Accusations of Association

Scripture: Matthew 26:-69-75

Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before [them] all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another [maid] saw him, and said unto them that were there, This [fellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto [him] they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art [one] of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, [saying], I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Commentary:
Jesus was handed over to Caiaphas the high preist in order for the scriptures to be fulfilled. The interrogation of Jesus began to make Him incriminate Himself with His own speech. However, Jesus did not fall for the tricks of man, because He knew what was in man's heart continually. As He was being interrogated the men continued to try to lock Him down to the way that they thought. Jesus was much wiser than they, and knew the only reason why He was even there, was for the scriptures to be fulfilled. Therefore, the only questions that He answered were those that were in line with His purpose. Any other questions, He completely ignored.

The words that Jesus spoke to Peter would soon come to past so quickly that Peter would weep bitterly, because he would know what Jesus had said to him was true. When Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ three times, on the third time, he actually changed His speech to prove the lie; he was trying to persuade the crowd of, was actually true. Three servant girls had pointed Peter out as having an accent that reminded them of Jesus. But Peter, candidly refutted their accusations of association with Jesus.

Reflection:
No matter how we may try to say that we are, or we are not ,associated with someone; our speech will give us away. Those that we spend time with, will soon become a part of us; to the point that our speech will even change. Therefore, we must decide on who we spend our time with, and the purpose of the time spent. If we spend our time with individuals that do not have desires to accomplish great things in life, sooner or later, our motivation will change; as well as our speech. Let us take into consideration the people that are in our lives. Are they in our lives just because, or because of. There is a reason  for every investment that is made in our lives, if it is indeed an investment of another person's life. Therefore, when we spend time with others, let us add to their life in the way of an asset, and refrain from being a liability.

Strong's Concordance Definitions: Matthew 26:73
Speech: 2981
1) speech, i.e a story

2) dialect, mode of speech, pronunciation
a) speech which discloses the speaker's native country

Betrays: 1212
1) clear, evident, manifest

References:
Blue Letter Bible. "Gospel of Matthew 26 - (KJV - King James Version)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 13 Feb 2010.  http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=26&t=KJV


Higgins, S. (2010). Accusations of Association. Devotions for Thought. Higgins Publishing. Http://www.devotionsforthought.blogspot.com, Http://www.higginspublishing.com