Matthew 26:30-35, 69-75

[0:00] We'll see how that goes. If we need to, we can switch it up. I invite you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 26 again.

[0:14] Chapter 26 again. Today we're going to be starting in verse 30. We're going to see verses 30 through 35, and then we're going to skip ahead to verse 69.

[0:26] The reason for that is I'm just not smart enough to figure out how to preach. I'm going to turn this thing off and grab one of these stick mics. Hang on. Can you hear me now? Yes. Okay. Great.

[0:49] I'm just not smart enough to figure out how to preach Christ's prediction of Peter's denial, and then the actual fulfillment of that, Peter's denial, separated from each other.

[1:07] So we're going to do both of them together today, and then in the next week. So we're going to fill in the passages in between. And so as we do, I ask that you would join me in prayer.

[1:25] Our Father in heaven, holy is your name. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to see that today, and to trust in you and your holiness and your goodness today.

[1:38] And so, Lord, we ask that your kingdom would come and your will would be done in us and through us into this world as it is in heaven. Thank you, Lord, that you have provided for us both the sustenance to be here today and then the bread of your word, and that as we look to it, we see how you have in Christ forgiven us our debts by his cross.

[2:04] And so, Lord, change us, even as we look to Christ in this text, to be like him and forgive others. And so, Lord, we ask that we might be conformed to him.

[2:19] Lead us in the ways of righteousness. Father, we pray all these things in your name. Lord, to you be all power and glory forever and ever.

[2:35] Amen. Forever and ever. Amen. Last week, we saw how the disciples shared the Passover meal with Christ their Lord, and he instituted the new covenant in a new meal, the Lord's Supper.

[2:54] And we rejoined that scene. The conclusion of the Passover meal always had the singing of psalms. And that's what we see in verse 30.

[3:07] When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night.

[3:19] For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.

[3:35] Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.

[3:52] And all the disciples said the same. And now skipping to verse 69. In between these two passages, what has happened is Jesus has prayed for his disciples.

[4:04] He has been arrested and betrayed by Judas in the garden. And then brought to the high priest's palace, essentially, where he has sat before the council and is accused.

[4:21] And while this happens, we read verse 69. Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, And a servant girl came up to him and said, Alian.

[4:32] But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean. When he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him. She said to the bystanders, This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

[4:46] And again, he denied it with an oath. I do not know the man. After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Certainly, You too are one of them.

[4:59] For your accent betrays you. And he began to invoke a curse on himself, And to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed.

[5:10] And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, Before the rooster crows, You will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. These two events, Christ's prediction of Peter's denial, And the denial itself, Are separated by several events, And several hours in time.

[5:38] And so it might be natural for us to think of them primarily In two parts chronologically. Verses 30 to 36, And then verses 69 to 75.

[5:51] But as we dive into this passage, I think that we're going to see that the real contrast Isn't chronological. It's personal.

[6:02] The real contrast is between two men. Peter and Jesus. And the contrast that's drawn here Is between faithfulness.

[6:13] Christ is faithful, Even as Peter is unfaithful. And they're faithful and unfaithful to each other.

[6:25] And I'm going to be using that term unfaithfulness, Where you might often hear me say, Sin. Or guilt. Or unrighteousness. And that's because this passage is, Again, about faithfulness and unfaithfulness.

[6:41] And because it's helpful then, To see that sin is always Godward. It is always. Every sinful act, No matter how private it is, Is done before the face of God.

[6:57] And towards him. One of the great theologians of the 20th century Was John Murray. When he was contemplating the fall of Adam, The first sin.

[7:09] Here's what he wrote about that. See if you can pick up on the relational language. The faithfulness, Unfaithfulness. Language. That's caught up in sin.

[7:22] He said the fall was A complete Moral revolt Against the sovereignty, Supremacy, Authority, And will of God.

[7:32] In the command given to Adam, There was the sovereignty, And authority, And wisdom, And justice, And goodness, And truth of God. And so disobedience to it Was an assault On the divine majesty.

[7:49] Repudiation Of his sovereignty and authority. Doubt of his goodness. Dispute with his wisdom. Contradiction of his truthfulness. Sin is transgression of law, And law is the expression Of the absolute and sovereign creator, And ruler, And righteous judge.

[8:10] What Murray is saying there is that Behind the law is a law giver. Right? You can't reject the law, Which is an expression of his character, Without rejecting him.

[8:22] And so, I hope you see how Our sin, Even private sin, Is so relational. It's not just an abstract Breaking of the rules.

[8:35] It's not a victimless crime. When we say, This command of scripture Isn't important right now, We say, God, You aren't important right now. When we say, That command of scripture Is foolish, Or unnecessary, We're saying the same of God.

[8:54] And so, Our obedience to the word of God Is part of a relationship With him. And that's why I'll be using Faithful and unfaithful Today, In ways that you might often hear me say, Righteousness, Or sin.

[9:13] And so, As we look to the faithful and unfaithful men, The first we see, The passage predominantly works with, Is Peter. So let's put our eyes on Peter.

[9:25] I've heard it said, That in the absence of danger, All men are heroes. Perhaps that's true of you. Right?

[9:37] Before he sees the danger up close, Peter's wailing to make some grand boasts, Right? About his conviction, And his commitment. And it collapses.

[9:48] All right? We're the same. Right? After we win an argument, Or, I'm sorry, After we lose an argument, Right? We go home, And we re-litigate it in our minds.

[10:01] Don't we? Have you ever lost that one? When you re-argued in your mind? Now, We can astound ourselves With our own wit and ability, In the safety of our own imaginations.

[10:16] But, Real life lived. Well, That's another thing. Right? And that's what we see in Peter. Right? We see in him, First, Overconfidence. Right?

[10:29] Let's not think, Of ourselves, That we are above, Failing. Right? He does here. As we read in Galatians chapter 6, Brothers, If anyone is caught in any transgression, You who are spiritual should restore him In a spirit of gentleness.

[10:48] And he adds this, Keep watch on yourself, Lest you too be tempted. Friends, We're not above Being able to fall.

[11:00] And we can suffer from this same overconfidence. So we need to keep watch on ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reflected on the example of Israel in the desert.

[11:15] Their failure to follow God brought them discipline. And Paul draws out a lesson there. He wants us to see that we might similarly be unfaithful to the Lord.

[11:28] He writes in 1 Corinthians 10, Verse 11, These things happened to them as an example. They were written down for our instruction, On whom the end of the ages has come.

[11:41] Therefore, Let anyone who thinks that he stands, Take heed, Lest he falls. Take heed, Lest he fall. Our overconfidence in ourselves, In our own faithfulness and commitment and fidelity.

[12:00] It can come from pride. It can come from foolishness. Often both. Foolishness. We don't know what we don't know.

[12:13] We don't know how difficult that circumstance is going to be for us until we get there. Or temptation. Held at arm's length.

[12:24] Might look powerless. But in the moment of temptation, It can feel overwhelming. Or it can come from pride.

[12:36] Thinking, I'm better. I'm different. I'm special. Compared to these others. And that's really the second thing we see in Peter.

[12:48] Right? In verse 33, He says, Though they all fall away. Because of you, I will never. He thinks he's special and different.

[13:01] And we just saw in 1 Corinthians 10, That we're no different than the Israelites. And neither is Peter. No matter what we think, We're not better than everyone else.

[13:17] It's not just Peter who thinks that way, though. Right? We see at the end of verse 35, All the disciples said the same. Right?

[13:29] This is our warning. That you, and me, We can get caught up this way, too. All the disciples. Including all the disciples here today.

[13:40] And on the live stream. Right? We can think, Oh, I'm not like that. I'm not susceptible to that. But we are. I think it's, Like, the stat is something that, Like, 90% of people Think that they're above average drivers.

[13:58] Right? We do this. We think that we are different and special. Whenever we hear that someone has fallen into sin, Whether it's, you know, In the news, Or in the church, Or in our family lives, Or whatever.

[14:19] And think, Oh, I'd never do that. I'm not able to do that. I'll never sink that low. Right? Right now, Our nation has its mind set on racism.

[14:36] Isn't this the heart of racism? Thinking that we're different Than that group over there. Right? Perhaps the most subtle racial prejudice Shows up in what we suspect People of other races Are susceptible to do, But we're not.

[14:57] That we ourselves Would never stoop so low to do. In all these things, The scriptures are clear. Let us take heed, Lest we fall. Because that's just what Peter does.

[15:11] He fails. He fails to remain faithful To an oath That he made just hours before. He denies Jesus. And if you look In verses 70, And 72, And 74, He denies Christ In increasing amounts.

[15:30] Right? Verse 70, He denied it before them all Saying, I do not know what you mean. Then verse 72, Again, He denied it With an oath.

[15:41] I do not know the man. Then verse 74, He began to invoke A curse on himself And to swear, I do not know the man.

[15:57] Unfaithfulness Doesn't just happen once And fizzle out, It seems often, Like most sin, To compound itself And grow. So let us not think That we are above Failing here.

[16:13] So what's the answer? Well, One thing is for sure, It's not more confidence. Right? Versus that He hardly could believe In himself anymore Than he already did.

[16:28] What he needs Is something else entirely. And we see that When we look to Jesus In this passage. Most of what we see In this passage Is the faithlessness Of the disciples.

[16:46] Right? In verses 30 to 35, They don't actually Trust Jesus. He tells them, You will fall away. And what do they say? No, Jesus, You're crazy. We'll never do that.

[16:57] We'll never desert you. But then, In verse 56, They do. All. Flee. The only one Who sticks even close by Is Peter, Who, Starting in verse 70, Does deny him.

[17:16] So they're faithless When they call him nuts. They're faithless When they run away. And Peter is Increasingly faithless As he denies him. That's what's mostly On display.

[17:27] But in contrast to that, The whole time Is Christ's Faithfulness. Because the whole time He is on his march To the cross For them.

[17:43] All the while He is remaining faithful. All the while He loves them. And through it all He is serving. Honestly, What's amazing About this passage Isn't That they all Fall away.

[18:01] What's amazing Isn't that Peter Denies him. We should expect that. What's amazing Is that he Remains Faithful.

[18:16] Period. And What's amazing Is that he remains Faithful To the very ones Who abandon him. He remains Faithful To the one Who denies him.

[18:34] In 2nd Timothy Chapter 2 We read If we are Faithless He remains Faithful For he cannot Deny himself.

[18:45] Now When we see Comparisons Like this Right I think Our tendency Is to say Don't be like Peter Be like Jesus But to simply Say that Would be A big mistake If we jump Straight to Be like Jesus Be faithful Like Jesus And make no mistake I want us To be faithful Like Jesus We'll get there In a minute But if we jump Straight to Be faithful Like Jesus That would Misunderstand Christianity Altogether It would be To misunderstand Christ And his purpose Here Altogether I mean First off The simple fact Is you can't Just Be like Jesus That's what We've been seeing In Peter And the disciples What would make us Think that we're Better than Peter That we're Stronger Somehow Than Peter That would be

[19:46] Us falling Into the same Pit of Overconfidence That he did Though they all Fall away Because of you Though Peter Fall away Because of you I will never Fall away No Second I mean We've already Blown it Jesus lived A comprehensively Faithful life That was the Perfect offering That he made At the cross A perfectly Faithful Life A simple Message of Be like Jesus As if that Earns us God's approval It forgets our History Of unfaithfulness Even if we Could live Perfectly Faithful lives From this Instant Forward We'd still be Lost because of Well all we've Done That is Faithless In the past And third That's Well that's Why God the Son Took to

[20:46] Himself A human Nature And came To this World The one Faithful Man The point Of this Contrast Unfaithful Peter And faithful Jesus Is to See our Need for That Savior Not To see Our own Adequacy Or our Own new Marching Borders You know As if we Need the Right map And so Peter Is the Diagnosis Situation And Mine Even The Strongest Willed People And we've Seen in The book Of Matthew That Peter Was Persistent Shall we Say Right Even the Strongest Willed People Are not Sufficiently Faithful To the Lord We aren't Stronger Than Peter And even If we Were And continue To live Lives of Perfect Fidelity From this

[21:47] Day Forth We Haven't Been Faithful In The Past And that's Why Jesus Came We saw That last Week His Purpose In coming And going To the Cross Was He said This is My blood Of the Covenant Which is Poured out For many For the Forgiveness Of sins Friends We In In the Cross In the Cross The Only Faithful Man

[22:47] Willingly Stood In the Place Of Unfaithful Men Received What they Deserved A just Punishment For that Treason Against The Most High God So that They might Receive Pardon For sin And what's Crazy Is he Offers Something More This passage Today is not Only about Our Unfaithfulness But about Faithfulness In The gift Of the Cross The gift Is not Only That our Guilt Is placed On his Innocent Shoulders For our Pardon Hallelujah That that Is true The cross Holds Another Gift Not only Are we Pardoned From guilt But also It is Said of Us that We are Counted

[23:47] Faithful In Christ In Second Corinthians Chapter Five We read For our Sake He made Him To be Sin Who Knew No Sin That's Our Unfaithfulness Placed On Christ Shoulders The guilt Of which Was extinguished At his Cross As he Received The punishment That we Were due But he Continues So that The purpose Of our Justification Is for Something Higher So that In Him We Might Become The Righteousness Of God So in The gospel Not only Are our Sins Our Unfaithfulness Forgiven Not our Own Having Our Sins Forgiven Gets us Back to Neutral With God So to Speak Having Christ's Faithfulness Which is On display In this Passage Having It Credited To us Brings Us All The Way

[24:48] To The Father And Found Spotless Righteous Shining Like the Sun Not Not That Sun That's Beating Down On us But The Sun God The Sun Who Outshines That Sun The Father Calls Us His Own We Are We Are Welcomed Into The Household Of God Not Simply As Pardoned Traitors Not Just As Servants Not Only As Guests But Clothed In Christ's Faithfulness We Are Welcomed As Sons Of The Most High God J.I.

[25:37] Packer Who Passed Into His Heavenly Reward This Week Wrote That This Adoption Is The Highest Privilege That The Gospel Offers Higher Even Than Justification To Be Right With God The Judge Is A Great Thing But To Be Loved And Cared For By God The Father Is Greater And So Friends If You've Not Ever Entered Into That Relationship With God It Comes Simply By Crying Out To The Faithful One And Saying I Am Unfaithful But You Have Been Faithful For Me And I Cast Myself At Your Mercy Knowing That You Are Faithful Friends We Can't

[26:38] Do It Ourselves But Praise The Lord That He Is Faithful And Just And True Now I Said That I Do Want Us To Be Faithful Like Jesus So What Gives There I Said That We Can't Now I Said That We Do Want To How Do We How Do We Get There There Is Something In This Passage That Helps Us Remain Faithful To Christ And I Hope That You Want To And If We See It Here If It Grabs Our Hearts It Will Change Us And Help Us In A Journey Of Faithfulness You See Friends We're In A Better Position Than Peter Peter Walked!

[27:23] With Christ And I Want to Tell you That We Are In A Better Position Than Him Let You Why In Fact It's True In A Lot Of Ways Right He Hasn't Seen The Resurrection Yet So We're In A Better Spot Than Him He Hasn't Experienced The Day Of Pentecost That Year Yet We're On The Other Side Of It He Doesn't Have The Completed Testimony Of Scriptures Like We Do In All These Ways And More We Are In A Better Spot To Live Faithfully!

[27:56] To God Than Peter And I Want To Point Out One More That Springs From This Very Passage Now Peter Has Certainly Had His Share Of Foolish Foot In Mouth Moments That We've Seen As We've Gone Through The Book Of Matthew But He Has Never Had A Moment Like This One Where He Not Only Was Foolish But Where He Denied Disowned Jesus But Now He Has And That's The Difference In Peter's Life Here Is That Peter Hasn't Experienced Grace Like This Before And That's The Thing God's Grace Is What Changes Us This Experience Of God's Grace Even In The Midst Of His Outright Denial Outright Unfaithfulness God's Faithfulness His

[28:57] Grace Is Going To Change Him And I Pray That Your Story Of Receiving Grace Like This In The Same Way That Peter Has Changes You Too If You Think About It In Our Earthly Relationships Right I Am Confident That Every Person Here Every Person Watching The Livestream Right Now Has Been Disloyal In Some Way To A Loved One You Have Put And I Have Put Our Interests First Or Have Used Another Person Or Have Abused Their Trust I I I'm Confident Of That And When We're Found Out We Expect Them To React In A Similar Way Don't We To

[29:58] Looking Out For Number One In Some Way But What Happens In Your Life When That Friend That Spouse That Loved One Doesn't Do That And When They Not Only Don't Lash Out When They Not Only Don't Hold It Against You But When They Still Move Towards You In Love What Does That Do To You What Does That Do To Your Heart Doesn't It Incline Your Heart Towards Them Doesn't It Cement That Relationship Doesn't It Put You On Their Side And Make You Love Them More That's Exactly What's Happening Here For Peter Just On A Cosmic Scale He Is That's Exactly What's Happening Here For Peter Just On A Cosmic Scale

[30:58] He Is Receiving Grace Christ Faithfulness To Him In The Moment He Is Unfaithful And It Melt Him To Receive Grace Like That The Passage Ends He Went Out And Wept Bitterly Friends It Is The Experience Of God's Grace That Changes Us In Romans Chapter 2 Verse 4 Paul This Incredible Question He Is Talking About The Grace Of God In Men's Lives He Says Do You Presume On The Riches Of His Kindness And Forbearance And Patience Listen To This Not Knowing That God's Kindness This Is Such An Important Verse It's Romans 2 4 If You Want To Look At It Again

[31:58] Not Knowing That God's Kindness Is Meant To Lead You To Repentance What Is It That Changes Us Is It Instructions Is It Threat Is It Coaching It Is God's Kindness To Us Coaching It Is God's Kindness To Us That Changes Our Hearts God's Kindness Is What Reshapes And Molds Us And Prompts Us To Love For Him It Is God's Kindness His Grace And His Mercy That Reshapes Our Hearts God's God's

[33:00] A Loved One Returns Your Disloyalty With Love It Melts Your Heart What Happens When You Receive That Kind Of Grace From God You Realize In Your Heart Oh My Goodness This Great God Is So Great So Good And Suddenly God Is The Best Person In The World You Want To Walk Faithfully In His Ways Because You Want To Walk With Him And Going Back To The Beginning Right People Who Get Grace Who Understand It They Love God People Who Get Grace Don't Want To Assault The Divine Majesty Repudiate His Sovereignty And Authority Doubt His Goodness Dispute

[34:00] With His Wisdom Contradict His Truthfulness How do We live Faithful Lives It Is By Diving Into His Faithfulness Towards Us Friends Let Us Look Full On The Face Of Grace And Find That We Are Loved And Return His Love To Him Let Us Serve Him From The Joy Of Our Salvation That Is The Path Of Faithfulness It Is Grace That Changes Us That's What's Happening To Peter In Real Time Here In This Passage And I Pray That's What's Happening In You Let's Pray Oh

[35:02] Lord Our God Thank You That You Are Good And That You Are Faithful Lord We See That More And More Each Day And Celebrate That We Lord That We Might Draw Nearer To You And Honor You With Our Lives Even As We Reflect Your Praise For Endless Days You Are The Faithful God We Pray This In The Name Of Jesus Christ Our Faithful King And Lord Amen