Peter's Illicit Use of the Sword

Grace Bible Church

Peter claimed he would die before he would ever deny Jesus.When it came time for Christ's betrayal, Peter demurred. Why was this?The key is Christ's forbidding Peter from fighting to stop His murder. In other words, Christ deprived Peter of a "fair fight" with swords and fists. So long as Peter could strike the enemies of Jesus with weapons of war, his determination was secure.But Christ forbade Peter from using carnal methods in the cause of Christ. It was at this point, that the disciples all forsook Christ and fled.It turned out that Peter's boast to stick with Christ was limited to circumstances where He, as a man, could put up a fair fight with arms. Peter was a man of action, and such a battle appealed to him.So long as Peter could resist physically and violently the taking of the Savior, he was operating in his zone of comfort as a strong and determined man!But the idea of submitting according to the will of God to violent men, to murderers, to traitors, that Peter could not and would not do.If Jesus wasn't going to put up a fight, how could Peter?But Christ must be slain to save His people from their sin! The gospel plan of salvation was utterly contrary to carnal man's way of thinking.To submit to the Holy Ghost, to place one's hope in a savior who died to save us, was to turn away completely from all self-reliance, earthly power, strength, and self-righteousness.Peter and the other disciples were not ready for all that!