The Yale expositor., 1910-12-02
PETERS,
DENIAL
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 4. 1910
Specially Arranged for This Paper

GOLDEN TEXT-"Let him that think
eth he standeth take heed lest he fall. -
Cor. 1912.
TIME-The deninls were early Friday
morning April Z. A. d.. 30.
PLACE-In the court OF the Palace OF
the High Priest Caiaphas. in the south
west part of Jerusalem.
The first thing Jesus did for Peter
WAS to set before him in his first In
terview the goal and ideal of his life.
He was to be changed from the Simon
we have just been viewing into Peter
the Rock. His incohesive qualities
were to be unified into one beautiful
whole the separate and sometimes
discordant notes of his character were
TO be formed into the exquisite har-
monies of Hallelujah chorus. He was
like the soft stone in some quarries.
easily cut and shaped when first taken
from the quarry. but soon hardening
into rock. Peter expresses the posi-
bilities Jesus saw in the nature of
Simon, an ideal which God would
make divinely real"
For three years Peter was an ear
nest pupil in Christ's school. He made
many mistakes; he fought many bat
ties on the battlefield of his heart;
he had some severe reproofs, but he
had wise, encouraging, patient
teacher. After time he was advanc-
ed to the highest grade with James
and John. The first essential for sue
cess Is SOUL" an awakened soul.
One of the most interesting studies
for teacher, is TO go carefully
Through the Gospels, and study
Christs method of teaching and train
ing such an unruly but earnest scholar
as Peter was.
Thou shalt deny me thrice, disOwn
me as your Lord and Master" Peter
was sure that he would not fail in the
hour OF temptation. No one knows
what he will do in unexpected circum-
stances. But Jesus did all he could
to put Peter on his guard.
An interval of some hours. Geth-
isemane; Peter, wearied, sleeps on
guard. The arrest; Peter and all the
apostles desert Jesus. But Peter and
John follow afar off, The trial before
the Sandhedrin in some room of Gaia
phas' palace, opening into a court
Peter was sitting with the servants
and others around fire and he denied
Christ before them all, who were
gathered around the fire.
The main charge was prominently
made by one, a kinsnan of Malchus,
who had seen Peter in the garden and
was known to St. John from his ac-
Quaintance with the high priests
household. For thy speech betrayeth
thee, "betrayeth," shows that thou art
Galilean, and therefore one OF his
disciples, or why else art thou here?
Then began he to curse, call down
curses on himself if he did not speak
the truth. And to- swear. to call God
to witness that it was true. 1t Is
more than probable that Peter. In his
earlier life as fisherman, before his
conversion, had been in the habit OF
using profane language, and now. in
the sudden surprise OF temptation, the
old habit broke forth anew, as the Ian
guage of youth, long unused, is almost
certain to he employed in times OF
great excitement. 1t Is a long and
hard discipline that entirely conquers
the sins or youth.
Il know not the man" And this in
the very presence of Jesus. The
ways down which the bad ship Wick
edness slides to a shoreless ocean
must be creased with lies" "A lie is
put out to interest, and the interest is
compound"
II was now that Peter was "sifted
as wheat" Part of what he thought
was wheat was really chaff and this
terrible sitting under temptation blew
away In the toughest manner most
of the chaff,- his Inconsistency, his
fiery temper, his self-confidence, but
preserved all the good in his charac-
ter. purified and perfected.
We can be good in spite of falls.
God can bring good out of evil. That
in his glory. and our hope. But he can
do far more with our victories than
by our failures.
Then Jesus looked upon Peter. The
Greek word for looked" occurs but
in one other place in the Gospels.
1t means that "he looked into him."
into his very heart, with eyes that
went like lightning to the quick of his
conscience" Peter remembered the
warning, and went out and wept the
bitterest tears of repentance.
From this time on Peter was a new
man. The charcoal had become dia-
mond. He describes the effect in his
first Epistle (1:O. THAT the trial of
your faith. being much more precious
than of gold that persistent, though
1t be tried with fire, might be found un-
TO praise and honor and glory at the ap-
pearing of Jesus Christi" Peter re-
joiced when he could express his love
to Jesus by suffering in his cause He
wrote letter which has been a com
fort and power all down the ages.
dis victory-not his fall-in the great
crisis gave him power over men to the
end.
In the pain and the repentance,
and In the acquaintance with the as
poets OF folly and sin" says Ruskin,