Jesus on Trial & Peter’s Denial

Have you ever tried to turn on a lamp that is not plugged in? Just like a lamp needs electricity to shine it’s light, we need God’s power to carry out God’s will.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had told His friends to pray. The prayers He commanded were not for Him, but for the disciples, themselves. Jesus knew these men needed strength far beyond their own to withstand the temptations that lurked around the corner.

Jesus (the good Master who always practices what He preaches) fell to His knees and tapped into the almightiness of His Father. In doing so, He gained the fortitude to step boldly into the most difficult moments anyone would ever face. Soon, Jesus would stand before a corrupt board of accusers whose agenda was nothing short of a murderous plot. How much resolve would it take to stand silent while being insulted and falsely accused for the greater good? To the naked eye, it might appear that Jesus stood weak and alone. But in actuality, He was emboldened with all the power of heavens armies.

But the disciples? The disciples slumbered through their opportunity to plug into the Father’s power reserves. And, as we see in this passage of Scripture, when they needed the strength to resist the urge to flee and even to deny the Lord, they found themselves empty. Even Peter, who fancied himself one who would fight ’til the death (John 13:37) was quickly seduced by “the easy way out.”

There is no end to what we can learn in this passage. But for this lesson, we center on plugging into God as our ultimate power source. As we juxtapose Jesus and Peter, kids can clearly see the immeasurable difference between those who do and those who do not rely on God to give them strength.

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