Text: Luke 22:54-62
“I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” —Jesus (Luke 22:32)
Our family likes playing a party game called “The Chameleon.” It’s a fun game using social deduction and sometimes a mob mentality to track down an “impostor” among us. If you are not the Chameleon, it requires teamwork to win. But if you are the Chameleon, the approach is much more simple. Don’t. Get. Caught.
There are shades of this game being played out in the 22nd chapter of Luke’s gospel, only here the stakes are much higher and the consequences are far more damaging. After Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, his disciples were all scattered. In a state of fatigue, disappointment, and confusion, Peter finds himself in a very vulnerable place. Hope is deferred, faith turns to fear, and courage yields to cowardice when all at once it appears that Jesus and His mission have been thwarted. What does Peter do? He plays the Chameleon.
Afraid to be identified with a Hero who seems to be conquered, and perhaps any persecution that would come from that association, Peter tries his best to blend in with the crowd. When asked three times if he was a follower of Christ, Peter denied it all three times. Even though he did his best to fool those human interrogators of his secret identity, he couldn’t fool the rooster that Jesus had prophesied about beforehand, which would ultimately convict Peter’s conscience. God always has a way of getting into our conscience, even if He must use a farm animal to do it.
The rooster’s crow triggered Peter’s conscience in realizing his efforts to blend in with the world were betraying the heart of Jesus. He was playing the spiritual chameleon. We read that he was following Jesus “at a distance” (v.54). Don’t we all know when we are following Jesus at a distance, and not clinging to his cloak as nearly as possible? That little bit of distance was all it took for compromise—to make it much more difficult for Peter to admit his association with Jesus when the going got tough. We see that Jesus already knew that Peter would falter from verses 31-34, and yet he told Peter, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Then we see Jesus graciously showing up after the resurrection and meeting Peter right where their relationship had begun a few years before this episode of compromise, along the seashore of Galilee. And Jesus restores Peter in brilliant fashion.
Beloved, we can be greatly encouraged in the fact that Jesus knows we will falter and yet still prays that our faith will not fail. He knows all of our weaknesses, vulnerabilities, temperaments, disappointments, doubts, fears, anxieties, frustrations, fatigue, temptations, and all of our compromises before they even happen. Even with all that omniscience (perfect knowledge), He loves us no less, and prays no less fervently for our faith and our restoration that will ultimately lead to life-change and strength in others (v.32). Peter’s best days were still ahead of him, even after that bitter compromise by the fire that night. We see this play out in the way he leads the early church in the book of Acts. What a beautiful story of redemption.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for the purposes you have for our lives, despite our human frailty. We are greatly encouraged by the fact that you don’t call perfect people, but intend to love and restore perfectly those you call. Holy Spirit, enable us to follow Jesus so closely that there is no distance for compromise or playing the Chameleon. In His blessed name we pray, Amen.
Questions for Reflection and/or Group Discussion
- In what circumstances or life situations have you felt pressured into being a “Chameleon” and just blending in with the crowd?
- For what reason did Peter follow Jesus “at a distance”? (Luke 22:54) What did Jesus do the third time Peter denied knowing Him? (v.61)
- What does this passage reveal about Peter’s character? What does it reveal about God and His character?
- In what circumstances are other people able to influence us to act in ways we know we should not? What can we learn about repentance from Peter’s example in this story?
- How would you define true repentance? Is there a particular compromise of which you need to repent? What could you do this week to strengthen your stand for Christ in the face of pressure from others?
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