“”I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” –Matthew 26:75

Let’s take a journey today. Let’s go back and put ourselves in Peter’s shoes and walk through his life just a little bit. It all started for him as a little boy. In that culture the school system was much different. There was really just one school. Rabbi school. When boys were young they would all go there to start their path to becoming a Rabbi or teacher. It started by them having to memorize parts of the Torah or books of Moses. When test time came around, only the best of the best were allowed to move on. The rest were to go back to their homes and learn the family trade. This is where we find Peter, out in a fishing boat with his brother Andrew. Not having been good enough to make the cut he learned to be a fisherman.

            Then one day while they were fishing a man named Jesus comes and directs him to put down everything, leave everything, and come follow Him. That means leaving your wife, your job, and everything you know to go and follow this Jesus. Following Jesus takes him on a 3 year whirlwind. Peter witnesses and participates in the healing of the sick, the healing of the paralyzed and disabled, the casting out of demons, feeding thousands of people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he gets to see Moses and Elijah in person, and hear the preaching of a kingdom that is to come. What an adventure that had to have been. But it all seems to culminate one night in a place called Gethsemane.

This Jesus who he has been following and trusting for 3 years is betrayed by a friend, and taken into custody for something that He didn’t do. So he follows Jesus’ arresting party to watch the trial and gets noticed. People recognize that he has been one of Jesus’ followers and even though you told Jesus you would never leave Him, you do just as He has told you. You deny knowing Jesus three times. Now this denial isn’t a subconscious denial. It is an active conscious denial that is meant to protect yourself from the very thing that swore you would do, die with Jesus.

Peter goes through this incredible 3 year journey with Jesus and having seen all that he has seen, been a part of it all, still actively denies Jesus. His journey to the cross is like a never ending roller coaster. He had highs that were incredible and lows that caused him to doubt that Jesus really was the Savior of the world. But is that any different than our journey to the cross? What does your journey look like? I am sure that some of you have seen people recover from a near death illness or injury. Maybe you have seen children graduate, go to college, and get married. Maybe you have gotten the privilege to see babies, grand babies, or maybe even great grand babies be born. You may have even gotten to celebrate some great accomplishments in your career or personal goals that you have set for yourselves. How have those things shaped your faith life?

On the other hand all of those good times come with the tough times as well, the lows of our journey. Maybe you have experienced losing a loved one, losing a job, a debilitating addiction, or even a car accident that takes away the joys of life. If you haven’t experienced those things, then I promise you this. You have actively denied Jesus. Just like Peter that night, we have all done something to say “Uh, Jesus who?” Those “Jesus who?” moments blot and stain our lives like red wine or coffee stains a nice white shirt.

Those “Jesus who?” moments are the exact reason that Christ called us on this journey. Walked with us on this journey. Taught us on this journey. And ultimately died for us on this journey. He knew the cost of this journey for us was death, and made it known that we can’t do it on our own. He showed us that nothing in this life can stain us so deeply that He can’t get rid of it. On the cross he turned those stained and beaten down people that we were and changed them to blameless, forgiven, and stainless people. So as Holy week gears up let’s take time to reflect on our journeys to the cross, and remember the great sacrifice that He paid on the cross to turn our “Jesus who?” moments into “Jesus, Thank you!”

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'” -Billy Graham