Matthew 26:69-75 (ESV)
Peter Denies Jesus
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 three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Have you ever had a moment where you took a hard fall? Maybe it was when you were a kid learning to ride a bike and lost control, and you hit the ground—hard. Or maybe you had a painful wipeout when you were learning to waterski or wakeboard. You hit the water so hard that you felt sore the next morning. Or perhaps it wasn’t a physical fall, maybe it was emotional. You didn’t speak up when you should have, or you might have spoken out of turn, and in either case, your friendship with someone was damaged. Or perhaps your ego took a bit of a hit when you did something embarrassing.
Hard falls are a part of life, they’re something that we all experience, and Peter is quite possibly the prime example. Peter has stumbled and fallen a few times as he followed Jesus. He was embarrassed when he needed Jesus to rescue him from sinking into the water (14.28-31). Peter went from the high of being given the keys to the kingdom only to be jarred back into reality when Jesus scolded him, telling Peter he was a satan. And don’t forget the foolish boasting of Peter just hours before, followed by the failure to defend Jesus, and failing Jesus again in another way as he responded in violence.
And now this.
It’s a bitter fall for Peter, one which is recorded in all four gospels. In Luke’s Gospel, we’re told that when Peter denied knowing Jesus a third time, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Jesus was standing where He could see Peter down in the courtyard of the high priest’s house.
I can’t even imagine what that must have been like, but we do know the outcome; Peter went out and wept bitterly.
However, let’s not get down on Peter because we know, don’t we, that we do what Peter did, we all do. We’ve all had those times, those moments, where we haven’t acknowledged Jesus. Those times when we’ve ignored Jesus’ voice or let other things take His place at the center of our hearts and minds. Those times when we thought no one was looking, and so it didn’t really matter (sorry to tell you this but Jesus saw you).
The truth is that we’re all just like Peter.
The question is, what are you (and I) going to do about it, how will we respond in that moment of conviction at our denial or betrayal of Jesus (regardless of how great or small we might rationalize it to be)?
Peter wept bitterly. It was a sign of godly grief that would lead to repentance, reconciliation, and restoration.
Contrast that with Judas in the next chapter. Judas only has a sense of remorse. There is a massive difference between repentance and remorse.
As N.T. Wright noted so well, “The one leads to life, the other to death. Peter’s tears, shaming, humiliating and devastating though they were, were a sign of life. Judas’ anger and bitterness led straight to death.”
The apostle Paul put it this way, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7.10).
If you’re like me, every day I find myself being just like Peter. So how will you respond? It’s all too easy to grow accustomed to our failings, that if unaddressed, only serve to aid our rationalizations as “it’s not that big of a deal.”
The only solution that I know of is just to be in Jesus’ presence, let His gaze penetrate your heart, and as you feel that twinge of conviction, simply confess and earnestly seek to be reconciled and restored.
Remember:
John 3.16-17 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
God bless you and know that I am praying for you constantly!
Scott