33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
If there were ever words to be taken back after being spoken, these are those words. Other words in this category include: I hate you, I want a divorce, you are ugly (fat, worthless…), and my all time favorite, I can handle this by myself. Peter is sticking his foot in his mouth again, just like so many of us do. His pride is getting the best of him. Jesus has just told them again of his coming betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus has tied it to Old Testament prophecy and anchored it in God’s history with mankind. This is not an abstract prediction like Nostradamus made. The Bible predicts in concrete terms over 300 things about Jesus life, including details about his death and resurrection. One of those pieces of information deals with the scattering of Jesus’ followers after His death. Peter thinks he is better than the rest of the disciples. He thinks he is even beyond the prediction ability of Scripture. What a fool! I can see him pointing his finger at all the other disciples when he said these word. I am not like them. I won’t fall way. In fact, I never will. And yet just a few short hours would pass before he was denying Jesus three times. He is so scared that he even denies it to a servant girl, a woman of no power or significance. My prayer is that we will stay humble enough to realize that any one of us can fall. No one is exempt from stumbling into sin. Every one of us must continue to depend on His grace to carry us through. We are all capable of denying Christ, just like Peter. We need His grace!
The Arnold Journey 