54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” 57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. 58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly. ~ Luke 22:54-62
We come back to early Friday morning just after the Lord Jesus had been betrayed by Judas. From this point onward, the Lord Jesus endured six different “trials” before He was condemned to be crucified, three trials before the Jews and three before the Romans.
To set the stage for today's text, you will remember back in Luke 22:33, “Peter said to the Lord Jesus, ‘Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death.’" To which the Lord Jesus responded, "I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me."
In v.54 of today's text we read, "Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance." It was during the second Jewish “trial,” the one before Caiaphas, that Peter in the courtyard denied the Lord Jesus three times. “Peter followed at a distance.” When we follow the Lord at a distance, we will deny Him every time.
Peter’s denials reveal his weakness in its saddest form, and yet, so necessary. Sometimes we must fail miserably in order to learn to be dependent upon the Lord. Peter's denial also reveals the strength of the Lord Jesus. It was Peter during his lowest moment of failure, yet, it was the Lord Jesus at His greatest moment of grace and triumph.
In reality, Peter’s story is the story of all who have come to know Christ. It is a story of devastation and disappointment. But, it is through moments like these that we come to the end of ourselves and we learn of the Lord Jesus' huge heart for us. It is through moments like these that we learn to view all things, even ourselves, through His eyes.
I love that scene at the end of the movie, Bruce Almighty, when God, played by Morgan Freeman, asks Bruce, played by Jim Carrey a question. The scene is in heaven just after Bruce had just been run over by an eighteen wheeler. God asks Bruce what he wants and Bruce speaks one word, "Grace," the name of his girlfriend. God asks Bruce, "You want her back?" Then Bruce says, "I want her to meet someone who will treat her with all of the love that she deserved from me. I want her to meet someone who sees her always as I do now through your eyes."
In v.55-57 we read, "55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him. 57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said."
When we compare our text with Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 18, we discover that Peter's three denials actually took over a period of two hours. Peter's first denial came on the heels of one of the high priest’s servant girls accusing him of being with the Lord Jesus.
In v.58 we read, "A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied." After his first denial, a second servant girl recognized Peter as one of the Lord Jesus' disciples. And, for a second time, Peter lied and denied knowing the Lord. Have we not all been in that very spot? Have we not all struggled acknowledging that we know the Lord before the world?
In v.59-60 we read, "59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed."
An hour later, the bystanders were not convinced, especially when one of Malchus’s relatives showed up and identified Peter. Then one of them said, “Surely you are one of them, because the way you talk gives you away. You talk like a Galilean.” At this point Peter cursed and said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Peter pronounced curses on himself. It’s as if he was saying, “May God damn me if I am lying.” He pronounced divine judgment on his own head if he was lying. It was at that moment that the rooster crowed for the second time and the Lord’s prediction was fulfilled.
In v.61-62 we read, "61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly."
In the thickness of that moment, the Lord Jesus, being led away to the next trial, turned and looked at Peter, and His look broke Peter’s heart. It was from the place of the servant that Peter saw the Lord best. It was in that moment that Peter gained the vantage point of God taking him deeper with God.
Peter slipped out and went off and wept bitterly. It is to Peter’s credit that all the Lord had to do was look at him to bring him to the place of repentance. Ah, there's another word that we do not naturally, repentance, turning away from self to the Lord.
For one rooster to crow at the right moment while the other birds in the city remained silent was certainly a miracle. But the crowing of that rooster was a special message to Peter, a message that revealed to him the heart of God for him which helped to restore him to fellowship again.
That rooster crow was an assurance to Peter that the Lord Jesus was still in control of all things even though He was a prisoner, bound and seemingly helpless before His captors.
Peter was later used mightily by the Lord to help many in our struggling faith. This moment of intense failure was turned around by our loving God to make of Peter one of the greatest leaders ever. In order to lead sometimes we must fail miserably because our leadership success is the result of His presence in and through our yielded lives.
