Cowardice and Courage

Today I wanted to share two passages. The first passage details a moment of great cowardice. A moment in time when one of the followers of Jesus refused to be connected in any way to the recently arrested Christ. The second passage details a few months later when the same person who earlier refused any affiliation with Jesus, would not stop proclaiming Jesus even in the face of overwhelming pressure. In these two passages we see an experience of great cowardice and then an experience of great courage. 

It was cool to read these two passages back-to-back and I hope you find some encouragement as I did:

Matthew 26:69-75 and Acts 4:1-20

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:69-75)

It's pretty understandable given the circumstances why Peter individually behaved this way. Jesus had just been arrested. The numbers were heavily in favor of those who were opposed to Jesus. Peter didn't have back up, didn't have legal standing, didn't have financial favor. He was a no-name-nobody and if his affiliation, affection, and allegiance to Jesus became known he might likely share Christ's chains. Here was a person whose actions were being influenced by the immediate circumstances. 

A few months later, we observe this very same Peter, the very same person who denied any affiliation with Jesus, take a very different approach. 

4:1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 

What an amazing change! Only a few months earlier Peter was scared of any association with Jesus. By the time of the events of Acts 4 Peter was determined to always be associated with Jesus! What changed? Peter was still outnumbered. Peter still didn't have any inside friends among the accusers, nor did he have financial means to bribe or persuade. Externally, Peter was pretty much in the same boat as the night when Jesus was betrayed. Yet now instead of placing his trust in the immediate circumstances, his trust was in his eternal circumstances. 

Peter's courage wasn't due to knowing that physically "everything would be ok". Peter's courage and change in boldness was found in a change in focus. Instead of the present danger, Peter in Acts 4 was focused on the eternal truth of God. Instead of worrying about who he was identified as by his peers, his attention was on who he was identified as by God. 

In the Apostle Peter I see a fellow believer who has struggled, and at times failed. I see a fellow believer who then has grown in his faith, and later overcomes even under greater temptation to sin. What an encouragement! As a believer who struggles, and fails these passages comfort my soul. Peter was given an opportunity to again identify with Jesus or disassociate. In my struggles against sin I'm thankful that God grants new opportunities and new ways to overcome sin and proclaim Jesus' life in me. 

May the Lord grow our faith such that the present circumstances do not cause us to cower. May the Lord grow our faith such that our status before God grows our witness of Christ Jesus.