The Good LifeSample

When the religious leaders were questioning Jesus before He was sentenced to be crucified, Peter waited outside with a few others in the high priest’s courtyard. Three times, Peter was questioned about whether he knew Jesus, and three times Peter denied it. Peter was afraid to be associated with someone who had been shamefully arrested and put on trial. Jesus was unjustly convicted and was tragically crucified. Peter scattered in fear. But three days later, Jesus defeated death by rising again. Everything changed for Peter. After Jesus went back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to empower His followers, Peter took the world by storm for the gospel and even led the early church. On the very day the Holy Spirit came down, Peter boldly declared the good news of Jesus, and 3,000 people came to follow Jesus. In one of their conversations after the resurrection, Jesus told Peter: “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). It was an indication of how Peter was to die. Tradition says Peter insisted on being crucified upside down because he wasn’t worthy to be crucified the way Jesus was. Peter had gone from someone who ran when His Savior was killed to someone who would give his life for His Savior. The difference was the resurrection. Jesus won, and Peter saw the hope of God’s Kingdom was true. It was so true, he gave his life for it.