DRINKING THE CUP:  THE DENIAL

JOHN 18:12-18, 25-57

AUGUST 3, 1997

 

Peter was ready to face anything for Jesus Christ.  Or so he thought.  With determination and plenty of grit, he followed behind Jesus Christ after His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Perhaps he thought that he had endured the worst of his trials with Christ in the Garden.  He had impulsively drawn his sword, slicing through the air until his mark lopped off the ear of the high priest's servant.  None of the other disciples had acted so courageously.  Peter stood alone.

 

Vaunted by his gladiatorial act, Peter made his way to the courtyard of Caiaphas, the high priest.  In the dimness of the night, Peter's heart that had been so courageous was laid bare by the words of a slave girl.  He did what he said he would never do:  deny Jesus Christ.

 

In the Denial, we learn that lurking in the shadows of every soul is that capacity for denying Jesus Christ.  'Guard your heart,' we would hear Peter say.  So, we must give attention to the deceitfulness of our hearts if we would stand for Him each day.

 

What does this text teach each believer about himself?  Let's give consideration to the striking insights of the Denial.

 

I.  A Warning

 

To understand the full picture of our text, we must make use of other related passages from the Gospels.  I would point first to the warning Jesus Christ gave Peter before the denial ever took place.  No one would deny that Peter acted with extreme courage in drawing his sword against the Roman soldiers and temple police who came by night to arrest our Lord in the Garden.  It is reminiscent of soldiers diving on top of grenades to save their fellow soldiers or a single soldier rushing a machine gun nest to protect others.  Though it was courageous, it was unnecessary.  For we find Jesus Christ telling Peter to "put the sword into the sheath."  Why did our Lord refuse Peter's defense?  Because he was ready to drink the cup which the Father had placed in His hands; the cup of divine wrath on behalf of sinners.

 

After the first celebration of the Lord's Supper, Peter asked the Lord a question in response to His statement, "Where I am going you cannot come."  "Lord, where are you going?"  Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow later."  Peter was quite incensed over the reply.  "Lord, why can I not follow You right now?  I will lay down my life for You."  Peter was quite sure of himself in his bold statement.  Then Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for Me?  Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me three times" (John 13:33, 36-38).

 

With this background, I believe we gain at least three vital insights on ourselves in light of the warning of Jesus Christ to Peter.

 

1.  Beware of thinking lightly of the Word of the Lord

 

Christ had spoken clearly.  "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow later."  Of course, He was referring to the immediacy of His passion, in which He would climb the hill of Golgotha to bear our sins on the cross.  Our Lord would be buried in a borrowed tomb and then rise from the dead to ascend to the Father.  In so doing, He would be going ahead to prepare a place for those He redeemed (John 14:1-4).  Jesus Christ would be walking in the steps prepared for Him before the foundation of the world.  All that He did was necessary for our eternal good.

 

But Peter thought he knew better.  He dared to remonstrate with Jesus Christ when our Lord had spoken quite clearly.  This was nothing new for Peter.  He had previously argued with the word of the Lord, thinking that his own judgment was clearer than that of Jesus Christ.

 

On that occasion when Peter had joined James and John with Jesus Christ on the mountain where the Lord was gloriously transfigured in the resplendence of His divine glory, he treated the word of the Lord lightly.  Christ told the disciples of His impending death and resurrection.  Matthew records, "And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord!  This shall never happen to You"."  What impulsiveness!  What foolishness for a mere mortal to cast aside the word of the Lord!  The reply of Jesus Christ is startling, for it shows the devilish foundation for such a casual treatment of the word of the Lord.  "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Matt. 16:21-23).

 

How like Peter we are!  When we read or hear the word of the Lord but lay it aside or think it only applies to others, we are daring to look in the face of Christ and say, "Not so!"  When His Word turns everything in our lives upside down and He exposes the error of our thinking in relationship to Him, yet we turn aside to follow our own opinions, we are walking in the errant steps of Peter.  When God's Word confronts us, yet we use "creative hermeneutics" to take the heat off of us by giving it another meaning, we treat the Word of God flippantly.

 

2.  Beware of an inflated opinion of oneself

 

Peter listened to the warning of Jesus Christ, that all of the disciples would "fall away" because of Him on that night of His arrest (Matt. 26:31).  But Peter did not think this word applied to him.  He may have looked at the other disciples, given quick thought to their weaknesses, then blurted out, "I will lay down my life for You."  The other disciples might fall away, he thought, but Peter would never do such a thing.  He was too tough, too determined, and too loyal to falter in the time of difficulty.

 

Peter's basic problem was that he had an inflated opinion of himself.  He really did not know himself.  He did not understand the deceitfulness of his own heart.  "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" explained the prophet Jeremiah (17:9).  While the redemptive work of Christ delivers us from the curse of the Fall, we still labor under the effects of the Fall.  As long as there is sin in our lives or we have "this body of sin" as Paul calls it, we are giving evidence that the Fall of man constantly affects humanity.

 

The Epistles warn us about ourselves.  "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (I Cor. 10:12).  Paul warned Timothy, "Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching" (I Tim. 4:16).  "Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God" (Heb. 3:12).  "We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober" (I Thess. 5:5-6).  Peter himself later warns, "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ....But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts....Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (I Pet. 1:13; 3:12; 5:8).

 

The one who thinks that he cannot fall into sin is in the most precarious position of all.  Peter did not know himself.  The Lord questioned him with these biting words, "Will you lay down your life for Me?"  Is it true of you, Peter?  Do you really know yourself that well?  

 

My brethren, it is only the grace of God that stands between us and a fall from which we can never recover!  Peter was so caught up with a sense of self-confidence and pride that he began to trust in himself for what was needed to stand against the trials of life.  As we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, we also are to walk in Him:  by grace through faith (Col. 2:6-7).

 

We must realize that Peter fell headlong into sin even though he had just passed through the highest of spiritual experiences.  He had partaken of the first Lord's Supper with all of the pathos and glory attending it.  He had listened to the grandest teaching of Jesus Christ in the Upper Room Discourse.  Then he heard with his own ears the great high priestly prayer of John 17.  Could you be better prepared for facing an army of demons than having walked in such marvelous times?  Yet, confidence placed in oneself or one's experience proves to be folly.  As Paul expressed it so clearly, "For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3).

 

3.  Beware of untested ambitions and motives

 

Peter had marvelous ambitions.  The only problem, they were wrapped around his own strength and glory.  "I will lay down my life for You."  Noble ambition, we would all agree.  We admire a man who is willing to sacrifice himself in the face of danger.  At the moment, that's what Peter planned to do.  But when confronted by a mere slave-girl, his self-generated ambition was crushed like a peanut under the foot of an elephant.

 

I think we have to consider that Peter followed Christ into the courtyard of Caiaphas for noble reasons, at least at first.  He had made his stand earlier.  He had assured the Lord that he would lay down his life.  Now he stealthily makes his way into the center of  the enemy camp.  What was running through his mind?  Do you suppose he gave thought to rushing the high priest's guards, overpowering them, then setting Christ free?  With the action-oriented life of Peter, I don't think we can be satisfied that he was just a friendly spectator at this unholy interrogation of our Lord.  His ambitions drove him to the jaws of danger.  But mere ambition cannot sustain us in the face difficulty, temptation, and trial.  We need the strength of God's grace which He gladly gives to those who trust in Him and cast off the arm of the flesh.  The chief weakness that slays us in times of difficulty and temptation is an over-reliance on our own strengths and abilities.  My brethren, we must constantly see our own weakness and the great sufficiency of our Lord Jesus Christ!  With John the Baptist, we must say, "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

 

II. A Danger

 

We move from the scene of Christ's warning to Peter, that he would indeed deny Him three times before the rooster crowed that morning, to the actual denial.  He had already been exhorted to "watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41).  But Peter slept and trusted in his own ability to handle the difficulties ahead.  Are we not rebuked by this same exhortation when we think of how little we pray?  Oh we give time to physical preparation, but do we retire in solitude to cast ourselves upon the Lord, to know His strength and might for life's demands?  

 

Peter's pride ran full stride before him.  As we read our text we see Peter walking right into danger that would lead to his fall.  We must learn from this scene.  The Bible's plain description of God's choice servants offers us encouragement to learn from them.  To simply shake our heads at Peter's dullness in the face of danger is to miss the point.  Instead, we must cry out for the hand of the Lord to strengthen us, for we can fall prey to the same arrogant spirit that enveloped Peter.

 

1.  Of wanting to be unnoticed as a Christian

 

The first danger is rather strange.  It is that of wanting to be unnoticed as a Christian.  Peter had delighted in being one of Christ's disciples.  Now he did not want anyone to know that he was indeed a disciple of Jesus Christ.  The scene shows Peter outside the door leading to the courtyard of the high priest.  Another disciple, presumably John, had already gained access, then returned to see to it that Peter could enter as well.  Once inside, the slave girl who attended the door asked him a piercing question, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?"  The word "also" obviously gives reference to John who was already present and known by the high priest's family.  Interestingly, the Greek used in this case expects a "no" answer.  The slave girl thought it rather incredulous that another one of these disciples would make his way into the courtyard.

 

Peter did not want to be known as a Christian at that point.  He said, "I am not."  The slave girl did not ask him if he believed in Christ.  Instead, it was the point of identification as a disciple or a Christian, and all of the characteristics which belong to such a title.  To be "this man's disciple" would imply that he was a follower of Jesus Christ.  He would believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah who would redeem the people of God by the sacrifice of His own life.  He would have a life-long commitment to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ, to tell others about him, to participate in the fellowship of other believers.  He would be the owner of the promise of a home in heaven at the end of this life.  But with all of this, Peter chose to be unnoticed as a Christian.

 

This same danger lurks about in the shadows of our own lives as well.  How often have we been in a circle of new friends, perhaps at school or on an athletic team or on a business trip, when a matter related to Jesus Christ or Christianity arises?  Do you cower from such times, hoping that no one will recognize you as being a Christian?  Do you hold your tongue from confession of the sacred Name of your Redeemer and Lord?  Do you fail to testify of His grace and mercy shown to you?  We must see the selfish tendencies that emerge in those unsuspecting moments when we must take a stand as a Christian.  That's when the reality of our faith shows up.  On Peter's part, he discovered that he was a weak man in need of much grace to stand for Jesus Christ in all settings.  

 

2.  Of unguarded associations

 

It is interesting to see how John repeats the phrase concerning Peter, that he was "standing and warming himself."  At first glance, this seems innocent enough.  The chill of the night air had left Peter shivering, maybe even more so due to the nervousness and tenseness of the moment.  The other disciple had gone forward to stand nearer Christ as He was being tried.  But Peter chose to mesh into the background of soldiers and servants who had no love for Christ.  His time with them proved to be his downfall.  His unguarded associations left him vulnerable to the deceitfulness of his own heart.  Peter was not trying to distinguish himself as a Christian among these unbelievers, but he was trying to blend in with them, to act like them, to adopt their way of thinking.

 

How subtle a danger we face when we try to simply "blend in with the woodwork" of the world about us!  When we are in a worldly setting and desire to change colors like a chameleon so that we do not stand out or appear different, we are guilty of the same unguarded heart that Peter exemplified in the Denial.  

 

Our purpose for being among the unbelievers of this world is to give them evidence of the power of the gospel at work in our lives.  Paul expressed this clearly in Philippians 2:14-15, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world."  The danger that each of us face is trying to hide our Christianity when among this crooked and perverse generation.  

 

How are you affected by your relationships outside the Christian community?  Can it be said of you, 'When he is with Christians he acts like a Christian, but when he is with nonChristians he acts like them as well'?  I would offer a special challenge to our young people as you prepare to return to school in just a couple of weeks.  It is quite easy to stand for Christ when you are in church or at a youth camp or a church fellowship.  But the real test of your faith comes when you are not in friendly territory, when you are right in the midst of a crowd of unbelievers.  Learn a lesson from Peter!  See how his 'chameleon attitude' in the midst of unbelievers crushed him with sorrow and shame.  Recognize that he learned from his failure so that shortly we find him in the midst of the city of Jerusalem crowded with unbelievers, testifying boldly for Jesus Christ.  And later before the Jewish Sanhedrin, he does the same thing.  The world does not need to see color-changing chameleon's who call themselves Christians when they are in church but attempt to go incognito in the world.  It needs to see Christians boldly appearing as lights in the world.

 

3.  Of unchecked sin

 

What should Peter have done when he denied Christ the first time?  He walked into the courtyard and the slave girl said to him, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  At that first blow of sin, Peter should have stopped and recognized that he had sinned against the Lord.  He should have addressed the problem of sin in his life, confessed it, turned from it in repentance, then sought to stand firmly for Christ.  But his first sin went unchecked.  He may have had a slight consciousness of it, but he threw it off for the expediency of the moment.  He let it go.  Then came the next question, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it, and said, "I am not"."  Still unchecked, his sin continued.  One of the relatives of the man Peter had struck with the sword said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter therefore denied it again; and immediately a cock crowed."  

 

Sin, in whatever form it confronts us, slithers its way into our lives, wrapping itself around us until we are crushed.  Sin is relentless!  It pursues us until we stand against it in the armor of the Lord and in the strength of His might.  It flings its fiery darts at us, guided by demonic fierceness, aided by the effects of the Fall, so that apart from the gracious intervention of the Lord in giving to us a shield of faith, we would surely be pierced through and brought to a wretched end.

 

We bring so much trouble and sorrow upon ourselves by unchecked sin.  When we allow our spiritual sensitivities to be numbed by the things of the world, so that the truths of the Word are no longer at the forefront of our thoughts, we will fall prey to unchecked sin.  When we consider that we are mature enough that we can turn away from any sin, we show that we do not know the deceitfulness of our own hearts and the inherent weakness of our flesh.  No person is so mature as to not be in danger of giving way to sin.  Just look at the mature Moses who gave way to his impulsive anger or the mature David who gave way to unguarded lusts or the mature Hezekiah who gave way to pride.  All of them were men of God demonstrating maturity, but in an unguarded moment they were smitten by sin.

 

How important it is that we all see that in ourselves we are weak.  If we rest in our strength we will surely be blind-sided by sin.  If we neglect to set our affections upon the Lord we are opening the door to sin.  If we dare to get over confident in our spiritual lives because of the things we are learning, we are setting ourselves up for a fall.  Even the apostle Paul, a man who walked with such spiritual maturity that he could tell others to imitate him in the Christian life, diligently guarded himself from falling prey to sin.  He knew that though he had had incomparable experiences in the Christian faith, he was still liable to weakness as any man.  He wrote to the church at Corinth, "Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (I Cor. 9:26-27).

 

III. A Hope

 

When Peter failed the Lord so miserably, he probably thought everything was over.  He had gone too far in his pride.  The "cock crowed" and Peter, "went out and wept bitterly" (Matt. 26:75).  Maybe you find yourself identifying with Peter from time to time.  When some sin has thrown you to the ground and stood over you with all of its bullying power, you have felt that you might never get up to seek the Lord or to go on in the Christian faith.  Thankfully, as we read on in the Gospels, we find that for Peter and all of us, there is hope.

 

1.  Mercy--pursued by the Lord

 

Our God is merciful.  This means that He does not give us what we deserve but shows grace to us in giving us what we do not deserve--forgiveness, love, restored fellowship, spiritual renewal.  The Lord pursued Peter to revive him from his spiritual failure.  Mark records that when the angel appeared at the empty tomb to the women who visited that first Easter morning he said, "But go tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you'" (Mark 16:7, italics added).  

 

I love that little phrase, "and Peter," for it shows the greatness of our Lord's mercy to His children.  Would any of us persevere without His constant mercy?  The psalmist was right when He wrote,

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.  For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (Psalm 103:10-14)


2.  Forgiveness

 

With the Lord there is forgiveness.  We are never to presume upon His forgiveness so that we have the attitude, 'Oh I can just go on and sin as much as I like because God will always forgive'.  That is not the heart of one who has known the experience of grace and eternal forgiveness.  Paul goes to great lengths to explain the wretchedness of this attitude in Romans 6.  "What shall we say then?  Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?  May it never be!  How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (6:1-2).  

 

Peter knew the forgiveness of the Lord.  That is apparent when we see him being accepted by the Lord after the resurrection, then later as Peter once again leads the disciples at Pentecost.  How precious is that forgiveness that has been given to us!

 

If we can learn anything from Peter's denial of Christ, I would hope that it would be a holy hatred of sin.  Sin is just the opposite of the holiness that ought to characterize us in every instance.  My brethren, we must be wise to the deceitfulness of sin.  We must turn from it, flee from it, hide ourselves from it!  We must go the other way when we find ourselves walking into sin's steps.  

 

Later on John expressed it like this.  "My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 2:1).  He tell us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

 

3.  Usefulness

 

Our Lord does not cleanse us simply so that we might feel good about ourselves.  He cleanses us for usefulness.  We see this so clearly with Peter.  Just imagine the enormity of his denying Christ.  Yet, no one was more greatly used of the Lord in the early years of the church than Peter.  The first twelve chapters of the book of Acts tells more about the usefulness of Peter in the kingdom of God than anyone else.  

 

Perhaps you have failed the Lord in your Christian walk.  I am speaking to those who are truly believers, for the normal course of an unbeliever is to go the way of sin.  But for a believer, I want you to think about the mercy and grace shown to Peter.  He was a forgiven man.  He was renewed to be used of the Lord.  We dare not think that he forgot the bitter lesson of the denial.  It was in that crushing of Peter's pride that we see the Lord raising him up to live in God-dependence.

 

May we all learn to hate sin, like Peter learned.  And may we learn that we are vulnerable to sin until the day we stand glorified in the presence of the Lord.  There is mercy with the Lord.  Let us look to Him to grant mercy, usefulness, and the strength to stand firm against sin.

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