Luke 22:34
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
In the upper room Jesus answered Peter's confident claim that he was ready to go with Him to prison and to death and would never be offended by warning that before the cock crowed that day Peter would three times deny knowing Him. The prediction exposed weakness unknown even to Peter himself, showing that Jesus knew his heart more accurately than he knew it himself, and its exact fulfillment proved that full knowledge. It was fulfilled in the judgment hall by the fire in the coldest hour before dawn, when startled and confused with all eyes upon him Peter pretended not to understand and then angrily denied his Master, at last denying with cursing and swearing, and immediately the cock crew. Afterward Peter remembered the warning, and with Jesus' sorrowful gaze of love and pardon upon him his heart was melted to bitter weeping, repentance of his great sin, conversion, and fitness to strengthen his brethren. The warning was not abandonment but rescuing love joined to prayer that his faith would not fail, and it teaches for all that self-trust ends in defeat in trial while safety lies only in distrusting self and trusting wholly in Christ.
Warning and Fulfillment
In the upper chamber Jesus answered Peter's confident claim that he was ready to go with Him to prison and to death, and that though all others should be offended he would never be offended, by warning that before the cock crowed that day Peter would three times deny knowing Him. The warning was given over and over, but Peter's boastful words brought him nearer to the ruin it foretold. The prediction showed that Jesus knew Peter's heart more accurately than Peter knew himself, exposing weakness and falseness unknown even to Peter, and its exact fulfillment proved that Jesus knew him fully.
Its fulfillment began in the judgment hall by the fire in the coldest hour before dawn, when the light flashed on Peter's face and the woman keeping the door, who had seen him come in with John, tauntingly asked if he was also one of Jesus' disciples. Startled and confused with all eyes fastened on him, Peter first pretended not to understand and then angrily answered that he did not know Him, and immediately the cock crew. He thus denied his Master almost at once, cowardly ashamed of Him in His humiliation though he had been one of His most zealous disciples. The third time he denied with cursing and swearing, contrary to the pure language of the disciples, to convince his accusers he was not Christ's disciple.
After the denials Peter remembered the warning and grieved that his actions had dishonored his Master during His trial and added dishonor to the humiliation Jesus endured from His enemies. Though at some distance, Jesus turned a sorrowful, reproving gaze of love and pardon upon him, and remembering the warning with that look melted Peter's heart, waking his conscience. That remembrance brought bitter weeping, repentance of his great sin, conversion, and fitness to strengthen his brethren.
Jesus' foreknowledge did not mean He had abandoned Peter, for the warning belonged with His prayer that Peter's faith would not fail and with the hope that he would return and strengthen his fellow disciples. It was given in rescuing love reaching for Peter's soul in deep waters, joined to the promise of prayer and restoration to shed a ray of hope in the swift-falling darkness. It belonged to Jesus' preparation to prepare and strengthen His true followers for a severe test while He was still personally with them, yet Christ prepared Peter without forcing him. The warning revealed Peter's weakness and the coming test of Jesus' rejection, humiliation, condemnation, and death, which Peter could not endure unless his spirit was changed.
Lessons on Self-Trust
Peter was presumptuous in self-confidence and fell exactly as foretold, for before the day ended he three times denied knowing Jesus. His confidence in his own loyalty was misplaced, for despite being warned that he would fail he believed himself more constant than the other disciples and ready to go with Jesus to prison and to death. Christ faithfully warned him beforehand of his defect of character and coming defection and danger. Peter met that warning with boasting, self-confident profession, affirming a constancy superior to the other disciples and declaring willingness and readiness to follow his Master to prison and to death.
The warning was given over and over, while his boastful words brought him nearer to ruin. It teaches for all that self-trust ends in defeat in trial, and that the sure result of evil still unforsaken cannot be prevented. When Peter relied on himself rather than remaining connected to Christ he was left to feel that weakness, and losing fear and caution and trusting in one's own strength separates a person from God. It was given in rescuing love reaching for his soul in deep waters, joined to the promise of prayer and restoration to shed a ray of hope in the swift-falling darkness.
When the storm of opposition came like a sweeping tempest, all forsook Him and fled, and Peter, who had been earnest, forward and loud in fidelity and love, repeatedly denied his Lord at the very time he could have shown bravery and fidelity, while Christ stood condemned in humiliation wearing the shameful crown of thorns in the judgment hall. His failure warns against self-trust and presumption, for self-trusting, self-confident profession is unreliable. Safety lies only in distrusting self, trusting in God's wisdom, being thoroughly converted, and exercising strong, persevering faith and entire trust in Christ as Leader, because strength lies in what Christ will do for them.
Those who are full of assurance and self-confidence that their course is right are to study that last evening with the disciples and learn not to trust in what poor, finite beings suppose they are able to do. Peter's words were self-sufficiency, trusting in self instead of realizing his weakness and trusting in a power higher than self. Because of that he became an easy prey to Satan's devices, placing himself unbidden on the enemy's ground and acting as if he knew more than his Lord while failing to heed the caution God gave him. Christ will not save from wounds the one who goes on in supposed strength, but lets him go on until suffering and a crippled life, or defeat and death, come, whereas those who realize their weakness and look to God have Satan with no power against them. Many today stand where Peter stood, and a fall is before all who do not heed God's cautions.
Peter flattering himself that he would not fall under temptation is an example of the self-confidence of men placed in positions of large responsibility who suppose their position gives them power to control their fellows. Like Peter they are liable to err and find it difficult to maintain a humble and teachable spirit, so trust is not to be put in them. Church members are not to look to them to voice decisions and control actions and wear a human yoke, but are to learn of Christ. Peter's weakness and repeated need for correction did not determine the course of his life, for God's grace enabled him to become a servant whose life testified to that grace.
Christ had joined Peter to Himself as a co-laborer while Peter was still imperfect, so that he would keep learning from the divine Teacher and have wrong ideas and incorrect views of Christian character corrected. Peter was not perfect but improved every opportunity to learn, yet he had not learned to distrust himself and to be jealous of himself and to watch himself until he was overcome by the devil and denied his Lord. His denial proves that men connected with God's work are not perfect and unerring but must remain learners, constantly studying how to copy the pattern, giving up self-sufficiency and self-importance, and letting transforming grace mold character after Christ up to the highest standard of Christian perfection, in contrast to Judas who was a hearer only and not a doer and ended in betrayal. The predicted denial was a fall the Lord permitted to teach lessons that can be learned only through failure, and Peter was a better man after his fall. The Lord permits His children to fall, and if they repent of their wrongdoing He helps them to stand on vantage ground; as fire purifies gold, so Christ purifies His people by temptation and trial. If the heart has not been hardened by disregard of great light, temptation and fall bring repentance, and humble, fervent prayer saves the soul from death, while confession and restitution hide a multitude of sins.