31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. Matthew 26:31-35

Poor Peter. He wanted to do good for his Savior; he really did. Nothing was going to prevent him from defending his Lord to the death!

We all know what happened, something we’ll explore in a few days.

I commend Peter for his well-intentioned bravery and bravado. The great philosopher-boxer Mike Tyson said it best, “Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face.” Peter had a plan, at least in the beginning: be loyal to Jesus.

We all understand the pressures and confusion and disorientation these disciples were probably facing. I mean, if He was the Savior and Son of God, why wasn’t He calling down angels to prevent what was about to happen to him? You know they all thought something similar.

But we do have the benefit of seeing the Bible from 30,000 feet. We know why He came, and everything else we read because those who went before us recorded it. Because we know this, even as we read it, we’re yelling at Peter, “Don’t say it. We know what happens in a little while. Don’t do it!”

The Bible does tell us that when we go before leaders for our faith, the Holy Spirit will give us words to say. Even though right now we’d say we want to say the right thing – just like Peter did here – this is an instance that the Bible tells us not to worry because the Holy Spirit will go ahead of us.

For Peter, though, the Holy Spirit obviously didn’t tell him to say what he said to Jesus He just said it on his own, wanting to show his loyalty.

As we begin to go through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, consider these words.

Walk a mile or two in the disciples’ sandals if you can.

Would you be worried? Excited? Confused? Overjoyed? Saddened?

We would probably be experiencing all of these emotions every hour and more so after the first rusty nail was pounded into Christ.