John 18:12-27: “Jesus’
Interrogation Before Annas And Caiphas / Peter’s Denials Of Jesus”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 1-11 of chapter 18.
1.1.1.
We
observed what John, as well as the other gospel writers, record for us
concerning Jesus taking His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane at the
conclusion of His Upper Room Discourse (chapters 13-16) and high priestly
prayer (chapter 17) for His disciples.
1.1.2.
We saw
that because John was writing his gospel to reveal the deity and glory of Jesus
Christ, rather than Jesus’ humanity, that he did not include anything
concerning Jesus’ incredible struggle that the other three synoptic gospels
tell us that He went through in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He was considering
the reality of what He was soon to suffer in going to Calvary’s cross and
experiencing the wrath of God being poured out upon Him as He pays the full
debt of our sins there.
1.1.3.
We looked
though at the details given us by the other gospels writers of the events of
this night and morning, including Jesus’ struggle, and the disciples who sleep
instead of praying as Jesus commanded them to do, and then suffer the consequences
when they are unprepared for the conflict that occurs when Jesus is arrested.
1.1.4.
We
concentrated also upon looking at the majestic glory of the Son of God revealed
in John’s writing when the soldiers and officers come to arrest Him and He told
them, “I am He,” and the whole group drew backwards and fell to the
ground.
1.2.
In our
study today, we are going to look at verses 12-27 of chapter 18.
1.2.1.
We will
see in our study that after Jesus is arrested that Peter and another disciple
follow Jesus to where He is interrogated by Annas and then Caiaphas. After Jesus’ arrest, Peter is not following
the Lord closely but at a distance and probably should not have followed Jesus
at all because he wasn’t told to follow after Jesus’ arrest, but also because
he runs into temptations into which he succumbs. Peter follows Jesus to His interrogation by
Annas out of loyalty to Jesus as well as curiosity as to what will happen to
Jesus.
1.2.2.
At Jesus’
interrogation we shall see Peter fulfill Jesus’ prediction concerning him and
deny that he knows Jesus three times before the cock of morning crows. We will see how that this denial came about
and what led to the denial.
1.2.3.
We will
begin to see in this study that everything that was done to Jesus on this
morning when He suffered and was crucified was done contrary to and in
violation of the Law of Moses. In this
study, Annas breaks the Law of Moses concerning Jesus in several ways: he interrogates Jesus in secret, he interrogates
Jesus during the nighttime, he tries to get Jesus to incriminate Himself
through his questioning, Jesus is struck during interrogation, etc.
1.2.4.
M.S. Mills
in “The Life Of Christ,” writes the following about the illegalities performed
by the Jews to Jesus on this morning, “The Jewish leadership conducted this
trial at night because of their anxiety to avoid a confrontation with the
masses whom they felt would support Jesus (Matt 26:5). However, according to Jewish custom the
Sanhedrin could not meet to try anyone at night, and when this body was likely
to find someone subject to the death penalty, the sentencing was supposed to be
delayed until the following day so that each Sanhedrin member could sleep on
his decision. Furthermore, the voting
was supposed to start with the most junior member and progress through the
order of seniority to the high priest, thus avoiding pressure by the opinions
of a member’s seniors in an endeavor to obtain a fair, unbiased verdict. All these rules were broken in the case of
Jesus’ trials, for, now that they found Him in their hands, their objective was
to get the trials over as rapidly as possible and get Him into Roman custody
before the mob could free Him.
Expediency reigned supreme over both caution and justice.”
1.2.5.
In the
Bible, not all of the details in any story that is recorded are given, however
one thing that is critical for the spiritual health and growth of God’s people
is found, namely, not only are the successes of the heroes of the faith
included but also their failures, and there is no attempt made to ever minimize
those failures nor the consequences of those failures. Here in our study today, we read the story
about the great lapse of faith, commitment, and loyalty that occurred with the
disciple Peter, the man whom Jesus singly picked to be the leader of His band
of disciples after His death and departure.
1.2.6.
Peter not
only denies the Lord three times before the cock of morning crows, as Jesus
predicted he would do, he was warned by Jesus at least twice beforehand that he
would deny Him. What prompted this
warning by Jesus that Peter would deny Him three times was the fact that when
Jesus was telling His disciples that they would all be scattered on this night
that Peter declared that though all else would forsake Jesus that he would not
forsake Him (Matt. 26:33-35). In Luke
22:31-32, we see recorded yet another warning by Jesus made to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has
demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your
faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your
brothers.”
1.2.6.1.By the way,
have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus in His intercession for us as
saints prays for us even before those times when He knows that we are going to
sin?
1.2.7.
Peter’s
words were sincere when he said that though all else would forsake Jesus that
he would not forsake Him, however he was boasting in his flesh. Peter was depending upon his own will power
and strength rather than in the Lord.
Peter didn’t understand himself well.
1.2.8.
Jesus had
invested greatly in Peter and consided Peter as being one of His key apostles,
as we see from Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 16:18-19, "And I tell
you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of
death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
1.2.9.
We will
try to learn as much as we can from Peter’s failure in this situation.
1.2.10.Peter’s failed in the area of his strength. Peter was a zealous believer and sought to be
the supreme leader of Jesus’ disciples, however he didn’t realize how weak the
resolve of the flesh really is and therefore his very strength became his
greatest vulnerability. The English
preacher Spurgeon once preached about Peter saying, “Perhaps
the chief reason for Peter’s denial of his Lord was his confidence in himself.
If Peter had felt himself to be weaker, he would really have been stronger;
but, because he felt so strong in himself, therefore he proved to be weak as
water, and so denied his Master.”
1.2.11.Failure is a part of the human experience for all of
us, even those who are called to be Jesus’ disciples. Though with zeal and resoluteness we commit
ourselves to be faithful and obedient to the Lord, the fact is that we are
going to find ourselves failing the Lord from time to time, sometimes
miserably. The following anonymous quote
reveals how even those who are most successful in this world often end up being
utter failures :
“In
1928 a group of the world’s most successful financiers met at the Edgewater
Beach Hotel in
The
president of the largest utility company.
The greatest wheat speculator.
The president of the New York Stock Exchange.
A number of the President’s Cabinet.
The greatest “bear” in Wall Street.
The president of the Bank of International Settlements.
The head of the world’s greatest monopoly.
Collectively,
these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the United States
Treasury, and for years newspapers and magazines had been printing their
success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples.
Twenty-five years later, let’s see what happened to these men.
The
president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on
borrowed money the last five years of his life, and died broke.
The
greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died abroad, insolvent.
The
president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was imprisoned in
Sing Sing.
The
member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so he
could die at home.
The
greatest “bear” in Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, committed suicide.
The
president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser, committed
suicide.
The
head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide.”
1.2.12.God uses everything that happens in our life as
Christians, even our failures, for His purposes and our good as Romans 8:28
promises. In fact, it is true of people
that we often learn the most from our failures.
Our failures as Christians bring a necessary and precious humility to us
and enable us to empathize and encourage others when they go through failures,
if we will learn from our failures, as the following quote from
“When the Washington Redskins trounced
“Following the Super Bowl defeat,” said Skinner, “team
members, while disappointed, nevertheless listened while he expounded a theology
of defeat.”
“The country and the church,” he said later, “are
success-oriented and are interested only in success stories of businessmen,
athletes and beauty queens. Perhaps God has a message through the guy who
fumbles four times and loses the game,” Skinner said, “because we learn from
our mistakes and failures.””
1.2.13.The failure of Peter when he denies knowing Jesus
three times has brought a great amount of comfort to Christians down through
the ages who also have fallen into sin.
1.2.14.There are some things that we as Christians need to
realize concerning our failures:
1.2.14.1.The scripture is clear that it is inevitable that
there are going to be times when even the best of God’s people are going to sin
(see Romans 7; 1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2, for instance).
1.2.14.2.God does not
tempt us to sin, but rather sin comes from within our own sinful nature and
lusts: James 1:13-15, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by
God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and
enticed by his own lust. 15 Then
when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death.”
1.2.14.3.If we sin we can blame only ourselves (see James 1:13-15
above and also 1 Cor. 10:13).
1.2.14.4.Pride is at the heart of sin, this is especially so in
the case of willful deliberate sin.
1.2.14.5.The scripture shows us that God uses the failure in
our lives as His people for good and helps us when we do fall to get up and to
continue walking with the Lord, like Peter did when we realize that we have
fallen into sin :
1.2.14.5.1.Psalm
37:23-24, “23 The steps of a man are
established by the Lord, And He
delights in his way. 24 When he
falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”
1.2.14.5.2.Psalm
145:14, “14 The Lord sustains all who fall And raises up
all who are bowed down.”
1.2.14.5.3.Proverbs
24:16, “16 For a righteous man falls
seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”
1.2.14.5.4.Proverbs
29:23, “23 A man’s pride will bring
him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.”
1.2.14.5.5.James 4:65,
“17 Therefore, to one who
knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
1.2.14.6.Though God forgives us of our sin whenever we come to
Him in repentance asking for His pardon and cleansing, we still will have to
suffer the natural consequences for our sin (Colossians 3:25, “25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of
the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”)
1.2.14.6.1.God forgave
and removed the guilt from David from his sin of adultery and murder
nevertheless he suffered horrible and painful consequences for those sins. His baby son, from the illicit affair with
Bathsheba, died (2 Samuel 12:14), and David’s house was constantly filled with
violence (2 Samuel 12:10-12).
1.2.14.7.Though we fall into sin as Christians, just as
happened with Peter, God will use us again after we have repented and gone
through the process of being restored by the Lord.
2.
VS 18:12-13 - “So the Roman cohort and the commander, and the officers of the Jews,
arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who
was high priest that year.” - John tells
us that the Roman cohort, commander, and officers of the Jews arrested Jesus
and bound Him and led Him first to Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest,
Caiphas
2.1.
Jesus was arrested and bound by the cohort of Roman
soldiers, and they brought Him first to Annas.
John alone mentions that Jesus was brought before Annas first and then
taken to Caiaphas, the other gospels only mention that Jesus was brought before
Caiaphas the son in law of Annas.
2.2.
Luke mentions in his gospel that there were two high
priests, Annas and Caiaphas. The Romans
chose the high priest for
2.3.
One thing that causes some confusion in reconciling
the various gospel accounts is that one of John’s accounts of Peter’s denials
occur while appearing before Annas, while the other writers say that all of the
denials occurred before Caiaphas.
However, if Caiaphas had been present when Annas questioned Jesus we
could account for this discrepancy.
2.4.
As we read John’s gospel we are sure to realize that
even though John doesn’t call himself by name, however he does refer to a
disciple whom Jesus loved and this is believed to mean that John was speaking
of himself. However, here John simply
refers to an unnamed disciple, yet many think that he still must have been
referring to himself. Arthur Pink
however gives a good argument for why this unnamed disciple could not have been
John himself, stating, “whoever he may have been, it is almost certain that
he was not John. In the first place, John was a poor fisherman
of Galilee—far removed from
3.
VS 18:14 - “Now
Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man
to die on behalf of the people.” - John tells
us that Caiaphas had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die
on behalf of the people
3.1.
John includes this little footnote about Caiaphas in
order that we might know beyond a shadow of a doubt of the evil and
treacherousness of Caiaphas’ character as well as the character of his
father-in-law, Annas. Caiaphas at one
point had told the nation’s leaders that it would be convenient if a man,
namely Jesus, would die for the people in order to appease
3.2.
Since Jesus presence also threatened the security of
Caiaphas’ office as high priest, Caiaphas was thinking primarily of his own
selfish interests in his statement.
4.
VS 18:15-16 - “And
Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest,
and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was
standing at the door outside. So the
other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the
doorkeeper, and brought in Peter.” - John tells
us that Simon Peter was following Jesus after he was arrested, as was another
disciple, one who was know to the high priest, and they went into the court of
the high priest on this morning
4.1.
So, the unnamed disciple and Peter follow Jesus after
He is arrested, and the unnamed disciple is first enabled to enter the court
area where Jesus is to appear before Annas.
The reason that the unnamed disciple is enabled to go into the court
area is that he personally knows the high priest.
4.2.
The unnamed disciple first enters in and then realizes
that Peter was left outside so he had Peter let into the room.
5.
VS 18:17 - “The
slave-girl therefore who kept the door said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of
this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said,
‘I am not’” - A slave girl
asks Peter if he is one of Jesus’ disciples and he denies that he is one of
them
5.1.
Peter’s first denial of Jesus occurs as an unnamed
disciple is letting Peter get entry into the court area where Annas is going to
interrogate Jesus. The slave girl simply
asks Peter if he is one of Jesus’ disciples.
Peter denies that he is a disciple of Jesus...
5.2.
This slave
girl should not have intimidated Peter at this time, therefore we can see that
already Peter is acting upon his fear instead of his faith.
5.3.
At the heart of Peter’s denials is primarily
fear. He had been fearless earlier when
in the company of Jesus and His disciples he took his sword out and tried to
kill a slave but on only cut off his ear.
However, just as often happens with us, Peter’s testing occurs when he
is alone, and he is not nearly as courageous when he is not in the pack of
disciples.
5.3.1.
We Christians should never let the fear of man hinder
us and our testimony. Rather, we should
fear God instead of man, and what He might do with us should we rebel against
Him and His will for us.
6.
VS 18:18 - “Now
the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire,
for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter also was with them, standing and
warming himself.” - John tells
us that the slaves and officers were standing and warming themselves by a fire
because it was cold outside, and Peter stood with them and warmed himself
6.1.
John mentions that this was a cold night when Jesus
was betrayed. Normally during this time
of the year the weather was warm, however not so this night. Perhaps the coldness was symbolic to John of
the fear and dread which had befallen Jesus’ disciples on this evening, and
Peter in particular.
6.2.
As we look at this story, we need to realize that it is
never a good idea for Christians to find their warmth and comfort provided by
the unbelievers of this world, because this inevitably ends in compromise for
us. Peter ends up denying His Lord as he
is leaning up against this fire, and we Christians end up stumbling when we
look to the people of this evil world for our strength, comfort and warmth.
6.3.
We as
Christians need to be careful who we hang around with and the things that we do
with people of this world because instead of having a positive influence on
others instead they can end up having a bad influence on us, just as happened
to Peter and as Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”” 2 Corinthians 6:14 tell us that we
Chritians need to be careful not to join ourselves whether in marriage or
business, etc., with non-Christians, “14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what
partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light
with darkness?”
7.
VS 18:19 - “The
high priest therefore questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His
teaching.” - John tells
us that the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching
7.1.
This wicked high priest was questioning Jesus about
His doctrine and His disciples so that he might have some hard evidence in
which to bring before Pilate to ask for the death penalty.
7.2.
There was no sincerity or even curiosity in the motive
of the high priest for these questions.
He was simply trying to get Jesus to incriminate Himself in some way so
that he might have ammunition to use in court against Jesus. However, doing this was in violation of the
Law of Moses, ironically the very Law the high priest thought that he was
protecting.
8.
VS 18:20-21 - “Jesus
answered him, ‘I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues, and in the
temple, where all the Jews come together;
and I spoke nothing in secret.
Why do you question me? Question
those who have heard what I spoke to them;
behold, these know what I said’” -
Jesus tells the high priest that He has spoken openly and in the
synagogue and temple, and then asks him why he was questioning Him now, rather
he ought to question those who have heard the things that he had spoken
8.1.
Jesus responds to Annas questions in righteous anger
as He is aware of the man’s evil and treacherous motives. Jesus in essence tells Annas that he is not
going to get any incriminating evidence from Him secretly, for none exists.
8.2.
When Jesus speaks of His having spoken the things that
He said ‘openly’ and ‘to the world’ he is pointing out that His
interrogation and arrest was illegal and being done secretly so that what was
done would not be of public knowledge.
8.3.
In order for charges deserving death to be brought against
Jesus they will have to be completely fabricated. Jesus is sinless and has never transgressed
the Law of Moses, even though He has condemned the Pharisees’ abuse of their
religious authority as Jehovah’s representatives on earth.
9.
VS 18:22 - “And
when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow,
saying, ‘Is that the way You answer the high priest?’” - When Jesus responded this way to the high
priest one of the officers standing there hit Jesus and asked him if this is
the way that You answer the high priest
9.1.
This verse
is the beginning of the chronicle that John gives us for the beating and abuse
that Jesus endured on this morning as He is now beginning to suffer the
punishment for our sins which each of us is due.
9.2.
An officer standing by as Annas is interrogating Jesus
reacts to the anger in Jesus’ voice and statement to Annas and gives him a blow
either with a fist, instrument or weapon of some kind.
9.3.
This action of the officer hitting Jesus
indiscriminately during interrogation shows the utter disregard which the
Jewish leaders had for justice and how they profaned Jehovah in every aspect of
their religion and personal lives.
10.
VS 18:23 - “Jesus
answered him, ‘If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?’” - Jesus answers the man saying that if He has
spoken wrongly then tell what was wrong about what He said, but if He spoke
rightly then why did he strike Him?
10.1.
Jesus rebukes the officer who gave Him the blow by
telling him that if He has said something wrong then the officer ought to
testify as to what sinful thing He might have said, but if He has simply said
what is ‘truth,’ then why did the man strike Him?
10.2.
Jesus rebukes the man not only for unjustly striking
Him, but also for his lack of regard for the ‘truth.’
11.
VS 18:24 - “Annas
therefore sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.” - Annas sends Jesus bound to Caiaphas, the high
priest
11.1.
Having completed his interrogation of Jesus, Annas now
sends Jesus to Caiaphas, for him to perform his own interrogation of Jesus and
officiate in the matter.
11.2.
Annas the previous high priest and father-in-law of
Caiaphas sends Jesus to Caiphas, the acting high priest.
11.3.
Notice here that Jesus had to be ‘bound’ in
chains so that He could set us captives
free from our chains of sin.
12.
VS 18:25 - “Now
Simon Peter was standing and warming himself.
They said therefore to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are
you?’ He denied it, and said, I am not’. One of the slaves of the high priest, being a
relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, ‘Did I not see you in the
garden with Him?’ Peter therefore denied
it again; and immediately a cock crowed.” - Simon Peter denies know Jesus two more times
and then the cock of morning crows
12.1.
John does not include that after his third denial of
Jesus that Peter began to cuss and swear as Matthew’s gospel does.
12.2.
John’s gospel also does not include as Luke’s gospel
does that Jesus looked at Peter after the cock crowed, reminding him of what He
had told him would happen. Luke adds, "The Lord turned around and
looked at Peter… Peter went outside, weeping bitterly,"
(Lk.22:61). You can be sure that Jesus’
"look" at Peter was filled with love for him.
12.3.
John also does
not include Peter weeping bitter tears of guilty remorse after Jesus looked at
him, as Luke’s gospel tells us.
12.4.
The Bible Exposition Commentary tells us the following
about what Matthew records in his gospel about Peter cursing during this third
and final denial of Jesus, “At that point, Peter’s resistance broke down
completely. He began to “curse and swear” (Matt. 26:74). This does not mean
that Peter let loose a volley of blasphemies, but rather that he put himself
under a curse in order to emphasize his statement. He was on trial, so he put
himself under an oath to convince his accusers that he was telling the truth.”
12.5.
The Bible
Exposition Commentary tells us the following about the cock crowing after
Peter’s denials, “The crowing of the cock was assurance to Peter that
Jesus was totally in control of the situation, even though He was bound and
being harassed by the authorities. By controlling one bird, Jesus affirmed His
sovereignty. According to Genesis 1:26, God gave man authority over the fish, the
fowl, and the animals. Peter had seen Jesus exercise authority over the fish
(Matt. 17:24–27; Luke 5:1–11) and the animals (Matt. 21:1–11); but now he
recognized His authority over the birds. But the cockcrowing was also an
invitation to repentance. “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”
(Luke 22:32).”
12.6.
If we Christians, like Peter, conform ourselves to the
world instead of letting the Lord conform us after His own image, there will be
a progression in our lives. A person
does not suddenly fall into sin, there was a progression of actions that lead
up to a fall. Peter had not been praying
as Jesus’ commanded him to do the night before so that he would not enter into
temptation. Peter would never have even
thought of cursing when he first walked into the court area. Not minutes before he had enough zeal for the
Lord to get out his sword and take on the Lord’s enemies, even if his zeal was
misguided. Here after going along
conforming himself to the ways of the world, he now is cursing and swearing,
saying that he doesn’t even know the Lord.
One step led to another in Peter’s fall into sin on this morning.
12.7.
The curse words that came out of Peter’s mouth had
been foreign to him for a long time, yet warming himself by the fire of his
enemies had caused their influence to wear off on him. In Eph. 4:29 the scripture tells us, “29
Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those
who hear.”
12.8.
We Christians also never reach a plateau where we stay
at a certain spiritual growth level. We
are always either growing closer to the Lord or growing further away. We are always either growing more into the
image of Christ, or we are growing more into the image of this evil and
rebellious world. We must grow in our
relationship with the Lord by obedience and discipline of our life and our
time, or we shall eventually grow so far from the Lord that we shall fall away
for ever.
12.9.
The Lord knew all along that Peter would fall, and
that He had first prayed for him that he would recover and even then strengthen
his brethren. God knows our weaknesses
and when and how we are going to fall, yet He does not give up on us. After we have fallen, He still picks us up
and uses us after all for His purpose.
We need to be encouraged to always fall forward and not fall away from
the Lord when we do fall.
12.10.We
Christians need to realize how weak we really are! We need to look to the Lord moment by moment
for the strength to obey Him and be used by Him. We can so easily say at one moment as did
Peter that though all else fall away, we will never fall away, then mere hours
later deny the Lord and be backslidden as was Peter. Paul said that if we think we stand, we need
to take heed lest we fall.
12.11.Spurgeon once preached about how that
Peter was lucky that Jesus did not treat him as he treated Jesus, “What a
mercy it was that Christ did not treat Peter as Peter treated him! Peter said,
“I know not the man.” Ah, me! but if the blessed, meek, and
lowly One had said, “I know not the man,” it would have been
all. over with Peter. May God grant that
Christ may not say of any one of us, at the last great day, “I know not
the man”! He will say it of all who know him not, and whom he does not
know; they are not acquainted with one another, and if they continue as they
are, he will say, “Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.”
Though he has eaten and drunk in your presence, and taught in your streets, yet
will he say, “I know you not. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.” The mercy is, that he never said that to
Peter; and he never will say that to you, or to me, if we come and cast
ourselves in penitence at his feet, bemoaning our sin, and putting our trust in
him alone.”
13.
CONCLUSIONS:
13.1.
In conclusion, we as Christians need to realize that
we will not always be on the mountain top with the Lord. As Jesus told Peter, sometimes Satan will
obtain permission to sift us like wheat.
Be prepared for those times of failure before they come:
13.1.1.Realize that God is allowing those times
to happen (Satan has obtained permission) in order to work good out of them
(Rom. 8:28).
13.1.2.Know that He has been and is praying for
you also in your struggle so that you will overcome.
13.1.3.Realize that even if you fail, God can
still get glory and victory in your lives and use you again for His
purposes.
13.1.4.Realize that you need to look completely
to Christ and His strength to get through those times.
13.1.5.The Body of Christ is here to pray for
you, encourage you, and exhort you in your times of failure. Draw close to the Body and never let hyour
failures pull you away from the Body.
That mistake can be fatal to your walk!