Peter Denies Jesus

66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

(Mark 14: 66-72, ESV)

Devotion

If there was one thing that Peter seemed to struggle with the most throughout the entire biblical narrative, it seemed to be a mouth that moved quicker than his mind often did. Today’s text tells of a moment in which Peter, despite already hearing Jesus foretelling his denial, denies Jesus three times.

Often times we look to this passage as the ultimate example of Peter’s failure and the message of the text is isolated upon Peter’s repentance at the end of verse 72. It is worth noting, it is healthy for Christians to think on our sin, to grieve in response to our sin, and to take that opportunity to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to repent of our sin.

However, William Barclay picked up an element of the story which escaped me until recently and how do we even know this story. The only way we would know the story of Peter’s denial is if Peter himself confessed his threefold denial to Mark. The details of this failure would’ve only been known to Peter, so the fact that Mark was able to recount this event means that Peter openly confessed this sin. Yet for us, the shame of our past failures is something we often try to keep hidden.

I’m reminded of a story about Oliver Cromwell, who allegedly told the painter working on his portrait to paint his likeness “warts and all.” Common practice was to remove the blemishes on the skin of the person you were painting, but Cromwell wanted his true likeness captured. What I call for you to consider is when you tell the story of how Christ has redeemed you, do you present your image “warts and all” or do you try to clean up some of the blemishes that Christ died to redeem? That filtering of our story doesn’t aid Christ’s cause but rather keeps the person hearing our story from experiencing the fullness of our deliverance out of shame and into glory.

As we move towards Easter, my encouragement to you is to follow Peter’s example in bearing your story “warts and all.” This doesn’t in any way discredit your place among God’s people but rather adds significance to the profound work that Christ has done in your life. To paraphrase William Barclay’s words, when we read this passage with an appreciation for the source of the information, we read an epic tale of how Peter’s shame became Christ’s glory.

Prayer

Everlasting God, it is through your Son alone that we are able to hope in the glory that is to come. So often we try to hide the reality of our sin and shame to save face in front of those who might judge us. Help us, for the purpose of your glory alone, be a people who can share the story of how you have redeemed us with full authenticity. Holy Spirit help us to see that the beauty of our redemption is most clearly seen when contrasted against the sin of our past put on full display. It is in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray; Amen.

Rev. Scott York, Peter’s Denial, Lent Devotion 2026