A kiss was the normal greeting. A disciple would greet his teacher with a kiss on the cheek or beard to show honor and submission. Judas used something that was meant to honor - to betray Jesus.
V. 51 - The naked man is only written about in Mark and is thought to be John Mark himself... maybe writing a bit of his own biography. Kind of funny and strange to put this in the scriptures, especially here.
Vs. 66-72 - Peter loved Jesus. His every intention was to honor and serve him and he really thought through everything he would. I'm not even sure he understood what he was doing when he denied Jesus until after the rooster crowed. He then remembered what Jesus foretold. I think he got scared, lost courage. It goes back to when Jesus asked them to pray so that they could resist temptation. Peter was disobedient on two counts... 1) he didn't pray but slept (not once but 3 times) 2) He followed Jesus when he told him not to and was led into temptation. Peter wept because he was sorry and fully repented for his denial. He truly did love Jesus. "If an apostle who lived with Jesus could fall into such sin, how much more do we need to take heed, watch and pray!"
John 21:15-19 tells us that Peter was forgiven and restored to the ministry. Jesus is definitely a forgiving God. Jesus helped Peter overcome his own doubt about loving Jesus by asking him the same question three times. Do you love me? Feed my sheep.... Peter denied Jesus three times and Jesus forgave him and gave him opportunity to prove his love to him three times. God is good! What a precious gift he gave Peter.
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I agree that after it was all said and done, Peter had one of those revelatory moments where he fully understood the weight of his sin. Not only had he verbally denied knowing Jesus, but I think in one instantaneous flash, he fully knew who he had betrayed.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we can have certain experiences in our relationship with God and we take them for granted. Peter had many up close and personal moments with Jesus, but I don't think he ever weighed the cost, or fully understood the cost until that moment. Peter is one of my heroes in the Bible. I knew that if God didn't give up on Peter he wouldn't give up on me :) Peter died a martyr's death and stood firm until the end. God gave him a second chance to get it right, and he did. May we all have that strength in our lives to stand firm until we see Jesus face to face.
So true. What a sweet God we have to not give up on us and to give us second chances and in many cases more than that. I pray too that we would all stand firm in our faith until we get to meet Jesus.
ReplyDeleteTwo days left of the study of Mark. We want to hear from you Ladies! What are you thinking? What is God challenging you on? What are you learning from the scriptures?
Blessings to each of you!