Peter witnessed Christ's sufferings.
Jesus died on the Cross, nailed and stretched out on that tree for six hours, yet there were also intense sufferings Jesus endured for us during the six mock trials He was rushed through.
Consider what Peter saw below:
"But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end." (Matthew 26:58)
Now, Matthew's and Mark's Gospel account do inform us that Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.
And yet, Peter affirms that he witnessed Jesus' sufferings.
The word in Greek covers the following:
pathéma: that which befalls one, i.e. a suffering, a passion
Original Word: πάθημα, ατος, τόPart of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: pathéma
Phonetic Spelling: (path'-ay-mah)
Short Definition: suffering, passion
Definition: (a) suffering, affliction, (b) passion, emotion, (c) an undergoing, an enduring.
This term does not just cover the fake trials, but Jesus' death on the Cross, as well as the hatred and opposition he faced from the religious leaders of the day. Even though Peter had denied Jesus three times, it would seem that Peter witnessed even Jesus' death on the Cross, even if from afar.
Peter writes about Jesus' sufferings in his First Epistle, and He writes that Jesus bore our sins:
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
Not once does Peter ever talk about the fact that he had denied Jesus.
He does focus on who Jesus is, what He did, and how He suffered for us.
We can draw such comfort and revelation from this great fisherman--and fisher of men.
No matter how we have failed, no matter what sins we have committed or will commit, let us look at Jesus and what He has done for us through His death on the Cross! (cf. Hebrews 12:1-2)
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