Matthew 26. We have here in this portion of
Matthew 26 the denial of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Peter denies knowing Him. I also see in this the process
of a fall. And we see this in the conduct
of Peter. But let me point something out
here. All four Gospels write about
this situation in detail. They all write about it in detail.
And this to me is evidence that men did not write the Word of
God on their own. If they had, they would have
left out many of the faults and sins of those whom we consider
to be leaders of the church. But all four Gospels write about
this in detail. Now Peter was an apostle. He
was one of the favored ones that the Lord always took with Him
on special occasions. He went to the Mount of Transfiguration.
He saw the Lord transfigured there with Moses and Elijah. He was in the Garden of Gethsemane
when the Lord took him and John and took them apart from the
others. He was treated to a special observation. of the Lord during
that hour. He was definitely one of the
favored ones, if I can say it that way. And He's the one who first stood
up and said, though all deny thee, all these other disciples,
though all of them deny thee, yet will I not deny thee. I absolutely
will not deny thee. Peter was truly a child of God.
He was not apostate. But he was allowed, of God, to
fall hard. To fall hard. Now here's the setting. It's
night time. And the Lord's been taken captive.
He's standing before the high priest. He's being lied on, slapped,
they're spitting in his face. Peter sees all this, and he becomes
a coward. The one who stood up and said,
I will not deny thee, he's the one who took the sword and was
ready to fight, and now he's standing there a coward. A coward. Apart from the Spirit
of God, We all are. We all are. I'm not going to
be tough on Peter here. How many times have I denied
the Lord? How many times has Christ been lied on and I didn't
stand up? How many times? How many times did I keep silent
when I could have spoken? I can say this, when I realize
this, I, and I can say we, have denied the Lord under a lot lesser
circumstances than Peter. I mean, this is a tough night
going on here. But let's look at the process
of Peter's fall here. Every fall into sin by God's
children has a process and it has a warning. There's not a
sin we've ever committed that there wasn't a warning for it. The Lord warned Peter of his
denial of Him. He said, you will deny Me. He
said, before the cock crow, you will deny Me three times. And
even knowing this, knowing this, he still denied his Lord. Still
did it. Now here's his first step. One
of the first steps is he followed a far-off. Now I know why he
followed a far-off. The Scripture said the sheep
will be scattered. And I commend Peter in following
him a far-off while the others left, except him and John. But
when you're far-off, you're going to be in trouble. That leads
to trouble. But in verse 59, Peter, he goes
over and he sits, 58. It says, Peter followed him afar
off unto the high priest's palace and went in and sat with the
servants to see the end. He goes over and he sits with
the servants of darkness. Nothing good is going to come
out of this. Nothing good is going to come out of this. Have
you ever seen a good apple make a barrel of bad apples good?
It don't happen. No. And I tell you what, that
barrel of good apples don't make that bad apple good either. And that good apple doesn't make
those bad apples good. You and I cannot change the heart
or the nature of others. That's the work of God. It's
not our work. It's the work of God. The Scripture says, "...Blessed
is the man who walks not, stands not, sits not in the counsel
and the way and the seat of the ungodly." Peter went over there,
sat down, and here's what he tried to do. He tried to just
blend in. He didn't want to be recognized.
He wanted to see what was going to happen to his Lord. But he
goes over there and he sits down and he just blends, tries to
blend in. God doesn't let him. The Lord
will not, he will not let us blend in with the world. It ain't
going to happen. He's not going to let it happen.
The Scripture says, "...be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers."
In the Old Testament, the Jews were forbidden to marry Gentiles
because of this. He said, "...they will have your
sons and daughters worshiping other gods." I've said this to you several
times. You have what they have, but
they don't have what you have. I have the same sinful nature
this world has, but the world doesn't have the new birth. They
don't have a new creation. They don't have that which is
born of God. And you have it. And Satan is subtle, and he knows
exactly where the chink in the armor is. He knows where it is. But then here's the second step
of Peter's fall. He's overcome with the fear of
man. This is the one who took a sword
and cut off that man's ear, and now here he stands in fear of
his life. I've quoted this to you Thursday
night in Proverbs 29.25. The fear of man bringeth a snare,
but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. But the
fear of man bringeth a snare." And here it caused Peter to deny
even knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter lost his confidence in
Christ and began to fear those about him. Remember one time,
this is the apostle, this is the one When the Lord came walking
on water to them, he said, Lord, if it's you, bid me to come out
to you. And he said, well, come, come. And Peter stepped out of
that boat and literally began to walk on water. He began to
walk on water, just like the Lord was walking on water. He
began, by faith in Christ, to walk on water. But what happened? It says he saw the wind and began
to be boisterous, and he saw the waves. He saw all the elements,
and he lost his confidence in Christ. He took his eyes off
Christ, saw all these troubles and all these things that could
take his life, and he began to sink. And he cried out, Lord,
save me. Well, here's the same situation
again. Here he stands. Here is a real opportunity. And fear takes over. Fear takes over. You know, fear
will shut you down. Fear will absolutely shut you down. When
you have a fear of man or a fear of anything else, whatever it
is you fear, when it happens, it'll shut you down. And it shut
Peter down right here. His fear of losing his life, But the Lord allowed this to
happen for us. This is for us. It was for Peter, too. It was
for Peter, too. You know, because Peter, after
he had served his time, he was martyred. It is said he was crucified
upside down. I just have to believe that when
that happened, he was ready to go. He was ready to do it because
he remembered the opportunity he had to stand up for Christ
and he denied him. And now when they came to get
him and he was going to crucify him, and they crucified him upside
down, I have a feeling that Peter was willing to do it. You know,
it's just like right and wrong, even though we can't right or
wrong, but yet, you know what I'm talking about. It was an
opportunity for him to glorify Christ in a time and in a way
in which he had previously denied Him. But here he's overcome with fear.
Listen to what Paul says in Acts 20.24. Paul said this. Turn over to Acts. Let's read
it together. Acts chapter 20. Let me figure out the verse I want to read
first. Verse 22. Let me start at 22. Paul says, and now behold, I
go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there, save except that the Holy Ghost witnesseth
in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. They're
waiting for me, Paul. Paul said, these things are waiting
for you in every city you go to. Here's what you're gonna
meet with, Paul. But now listen, but none of these
things move me. Neither count I my life dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God." But Paul says here, and here
is the pinnacle of discipleship, right here, neither count I my
life dear to me. Paul said, my life doesn't matter. My life on this earth, if I live
today, fine. If I die today, fine. Now, brethren,
that's the pinnacle of discipleship. When your life, your life, my
life doesn't matter anymore. That's when, as Paul said, he
said, I don't count my life dear to me that I may finish the ministry
that's been given to me. Our Lord said this in John 12,
25, "...He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates
his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Peter
was afraid of losing his life. And now we come to Peter's denial.
Here in verse 69-70, a maid, a damsel, said, you were
with Jesus. And Peter acts like he doesn't
even know what she's talking about. Well, he said, I don't
know what you're talking about. And I know Peter had to be very
nervous and very fidgety and anxious. And she says, you were
with Jesus. He said, I don't know what you're
talking about. She was no threat to him. It's
interesting what God used here. This maid was no threat to him.
She didn't come to him with a sword. Oh, how the Lord reveals our weakness.
How we need Him. Without me, you can do nothing.
This maid didn't have soldiers behind her saying, get him. She
didn't have a sword in her hand. She just said, you are with Jesus. This damsel. And he says, I don't
know what you're talking about. And then again, it says in verse
71, And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid
saw him. The Lord sends another maid,
a very unthreatening person. So unthreatening. And said unto
them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And Peter denied knowing him.
There in verse 71, when he was going out into the porch, another
mage saw him and said to them that were there, this fellow
was also a Jesus of Nazareth. And again, again, he denied with
an oath. This time he, you know, people
try to get you to believe something, they put an oath to it, don't
they? I swear. I swear I'm telling the truth.
Oh, yeah, right. If you were telling the truth,
you wouldn't have to swear. Where am I at? And after a while, well, let me deal with this first.
His third denial. That was his second one. Here's
his third one. After a while, came unto him they that stood
by, and they said to Peter, Surely thou art one of them, for thy
speech betrayeth thee." You speak like a Galilean. See, their speech
was a little different. It was not as polished as the
ones there in Jerusalem and educated. He was an old fisherman. He was
an old fisherman. They said, Your speech betrays
you. And I tell you this, Your speech as a child of God will
betray you to the world." They said, you're different. There's something different about
you. Something different about the way you talk. What you talk
about. Something different. But look here in verse 74, "...then
began he to curse and swear, saying, I know not the man, and
immediately the cock crowed." Peter denies Christ again, but
this time he cusses. You know, that really puts the
emphasis on you being right. You cuss. That just seems to go with the
swearing part. He cusses and he swears. He takes an oath. And what this
is, is the old fisherman of Galilee coming out. The old man. that old nature coming out. I
figure old Peter could be one that could probably cuss with
the best of them, knowing his personality. Before the Lord
saved him, I bet he was a rough cut character. But I want you to notice how
deep the fall was here, how far the Lord let him fall. I know not the man. He used to
call him master. He used to call Him Lord, and
now He's calling Him the man. And He's saying it to them in
a way of disgust so they'll believe Him. So they'll believe He's
lying. I know not the man. Wow. How stinging this must have
been to our Lord. Our Lord felt these things. He feels our unfaithfulness.
He's touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He feels
these things. And this just added to his pain.
I don't know which was more painful, the lashes on his back or Peter's
denial of knowing Him. I'd say it's Peter's denial.
That had to be painful. Our Lord's a man. He felt these
things. But here's the grace of God.
We may deny Him, but He will never deny us. In a fit of fear,
like Peter did, in a fit of fear, we may deny Him. He will never
deny us. There standing before that kangaroo
court, He never denied us. He never denied us. In fact, what He did, He put
the sheep out of the way, protected them and took their punishment,
took our punishment. But here we also see the Word
of God fulfilled. Immediately after Peter said
this, immediately, not an hour later, Immediately, the cock crew, just as the Lord said
it would. We can trust the Word of God,
we can take God at His Word, we can trust the Word of God,
but we can't change it. You would have thought, I mean
just hours before this, The Lord said, Peter, you're
going to deny me three times. He said, no, I won't. And what
does he do? He denies him three times and
never thinks about what the Lord said to him. You know why? Because, Peter, you're going
to deny me three times. Because I said you're going to. God's Word is infallible. God's
Word is sure. And it's accurate. It's accurate. But here's good news. Here's
good news. Don't let this go by you. This
hit me when I was studying this. Here's good news. There's no
sin that we will ever do that the Lord doesn't know. Peter,
you're going to deny me. Peter said, no, I'm not. No,
I'm not. Peter, you're going to deny me.
But Christ died for that too. Christ put that sin away too. It's like Nathan the prophet
saying to David, he says, the Lord has put away your sin, you're
not going to die. He's already put it away. And you notice something here. Everything in this life has a
purpose. It has a purpose. One day, one morning, A hen lays
an egg. I mean, nobody's going to think
about that. A hen lays an egg. And this rooster is hatched. And this rooster grows up. And
this rooster has one purpose. It's going to crow when the Lord
said he would. And Peter is going to remember
the word of the Lord. When this rooster crowed, it
sounded like a trumpet. Everybody there, listen, everybody
there heard that rooster crow. But there was one, when he heard
it, it broke his heart. I did what I said I wouldn't
do. And then we see the power of
God's Word here. When that rooster crowed, he
remembered the Word. He remembered the Word. He thought
of the Word of his Lord that he had spoken to Him about denying
Him. And Him saying, I will not deny
you. Then he remembered the Word that
the Lord said, you're going to deny Me three times. And he said,
I don't want. And it hit him like a ton of
bricks. It cut his heart. And it cut his heart for the
rest of his life on this earth. Peter never got over this. He
never forgot this. Never. He just denied the most loving,
most caring, most giving person. He just denied his Lord and Savior. He had said just previously to
this, not too long before this, the Lord said, who do you say
that I am? And Peter said, thou art the
Christ, the son of the living God. Now he stands here and says,
I don't know that man. And God said, or the Lord said to him,
he said, Peter, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my father has revealed this to you. My father has done a
work of grace in you. My father has made known to you
who I am. No man knows the father, save
the son. And no man knows the son, save
the father. And you don't know either one
of them until the Son reveals them to you. And he said to Peter, he said,
my father has revealed this to you. And now here Peter is saying,
I don't know this man, this man, this thug. I don't know him. But when that rooster crowed,
he remembered the word of the Lord. I can only imagine some
of the thoughts that went through his head when that happened. He thought of what the Lord had
done for him, called him by His grace, made him one of the pillars in
the church. He thought of the special favors he was given,
the Mount of Transfiguration. Can you imagine what sight that
would have been? He heard the voice speak from
heaven. He heard God the Father speak
from heaven. This is my beloved Son, whom I will please hear
Him. He was given a special warning,
but He did it anyway. He was given one of the great
opportunities. Now here's one of the... I think
this is one of the most painful, painful things that He endured
and that we can endure. is this, Peter was given one
of the greatest opportunities to take a stand for his master
and denied even knowing him. Denied, I don't even know
that man. And then here's another one of
the, I think, most painful things. But without a doubt, this is
one of the things that made him and makes us grateful to the
grace of God. This is what makes God's grace
so amazing. He realized he was no better
than Judas. He knew, Peter knew in his heart
he was no better than Judas who betrayed him for 30 pieces of
silver. Can you imagine the thoughts
that he and the others had when Judas came up and kissed him
and betrayed him? And they took the Lord away?
Can you imagine the thoughts they had of Judas and here he
is? I denied him. I'm no better than Judas. The
only difference between Judas and Peter is the grace of God.
The only difference between me and you And those out on the street,
and those who do not believe, is the grace of God. That's the
difference. The Word of God, he remembered
the Word. Listen, the Word of God, when
it comes in power, it cuts the heart. You don't just have a... Just this easy believism. There's a real cutting of the
heart by the Word of God. In Hebrews 4.12, For the Word
of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. Over in Acts 2.36-37, listen,
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God
hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their hearts. Now another time that is said,
and it says, they were mad. When they heard this, they were
mad. They wanted to kill him. But this group they were preaching
to, he says, they were pricked in their heart. We crucified
the Lord of glory. Here's what happened to Peter.
Peter, I denied the Lord of glory. I denied him. God's Word is powerful when it
comes in power. But I tell you, it makes a change
like it did 1 Thessalonians. When the Word of God came in
power, they left their idols, they became examples. I tell
you, the Word of God, when it comes in power, you're not going
to be the same. And then we see the pain that
sin causes. When he remembered the Word of
the Lord, when he remembered that conversation, he went out. And he wept bitterly. I can't imagine the bitter weeping,
the bitterness of it. You know, in Luke's gospel, in
Luke 22.61, it says this, when that rooster crowed, Peter remembered the word of
the Lord. And Lucas says, and the Lord turned and looked upon
Peter. Oh, whoa. It says, and 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 three times. The Lord turned and all this
going on, all this commotion going on, all of this hatred,
darkness, all this animosity going on, and yet, the Lord thinks upon Peter. He thinks upon Peter. It was a look of pity. I can imagine that. It's just
a look of pity upon him. Scripture says he remembers our
frame that is dust. Peter said, no, I won't. He said,
y'all, that frame's going to fall in a little while. It was a look of love. I mean,
the love you heard this morning in 1 Corinthians 13. It was a look of love, that kind
of love. Love thinks no evil. The Lord
didn't think evil of him. The Lord didn't think evil of
Peter. He knew Peter. Peter's his child. And now he's
afraid and he's scared. He's scared of dying. And the
Lord just looked at him He looked at him with pity, looked at him
with love. It was a piercing look. Piercing look. My dad, you know, my dad could
look at me. Boy, it was a piercing look. It was a piercing look. The Lord looked right into his
heart. And I'll tell you what he saw. He saw a heart that loved
him. He looked into Peter's heart
and Peter felt the burn of it. He felt the burn of that glaze.
You know it says in Revelation, his eyes were like a fire. Peter felt the burn of that glaze. You can only imagine. I tell
you, this is what happens when God takes you in the hand. He takes
a sinner in the hand and that sinner is His. That's His child
and He corrects that child. He can correct you with a look.
And Peter never forgot what he did. And I bet you he never forgot
that look either. I bet he never forgot it. But
how bitter sin is. How bitter and how painful. How
painful repentance is of sin. Now what can we learn from this?
And I close. not to trust our own steadfastness. I will not deny thee." We'll
see. Scripture says, "...let him that
thinketh he standeth, take he lest he fall." Only Christ can
enable us to stand in the day of temptation. God is our refuge
and strength at the very present help in trouble. Nobody else. No one else. Then no position
in the church shields us from falling. Some of you have been
here for many, many years. That does not shield you from
falling. Peter was an apostle. And then
when a child of God begins to fall, it usually starts gradually.
It's usually a gradual process. And then we see that sin is a
bitter thing. And brethren, the only thing
that can wash away our sins is the blood of Christ. It can wash
it away. Yesterday, Vicki finally got
me convinced into cleaning the front of the house. So she quit
being embarrassed. So we went and we got this bottle
of stuff and I sprayed it on there. You should see how clean
it is. All that grime and stain that
has been on there for I don't know how long, but it's been
on there for a while, all of it, it's gone. It's white as
can be. All of you look at it when you
leave. It's gone. And I just sprayed
the right stuff on it. The only thing that can wash
away your sins is the blood of Jesus Christ. He's the only one
who can make us whiter than snow. And I don't know what there is
that is whiter than snow, except a believer. You're the only thing
whiter than snow. And then we see, a look from
our Lord produces sorrow for sin. They will mourn, the Scripture
says, when they look on Him whom they pierced. Then when we fall
into temptation, let us seek the place of solitude and pour
out our hearts before God. If we confess our sins, in 1
John 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We
confess our sins. whatever they be, however deep
the stain, there is no stain of sin that the blood of Christ
cannot wash away. And then, believers may be suffered
to fall hard to show them and us, others, believers, their
weakness and our weakness. And then let me just give this
as a note of warning. Let us never use another's sin
to justify our own. Don't ever say, well, you know,
Peter did that. Well, David committed adultery. These things are not written
so that you and I have excuses. I think we have warnings.