941 Matt.26.69-75 Peter's Denial of Jesus

In 1938, Hitler announced his plan to invade the German-speaking side of Czechoslovakia. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made an urgent trip to visit Hitler to ascertain whether this invasion would be more than just that.

He returned to Britain announcing that he is confident that Adolf Hitler would not invade any more of Europe. He accepted Hitler’s denials of him invading any further. We know, however, that Hitler lied about the truth of his intentions.

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Denials and lies have always plagued us ever since mankind were created. We deny truth and lie about it for several reasons:

We are embarrassed (we feel ashamed of who we believe in or what we have believed &/or done)

We are afraid (of getting called out or caught out)

We are guilty (same as 2., but it is the reason behind the denial)

Maybe a combination of those reasons show at the same time too

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As far as the Christian is concerned, the denial of Jesus would put you out of the Christian camp, no doubt

Q. Why did Peter deny Jesus, not only once, not only twice, but 3 times?

Behind Peter’s denial is the doubt that Jesus’ arrest raised in Peter’s mind

Q. How could this Jesus be the all powerful Messiah when arrested & condemned?

Surely, this Jesus who healed the sick, who drove out demons, who fed thousands by multiplying food, who controlled the weather and who raised people from the dead, could get out being arrested and sentenced to death!

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Peter had spent 3 years with Jesus listening to all He said, watching all He did and participating in His work.

After Jesus predicted that His followers would all desert Him, Peter protested, confidently, that he would never deny Him even if all the others did.

But Jesus knew better and foretold that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed in the morning.

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Of course, this turned out to be true. When Jesus was arrested, the hopes and dreams of these disciples folded like a house of cards.

Much of what is happening to Peter is what many people experience - doubt!

To doubt something is to waver in your trust - if it’s in a person, then to waver in trust in that person

Then, there is fear - fear from those who are hostile toward the Person of Jesus

Q. Could Peter feel that hostility now directed to him, because he is a follower of this now arrested and condemned man?

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In Matthew 26:69-75, we see that Peter’s three denials start with a response of ignorance

“I do not know what you are talking about”

This is again repeated: “I do not know the man”

Finally, to really incriminate himself, Peter swears a verbal oath which binds curses upon himself if he is making a false statement - something like this: “I swear by God as my witness, and to be burned in the fires of hell, if I am lying to you - I don’t know the man”

Could Peter have stooped any lower?

But doubt in who Jesus really is & the fear associated with that, drove him to deny Jesus

This is the extent to which Peter tried to distance himself from Jesus

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I want to talk about the number 3 in biblical terminology

Q. What is so significant about the number 3? That Peter denied Jesus 3 times?

3 is the minimum number necessary to establish a pattern of occurrences:

A single event can be pure chance; a pair can be mere coincidence; but three consecutive occurrences of an event serve as a moment of special significance

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The number 3 signifies confirmation

3 days and Jesus rose from the dead - 3 days in the tomb confirms a death - although, with John’s Gospel what determined Jesus was dead is the spear thrust into His side by a soldier and blood & water gushed out - signifying death

Jonah was in the belly of a whale for 3 days & nights

Joseph’s dream of the cupbearer & baker were fulfilled in three days - confirming Joseph as God’s servant

Only after God calls Samuel for the 3rd time does Eli realise that it is God calling Samuel

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When Peter denies Jesus for the third time, it conveys the sense that he has denied Jesus utterly

But conversely, at the end of John’s Gospel, when Jesus asks Peter 3 times, if he loves Him, the confirmation is that Peter does love Jesus

It emphasises the certainty of Peter’s restoration as Jesus’ disciple, as thoroughly as Peter’s denial was thoroughly emphasised.

John 21:15–19 NASB95

15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep. 18 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

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It was not until Peter witnessed the resurrection of Jesus that he would never deny Him again, even facing his own death!

Acts 4:13 NASB95

13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

This boldness of Peter & John has occurred after the resurrection of Jesus & the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon them

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Peter’s witness of Jesus’ resurrection becomes the basis for our belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead

These people witnessed His resurrection & were prepared to die for the truth

People will die for the truth & many have done that not just for Jesus

But people don’t die for a lie

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As we come to this Easter time, the thought I wish to bring is this one: how many of us are like Peter?

Do we operate on the level of doubt to the degree that we are unwilling to stand with Jesus?

Seeing Peter’s denial, we can understand the power of doubt & fear

As I see the change from Peter’s denial to Jesus’ restoration of Peter, I see the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the pivotal factor in Peter’s transformation from a weak, wavering disciple, to a disciple utterly convinced of the truth that Jesus is indeed God’s Messiah

I wonder, this Easter, how many Christians live secret lives as Christians & while not verbally denying Jesus, live in such a way that people don’t even recognise that the person is a Christian

I’m not saying we have to go around carrying placards with “I believe in Jesus” written on them, but we should be able to be proud to the point of boasting about Jesus before the world

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Now, I think, there are enough disconcerted people about in the world that they will finally start to give attention to Jesus

We just have to be make sure we are not hiding our faith in Jesus under a bushel

That we continue to be salt & light to the earth & be proud that we know Jesus

Be proud of who Jesus is & by what He has done

There is no one like our God & nothing to compare with, in what God has done in Jesus