When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” (Luke 22:66-71)

After a long night of betrayal, arrest, and denial, Jesus stood before the council of elders, chief priests, and scribes. These were the most powerful religious leaders of the day – men trained in the Law, scholars of the Scriptures, the very people who should have been first to recognize the Messiah. And yet, when Truth stood before them in the flesh, they refused to believe.

They asked, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And Jesus answered plainly, confirming their question: “You say that I am.” It was a direct affirmation of His divinity. They had heard it from His own lips. This wasn’t a rumor, a secondhand claim, or an interpretation – it was Jesus Himself, identifying as the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.

And still, they rejected Him.

Why? Because they weren’t asking to receive truth—they were asking to trap Him. They approached the Son of God not with open hearts, but with hardened agendas. They weren’t seeking truth, they were seeking justification to kill Him. And when He told them the truth, they took it as confirmation bias to fit their agenda and twisted the truth into a charge to crucify Him over.

This passage holds a sobering warning for us today: If we approach God with an agenda, rather than a humble desire to know and obey the truth, we may miss what He’s saying altogether and find ourselves opposing God.

It’s easy to read Scripture looking for support for what we already believe. It’s tempting to pray in hopes that we get the answer we want, instead of submitting to the answer God gives. But truth doesn’t bend to our pride or preferences. It takes humility to accept truth that challenges us, corrects us, or calls us to change.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew the Scriptures, but they didn’t know God. They clung to their control and self-image, unwilling to surrender to the One standing right in front of them - God. Their pride blinded them to the truth they had been waiting for.

Let’s not fall into the same trap. When you open God’s Word, let it be with a heart ready to receive – not edit. When you ask God for direction, have a heart truly wanting His will, not your own will dressed up in religious language. When He speaks, whether through Scripture, the Spirit, or wise counsel – take Him at His Word.

May we have hearts who seek God in truth, being stripped of our pride, our assumptions, and our agendas – able to listen and receive with humility. Let us not be those who hear and twist, but those who hear, receive, and obey.

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:54-62)

Before this moment of repeated denial, Peter had been bold, confident, and even defiant in his loyalty to Jesus, as he declared, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death,” (Luke 22:33). But boldness without surrender is fragile. In the pressure of the courtyard, under the uncertain view of strangers, Peter crumbled. Not once, not twice, but three times he denied even knowing Jesus. And just as the rooster crowed, fulfilling the Lord’s prophetic words – Jesus turned and looked at him.

Can you imagine that moment?

Jesus’ look wouldn’t have been a glare of condemnation or rage. It wouldn’t have even been a look of disgust or rejection. I imagine in Jesus’ eyes was a look of grief – not for Himself, but for Peter. Because Jesus knew Peter’s pain was only beginning. He knew the weight of shame Peter would carry, the bitter sorrow of realizing he had denied the Messiah – the very Savior of his soul. And yet, even in that look, there was still love. A silent reminder that Jesus’ mission was not over – and neither was Peter’s story.

If we get caught up in what people think of us and fear how our identity in Christ will affect us here and now, we can falter in our faith and deny the very One who died to save us. That is a bitter place to be, but Peter’s story reminds us that our failures here are not final with God.

Yes, Peter wept bitterly. Grief is part of repentance. But Jesus had already spoken life into Peter’s future: “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Jesus knew Peter would fall, but He also knew Peter would rise again – and he did. After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter was restored, commissioned, and became a pillar of the early Church. Peter’s denial didn’t define him – his repentance and obedience did.

And eventually, this same man who once shrank back from being associated with Jesus boldly preached the gospel to thousands. Church tradition tells us Peter died crucified upside down, unwilling to die in the same manner as his Lord. The man who once feared for his life to the point of denial, finished his race having found his identity entirely in Christ and willingly died as His humble follower.

We all stumble. We all have our moments of fear, weakness, or compromise. But it’s not about how we started – it’s about how we finish. Will we allow our sin to drive us away in shame? Or will we let godly sorrow lead us to repentance and reconciliation?

When the Lord looks into the depths of your soul after you’ve sinned, see the grief in His eyes—not because He’s shocked, but because He longs for reconciliation and restoration. Share in that grief, and let it soften your heart to repentance. Return to Him, and let your story continue in His grace.

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Luke 22:47-53)

In the chaos of betrayal by Judas, Peter, being zealous and reactive, drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. It was an impulsive and dangerous act, and even though he asked Jesus if he should do it, he didn’t wait for a response before he acted on his impulse. Not only was it an act of violence, it could have sealed Peter’s fate with a death penalty because he had attacked a servant of the high priest – one of the most powerful religious figures in Israel. This situation could have meant not only Jesus’ arrest, but Peter’s death too.

But Jesus did something astonishing in the middle of that dark moment: He stopped the violence, spoke peace over the scene, and then healed the servant’s ear, right then and there. No bandages, no scarring, no evidence that it had ever happened. The servant’s ear was completely restored – and Peter’s guilt, though very real, was suddenly without a consequence he’d have to pay.

What a beautiful foreshadowing of the cross.

Jesus didn’t just heal the ear – He also removed the evidence of the disciple’s wrongdoing. Jesus covered Peter’s failure before it could condemn him to death. That’s what Jesus came to do for us all on the cross. He bore our guilt and shame, and by His wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Because of His sacrifice, God doesn’t just forgive our sin – He removes the record of it. He makes it like it never happened.

Sometimes we carry guilt for what we’ve done – the mistakes we’ve made, outbursts of anger that we regret, decisions we wish we could undo. And yet Jesus steps into the mess we’ve created, not to shame us, but to heal it. To touch what’s broken and fully restore it.

Yet notice that Jesus also confronted the injustice around Him. He rebuked the crowd for coming with swords and clubs, like He were a violent criminal. He called out their darkness – “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Jesus didn’t go blind into His suffering. He saw it clearly, knew it was unjust, and yet submitted – not because He was weak, but because He trusted the Father’s plan. Remember, Jesus had just resolved in prayer to yield fully to the Father’s will, and now, He was walking it out with unwavering grace, peace, and obedience.

And when darkness surrounds us, when injustice seems to be winning, we can follow Jesus’ example of trusting the Father and submitting to His will; not because it’s easy, but because He is faithful. And in the middle of chaos, whether caused by others or by our own failures—remember that Jesus still heals, still restores, and still covers our sin by His grace and mercy.

Jesus not only healed the servant’s ear then, He desires to heal your soul now. Trust God and let Him heal you completely.