Matthew 26:69-75

Matthew 26:69-75

And Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.  And one of the female slaves approached him while saying, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”  But he denied it before everyone while saying, “I have not known what you say.”  And after going out into the entrance another woman saw him and she says to the ones in that place, “This one was with Jesus of Nazareth.”  And again he denied it with an oath that “I do not know the man.”  And after a small amount of time and after the ones who stood there drew near they said to Peter, “Truly you also are out of them, for your accent also makes you clearly known.”  At that time he began to invoke a divine curse and he made an oath that “I have not known the man.”  And immediately the rooster called out.  And Peter remembered Jesus’ words having been spoken, that “before the rooster is to call out you will deny me three times.”  And after going outside he wept with agony.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As we look at this passage, let’s remember the bigger picture.  This is a letter being written to other Christians.  But the subject of this particular passage is humiliating to one of the core founders of the church!  If the Bible was written to paint humanity in a good light, this part of the story would have been buried and quickly forgotten.  The fact that this story makes it into the Gospel record simply points us to the fact that painting humanity in a good light isn’t what the Bible is all about.  The Bible is not written so that we as human beings can look back into our history and see all of our successes!  The Bible is written so that we can see who we really are and in our failing we can turn to a perfect God.

How many stories can you think of in the Bible that illustrates human sinfulness?  What does it say about Christianity when we clearly have many examples of the fallen human nature within our holy scriptures?

Second Thought:

Peter denies knowing Christ.  Now, let’s paint this accurately.  Peter doesn’t deny that Jesus is God’s Messiah.  Peter denies that he is associated with Christ.  Of course, this is still bad.  And it is still a lie.  Peter absolutely is looking to save his own skin.  Again, though, this is our nature.  This is why we cannot save ourselves.  We inherently want to save ourselves so much that we are not capable of doing what it takes to honestly save ourselves.  This is why God had to come and die for our sake.  Peter is wrapped up full in his sinfulness.  But even here he is not outside of God’s ability to reach him.  We’ll see that in a few weeks of study.

When have you followed your own desire and denied your nature as a follower of Christ?  why is it good to know that even in these times God can still reach us?

Third Thought:

Peter’s reaction is vitally important to understanding the consequences of this passage.  Once Peter realizes what he has done, he weeps.  He weeps with agony.  He mourns.  He is remorseful.  Once Peter’s sinful nature is exposed to him, he is humbled.  He is not arrogant.  He does not deny what he has done.  He is repentant.  While we should all hope to not deny Jesus and choose our own safety instead of following Him, the truth is that we will occasionally do this very thing.  When we do and it is revealed to us, it is important that we humbly repent.

How do you typically take correction?  Do you believe you can make mistakes?  Why is it important to understand our propensity for mistakes as we try and set ourselves up for a humble response?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 27:1-10