Last Sunday we spoke about Jesus in the Valley of Kidron, then in the Garden of Gethsemane, and how the whole time He was in God’s will in His journey from death to life.
We are coming to the end of Jesus’ earthly journey in the book of John and can see that these last few hours would be the most difficult He would face. In the Garden, Jesus began to feel the crushing weight, the gravitas of what He would go through to accomplish His Father’s will for the redemption of the world. Then He experienced the painful betrayal of one of His followers, a friend.
Today, we are reading about Peter’s denial. Now both actions, the betrayal by Judas and the denial of Peter sound equally bad but there is a difference between the two. It’s the aspect of premeditation where the difference emerges. For example, we can easily deny someone or something when the pressure is on - when we are embarrassed or because of fear of being found out. Betrayal, on the other hand, takes some plotting and planning ahead of time.
The Scriptures do not give us the specific reason why Judas betrayed Jesus, but we do know that his idea of who the Messiah was supposed/expected to be did not pan out and that his motives for following Jesus were tainted. So, he plotted with Jesus’ enemies and sold him out in a cold-blooded, calculated way.
Did Jesus already know this would happen? Yes, He had told the disciples He would be betrayed in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled (John 13). He also knew that Peter would deny Him, and the disciples would desert Him in the heat of the moment. Satan requested that Peter be completely removed out of God’s hands and be put totally in his power and then he would use his failure against him. Yet, Peter, in his self-confidence said, “Even if they all fall away - I will not, I am ready to die for you.” Peter was on his own journey from death to life as we will see when his self-proclaimed faithfulness is put to the test.
John 18:15-18, 25-27 (NLT)
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
“No,” he said, “I am not.”
18 Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
When I was studying the passage, I was reading all four gospel accounts and observed three things from this event:
Peter’s Proclamation
People’s Continual Prodding
The Lord’s Prayer
Let’s look at:
Peter’s Proclamation
John is narrating two scenes that are happening simultaneously: the trial of Jesus and Peter’s denial. Jesus had just been unlawfully arrested in the Garden and brought to the high priest’s home. He was brought before Annas, then Caiaphas, and then to an assembly of religious leaders called the Sanhedrin (Matt 26:57). This first encounter with the priesthood was just a preliminary, informal, and unofficial inquiry.” The encounter with these religious leaders was unofficial because it was actually illegal. They broke all the rules, weren’t following the law and were rushing the trial because they wanted Jesus dead before the Passover. And while Jesus was being interrogated, mocked, and beaten in court, another scene was playing out below in the courtyard.
It was just a short distance from the Garden of Gethsemane to the high priest’s courtyard and we see Peter had been following Jesus at a distance (vv. 15-16). At first, Peter was standing outside of the courtyard but one of the disciples who knew the high priest spoke to the servant girl and got Peter in. To Peter's credit, he was more courageous than the other disciples as he and only one other disciple followed Jesus right into the high priest's courtyard. Most likely Peter was so close to where Jesus was that he could observe the interrogation.
We see Peter’s first interaction with a Jewish servant girl in v. 17. When she came to the door she asks: Are you also one of Jesus' disciples? F.F Bruce suggests that this unknown disciple of Jesus, may not have been one of the 12 apostles but one His followers. This disciple spoke with the slave girls about letting Peter in, and when she saw Peter face she said in effect, “Oh, no, you not one of those?”
Why is this so significant? Because it shows that she knew about Jesus and his disciples. But the disciple she knew wasn’t secretive about the fact that he was a follower of Jesus. The same could not be said about Peter, who was not being questioned by some official guard but was being intimidated by a servant girl and he immediately denied any association with Jesus. This is when the rooster crowed the first time, but Peter doesn’t make the connection.
Remember, just a few hours earlier, Peter proclaimed his loyalty to Jesus in front of all the disciples, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” (Matt 26:34-35).
Peter proclaimed His own faithfulness. Maybe he didn’t want to appear weak in front of the others, maybe he really thought he was strong enough to stand up for Jesus and even die for Him. In John 13, Jesus had told them, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now.” So, Peter shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It seems in an act of stubbornness and self-determination, Peter put himself in a place that he could not handle and by doing so he was setting himself up for failure.
What do you think the Lord is teaching us from this? (question for the church)
The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. Have you ever made a commitment to something or someone, out of loyalty, sincerity, love, to put on a good face, and then realize it was way beyond your ability to handle? I can think of plenty of times in my desire to do the right thing, I ended up failing or disappointing people, even bringing shame to my Christian testimony. At this point, I’ll usually go to one of two extremes in order to save face: work harder, be more committed, make more promises or just give up and disappear from the scene. Neither way solves anything.
So when the rooster crowed the first time, it was a wakeup call for Peter to stop and think about what just happened. Peter, you have taken on more than you can handle - you can’t do this in your own strength, but Peter stays in there. My question is: If Peter couldn’t stand up to a servant girl what makes him think he can handle…
Peoples’ continual prodding
It was early morning and v. 18 tells us,
Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
The officers, temple police, servants, got a fire going, everyone was standing around the coal fire so they must have been quite close to each other. Most likely the glow of this fire allowed others to recognize Peter.
Jumping down to v. 25 and we see that while he was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”
Luke and Mark’s gospels bring out that it was Peter’s accent that gave him away. This aroused the curiosity of those standing around the fire then others began to enter into the conversation. People began prodding, asking questions, and putting two and two together and the pressure is building. So, for the second time he lied and swore that he didn’t even know this man. Then to make matters worse, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I just see you out in the olive grove with Jesus?” Now Peter speaks emphatically and actually swears an oath with a curse, something like, “I swear to God, I don’t know Him and may God strike me dead if I am lying.” Once Peter denied the Lord the first time it became easier to deny the Lord a second time and as a result of his repetitive actions, his sin of denial became more deliberate and willful.
Peter had followed Christ for three years, had been bold in professing faith and love towards Him, had received boundless mercies and loving-kindnesses and professed that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now that he’s in the company of unbelievers, and they begin prodding him about His association with Jesus he buckles under the pressure. His faith crumbled and he fell.
What is the Lord teaching us here? It is quite possible to follow the Lord in your own strength for a long time, but when intense pressure comes you won’t be able to fake it anymore. If we don’t deal with sin right away it can lead down a dangerous path. Some people can do a lot in their own strength - work, serve the Lord, teach, love their spouse, etc. But if Peter who walked with God incarnate for three years fell under just the slightest pressure, what will happen when I’m put to the test? This brings us to our last point:
The Lord’s Prayer
Luke’s gospel records that while Peter was still speaking, the rooster crowed (22:61-62). Why is the rooster in the story? In biblical days, roosters were common within the towns and cities. The first crowing often occurred around midnight; the second crowing could be expected before daybreak. So, this could indicate that a lot of time passed between the first denial and the last. Peter had plenty of time to state the truth about his relationship with Jesus. But it was early morning and the trial before the Sanhedrin was closing and as Jesus was being escorted out to stand in front of Pilate, he turned and locked eyes with Peter. Peter saw Jesus’ face which was black and blue because of the blows He had received and likely still covered with spit. We do not know what facial expression Jesus had but He knew Peter denied Him and loved him anyway. I believe that is why the weight of Peter’s denial hit him like a ton of bricks. Under the pressure of the people’s prodding, Peter said things he wished he never said and I believe when he saw Jesus’ face his heart must have broken and he ran out of the courtyard weeping bitterly.
Have we ever said things in the heat of a conflict, or under pressure that really hurt the ones we love most? Things we wished we had never said? Or made empty promises that we didn’t keep? It’s hard to face the person you have broken a promise to. When I look at my actions, my words, my decisions in the light of Christ’s righteousness, holiness, love, goodness, and grace my sin becomes really sinful.
Thankfully Peter’s failure was not the final chapter of his journey. His failure broke him, and that brokenness eventually brought him to repentance and back to the Lord. Remember, Jesus knew that Satan’s goal through sifting the disciples was to crush and wreck their faith (Luke 22:32). Our adversary, the devil, wants to weaken and then destroy the faith of every believer. Can you imagine the things that ran through Peter's mind when the rooster crowed that morning? All the promises I broke, all the opportunities I missed. Condemnation and guilt overflowed his emotions when he denied Christ and Satan put those failures in his face. Look at you, this is who you are, useless, inadequate, weak.
So what did Jesus do? He didn’t put the guilt trip on Peter, He interceded for him, prayed that his faith wouldn’t fail. That his faith wouldn’t be eclipsed, darkened, overshadowed or blocked by his failure. Sometimes we feel like our failures are so big that it eclipses our faith, that it casts a shadow on our life, that our sin is great enough to block God’s forgiveness and mercy. Peter’s reaction to the realization of what he had done was a picture of the true believer’s response to sin. A believer is never happy about sin because sin in any Christian experience ultimately brings misery. I think we can all attest to that.
Jesus was confident that Peter would get back up again and go on to strengthen other believers, which he did. As we will read on the other side of the crucifixion, Peter’s brokenness taught him a great lesson about the Lord’s love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and acceptance. Peter had his own journey from death to life. He realized he could not follow Jesus in his own strength. This realization kept him humble and dependent on Jesus. The Lord would be the source for all that he would need to follow him and to encourage others. God gave him the capacity and the strength to show compassion, patience, and mercy for others who were uncertain or vacillating in their faith.
What can we take away from this? When Satan comes to sift us like wheat, and he will, what do we do? One thing is that we don’t put ourselves in the place of temptation. The Word tells us to run from youthful passions (2 Tim 2:22). In these instances, God doesn’t tell us to stand or to fight but to run in the other direction - run after, pursue faith, love, and peace together with others who call on the Lord with a pure heart. Paul was telling Timothy to run from the danger zone - and not give Satan a place. To be in the Word, in the will of God, be filled with the life of God along with others who are running in the right direction. We cannot make it without the Lord or without His people.
Lastly, I believe it shows us that Jesus never stops loving us and interceding for us even when Satan sifts us and puts all our failures and weaknesses in our face. These things can never overshadow the price Jesus paid for our sin on the cross, can never eclipse or separate us from God’s love as His children. We have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who paid for all our faults, failures, and sins. What this teaches me is that there is no way we can live the Christian life in our own strength or wisdom. When I try, I will be miserable and eventually fall flat on my face again and again. When that happens, and it will, I don’t need to work harder or promise to be better hoping that God will love me more. Jesus wants me to come to Him in my brokenness, in repentance, because He is the only one who can deliver me, cleanse me, and pick me up. Jesus, I need your grace and strength in my relationship with You, for my studies, my work, for my marriage, my family, and friendships.
We are all on a spiritual journey from death to self, to being made alive in Christ.
