Then they seized [Jesus] and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
How do you imagine God looking upon you? More to the point, how does God see you when you let him down? Does he look at you with rage? Or perhaps with cold judgment? As we consider how God sees us, we should remember how God is revealed through Jesus. Jesus is one who knows our weaknesses and offers mercy. Jesus teaches that God is like a father who looks upon his wayward son with compassion and runs to embrace him. God does not ignore or minimize our sin. But, by grace, he looks upon us with loving compassion.
All of a sudden, a crowd gathered around Jesus, led by Judas, who sought to betray Jesus with a kiss. When Jesus’s followers attempted to resist with physical force, Jesus rebuked them. He was then taken by the local officials to the house of the high priest.
Peter, one of Jesus’s closest and most committed disciples, followed Jesus, remaining outside of the high priest’s house. As he warmed himself by a fire, a servant girl said, “This man also was with him” (Luke 22:56), but Peter denied it. Shortly thereafter, another person identified Peter as a follower of Jesus, but again he denied it. Finally, another person insisted that Peter was with Jesus. His Galilean accent had given him away (22:59). Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” When a rooster crowed, “The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times” (22:61). Overcome with remorse for having denied his Lord, Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (22:62).
Fear can cause us to do even the thing we swore we would never do. I shared my compassion for Peter, admitting my own tendency to let fear move me to act in ways I know to be wrong. I can easily see myself like Peter in this story. Perhaps you can too.
As I re-read the story of Peter’s denial of Jesus in preparation for this devotion, however, I was struck by something I had not noticed before. It’s the simple line, “The Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61) Such a small detail adds to the pathos of this story. It was sad enough that Peter denied Jesus exactly as Jesus had predicted. But the fact that Jesus made eye contact with Peter at that moment multiplies the emotional power of the scene. Oh, how terrible it must have been for both men at that moment, for Jesus as he felt the sting of Peter’s denial, and for Peter as he felt such agonizing shame.
Luke does not tell us how Jesus looked as he gazed upon Peter. What we imagine, I suppose, has much to do with how we think and feel about Jesus. If we picture him as an angry hater of sin, then we would imagine his face filled with rage. If we think of Jesus as a strict judge, then his face would be cold and emotionless. But if we know Jesus for his compassion, if he is really one who understands our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15), if he is going to the cross in part out of love for us, then we might picture the face of Jesus conveying deep understanding, empathy, sadness, and even love.
Given everything we know about Jesus, I think it’s reasonable to expect that the compassionate face of Jesus increased Peter’s grief. He had denied not only his Lord but also the One who loved him to the end and far beyond.
When you and I do what we know to be wrong, sometimes we’re so ashamed we can’t even bring our sin before God in prayer. Our fear and shame keep us from coming into his presence. We imagine God’s angry condemnation and we cower with our faces hidden. But the God made known to us in Jesus is not like that. Now, to be sure, God judges our sin. But this just Judge has taken upon himself the guilt, shame, and penalty associated with our sinfulness. God is the one whom Jesus portrayed as a father who, seeing his sin-saturated son from a distance, “was filled with compassion” and “ran and put his arms around [his son] and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). So, however, we imagine God’s face, it must surely be the face of the father running to embrace and forgive his child.
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