Day 320: Peter's Denial Foretold (2025)

Summary of Day 320: Peter's Denial Foretold (2025)

by Ascension

24m•November 16, 2025
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Overview of Bible in a Year — Day 320: "Peter's Denial Foretold"

Host Father Mike Schmitz (Ascension) reads and comments on Scripture for Day 320 of the Bible in a Year series. Readings: Luke chapters 20–22:38 and Proverbs 26:17–19 (RSV-2CE). The episode includes a short organizational update (YouTube availability, translation plans, and a request for listener support/reviews) and pastoral reflections on key Gospel moments as Jesus approaches his passion.

Scripture passages covered (reading plan)

  • Gospel: Luke 20; 21; 22:1–38
    • Authority of Jesus questioned; Parable of the Wicked Tenants
    • Questions on taxes, resurrection, and the Messiah
    • Denunciation of scribal hypocrisy
    • Widow’s offering
    • Predictions: destruction of the Temple, signs of the end, persecutions, the Coming of the Son of Man, lesson of the fig tree, exhortation to watchfulness
    • Conspiracy to kill Jesus; Judas’s betrayal; Preparation of the Passover; Institution of the Eucharist; dispute about greatness; Peter’s denial foretold; Jesus’s instructions about purse/bag/sword
  • Proverbs 26:17–19
    • "He who meddles... is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears."
    • "Like a madman who throws firebrands... is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I'm only joking.'"

Key points and main takeaways

  • Organizational note: Ascension is keeping the podcast free, expanding to YouTube and other languages; funding and listener reviews help sustain and amplify the project.
  • Important Gospel passages:
    • Jesus exposes the religious leaders’ hypocrisy (wicked tenants parable) and outwits their traps (tax question).
    • He affirms the resurrection and shows the Messiah’s divine lordship (question about David’s son).
    • Jesus praises the poor widow—true generosity is measured by sacrifice of the heart, not quantity.
    • He foretells the Temple’s destruction, the trials and persecutions to come, signs before the end, and calls for watchfulness and prayer.
    • Institution of the Eucharist: bread as body, cup as the new covenant in his blood; "Do this in remembrance of me."
    • Jesus predicts Judas’s betrayal and Peter’s threefold denial; he prays for Peter specifically even though Satan seeks to "sift" all the disciples.
  • Proverbs highlight two practical moral warnings: avoid meddling in quarrels that aren’t yours and don’t inflict harm then excuse it as "just joking."

Notable insights from Father Mike's reflection

  • Widow’s offering: Jesus honors the widow because she gave "all she had"—the value lies in the heart’s surrender, not the amount.
  • First fruits vs. final fruits: faithful living includes both deliberate mortifications (chosen sacrifices) and passive mortifications (interruptions/penances that come to us); both purify.
  • Peter’s denial scene emphasized in Greek: Satan sought to sift all the disciples (plural), but Jesus prays for Peter individually (singular) so that after his fall and return he can strengthen the others. This models:
    • The reality of temptation and collective vulnerability.
    • Christ’s prayerful, restorative care for individuals.
    • The pastoral power of mercy—witness of conversion is a basis for strengthening others.
  • Practical pastoral note: public failure or scandal does not preclude restoration; mercy can become the source of pastoral authority to encourage others.

Notable quotations

  • "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
  • "This is my body... Do this in remembrance of me."
  • "Simon, Simon... Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you..."

Practical applications / action items

  • Spiritual:
    • Practice watchfulness and prayer—prepare your heart for trials and the unexpected.
    • Offer both chosen sacrifices (tithes, fasting, prayer) and accept the small interruptions/mortifications that polish the heart.
    • If you have failed publicly or privately, know that Jesus prays for you—return and offer your experience as a testimony of mercy to strengthen others.
  • Community / podcast:
    • Support Ascension’s work financially at ascensionpress.com/support if you’re able.
    • Consider leaving or updating a review to help the podcast’s visibility.
    • Download the Bible in a Year reading plan at ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear.

Short pastoral challenges (for reflection this week)

  • Identify one "first-fruit" discipline to begin or deepen (prayer, tithing, fasting).
  • Notice one "passive mortification" (an interruption or inconvenience) and offer it to God with gratitude.
  • Reflect on a failure—how might your experience of restoration be used to encourage others?

Closing

Father Mike closes with prayer and encouragement to be vigilant and merciful, reminding listeners that Christ’s words and prayer for his disciples are both warning and consolation as we approach the passion narrative (final day of Luke to follow).