Matthew 26: 31 – 35
Pre-warned but not pre-wise
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 “Truly I tell you,” 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.
Today we are going to see some very remarkable insights from our Precious Holy Spirit. Going over these scripture verses I can see a unique fact come out. We are all aware of Peter’s denial 3 times of his knowledge and association with The Lord Jesus Christ but today we are going to witness how our Lord Jesus warned Peter that in three ways Satan was about to seriously test him. He was prewarned, but he was not pre-wise in accepting the Lord’s words. Peter wasn’t listening.
Sin takes its root in the heart. We are all familiar with Peter’ three acts in denying the Lord but I want to point out to you that these denials were already formulated beforehand. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16 we read about the Lord’s question to His disciples about exactly Who did they think He Is? Peter speaks up and declares that our Lord Jesus Is truly The Son of God. Our Lord then in front of the others says that Father God had spoke to Peter to reveal this truth. Victory, success, or recognition can be the fertile ground in which Pride can develop. In this case Satan saw an opportunity and influenced Peter’s remarks to our Lord’s announcement of His upcoming death on the cross. Let’s look at these passages.
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed[d] in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Let’s first look at Peter’s situation. In today’s verses we read of the Lord’s interaction with Peter.
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 “Truly I tell you,” 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.
Mark who heard first hand from Peter what transpired said this in chapter 14 where it talks about the Last Supper, 27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.” 30 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” 31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.
Please take note that Peter’s first act of denial and our Holy Lord’s restoration dealt with his false bravery in being more ‘Loyal’ than all the rest of the disciples. Peter’s denial dealt with his loyalty to God’s Authority as LORD. Here the Lord told him about his upcoming open denials of ever even knowing Him and Peter corrects the Lord’s revelation of the future events. Hey Peter, did you forget that our Holy Lord Jesus knows all things. Therefore, it is a pretty good bet that He knows what you will do in the future.
Peter commented in front of the Lord and the other disciples that they might betray the Lord, but he would never do such a thing. In other words my loyalty is at least the equal of, and probably greater than, all the others. Did he actually see himself as the supreme and superior example of loyalty? There is no room for men who feel superior in the work of God. They are a hindrance to God’s work. Jesus was concerned to know whether Peter had learned that without Christ he was nothing.
The disciple Luke reports in chapter 22 of his Gospel some additional information about the spiritual attack that was being leveled against Peter. In these verses we find the seeds of denial being planted. See if you can pick them both up?
31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” 34 hen He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
In Luke’s testimony of this situation we find the other two weed roots that Satan planted in Peter’s thoughts. The second denial which I hope you found is that our Lord Jesus said to Peter – ‘I have prayed for you.’ Do we read anywhere that Peter prayed for any insight prior to opening his mouth? Nope!
The second seed of denial was Peter being naïve as to the spiritual significance of the truth which our Lord had shared with His followers. Peter’s denial dealt with his lack of ‘dependency’ upon The Lord. Peter never prayed to seek the Father’s direction. He was all happy when our Lord Jesus told him that Father God told him that our Holy Lord Jesus was The Son of God, The Messiah. Shouldn’t he have sought Father God for direction in what the future would hold?
The third denial is due to a lack of faith. Of course Peter was not faithful to our Holy Lord Jesus. Again, please look at what our Lord told Peter, “32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Do you see the significant point brought out by our Lord Jesus to Peter? He tells Peter that he will fail. He will lack faith in the time of testing, but our Lord Jesus prayed that he would not ‘lose’ his faith.
I pray for all of us that if the Lord Is warning or teaching us about something that we will observe and take to heart all that He tells us.
