Voices of Lent: The Servant Girl

Many thanks to my daughter, Abby Crump for her beautiful portrayal of the servant girl at Caiaphas house. Thanks also to Terry True for a powerful testimony of his encounter with God while on a mission trip! And as always, thanks to the many talented people who lend their vocal and musical abilities to us each week in worship! You all are a blessing to God and to us!

We have a choice to make as we walk this path of faith: Will we follow and respond to "The Crowd" or will we follow and respond to "The Cross"? Peter encountered both and had his choice to make. What choice will WE make?

When Peter encountered this servant girl while at the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas, he encountered something that we all can relate to: He encountered the pressure, the temptation and the oppression of "The Crowd". This girl represents the ways that the world recognizes us and the ways that they see us as followers of Jesus Christ. So what was it that this girl saw in Peter that helped her to know that he had been with Jesus? And in the same way, what does the world see in US that let's them know that we are with Jesus?

Mark 14:66-72

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷ When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. ⁶⁸ But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway. ⁶⁹ When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." ⁷⁰ Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." ⁷¹ He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about." ⁷² Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.

The crowd will recognize...

Who We Are...Our Character

The girl first recognized Peter's face. She saw how he acted, how he carried himself. She got a glimpse of the person that Peter really was. She got a taste of his character. Sadly, Peter didn't handle the situation very well. The impression left with that "crowd" wasn't very good as Peter called down curses on himself and those around him.

However, Luke's account of this story indicates that when Peter denied knowing Jesus, that Jesus looked directly at him. So you could say, that "the cross" was also observing who Peter was and how he handled himself. Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him, so it is likely that Jesus felt great compassion for Peter at that moment. Though it must have been a great burden to see one of his followers buckle under the pressure of "the crowd".

The Company We Keep...The People We Devote Our Time To

The girl recognized that Peter was one of "them". Who are "them"? Well the people Peter spent his time with were fisherman, tax collectors and religious zealots. All of whom would have been looked down upon by the High Priest and his followers. She would not have thought highly of any of Peter and his buddies!

However, Peter had seen who JESUS spent His time with: Prostitutes, lepers, sinners, lost people, sick people...people who in the eyes of most Jews would have been unclean, rejected, unacceptable to God. So Peter knew that Jesus calls us to spend our time with what the gospel of Matthew calls "the least of these". The crowd may not want to associate with the people that the cross calls us to reach out to!

The Place We Call Home...Where We're from and Where We Plan to Go

The crowd recognized that Peter was from Gallilee. They likely identified this due to his accent and dialect. The crowd will also notice us by "what we say" and "how we say it". We can't fall into the trap of using our Christian lingo in ways that non-believing people will not understand.

However, Peter had been taught by Jesus that he was not made for this world! He had been taught that he was, right now, in the present day, a citizen of another country, another world! AND SO ARE WE! We must seize the promises of God and live like today with the hope and knowledge of heaven on our mind and heart! People will be drawn to the joy, hope, promise and peace of someone who knows they were made to be with God!

The Crowd or the Cross? It's not an easy choice sometimes. Neither choice is promised to be an easy path! Jesus had to make the same choice: As He entered Jerusalem to great fanfare He could have given into the adulation of the crowd, whipped them into a frenzy and gone to war with the Roman and Jewish leaders! But instead...Jesus...consciously...chose the path to the cross. He stopped outside the city, wept over the fact that so many had not recognized the Messiah (Himself!) while He was with them. So many had chosen the crowd, the easy path, instead of the path that leads to real, full, eternal life! Choose this day which path you will follow! The crowd or the Cross!

In His Grip,

Pastor John