22:54 ¶ Then took they him,
and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter
followed afar off. 55 And when they had
kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat
down among them. 56 But a certain maid
beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This
man was also with him. 57 And he denied
him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58
And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of
them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59
And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed,
saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what
thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 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 thrice. 62
And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Here is a moment that
probably stayed imbedded in Peter’s mind for the rest of his life. As Christ
said he would, Peter denies that he knew Christ. It is a sorrowful moment for
Peter and probably resulted in the “conversion” that Christ prayed for him to
receive.
As Matthew Henry noted
in his commentary, “It is well for us that Christ does not deal with us as
we deal with him.” How many of us, when placed in a situation that wasn’t even
dangerous for us denied, even if only by our inaction or our lack of speaking
on His behalf, our Lord. We might do this for fear of rejection by peers or
family. We might do this in fear of loss of employment or position.
The important thing is that Christ
had a plan to restore Peter and for Peter to provide the leadership he does as
represented in Acts. Christ has a purpose for Peter’s life and does not dispose
of him in this most awful moment of his life to this point.
The act of denying Christ for
whatever reason carries big weight in the Bible. Here, it is defined as a
conscious refusing to admit one’s association and familiarity with Christ. Remember
this passage in Luke, chapter 12;
Luke 12:8 Also I say unto
you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also
confess before the angels of God: 9 But
he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
The importance of holding
onto one’s faith in the face of fear or persecution or the hardening of sin,
temptations as they are to deny Christ, is underscored by Paul.
2Timothy 2:12 If we suffer,
we shall also reign with him:
if we deny him, he also will
deny us:
Enduring until the end,
is spoken of in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, and as Paul also says in Hebrews in
regard to sin itself hardening our hearts;
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast
unto the end; 15 While it is said, To
day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just
shall live by faith: but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Sometimes atheists will
reveal that they believed at one time but stopped and if you examine their life
a little closer you will see that the desires of the flesh paid some part in
their apostasy. I will post again something I noted earlier about one notable
atheist scientist.
Many people, especially young people, have
abandoned their faith when the lusts of youth demanded their attention. A noted
evolutionary biologist, Edward O. Wilson, wrote a book entitled Consilience in which he writes in
chapter one about the joy he felt when he found and believed in the theory of
evolution and the unity of all sciences with that atheistic determinism as
their foundation, well unquestionable fact more than theory to him with the
following as part of his journey to atheism;
On a far more modest
scale, I found it a wonderful feeling not just to taste the unification
metaphysics but also to be released from the confinement of fundamentalist
religion. I had been raised a Southern Baptist, laid backward under the water
on the sturdy arm of a pastor, been born again. I knew the healing power of
redemption. Faith, hope, and charity were in my bones, and with millions of
others I knew that my savior Jesus Christ would grant me eternal life. More
pious than the average teenager, I read the Bible cover to cover, twice. But
now at college, steroid-driven into moods of adolescent rebellion, I chose to
doubt.
It can also be
suffering that puts pressure on your faith and, if you are not grounded in
God’s word, can lead you away from Him in your pain and anguish.
Galatians 4:14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye
despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
And it can be
persecution that forces you, in order to be accepted by people or to keep from
losing life, liberty, family, employment, or property, to consider turning your
back on God.
For Wilson, unlike
Peter, there appears to be no second chance as his heart was hardened beyond
all redemption. But, for Peter and others, God left a door open and there was a
way back.
There were many movements
in the early church that did not want to allow those who had repudiated their
faith under persecution or handing in their scriptures to the Roman authorities
to return to the faith. With names given to them like Novatianism or Donatism
these movements did not accept those who had renounced their faith under fear
or pain.
And truthfully, Paul
wrote in Hebrews something that can be considered as a warning that it is
impossible to return under certain circumstances.
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again
unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and
put him to an open shame.
However, another way of
looking at that passage is considering how Jesus dealt with Peter,
understanding that there can be a way home in these circumstances for the
repentant denier. If that is so then the passage in Hebrews 6 merely points out
the absurdity of thinking you can lose your salvation. Christ was crucified
once and that is sufficient for all.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us…26 For then must he often have suffered since
the foundation of the world: but now once
in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this
the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin
unto salvation.
Hebrews 10:10 By the which
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Peter’s realization of
what he has done and the fact that he wept bitterly shows us that he was deeply
repentant over his betrayal. Compare this with Judas’ betrayal for which
repentance was not expressed in bitter tears but worldly sorrow expressed in
self-harm.
Matthew 27:3 Then Judas,
which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,
and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in
that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the
temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
I suppose one lesson
that can be learned from this passage is that Godly repentance, in guilt, seeks
God’s forgiveness acknowledging His authority while worldly sorrow, though
still an act of sorrow over what you have done, is expressed not in glorifying
Christ but in self-hatred or shame, a sort of reverse glorification of one’s
self making self not Christ of the most importance.
2Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but
the sorrow of the world worketh death.
One of the most notorious
ways modern so-called Christians deny Christ is to call Him a liar. Christ
said;
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John also wrote this
about believing what Jesus said about Himself.
John 3:36 He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
So, it is amazing to me
how many people today call themselves Christians but, not wanting to offend
anyone and not wanting to appear not inclusive, they call Christ a liar and say
that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe in something or
that everyone has to choose what is right for them. How can Christ overlook
such a hateful rejection of His own words?
As Peter so famously
said;
Acts 4:12 Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there
is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.
And yet, curiously, I
have met even people who claim “the Golden Rule” as their motto, who do works
of charity that are exemplary, but who, in the end call Christ a liar and deny
Him.
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