Failing
John 18:15-27, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 06-07-2020
Introduction
Do you ever feel like an utter failure? Maybe you find yourself asking, how could God use a loser like me? I ask myself some form of that question more often than I would like to admit. When I examine my life, my sins, my shortcomings of ability, I often walk away from that exam feeling something near meaningless and useless.
If you ever share that sense of self-loathing, this text should encourage you. It doesn’t read as encouragement at first, and in point of fact it’s meant to warn us as well. But there is comfort to be gained here for failures like you and me.
Read the text
What we experience in the text before us is obviously not a single plotline, but a cutting from one plot to another, and back again. Going back to the last couple verses from last week, we read of Jesus being carried off to Annas; then we read about Peter; then back to Jesus; then back to Peter.
Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that does this? A good example might be Lord of the Rings. You’re following Frodo and Sam, then cutting to Aragorn, then over to Gandalf. It’s all tied together in the end, but the narrative moves you from one plotline to another.
Authors can have all kinds of reasons for using this literary device, but I think the primary thing we see John using it for, aside from simply conveying the facts, is to draw our attention to some key distinctions. We are going to find Peter faithless while Christ remains faithful.
Scene #1: Paved with Good Intentions
We find in v15, Peter and another disciple following Jesus after his arrest.
The other disciple isn’t named, but we have good reason to believe that it is the apostle John himself (cf 20:2, etc)
How John could have been connected to the High Priest has left many scratching their heads, but that’s largely due to our western concepts of the division between manuals labor class and the knowledge class (for example, Rabbis were expected to have a trade; Jesus the carpenter, Paul the leatherworker). So it’s very conceivable that John relatives who perhaps had married into the priestly family
Regardless of the nature of the connection, he’s obviously known well enough that he is able to simply come and go as he pleases
Peter isn’t in quite the same spot. V16, he pulls up at the gate/door of the courtyard
But the other disciple is able to use his pull to get the gatekeeper to let him in
This all seems mundane enough at first, Peter and John follow Jesus.
They didn’t need to do this, Jesus had protected them as he told the guards to let them go and they fled (v8, cf Mark 14:50; v9)
But it’s natural: why wouldn’t they want to see what’s going on?
But it takes an enormous left turn when the servant girl asks a question: “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
Ponder for a moment who asks this question: a servant girl, a slave. Someone with absolutely zero social standing. Peter had literally nothing to fear in this circumstance. Perhaps she asks it with a sneer, like, really? But he has nothing to gain from lying to her.
Does Peter reason this all out and act logically? No, he blurts out the easy, safe response “nope”.
Have you ever been there? Someone gives you a perfect opportunity to confess Christ, to give reason for the hope that is within you, and you totally punt it? You fail, you drop the opportunity? That’s what Peter has just done. He has an opportunity to give a reason for the hope within (1 Peter 3:15), but he isn’t ready.
The tragedy of this is that this is the same Peter who just hours earlier, in the upper room (13:37) proclaims a love unto death, I will lay down my life for you
He confesses a never failing, to the death love, but now he won’t even admit to the little girl that he is connected to Jesus at all
Peter was so proud of his own boldness and ability to follow Christ-but where has this led him to? Denial
Do you realize that any attempt to lean on your own power in following Jesus will yield in the same result?
Calvin, Such is the demonstration of the power of man...Do we not continually tremble at the rustling of a falling leaf?...our courage is of such a nature, that, of its own accord, it gives way when there is no enemy...A man, filled not with fortitude but with wind, promises that he will obtain an easy victory over the whole world; and yet, no sooner does he see the shadow of a thistle, than he immediately trembles. Let us therefore learn not to be brave in any other than the Lord.
One of the mistakes we can make in reading this story is just to dogpile on Peter.
What should we actually be doing? Seeing ourselves in his denial. We are all given to the very same cowardice.
We need to learn to distrust ourselves and our human ability to remain faithful to Christ apart from the enabling work of the Holy Spirit
But while we ought not throw Peter too far under the bus, we should see clearly that the example here is a negative one, not v18
We are told it was cold, which at night in Palestine in the Spring is perfectly logical, and so the officers have built a charcoal fire to keep warm
Note what John says about Peter in the verse: Peter was with them, standing. Does that remind you of anything from last week?
18:5; Judas took his stand boldly with the enemy; Peter slinks in and tries to blend in. Judas betrays, Peter denies. These are not moral equivalents, they are different acts, but the common thread is that they have both left Jesus. They’re standing in the wrong place.
But Jesus isn’t surprised. Remember what he says to Peter in 13:38?
Jesus knows everything that is going to happen. As we learned last week, he is in total control. But even while being in total control, he is betrayed, denied, and abandoned by those closest to him.
Scene #2: Standing Alone
We need to note a few things about these verses: first, who is the High Priest?
If you remember v13, it says that Caiaphas was HP that year, but in v24 it says Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas...after the events of these verses. So it seems that Annas is the one being spoken of.
Second, we need to understand how illegal this whole proceeding was.
v18 shows that it is obviously still night. Night trials were illegal
Annas questions Jesus in v19. Questioning someone to use their testimony against them was illegal, charges had to be established on the evidence of witnesses
Trials were to be open, public proceedings. This was taking place at night.
In v22, an officer strikes Jesus. This also would have been illegal treatment of a prisoner.
This is an absolute monkey trial with no basis. These men aren’t seeking justice: they’re plotting murder.
The nature of Annas questioning in v19 seems to be such that he’s trying to trip Jesus up both in a way that would incriminate his disciples (he’s probably not thrilled that they all got away), and that he would say something to incriminate himself theologically
Jesus is having none of it, though. He isn’t refusing cooperate with lawful authority, he is demanding that the authority present live up to its own standards
V20, Jesus is making two points
1) you really have no need to question me. I’m not leading any kind of sedition or secret movement. It’s all out in the open.
Isaiah 48:16
2) he is drawing a contrast to the current moment. I don’t have anything to hide. Unlike some people
V21, he continues the same line of thought
1) why ask me what I’ve taught when there are all sorts of people who’ve heard me (he probably could have just waved his finger around the room)
2) if this is a trial, you are legally bound to produce some witnesses. So go ask them what I’ve said
Jesus is frankly speaking the truth. He is not showing any disrespect, he is simply calling these men to account for the way they are handling this mock trial. He tells them what they are doing is baseless, and that is proved by the way they are doing it. You don’t have to hold secret trials in the dead of night with armed guards if you think what you’re doing is on the up and up.
V22, shows us how they respond to this sort of truth-speaking. An officer strikes Jesus on the cheek. Sinful men, desiring to murder the only perfect man, strike him on the face. And in doing so, heap condemnation on their own heads.
Jesus, again, is calm. And again, he gives a layered response.
V23, if I’ve said anything wrong, feel free to correct it (obviously they have nothing).
But if I haven’t said anything wrong, what footing do you have to strike me?
What we see here in Annas’s house, as well as in the trials before Caiaphas and Herord (skipped by John), and in his trails before Pilate which we will look at in coming weeks, is that there was no human basis for the crucifixion of Christ except for the utter rebellion of the Jewish leadership against their rightful Messiah. He came as their King, and they crucified him. Psalm 69:4a
But again, we must not see Jesus as a helpless victim thrust on the wheel of fate. This was the Father’s sovereign plan to redeem, not only those children of God from the people of Israel, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad (John 11:51-52)
And in this task, Jesus had to stand alone. No one else could stand as the mediator between God and man. As the only true human being to maintain absolute perfection in his earthly life, Jesus is the only sacrifice acceptable for human sin. As true God in the flesh, Jesus is the only sacrifice sufficient to cover the sins of all who would believe. No one else could do it. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through him.
Peter failed, and we’re about to see him fail again. But Christ stood firm. Peter denied everything. Jesus denied nothing. He stood alone, and he stood there for you and me.
Scene #3: The Cascading Effects of Sin
Cut back to Peter: where is he, still? V25
The same question as came in v17 is repeated; Peter has practised denial once, it’s a little easier this time
How often in your life does this play itself out?
Peter is under an immense stress, and under the influence of that stress, gives himself over to sin
What sins are you given to under pressure? Losing control of your temper, irresponsible spending, substance abuse, laziness?
It’s very easy, when once tempted and having fallen, to give ourselves over to a sense of defeat or self-justification, either one of which leaves us with guilt and shame
Those feelings of guilt and shame then often lead us to take refuge in the same sins which got us there in the first place
for example, pornography use is shown to make people feel more lonely, yet where do many lonely men turn? To that same broken cistern that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13)
Peter is caught in this cascade, having now denied Christ twice, we read in v26 that he is questioned again
This time he knows that the other guy knows-didn’t I see you with him in the garden?
Given that this man is a relative of Malchus, and they are both servants of the High Priest, it is entirely possible that he was standing close enough to see that Peter was in fact the sword-swinging crazy guy
But does Peter take this opportunity to realize his wrong, to confess, and to turn in repentance? No, v27 says that he denies Christ yet a third time
Now, we need to be careful in how we think about this-is Peter letting Jesus down?
No, because Jesus is not counting on Peter or Peter’s strength to hold him up
When you sin you are failing in the sense of failing to live up to the standards God has in his law, and the freedom you have in Christ
But you are not letting down a Savior who holds the whole world in his hand; cf Acts 17:25
The cock crows immediately upon this final denial of Peter’s, which should bring Peter’s mind back to the words of Christ in 13:38
But is Jesus mad at Peter? Look at Luke 22:61 for a moment: it seems Jesus hears these denials and has compassion
Imagine the weight of what Peter feels in this moment. He who so boldly proclaimed his love, and who was ready to die in the garden, has been exposed at every level. And he knows it.
Where should we turn when we stumble and fall, as we all will this very day?
We’re all going to walk out of here this morning and face multiple situations within the next few hours where we do, think, or say something sinful-how ought we to respond in that moment?
Recognize what you’ve done, and the reality of your need - Peter doesn’t seem to recognize the depth of his situation until the rooster crows, and by then he has denied Jesus not once, but three times
We should be quick to listen for rebuke, aware of our own tendencies, and swift to recognize when we have sinned
Confess our sins to the Savior (1 John 1:9). He is glad to forgive you, and because of what Christ was being led away to do, he is just to do so.
You are never hiding your sin from God, so come into the light, walk in the light, be exposed by the light of God’s Spirit and his Word
Cling to Jesus. In him you are not condemned. If your hope is in him, God sees in you the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Conclusion
Take heed of Peter’s failure. We are all vulnerable to sin, especially this particular sin, that of hiding our connection to Jesus. But if you feel cast down because you have experienced that same failure, take heart. Jesus wasn’t done with Peter, as we’ll see in coming chapters. Peter’s failure was real, but it wasn’t final. This is possible because Peter wasn’t righteous on his own merits. And you can’t be righteous on yours. We can only be right with God, loved by God, and used by God in this life because of one man: the man Christ Jesus. He stood alone. He went to the cross alone. And he did it for you.