While preparing for a Sunday School Lesson, I found a couple of great treatments of the denial by Peter of Christ during His trial:
“As [Christ] was hanging, [the apostles] were in alarm, and the Apostles then despaired when the robber believed. Peter dared to follow, when the Lord was led to suffering, he dared to follow, who came to the house, and was wearied in the palace, and stood at the fire, and was cold; he stood at the fire, he was frozen with chilling fear. Being questioned by the maid-servant, he denied Christ once; being questioned a second time he denied Him; being questioned a third time he denied Him. God be thanked, that the questioning ceased; if the questioning had not ceased, long would the denial have been repeated.”
-Augustine of Hippo. Sermon 85 on the Gospels.
“But now our love to God is ebbing and flowing, waning and increasing. We lose our first love, and we grow again in love – scarce a day at a stand. What poor creatures are we! How unlike the Lord and His love! “Unstable as water, we cannot excel” [Gen 49:4]. Now it is, “Though all men forsake you, I will not,” [then] “I know not the Man” [Matt 26:33, 72, 74].One day, “I shall never be moved, my hill is so strong.” [Psalm 10:6], the next, “All men are liars, I shall perish.” [Psalm 116:11] Whenever was the time, wherever was the place, that our love was one day equal toward God?”
-John Owen. Communion with God
“As [Christ] was hanging, [the apostles] were in alarm, and the Apostles then despaired when the robber believed. Peter dared to follow, when the Lord was led to suffering, he dared to follow, who came to the house, and was wearied in the palace, and stood at the fire, and was cold; he stood at the fire, he was frozen with chilling fear. Being questioned by the maid-servant, he denied Christ once; being questioned a second time he denied Him; being questioned a third time he denied Him. God be thanked, that the questioning ceased; if the questioning had not ceased, long would the denial have been repeated.”
-Augustine of Hippo. Sermon 85 on the Gospels.
“But now our love to God is ebbing and flowing, waning and increasing. We lose our first love, and we grow again in love – scarce a day at a stand. What poor creatures are we! How unlike the Lord and His love! “Unstable as water, we cannot excel” [Gen 49:4]. Now it is, “Though all men forsake you, I will not,” [then] “I know not the Man” [Matt 26:33, 72, 74].One day, “I shall never be moved, my hill is so strong.” [Psalm 10:6], the next, “All men are liars, I shall perish.” [Psalm 116:11] Whenever was the time, wherever was the place, that our love was one day equal toward God?”
-John Owen. Communion with God
1 comment:
This is such a rich episode in the Gospels. It was one of my favorite texts to study and preach two years ago for a friends ordination service.
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