In my life and I am sure in your lives as well, there have been many times when we have faced enough adversity to consider betraying our Lord. I get Judas, he was all about making a buck but the buck wasn’t worth it in the end. Judas represents evil to me and, well, evil loses. I have done enough evil that I know the difference. It is harder to deal with Peter. Peter’s betrayal was unexpected, Peter was the rock; he was the one who stood up and told Jesus what he thought. He might have been wrong but he didn’t sit in the pew waiting for something to happen. Yet, slowly on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, his conviction was compromised. Slowly and subtlety the example of Jesus’ love, the example of Jesus washing his feet, Jesus’ teaching, and Jesus’ powerful miracles and ministry faded as Peter became self-absorbed with his own protection. Peter was warming himself and then it happened. He was no longer with his Lord. He was alone and the world questioned him if he was a disciple. “I am not,” he answered. Peter had just recently cut a man’s ear off. I mean Peter makes Mike Tyson look wimpy. The strong impetuous Peter is confronted by the man who would know him better than anyone after having his ear cut off. The once earless man asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” What an understatement, of course, he saw Peter and Peter knows it. Peter denies knowing Jesus again and slowly the betrayal comes to full term.
How many times in the dark of night have we wished that we didn’t have the fish symbol on our car? How many times have we gone along with the crowd when we know we shouldn’t? How many times have our faith and convictions slowly eroded from us and we betray our Lord? How many times have we been asked to stand up for our Lord, or called to work in the Kingdom? How many times have we answered, “I am not?” I’m guilty — what about you?
Yet, as Paul Harvey reminds us of the “rest of the story.” Peter came back and so can we. I have faced struggles and so have you. I have compromised my faith and so have you. No matter where you are, there is life after betrayal; there is life after death. We still can have a relationship with Jesus after we have said, “I am not” a disciple of Jesus in words, actions, or thoughts. Come on back — God has left the lights on for us and His name is Jesus!