Mark 14: 53-72

Jesus is taken to the home of the High Priest. Peter follows. Jesus stands alone before the High Priest; one of his disciples has already betrayed him, ten others have run for cover, and the last, Peter, will soon deny evening knowing Jesus. Mark wants us to see that what Jesus has to do, only he can do and he must do it alone. Only the Messiah, by the sacrifice of his own life, can open heaven’s gate for the rest of us.

One of the axioms I try to live by is, ‘Exercise Integrity at the Moment of Decision.’ Jesus exercised integrity and it cost him his life. Peter abandoned integrity to save his life.

Today in Jerusalem, at the site of the home of the High Priest, there is a statue depicting Peter sitting around a fire denying he knew Jesus. His loss of integrity, his act of betrayal memorialized for all time. Also today, in Rome, there is Saint Peter's Basilica. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. Tradition holds that this is the burial site of its namesake, Saint Peter.

Coward to Saint, oh the power of God’s promise “that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Near the statue of Peter there is also a pit, hewed deep into solid rock. Jesus was imprisoned in this pit overnight, before being taken before Pilate. When I visited Jerusalem I stood in this pit and read Psalm 88 to our group. That vision is a continuing reminder to me that Jesus paid a very dear price in order to open heaven’s gate for a sinner such as me. The vision of Peter’s statue reminds me that the possibilities of new life in Christ, won by Jesus descending to the depths of the Pit, are endless.

You have put me in the depths of the Pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves.

Psalm 88: 6-7

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

17-Nov-11     Mark 15:1-21