After the last supper the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, "You will all be stumbled because of Me this night, for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." Peter said, "If all will be stumbled because of You, I will never be stumbled" (26:31, 33). Peter's word was based on his disposition. He was saying the right thing; he was not lying, no, not at all. But we must remember that we do not know anything about many of the things that we say to the Lord at the time of our consecration and revival. Peter was a person who was rich in emotion. He said, "I will never be stumbled." But this conviction was merely in his emotion; he was not this kind of person at all. Many people who are rich in emotion have to learn to separate their emotion from their person. Sooner or later they discover that their emotion does not represent them. Some people live by their mind too much. They are always in their mind. When they pray, and others say to them, "You are praying only with your mind; your heart is not in your prayer," they answer, "What do you mean my heart is not in my prayer?" A man can be in his mind so much that when his heart is not into what he is doing, he can be deceived to think that his mind actually is his heart. One day when the light shines on him, he will see that his mind is not his heart. Some people feel a burning within their heart; they think that they love the Lord. They proudly proclaim, "I love the Lord." If another brother says, "You may think that you are loving the Lord, but actually you are not," they will argue, "If I do not love the Lord, who does?" When their emotion is dealt with by the Lord, they will realize that their heart and emotion are two different things. Their person is not the same as their emotion; there is a great difference between the two. In the same way there is a great difference between their mind and their person. Peter was speaking from his emotion. He thought that he was the one who was speaking. He boasted that even if all the others would be stumbled because of the Lord, he would never be stumbled. He did not realize that the "I" he was speaking of was not his person but his emotion. He did not realize how much his outward man was at work. He did not realize how much he was living in his outward man. He did not know what he was saying, and he was not clear about himself at all. Then the Lord said to him, "Truly I say to you that in this night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times" (v. 34). But Peter still did not know himself. He told the Lord, "Even if I must die with You, I will by no means deny You" (v. 35). Here were another two extremes. Peter said that he would never be stumbled, but he denied the Lord three times. He boasted that he would die with the Lord, but long before there was any call to die with the Lord, he failed and became fearful when the crowd pointed out that he had been with Jesus.

These two extremes show us that Peter was a very unstable person. Although his name indicated that he was a stone, his character was like water; it flowed one way one moment and another way the next moment. It constantly changed in shape, being rectangular one minute and circular the next minute. He was completely governed by his environment. He became a certain kind of person when he faced a certain kind of environment. In the garden of Gethsemane, he dozed off with the other disciples. During the heat of his boast, he claimed that he would never be stumbled, even if the others were stumbled. But in the garden of Gethsemane, he fell sleep just like everyone else. Here was a person who was so sure in his speaking and who felt the same way in himself, but who did everything just the opposite. He was living according to his feeling; he was not living according to his true self. A man can live in his feeling so much that he no longer knows what his true self is. He thinks that his feelings are himself. This was Peter. He said he would never be stumbled, and according to his feeling, he sincerely believed that he would never be stumbled. But even before he met any opposition from men, he fell asleep in the garden of Gethsemane. His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak (26:41). A while later, he gathered up his energy, drew up his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and took off his ear (v. 51). He was bold to do this. He loved the Lord so much that he cast aside his personal considerations and stood at this height. Yet in a little while he slid back again. This was Peter.