The Fall of Christ, Chapter 3: Denied

Listen.

The Father speaks. He announces what will happen. And for as long as God has announced what will happen, people have not trusted it. God said, “Do not eat the fruit of that tree, for when you do, you will surely die.” And Adam and Eve didn’t trust him. They trusted the serpent: “You will not surely die.” God told Abraham, “You will have a child, and your descendants will outnumber the stars.” But Abraham didn’t trust God and took matters into his own hands, cheating on his wife to have a child.

Why would it have been any different when Jesus walked the earth?

The Fall of Christ.
Chapter Three: Denied.

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The Prince, Jesus, as he walked this earth made a number of predictions. He told his disciples, “I will die.” Peter told him not to talk that way. Jesus told them, “I will rise again.” Peter ignored it. Jesus told them, “You will all run away from me.” Peter shook his head. “Not me! Even if everyone else flees, I won’t do it!” I can’t be that bad.

Jesus looked right at Peter. “I tell you, three times before the rooster crows twice, you will deny that you even know me.” And Peter? He refused to listen. He refused to trust Jesus that he could ever do anything like that. He denied the truth of Jesus’ words.

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And then Jesus was arrested. And the disciples fled. And Jesus was proclaimed worthy of death. And Peter watched it all.

He had snuck his way into the gallery, watching Jesus’s trial. He watched as witness after witness stood up and slandered Jesus. In the Jewish court system, any two people could make an accusation. The accused could call any witnesses to defend them. And Jesus had noticed Peter. If he’d wanted to, he could have called on Peter to defend him. But he didn’t. Jesus chose to stand alone. To not single out Peter.

But someone else noticed Peter. Someone else singled him out. A slave-girl. Someone with no power. The most powerless person in the room points at Peter and says, “You were with him.” You were with the one who’s on trial. The one they’re trying to kill. The one you ran away from.

And Peter panics. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He steps away – back, away from the fire he’d been keeping warm by, out to the gateway, where he can still watch but be hidden in shadow, at least a little bit. A safe place. And as he steps away – the rooster crows. It’s about one in the morning. But Peter doesn’t pay any attention.

Because the girl followed him. “This fellow – he’s one of them!”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

And as Peter denies even knowing Jesus, the high priest shouts. “What do you say?”

And the Sanhedrin answers, “He is worthy of death!” And seventy-one voices condemn the man Peter confessed to be the Son of God.

And everyone there watches as the beatings begin. As Jesus is slapped. As spit dribbles down his face. As he is beaten. And after hours of this abuse, nearing dawn now, people grow tired of it and notice Peter standing there. “Your accent gives you away. You’re from up north!” Now, this wasn’t fair. There were a lot of people from “up north” at Passover. Thousands of them. But the accusation is enough. This is a suspicious bunch.

This time Peter doesn’t just say he doesn’t know Jesus. He calls down curses on himself. He takes oaths. “May I be damned if I know who he is! I swear, with God as my witness, that I don’t know him!” And his desperation grows and grows. “I don’t know him!”

And the rooster crows.

Jesus turns as he is beaten, and with swelling eyes and bloody lip, he looks right, right at Peter.

Peter stops. What has he done? And he goes out… and he weeps.

The one who claimed to love Jesus most, who would never, ever leave him… denied Jesus’s warning. Didn’t listen to what Jesus said. Didn’t trust that he was right. And then he denied Jesus himself.

The Fall of Christ continues.

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Peter denied Jesus, but Jesus never, ever denied Peter. In fact, about three weeks later, Jesus reinstated Peter. Full forgiveness. But that’s a story for another time. After Easter. Because even in this darkness, we know that Easter is coming. Just as Jesus predicted his death, he predicted he would rise again.

But for today, know this: Peter denying Jesus is not the end of his story.

Your denials are not the end of your story either.

How have you denied Jesus? Would people be surprised you’re a Christian? Not just that you go to church, but that Jesus dying for your sins is your hope? That you’re not a good person, you’re a sinner who has been saved by Jesus? Or do you just ignore certain things Jesus says and deny him that way? Certain things you don’t trust him to be right about? Maybe about how you use your money or how you use your body?

Jesus has not denied you. Your sin is not the end of your story.

Peter was afraid of the cost of being associated with Jesus.
What cost would you pay if you were associated with Jesus?

There was a cost of Jesus associating with us. He paid a huge price. He fell. He suffered. He died. But he chose to claim you. He chose to be associated with you. He paid the price. And he will not deny you. Fear not. Your sins are forgiven, taken by Jesus. And you are not denied.

Jesus pays the price for you.