, Peter is accepting Jesus as master, but as an impotent master. Peter has confessed Jesus as the Son of God, but in Peter’s view this Son of God needs Peter’s help. He needs Peter’s guidance – remember when Peter reprimands Him for speaking of His death? – He needs Peter’s protection, He needs Peter’s loyalty. Jesus has just proclaimed to the High Priest that all power and dominion and authority belong to Him. Peter has yet to learn that lesson.
So both the chief priests and Peter are terribly wrong here. Ray Stedman brings this out clearly:
Everybody recognizes that hatred and anger and vehemence are wrong, and we know those things come from an evil, perverted heart. But what Mark wants us to see is that the love of Peter was no better. It, too, was depending on the flesh, on human abilities and human resources, to carry him through. In the hour of crisis, it was no more effective than the hatred of the priests. Love and loyalty and faithfulness mean nothing when they rest on the shaky foundation of the determination of a human will
Many people today believe in a God who is good, but not all-powerful. Indeed, the book Why Bad Things Happen to Good People – which spent many weeks on the bestseller lists — says exactly this: God loves us and cares for us, but doesn’t have the power to protect us from all the evil around us.
But even many seemingly doctrinally-pure Christians act as if this is true. They act as if God needs our help to accomplish His task. So they use non-biblical techniques to attract people. They soften the “rough edges” of our faith to make it more palatable to 21st century America, focusing on solving problems in this life rather than solving the sin problem, emphasizing the benefits to man rather than the glory of God. All in the name of helping God out. God is our master, but He is rather weak.
With this view, it is easy to begin to think, like Peter, “Isn’t it great for God to have Me on His side!”
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 