Peter was not a coward!

John 18:10
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

Jesus celebrated His last supper with His disciples just hours before He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. Earlier that evening, at the supper table, Peter boldly proclaimed, “Lord...I will lay down my life for you!” (John 18:37). But just hours later, Peter was found with the mob around the city cursing and denying Jesus.

I think Peter gets a bad name from his triple denial of Jesus. The lesson is all too often taught that he was a prideful and boastful man who was confident in his own abilities and that’s why he failed when push came to shove. But I read it a little differently. I don’t see Peter as boastful and prideful; I see Peter as confident and secure.

Why is it that we assume it was Peter’s arrogance that caused him to betray Christ? Our understanding of the scripture is this: pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Could it have been something else that weakened Peter’s resolve to die for, or even with, his Lord? I think it was. I think it was something that we all have dealt with in the past, but will NEVER have to deal with again in the future: separation from Christ.

When Peter made his bold proclamation at the last supper, he was in the presence of Jesus. He knew the power of Christ firsthand, and that power made him bold. He’d seen Him heal and save the lives of others, and he believed that He could do the same for him. Peter was a big, strong man; he was a man of action. At the Last Supper, Peter was stepping up and giving his version of “Over my dead body!”

How do I know that Peter was a man of action? When the garrison came to arrest Christ, Peter drew his sword. He fought and he battled as he said he would for his Lord, his Christ. Peter was bold, courageous, and resolute in his convictions to fight and die for Jesus. It wasn’t until Jesus ordered Peter to stop fighting that he gave up the battle (John 18:11). Peter was determined to follow Christ to the cross, but that wasn’t his place; that wasn’t God’s will. Only Jesus could do the salvation work that was about to unfold. Christ stopped Peter from fighting and dying.

When Peter was separated from Christ, however, he lost his courage. This man, who knew the works, and who saw the miracles of Jesus, when separated from the Source of his courage, became a weakened traitor. Why? Certainly not so that two thousand years later we can bad mouth him as a cocky, arrogant coward. No, so that we can learn the simplest of lessons: apart from Christ, we are weak, but with Him we are strong (John 15:5)!

Peter, though he walked side by side with the physical Jesus, was not as blessed as we are today. Peter walked and talked with the pre-crucifixion Christ. When Peter was separated from Christ, he lost the supply of power and confidence that Christ gave him. We are never separated from Christ; He is with us always. Jesus never has to go to the cross again; His sacrifice was once for all! His courage, His strength, His health, His supply: never gone. We can, like Peter, boldly proclaim things in our lives that, apart from Christ, we would not be capable of accomplishing.

Today, through faith in the finished work of Christ, boldly proclaim your victory in Christ over sickness, debt, and loneliness. Boldly stand in Him, because He is always with you. Conquer, just as Peter boldly conquered when he stood with Christ. You are blessed more than Peter; you are not just with Christ; you are in Christ!