Denying Jesus
Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75; John 21:15-17
July 26, 2009
Me/We:
I had originally planned to bring another message about that Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the sacrament of Communion.
But the more I actually worked on the message, the more I felt like God was telling me I needed to move on to the next section and revisit the issue of Communion next week, since that’s when we’re schedule to take it again.
So we’re going to move on to what happens just moments after Jesus shares this meal with His disciples, as they move on to the Garden of Gethsemene.
And it’s in this passage that we find Peter making a rather bold statement – a statement he’ll regret later.
Have any of you ever said something you later regretted?
For some, including myself the question isn’t so much whether we’ve done it, but how long it’s been since we didn’t say something, right?
For some, the only reason they open their mouth is so they can switch feet.
There’s a great quote I came across:
“Don’t say ‘giddy-up’ to your mouth before your head is hitched up.”
Cool, huh? I’m thinking of super-gluing that to my telephone…
A lot of times, we’re quick to speak, and if we’re not careful, we’ll end up saying something we’ll regret.
When it comes to the things of God, and especially about our love and allegiance to Jesus, it’s easy to speak, but what’s going to happen when the rubber really meets the road and you find yourself faced with a situation where if you say what you should it could get you in a lot of trouble?
And maybe not just a little trouble, like someone laughing at you or making fun of you.
Big trouble. Possible arrest, torture, and even death trouble, like many of our brothers and sisters around the world will face today?
Will we have the courage to stand up for Christ, whether the situation is big or small, or will be deny Him?
God: We’re going to look at three passages of Scripture that revolve around a specific event in the lives of Jesus and Peter.
Normally we only look at one passage, so I want to assure you we’ll be out of here at our usual time frame, so don’t worry!
The first passage is Matthew 26:31-35 (p. 703), and takes place as Jesus and the disciples are headed for the Garden of Gethsemane–
31 Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
"’I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
33 Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."
34 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
35 But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
Boy, Peter really laid it out, didn’t he?
You gotta give him credit – he was sincere and he was adamant, just like many of us are when we make these kinds of statements.
Some of you might be thinking to yourself, “I’d never make that kind of statement, anyway – it’s not safe!”
Um – remember your wedding vows? Those were some pretty audacious statements, weren’t they?
For better, for worse? How many marriages today are broken because when the “worst” part came, they bailed?
Oh they probably meant it when they said it at the wedding ceremony, just like Peter meant it when He told Jesus he’d be there for Him.
But what happens when the hard times come? They decide that they’re better off without that person.
This is why I insist on pre-marital counseling before I do a wedding. We talk about this stuff because I want them to be equipped to handle it when the hard times come, so they can stick it out with God’s help and wisdom.
So here we have Peter talking big. Let’s move on to where he gets the chance to back up his words, in verses 69-75 (p. 704) –
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."
72 He denied it again, with an oath: "I don’t know the man!"
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."
74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don’t know the man!"
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Wow – Peter blew it, didn’t he? Three chances to say that He was a follower and friend of Jesus, and He blew it each time.
Peter is the most obvious example of someone denying Christ, and he made a lot of noise about not denying Him, but did you notice something else back in verse 35? Let’s look at that again, because this is really where I want to go with this today –
But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
Did you catch that? All of the disciples said they’d never disown Jesus.
But in just a little while, when Jesus was being arrested, they all ran for their lives.
At least Peter tried to do something about the arrest, at least initially. Nobody else did. And at least Peter hung out for a while while Jesus was on trial. None of the others did.
My point here is that we need to be careful before we dump too much on Peter.
We need to recognize that anyone of those guys might have done what Peter did if put in the same situation as he was.
And here’s what I want you to hear today: without the help of God, none of us here today is above denying Jesus to those around us.
And that means that anyone in here could deny Christ, even if you’ve been closely following Him for years like the disciples had been.
What do you mean, Brian? How can we deny Christ nowadays?
We deny Christ when we deny we’re Christians – that’s probably the most obvious way.
We deny Christ when we choose to follow the crowd instead of following Jesus.
We deny Christ when we choose convenient disobedience over inconvenient obedience.
In other words, we deny Christ when we choose sin over obedience.
We deny Christ when we turn down the opportunity to speak up for Christ and the Scriptures when given the chance.
We deny Christ when we say that we know better than He does about any given area of life.
We deny Christ when we allow our schedules to dictate our love for Him instead of allowing our love for Christ to dictate our schedules.
(I seem to be especially guilty of this one)
We deny Christ when we bring dissension and division and splits to the Church He bought with His blood.
This one’s not in your note-taking guide, because I thought of it after they were printed:
We deny Christ when we refuse to forgive as Christ forgave us.
When you hold on to bitterness and unforgiveness, you’re disobeying Jesus’ command to forgive, whether they ask for it or not, whether you think they deserve it or not, forgetting the fact that you don’t deserve it, either, and that it’s only because of God’s grace and mercy you’re forgiven.
The basic idea is that we deny Christ anytime we put ourselves and our agenda ahead of Him and His agenda.
Anytime we think we know better than Jesus and act in our own interests instead of His, we’re denying Christ.
We may not be Peter, but we can, and in many cases, have, denied Jesus.
But the story doesn’t end with Peter’s words and the words of the other disciples.
It doesn’t end with Peter in the courtyard a few hours later denying and even swearing he didn’t know Jesus.
Let me show you something recorded by another apostle, John, near the end of his gospel.
Turn with me to John 21, starting in verse 15 (p. 769-770) –
The scene is a beach some days after Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus appeared to the disciples, and at first they didn’t recognize Him.
But John figures it out pretty quickly and they all head for shore.
This is the third time Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection.
Can you imagine how Peter must have been feeling over the days since Jesus’ death and resurrection?
Wondering if Jesus could ever forgive him. Wondering if he could really ever look Jesus in the eye again. Wondering if he would really have a part in what Jesus had planned for His kingdom.
Maybe wondering if he was even part of the kingdom anymore.
Let’s pick it up and see what Jesus has to say:
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 17
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
Jesus forgave Peter. And He didn’t just forgive Peter – He said He still had a job for him, if he was willing to take it.
Peter did take it, and from the time of the Holy Spirit’s descent at Pentecost, Peter was the recognized leader of the church until God brought Paul around to take the news of Jesus to the Gentiles.
The good news for us today is that there is forgiveness for those who have denied Christ.
You might be sitting here today and maybe you’ve done or said something that denied Christ and you’re wondering if Jesus cares for you anymore.
You’re ashamed, just like Peter was.
Let me say to you that Christ is ready, willing, and able to forgive you and to use you for His purposes in the kingdom.
I can give you plenty of examples of my own life when I’ve blown it for Jesus, and walked away in shame.
And someone would come to me and remind me that Christ had forgiven me and still had something for me to do.
Even during my ministry here there have been times when I’ve needed the hand of someone on my shoulder telling me that in spite of my mistakes, God still has a job for me to do – that the task isn’t finished, and that He called me to do it.
It’s the same with everyone here today.
You: There are three main applications I think we can take away from this story of Peter:
1. The first is to avoid believing you’re above denying Jesus, like Peter believed and found out that not only was he capable of denying Jesus, but capable of cussing while he was at it.
If you think you’re above all that, then let me say you’re setting yourself up for a major heartache someday.
You’ll find yourself in a situation where because of one sort of pressure or another, you’ll be tempted to deny Jesus.
I’m not saying you’ll actually do it, but you’ll discover that maybe you’re not above it after all. And that’ll hurt.
A second application is that…
2. If you have denied Christ, confess it to Him now and accept the forgiveness He for you.
He already knows you’ve done it, so you’re not confessing it to Him to inform Him you’ve done it.
You’re confessing to acknowledge that you’re aware of your sin and want His forgiveness for it.
The Bible says in 1 John 1: 9 –
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Not, “He’ll think about forgiving us.” Not, “He will forgive us if we say a certain type of prayer a certain amount of times,” not “He might forgive us if we never do it again.”
If we confess, He forgives. A sin confessed is a sin forgiven. So confess it to God and accept His forgiveness for it.
And thirdly…
3. Pray that God would give you the courage and ability to stand for Christ, no matter the cost.
Paul had something to say about this in 1 Corinthians 1:21-22 –
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Paul knew a thing or two about standing firm in the face of pressure to deny Christ, so you can believe he knows what he’s talking about here.
God wants to help you. He wants to give you the spiritual fortitude to stand firm and to speak for Him, even if it means hardship for you and those you love.
But Jesus Himself tells us that –
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)
I don’t know about you, but I love the idea that Jesus will bring me to the Father and say, “You know what, Father? This guy stood up for me even when it was tough. It cost him a lot for him to do it, but he didn’t back down. I’m proud to have him up here with us.”
I hope that motivates you as well.
We: Folks, I’ve said before that we live in an age where it’s popular to be spiritual, but it’s not real popular to be a person who actually loves Jesus.
Society’s a bit hypocritical in that regard.
But I want to encourage you that as we stand firm for Christ, He honors that. He helps us to be accurate reflections of Him and His love for all who would call on Him for forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven.
And not only that, other people take notice of those who are honestly living for Christ and His agenda instead of living for themselves and their agenda while wrapping it up in religious “clothing.”
It allows them see Jesus for who He really is because they see the truth of the Scriptures played out in your life, even if it’s imperfectly like Peter and the rest of the disciples.
So stand firm. Ask God to help you acknowledge Christ when the opportunities come.
And watch Him work in you and through you to advance His kingdom in our area.
Let’s pray.
