26:69 彼得在外面院子裡坐著,有一個使女前來,說:「你素來也是同那加利利人耶穌一夥的。」
26:70 彼得在眾人面前卻不承認,說:「我不知道你說的是甚麼!」
26:71 既出去,到了門口,又有一個使女看見他,就對那裡的人說:「這個人也是同拿撒勒人耶穌一夥的。」
26:72 彼得又不承認,並且起誓說:「我不認得那個人。」
26:73 過了不多的時候,旁邊站著的人前來,對彼得說:「你真是他們一黨的,你的口音把你露出來了。」
26:74 彼得就發咒起誓地說:「我不認得那個人。」立時,雞就叫了。
26:75 彼得想起耶穌所說的話:「雞叫以先,你要三次不認我。」他就出去痛哭。
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
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彼得本是在主耶穌面前保證:「眾人雖然為你的緣故跌倒,我卻永不跌倒。」
但是,在遇到主耶穌被捕之後,彼得卻發出三次和主耶穌撇清關係的言論!而且正如主耶穌所說的:「「雞叫以先,你要三次不認我。」
說到雞叫,讓我想起小時候到溪湖長老教會,看見講台前面的地板,有一個圓圈圈,裡面有一隻雞的圖案,當時不知道什麼意義,現在明白了用意,就是要提醒我們,不要忘記我們和彼得一樣軟弱,因為彼得曾在雞叫以前三次不認主,當以此為誡,所以在地上畫一隻雞。
因此,我們要時時警醒,如同雞一般等候天亮!隨時預備面對主耶穌的再來,並且求聖靈幫助,讓我們永遠不要忘記上帝在基督裡的恩典,並且戮力於福音的傳揚,銘刻在我們心中:主愛是何等偉大與美好,豈可離棄祂?豈可為救命與祂撇清關係呢!