I want to begin by drawing your attention to three words. Distance. Denial. Repentance. Three words that could easily describe the season of anyone’s life right now. Which one describes you? Do you ever feel distant from God? Ever feel like you’ve turned your back on him one too many times? Ever wonder if God is too fed up with you? Ever wonder if there’s any evidence of repentance in your life? Ever get that sense of hopelessness deep down inside that there’s no way God could ever want you after you’ve made a mess of things again?
Look at Luke 22:54 – 62…
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
So in this passage, Luke describes Peter’s threefold denial of Christ immediately following his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane after Judas betrayed him. It’s a stunning picture of the danger of following Christ at a distance and the progressive nature of denying Christ and the evidence of Godly repentance.
Every one of us will struggle through seasons of being distant from Jesus and even seasons of wrestling with the temptation to deny Christ in some way or the other. But the real issue at the end of the day is whether or not you and I come through the end of those seasons into a place of Godly repentance where we are growing into mature followers of Christ. What does it look like for you to walk in Godly repentance instead of worldly remorse? What does it looked like for you to proclaim Christ instead of denying him? What is the danger of following Jesus at a distance instead of clinging to him for everything?
#1: The danger of following Jesus at a distance… (54 – 55)
Following Jesus at a distance is dangerous because when we do this we do it within a culture that is adamantly hostile to God. The world we live in is opposed to the things of God. Opposed to the gospel. Opposed to all that is Godly. Opposed to Christ himself.
It wasn’t any different in the text we are studying today. Luke tells us in verses 54 – 55 that after Jesus’ enemies had “seized him and led him away” they brought “him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.” According to the other gospels all of the disciples except for Peter & John fled in fear when Jesus was arrested. Everyone except Peter and John fled in the face of hostility and Peter only followed at a distance.
And then Luke tells us that when Jesus’ enemies arrived at the high priest’s house with Jesus as their prized captive, they “kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, (and) Peter sat down among them.” Peter didn’t keep the same distance from the culture of hostility surrounding him as he did from Jesus. He actually distanced himself from Jesus while taking a seat among the very people that were hostile to Christ. Instead of clinging to Christ’s side, Peter distanced himself from Jesus and drew close to Christ’s enemies.
Are you following Jesus at a distance?
Are you distancing yourself from Jesus while drawing closer to the culture that is hostile to him? Are you straddling the fence of relationship with the world or are you clinging close to Jesus? Has your hunger for God’s Word grown cold? Has your desire to pray dissolved? Has your commitment to giving your all to the cause of Christ lessened? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions then what is it in our hostile world that is filling that void? Is it the pursuit of status? The pursuit of romance? The pursuit of possessions? The pursuit of pleasure? Following Jesus at a distance is dangerous because we do so within a culture that is adamantly hostile to God. Are you following Christ at a distance?
#2: The progressive nature of denying Christ… (56 – 60)
The progression of sin that we struggle with naturally moves us from denying Christ personally, to denying Christ communally, to denying Christ missionally. When we begin to follow Jesus we follow him personally within the context of a community or a family that is called to spend itself on behalf of Gods mission to the world.
So it isn’t a stretch to say that when we deny Christ it’s natural for us to deny him progressively. Another way of saying this is to say that when we deny Christ we start at one end of denial and follow a natural progression of events whereby we deny our personal relationship to Christ; we deny our membership in the community of Christ and we deny our participation in the mission of Christ.
This is exactly what Luke describes for us in verses 56 – 60. Three different people confront Peter and each time he is confronted he follows a natural progression of sin that denies Christ personally and then moves to denying Christ communally and then moves to denying Christ missionally.
Notice the specific phrases Peter uses when he denies Christ and notice the natural movement of denial in the text. To the woman who confronts Peter for being with Jesus, he says, “Woman, I do not know him.” He denies his personal relationship with Jesus. Then to the second person that confronts him for being one of the disciples, Peter says, “Man, I am not (one of them).” He denies being a part of the community of Christ. Then to the third person that confronts him for being with Jesus because he was Galilean (he looked or sounded like a Christ follower), Peter says, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” He denies the opportunity to engage the mission of God to share Christ with his enemies so that they can have the opportunity to become part of the family. This is the progressive wheel of denial that moves us from denying Christ personally to denying Christ communally to denying Christ missionally.
Where are you at on this progressive wheel of denial?
Have you been denying Christ in your thoughts, your words and your actions? When the opportunity arises to proclaim your personal relationship with Jesus are you shrinking back in fear or boldly proclaiming his work in you? Are you resisting the opportunities you have to go deeper in gospel community? Are you seizing the moments you have to proclaim Christ in thought, word and deed throughout our community? Are you taking opportunities to pray with a coworker or listen to a hurting friend or extend a helping hand to someone in need? These are all practical ways to resist the temptation to deny Christ. The progression of sin that we struggle with naturally moves us from denying Christ personally, to denying Christ communally, to denying Christ missionally. Where are you at on this progressive wheel of denial?
#3: The evidence of Godly repentance… (60 – 62)
There’s a difference between worldly sorrow and Godly repentance. Worldly sorrow is someone feeling depressed because they got caught doing something wrong or feeling bad for the consequences of their sin. The evidence of Godly repentance on the other hand begins with understanding that God notices us even in the midst of our sin and then remembering what God has spoken to us in his Word. The understanding that God sees us and has spoken to us is meant to produce a broken spirit and bold obedience, which is the evidence of Godly repentance.
This was Peter’s experience after he denied Christ three times. Luke explains that “immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed and the Lord turned and looked at Peter and Peter remembering the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times’ and he went out and wept bitterly.” In the midst of Peter’s sin of denial against the Lord, Jesus looks right at Peter and Peter was instantly reminded of the words that Jesus had spoken to him and he responded with a broken heart.
And if you follow Peter’s life throughout the gospels and throughout the book of Acts and throughout Peter’s letters to the churches you will see Peter’s unashamed proclamation of Jesus that led to seasons of imprisonment, beatings and even a horrific death. And even though Peter failed epically in these moments, here in this text, the truth that Jesus had spoken over him in the upper room at the last supper was that he would turn again (repent) and strengthen the brothers. The other truth that Jesus spoke over Peter that evening was that he refused to give Peter over to Satan to be destroyed. And the proof of this truth is evident in Peter’s continued repentance and bold proclamation of Christ.
Is there evidence of Godly repentance in your life?
Does your sin cause you to fall into despair and self-loathing or does it cause you to weep bitterly and remember God’s promises? Are you more like Judas who hung himself out of his sense of worldly despair? Or are you more like Peter who wept bitterly and remembered God’s warnings and promises? The understanding that God sees us and has spoken to us is meant to produce a broken spirit and bold obedience, which is the evidence of Godly repentance. Is there evidence of Godly repentance in your life?
Closing reflection…
Distance. Denial. Repentance. Three words that could easily describe the season of anyone’s life right now. Which one describes you? Every one of us will struggle through seasons of being distant from Jesus and even seasons of wrestling with the temptation to deny Christ in some way or the other. But the real issue at the end of the day is whether or not you and I come through the end of those seasons into a place of Godly repentance where we are growing into mature followers of Christ.
Let me leave you with some things to consider about how the cross of Christ impacts these three words we’ve been considering today. When you feel distant from God… remember that the cross is where Jesus closed that distance. When you’re struggling with the temptation to deny Christ… remember that though you’ve denied Christ, he invites you to trust in his work at the cross. When you’re struggling with repentance… remember that Christ’s body and blood was broken and poured out for you so that you could turn from your destructive ways of living and turn to the One who makes you whole and complete. Are you following Jesus closely? Are you resisting the temptation to deny Christ? Are you walking in Godly repentance?