Would You Deny Him?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
What has been the most shameful moment of your life?
I can think of many times where I would be embarrassed for people to see me in my moments of weakness.
I remember sometimes when my children were little getting upset with them and yelling at them, only for someone to come walking up and I began to quickly play it off like nothing happened.
I can think of some other shameful moments where I was embarrassed because someone might have seen the real me, instead of who I wanted them to see.
I’m sure you’ve been there too. We all have.
There is a little poem by Paul Lawerence Dunbar that some of you may have heard before. It goes like this:
We Wear the Mask
By Paul Laurence Dunbar
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
This morning, we are going to unmask some phonies. If you are one of them, then take of the mask and breathe. Find your air and your freedom at the same time and be real with yourself.
The question we want to ask ourselves this morning as we look at Peter’s denial of Jesus is “Would You Deny Jesus?” If you were in Peter’s shoes, would you have done any better?
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”
71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”
73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”
74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three1.times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Pray
This was the moment that Jesus had been warning Peter of. It was time for him to decide whether he was willing to stand with Jesus or run away like the rest.
Have you ever considered whether or not you would stand with Jesus?
Would you stand alone with Him if no one else was willing?
1. How Far Would You Go? (vv. 69-71)
1. How Far Would You Go? (vv. 69-71)
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”
71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Peter went all the way up to the courtyard
Peter had said he was willing to die with Jesus
35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
The first denial was a denial of understanding the question.
Some people will try to twist words or facts to avoid having to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”
Some answer with:
A Good Man
A Religious Teacher
A Spiritual Guide
Famously, C.S. Lewis has argued that Jesus is either Lord, a Liar, or a Lunatic
Jesus either claimed to be God and wasn’t, or He thought He was God but wasn’t, or He is indeed truly God.
Peter tried a diversion tactic by claiming he didn’t know what the servant girl was implying.
Peter is an interesting case study of the question of how far will one go to follow Jesus
He initially runs away with the other disciples in the Garden, but regains his strength and follows stealthily to the High Priest’s house
John seems to have been related to the high priest’s household and was able to gain access and told the door keeper to let Peter into the courtyard
Peter first is noticed and questioned by a young servant girl, then later by another servant girl or young woman
Peter ends up sitting by a guard and in front of a charcoal fire
Application:
Peter makes the claim that he will go all the way to the end with Jesus
Many people make this same claim, but they do like Peter and begin to make excuses or small denials
Peter would only go so far with Jesus before the cost of following Him was too great
How far would you be willing to go with Jesus?
2. In Whose Strength Would You Depend? (v.40-41)
2. In Whose Strength Would You Depend? (v.40-41)
Peter has come to this point standing in his own strength.
How often do we think we can fight sin by just mustering up enough will to defeat and not resting in the power of the Holy Spirit?
If Peter could have done this on his own - if we could stand on our own - Jesus would never have needed to come and die for our sins
We aren’t one time failures, we are “frequent failures”
Peter had not been watchful and prayed with Jesus
40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The reason Jesus came to Peter in this moment was because He knew already what Peter had said he would do for Jesus, and what Peter was going to do in denying his Master
Application
You and I can only go so far in our own strength
Have you ever wondered how the martyrs who were being tortured for Christ, or who were fed to the animals in the arena, or who were burned at the stake could stand firm for Christ under such extreme persecution?
So many people today think that they are being persecuted if someone calls them a name or thinks they are crazy Jesus freaks
The Christians at Antioch took it as a sign of respect to be called Christians, even though it was intended as a derogatory remark against them
Paul said in Col 1:24
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
Do rejoice to suffer with Christ? No one can ever reasonably be expected to do this on their own. We are weak and cannot stand if we go in our own strength
Compare Peter’s weakness at the recognition of an insignificant servant girl vs. that of Jesus before the Jewish Council and eventually before Pilate. Jesus never waivered, while Peter squirmed.
3. How Will You Prepare to Stand (vv.72-74)
3. How Will You Prepare to Stand (vv.72-74)
72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”
73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”
74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.
The Bible says that Peter began to call down curses on himself. This is pretty serious!
You see the matter seeming to escalate and Peter’s fear escalate with the greater recognition by more people of who he might be
First it was a little girl, then a young woman near some people at the gate, finally a crowd of people
First it was a matter of arguing over the content of the question - “What do you mean?”
Then it was a denial, “I do not know the man,” followed by an oath before God.
Finally, it was an outright, passionate denial with a curse being called down on himself.
Isn’t it interesting that the curse upon us is why Jesus came in the first place?
Peter is said in other gospel accounts to have made eye contact with Jesus after this last denial and the look in Jesus’s eyes made Peter run out and weep in sorrow.
Somehow Jesus managed in all that was going on to look at Peter at that very moment
Application
You and I have no doubt disappointed Jesus at times. When this happens, we can feel as though He has given us His look of disappointment.
Conclusion
Peter and Jesus stand side by side, just like sinners and Christ stand side-by-side. Christ is the faithful one and we are not, but in Him we can be faithful.
Remember that Peter was doing this in his own strength. We have the Holy Spirit living within us.
Later, after Pentecost, when Peter was filled with the Spirit, just like we are now, he was able to stand firm and not falter. He never denied Jesus again.
That can be true for you and I as well.
We must not stand in our own strength.
We must prepare and spend time with the Father in prayer.
We must run to Jesus
Remember that poem we read earlier?
We Wear the Mask
There is a final stanza that goes like this:
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
In this stanza you hear the weariness of trying to fool the world while wearing the mask. Many Christians are wearing a mask of trying to follow Christ and be strong, but they aren’t.
Peter tried to wear the mask of a brave soldier of Christ.
He had vehemently denied that Jesus would be handed over to the leaders and crucified.
He had denied that he would betray Jesus and claimed that he would die for Him.
He had slept instead of praying in the Garden.
He had sliced and diced at the servant’s head, cutting off his ear, and then running away from the guards with the rest of the Disciples.
He had tried to regroup and follow Jesus to see what would happen, only to be scared out of his mind by two servants and a crowd of people that might reveal his true identity.
However, Jesus saw right through the mask. He saw Peter for who he really was.
But, He also saw Peter for who he could be. This was the same Jesus who had declared that Peter was the rock and on his confession regarding who Jesus was, Jesus would build His church.
How can these two things be possible at the same time?
How can a coward become the leader of the global, gospel-sending mission force?
Only by the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
You and I can have this same power to follow Jesus to the end, to stand firm in the faith, to stand in the strength of His might.
It only takes a little humility and realizing we are not enough. We can’t do it on our own. We need Jesus.
Have you denied Jesus this morning?
Have you failed to take a stand with Him?
Have you been one of the crowd demanding His death?
Have you been a secret follower trying to hide who you really are?
Let your accent give you away!
Let your manner of life declare you are His!
Boldly follow Jesus to the very end by turning to the strength that is yours in Jesus.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!
