He Knew the Man

One of the most powerful scenes in Rob Gardner's musical work Lamb of God is when Peter sings out his feelings after he denied his association with the Savior on that fateful night.  The song is entitled "I Cannot Watch Them" and while not entirely scriptural (we have no account of Peter's actual thoughts then) the music expresses the powerful change that Peter went through in the New Testament.

 He went on from that moment of denial to become a rock solid apostle and president of the Church.  One of the main lines of the song expresses that change with the simple words "I know Him", words that Peter repeats in the song with increasing intensity.  This is obviously a contrast to his statement to the damsels that he did not know the Man, and it is this Peter who knows Christ that we see in the book of Acts.  This is the Peter who would stand before hundreds of the day of Pentecost and declare, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).  This is the Peter who seeing a man asking for alms would miraculously heal him saying "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Acts 3:6).  This is the Peter who when he was told by the leaders of the Jews that he could not preach about Christ said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20).  This is the Peter who would declare to the same leaders of the Jews, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.  And we are his witnesses" (Acts 5:30-32).  Peter's final words in the song were these: "And when my eyes are closed in death these words will hang on my last breath: 'I know Him'".  If we believe the extra biblical accounts (see for example this summary), then Peter was crucified for his testimony of the Savior.  Since he did not feel worthy of dying the same way as the Savior, he apparently requested to be crucified upside down.  If that's true, then indeed his dying moments were a testimony that He knew the Man.