Glen B Madden
Title: The Look of Christ
Date: 20/10/96
Reference: Luke 22:61
Introduction
Luke 22: 54 - 62
In this passage we have the account of what is commonly called the Peter’s Denial of Christ.
Have you noticed that we do have this tendency to separate ourselves from God’s Word.
This scripture is the classic example. The times I have read this and thought to myself “How could Peter do such an awful thing?? I would NEVER do that!”
We think Peter was always letting Jesus down, and I wouldn’t do that!
Therefore we call it PETER’S Denial.
Where as I think that this passage is actually a classic example of Human nature.
I believe God wants us to dwell on one verse
Verse 61
“And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.”
Within this statement there is a multitude of thoughts, feelings and emotions.
I want to look at it in two ways:
What did Peter see?
What did Jesus see?
Hours before Peter had told Jesus That he would never let Him down and that he would be with Jesus to the end. (verse 33)
At that moment Jesus knew what was going to happen and He prophesied to Peter that he would deny Him three times. The seed had been planted.
Now Peter was stood with what were possibly the very people who had arrested Jesus and He was venemently denying that he knew Jesus.
HOW COULD HE DO THAT??
We would never do such an awful thing.
We would never promise one thing and then do another!
We would never say one thing with our lips and do something else with our lives!
We would never deny Christ!
Let me tell you something if you do not know Christ as you should tonight - then you deny Him every day.
You deny that that he has a place in your lives.
You deny that he could change you in any way.
You deny that Jesus can heal your sicknesses.
You deny that Jesus is relevant
You deny Jesus.
Christians….
Do we deny Jesus Christ working in our lives?
Are we denying him by acting one way in here and doing something else out there?
We can all relate to Peter in some way.
How could he do such a thing? How can we do such a thing?
Verse 61 Peter was in the process of denying Jesus and then the word of God is fulfilled. Jesus looks at Peter.
Tonight the word of God is being fulfilled in some way in your life and Jesus is looking at you.
Jesus Turned and pinpointed Peter out in the crowd. At that point of time all Jesus was interested in was Peter. Peter’s eyes met Jesus’ eyes and he must have felt that the time had stopped.
What did Peter think and feel?
He must have felt failure.
He had just let down his Lord in a way he could never have dreamed about.
There are times when we all feel failure.
We feel that there is no hope and no future. Is there any way out of this situation?
You perhaps feel like you have let down your family and your friends
You haven’t made a go of life like you should have.
You feel like you have failed to the point that there is no return
He must have felt sadness
A deep sadness based on the realisation that he wasn’t the person he though he was.
We all set opurselves up as people who can cope with life
A front of strength and reliability and yet it isn’t real.
Peter had set him self up as a strong and perhaps hard man. Soemone you didn’t mess with and yet it was all a farce.
We all try and give an impression that isn’t always the right one. But Jesus sees right through it.
He must have felt fear and insecurity
Fear for the future, fear for the consequences.
What had he done?
We all have experienced fear - not just the action type fear but the fear that comes in your stomach.
A fear that comes from not knowing what is going to happen in the future.
He must have felt shame
Peter loved Jesus. You can’t spend three years of your life with someone without being effected by them.
A sign that he loved Jesus was that he followed to see what was going to happen.
The look that Jesus gave him would have definitely have made him full of shame and remorse.
We know this by his reaction - his image didn’t matter anymore - he went away and wept.
Are you ashamed of what you have done. Do you have regrets?
If so it is a sign that Jesus is giving you a look.
Lets look at what Jesus saw.
He saw a man full of shame, fear, feelings of failure and sadness.
Yet more than that he saw
A man full of potential
Everyone of us has the potential to be a lot more than we are.
We don’t see it but Jesus sees it.
He can see what we can be rather than just what we are.
He created us all and therefore he has put inside us the abibilty to love Him and through that love we can be successful.
Jesus gave Him a look of potential.
A Man full of possibilities
Jesus gave us this life to live it to the full
Life is full of possibilities, Jesus enables us to grab hold of those possibilities rather than just seeing themas something that isn’t obtainable.
He wants to give you everything you need to live a life that is full.
Jesus saw possibilities in Peter’s life.
A man with a destiny
Jesus knew that this experience that Peter was having would mould Him.
Not long after Peter was preaching his heart and seeing thousands saved.
Jesus saw a destiny.
When Jesus looked at Peter he saw His future Church.
But Jesus also saw Peter’s sin.
Jesus saw some woderful things when he looked at Peter but also saw Peter’s sin.
Jesus sees your sin.
The question has to be then….
When Jesus looks at you what does He see?
A failure? Sin? Sadness?
He sees possibilities, potential and destiny…
Amen
