21 Days of Prayer; a Devotion on JohnSample

John 18 | Peter’s Testimony

There are very few stories that are in all four gospels. These stories are the ones that all four gospel writers thought to include as an unmissable and necessary part of the Jesus story - Jesus beginning his ministry in Galilee, the feeding of the five thousand, the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Peter denying Jesus and weeping, shocked at his own betrayal - is one of those stories. Before Peter stepped into his role as the leader of the early Church, he was the cowardly denier, not even able to stand his ground against a young servant-girl. Why would this be a story that the early Church wanted to make central to the Jesus story? How easy would it have been for Peter to just smooth over this little detail and omit it as he went preaching about Jesus for the rest of his life? He could have said, “I was under intense stress,” “it was a momentary blip,” “there were actually five armed guards around.” Instead, Peter would’ve unflinchingly told the story of how he disqualified himself, betrayed his integrity, courage, his friend and teacher, and yet, found himself restored by the redemptive power of the grace of Jesus. Peter’s denials became his testimony to the grace of God.