John 18:18 "And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself."
"Peter stood with them, and warmed himself." The verses
previous to this one describes one of the disciples going into the palace of
the high priest with Jesus. We aren't told which disciple went inside,
but following the pattern of John's writing I feel pretty safe in assuming this
was John. He would not mention himself by name throughout this book. He was
known of the priest and was allowed to go inside with Jesus. He went back
to the door to bring Peter inside. As they were going inside, a young lady
asked Peter if he was not also one of Jesus' disciples. It was here that Peter
first denied knowing Jesus.
He evidently decided he would have to answer more questions if he went inside,
so he stayed outside with those who were warming themselves by the fire.
At that point, little did he know there would be others who would question him
as well. As we all know, he eventually denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus
had said he would. He chose rather to warm himself by the fire of the
world than go in and stand with Jesus. The end result would be his strong
remorse and tears when Jesus turned to look at him as he denied that third
time. The world's fires will warm for a while, but the coldness of
separation from fellowship with the Lord overtakes that warmness and turns it
into a cold, hurting heart. Peter chose to warm himself with the world
rather than experience the warmth of heart when we do that which brings us
closer to the Lord.
As I write this, I think of Moses. We are told in Hebrews 11:25, Moses
chose "to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season." Moses realized the temporary benefits;
yet, chose to suffer affliction for a while and then enjoy the true pleasures
of the Lord. Yes Peter was warmed for a little while, but the after
effects were not worth the temporary warmth offered by the world. I read those
words concerning Peter, and instead of trying to place blame and guilt on him,
I find myself thinking about all the times I have stood with "them"
rather than standing with the Lord. I believe the Lord included this
account of Peter in His Word that you and I would be warned against the
temptation of cozying up to the things of the world. Their comfort is only
temporary, but the resulting turmoil is lasting. For the child of God, the
warmth of the world leaves scars on the heart.
The beautiful truth is Jesus heals the broken, wounded heart. The world
tears down. Jesus builds up. He stands with open arms: "Come unto me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."