The Verdict Is In: The Pardon of God — Tuesday
Matthew 26:75
Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried. (MSG)
My wife and I will be forever grateful for and enormously impacted by the opportunity to visit Israel in November of 2022. I will reference two of the locations we visited in today’s and tomorrow’s devos. On the night before Jesus was crucified, He gathered with His disciples to observe the Passover meal. We know this gathering as the Last Supper. Jesus revealed during the meal that one of them sitting around the table would betray Him by handing Him over to those who wanted to silence Him. This only added to the tension that was building all around Jesus and His followers. After they finished the meal, the Bible says they left the house and sang a hymn as they made their way to the Mount of Olives.
On our trip to Israel, we visited a location in the southern part of the Old City of Jerusalem thought to be the site of the upper room, where the Last Supper took place. While the structures at that location have been torn down and rebuilt over the centuries, the location is thought to be fairly accurate. It was so very moving to look from there across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives on the other side. At the foot of the mountain is the Garden of Gethsemane with its grove of olive trees. While Jesus and His disciples were making their way to the garden, Jesus revealed to Peter that he would deny Him three times before the night was over. Of course, Peter vehemently rejected the idea that he would ever deny Jesus. But later, as chaos ensued and Peter tried to keep a low profile while warming himself by a charcoal fire (a detail we’ll explore more tomorrow), he did as Jesus predicted. That realization was crushing to Peter. The Bible says he wept bitterly.
We won’t fully understand the beauty of God’s grace and forgiveness if we’re not first willing to acknowledge sin’s devastation. The enormity of sin’s impact is why the cross was required. Our freedom was paid for dearly.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Which identity will you embrace today: Satan’s lie that you’re defined by what you’ve done? Or God’s truth that you’re defined by what God has done for you?
