Sermón sin título (9)
PETER’S DENIAL
John 18:15–27
And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.” And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.
There is a word in the English language that drips with pain. It is a word that sends shivers up our spines whenever we hear it or contemplate it, and most especially whenever we experience it. That word is betrayal. When I hear that word, I get an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach, because betrayal is one of the most devastating experiences any human being can endure. I am sure that everyone who reads this book has had the experience of being betrayed. This is our lot as people, to be betrayed by our friends and family, those we love and trust the most, because none of us is so flawless in our behavior as to be able to give total loyalty. The prevalence of betrayal is understandable in light of the prevalence of sin.
Still, I confess that I struggle to understand how anyone could have betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. The biblical record of what happened on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion focuses precisely on that problem of betrayal, not only at the hands of Judas, but also by the lips of Peter.
I find it fascinating that when the apostle Paul gives the words of institution for the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–26), he does not speak about “the night in which our Lord broke bread with His disciples,” “the night in which our Lord was arrested,” or “the night in which our Lord was put on trial for His life.” Instead, he references “the same night in which He was betrayed.” The hideous betrayal of Jesus by those closest to Him was a major event in redemptive history.
Peter’s Fickle Devotion
John does not record the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, but the other three Gospels make clear that it was a highlight of the disciples’ experience with Jesus during His earthly ministry (Matt. 17:1–7; Mark 9:1–8; Luke 9:28–36). Jesus took three of His disciples—the inner circle, Peter, James, and John—and went up on a mountain. There, He was transfigured before their eyes, and His face began to glow as bright as the sun, and His clothes began to gleam as white as the light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Him. When Peter saw these things, he said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Matt. 17:4). He said: “Let’s pitch our tents right here, right now. Forget about going to Jerusalem. Let’s just bask in Your glory on the mountaintop.” You see, at that moment, more than anything else in the world, Peter wanted to be as close to Jesus as he possibly could get, and he wanted to stay there forever.
We are like Peter. In the flesh, we are all groupies. We love to get close to the rich and famous, to those who are in positions of power and of adulation. However, we are like Peter in another way. When those we idolize fall, we run for cover; when our heroes come under criticism, we no longer want to be identified with them at all. Just a few days after the transfiguration, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested, Peter could not bring himself to acknowledge his Lord.
It was to the home of Annas that Jesus was taken after his arrest (v. 13). Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Why did the troops do this? Why didn’t they take Him directly to the high priest? If the Jewish leaders wanted to have Jesus judged and condemned, they would have to go through Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and the steppingstone to Pilate in the legal system was Caiaphas, not Annas. However, in the eyes of the Jews, Annas was the high priest. The Romans had deposed Annas as high priest, but in Israel, the high priest was appointed for life and could not be deposed. So these pious, orthodox Jews took Jesus to Annas first because they saw him as the true high priest, despite what the Romans said.
John writes, And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple (v. 15a). The disciple who was with Peter is not named, and there has been much debate as to who it was. Usually, when John refers obliquely to himself in his Gospel, he speaks of “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” However, I am persuaded that he is referring to himself here, too, because there is much evidence to suggest that John was a member of a priestly group within the Sanhedrin, so if any of the disciples had access into the priestly environs, it would have been John. In any case, Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in (vv. 15b–16). The disciple who was known to the high priest was able to vouch for Peter, so that he, too, could come into the high priest’s courtyard.
Then it happened: Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not” (v. 17). Something about Peter caught the eye of the servant girl who was tending the gate and caused her to associate him with Jesus. Notice how she worded her question. She did not say, “Are you a member of this Man’s entourage?” or “Are you one of this Nazarene’s disciples?” Rather, she phrased it this way: “You are not one of His disciples, are you?” Peter could have said, “Well, actually, yes, I am,” but he chose to agree with the direction of her question and murmured, “No, I’m not.”
An Improper Trial
John then interrupts his account of Peter’s denials to report on some of the events that were happening in the courtyard and in Jesus’ trial: Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coal stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself (v. 18). Peter, trying to be anonymous, hid in the shadows, but he didn’t want to run out of the courtyard altogether. Eventually, in the cold, he went to the fire, where some other servants and soldiers were standing, to get warm in front of the flames. This little detail is significant for John’s account of the trial of Jesus because it points out that these events took place at night. This calls attention again to the illegality of this trial, which should not have been held in the middle of the night.
When the trial commenced, the high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine (v. 19). We don’t know for sure how these sorts of trials were conducted, but there is abundant Jewish testimony that the prisoner who was on trial was never required to testify or answer questions. Instead, witnesses were called to speak at the trial—witnesses against the accused and witnesses on behalf of the accused. The procedure was this: first the witnesses on behalf of the accused were called to testify to the integrity of the one who was on trial, then witnesses against the accused spoke. But all of these procedures seem to have been dispensed with as Annas proceeded to interrogate Jesus, asking Him about His disciples and His doctrine. It is interesting that when Jesus was delivered into the hands of Pilate, the charge against him was political, not theological; the Jews said, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King” (Luke 23:2). But at this stage, the Jewish leadership asked about His theology.
Jesus responded with these words: “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said” (vv. 20–21). Do you see what Jesus was doing? He challenged Annas to follow the proper protocol for a Jewish trial. He said: “If you want to know what I teach, ask anybody, because what I teach openly is no different from what I teach in private. I don’t have a double agenda. What I say in the public square, I say in the cloakroom, so if you want to know what I teach, ask My disciples, or the people, or even My opponents, because I have been teaching openly and publicly.” He suggested that Annas should call witnesses, as was proper.
John then writes: And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” (vv. 22–23). One of the officers thought that Jesus’ reply to the high priest was disrespectful, so he slapped Jesus in the face. He said, in effect, “Who do You think You are?” Jesus’ reply again called for a return to proper procedure. He challenged the officer to point out the wrong in His words or, if there was no wrong, to refrain from slapping Him.
Finally, Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest (v. 24). It was Caiaphas who had authority to deliver Jesus to the Romans. By sending Jesus to his son-in-law, Annas declared that he wanted to see Jesus destroyed.
The Dark Human Heart
John’s account is like a novel, in which the plot shifts from one character to another, and he now reverts to Peter’s story. He writes: Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed (vv. 25–27). Two more questions about Peter’s relationship with Jesus were fired at him, apparently in quick succession. Matthew tells us that, in his growing desperation and irritation, Peter issued his second denial “with an oath” (Matt. 26:72), and when he was questioned the third time, he “began to curse and swear” (Matt. 26:74). In the face of questions from lowly servants, not from the Roman governor or the Jewish authorities, Peter vehemently denied that he had anything to do with Jesus. He betrayed his Lord with curses. And as soon as the third denial was out of his mouth, the rooster crowed, fulfilling the prediction of Christ.
What does this teach us? I think it teaches us something hideous, something we don’t want to see—the darkness of the human heart. This shows us what people are capable of doing. Even after making a glorious confession, even after swearing allegiance to Jesus—“I will lay down my life for Your sake” (13:37b)—Peter failed at the moment of truth. Such is the fallen human nature.
The passage also teaches us, especially in light of Peter’s later restoration, what kind of people Jesus died to save. He had no need to die for people who are sinless, for there are no such people. He gave Himself for people who have it in them to betray Him, people like you and me. However, He will never betray those on whom He sets His love, but will love them faithfully for all time.
El punto principal no es sino éste: se había decidido mucho antes que Jesús debería morir (véase sobre 11:49, 50). Y el motivo detrás de esta decisión era la envidia. Los líderes judíos simplemente no podían soportarlo que ellos comenzaban a perder su influencia sobre el pueblo y que Jesús de Nazaret los hubiera acusado y desenmascarado públicamente. Estaban llenos de furia porque el nuevo profeta había puesto al descubierto sus motivos ocultos, y había llamado antro de ladrones el patio del templo en el cual ellos obtenían gran parte de sus beneficios. Superficialmente, los dignos sumo sacerdotes, ancianos y escribas podrían fingir una aparente indiferencia en su conducta; por dentro estaban irritados hasta la venganza, agitados hasta la violencia. ¡Estaban sedientos de sangre!
Por ello, esto no es un juicio sino una trama, y toda la trama es de ellos. Ellos la han ideado, y ellos procuran que se lleve a cabo. Los oficiales de ellos toman parte en el arresto de Jesús. ¡Ellos mismos estuvieron presentes! Ellos buscan los testigos—¡claro que falsos testigos!—contra Jesús, para poder ellos llevarlo a la muerte (Mt. 26:59). Todos ellos lo condenan como merecedor de la muerte (Mr. 14:67). “Ellos (por medio de sus secuaces) llevaron a Jesús atado” (Mr. 15:1). Ellos lo entregan a Pilato (Jn. 18:28). Ante Pilato ellos agitan al pueblo para que libere a Barrabás a fin de que Jesús pueda ser destruido (Mt. 27:20). Ellos intimidan a Pilato, hasta que éste les entrega a Jesús para que lo crucifiquen (Jn. 19:12, 16). Incluso cuando Jesús cuelga en la cruz, ellos se ríen de él, diciendo, “A otros salvó, a sí mismo no se puede salvar” (Mr. 15:31).
En consecuencia, esto no es en realidad un juicio. ¡Es un homicidio! La historia de la iglesia ofrece otros tristes ejemplos de líderes condenados por jueces llenos de envidia, que se encargaban ellos mismos de instigar a los testigos (falsos testigos, desde luego), a fin de poder destruir a algunos hombres a quienes ellos (los líderes) odiaban. El día del juicio revelará algunos asuntos sorprendentes. Pero entre todas las burlas de la justicia, ninguna puede ni siquiera compararse con esa en la cual el Sumo Sacerdote Celestial, Jesucristo, se presentó ante los sumo sacerdotes terrenales, Anás y Caifás. Para el Santo y sin mancha, el ser juzgado ante tales malvados canallas, ¡eso sí fue sufrimiento! Y en el patio estaba alguien por quien él sufría todo esto. Y ese hombre—Simón Pedro—repetía varias veces que nunca había oído hablar de Jesús.
Por un lado, adviértase la asombrosa dureza de los inconversos
