In Mark 14, immediately after the Last Supper, just prior to His betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, "You will all fall away, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’"
Jesus prophecies that after he is risen, he will go before them into Galilee.
At the charge of faithlessness, Peter bristles and rebuts the charge: “Even if all fall away, I will not,” he stoutly declares. Jesus foretells that Peter will betray Him three times before morning, and that he will know it by hearing the rooster crow twice, provoking further protests from Peter. Apparently Peter speaks for all the disciples, as Mark 14:31 adds that, "All the others said the same."
Jesus then takes Peter, James, and John with Him into the Garden of Gethsemane in a time of deep distress and sorrow to the point of death. And so he instructed his disciples “Stay here and keep watch.”
Jesus, falling on His face, prayed for the cup to pass from Him, though admitting His willingness to accept the will of the Father. This seems in direct contrast to Peter, whose expressed desire to never abandon Christ is actually contrary to what he is able to do.
As Jesus returned and found them sleeping, “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?" Jesus reverted to calling Peter by the name he went by before his life-changing encounter with Christ, suggesting perhaps that Peter was slipping, regressing, forgetting, letting go of some of Christ's power.
Jesus counsels, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." But then he compassionately acknowledges the weakness of Peter, and the gap between his expressions and even his intentions and his ultimate actions: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Upon praying and returning again, Jesus found his disciples sleeping once again; scripture indicates that Peter did not know how to account for his sleeping.
As the mob arrived and arrested Jesus, all his disciples forsook him and fled. As the group containing chief priests, elders, and scribes went to the high priest, Peter followed far off, staying with the servants, warming himself at the fire at the palace of the high priest. A young woman identified him as being with Jesus of Nazareth. Peter denied it, after which the rooster crowed. Another young woman identified him with Jesus, and Peter again denied it. A third and final time, someone else identified Peter, recognizing in the speech of Peter that he was a Galilean, as was Jesus. Peter strongly denied, cursing and swearing that he did not know Jesus. As the rooster crowed a second time, the Gospel of Mark simply records that as Peter thought on what he had done, he wept.
In the Gospel of Mark, the next and only other mention of the name of Peter is at the time of resurrection, when the women are told by the young man to tell Jesus' disciples and Peter that he will go before them into Galilee as he said before. The impression left then, is of Christ continuing to reach out, to forgive, to invite to witness, find, and follow a Christ that is active and on the move.
Each of us, like Peter, have a certain disconnect between what we say or what we intend and what we do. None of us perfectly and faithfully live up to the moral principles we espouse. Put bluntly, each of us is a hypocrite. Perhaps some of us speak of fidelity to love, compassion, and justice, but are more interested in society applying those principles to us than in striving to apply those principles to others. Perhaps some of us pray for our enemies to love us, and yet put less spiritual effort and energy into loving our enemies. Perhaps some of us pray and work to be understood far more than we pray and work to understand. Perhaps some of us desire more to be heard or valued, than to hear and value our spiritual brothers and sisters. Perhaps some of us acknowledge the potential divinity of others, but have little faith in our own divine potential and inherent worth. And yet no matter where we are in our spiritual walk, Christ is merciful and patient, inviting us, like Peter, to follow Him and to find Him as He goes before us in our world.
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