What’s The Difference?
Luke 22: 54-62
54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Join me in Prayer!
So here we are in the hall of the high priest’s house and Peter has shown some courage by following along to see where they took Jesus. Then he entered the hall and stood around with all the servants, the curious, the soldiers and the hanger-ons who hope to see something exciting or different. But now what little courage Peter has deserts him and when he is asked about being one of Jesus’ disciples he denies it not once but three times. Three times just like Jesus had predicted. And as he denies him the third time Peter feels the Lords eyes upon him and he hears the cock crow and he remembers what Jesus had said. Peter then immediately ran out and away and wept bitterly like a broken man.
Now look with me at Acts chapter 4 verses 6-21
6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
Here we see Peter and John standing before the High council a group of the same people that had crucified Jesus. The same people that they had feared just a few days before and now they are speaking boldly and even tell them they crucified him and that he is the one and only savior! They are bold brave men again, men who have no fear of these people or anything that they can do to them. Peter, John, and all the disciples are bravely preaching Jesus to anyone and everyone that they can any place they can.
So I want to ask you this morning What’s The Difference?
What is the difference that gives Peter this man who just a few days prior had denied even knowing Jesus the courage to now go boldly before the high priest and preach Jesus to them? Where did he find this courage and what is there in him now that makes such a difference? In order to answer these questions we must look at the few days in between and what took place during that time.
First he saw his Lord and Master, who just the night before had washed his feet, beaten, humiliated, and crucified. Not much there to bring courage is there? Then he saw him buried in a borrowed tomb. Looks like things are definitely on the downhill slide and aren’t getting any better.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar circumstance? Oh I don’t mean seeing some one crucified but where circumstances seem to have you on a downhill slide and everything is going wrong.
First there is sickness in the family, perhaps yourself or a loved one. Then things are really going bad at work, or you have lost your job. Then the doctor and hospital bills begin to come in or just the ordinary bills but you don’t have enough money to pay them. And now things are really going downhill and there seems to be no way to stop or no relief in sight. Well that is where Peter was at. He began to look for and wonder what was going to go wrong next.
Then came the next thing to go wrong. Here come the ladies that had gone to the tomb coming back telling them that their master’s body had been stolen. Look at John 20 verse 2.
Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
Then Peter and John ran to the tomb and saw that the body of Jesus was truly missing and they didn’t know what had happened or what it meant. But to Peter here was the next thing to go wrong. Can’t you just hear him saying to the other disciples “See there it is another thing going wrong just like I told you it would. But no you wouldn’t believe me would you. The next thing you know the soldiers will be breaking that locked door over there down and coming in to take us and crucify us. I told you this was going to happen.” Yes these are broken, scared, worried men. Men who are good men and worrying about their families and what is going to happen to them now. They have locked theirselves in the upper room because of their fear.
Look again at John 20 and go down to verse 19 and see what happened to them.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
They saw Jesus! That’s it They saw Jesus!
Oh but what a difference that can be. Just to see Jesus. There you are looking for the soldiers or maybe you are listening to the doctor as he says “You have a Tumor.” Or perhaps he says “He or She doesn’t have long to live.” Or maybe it’s just “I am sorry but your services are no longer wanted here.” But your heart seems to be just about as low as it can go and you look up and there is Jesus and he says “Peace be unto you!” That’s all just “Peace Be Unto YOU!” That’s it. What more do you need? If you have peace about what is going to happen to you what more do you need? Does it matter what happens to you? Sure it does! It matters not only to you but it matters to GOD!
Now I know some people will say how do you know it matters to GOD?
How can you be sure GOD really cares? Well I could tell you about some things he has done for me and show you how he took care of my problems but that wouldn’t show you how much he cares for you. So I am going to read you something that shows you how much he cares for you. But first I want you to closer your eyes and remove all thoughts out and when you hear this I want it to be just like you are hearing it for the very first time!
Just Listen and let your heart talk to you as I read it.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God so loved the world. That’s you and me that he loved and do you see how much he loved you? He gave his only begotten son. He gave his son to a death on the cross. How could you possibly doubt that he LOVES YOU!
And if you are saved and Jesus is your Lord and Master do you remember the first time you meant him and what a change it made in your life. Do you remember how you couldn’t wait to tell people about him and what he had done for you? Can you remember how you were just busting with the fact that GOD had forgiven you and Jesus had died for you? Can you remember what you were like just a few days before that first true encounter with your Savior? How you were lost and confused how you were so sinful and hurting and you just knew everything was going bad?
If you can I want you to think about this what happened in between? What made the difference in your life? It is the same thing that made a difference in Peter’s and John’s lives. It is the same thing that made a difference in Saul’s life.
I know John and Peter had known Jesus before that. Why they had even spent three years on the road with him and witnessed him doing miracles. They had seen him feed five thousand with just a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread. They had seen him walk on water. They had seen him still the storm. They had seen him raise Lazarus from the dead. But there was a difference between those days and the ones they were in now. Yes they knew Jesus and had ate with him, slept in the same room with him but if you haven’t figured it out yet I am going to tell you what’s the difference.
You see even though they had known JESUS they had never before that time in the upper room meant The RESURRECTED JESUS!
That is the difference before they knew Jesus the man, Jesus the Teacher, Jesus the Rabbi but never before had they known Jesus the Savior. Jesus had defeated death, the grave and the devil and was resurrected. This was the Jesus that goes to prepare a place for you and will come back to take you home and you can believe it because he is resurrected.
HE LIVES and because he lives I can live also!
Join me in Prayer!
