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Matthew 26:69-75 (Peter)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called “Lead Me to the Cross,” and together we are following Jesus’ last steps to the cross as recorded for us here in the closing chapters of Matthew. Today we come to Peter’s denial of Christ. It is a sobering passage full of both warnings and comforts for those of us who seek to follow Jesus in our lives. It is a tragic story of denial and regret that hits us all a little too close to home. And so, this morning we will look at Peter’s failure to see what we can learn from him and how we can avoid similar mistakes in our own lives. (Read Matthew 26:69-75 and pray.)

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We all love Peter in the Bible because we all can identify with Peter so much. No disciple loved Jesus so much as Peter, and no disciple failed Jesus so much as Peter. Peter received both the highest commendations from Jesus as well as the sternest of rebukes – sometimes all in the same day! But the lowest point of Peter’s life certainly takes place in today’s passage when he denied Jesus three times the night before Jesus went to the cross.

There are different ways of denying Christ – some outright, some more subtle. But anytime we hold back on speaking up for Christ out of a sense of embarrassment or shame, we have in some way denied Christ, and like Peter we need to seek forgiveness and restoration.

Denial of Jesus will always lead to bitter regret, and so we need to learn how to avoid that denial. We also need to learn how to deal with the regret that we will invariably experience when we, like Peter, deny knowing our Lord.

I. Peter’s slippery slope

Before we look at Peter’s denial itself, we need to look at some things that took place earlier that evening, because there is a progression (actually a regression) or a slippery slope that we see in the events leading up to Peter’s denial.

   A. Pride (Matthew 26:33-34)

First, we see Peter’s pride earlier in the evening when he boasts that he would never fall away from Christ. We read in verses 33-34:

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” 34 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” (Matthew 26:33-34)

This is the pride of saying, “That could never happen to me!” Peter is overconfident here. Of course, it’s easy to be confident before the time of trial comes. Jesus said, “All of you will fall away on account of me.” Peter said, “No, maybe all the others, but not me.” Peter thought he was better than the other disciples. Peter thought he knew better than Jesus.

The Bible tells us pride goes before a fall, and Peter was never more proud than when he said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” Never say never. We are all capable of falling into great sin. Instead of saying, “That could never happen to me,” we should say, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Peter’s pride was his first step down the slippery slope to denial.

   B. Spiritual sluggishness (Matthew 26:40-41)

His next step was spiritual sluggishness. This took place a little later in the evening when Jesus asked his disciples to watch and pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. We read in verses 40-41:

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41)

How quickly Peter went from declaring, “I am ready to die with you,” to falling asleep in the garden. When you lose your spiritual zeal or sharpness, when you grow weary or sluggish in the faith, you are standing on dangerous, slippery ground. Peter was on the slippery slope to denial, and he didn’t even know it. You could even say he was in denial about his denial!

   C. Following from a distance (Matthew 26:58)

Peter’s third step down the slippery slope was following Jesus from a distance. We read in verse 58:

But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome. (Matthew 26:58)

Peter had boasted he was ready to die with Jesus, but now he follows from a safe distance. He quietly makes his way into the courtyard and sits down with the guards of all people. Peter goes from failing to watch and pray with Jesus in the garden to sitting with Jesus’ enemies in the courtyard.

It’s a slippery slope. Peter’s pride led to spiritual sluggishness which led to following Jesus from a distance. We need to guard against the same slippery slope in our own lives lest we end up denying the Lord.

II. Peter’s three denials (69-74)

We now come to Peter’s three denials. In the previous passage we looked at Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas the high priest. Matthew now moves from the trial of Jesus in the courtroom to what we might call Peter’s trial in the courtyard. And we are meant to see the contrast between the two. While Jesus makes the good confession before his accusers, Peter denies Jesus before his accusers. Jesus confesses that he is the Messiah. Peter, who had earlier confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, now denies even knowing him.

We already looked at the slippery slope leading up to Peter’s denials. Now we see a further regression with each of Peter’s successive denials. So, let’s take a closer look at each of the three denials.

   A. First denial: “I don’t know what you are talking about.” (69-70)

In the first denial Peter simply says: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Look at verses 69-70:

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. 70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. (Matthew 26:69-70)

This was a pretty mild accusation, nothing like what Jesus was going through in his trial. This girl doesn’t accuse him of blasphemy or any crime. She simply says, “You were with him.” The accusation even comes from a non-threatening person – not from a man, but from a woman; not from an older woman, but a girl; not even a free girl but a servant. Peter is a grown man, and here he is feeling threatened by a servant girl. The gospel of John tells us she was the doorkeeper, so she would have seen him when he entered the courtyard with John (John 18:16-17) Now she approaches him and says, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

This first trial caught Peter off guard. Perhaps he was preparing himself to stand up for Jesus in some grand way before the temple guards or the Sanhedrin. Instead, he was caught off guard by the simple statement of a servant girl. Don’t we do the same sometimes? We say, “I am ready to die for you Jesus! I would never deny you!” But then we get tripped up by a simple opportunity to speak a word for Jesus during the day.

We need to be ready to speak a word for Jesus at all times. Notice Peter doesn’t come right out and deny Jesus here, but he doesn’t speak up for Jesus either. He is deliberately evasive in his answer. How often are we evasive in our answers about Jesus?

   B. Second denial: “I don’t know the man (with an oath).” (71-72)

The first denial leads to the second denial which is much worse. In the first denial Peter simply says: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” In the second denial he denies knowing Christ with an oath! Look at verses 71-72:

Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” (Matthew 26:71-72)

The gospel of Mark tells us that this girl was also a servant girl (Mark 14:69). This second accusation is a little more forceful than the first. It’s the same accusation, but instead of addressing Peter directly she directs the accusation to the people around him. Pointing Peter out to them, she says, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” That steps up the game a bit.

Unfortunately, Peter also steps up his denial. This time he not only denies being with Jesus; he denies even knowing him, and he does so with an oath. Once again look at the contrast between Jesus at his trial and Peter in the courtyard. Jesus has just taken a solemn oath before Caiaphas the high priest affirming that he is indeed the Christ, the Son of God. Here Peter denies Jesus with an oath: “I don’t know the man.”

Peter is slipping quickly down the slippery slope. He has moved from a simple lie in the first denial to perjury in the second. He has gone from saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” to saying “I don’t know Jesus.”

   C. Third denial: “I don’t know the man (with curses).” (73-74a)

And then the third denial is even worse. Peter denies knowing Jesus again, but this time with curses. Look at verses 73-74:

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” 74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” (Matthew 26:73-74)

Matthew tells us this took place after a little while. The gospel of Luke says it was about an hour (Luke 22:59), which was plenty of time for Peter to reflect on what he had done, to confess his sin, to ask God for help and to ask God for the strength to make a better choice the next time around. But Peter is on the slippery slope of denial, and he continues the slide downward.

The third time the accusation is even more intimidating. This time a whole group approaches Peter. They say, “Surely you are one of them.” They are no longer simply questioning him about his association with Jesus; they are stating it with certainty. They point to his Galilean accent as evidence that he is one of Jesus’ followers. Jesus was from Galilee, so it makes sense that Peter is part of his band of disciples. Interestingly, the gospel of John tells us that the spokesman of this group was a relative of Malchus, the man whose ear Peter had sliced off in the garden with his sword (John 18:26).

Here the accusation is not simply that Peter was with Jesus but that he is one of Jesus’ followers. This is yet another way we can deny Christ – when we deny that we are a Christian or hide the fact that we go to church or belong to the body of believers. This can happen when someone says something to us like, “So, you’re one of those Christians, aren’t you!” or when someone is criticizing Christianity or the church and we remain silent. We are the body of Christ. So, when we deny each other, we also deny him.

When this group accuses Peter, Peter starts denying Jesus all over again. Poor Peter. The more he talks, the more he gives himself away! His accent makes it plain that he’s from Galilee. The first law of holes is to stop digging! But Peter can’t seem to stop. The more he speaks against Christ, the deeper the hole he digs for himself.

Peter’s reaction is even stronger this time. He calls down curses on himself as well as swearing a second oath. He is most likely calling on God to punish him if what he says is not true, something along the lines of: “May God strike me dead where I stand if I am not telling you the truth.” What grace that God did not strike him down where he stood, but that Jesus would lovingly forgive and restore him instead.

Earlier Jesus had pronounced a blessing on Peter when he confessed Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:16-17). Now Peter calls down curses upon himself as he denies Jesus in the courtyard. Charles Spurgeon comments: “Lying led to swearing, and swearing to cursing; no one but the Lord knows how much further Peter would have fallen if he had not been divinely arrested in his sinful career.” (Charles Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: An Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew)

Matthew Henry comments, “The way of sin is down-hill,” and Peter had now reached the very bottom of the slippery slope. He had denied his Lord three times, just as Jesus told him he would. He lied about Jesus, he swore with a false oath and he called down curses on himself. It doesn’t get much worse than that.

III. Peter’s bitter regret (74-75)

We have looked at the slippery slope leading up to Peter’s denials. We have looked at the three denials themselves. Finally, we come to Peter’s bitter regret following his denial of Christ. Look at verses 74-75 with me now:

Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:74-75)

   A. The rooster crows (74b)

And so, Jesus’ prophecy is fulfilled. Notice the irony here once again. While Peter is in the courtyard denying Jesus, the soldiers inside have been striking Jesus in the face and mockingly telling him to prophecy. Here his earlier prophecy of Peter denying him comes true.

   B. Peter remembers (75a)

The crowing of the rooster brings Peter back to his senses. He remembers what Jesus told him about the three denials. The gospel of Luke adds another detail. Luke tells us that just as the rooster crowed, Jesus, who was apparently being brought out at that time, turned and looked straight at Peter (Luke 22:71). The rooster crows, Jesus looks directly at Peter, they lock eyes, and Peter remembers. Peter had been so confident that he would never deny his Lord, and now he has done it three times, just as Jesus foretold.

   C. Peter weeps bitterly (75b)

And so, Peter goes outside the courtyard and weeps bitterly. The combination of his three denials, the crowing of the rooster, Jesus looking straight at him, his remembering of Jesus’ words – these are all too much for him. Matthew Henry comments, “Those that have sinned sweetly, must weep bitterly; for, sooner or later, sin will be bitterness.”

We know from the other gospels that these are tears of repentance and regret. Peter is truly sorry for his sin, and he is truly sorry that he has denied his Lord whom he loves so much. This is completely different from Judas who we will look at next week. As we shall see next week, it is the difference between life-giving repentance and death-producing remorse.

Peter’s tears also show his true love for Jesus. He wept bitterly because he loved the Lord and he had denied the Lord. Do you love Jesus? Do you weep when you have failed your Lord?

We shouldn’t be too hard on Peter. Remember, Peter did not have the Holy Spirit as we do because the Spirit had not been given yet. Jerome, one of the early church fathers, notes the difference: “Without the Spirit Peter trembled at the voice of a maid-servant; with the Spirit he withstood princes and kings.” (Isaac Williams, Devotional Commentary on the Gospel, Volume 7)

This is the last time Peter is mentioned by name in Matthew’s gospel. But we know from the other gospels that Jesus met privately with him and restored him to service and leadership. And so, Peter’s fall really stands as a lesson for all of us – to guard against sin in our lives, to repent when we do sin, and to know that God stands ready to forgive and restore us when we repent.

August Van Ryn writes: “What a lesson Peter’s fall has been to us; how we can thank God for its solemn warning! His fall no doubt has been the means for the rising of many; his restoration has brought many a like-failing believer back to the Lord.” (August Van Ryn, Meditations in Matthew, Kindle Locations 2807-2809.) Isaac Williams writes that this incident in Peter’s life is recorded for us “that all may fear, and none may presume, and all may hope.” (Isaac Williams, Devotional Commentary on the Gospel, Volume 7)

The rooster crows. Peter remembers what Jesus said. And Peter goes outside and weeps bitterly.

THREE APPLICATIONS: No one ever denies Christ in a vacuum. Nobody who is following Jesus ever wakes up one morning and decides they will deny Jesus that day. There is always a progression, or we should really say, a regression. There is a slippery slope we follow on the way to denial. We can trace it in Peter’s life, and we can trace it in the life of everyone who has ever denied Christ.

Let me close the message with three applications for all of us here today, three ways we can guard against this happening in our own life.

   1) Guard against pride (1 Corinthians 10:12)

First of all, guard against pride. Remember, pride was Peter’s first step down the slippery slope. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12) Pride goes before a fall, so guard against pride in your life.

   2) Never flag in zeal (Romans 12:11)

Secondly, never flag in zeal. Remember, spiritual sluggishness was Peter’s second step down the slippery slope. We are zealous for so many things in life: politics, hobbies, sports, fair treatment – the list goes on. But how zealous are you for God? Romans 12:11 says: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11) Don’t grow sluggish when it comes to spiritual things but keep your passion for God and Christ fervent and alive.

   3) Walk closely with God (James 4:8)

And then thirdly, walk closely with God. That was Peter’s final mistake right before he denied Christ. He followed Jesus at a distance. James 4:8 says: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8) There’s an old saying, “If God seems far away, guess who moved?”

The people in the courtyard accused Peter of being with Jesus, and Peter denied it. We should want to be known as people who are with Jesus! If someone asks you, “Are you a Christian? Are you with Jesus,” tell them, “Yes, I am with Jesus! And Jesus is with me!”

So those are three things you can do to avoid the slippery slope that leads to denial: 1) Guard against pride; 2) Never flag in zeal; 3) Walk closely with God.

CONCLUSION: Denial of Jesus will always lead to bitter regret. Some people will experience that regret in this lifetime. Others will not experience it until Christ returns or their life is over. You will never regret standing up for Jesus. But oh, how bitterly you will regret being ashamed of your Savior in any way.

I pray that as a result of today’s message you now understand the slippery slope that leads to denial and how you can guard against it in your life. I pray you understand there is forgiveness, even for those who have denied Christ. I pray that you will confess your sin and take your regrets to the Lord. And I pray that you will commit yourself to speaking up for Jesus at every opportunity so you may avoid the bitter regret of denying Jesus ever again.

© Ray Fowler

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