Stand By Him

Knowing the time drew near in which he would be betrayed, abandoned and crucified, Jesus informed his disciples they would flee and leave him alone saying, “all ye shall be offended because of me this night”. Peter undaunted, emphatically protested, “though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” (Matt 26:31;33)

The Savior, gently but firmly corrected his zealous disciple declaring, "verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice". Peter however, continued to confidently assure the Lord of his faithfulness replying, "though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee". (Matt 26:34-35)

Later that night when the Savior was arrested and taken before the High Priest Caiaphas, Peter followed at a distance and mingled with those outside the palace, waiting to see the outcome of the Savior’s trial. When recognized and confronted he denied the Lord three separate times proclaiming, “I know not the man”. The scriptures then tell us that Peter, "remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly." (Matt 26:74-75)

Elder Gordon B Hinckley recounting this sad tale said,

What pathos there is in those words! Peter, affirming his loyalty, his determination, his resolution, said that he would never deny. But the fear of men came upon him and the weakness of his flesh overtook him, and under the pressure of accusation, his resolution crumbled. Then, recognizing his wrong and weakness, “he went out, and wept.”

He continues with this observation:

As I have read this account my heart goes out to Peter. So many of us are so much like him. We pledge our loyalty; we affirm our determination to be of good courage; we declare, sometimes even publicly, that come what may we will do the right thing, that we will stand for the right cause, that we will be true to ourselves and to others.

Then the pressures begin to build. Sometimes these are social pressures. Sometimes they are personal appetites. Sometimes they are false ambitions. There is a weakening of the will. There is a softening of discipline. There is capitulation. And then there is remorse, self-accusation, and bitter tears of regret.

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Each of us has been guilty at one time or another of denying the Savior. Whether we succumb to social pressures, personal appetites, or prideful ambition, our acts of sin cause us to break our baptismal covenant to "always remember him". The good news is however that like Peter, we too may rise above our past failures and through repentance, become the disciples the Lord would have us be.

Peter's bitter tears were not without purpose. Because of the remorse and disappointment he felt there began to form within Peter a new resolve. The resolve that never again would he leave his Lord to stand alone. Never again would he allow the weakness of his flesh to overpower the noble desires of his spirit.

Peter was true to this new resolve, boldly declaring the gospel message before the world. Several weeks later after the day of Pentecost, Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame man and brought before some of the same men that had delivered the Savior to be crucified. In this terrifying situation, when asked by what power they had healed the lame man Peter fearlessly declared, “By the name of Jesus Christ…whom ye crucified…doth this man stand before you whole.” (Acts 4:8-12)

Peter’s contrition, as well as his devotion were complete. Never again would he deny the Lord, even when his path of discipleship eventually led to martyrdom. Tradition holds that Peter, not presuming to be compared with his Master, requested that his murderers crucify him upside down. May we follow Peter’s example and as Elder Holland has taught, “stand by Jesus Christ 'at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death', for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.”