Identification and Denial

Silence Is Golden

So Jesus goes with this mob of the chief priest’s thugs and the temple guards, and they drag Him to the temple. It’s dark, there aren’t many people around right now who aren’t with the mob bringing Jesus in. Normally when Jesus comes into the temple, it’s to teach or to make a point, but not this time. This time, He’s being dragged in to stand before the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. This time, Jesus is on trial.

One of the council members stands up and states the purpose for this gathering, for this trial. They are asking for people to come forward with testimony against Jesus. The council looks at each other as he does this, because they know the reality of the situation. They know that they aren’t sitting there to try and figure out Jesus’ guilt, or even to try and decide on an appropriate punishment. This isn’t an investigation or a fair trial - this is a hoop they’re jumping through so that they can put Jesus to death. Each of them sits there, already knowing that a bunch of people have been encouraged to come forward to say bad things about Jesus - bad enough things that they can justify His execution.

So they sit there in this room, and He stands there without saying a word. The council sitting there must have felt overjoyed at first. They finally beat Jesus, there was nothing clever left He could say, there was no way He could talk His way out of this. At first, they took His silence as their victory. The first witness came into the room and started talking about how terrible and how guilty Jesus was, and He didn’t say a word to defend Himself. Everyone sitting there who wanted Him dead must’ve been overjoyed. Until the second witness came in and started saying things that conflicted with the first witness. Then more witnesses came in and it seemed that each witness made the trial look more and more like the sham it was. The silence that they had taken as a sign of their victory at first now seemed to the silence of smugness. Jesus was standing there, not saying a word, watching the trial against Him completely fall apart. Even when the high priest stood up, demanded a defense from Jesus, hoping against hope that He would say something, anything incriminating - Jesus stayed quiet, He didn’t say a word.

. . . you’re making it worse.

And I want to stop going through the narrative here for a second, and say for a second just how typical this is of humanity. We are great at talking ourselves into holes, and then continuing to make it worse. I mean, and maybe I shouldn’t be encouraging this, but if anyone ever says something that they probably shouldn’t have - and you just look at them without saying a word - and watch the train wreck. People, me and probably you included, are really good at saying things we shouldn’t say and really bad at stopping ourselves from making it worse. Because that’s exactly how this trial was going, they weren’t doing anything except making themselves look like hateful idiots - and it seems like they couldn’t stop themselves from making it worse.

Jesus Chooses Condemnation

So this trial is hanging by a thread, and the chief priest decides to go for broke. He asks Jesus directly, “are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And the entire council feel totally defeated. After everything He’s avoided, all of the traps they’ve set that He refuses to fall into, there’s no way on earth Jesus will mess this up. There is no trickery, there is no clever trap - the chief priest might as well be asking Jesus “please give us an excuse to put you to death.” Jesus inhales, like He’s about to say something, and the whole room goes as silent as a tomb.

Now Jesus has been standing there watching person after person parade into the room, say terrible things about Him and walk out. He knows none of the things are true, He knows He’s never done anything but be faithful to God and help others. But He also knows that this trial has to end with His condemnation, He has to be convicted of something. He might even be thinking to Himself, “guys, come on, the whole council wants to put me to death, they’re looking for an excuse - it doesn’t even have to be a particularly good one. How can you be messing this up?!” So when the high priest asks this last question, Jesus might’ve even had to hold in a sigh of relief.

Because He knows that they don’t believe in Him, He knows that they don’t believe He is the Messiah. So if He claims to be, if He answers this question by saying “yes,” He knows exactly what the result was going to be. The chief priest asks Him, “are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed.” Jesus inhales, and He says “I am.” He quotes God the Father’s response to Moses, He uses this phrase that has so strongly been identified with God in Israel’s history. And then He takes it even further, He tells the council that they will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God in the clouds of heaven. And they react exactly how He needs them to, the trial is over, He is guilty, He is sentenced to die. Jesus opened His mouth and choose to be condemned.

I am . . .

And we look through the pages of history, we read about the events that unfolded that night, and our sense of justice cries out, “but He didn’t do anything wrong. He doesn’t deserve to die!” And He knew that, Jesus knew that. He knew that He was innocent, but He choose to open His mouth and say words that He knew would give them all the excuse that they needed. And thank goodness that He did, because with those two words He said so much more than what the chief priests heard. He said . . .

I am . . . the Christ, the Son of God

I am . . . choosing to be hurt and abandoned and alone.

I am . . . choosing to take a punishment I don’t deserve.

I am . . . choosing to take on guilt that isn’t mine.

I am . . . choosing to be condemned for everything anyone has ever done wrong.

I am . . . choosing to suffer and die for broken, sinful people.

I am . . . choosing to go to the cross, for you.

I am . . . choosing to pay the price, for you.

Denial is Self-Preservation

But that’s not what the chief priest hear, and that’s not what Peter hears out in the courtyard. He had followed the crowd, far enough back that they wouldn’t notice him, but close enough to see where they were going. As they charged into the temple, he trickled in shortly after. He huddled around the fire with the guards and the servants, trying his best to not be noticed. Peter was sure that Jesus would talk His way out of this, He was the Christ after all. Peter stood there in the courtyard, excited to be the first disciple to greet Jesus when He walked a free man again.

Then he overheard the news. Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God, Jesus had committed blasphemy, Jesus had been condemned by the council. They were sending Him to Pilate soon so that they could crucify Him. And as Peter started to look for a way out, a way to escape to safety, a servant girl recognizes him. He denies it to her and to the bystanders around her, the third time he starts to swear that he doesn’t know Jesus. He doesn’t want to get condemned to the same fate - and then he hears the rooster crow a second time. He remembers what Jesus had said, he is overcome by the guilt of what he has done, he is overcome by the guilt of denying Jesus for His own safety and comfort, and he breaks down in tears.

Feed My Sheep

Maybe Peter is the most identifiable person in this story for us. Maybe there’s a fear of being identified with Jesus, of being identified as Christian. We’re concerned people might treat us differently, might judge or stereotype us, might make our lives harder. We’re worried about our relationships and our comfort and our reputation. So we deny Him, maybe not as directly or as emphatically as Peter does, but we deny Him and refuse to acknowledge our connection with Him all the same.

But the good news is this, Peter’s story doesn’t end here. After Jesus rises from the dead, they’re sitting together on a beach and Jesus asks Peter three times - once for each denial - “do you love me?” And on the third time, Peter notices what Jesus has done and breaks down again. And Jesus forgives him, Jesus loves him even though Peter had denied Him. Then He sends Peter out to make disciples and to proclaim Jesus to the world. Jesus forgives us, Jesus loves us even though we don’t represent Him like we should. Then He sends us out to make disciples, to be disciples, and to proclaim Jesus to the world. Amen.