Matthew 26:69-75 Condemned by a Rooster
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: September 9, 2019 Matthew 26:69-75
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
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.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 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.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
(Understanding the Text) These verses sort of confirm Peter’s rough background. He was cursing in addition to denying in order to have people believe him. I’m sure that he had not cursed much as a disciple, so this was either a strange act or a reversion back to his former self. I think the latter since we tend to revert under stress. The verses also demonstrate that Peter and most of the disciples and Jesus Himself spoke with an accent that was not considered to be the “standard” accent of Jerusalem.
Peter was feeling hopeless and in shock and rudderless. Nothing made sense. He heard Jesus agree that He was the Messiah and make a fantastic claim and then Peter saw Jesus powerless before the religious leaders of the Jews. These were men that Peter had been taught to respect, yet they were abusing the Messiah. Here was the Messiah that Peter had seem perform miraculous signs and wonders including the transfiguration on the mountain, yet He was being spit upon and beaten and nothing but groans of pain escaped His lips. No signs of power were being displayed. In his head, Peter was probably silently urging Jesus to do something, yet the Messiah did nothing except get beaten up and spit on. Peter’s traditional leaders were lost to Him, and the leader that he loved was behaving incomprehensibly, as if He were a mere man. It wasn’t that Peter lost faith. It was that Peter’s faith was totally bewildered by what he was seeing. In his bewilderment, Peter did the very action that he had claimed he would never do.
(Revelation of God / Understanding the Text) God rarely tells us what our future will be. When He has, all too often humans have tried to force the future to happen rather than waiting patiently for it to come to pass naturally, like Abraham and Ishmael or Jacob and Rebekah. However, sometimes it is necessary for us to know our future. Peter needed to know that Jesus already knew about his betrayal before it happened and that Jesus would still love him. Jesus had said that Satan wanted Peter. I wonder if part of that wanting would be to get Peter to kill himself like Judas had. It would have been good PR against Jesus if not only one of the 12 like Judas, but also the top lieutenant of the disciples killed himself.
Matthew’s focus is again on proving that Jesus was the Messiah. In this case, he is showing that Jesus knew about Peter’s betrayal before it happened, and had predicted it specifically. He shows that it was fulfilled just as predicted.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that even when I fail Jesus, I need to return back to Him as soon as I can. I am never too far to return. Jesus already knows me and my failings. He knows who and what I am, yet He loves me anyway and wants to include me in His work. I pray to not mess it up and to let You work without interference from my selfishness, pride, and ego.