he has to ask.
"And the Lord said, Peter, Indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail...
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me...
Then they took him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.
And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter say down among them.
But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immeadiately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.
And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And Peter went out, and wept bitterly."
Luke 22:31-24, 54-62
One of the main reasons why I love this passage is the incredible theamtic elements in it. Such drama. The first few passages have been an incredible comfort to me. Satan has to ask God before he even so much as touches me, and that is just so comforting. Whatever happens was inside of God's will and happened for a reason and I have absolutely no cause to worry. It just really simplifies things. And the last few are just heart wrenching. Whenever I read of Peter's betrayal my heart is just crushed. So many times, you can almost feel that look from the Lord. Peircing through your flesh and seeing everything out there in the open. And it just doesn't say "Peter wept." It say's that he wept bitterly! I can't even imagine all the pain and affliction and shame he felt. And I think even then, Peter might have known a little of what was coming. I mean all these passages before Christ's death and rising again, there was such darkness. You can sense it coming off the pages, but we can't even imagine the spiritual darkness during those moments.
I think Matthew 27:45-54 really captures that well.
"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Some of them that stodd there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
The rest said, Let be, lut us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yeilded up the ghost.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."
The Bible is so Beautiful!
I'm leaving tomorrow for London, Scotland, and Wales! SEE YOU LATER!
stuck here by E.G.E. @ 1:21 PM
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