Peter’s Denial
Matt. 26:69-7569Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71And 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. 72And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75And 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. (Matthew 26:69‑75).
WE have already had a good deal in connection with Peter — his boastful self-confidence, his drawing the sword and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, and then his flight with the other disciples, when the real hour of danger came. But here we have his actual denial of Jesus. He denied that he was a disciple of Jesus; he denied that he had been with Him; and with oaths and curses be denied that he knew Him. Such was the terrible outcome of Peter’s self confidence
Peter’s self-trust — his confidence in his own strength — was at the bottom of all Peter’s trouble. It was what led to the terrible sin of denying his Lord and Master. But we may notice some steps in this sorrowful path.
When they led Jesus away to the high priest’s palace, we are told that “Peter followed Him afar off.” First he had fled along with the others. But now he follows. He desires to see what will become of Jesus, for he really loved Him. But he had no strength, and this he has to learn in pain and sorrow and shame. He had boasted, and he had to learn the folly of this. And so, while trusting in his own strength, his love to Jesus only led him into the place of danger. He followed afar off, and then, when the trial of Jesus is going on, we find Peter at the palace, at first, outside at the door. Then John, who had followed more closely, and had gone within, being acquainted with the high priest, went out and brought Peter into the place. And here is where Peter got into trouble. He sat with the enemies of Jesus, and warmed himself at their fire, as if he were one of them. But a maid who kept the door detected him, and said to him, “Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples?” He replied, “I am not.” Thus he denied Jesus before them all. But there is yet more. Peter goes out into the porch, and another maid sees him, and says to the others, “This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” This time Peter denies with an oath, and says, “I do not know the man.” But Jesus had said that Peter would deny Him three times, and this is what came to pass. Those who were standing by said to Peter, “Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee (betrayeth thee)”. It was not only a maid this time, but perhaps some of those who had seen him when he drew the sword, and ‘Peter’s fears drive him to still stronger language in the denial of his blessed Master. “Then began he to curse and to swear; saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.” Thus the Lord’s words were fulfilled. And the crowing of the cock brought them to Peter’s mind. He “remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, “Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.”
Luke also tells us that, as the cock crew, “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” How that look must have cut Peter to the heart! I have no doubt it was a look of sorrow, but sorrow mingled with inexpressible love, for Jesus loved Peter, and had prayed for him, that his faith should not break down in this hour of testing and shameful failure. Peter “went out, and wept bitterly.” He no longer remained at the enemy’s fire to warm himself, and seek comfort among them, while his blessed Master was being condemned as, a blasphemer. He went out. And there he poured forth tears of penitential sorrow, humbled and broken, and self-judged, because of his sad, sad failure.
Why should Peter have been in the Palace at all! God permitted him to go there, and, no doubt had His own good purpose in it both for Peter’s humbling, and that he should be a witness of the sufferings of Christ. But surely it was not faith that led Peter there. No doubt his love did, but not faith. Would he not have been better off outside praying? The Lord had said to him, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” But Peter had slept while he should have been watching and praying, and all through that terrible night, up to the close of the hour when he thrice denied his Master, there is no indication that one word of prayer had risen from his heart to God. Self-confidence never leads to prayer. The sense of our weakness does, or the sense of our need, or the needs of the people of God.
When Martin Luther was about to appear before the Diet of Worms, where his enemies were seeking to crush him, he spent much of the time in agonizing prayer. He felt it was a critical moment in the history of the church, and felt his own utter inability to meet the needs of the hour, and so he agonized with God. And when the moment arrived for him to stand for the truth of God in the presence of kings and princes and emperors, and before cardinals and bishops, and high church dignitaries, power was given him from God; the truth triumphed, and his enemies were confounded.
May you and I, Christian reader, be preserved from self-confidence, and learn the blessedness of being wholly cast upon the Lord in danger’s hour. Not warming ourselves at the enemy’s fire, but in the secret of God’s presence is the place of. safety. See Psalm 91.
ML 05/20/1906