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August 2, 2022
Today’s reading: John 18:10
Are you like Peter?
We read in John 18:10:
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
In the dark of night, we see how Yahshua was arrested and initiated a chain of reaction that will ultimately lead to His death.
Judas came with a detachment of troops and officers to arrest Yahshua. Some commentaries mentioned that the number of the arresting soldiers could be around 300 to 600 men. We don’t know the exact number but you can just imagine the frightening scene of this troop coming with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
These men were no ordinary men, but they could be battle-hardened, well-trained, and experienced soldiers who were educated to easily kill and destroy.
Now, if you were in the shoes of Christ’s disciples, how would you react? It’s quite easy to get intimidated at the sight of this troop. After all, they are simply arresting one Man and yet, they brought in a lot of soldiers.
One disciple, who promised to defend Christ to death, drew his sword and struck Malchus. Some commentators observed that this could be a cowardly act on the part of Peter. To be able to cut a person’s ear, Peter might have stood behind Malchus and swung his sword. Not only that but he intentionally targeted a high priest’s servant, who probably didn’t have any weapon with him.
Eventually, Yahshua was brought for investigation and Peter and John followed Him. Here, we see Peter denying Yahshua. He even tried to blend among the people so that he won’t get recognized by others.
It is easy to mock or judge Peter by his actions. However, in the face of death, a lot of people do illogical things for self-preservation. If we are in the shoes of Peter, could we have done better?
My point is that all of us will one day face the decision to do right or do evil. Will we still do what is right even if it means death? Will we still follow God if our decision leads to uncomfortable situations?
Peter might have done a few foolish things during that night, but he nevertheless tried to do his best in staying with Christ unlike the other disciples who completely deserted Yahshua.
The willingness is already there for Peter, but the problem was his actions. However, if there’s one thing we can learn here, God will help us become more zealous and effective followers of Yahshua.
As we can see, Peter was later transformed into a bold and courageous man who played a major role in doing the work of Yahweh.
We can be like Peter in our weaknesses, but we can also be like Peter in our strengths.
The important thing is that we don’t rely on ourselves, but we rely on Yahweh who will enable us to do His will and commandments.
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