Journey to the Cross | Day 2 | April 6, 2020
Denial | the Believer’s Worse Nightmare
Read: Matthew 26:69-75
One of the most poignant of all the stories in Holy Week is that of the denial of Simon Peter. It is also one of the occasions that is documented in all four of the gospels and may be there here to show us that denial is not fatal but a failure that can be fixed.
First, we see the prelude to denial. If we look back to verse 58, we see that Peter is “following at a distance”. The one who promised to never leave is now out of sight. Distance followers are often making claims that difficulty erases.Staying close to Jesus is essential to not denying Him. In the text we also find Peter “sitting outside”. His companions are doing nothing to strengthen his resolve. Peter’s boast of “never” has taken on the character of “sorry about that”.
Next, we discover that there is always a progression in denial.The initial denial was simple, “I don’t know what you mean”. “You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
From here we move to an emphatic statement, …”denied with an oath”. He swore that he had nothing to do with Jesus. The conclusion is to flatly, strongly state no connection to Jesus.
Lastly, denial has a real problem. Luke records that Jesus looked at Peter the moment the rooster crowed. The conscience was pierced and tears flowed–bitter tears. The story doesn’t end here. As promised at the time of the prophesied denial, Peter was restored with a pledge to love Jesus enough to feed and tend His sheep.
The same promise is ours.
