Lent, Day 38: ouk eimi

Whether it is Judas' kiss or the disciples abandonment of their master en masse or Peter's thrice stated "I am not him," our Savior's last day was ushered in by the betrayal of his disciples. True, the Jewish leaders were bent on getting him and the Romans were more than complicit, but it is the turning away of his disciples, his friends for whom he lays down his life, that sits most uneasy with me.

Especially Peter's. Peter said he would follow the savior to the grave, even brandished a sword and with it removed an ear at Jesus' arrest. However, once Jesus was in custody, Peter would not own him. In John's Gospel, Peter expresses his betrayal with the simple denial, ouk eimi (Greek; literally, "I am not"). This seems somewhat ironical, for when the soldiers first came to the garden and asked for Jesus, the Savior stepped forward and said ego eimi (lit. "I am").