55-57 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.  Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59-60 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.  61-62 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Luke 22:55-62 English Standard Version

This account of Peter's threefold denial of Christ must be one of the most well known incidents in the gospel. It's told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with both Luke and John mentioning that it was as Jesus turned and looked at Peter that he went out and wept so bitterly. I can only conclude that it was an event the Holy Spirit deemed important for succeeding generations to be aware of. Can you think of any reasons why that should be?

My own thoughts are that Peter was destined to take a huge leading role in the early Church. In another well known incident concerning Peter Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was. Peter famously replied: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus said: “You are blessed Simon, son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You didn't learn this from any human being.  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (Matthew 16:16-19)

Such a prominent role could have led Peter to great pride. It could also have made the early Christians venerate him – much like people do of the Pope today. But I'm sure that neither Peter, nor the early Church, ever lost sight of Peter's frail and flawed humanity that was revealed when he denied the Lord.

And has that not been true of all of God's heroes of faith? Straight after God told Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, Abraham, in fear, pretended that his wife was his sister so that the people of Egypt wouldn't kill him and take her captive. Then there was Moses. He made some early blunders in his life and, later on, lost his temper at a time when he should've shown the people how holy God is. And what of King David? God said of him ‘I have found in David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22) Yet David committed adultery and arranged a conspiracy for the woman's husband to die in battle. Part of the story of the Bible is a record of the flaws of His saints.

And so it was that many years later this same Peter wrote to Christians and said: “You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but chosen by God for great honour. And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, 'I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honour, and anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Peter’s great and earnest desire was to bring glory to Jesus Christ and point others to His salvation. The flaws of his past didn’t stop him from telling the world of Jesus. We, no doubt, have flaws too. But don't let them stop you from serving the Lord with all your heart.