The Look Of Christ

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.