Third
Midweek Homily
March
2, 2016
Matthew
26:58, 69-75
A
Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth
The
Savior Denied
In
the name of the Father and of the ☩
Son and of the Holy Spirit.
But
Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the
high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see
the outcome. . . .
Now
Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came
to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he
denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are
talking about.” When he had gone out to the gateway, another
servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man
was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
And
again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” A
little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you
too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.”
Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And
immediately a rooster crowed.
And
Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster
crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept
bitterly. (Matthew 26:58, 69-75 NASB)
Peter
followed Jesus at a distance, which is odd when we compare this
far-away Peter to the up-close big-talking into Jesus' ear Peter.
“Even
though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”
(Matthew 26:33)
“Even
if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” (Matthew 26:35)
How
sad when we see Peter skulking along in the shadows, distantly
following His rabbi to the courtyard of sinners and enemies. Here he
is no longer in the shadows, but in firelight. Why did Peter enter
this place? Was he cold? Was he curious? Was he worried that Jesus
might have named names and fingered Peter as one of His followers? We
don't know.
But
there he was, warming himself by the fire, when he was confronted
with the accusation:
“You
too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
And
we hear Peter's shocking denial:
“I
do not know what you are talking about.”
His
denial is shocking because he was a believer. We, as Christians, are
certainly comfortable thinking of Jesus' deniers as unbelievers, but
we miss something if we don't look more closely. By definition you
can't deny something unless you first believe it; you can't say no
until you've already said yes.
Peter
had said yes to Jesus many times; this night he said no to Jesus. And
he didn't just say no; he swore it. He promised to go to hell if he
was lying about Jesus. Indeed Peter could not even say his Savior's
name.
“I
do not know the man.”
“I
do not know the man!”
And
in the end Peter denied Jesus to His face.
Peter
said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord
turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the
Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will
deny Me three times.” And [Peter] went out and wept bitterly. (Luke
22:60-62)
We
have learned and confess that Jesus is always among us; He is truly
present with us. So as our sinful flesh produces sin after sin, we
are sinning in the presence of Jesus Christ. So like Peter, we deny
Jesus to His face.
And
just like Peter we also keep company all too much with the enemies of
Jesus. In what we watch in the media to the books we read, we condone
sin.
But
unlike Peter, we often deny Jesus, not with curses, but with our
silence. We silently consume media that advocates ways of looking at
the world that are false and harmful. We silently allow members of
our families to slide into dangerous lifestyles. We silently endorse
quick fixes to the health of our churches and homes, and refuse to
confront our own individual guilt in our collective shame.
And
Jesus sees us all.
In
faith, repent: “I am ashamed of my silent denials of You, dear
Lord.” And He rejoices to forgive us, just like He mercifully
forgave His closest denier and dearest friend, Peter.
God
made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so
that in Him we might become the righteousness of God! Amen!
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