Peter had been with Jesus, in fact, Jesus commended him saying in Matthew 16:17 “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” when in Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”. But now, in this moment of distress, Peter denies Christ. As Paul later says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him” and Peter, not yet baptised with the Holy Spirit, is caught up in his natural emotions. None of them can see Jesus for who he is until after his resurrection but in 1 Corinthians 2:6–8 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but wisdom not of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing, 7 but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
You Also Were With Jesus
Matthew 26:69–75
Jesus had warned Peter that he would deny him and now, as Jesus has been taken, Peter is recognized as he sits outside with a crowd of others waiting to see the outcome in
Matthew 26:69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a female slave came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”
he immediately denies that he was with Jesus in
Matthew 26:70 But he denied it in the presence of them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean!”
then another recognizes him and he denies again and then others recognize him and in
Matthew 26:74 Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.
There is something in our human nature, a fear that causes us to change our story as Peter did here. Peter was a dedicated follower of Jesus when things were going well, but when persecution came, he distanced himself. It was a natural self-preservation reaction that caused him to not only deny Christ but to lie about who he was.
I Have Sinned By Betraying Innocent Blood!
Are You The King of the Jews?
Matthew 27:11–14
Jesus had asked his disciples in
Matthew 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered in
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
and Jesus responded in
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Now, as Jesus has been taken, he is silent until Caiaphas the Jewish high priest asks in
Matthew 26:63 But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!”
Jesus responds in Matthew 26:64 “you will see” and then is taken to the Governor, Pilate, who asks in
Matthew 27:11 So Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And Jesus said, “You say so.”
Jesus commended Peter for receiving the revelation of who he was but there were many others, even well educated and intelligent people that could not understand. These people were truly blind to the truth, yet acted as if they were wise. Jesus said it this way to his disciples in
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see him or know him. You know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.
and Paul later said it this way in
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Whom Do You Want Me To Release
Matthew 27:15–26
Hail, King of the Jews!
Let Him Come Down From the Cross, and We Will Believe in Him!
Matthew 27:32–44
Jesus was led to the place outside the city where he would be crucified and in
Matthew 27:35–36 And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots. 36 And they sat down and were watching over him there.
Pilate had required an inscription on his cross in
Matthew 27:37 And they put above his head the charge against him in writing: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”
This was the final witness, this was the moment when some might have said, did you see the miracles, did you hear the grace in his teaching? They might have said, this is wrong to kill this man but in
Matthew 27:39 And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads
and in
Matthew 27:41–42 In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he is not able to save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him!
but this was God’s plan, he would not come down from the cross, but he would rise again and as he said to Caiaphas “you will see” he is described in
Revelation 1:17–18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead person, and he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
Study Verses
- Matthew 26:69–75 You Also Were With Jesus
- Matthew 27:11–14 Are You The King of the Jews?
- Matthew 27:32–44 Let Him Come Down From the Cross, and We Will Believe in Him!
Today’s Reading
- Matthew 26:69-75
- Matthew 27:1-44