Jesus’ eyes.

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. from Luke 22.61

Good Day.

There is a chill in the night air as Peter warms his hands by a fire in the courtyard; meanwhile, Jesus is in the home of Annas, being angrily questioned, at the first of six trials he would face.  Twice Peter has been asked if he was an associate of Jesus, twice he said ‘no’; and when there is a third accusation, he passionately denies any involvement with his Lord, and immediately, he hears a rooster crow.  At the same instant, through the window, Jesus turns and looks directly into Peter’s eyes, as Peter recalls the Lord’s warning of the day before that he would do just as he has done!  How could it be…to deny the Lord he loves so much! 

I have been wondering… what did Peter see in Jesus’ eyes? 

Actually, have you ever thought much about Jesus’ eyes?  In all likelihood, they were brown in color, since we know he was of Jewish descent; and from the Gospels, we know his eyes conveyed many feelings!  But first, Jesus’ eyes had to see!  I have written about it before, but it bears repeating …                                                       

no one ever saw like Jesus.                                         

Why, remember Matthew 9, “when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them…” and John 9 begins with, “As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.”  What fills Jesus’ heart as he sees the man?  Compassion.  After all, his disciples just wondered aloud ‘who had sinned—the man or his parents?’  But compassion moved Jesus to action. 

But what does Peter see in Jesus’ eyes this cold, dark night when he has just betrayed him a third time?  From across the courtyard, as dancing flames flicker, and into the electric atmosphere of the high priest’s home where a weary, shackled Jesus stands, Peter sees several things in Jesus’ eyes:  knowledge – of what Peter has just done, and the accompanying wound of a friend; but Peter also sees in Jesus, a knowing – of what Peter is yet to become, so hope and faith are present in Jesus’ eyes, too. 

Remember when these same eyes first saw Peter, back in John chapter one?  Andrew brought Peter to meet Jesus -  “Jesus looked at him and said, “Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas.”  (This is the same as Peter and means “a rock.”)”  John 1.42.  From the start, Jesus saw what Peter would become, and he did become a rock!  He became the first leader in the early church. 

Finally, on that night, Jesus’ eyes telegraphed a knowing compassion to Peter, a kindness if you will, and Peter ran from the courtyard weeping.  Indeed, it is his kindness that leads us to repentance ~ Romans 2.4. 

Knowing how Jesus’ eyes saw Peter, I am confident there is a change in his eyes at times as he watches me, but in the end, his steady eyes draw me to his great love for me.  Because ‘even when I do not act like a woman of faith, he is faithful.’  2 Timothy 2.13 personalized.