Back in John chapter 18 we've been reading up to this
point and Judas gathered a band of men to come and take the Lord
and he asked them whom seek ye and they said we seek Jesus of
Nazareth and he said I am and they all fell back like trees
Then He allowed them to take Him. He allowed Himself. He proved, You cannot take Me,
but I'm going to do this to Myself. So, He allowed Himself to be
taken, but He allowed it on this condition. Verse 8, here in John
18, Jesus answered, I have told you
that I am. If therefore you seek Me, Let
these go their way. That's the condition. If you
seek me, if you're going to take me, then you have to let all
of my disciples go their way. So all the disciples fled. They
all went running. And Peter came back. And another disciple, look at
verse 15. It says, And Simon Peter followed Jesus And so did
another disciple. That disciple was known unto
the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of
the high priest, but Peter stood at the door without. Then went
out that other disciple which was known unto the high priest,
and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter."
Peter couldn't get in. He had to stand out. This other
disciple, he could get in. He was known by the high priest,
and he was known by the damsel that kept the door, and he had
the authority to get Peter in. Most of the commentators say
that this was probably Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea, but it
doesn't say. It doesn't say, but he was known
by the high priest, and he had authority in there. Well, he
went to this damsel and he told her to let Peter in. Verse 17
says, Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art
not thou also one of this man's disciples? And Peter said, I'm
not. I'm not. I thought about this
other disciple as Peter was walking in. He's standing there and he
said, come on. And Peter's walking in and this little damsel said,
aren't you one of his disciples? And he looked at her and said,
I'm not. Now, is it not amazing that God
Almighty laid it on the heart of the high priest? to make a little girl charge
of the door. I don't know how old she was,
but she was a maid, a damsel. Isn't that kind of an important
job? You think about that. Peter couldn't, he had to stand
there because a little girl said he couldn't come in. Our Lord allowed that to happen,
to prove to Peter and to prove to us, without me, you can do
nothing. You're powerless, you're helpless,
you can do absolutely nothing. Just a couple of hours earlier,
Peter made the statement, they all may deny you, but not me. I never will. If the strength
of the Lord leaves us to ourselves, if the hand of the Lord leaves
us to ourselves, all it will take is just a little girl. That's
all it will take. Asking us, aren't you a follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ? And you know what we'll say?
I'm not. That's all it will take. If the
Lord takes his hand off of us, that's all it will take. I'm
not. Now our Lord told us something at the very beginning of this
event. John 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and
18 happened in one night. And our Lord told us something
at the very beginning of this event. So I want to say it at
the very beginning of this message. Turn with me to John 13. John 13, look at verse 36. 36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord,
whither goest thou? 37 Jesus answered him, Whither
I go, thou canst not follow me now, 38 but thou shalt follow
me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why
cannot I follow thee now? 39 I will lay down my life for
thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou
lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled. Right from the beginning. This
is what's going to happen. Let not your heart be troubled. You're going to forsake me? He
just told them, they gathered for the Passover, and he said,
one of you is going to betray me this night. And they were
all filled with sorrow. You're going to forsake me? You're
going to deny me? All of your sin and your guilt
and your shame is going to send me to a cross. What you're about
to do is going to send me to a cross. Let not your heart be
troubled. Isn't that kind? Isn't that so
kind? Look at John 12. This is precious. John 12 verse 27 says, Our Lord said, Now is my soul
troubled. And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Let not your heart be troubled. This is the whole reason I came.
This is the whole reason I came. I came to trouble my own soul
so that your soul could not be troubled. That's the promise of the gospel.
But poor Peter, he still had to go through the sin. And so
do we. And it is so painful. We know
that the Lord has put away our sin, the sins that I have yet
to commit for the rest of my life. And as I go through them,
it's going to hurt. Man, it's going to hurt. With
each and every one, may this ring out in our hearts. Let not
your heart be troubled. Is he saying don't feel sorry
for it? No. But let not your heart be troubled. I came to
trouble my own soul so that your soul could not be troubled. Go
with me back to chapter 18. Verse 18 says, and the servants
and officers stood there who had made a fire of coals for
it was cold. And they warmed themselves. And
Peter stood with them and warmed himself. Peter was cold. That's why he was in the spiritual
state he was in. He was cold. He was very cold. The Son of Righteousness, who
rises with healing in His wings, the warmth of God was standing
Right in there, Peter stood with them. He tried to warm himself by their
fire, but there's no spiritual warmth to be had. There's just
none. Back in verse 10, Peter was standing
with his Lord, and he was so hot, he was too hot for his own
good. He was faced with 600 men. That's a band of soldiers. 600
men with weapons. And verse 10 says, Then Simon
Peter, having a sword, drew it, and smote the high priest's servant,
and cut off his right ear. Standing in front of 600 men
with weapons. He was standing with his Lord.
Right beside his Lord. But now he's standing with them.
And he's so cold. He's just so cold. He doesn't
have the courage to stand up for the name of Christ to a little
girl. Now, let me ask you this. Have you ever been there? You
know, we, we, uh, judge Peter, just like Peter judged the other
11. They all may deny you, but I won't. We look at Peter and
say, well, Peter did that, but I wouldn't. Have you ever been
there? Every one of us has. Peter is
not alone. And do you know what gives us
hope and comfort in spite of all our failings? We are nothing
but failure in the eyes of our Lord. Nothing but failure. I
don't have courage for Christ. I just don't. But do you know
what gives us all comfort and hope? in spite of our failings. Lamentations 3 says, great is
thy faithfulness. His compassions fail not. The song we sing says, morning
by morning, new mercies I see. That's our hope. Yes, I will
fail. I will fall. He won't. He won't. Now think about this. It was
cold that night. Our Lord just left the Garden
of Gethsemane. It was cold. They were all standing
by a fire because it was so cold. This sailor, who used to be out
on the ocean with the spray, is so cold. Peter is freezing to death, but
his Lord is in there sweating As it were, great drops of blood.
Isn't that what it said about him? Freezing cold, he is sweating. As it were, great drops of blood.
There is no warmth in me. Do you ever say that, Lord? There's
no warmth in me. Look over to your Lord and we'll
all say, didn't our heart burn within us? But Peter, he just wasn't doing
that. And I don't either, but by the
hand of God and the grace of God. He was not looking to his
Lord. He was not drawing nigh to his
Lord. He was not begging his Lord for
warmth. He was not begging his Lord for
warmth. If I learn one thing from this,
may it be this. Constantly beg my Lord for warmth. He's the Son. He can give it. Lord, I'm cold. I'm standing
over here cold and I'm trying to warm myself by every fire
that they've got burning, but I'm freezing cold. May I learn
to beg my Lord for warmth. Verse 19, John 18, verse 19,
it says, The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples
and of his doctrine. They were trying to bring a spiritual
charge against him, trying to find out if he's preaching lies.
They had to have something on him. They couldn't find anything.
Verse 20 says, Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world. Openly. I ever taught in the
synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort. And in secret have I said nothing. Now our Lord said over in Matthew
11, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes. But this gospel is not a hidden
gospel. You know that? It's not a hidden
gospel. Our God does not have to conceal
this gospel. And the reason is because men
are blind. They're blind. They can't see
it. The only way any sinner can see this, see the truth, is if
God chooses to give him eyes to see. That's the only way.
The Lord said to Manoah, Why do you ask my name, seeing it
is secret? But this gospel is not a secret
gospel. God did not say, Whisper it to
my people. He said, you get up on the rooftops.
He said, get thee up into the high mountain, lift up thy voice,
lift it up with strength, say unto the cities, behold your
God. Men can't hear it though because
they're deaf. The only way a sinner is ever
going to hear this gospel is if God gives him ears to hear.
The Apostle Paul called this gospel a mystery. But our Lord thanked His Father
for revealing it to babes. A child can understand God's
gospel. If the Lord would reveal it,
a child can understand God's gospel. The only reason it's
a mystery is because man's understanding and his wisdom and his heart
is darkened. He's dead. He's dead. By nature, he's dead. The only
way he'll ever understand this word is if God gives him light. So they asked the Lord, What
are you preaching? What are you saying? And He said, Why don't
you ask the ones I've given life to? Ears and eyes and a heart
too. Verse 21, He said, Why askest
thou me? Ask them which heard me. Some
of them heard me. I gave them ears to hear. Ask
them which heard me what I have said unto them. Behold, they
know. They know what I said. Verse
22, And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood
by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest
thou the high priest so? Now if you have a margin in your
Bible with the palm, my margin says with a rod. With a rod. When I read that
verse of scripture, this thought came into my mind. At that exact
moment in time, there is really not that much difference in this
officer and in Peter. Not really. This officer struck
him in the face. Peter was spitting in his face. Something in it. There's a difference
though in these two. There's a difference. One of
them is going to be forgiven. One of them is going to be redeemed.
What's the difference? The difference is the will and
the choice and the love and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all come from the same lump. I think the one thing that we
ought to really take note of in this story is there's not
one sinner here that's better than another. We all come from
the same lump. What makes me to differ? Christ
alone. He chose me. The mercy and the
grace of Christ alone. Verse 23, Jesus answered him,
If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why
smitest thou me? I'll show you exactly why. Exactly
why. See if you can find Micah chapter
5. If you have a Bible like mine,
it's 1155. Micah chapter 5, verse 1 says, now gather thyself
in troops. Oh, daughter of troops, not daughter
of Zion, daughter of troops. He hath laid siege against us. They shall smite the judge of
Israel. Who is the judge of Israel? John
5 says it's Jesus Christ. They shall smite the judge of
Israel with a rod upon the cheek. That's what they're going to
do to him. They're going to smite the judge of Israel with a rod
upon the cheek. Why did that officer smite the
Lord with a rod upon the cheek? He had to, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
He had to. We're going to see as we continue
through this trial and his crucifixion, it's almost like they had the
Old Testament open, saying, okay, we are supposed to do this next.
Okay, now we're supposed to, everything that the Old Testament
said would happen, it happened. Every single one. Our Lord was
in absolute control of every second of it. He knew it was
coming. He knew it was coming. In just a moment, He's going
to smite me with a rod. Everything that happened, He
wrote it. He wrote this. Absolute control of everything.
Back over to John 18. Verse 24 says, Now Annas had
sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest, and Simon Peter
stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him,
Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said,
I am not. One of the servants of the high
priest, being his kinsman, whose ear Peter cut off, saith, did
not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again,
and immediately the cock crew. Matthew's account says he denied
it with an oath, and he began to curse and to swear. Can you imagine the heartache
of knowing I cursed God's name? His name is so holy. It is so
holy. The scripture says we should
never even say it in vain. It is so holy. If we say His
name, it better be for a purpose. It needs to be for a purpose.
People say His name so commonly, so flippantly. I have such a
hard time. We sing, every service almost,
we sing songs that say Jesus. And I cannot rewrite all these
songs, so we just sing them. You know, it's written in His
Word. You know, the Lord wrote it this
way and it just says, call His name Jesus. He'll save His people
from sin. But His name is so holy. It's just, Jesus is just too
common for me. It's just too holy. It's just
too holy. We call Him Lord. We call Him
the Lord Jesus. We call him the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we just don't flippantly say that name. You know, something
dramatic will happen and you'll hear people say, Lord. Oh, holy,
holy, holy Lord God almighty. Holy. Peter here, though he was cursing
his name, his apostle, his friend, cursing his name. Luke's gospel
points out something I want us to see. Go over to Luke 22. Luke 22, look at verse 16. And Peter said, Man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately while he yet
spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. Every time I read it, that amazes
me. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. This grown man. When the Lord looked at Peter. Here he is, standing there, taking
his rod, taking his accusations, and he knows what Peter's doing
over there. He told him he would do it. And the third time, Peter
says, if you say that I'm with him one
more time, so help me. And the cock crows, and the Lord
turned and looked at Peter. And when the Lord looked at him,
and when he showed him his sin at that moment, I see your sin. And when he broke Peter's heart
at that moment, you know what the Lord did for him right then
and there? You know what that was? You know what that was? Listen to this quote by a man
named J.C. Ryle. He said, now listen to
this, he said, the same pitiful hand that saved him from drowning
when his faith failed him on the waters was once more stretched
out to raise him when he fell in the high priest hall. He's
saying, I dumped, I dumped, fallen, fallen, fallen, and all he had
to do was look at him. All he had to do was look on
him. He just looked at him. David
wrote in Psalm 37, the steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall
not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his
hand. I have been young, and now am
old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread. As soon as Peter was broken down,
he was no more fallen. No more falling. He was so sad,
he was so sorry over his sin against the Lord. But the Lord
in tender, loving kindness, he comforted Peter. And I'll close
with this. Go with me to Mark 16. Mark 16 verse 1 says, And when
the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might
come and anoint him. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun. And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away,
for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in
a long white garment, and they were affrighted. And he said
unto them, Be not affrighted. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid
him. But go your way, Tell his disciples
and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall
you see him as he said unto you. I have a message for all the
disciples and Peter. Do you think that that angel
spoke on his own? He was sent with a message. Tell
the disciples, I was told to say, and Peter. You tell Peter,
I love him. Tell Peter, he's going to see
me. You tell Peter to glory in my faithfulness and glory in
my mercy, and then tell everybody else to do the same thing. Tell
Peter, go tell the Gentiles, do the same thing. Glory in my
faithfulness and in my mercy. That is the only thing a sinner
can glory in, isn't it? That's it. That's it. Oh, the
tender, loving, mercy, and compassion of our Lord. Glory in that. All right, let's stand together.