Peter's Denial of Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Luke 22:54–62 (NIV84)
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Introduction
Introduction
The Proverb is well-known:
18 Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
While it is true that we’re all very well aware of the Proverb, we so often have the view that the Proverb doesn’t apply to us. After all, we’re very aware of the dangers of pride, and thus will guard ourselves against its destructive potential.
But therein lies the problem with pride. It blinds the heart of the person that is living in pride. They cannot see their own pride, and sadly, are often only awakened once the fall has taken place. Suddenly they’re confronted with the reality of the extents of not only their sin, but also their self-deception.
Such was the case for Peter, which we find in the text before us this morning. We should keep in mind that Peter had recently been told by Jesus that he would deny him. We’d do well to remind ourselves of the interactions between Peter and Jesus.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Evidently, Jesus was very clear to Peter that he would deny Him. He knew that this was about to unfold. Although Peter would vehemently deny this, we find through our passage this morning that, just a couple of hours after the warning was given, the sad reality would come to pass! Peter’s pride, although appearing wonderful and good to those looking on, would not keep him standing in the hour of temptation.
Now, keep in mind that when we were last in our study in Luke’s Gospel, we got to the point where Judas had betrayed Jesus into the hands of the soldiers by leading them out to the place where he knew that Jesus was spending the nights, on the Mount of Olives. When that had taken place, there was an initial positive reaction from the disciples - they were wondering if they should take out their swords and fight. But Jesus told them that this would be out of place, and He even healed the ear of the servant of the High Priest - Malchus.
At this point, we find that Jesus is arrested, and he is led away in order to be put on trial by the Jewish leaders. As this trial unfolds, we find this account of Peter, as he is put to the test. The question is, will he stand firm as he has so adamantly stated he would, or would he fall, as Jesus had predicted.
We will consider these events together, and hopefully draw some wonderful encouragement for our own lives as Christians. While it is true that Peter would fall, there is yet much encouragement that we may draw from this encounter.
Notice, firstly, with me…
1 The Arrest (vv.54-55)
1 The Arrest (vv.54-55)
We find something of the details of the arrest of Jesus in verse 54…
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.
Then seizing him…
While no details are given in terms of precisely what unfolded in terms of the arrest of Jesus, we should take note that part of this involved binding Him. The arrest of Jesus meant that they would bind Him with his hands (this is clear in John 18:24) so that he couldn’t escape.
Having thus detained him securely, they lead him slowly back through the Kidron valley and into Jerusalem. And we read further that they led him away…into the house of the high priest...
There are a number of important things for us to take note of here.
Firstly, the Jewish regulations dictated that no trial by the Sanhedrin could take place at night, or during a festival. On both of these counts, the Jewish leaders were going against what they held to be fit and proper. They were ignoring their own laws. in fact, this was the eve of the Passover - one of the holiest nights on the Jewish liturgical calendar.
Further to this, it was not right for Jesus to be taken to the house of the High Priest at all. This was certainly not the procedure that was to be followed for those who were on trial. What ought to have happened (if there was any basis whatsoever for such a trial - which in this case there wasn’t) was that they ought to have taken him to the Temple area where he would be bound in the stocks.
We see this happening in the arrests of the disciples in the book of Acts.
3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
In Acts 5:19 we read that it was night.
In other words, correct procedure required arresting, placing in jail until the full Sanhedrin could assemble during the day time, and then giving a fair trial in front of all of the Sanhedrin.
Once again, they were going against their own laws. Although a least a good number of the Sanhedrin would have been present, it is unlikely that all of them were there.
…the High Priest...
In this verse that we’re considering, we are told that Jesus was taken to the house of the High Priest. Luke doesn’t name the High Priest of the time.
However, in Matthew 26:57 we read this…
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.
At that time, the High Priest was officially Caiaphas. But things in the religious hierarchy were also somewhat complicated. If you look at the parallel account in John’s Gospel, you will see that it reads as follows:
13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
Later on in John’s Gospel it will tell us that they then took him from Annas across to Caiaphas. This is not a contradiction, but rather the fact that John included a step in the process that Matthew and Luke chose to exclude.
Annas had previously acted as High Priest, and was still very influential at this time. As John 18:13 says, he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas.
What is interesting is that the office of High Priest had become corrupt. When instituted in the Mosaic Law, it was originally an office conferred for life. There was also a hereditary requirement, that you had to be descended from a particular lineage. That was all thrown out of the window at this time.
The office at this present time was subject to the political tactics of Herod and the corruptibility of the Roman procurators. During this time it was held by 28 illegitimate occupants. There was nepotism involved. There were financial kickbacks at play. The Jewish elite had become involved politically. It was corrupt.
I want to remind us about an event that had taken place previously. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. Immdeiately following that, in John 11:47-48 we read…
47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
There was actually a fear among them that this man Jesus was threatening them as the Jewish people because of some instability that would take place because of Jesus’ actions. And so this plot was hatched to put this man Jesus to death. He was a nuisance to them, and a threat to their very existence.
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
Now, when Caiaphas spoke those words, he was being cold and calculated. In his mind, Jesus needed to die in order to save the Jewish people from destruction. He would need to be sacrificed for the better good.
As these events were unfolding, Caiaphas’ hand was involved every step of the way as they were seeking to carry out their plans.
He didn’t realize how prophetic his words were (which is what John 11:51-52 actually tells us. But here was the High Priest and the Jewish leadership, trying to carry out their plot to kill Jesus so that they could rid themselves of this menace.
The hatred and bitterness was extreme. The corruption was detestable. But all of these events were being used in the providential working of God to bring about exceptional good. The hatred and bitterness that was driving these religious leaders was being directed and used by the hand of Almighty God to bring about the only means of the salvation of mankind. Most despicable evil, being used for the greatest good that could ever unfold.
Just a word or two about the house of the High Priest. Probably Annas and Caiaphas were staying together in the same house. As family, and as those acting as high priest, this is not unlikely.
This would have been a very large house. The rooms of the house would have been built around an open courtyard. From outside, there would have been an outer door or gate, which would lead through an arched passage to this inner courtyard. In this case, the rooms of the house would have been raised above, and they would have looked down into the courtyard.
Peter followed at a distance…
At the end of verse 54, we read that Peter followed them at a distance. Remember that this is by night, so it would not have been too difficult to follow this large crowd through the shadows of darkness. He kept his distance somewhat, but obviously was following them to see where they were headed.
In John 18:15, we read…
15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard,
The other disciples with Jesus was in all likelihood John himself. Our verse tells us that he was known by the high priest, and obviously that would have included the servants of the high priest. We’re not certain what the connection was there, but we it does provide us with an understanding of why they were able to gain access to this courtyard area of the house of the high priest.
Probably Jesus was in one of the rooms that looked down, while the soldiers and the disciples were gathered down below in the courtyard. In verse 55 we read…
55 But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.
The soldiers were the ones that were gathered around the fire. It was obviously a cold spring night… temperatures in Jerusalem (around this time of year) are pretty low - in the early hours of the morning they can get down into the low single digits.
So Peter joins with the soldiers around the fire in order to warm himself up. And then we find this series of denials.
2 The Denials (vv.56-60)
2 The Denials (vv.56-60)
It’s at this point that there are three times that Peter will deny any association with Jesus. He doesn’t want to confess that he was with Jesus or that he was a disciple of Jesus. A couple of reasons that this is understandable.
One of them is that any follower of Jesus, or at least one acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah, was put out of the synagogue. That is clear from the account of Jesus healing the blind man in John 9. The parents of the blind man refused to answer the question as to who had healed their son, because they were afraid of this. Peter would have been aware of this.
But beyond this, Jesus was arrested. If Peter was a close follower of Jesus (which he was) he could well have been afraid that he would himself be arrested and charged. And so, there would have been this natural fear / concern about what may happen.
Let us then consider these denials as Luke outlines them.
2.1 The First Denial (vv.56-57)
2.1 The First Denial (vv.56-57)
56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
You can just picture this crowd of soldiers sitting around the fire, with Peter in their midst, and a servant girl (probably a servant of the high priest himself) sitting across on the other side of the fire. As the flames are lighting up their faces, this servant girl looks across at Peter, probably pretty intently, trying to make out if she knows him from somewhere.
I imagine Peter catching her quizzical look at him, feeling really uncomfortable as he sees her kind of staring at him. But eventually she comes to the realization that she knows this man… she recalls that he was with Jesus.
And so, out loud, in front of all of them, she declares… “This man was with him...”
This is one of these moments where a chill runs down your spine, and you realise you’re in trouble. Not only was the fire now warming Peter, but his cheeks would have burned even hotter from the feeling of being the center of attention, and that in the context of a hostile situation.
There was clearly a boldness to the servant girls remarks, and they came out of nowhere for Peter. He was taken off guard… Verse 57 tells us his response.
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
Immediately Peter is on the back foot. It was probably somewhat of a shock reaction from Peter here. In other words, in this case, there possibly wasn’t a whole lot of thought in terms of how he’s responding. He would have been nervous at what was unfolding, trying to blend in with the crowd. This was a response to cover himself, and get himself out of this awkward position.
This servant girl would have blown his cover, and placed him in an awkward position.
The next verse gives us the second denial…
2.2 The Second Denial (v.58)
2.2 The Second Denial (v.58)
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
Here was another person that saw Peter, and by the response of Peter, this was a man. Luke doesn’t give any indication on the identity of the man.
I think it’s worth making a comment on the various Gospel accounts and how they relate these events unfolding here. So, for example, in the parallel account in Matthew 26, verse 71 tells us that the second person that identified Jesus was another servant girl. Now, there’s no real difficulty there. We simply have different Gospel writers conveying different details of the same event.
In other words, in these cases of people identifying Peter, there was only one person at a time, but there were others involved who were standing by. The second servant girl could have been with two or three others, and when she identifies Peter, they chime in with their own words. And so, you’re getting these different people, and the Gospel writers are selective in the details that they present.
The point here is that Peter was being spotted and identified as a person that had walked with Jesus and been a disciple. This was probably at least a little while after the previous incident. Peter has probably had some time to reflect at least momentarily on what had happened with the first servant girl identifying him.
But he’s sticking to his plan of denial. After all, he needs to protect his life here. He can’t blow his cover!! And so, he proceeds again to respond with a denial!
The charge is, “You are one of them.” The response, “Man, I am not!!”
There certainly seems to be a forcefulness about the response! But there is a clear, outright denial by Peter of his association with Jesus and the disciples.
This leads us to the third denial…
2.3 The Third Denial (vv.59-60)
2.3 The Third Denial (vv.59-60)
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
The time is passing. This is an hour later after the second denial, according to Luke’s record. They were by this time deep into the night, perhaps the early hours of the morning.
Once again, Luke doesn’t present us with any details of the person who now confronts Peter here. In Matthew’s Gospel account we read this about the third denial…
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”
Some things to notice from this. Firstly, you will notice that this was a group of people that went to Peter and confronted him. It speaks about “those standing there.”
We also see that in this account, their means of identifying Peter is by his accent. “Your accent gives you away.” This ties in with Luke’s record of them identifying him as a Galilean. His accent was obviously telling them that he came from Galilee.
If you then consider John’s Gospel, we read that part of this group of people was another servant of the high priest.
26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?”
What is clear from this is that there is not just one person challenging Peter here, but a group of people. This is the third time that Peter is being confronted, and clearly the stakes have been raised here. This is no longer one or two servant girls, but a group of people that are all identifying Peter. The situation must have been frightening for Peter.
Back to Luke’s account here, we read of the third denial by Peter in verse 60…
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.
Once again, Peter goes to an outright denial of ever having been a follower of Jesus. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!!” This is a plain lie.
But look further at verse 60… Just as Peter is speaking the words, they literally still falling from his lips, and the rooster crowed.
The timing of that would have been incredible. Jesus had said to him that before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. It’s in that moment of the third denial, as the words are mouthed, that the rooster crowed.
This was designed by God to confront Peter right there and then in the moment, even as he was saying the words.
Now, I want to point out a couple of important truths here.
God’s Word will come to Pass
What God has said will certainly come to pass. In this instance, the words of Jesus, the prophecy of Jesus, would certainly be fulfilled, and nothing would stop that.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Coupled with that, we must remember another important truth…
We are Fallible
You will recall that Peter didn’t want to accept what Christ had said would happen. He had said to Jesus that he would stand with him. He would go to death for Jesus.
We need to see that this over-confidence is part of our natural make up. It is a matter of pride and self-reliance. But until we see the frailty and fallibility of our own lives, we will live with this wrong idea that, “it won’t happen to me...”
The Scriptures warn us about this - about our own susceptibility to sin. We must not think that we are above / beyond sin. We are frail and weak, much like Peter was.
Notice what Paul says to the Corinthian believers in this regard…
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
There is the warning in verse 12 - if you think you’re standing firm - if you have a confidence and self-reliance, then be careful!! Be careful that you don’t fall!
Another warning comes through in 2 Peter 3:17…
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
Notice in the above verse that certain things were known by the believers to whom Peter was writing. They knew the truths. They understood them. But they still had a responsibility to be on their guard. They had to take a humble posture, not being arrogant about themselves, about what they knew, and how well they knew it, but carefully considering their own lives. They needed to recognise their own weakness, lest they be carried away by the error of lawless men.
We also have the numerous warning passages in the book of Hebrews. Warnings against falling away from the living God. Again, these passages convey an important reminder that we must not become over-confident in our position, even as Christians.
Paul also brings this across in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 1:22–23 (NIV84)
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel...
Again, a warning to not become overly confident in self, or arrogant in any way. We need that posture of humility before God, and reliance upon Him.
This leads us to our third and final point…
3 The Responses (vv.61-62)
3 The Responses (vv.61-62)
There are two aspects related to the responses that we should consider.
3.1 Jesus’ Response
3.1 Jesus’ Response
Keep in mind, Jesus was probably in one of the rooms overlooking the courtyard, where Peter was down below. In verse 61 we read…
Luke 22:61 (NIV84)
61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...
Jesus didn’t need to hear the words of Peter to know that by this point he had denied him three times. Jesus simply heard the rooster crow, and he knew that what he told Peter had come to fulfillment.
Now, we must not think that Jesus was somehow unaffected by this. He was fully human. Have you ever felt a sense of rejection from a friend. When someone close to you does something that hurts you. This is what Jesus would have felt in this moment - the sting of his closest companions forsaking Him.
This was a moment of great darkness for Jesus. There are some Psalms that aptly describe the kind of position that Christ was in at this point in time.
18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
This is essentially what Jesus was experiencing through this moment - the abandonment of His companions and friends. The sense of being alone, and enduring suffering on his own.
We’ll obviously look at this in more detail in the weeks to come as we consider in further detail the crucifixion of Jesus. But just ponder at this point that Jesus continued to consider His disciples, the church, a people that desperately needed redemption, and he continued enduring this for the sake of His elect.
3.2 Peter’s Response
3.2 Peter’s Response
This is brought out in verse 61 and 62.
Luke 22:61 (NIV84)
61 ...Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”
The first thing that we see about Peter’s response is that he remembered the word of the Lord. Keep in mind what I said a little earlier. A few things have come together to bring this to Peter’s mind, and to cause the grace of God to work within his own heart.
What do we have culminating together at this point?
Peter has had a mind that has been thinking through things. He’s obviously had time to ponder just a little bit the threat around him, and the fact that he’s clearly stated to those around him that he is not associated with Jesus.
We have the words of Peter in this very moment, quite literally rolling off of his tongue.
As they’re being spoken, we have the rooster crowing in the background - maybe not so much in the background - perhaps standing just a little away from Peter in the courtyard… maybe right at his feet? Wherever it was, it was definitely heard.
Then we have the look of Jesus from the place where he was stationed before the high priest. Jesus would have looked Peter in the eyes.
All of these things things would have culminated in a moment where Peter was confronted full-force with a deep recognition of his own rejection of his Lord, the one to whom he had sworn allegiance.
The way that this account is portrayed demonstrates that In the moment when Peter was denying Jesus on the first two occasions, he did not make the connection to what Jesus had told him was going to happen.
But in this moment, Peter suddenly was struck by a deep awareness of the sin that He had committed.
Just a couple of hours prior to this, he had sworn allegiance to his Lord. He had sworn that he would go with him to death… he would stay with him no matter what.
Now he saw something of the depths of the darkness of his heart. He was confronted by his own weakness and inability.
Are we not sometimes the same in our own lives. We commit acts that are sinful before the Lord. We do things that we don’t pay all that much attention to. Perhaps we don’t even see them as sinful in the moment.
But it is a grace of God that he opens our eyes at the right moment to show us our sin, not in order to bring condemnation to his people, but in order to bring restoring grace.
Is this not what happened with David, as he was confronted by Nathan. Certainly there was an awareness of his sin in his own life. He knew about it. But he wasn’t really confronted in the depths of his heart. Until God sent Nathan to him. And through a picture of another injustice, David was confronted with his own injustice and sin. And it broke him in the moment!
He immediately acknowledged, “I have sinned against the Lord!” (2 Samuel 12:13)
The grace of God confronts us with our sin, which leads to godly repentance.
As we consider how Peter was confronted here, note his response in verse 62…
62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Why was Peter weeping? Because he was confronted by his own failure, and saw his rejection of Jesus for what it was. He saw his sin as a rejection of the Messiah. He had denied the Saviour, despite his assurance that he would never do this!!
And it broke him.
He went out and wept.
But not only that, he would turn, and would walk in obedience and humility going forward. He would demonstrate that this was not worldly sorrow, but that it was a godly sorrow that led to genuine repentance, and eternal life!
Conclusion
Conclusion
A couple of words should be said in conclusion here.
Firstly, I want us to remember that Christ obeyed where others failed.
We must keep in our minds that Jesus came into the world in order to perfectly fulfill the law, and to live righteously where all others failed. This includes the arena of faithfulness.
The disciples forsook Jesus. They all fled. Christ will not abandon His people.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Christ was the one that fulfilled every aspect of this law. While we may have times of our faith faltering, Christ is absolutely faithful. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We can trust in Him, because He cares for us.
I also want to encourage each one to come humbly before the Lord, considering your own need of His daily grace. If we learn something from Peter here, it is that even the greatest of the disciples had moments of weakness. We are not immune. You are not immune.
You and I need the daily grace of God in our lives. We need to come as those who are poor in spirit, who recognise our own dependence and need. We need to come to God as children, and humbly accept His word, and depend on Him for daily grace.
I will close with a couple of verses from two Psalms, and encourage us to make this our own prayer:
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
Is this a prayer of your own heart?
And then…
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
May we humble ourselves before God, seeking Him, seeking to walk humbly before Him. And may He receive the glory and praise as He keeps us and protects us in our walk.