As soon as Judas left the room, Yeshua said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and Elohim will be glorified because of him. And since Elohim receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Hebrew leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Simon Peter asked, “Master, where are you going?”
Yeshua replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
“But why can’t I come now, Master? I’m ready to die for you.”
“Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
Later that evening, Yeshua and the rest of his disciples went to a garden outside the walls of Jerusalem, called Gethsemane. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Yeshua had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had secured Judas a small group of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.
Yeshua fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?”
“Yeshua the Nazarene!”
“I am he,” (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Yeshua said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
Again, they said, rising from the ground, “Yeshua the Nazarene.”
“I told you that I am he. And since I am the one you want, let these others go.”
Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. But Yeshua said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering my heavenly Father has given me?”
So, the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Yeshua and tied him up! And they brought him to Jerusalem for trial.
Simon Peter followed Yeshua at a distance, as did another of the disciples. The other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Yeshua. Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
“No,” Peter said, “I am not.”
Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
Inside the courtyard, the high priest began asking Yeshua about his followers and what he had been teaching them. Yeshua replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have announced the good news regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”
Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Yeshua across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”
Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove at Gethsemane with Yeshua?” Again, Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Peter, Yeshua’s disciple, did indeed forsake Yeshua, even though he had vowed he would die for him! Yes, Yeshua forgave Peter, even before Peter himself realized what he had done. Yeshua, with his unfailing love, still fulfilled his prophecy to build his assembly through Peter, his friend: “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and all the powers of the grave will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Are you a rock Yeshua can build on? Do you testify of his glory and honor his name by being a forgiver? Be perfect as Yeshua was in the flesh and forgive!
Other Stories in this Collection
Yeshua Forgives Series Summary
As you can see from all these stories of Yah’s forgiveness, he changes not. He is a forgiver, through and through. He is not a respecter of people, and he is always eager to forgive (in fact, he prefers forgiveness and mercy over sacrifice as stated in 1 Sam 15:22 and Hosea 6:6). From mighty kings—like King David and King Josiah—to an entire town of Gentiles, like the people of Nineveh, down to his friend, Peter, who betrayed him, Yeshua forgave them all! It does not mean that because he has forgiven you, you will not be punished for doing wrong (see Psalms 99:8). But if you ask for forgiveness 70 times 7 times he will forgive you no matter how small or large the wrongdoing, as we are taught in Matthew 18:22.
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