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John 18:15-24
We are going to read today about Peter’s first denial of Christ. Now, before you pass judgment on Peter I first would say that there have been times in my life where I have denied Christ. And I would guess that at some point we have all experience something or been somewhere in which we did not make it known that indeed we follow Jesus Christ. If anything, most of us can relate to Peter in some way. But also relate to how he was reinstated by Christ, since we too have been forgiven for times when we have denied Christ.
Over the next few days we are going to see, more than one trial of Jesus and more than one denial by Peter. How John recounts the series of events. Remember from yesterday that Jesus was taken off to Annas. Now Annas had once been high priest of Israel. And in Jewish tradition once you have served in that position you were still looked to impart wisdom. But it wasn’t an official court that you held.
However, as we will see in today’s reading, the questioning by Annas isn’t truly His trial. Since Annas is a past High Priest he doesn’t have authority to hold court so to speak. Let’s watch and see what unfolds.
John 18:15-24 (NIV) Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
So like I said Peter denies knowing Christ. We are not told the motivation here. We do see that Peter is told to wait outside and then later one of the servant girls asks Peter if He is one of the Disciples in a negative backhanded way. So it is possible that Peter picks up on this. It could be that Peter was simply caught off guard at her question. We aren’t lead to believe that Peter is outright denying Christ just to save himself. There just isn’t enough narrative for us to read into this denial very far.
What I would say is that once Peter makes this choice and denies Christ for the first time, it is clear that he continues to lie and thusly deny Christ two more times. Which brings me to say that when we find ourselves sinning – if it’s easy the first time more than likely it will get easier the next time until your sin catches up to you.
John then changes the scene. Kind of like the old black and white TV shows – the ones I watched in reruns. The old Mickey Mouse Club show in black and white had a series on it called Spin and Marty. It was about a boy’s ranch. They would come back from commercial and the title would say, “Meanwhile, back at the ranch…”
So meanwhile, inside the high priest’s house, Annas begins to question Jesus. And I believe we need to look at this because Annas is a former High Priest. His son-in-law Caiaphas is the current serving High Priest. And that would explain why someone would have slapped Jesus. You see – that kind of behavior was so disrespectful that it was not tolerated by the Sanhedrin. And Jesus is not being disrespectful to Annas – rather He is pointing out the injustice of the false proceedings.
What we can see in this passage today is the challenge that we all face. As disciples of Christ Jesus we are called to live faithfully and truthfully. We can also see how Jesus handled Himself. He truly is an example when we are faced with adversity we don’t have to be disrespectful or dishonest we can still speak truth without hate towards others. I want to leave you with this.
When we look at both Peter and Jesus we can see ourselves at our worst and best. The writer of Hebrews let’s us understand some of this here.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus understands, and He has made a way for us to get the help we need, when we need it. We just have to live submitted lives – submitted to Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s living the Jesus Way, and through that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us into all Truth, so that we can live the life, the Jesus life. That is the life designed for us to live at creation.