Peter or Judas

Call to worship

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Call to Worship

1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!

“What. beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS

Lord,

“What. beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

“What. beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS

Lord,

SERMON

Introduction

This morning at the failure and response of Peter and Judas

The similarities

Peter and Judas both spent 3 years of their life with Jesus, BUT had two very different endings

One was restored to fellowship

The other saw no hope and took his own life

Both were at the last supper and BOTH heard Jesus’ prophecy to each of them:

To Peter Jesus said, “before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times”. would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed

To Judas He said, “woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born

Both Peter and Judas failed Jesus miserably

Peter betrayed Jesus by denying Him three times

Judas betrayed Jesus by handing him over the chief priests

And Matthew places the response their failures back to back so that we can see the differences between the two

Lets first look at Peter’s denial

Matthew 26:69-75 “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”

Explanation

Peter betrays Jesus by denying Him

The first denial (v 70) “I do not know what you are talking about”

When the slave-girl saw Peter’s face more clearly in the light of the fire, she recognized him as one who had been with Jesus (that is, one of Jesus’ disciples).

This put Peter in an uncomfortable position. Standing there in enemy territory, Peter did not want to be identified with the man in an upstairs on trial for his life.

So Peter made a natural response—he lied.

He denied knowing anything of what she was talking about.

He refused to identify himself with Jesus.

AND SCRIPTURE EMPHASIZES THIS: “He denied it before all of them”

He did not just deny Jesus to that slave girl

He denied Jesus publicly, before everyone who was standing around that fire

The second denial “he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man’”

This most likely did not happen right after his first denial. Luke says there was about an hour between each accusation.

So Peter was probably uncomfortable around the first group, moves to the gateway and HE ENCOUNTERS THE VERY SAME THING! Another servant girl who accuses Peter of being with Jesus.

Peter’s denial this time intensifies and He uses an oath to make his point even more solid.

This time Peter actually denies knowing Jesus

It is a rejection of discipleship, a rejection of any knowledge of who Jesus is.

The third denial “He began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man’”

It is not hard to see the progression of Peter’s response

It moves from bad, to worse, to terrible

Peter swears like a person would do in a court of law.

It was as if Peter was saying, “May God strike me dead if I am lying.”

THEN HE CURSES:

This “cursing” was more than using profanity. Cursing involved devoting someone to destruction!

Immediately the rooster crowed

Can you imagine what went through Peter’s mind when he heard that rooster crow

The words of Jesus that he had just heard only hours before must have replayed so vividly in his mind

Not only another proof that Jesus was God by rightly predicting the future

But also his complete and utter failure as His follower

How serious of a sin is denying Jesus?

It should terrify us all what Jesus said about this

Matthew 10:32–33 NASB95

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

It was very serious!

Serious enough to send him to hell!

How does Peter respond? HE REPENTS

He “went out and wept bitterly”

We should understand this response not just as someone who has been caught doing wrong, but someone who has been pierced to the depths of the heart, and truly repented of their sin

Peter did not just weep, but wept bitterly

What is emphasized here is the great sorrow that filled his heart

How do we know Peter truly repented?

Because he was with the followers of Jesus when Mary came to tell them Jesus had risen

Peter was the first one who went in to the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there

We also know that Jesu restored Jesus in John 20

PRINCIPLE

If there is no emotion, no sorrow, no brokenness over our sin, then there will be no true repentance

True repentance ALWAYS involves godly sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:10–11 NIV

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

Paul said godly sorrow produces repentance

It is this sorrow that leads one to repent

No one will ever truly be saved from their sins, until they are broken over them

Until they have truly learned to hate them

Until they have truly wanted to ride their life of them

Until they truly wanted to never sin again

This is the sorrow Peter expressed

He was pierced through the heart

And it led him to restoration

PRINCIPLE: ALL SIN is against Almighty God

We often think that when we yell at our kids, we sin against our kids (and we do)

But we ultimately sin against God

We think when we steal time on a time clock we sin against our employer

But we ultimately sin against God

When David took the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and placed him in the frontlines of the battlefield so that he would be killed, listen to what he said

Psalm 51:4 NASB95

Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

True repentance will always lead us back TO JESUS

It is inevitable

If we understand that all sin is a sin against God, then repentance will draw us back to the Savior

If Peter could fall so easily, (led astray by a just a slave girl) then we must recognize that we can fall too

We are not invincible

Good, ChrisIan people stumble and fall (some further than others, but nonetheless, they stumble and fall)

Never think you are too mature to fall away

When we think like this, we are closer than we have ever been

When someone falls, show them grace like Jesus did with Peter

There is no sin that another believer committed that we are not capable of committing ourselves under those same circumstances

Lets look at the response of Judas

Matthew 27:1-5 “Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”

Explanation

Judas regretted his decision, BUT HE DID NOT REPENT

Notice v 3 says, “he felt remorse”

This means Judas regretted what he had done to Jesus. If there was any way possible, he would take back his former choices in life and undo them

He was sorry for his actions

He knew it was wrong, it was driven by greed, it was selfish, and he wished it never happened

But life doesn’t work that way

Once we have followed through with our decisions we cannot take them back

Things we have said can never be unsaid no matter how many times we apologize for them

The outbursts of anger toward someone

The neglecting of opportunities to DO GOOD or TO REFRAIN from doing evil

The bad decisions will ALWAYS repay us with their consequences

Happens every, single, time

To the believer, to the non-believer

It is the law of the harvest

We reap what we sow (This is the law of the harvest)

You plant corn, you reap a crop of corn

You plant good, you reap good

You plant evil, you reap evil

The reminder here with Judas is to walk carefully through this world

Ephesians 5:15–16 NASB95

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Walk not as unwise, but as wise

Look at your life from a Biblical point of view

Do not waste your time

Know decisions bring consequences (both good and bad)

And there is nothing more important than our faith

Judas confessed that he had sinned “I have sinned by Betraying innocent blood”

But he confessed to whom? (The chief priests and elders)

Who should he have confessed to?

He should have confessed his sin to Jesus and to the disciples of Jesus

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”

But his confession never made the slightest difference in his life

Repentance always involves turning from sin, and turning to Jesus

Judas turned from his sin, but he never turned to Jesus

We must be willing to come to Christ, personally, confessing our wrong and crying out for for forgiveness WHILE ACTIVELY TURNING FROM OUR SIN

Judas saw no other way than to take his own life

Judas hanged himself

And what he was trying to do was remove the guilt through his own death

Maybe he felt this is what he deserved

Maybe he thought God would forgive him if he took care of it himself, acknowledging his own guilt

Application

I have seen this in my own life just this week

One who was on his death bed, and saw no hope, no way out, accepted his fate

BUT that is a lie from the enemy

As long as their is breath, there is hope

And our sin is never too great that Jesus can not save us

And our bondage is never so strong that jesus can not free us

But we must be willing to turn to Jesus, confess it, hate it, turn from it, be broken over it, know it is against God, and then be saved from it

Conclusion

All of us are either a Peter or Judas

We feel remorse for our sin

Or we are broken over our sin

Can I say this in closing

Do not wait too long to turn to Christ

Do not wait so long that you cross over the line of no hope

Heed the advice from Peter who failed miserably!

Acts 3:19 NASB95

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

~PRAYER~

COMMUNION

For our communion today, I want us to finish reading this section in Matthew 27

Matthew 27:1-2, 6-10 (v 1-2) “Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to bPilate the governor....(v 6)“The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.””

As is custom in this church, let us take a moment to confess our sins to God at this time before we partake

Moment of Silence to confess sin

Father, we ask at this time that you would reveal any sin in our hearts that we may not be aware of. We confess that we are all sinners and are in desperate need of your grace. We ask for your forgiveness at this time and claim the promise of John 1:9, “that we if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

(27:2) says they bound Jesus and led him to Pilate.

We know that Pilate had Jesus scourged, beaten, punished even though He had done no wrong.

This is why Jesus said, “This is My body, which is broken for you”

This bread represents His body which was broken for us

Pray a blessing over the bread

Jesus said: “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Eat the bread

(v 6) says the thirty pieces of silver was the price for blood

Three times in these 10 verses the blood is mentioned

It is His blood that atones for our sins

It is His blood that covers us that we may be right with God

It is because of His blood that we can be saved

This juice represents His precious, innocent, blood

Pray and bless the cup

“do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

RESPONSE

PUBLIC INVITATION

“Amazing Grace”

Words and Music by Hillsong

OFFERING

We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.

CLOSING PRAYER