WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.580
 Luke 22 verses 54-71. So there's a statistic about these four books we call the Gospels.

00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:20.120
! And that makes it very clear that these Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they were never intended to be biographies of Jesus.

00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:27.000
 They were always, always intended to be a Gospels, a kind of genre of literature to itself.

00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:38.780
 They were to be messages of good news. And the stat is this, from about 35% to 50% in one of the Gospels,

00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:46.659
 we find that the Gospel is devoted to the last single week of the Lord Jesus' life.

00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:56.579
 One of the Gospels, on all of the Gospels, in all of them, something like 10-40% covers the last 24 hours of the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:01.100
 Now that isn't how you write a biography, is it? That's how you do it.

00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:10.000
 But it is what makes these books good news. They are all about the death of the Lord Jesus.

00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:16.700
 Because in each case, it indicates to us that the authors understood what is fundamental,

00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:23.560
 and what is absolutely essential to the life and the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

00:01:23.820 --> 00:01:31.180
 It is not just the great things that he said, or the great things that he did, or the wonderful works and miracles.

00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.040
 The Gospels are here to teach us, in the form of the narrative,

00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:38.960
 that the Lord Jesus, what he came into the world to do, quite specifically,

00:01:39.800 --> 00:01:41.439
 was to die for the sins of his people.

00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:44.719
 That is what Christianity is all about.

00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:48.179
 That is what the Gospels are all about.

00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:52.679
 That the Lord Jesus came into the world to die for sinners.

00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:59.700
 And that is why the focus is on these last days, and especially on these last hours.

00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.379
 And woven into Luke's Gospel, that we've been studying,

00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:06.459
 we not only learn what happened to the Lord Jesus,

00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:09.000
 but Luke tells us the story in such a way,

00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:13.939
 that we're able to understand why it is the things that happened to him, happened to him.

00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:17.299
 And there's a sense in which the key to those verses,

00:02:17.519 --> 00:02:19.500
 that we've read today, is found in verse 67.

00:02:19.859 --> 00:02:20.340
 Can you see it?

00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.560
 They say, if you are the Christ, tell us.

00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.920
 And these verses, in one way or another,

00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:37.979
 have all got to do with either recognising or refusing the Lord Jesus Christ as the Christ.

00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:40.080
 As the Messiah.

00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:42.699
 It means the anointed one.

00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:45.360
 So in the Old Testament,

00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.840
 there are particular individuals that are anointed

00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.020
 by God to lead his people.

00:02:52.020 --> 00:02:53.780
 There were prophets.

00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:55.640
 And there were priests.

00:02:56.600 --> 00:02:57.460
 And there were kings.

00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:01.480
 And they were anointed by God to lead his people.

00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:05.040
 So, in various places in the Old Testament,

00:03:05.980 --> 00:03:09.340
 God has promised one day that there would appear a great prophet.

00:03:10.420 --> 00:03:11.540
 A great prophet.

00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:13.820
 A greater prophet than Moses.

00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:17.020
 One whom the people of God should listen to.

00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:21.439
 And he promised that one day there would be a greater priest.

00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:24.400
 A greater priest than Melchizedek.

00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:26.600
 Who would come and who would appear.

00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:31.500
 And he would be the great sacrifice for his people's sins.

00:03:32.760 --> 00:03:34.540
 And one day a king would appear,

00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.040
 who would sit forever on the throne of David.

00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:43.800
 And would rule his people from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.

00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:46.960
 And so it is very, very striking.

00:03:48.140 --> 00:03:49.420
 That here, the Sanhedrin,

00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:52.160
 the Jewish ruling council,

00:03:52.660 --> 00:03:54.240
 that they are asking Jesus,

00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:57.480
 and they are not really interested in the answer Jesus makes clear.

00:03:57.820 --> 00:03:59.500
 They are asking Jesus,

00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.700
 are you really the Christ?

00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:09.419
 Are you really the fulfilment of all Old Testament prophecy?

00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:11.199
 How about the coming saviour?

00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:14.539
 And it's fascinating to see,

00:04:15.399 --> 00:04:17.560
 how these three offices of the Lord Jesus,

00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:19.620
 that he is the prophet,

00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:21.519
 he is the priest,

00:04:22.219 --> 00:04:23.599
 and he is the king,

00:04:23.719 --> 00:04:26.719
 are woven by Luke into this passage.

00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.980
 And strikingly, in each case,

00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:31.620
 what Luke shows you,

00:04:32.020 --> 00:04:33.140
 is he is rejected.

00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:35.900
 He is rejected as king,

00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:38.360
 he is rejected as prophet,

00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.520
 and he is rejected as priest.

00:04:41.460 --> 00:04:42.220
 So let's look at that.

00:04:42.520 --> 00:04:43.300
 I'm going to try and be brief,

00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:44.460
 both morning and evening.

00:04:45.460 --> 00:04:46.760
 So in the first case,

00:04:46.840 --> 00:04:47.840
 he is denied as king.

00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:50.880
 He is denied as king by Simon Peter.

00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.660
 In this deeply poignant event,

00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:58.020
 Peter, who clearly loved the Lord Jesus,

00:04:58.460 --> 00:04:59.800
 who is almost later,

00:04:59.880 --> 00:05:00.680
 he is almost later,

00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:02.660
 begging Jesus to believe him.

00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.340
 He says to him at the end of Luke's gospel,

00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:08.220
 Lord, you know that I love you.

00:05:08.840 --> 00:05:10.040
 You know that I love you.

00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.280
 And he said a few hours earlier in this event to me,

00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:13.760
 he said,

00:05:13.840 --> 00:05:17.300
 even if all the other disciples run away and desert Jesus,

00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:19.160
 I will always follow you.

00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:22.600
 I will always follow you as king and as master.

00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:24.420
 And then Luke so cleverly,

00:05:25.580 --> 00:05:27.340
 though he is speaking geographically,

00:05:27.400 --> 00:05:28.680
 there is a double entendre there,

00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:28.980
 isn't there,

00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:29.980
 in verse 54.

00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:31.880
 He says, doesn't he,

00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:36.460
 and Peter was following at a distance.

00:05:38.520 --> 00:05:40.040
 Now that was true in space and time,

00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:40.460
 wasn't it?

00:05:41.520 --> 00:05:42.680
 It was true geographically,

00:05:42.760 --> 00:05:44.360
 but it did begin to be true in the heart.

00:05:45.640 --> 00:05:49.460
 The physical distance between Peter and the Lord Jesus,

00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:52.379
 spoke of his desire for his own safety,

00:05:52.979 --> 00:05:54.560
 and his own security.

00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:58.680
 And Simon Peter was to learn that night,

00:05:58.759 --> 00:05:59.019
 wasn't he,

00:05:59.060 --> 00:05:59.439
 that night,

00:05:59.719 --> 00:06:01.919
 that when a man or a woman or a boy or girl

00:06:01.919 --> 00:06:03.859
 seeks their own safety,

00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:06.100
 with respect to the Lord Jesus,

00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:09.259
 that is when we find ourselves in greatest danger.

00:06:10.900 --> 00:06:12.220
 And so it was here with Simon Peter.

00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:14.280
 This cold spring night,

00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:16.340
 he is in the courtyard of the high priest,

00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:19.439
 and somewhere up there on the second floor,

00:06:19.599 --> 00:06:19.819
 perhaps,

00:06:19.919 --> 00:06:21.119
 even within here's shot,

00:06:21.479 --> 00:06:23.359
 perhaps with an eye shot,

00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:25.000
 the Lord Jesus,

00:06:25.119 --> 00:06:27.299
 as we read in verse 63 to 65,

00:06:27.659 --> 00:06:29.219
 the Lord Jesus is being abused.

00:06:30.799 --> 00:06:33.339
 And Simon Peter is desperately frightened.

00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:36.459
 And though he loves Jesus,

00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:38.659
 which is why he is there in the first place,

00:06:38.979 --> 00:06:41.699
 he is effectively denying that Jesus is king.

00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:42.180
 Actually,

00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:46.439
 this passage is a very striking example,

00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:46.719
 isn't it,

00:06:46.719 --> 00:06:48.719
 of something that we all know in our lives,

00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:50.719
 of what is a common example,

00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:51.959
 a common principle,

00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:53.639
 that if we're in a new situation,

00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:55.779
 we're with new people,

00:06:56.819 --> 00:06:58.860
 we face a challenge to our Christian faith,

00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:00.639
 and we don't respond faithfully,

00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.079
 the first challenge is brought to us,

00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:04.459
 and we don't respond faithfully,

00:07:04.539 --> 00:07:05.919
 then the second challenge comes,

00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:07.300
 and it makes it very difficult,

00:07:07.419 --> 00:07:07.759
 doesn't it?

00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:10.480
 And then the third challenge comes,

00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:12.080
 and we've not responded faithfully,

00:07:12.340 --> 00:07:13.840
 and it's almost impossible.

00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:16.860
 For us to stand for Jesus Christ,

00:07:17.200 --> 00:07:18.020
 and many of us know,

00:07:18.080 --> 00:07:19.220
 we've been in that situation,

00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.920
 we've failed when the first challenges come.

00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:23.020
 You're in school,

00:07:23.400 --> 00:07:24.060
 you're a student,

00:07:24.960 --> 00:07:26.060
 you're in a new job,

00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:28.300
 you've moved into a new flat,

00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:29.140
 there's new friends,

00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:30.080
 there's new colleagues,

00:07:30.420 --> 00:07:31.759
 and the opportunity comes,

00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:32.879
 and the challenge comes,

00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:34.340
 and you effectively say,

00:07:34.400 --> 00:07:35.220
 I don't know Jesus,

00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:37.960
 and I'm not going to speak for Jesus.

00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:39.040
 And you know, don't you?

00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.740
 How much more difficult it becomes.

00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:44.540
 And how impossible it can be,

00:07:44.960 --> 00:07:46.460
 when that third challenge comes.

00:07:46.760 --> 00:07:48.720
 And so Peter's story is my story.

00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:51.540
 And perhaps it's your story too.

00:07:52.900 --> 00:07:54.540
 A man who loves Jesus,

00:07:54.960 --> 00:07:57.259
 but denies Jesus as a king.

00:07:59.200 --> 00:08:00.400
 And what was his mistake?

00:08:00.460 --> 00:08:02.400
 Well it's actually portrayed here very graphically.

00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.519
 It's a mistake that Simon Peter's made once before,

00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:05.979
 isn't it?

00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.079
 You remember Jesus had called him to walk on the water.

00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:14.459
 And on that occasion he walked on the water,

00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:17.579
 and as long as his eyes were fixed on the Lord Jesus,

00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:20.359
 he's been able to do that, hasn't he?

00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.859
 In some extraordinary way to walk on the water.

00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:26.259
 But as soon as his eyes move from the Lord Jesus,

00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:31.939
 and the fear of his circumstances begins to dawn on him,

00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:33.600
 well it's the moment he begins to sink.

00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:36.320
 And it's exactly the same in Luke 22.

00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:39.899
 He turns away from the Lord Jesus,

00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:41.480
 to think,

00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:43.519
 how can I keep myself safe?

00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.200
 And how can I defend myself?

00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:50.500
 In case anybody knew that he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:54.680
 And so it's impressive we take our eyes off the Lord Jesus,

00:08:54.800 --> 00:08:57.000
 it's so simple and yet it's so obvious, isn't it?

00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:59.980
 And yet it's the greatest problem in the Christian life.

00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:03.840
 You're in a situation where the thing,

00:09:05.060 --> 00:09:05.660
 where you need,

00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:07.960
 you know that to be kept safe,

00:09:08.580 --> 00:09:09.759
 in that situation,

00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:12.560
 you need to kind of give up on the Lord Jesus.

00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:15.780
 It's very, very costly, isn't it, to follow Jesus.

00:09:17.140 --> 00:09:18.600
 But Peter discovered in this passage,

00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.020
 it is even more costly not to follow him.

00:09:22.780 --> 00:09:24.259
 And so here the king is on trial.

00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:26.720
 The king is on trial.

00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:28.879
 And he denied him.

00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:31.940
 And as we notice, actually in the passage,

00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:33.259
 an hour or two passes,

00:09:33.400 --> 00:09:34.640
 Peter is in the courtyard.

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.280
 Do you notice that verse 59?

00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:39.879
 And after an interval of about an hour,

00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:42.940
 still another insisted, saying,

00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:44.780
 certainly this man also was with him,

00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:46.299
 for he too is a Galilean.

00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:49.339
 And so we're meant to understand this,

00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:50.740
 Luke makes this clear,

00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:52.699
 that while this was happening,

00:09:52.839 --> 00:09:55.299
 something else was happening in the high priest's house.

00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:58.000
 And verse 63,

00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:00.419
 the men are holding Jesus in custody,

00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:01.439
 at the same time,

00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:03.299
 in an ongoing way.

00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:04.339
 They are mocking him,

00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:05.679
 and beating him,

00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:07.379
 and blindfolding him,

00:10:07.579 --> 00:10:08.419
 and insulting him.

00:10:08.459 --> 00:10:09.319
 And they say to him,

00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:10.419
 prophesy.

00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:12.859
 Prophesy.

00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:14.279
 Who is it that struck you?

00:10:15.719 --> 00:10:19.319
 And so even as Peter is denying Jesus as king,

00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:21.699
 the soldiers are mocking him as prophet.

00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:26.000
 He was the one who spoke the truth of God.

00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:28.759
 You know that,

00:10:29.180 --> 00:10:29.740
 in the Old Testament,

00:10:29.920 --> 00:10:32.020
 one of the words that is used for a prophet

00:10:32.020 --> 00:10:32.960
 is that of a seer.

00:10:33.660 --> 00:10:34.300
 A seer.

00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:36.920
 Somebody who is able to see

00:10:36.920 --> 00:10:39.180
 into the secrets of God.

00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:41.600
 Somebody who is able to see

00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.200
 into the hearts of man.

00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:45.440
 Somebody who is able to see

00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:47.700
 what God is going to do in the future.

00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:50.280
 The prophet was a seer.

00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:52.700
 And so do you see what they are doing?

00:10:53.820 --> 00:10:54.320
 They say,

00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:55.220
 so you are a seer.

00:10:55.680 --> 00:10:56.480
 You are a prophet.

00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:57.640
 Let us blindfold you.

00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:00.200
 And now tell us what you see.

00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:02.480
 And so they slap him.

00:11:03.540 --> 00:11:04.840
 And they abuse him.

00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:07.060
 And they play with him.

00:11:07.540 --> 00:11:08.580
 And they molest him.

00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.040
 Sometimes you find yourself in a situation

00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:15.940
 where you think Jesus cannot possibly

00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:17.300
 understand this situation.

00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:20.660
 Well, you just need to read the Gospels,

00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:21.040
 don't you?

00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.640
 To find that there is no situation in life

00:11:24.640 --> 00:11:26.900
 for which the Lord Jesus

00:11:26.900 --> 00:11:29.360
 is unable to come to us and say,

00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:30.720
 I understand your situation.

00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:33.780
 You think of believers in Iraq this morning

00:11:33.780 --> 00:11:35.040
 fleeing from their lives.

00:11:36.340 --> 00:11:37.600
 Jesus can come to them and say,

00:11:37.660 --> 00:11:38.800
 I know what it is to be abused.

00:11:39.900 --> 00:11:41.520
 I know what it is to be persecuted.

00:11:43.520 --> 00:11:45.140
 The thing that strikes me here is this.

00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:47.140
 We've been told in the Gospels

00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:49.399
 that Jesus knew Peter was going to betray him.

00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:52.980
 In a sense you can say,

00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:55.980
 Jesus was mentally prepared for the moment.

00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:58.879
 And this passage makes it clear

00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:00.600
 that he is in command of the moment.

00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:04.340
 But what can prepare you for this?

00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:10.000
 What can prepare you for this awful isolation?

00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.899
 The terrible drinking of this cup of desolation

00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:19.360
 at the hands of the officers of the high priest's house.

00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:23.039
 Imagine how this began for these men.

00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:25.940
 They may have heard his word.

00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:28.820
 They may have heard him preach, some of them.

00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.860
 They may have rejected his word.

00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:34.220
 They may have seen his followers

00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:37.259
 and found themselves inwardly mocking Jesus.

00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:40.679
 And they couldn't help themselves.

00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:44.899
 You can imagine when these soldiers went home that night

00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:47.960
 and they told their wives what they'd done.

00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:52.759
 How could you possibly do that to Jesus of Nazareth?

00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:55.000
 And they could have said,

00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:56.019
 well it was out of character.

00:12:57.980 --> 00:12:59.840
 Other people made me do it.

00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:02.740
 But if their wives had any sense

00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:03.460
 they would have said to them,

00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:05.319
 no, it wasn't out of character.

00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:07.779
 It was a revelation of what your character is really like.

00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:11.480
 You see, it is a trajectory, isn't it?

00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.899
 You begin by harboring your heart,

00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:14.820
 it's Jesus' word,

00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:16.060
 and rejecting him.

00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:18.580
 And then slightly mocking him

00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:20.279
 into a superior attitude.

00:13:20.420 --> 00:13:21.940
 And then you find yourself hating him.

00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:26.560
 And so Jesus here is on trial as king.

00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:29.779
 And he shows his regal dignity

00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:32.139
 as he is also mocked as prophet.

00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:33.879
 And here is the tragedy.

00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.440
 They blindfold him.

00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:40.200
 But it is they themselves are blind

00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:41.800
 to his true identity.

00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.320
 They blindfold him.

00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:48.259
 And yet it is they who are blind

00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:49.180
 to his true identity.

00:13:51.540 --> 00:13:52.820
 And we need to know that.

00:13:54.640 --> 00:13:57.780
 As our Lord Jesus is mocked and scorned

00:13:57.780 --> 00:14:01.180
 in the world in which we live.

00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:04.920
 As his word is treated terribly

00:14:04.920 --> 00:14:06.200
 in the world in which we live.

00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.680
 As he is mocked and scorned

00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.739
 it is they who are blind,

00:14:12.859 --> 00:14:13.979
 not the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:18.139
 So even as he shows his royal dignity,

00:14:18.599 --> 00:14:20.219
 that royal dignity is denied

00:14:20.219 --> 00:14:21.699
 by Peter in his life.

00:14:21.979 --> 00:14:23.539
 And even as he is the prophet

00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:24.719
 whom God has sent

00:14:24.719 --> 00:14:26.299
 about people who said,

00:14:26.739 --> 00:14:29.719
 no man ever spoke like this man.

00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.120
 We find that he is mocked as prophet.

00:14:34.160 --> 00:14:35.500
 And then in a very striking way

00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:36.560
 we find that he is sacrificed

00:14:36.560 --> 00:14:37.420
 as high priest.

00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:40.779
 He is sacrificed as a high priest.

00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:41.800
 Now how does this come about?

00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:45.360
 It's very interesting isn't it?

00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:46.500
 Here you've got these two events

00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:47.660
 that go side by side.

00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:49.160
 You have the guards

00:14:49.160 --> 00:14:50.160
 and the soldiers.

00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:52.519
 And they cease,

00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.259
 they stop their viciousness

00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:55.740
 to the Lord Jesus.

00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:58.539
 And they are it seems

00:14:58.539 --> 00:14:59.919
 taking Jesus to be tried

00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:00.980
 by the Sanhedrin.

00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:03.680
 And there is an event

00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:05.259
 that is described at this moment.

00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:06.860
 It's the last time

00:15:06.860 --> 00:15:08.519
 Simon Peter denies him as king.

00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:11.159
 It's the end of the soldiers

00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:12.659
 mocking him as prophet.

00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.340
 And just at that point

00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:18.080
 the eyes of Simon Peter

00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:19.379
 and the Lord Jesus meets.

00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:20.659
 Do you see that in verse 61?

00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:24.839
 And the Lord turned

00:15:24.839 --> 00:15:27.439
 and looked at Peter.

00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:30.419
 And Peter remembered

00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:31.659
 the saying of the Lord.

00:15:32.819 --> 00:15:34.100
 How he had said to him

00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:36.539
 before the cock crows today

00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:38.399
 you will deny me three times.

00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:41.759
 But Luke tells us

00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:42.539
 only a little bit

00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:43.779
 of what the Lord Jesus

00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:44.480
 had said to him.

00:15:46.579 --> 00:15:46.939
 Do you remember

00:15:46.939 --> 00:15:48.059
 what Jesus had said to him?

00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:50.079
 It's there in verses 31.

00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:52.259
 to verse 34.

00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:55.779
 What Jesus said was this.

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:57.139
 Simon, Simon,

00:15:57.259 --> 00:15:57.879
 behold Satan

00:15:57.879 --> 00:15:58.860
 demanded to have you

00:15:58.860 --> 00:15:59.819
 that he might sift you

00:15:59.819 --> 00:16:00.219
 like wheat.

00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:01.699
 But I have prayed for you

00:16:01.699 --> 00:16:03.819
 that your faith

00:16:03.819 --> 00:16:04.579
 may not fail.

00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:07.120
 I have prayed for you.

00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:11.259
 Can you think of that moment

00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:12.019
 when Simon Peter

00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:12.679
 goes out

00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:13.379
 and he weeps

00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:14.919
 bitterly in the darkness

00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:15.799
 in the cold

00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:16.819
 of the Jerusalem night

00:16:16.819 --> 00:16:17.959
 with the prophecy

00:16:17.959 --> 00:16:18.799
 of his denial

00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:19.659
 still ringing

00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:20.559
 in his ears.

00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:23.439
 But there was also

00:16:23.439 --> 00:16:24.079
 that promise

00:16:24.079 --> 00:16:25.120
 of the Lord Jesus

00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:25.639
 wasn't there?

00:16:26.839 --> 00:16:27.819
 That he would be

00:16:27.819 --> 00:16:28.559
 Simon Peter's

00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:29.779
 great high priest.

00:16:29.939 --> 00:16:31.459
 I will pray for you.

00:16:31.579 --> 00:16:32.959
 I have prayed for you.

00:16:35.339 --> 00:16:36.319
 That he would be

00:16:36.319 --> 00:16:37.379
 to Simon Peter

00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.279
 what the high priest

00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:40.379
 was to God's people.

00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:41.379
 He would wear

00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:42.480
 on his breastplate

00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:43.339
 with jewels

00:16:43.339 --> 00:16:44.219
 engraved on it

00:16:44.219 --> 00:16:44.759
 the names

00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:45.519
 of the tribes

00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:46.259
 of Israel.

00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:47.919
 That he might

00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:48.620
 carry them

00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:49.659
 on his heart

00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:51.620
 before the presence

00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:52.120
 of God

00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:53.120
 and he would pray

00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:53.919
 for his people

00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:55.100
 in all their weakness

00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:56.419
 and their failure

00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:57.240
 and their needs.

00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:58.600
 And so in amazing

00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:00.019
 in an amazing way

00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:02.779
 Jesus is a priest.

00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:05.680
 Indeed he is a high priest.

00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:08.380
 That Jesus is taken

00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:09.480
 before the Sanhedrin

00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:10.700
 and there before

00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:11.559
 the Sanhedrin

00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:12.799
 he is sacrificed

00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.000
 as a priest.

00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.200
 There's two interesting things

00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:17.120
 and woven it.

00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:18.319
 I don't think the high priest

00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:19.319
 probably knew this.

00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:21.059
 But it's interesting

00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:22.080
 the only way

00:17:22.080 --> 00:17:22.840
 that a high priest

00:17:22.840 --> 00:17:23.580
 could be tried

00:17:23.580 --> 00:17:24.360
 and condemned

00:17:24.360 --> 00:17:25.779
 is if he was tried

00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.299
 and condemned

00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:28.180
 by the whole ruling council.

00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:29.819
 And that is what

00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:30.860
 is happening in Luke 22.

00:17:32.580 --> 00:17:33.220
 And there's another

00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:34.140
 strange oddity.

00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:35.360
 Before the great

00:17:35.360 --> 00:17:36.480
 day of atonement

00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:38.200
 other priests

00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:39.519
 kept the high priest up

00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:40.400
 and awake

00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:41.319
 all night.

00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:43.860
 And it's almost

00:17:43.860 --> 00:17:45.019
 as if those two traditions

00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:46.200
 that had grown up

00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:47.059
 around the liturgy

00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:48.019
 of ancient Judaism

00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:49.240
 they are coming true

00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:50.440
 before their very eyes.

00:17:51.879 --> 00:17:52.799
 The high priest

00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:54.599
 was doing the very things

00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:55.759
 that they would do

00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:56.539
 to a high priest.

00:17:58.139 --> 00:17:59.079
 And now they turned

00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:00.440
 this great high priest

00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:02.599
 into a sacrificial beast

00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:04.720
 upon the altar of Calvary.

00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:07.900
 And in this amazing way

00:18:07.900 --> 00:18:09.000
 despised

00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.119
 and rejected of man

00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.400
 a man of sorrows

00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.280
 and acquainted with grief.

00:18:16.120 --> 00:18:16.820
 It is though Luke

00:18:16.820 --> 00:18:18.040
 is saying to you and I

00:18:18.040 --> 00:18:18.759
 do you see

00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:20.160
 what is happening here?

00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:22.240
 That the king

00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:23.080
 is being rejected

00:18:23.080 --> 00:18:25.220
 that the prophet

00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:26.759
 is being despised

00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:28.960
 and that the high priest

00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.740
 is being made a sacrifice.

00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:34.380
 Don't you see

00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:36.660
 he is exactly

00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:37.620
 the saviour

00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:39.399
 he is exactly

00:18:39.399 --> 00:18:40.299
 the Messiah

00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:42.139
 he is exactly

00:18:42.139 --> 00:18:43.559
 the Christ

00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:45.019
 that he promised

00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:45.479
 to be.

00:18:47.779 --> 00:18:48.579
 And there are lots of ways

00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:49.259
 we can apply this

00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:49.899
 let me apply this

00:18:49.899 --> 00:18:50.699
 in one way

00:18:50.699 --> 00:18:52.519
 it is this

00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:53.899
 think about Simon Peter

00:18:53.899 --> 00:18:58.359
 Jesus came into this world

00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.039
 for failures

00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.179
 failures like Simon Peter

00:19:03.179 --> 00:19:04.139
 failures like you

00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:06.300
 and failures like me

00:19:06.300 --> 00:19:09.080
 and he came into the world

00:19:09.080 --> 00:19:10.600
 for people who would

00:19:10.600 --> 00:19:11.360
 deny him

00:19:11.360 --> 00:19:13.480
 and people who would

00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:14.380
 demean him

00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:16.720
 and reject him

00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:19.160
 and that he would

00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:20.020
 die for us.

00:19:23.620 --> 00:19:24.720
 I was with Dick Lucas

00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:25.420
 the other week

00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:26.420
 and Dick Lucas is fed up

00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:27.340
 because William Taylor

00:19:27.340 --> 00:19:28.580
 the minister of St. Helens

00:19:28.580 --> 00:19:29.740
 William Taylor's son

00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:30.560
 has got a cockerel

00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:31.980
 and a cockerel

00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:33.359
 every morning

00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:34.940
 at about 5 o'clock

00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:35.740
 crock-a-doodle-doo

00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:36.339
 it starts

00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:36.759
 you know

00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.259
 when you are 88

00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:39.179
 that is a bit tired

00:19:39.179 --> 00:19:39.740
 isn't it

00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:40.980
 and every morning

00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:41.539
 he is woken up

00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:42.259
 by this cockerel

00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:45.139
 and it got me thinking

00:19:45.139 --> 00:19:46.220
 about Luke 22

00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:48.599
 can you imagine

00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:49.240
 for Simon Peter

00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:50.139
 even in the cities

00:19:50.139 --> 00:19:50.720
 in those days

00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:51.159
 there would have been

00:19:51.159 --> 00:19:51.619
 cockerels

00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:52.139
 can you imagine

00:19:52.139 --> 00:19:53.399
 every single morning

00:19:53.399 --> 00:19:56.279
 every single morning

00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:57.119
 he was woken up

00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:57.799
 by a reminder

00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:58.500
 that he denied

00:19:58.500 --> 00:19:59.099
 his saviour

00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:00.399
 that was his alarm call

00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.340
 every single morning

00:20:03.340 --> 00:20:04.220
 there was a reminder

00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:05.000
 that he denied

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:05.620
 his saviour

00:20:05.620 --> 00:20:06.580
 three times

00:20:06.580 --> 00:20:08.340
 but every single morning

00:20:08.340 --> 00:20:09.480
 there was an alarm clock

00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:10.360
 there was a reminder

00:20:10.360 --> 00:20:12.320
 of God's grace

00:20:12.320 --> 00:20:14.800
 that Jesus Christ

00:20:14.800 --> 00:20:15.680
 had said to him

00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:16.960
 Simon Simon Peter

00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:18.080
 I am the high priest

00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:19.140
 who prays for you

00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:22.340
 it's what gripped

00:20:22.340 --> 00:20:23.040
 the apostle Paul

00:20:23.040 --> 00:20:23.340
 wasn't it

00:20:23.340 --> 00:20:24.259
 in Romans chapter 8

00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:26.000
 do you remember

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.259
 who is going to bring

00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:27.920
 any charge

00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.000
 against God's elect

00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:30.880
 it is God

00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:31.500
 that justifies

00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:32.339
 who is going

00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:33.339
 to condemn me

00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:34.259
 when Christ

00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:35.380
 has died for me

00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:36.819
 and has risen for me

00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:39.500
 who is at the right hand

00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:40.500
 of the throne

00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:41.579
 of the most high

00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:42.859
 and he intercedes for me

00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:44.940
 failure

00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:47.599
 we've all been there

00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:47.880
 haven't we

00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:49.200
 you have been there

00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.559
 the times

00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:52.279
 when I denied

00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:52.980
 the Lord Jesus

00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:54.680
 the sins of my heart

00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:55.720
 the sins

00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:56.839
 that haunt me

00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:57.960
 day in

00:20:57.960 --> 00:20:59.220
 and day out

00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:00.059
 and we can get

00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:01.039
 no release from them

00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.140
 and where are you

00:21:03.140 --> 00:21:03.660
 going to look

00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:06.120
 where will you look

00:21:06.120 --> 00:21:06.799
 for salvation

00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:07.880
 and for mercy

00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:12.120
 we are to look

00:21:12.120 --> 00:21:12.600
 to this

00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:15.900
 you see that again

00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:16.880
 in verse 32

00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:18.259
 I have prayed for you

00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:20.140
 that your faith

00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:21.000
 may not fail

00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:23.839
 and that is something

00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.180
 isn't it

00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:24.980
 that we have to hang

00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:25.420
 on to

00:21:25.420 --> 00:21:26.380
 when we struggle

00:21:26.380 --> 00:21:29.680
 but the Christ

00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:30.299
 who has come

00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:31.720
 to reign over us

00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:33.759
 is the Christ

00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.279
 who has come

00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:35.340
 to die for us

00:21:35.340 --> 00:21:37.680
 he is the Christ

00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:38.560
 who ever lives

00:21:38.560 --> 00:21:39.460
 at the right hand

00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:40.000
 of his father

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:41.080
 to make intercession

00:21:41.080 --> 00:21:41.779
 for us

00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:44.320
 so when Satan

00:21:44.320 --> 00:21:45.120
 tempts me

00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.860
 to despair

00:21:46.860 --> 00:21:48.880
 and tells me

00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:49.799
 of the guilt within

00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:52.000
 at what I look

00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:52.759
 and see him

00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:53.160
 there

00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.339
 who made an end

00:21:55.339 --> 00:21:56.079
 of all my sin

00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.440
 and that is it

00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:59.119
 isn't it

00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:01.440
 and so when we say

00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:02.220
 we need to fix

00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:03.059
 our eyes

00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:04.400
 on the Lord Jesus

00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:05.220
 it is not some

00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:06.920
 pious platitudes

00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:09.700
 it is because

00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:10.339
 when our eyes

00:22:10.339 --> 00:22:10.880
 are fixed

00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:12.240
 on the risen

00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:12.900
 ascended

00:22:12.900 --> 00:22:13.579
 and seated

00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:14.880
 Lord Jesus Christ

00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.420
 we know

00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:17.079
 that we are his

00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.659
 and we know

00:22:19.659 --> 00:22:20.339
 that we are safe

00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:22.939
 let's pray