Title: Peter's Weeping / Luke 22:54-62
Contents
Subject: Peter's Weeping
Bible Verse: Luke 22:54～62
Today's verse is about Peter who denied the Lord three times and wept in deep despair. Peter was the one who followed the Lord more earnestly than anyone else. When the Lord was arrested and taken to court in the Garden of Gethsemane, all the disciples, except Peter, deserted Him and fled. Among them, a disciple put a linen blanket around his naked body, threw it away, and ran away. They were the disciples who followed the Lord wherever He went for three years, and they said that they would follow wherever the Lord went no matter what danger they encountered. went. But unlike them, Peter did not run away. It was clearly different from the disciples who ran away. Unfortunately, Peter was prepared to die and could not follow the Lord. Watching the Lord being taken to court, I followed the Lord at regular intervals.
If you look at the words of verse 54, you can see exactly what Peter looked like. “Peter followed him at a distance as he had taken Jesus and was going into the high priest’s house.”
In some ways, it can be said that he is better than the disciples who ran away because he did not run away, but on the other hand, he did not follow the Lord completely and kept a certain distance from the Lord, which became the decisive cause of his denying the Lord, and the reason why he inevitably had to weep. it has become There was only one mistake that Peter made when he denied the Lord and wept: the “gap.” The distance from the Lord made him deny the Lord, and he denied the Lord and eventually wept.
Peter wept like this, but Judas Iscariot threw the Lord's money into the temple and hanged himself to death. What is the difference between Peter and Judas Iscariot? Peter repented of his mistake and wept for repentance, but Judas hung himself to death. Judas Iscariot could not permanently close the distance between him and the Lord, but Peter narrowed it with the cries of repentance. How did Peter weep? Verses 61 and 62 of today's text tell us in detail
“The Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, that before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” So he went outside and wept bitterly.”
First, Peter was reminded.
The moment Peter met the Lord, he remembered the Lord's words, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." The Lord said to Peter, “You will deny me” and “three times”, but Peter denied it three times as the Lord had said. As soon as the Lord, who had been undergoing suffering and trial, turned and looked at him in the courtroom, Peter remembered these words of the Lord and wept with his heart rising. Peter wept because he remembered. He wept because he remembered his cowardice. Thinking like this is really important.
The moment Peter looked to the Lord, he remembered his mistake. What do you think of when you look to the Lord on the cross of Calvary today? Among the gospel hymns, there is a song called “On the Cross of Calvary”. “When I look to the Lord on the cross of Calvary, I am so thankful for God’s great love.” “Now that I have taken up the cross of Jesus, I will give up my life and follow the Lord.”
Looking at the Lord on the cross of Calvary, thinking of God's great love, I hope that you will become all of us who promise to follow the Lord by taking up the cross of the Lord and devoting all our lives to follow Him.
Second, Peter went out.
The seat where Peter sat is the seat of betrayal, in which he denied not knowing the Lord. Also, it is a place of unbelief, where the resolve that he had promised to follow the Lord was broken. There, Peter met the eyes of the Lord who was suffering and tried in court. At that moment, Peter experienced a shocking fact. This is because the Lord was still looking at him with interest and affection for him, who had distrusted the Lord and denied that he did not know the Lord three times. Thoroughly miserable, Peter could hardly remain there. So he left the place and went outside.
What does it mean for Peter to leave the place? He left the place of betrayal, completely turned around and went to the place of repentance. It also moved from the place of distrust that was broken and broken to the place of change.
Today, we too must leave this place of life. We must leave the seat of distrust and betrayal, the place of selfishness that only thinks of ourselves, the place of deceiving others, the place of compromise.
Third, Peter wept bitterly.
This is a dramatic statement. It wasn't just tears, but wept bitterly. As there is a saying in Korean, “Three Three Pans”, to deny the Lord three times means to deny completely. So, when Peter realized this miserable appearance of himself, he wept bitterly in repentance.
This weeping repentance of Peter was completely forgiven after meeting the risen Lord. The risen Lord asked Peter, “Do you love me?” The Lord asked, “Do you love me?” not to hear Peter confess his love, but to forgive him for denying that he knew the Lord. Also, three times the Lord asked, “Do you love me?” to forgive Peter for denying that he knew the Lord three times. Thus, the Lord loved Peter. The Lord forgives those who ask for forgiveness.
Today, if we cry bitterly like Peter about the sins we have committed, please believe that the Lord completely forgives us.
We try to live an upright and honest life, but because we are weak and lacking beings, we always fall and fall. They are like reeds that sway when the wind blows, and they live a life without a center, like a wave that creates waves even when a small stone is thrown. Therefore, remembering the word of the Lord, let's go outside and look back at ourselves today, like Peter who wept bitterly. And if our current place of life is not beautiful, let's move on to a beautiful place of life. And let us repent of our mistakes and wrongdoings and live a changed life.