Matthew 26:69-75

Matthew 26:69-75

Peter's Denial.

Note:

I. The precursors of Peter's fall. (1) Among these we give a prominent place to self-confidence. It will not do to speak of Peter as insincere in his protestations of attachment to the Lord. We must not forget either that he was the only one of the eleven, save John, who followed Jesus into the palace of the high priest. The others had forsaken their master altogether for the time, and so, in a sense, Peter's greater guilt than theirs was owing to his greater love. But the root of the evil in him was that he trusted in his own heart. His self-confidence threw him off his guard, and made him think that he had no need to pray for strength, and so he fell an easy victim to the tempter's stratagems; (2) another precursor of this denial was rashness. Peter had cut off the ear of Malchus. Misplaced bravery is very often, as in this instance, the forerunner of cowardice. If by our folly we put ourselves in jeopardy, we are on the highway to falsehood in order to get ourselves out again; (3) another precursor of these denials was distance from the Lord. "Peter followed afar off." If we are going to follow Jesus at all, the easiest as well as the safest way to do so is to follow Him fully. Decision wards off attack.

II. The aggravations of these denials. These were many. (1) For one thing, Peter had been well warned of his danger. (2) Another aggravation of Peter's denials was connected with the time at which they were uttered. It was with Jesus Himself the hour and power of darkness. If for no other reason than because so many others had forsaken him, the Apostle whom he had so loved and honoured ought to have been firm. (3) Further, these denials were aggravated in Peter's case by the fact that the Lord had given him many special tokens of His regard. (4) These denials were aggravated by the manner in which they were made.

III. The sequel of the denials. Peter lived on his Master's look a mingling of reproof, of tenderness, and of entreaty till the Master met him after the resurrection; and the thought of the prayer ("I have prayed for thee that Thy faith fail not") kept him from despair. Had it not been for these things, he, too, might have gone, like Judas, and hanged himself. Note one or two important inferences from this subject: (1) Great prominence in Christ's service does not keep us from peril; (2) our greatest danger does not always lie where we are weakest, but is sometimes where we are usually strongest; (3) if Peter's fall be a warning against over-confidence, his restoration ought to be an antidote to all despair.

W. M. Taylor, Peter the Apostle, p. 138.

References: Matthew 26:69-75 . A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pp. 469, 489. Matthew 26:74 , Matthew 26:75 . W. Bull, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 149. Matthew 26:75 . Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times," vol. viii., p. 33; J. Pott, A Course of Sermons for the Lord's Day, vol. i., p. 363; E. Garbett, The Soul's Life, p. 249. Matthew 27:1-19 . Parker, Inner Life of Christ, vol. iii., p. 237. Matthew 27:1-54 . Clergyman's Magazine, vol. ii., p. 153.