Apr 6, 2015
It was without a doubt the absolute worst day of Peter’s long and storied and challenging life. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, we’re talking about one particular Saturday -- the day after the crucifixion.
The day after Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ accusers. The Saturday before the very first Easter Sunday.
And since for us at Safe Haven, tonight happens to be the Saturday before Easter Sunday, we would do well to consider exactly what was going on and why during that singularly fateful day.
A very dark day in otherwise dazzling life of Peter.
You talk about an epic fail, a spectacular fall from grace, a stunningly unpredictable turn of events, and crash and burn of mind-numbing proportions…
Here’s a quick thumbnail of how Peter’s not-so-Good-Friday developed, leading up to his Horribly-Bad-Saturday before Easter.
A day Peter no doubt spent cowering in a corner...
- Disgusted by the arrest of his rabbi;
- Devastated by execution of his hero, mentor, friend;
- Demoralized by the death of his dream of freedom from the oppressions of Romans;
A man whose faith was now in a free-fall. If there was any faith left in the man to fall.
The week leading up to Peter’s Not-So-Good-Friday and Horribly-Bad-Saturday began the Sunday before, Palm Sunday, with the event we commonly call the Triumphal Entry. Jerusalem swelled to overflowing by the multiplied thousands upon thousands of pilgrims streaming into the Holy City in preparation for Passover.
Every person in the place was there in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from four hundred grueling years of oppression by the Egyptians, AND in feverish anticipation of what they hoped and prayed was their imminent deliverance from the brutal, barbaric, and oh.so.bloody occupation by the Romans.
Messianic fervor was always at its highest in the week leading up to Passover. You can understand why. Freedom was in the air.
But in this podcast, I don’t want you merely to understand why. I want you to feel why.
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