Topics – Fear, Love, Non-Violence
The Apostle Peter had to learn the hard way how to follow Jesus. His three denials of Christ—and then three affirmations of love—marked the major turning point away from fear and toward imitating Christ.
Focus Scripture – Luke 22:54-62HIDESHOW
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him."
57 But he denied it. "Woman, [a] I don't know him," he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them."
"Man, I am not!" Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
60 Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
57 But he denied it. "Woman, [a] I don't know him," he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them."
"Man, I am not!" Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
60 Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Extended SummaryHIDESHOW
Peter held the common belief that the messiah would come to wage a military campaign against the Romans in order to free the Jews from oppression. The militant view of God is always fueled by fear. People are afraid and feel threatened by the idea that perhaps evil is winning in the world and things feel out of control. Our fear lures us into wanting a quick and dramatic fix through some show of force that overthrows the enemy. This same fear-based militancy is present in both Christianity and Islam. The radical fringes take things into their own hands and get violent in order to force the results they want. Rather than expressing radical faith, this actually reveals a lack of trust that God is ultimately in control.
God has clearly commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. If we trust God, this is the sort of action we will take in dealing with those who threaten us. Jesus prophesized that Peter would deny him three times because he knew that Peter needed total clarity on this. Peter needed to hit rock bottom with Jesus by denying that he even knew him and then Peter needed Jesus to give him another chance. Jesus gave him three chances. One to counteract each betrayal. Peter was hurt by the idea that Jesus needed him to answer three times, but nothing could be more important for Peter than that he change his ways on this point. He needed to stop the fear and fully trust in the self-sacrificial love that Jesus taught him. It was only then that Peter was worthy of feeding Jesus’ sheep.
God has clearly commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. If we trust God, this is the sort of action we will take in dealing with those who threaten us. Jesus prophesized that Peter would deny him three times because he knew that Peter needed total clarity on this. Peter needed to hit rock bottom with Jesus by denying that he even knew him and then Peter needed Jesus to give him another chance. Jesus gave him three chances. One to counteract each betrayal. Peter was hurt by the idea that Jesus needed him to answer three times, but nothing could be more important for Peter than that he change his ways on this point. He needed to stop the fear and fully trust in the self-sacrificial love that Jesus taught him. It was only then that Peter was worthy of feeding Jesus’ sheep.
Practical Applications (homework)HIDESHOW
When we’re afraid of something, a common response is to try and control the situation. And we can have good intentions; when we see evil things happening in the world we want to stop them! But our role in the Kingdom isn’t to control others or force “God’s will” on them. Our role is to trust God and simply love others as he’s commanded us to. Where we see our own tendencies to control, they’re probably due to fears we have, and likely reveal a lack of complete trust in God. Here are some things to think and pray about with someone this week:
- Which specific people in your life do you try to control? Your spouse? Boyfriend/girlfriend? Siblings? Neighbors? Friends? Co-workers?
- For anyone you thought of, write down a list of the ways you try to control them. These could be conversations or behaviors. You may even have strategies you think about to try and get them to act in certain ways.Offer what you have written to God. Ask him to take your honest thoughts and show you what he is doing in the midst of them. Ask him to show you where you are trusting him and where you are walking in fear. Allow the Spirit to bring healing as you sit with God and listen.
- Now, reflect on why you want to control these people. What fears do you have, either for them, for others or for yourself? What do you believe will happen if you don’t exert your influence on them?
- In prayer, surrender these fears to God. Ask him to show you how you can sacrificially serve these people, instead of trying to control them. Ask him to help you trust him more. Talk with someone about how they can help hold you accountable to new patterns of relating to the people you identified.
- (You can go through this process to reflect on groups of people as well. What groups are you fearful of? Homosexuals? Muslims? Illegal immigrants? Pro-abortion activists?)
Reflection QuestionsHIDESHOW
- What stood out to you most from this message and the supporting texts?
- Consider the messages you receive through the news and other media. How much of it is fear based? Make a list of messages that are based on fear that you have heard in the past week. What actions were being advocated? Do those actions demonstrate trust in God, or in something else? What actions would demonstrate trust in God?
- Why did Jesus prophesy Peter’s denials? What impact did this have on Peter? How was Peter changed as a result of this? What responsibilities did Peter receive in the kingdom as a result?
- Take some time to reflect on things in your life that are stressing you. Is fear playing a part in this stress? What fear-based messages are you hearing about this? Play out in your mind (or the conversation with your group) what would happen if you succumbed to the fear messages. Then think about how things would go differently if you trusted God radically with this issue. Are you willing to do what’s needed to trust God in this?