Jesus stands alone and is deserted by his closest human friends.  The last to deny him is Peter, but Peter’s denial of Jesus is emphatic.  Oe of the most harrowing scenes in the gospels is the scene when a persecuted Jesus looks through some opening from the trial and sees Peter as he has denied him.  We all endure pressures to deny Jesus.  For some the denial can be silent.  Like the majority of the disciples our faith dissipates silently in public.  However, one or two of us find ourselves disassociating from the faith very publicly.  Let’s hope that when talk of Jesus and the faith comes up in public we will own it and own Him.

Luke 22:54-71

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, 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.

The Guards Mock Jesus

 ⁶³ The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. ⁶⁴ They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other insulting things to him.

Jesus Before Pilate and Herod

 ⁶⁶ At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷ “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”

   Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸ and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

 ⁷⁰ They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”

   He replied, “You say that I am.”

 ⁷¹ Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

Questions

1. By whom is Jesus questioned?
2. How do those aroundabout associate Peter with Jesus?
3. How does Jesus bring the trial to conclusion?
4. What does it mean to you that Jesus did this for you?
5. What does it say about you that Jesus’ treatment at the hands of the authorities was so brutal?