Mark 14:66

Mark 14:66 says, And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:  Peter, who had bravely cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest was now beneath the palace, at the lower end of the hall, away from Jesus after He had been arrested.  As Peter was warming himself, a maid stated that he had been with Jesus.  We can make bold statements about what we would do if we were ever in danger because of our faith, but unless we put our life totally in God's hands, we like Peter might find ourselves warming by the fire, which would mean looking out for our own best interest, while denying even knowing Jesus.  We might say for us that it would be a wake-up call, but we too might find ourselves as Peter, moving further away from being associated with Jesus.  Verse sixty-seven adds, And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. Verse sixty-eight continues, But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.  Again, a maid said that Peter had been with Jesus, and again he denied it.  Peter then moved a little further away from Jesus, out to the porch, and the cock crowed for the first time. He had to hear the cock crow, so I have to wonder if he even thought about this. We may hear or see warning signs that we are denying Christ, but then it is up to us how we react. We all probably denied Jesus more than once before accepting Him as our Savior and Lord and may have denied the leadership of the Holy Spirit since.  Verse sixty-nine states, And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. A little later, another maid said to those around him that Peter was a Galilean, so surely he had been one of Jesus's disciples.  Just being associated with Christians today does not make us a Christian.  At this point, Peter still did not understand Who Jesus really was, nor what He had come to do.  Until we really understand Who Jesus is, and that He came to redeem mankind from their sins, we will never be a part of His kingdom. Verse seventy adds, And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.  Verse seventy-one continues, But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. This time not only did Peter deny knowing Jesus, but he began to swear, saying, "I know not this man of whom ye speak." Verse seventy-two concludes, And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.  As Peter moved further away physically, he also moved further away spiritually, and spiritually he really didn't know Jesus at this time, but when the cock crowed again, he remembered the words of Jesus.  As Jesus had said, Peter denied him three times before the cock crowed twice.  Then, he wept over what he had done.  The best intentions will never save us, but only by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord can we be saved no matter how far away from Him we may be.