The Power of Fear

Mark 14:66–72

⁶⁶ And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. ⁶⁹ And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” ⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

As the numerous trials of Jesus are taking place, Peter is in the background, watching all the proceedings. All four of the Gospels record his massive failure to stand up for Jesus at His darkest hour. Jesus Himself had warned Peter that he would be tested, but Jesus also assured Peter that He had prayed about the events (failures) Peter would experience; Jesus prayed for his protection. Just a few hours before, Peter had assured Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” But it took no more than the words of a servant girl to bring about his fall.

As Peter skulks among the people who filled the court that night, he runs into several people who believe that he is one of Jesus’ disciples. That is a dangerous association at this point. The crowd can quickly turn into a mob when emotions run high, which they most definitely were that night. The final person to point the finger at Peter was a relative of Malchus, whose ear Peter had cut off in the garden. He asked Peter, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” (John 18:26). And the others immediately added what they considered convincing evidence: “You are a Galilean.” Peter is caught, at which point he soundly denies even knowing Jesus, little lone following Him. Luke records this moment, adding the fact that Jesus looked directly at Peter upon that third denial.

Luke 22:60–62

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

All of us can empathize with Peter. His three denials were born out of terror. Fear can cause us to do crazy things; things we may not normally do. And while it may be easy to say, “trust in the Lord” and expect that we’ll never face fear – well, that’s just unrealistic. This life is filled with fearful events. But we don’t have to let fear take over our lives. Instead, we rush into the arms of the Savior. And you know what – we might still be afraid. There, I said it. Sometimes reality is harsh and fear becomes our companion. But that is where already knowing Jesus intimately comes into play. We have Someone with whom to share the fear; Someone who is greater than our fear. Your peace will return more rapidly if you are sharing it with Jesus than if you are trying to carry it alone. Going it alone is never going to work and the fear will rule you. Instead, allow yourself to be restored (as Jesus did indeed restore Peter) and share all that fear with the Lord.