THE LOOK OF LOVE

It happened on the night of the Last Supper. Jesus was eating with His disciples and teaching them. His last lesson was intended to show them how much they needed His power. As their last hours together stole quickly past, Jesus suddenly called out to Simon Peter.

"Simon, Simon behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat!"

Peter answered, "Lord with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death!"

Jesus replied, "I tell you Peter, the rooster will not crow until you have denied three times that you know me." Simon felt ashamed that Jesus would say such a thing about him. He kept on telling the Lord that he would never deny Him. Soon all the other disciples joined in. They all promised that they would never deny Jesus.

After the meal, Jesus took the disciples to a garden to pray. All of the disciples fell asleep and left Jesus to pray all alone. After they had been sleeping for an hour or so they awoke to hear the rough voices of soldiers who were surrounding Jesus with lanterns.

Peter jumped up and swung his sword at the nearest man to him. He wanted to prove that he would never deny Jesus. The soldiers wanted to arrest the disciples but Jesus asked that they be let go. The soldiers marched Jesus away and Peter followed so that no one could see him. He didn't know how he could help Jesus but he was determined not to deny Him.

Jesus was taken to the house of the high priest. The soldiers took Him right in to be questioned. It seemed like everything was planned to make it easy to arrest Jesus. At night there would not be crowds of people to complain that they wanted Jesus to be let go. Peter thought to himself that it was too late to do anything to help Jesus now. Peter heard yelling inside the high priest's house. He started to be afraid.

For the rest of the night he let the devil suggest fearful thoughts to him. Three times he denied to the people standing outside the house that he knew Jesus. Just as he was saying he did not know Jesus for the third time he saw the soldiers leading Jesus out of the house. As he walked past, Jesus turned and looked at Peter with a gentle but grieved look on His face. A rooster started crowing. The high priest had kept Jesus up all night questioning Him while the devil had kept Peter fearful all night as he sifted his heart. Peter went out into the dark and cried but it was the look of love on the face of Jesus that brought Peter back out of the darkness later and helped him to control his tongue.

Taken from Luke 22:14-62

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