Will you also, Deny your Lord?
I was reading through Matthews Gospel and we got down towards the end of the Gospel, to the point of Jesus Trial, and this little portion sort of stuck, so let me share the verses and the thoughts with you now. Matthew 26:69-75 “Now Peter sat without in the Palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before [them] all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another [maid] saw him, and said unto them that were there, this [fellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto [him] they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art [one] of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, [saying], I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”
We have a tense situation developing here, where Jesus is going through an illegal night-time “Trial” which quickly turns out to be nothing more than a “Pre-Trial” because the Leaders so desperately want Jesus eliminated, but his absolute “Perfection” gives them absolutely nothing with which to use as evidence of any wrong doing or even shadow of wrong doing, as Jesus was perfect in all his ways. The Accusers are in a deep bind as they quickly want something, just about anything, to accuse Jesus, but to find something of a magnitude of “Death Penalty” is currently in almost fantasy mode, but still the charges come thick and fast, but each charge conflicts and sort of eliminates another, leaving a list of nothing, which is the Greek Term for “Righteous” we have a perfect match; for the Greek term is a “Legal Term” for being tried in a court and found that no charges are found valid and correct so the case is thrown out and the accused is found “Righteous,” you are now free to go.
Now back to Peter’s situation, he had just seen his master arrested so he had fled into the darkness, but the tie was strong so he swung back and he mingled in the background and perimeters, drifting along to view what was going to transpire, and then things went from worse to catastrophic, as Peter now found himself at the centre of a secondary “Trial” where the accusations started to flow and by the “Third Charge” Peter was really starting to get worried about everything, maybe it was well past time to exit quickly and to get away from all this uncomfortable attention. Then the Rooster started his crowing, Peter is startled back to reality, this crowing started his remembering of the last words his master spoke to him, his heart broke and Peter up and fled.
I have no clinical proof, but try this one out for size. Luke 22:44-46 “And being in an agony he {Jesus} prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Well we all know the verse, but who reported it, as it is plainly stated that every disciple was sleeping or bleary eyed from sleep on a dark night. I perceive that it was when Peter fled, he ran right back to the very exact spot in Gethsemane where Jesus had been praying and interceding, then he then threw himself down on that same very “Prayer Stone” that Jesus had been using moments before as he was agonising in prayer, and then Peter poured his heart out, and found wonderful consolation. On arising from his prayer, comforted in soul, he would then have then found that the whole front of his robe was stained from the drops of blood that the Saviour had shed, Peter was literally “Covered by the Blood of the lamb,” and that was even before Calvary, so Peter really got the message first, may not have fully understood it at the time, but I perceive that it was Peter’s evidence that was recorded for us by Luke.
What does it take for us to “Deny our Saviour?” We can deny him by not even accepting him in the very first place and then to live for only ourselves. We can deny Jesus by claiming to be “Christian” and then living in opposition to, or not up to the standards of a true believer as listed out in the Bible. When “The Going gets tough, the Tough get going,” does going mean fleeing away, like Peter did, or does it mean stepping up “Front and Centre” and standing firm for the faith that has been delivered to us from the Scriptures and from godly leaders? There is a great crisis about to break on this world and you are going to be pressured like Peter and you will either fold and flee, or you will stand firm for your faith regardless of what is threatened.
Our individual “Eternal Life” is pretty much hinged on standing firm and true, just like the martyrs of ages gone by, it is Jesus only and no other choice or choices have any valid impact in our lives. Matthew gives us this admonition in Matthew 10:33 “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven,” and that is certainly not a statement anybody wants to hear. This is the verse we all want from the Throne room of Heaven as found in Matthew 25:23 “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
So if we want the “well done,” then we must firstly “do well” and denying God is the last thing on anybody’s list so let us read over 1st and 2nd Peter and be encouraged by what repentance and resolve came from this, and Peter became very unshakeable in any situation thereafter.
What does it take for us to “Deny our Saviour?” The answer to that question is evidenced in your relationship currently with Jesus Christ right now. If your “Prayer Life” is thin or non-existent, you are pretty much guaranteed to fail, how much time per day do you spend in the Scriptures, or is that pretty much thin and scarce. Peter failed to “watch and to pray” and suffered deeply from this shortcoming and failure, it cost him dearly and almost took his “Eternal Life” but “Breakfast on the Beach” restored him, and he had repented and had grown much from this. Just sit down and read over 1st and 2nd Peter and you will be blessed, maybe read them over a few times and you will be surprised as to how much more your understanding will deepen.
