All I could do was Cry.

Mark 14:53-72

The mob brought Jesus from the Mount of Olives down to the high priest. The men of authority gathered together to find or fabricate evidence that they could use to put Jesus to death. All the lies and false witnesses could not convict Jesus of anything. Through it all Jesus remained silent. False allegation after false allegation, Jesus did not say a word.

Peter had followed behind the mob and made his way into the courtyard of the high priest. There Peter stood with the guards by the fire. Just hours earlier, Peter had swore his allegiance to Jesus. Publicly, Peter declared that "Even If all fall away, I will not." Now, Jesus was on trial for His life or so it seemed. When times get tough, how close do you follow your leader? Will you stand to be falsely accused, and possibly suffer the same consequences, or will you follow from a distance, and wait to see how things play out? Jesus had even warned Peter of his upcoming unfaithfulness. Yet, Peter did not stay close enough to Jesus to remain faithful as he had declared.

Jesus did not respond to any of the false allegations, but when questioned about His identity, He declares the Truth, "I am". Jesus is the Christ, the World's Only Savior! The high priest and the men of the council could not believe their ears. Their evil hearts leaped with inner joy, for they believed that they had accomplished their mission. As they were condemning Jesus, Peter was in the courtyard being accused of being a follower of Jesus. Peter could have declared "Yes, I am", but as Jesus had said on the Mount of Olives, before the next dawn, Peter would deny Him three times.

If you have elected Christ as your Choice, then you have declared to the world that "I am a Christian". But, how many times a day do we deny Christ to the people we encounter? Maybe not in words, but in deeds. How do we react when someone falsely accuses us? How do we treat others when they disappoint us and violate our trust? When driving down the street do we cut other people off, or get angry when others do the same to us? At work, do we share the love of Christ, or the bitterness of a bad nights sleep? When your friends are planning a wild night out, do you join in, or just listen? When everyone wants to go to the strip club after work, how do you respond?

We deny Christ every time we fail to act Christ-like.
Every time we fail to stand up for Christ we deny Him and His existence in our lives.

WHEN I REALIZED HOW MANY TIMES I'VE DENIED JESUS, I JUST FELL DOWN AND WEPT LIKE PETER.

After the resurrection, Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples, He rebukes them for their unfaithfulness. Jesus then asks Peter three times, Do you Love Me more than these? Jesus commands Peter to feed and care for His Sheep. If you Love Christ, then you will feed and care for the lambs of God. Your past doesn't matter, Christ was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins, it's time to feed His sheep, not to shear them.

Jesus is the World's Only Savior.


J.W.O.S.
Spread the Word

Rev. Brian K. Shobe