100 John 13:36-38 PETERS DENIAL OF JESUS FORETOLD Introduction: In our text two Sundays ago Jesus told His disciples that He would soon go away. In our text last Sunday He gave them a new commandment. He commanded them to love one another. In our text today Jesus foretells that the Apostle Peter will deny Him. I. Simon Peter's inquiry about where Jesus was going V. 36, "Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?..." Peter must have heard with his ears as Jesus gave the new commandment. I feel sure that he would later remember this command and give his attention to it. But at the present time Peter was not really focusing on the new commandment. His mind was stil on what Jesus had said about going away. He did not want Jesus to go away. According to Mark's account there was more to the story than merely that Jesus would go away. Jesus had also told them that before that very night was over they would all desert Him. Simon Peter was greatly disturbed by this news, as they all must have been. Peter just could not bear the idea that Jesus would be put to death nor could he bear the idea that Jesus would depart from them. So it was natural that he would ask Jesus were he would go. I feel sure that he had the idea, "When He goes I will go with Him." II. Peter told that he could not go with Jesus --- not now (V. 36), "...Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now..." Peter did not really want to go away. He wanted Jesus to stay. But if Jesus was not going to stay then he wanted to go with Jesus wherever He was going. I think he fully intended to go with Him. But Jesus made it clear that Peter could not go with Him at this time. He could not go with Him and be tried before the Sanhedrin court and before the Roman courts. At least he could not go with Him in the sense of being able to help or bring comfort nor in the sense of being tried with Him. Peter He would follow after Jesus when He was arrested, but he would follow only afar off --- at a safe distance. He would not be able to go with Jesus to thecrucifixion. At least not in the sense of being able to defend Jesus nor in the sense of being crucified with Him. He would be an eye witness to the crucifixion, but even then he would witness it only from a safe distance. When Jesus would ascend and go to heaven Simon Peter would still not be allowed to go with Him. He would witness the evemnt, but he would be left behind. Jesus said, "You will not go with me now. Where I am going you cannot go now." III. Peter told that he could come later (V. 36), "...but thou shalt follow me afterwards." Peter would not be arrested with Jesus. But he would be arrested later. He and John would be arrested and threatened if they should ever speak in the name of Jesus again. He would be arrested again after the Apostle James was arrested and executed. The Romans saw that it pleased the Jews for them to execute James and they fully intended to execute Simon Peter also. But the Lord sent an angel to set him free. Wh while the people of the church were still praying for him Peter showed up and knocked at the door. Secular history has it that he would be arrested again in the later years of his ministry. Peter would not be put on trial with Jesus --- not now. But later Peter would be put on trial for Jesus. Peter could not be crucified with Jesus now, but tradition has it that in his later life when he was arrested and tried that he was also crucified. Tradition also has it that Peter requested to be crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy of being crucified like Jesus was crucified. So Peter could not go with Jesus into the crucificion at this present time, but he would later be crucified for Jesus. When Jesus would ascend and go away into the heaven, Simon Peter could not go. He would be left behind. But the time would come that he would go to heaven. He would go to heaven when he would be crucified. Yet even then, his body would be left behind. It would be laid in a tomb and left behind. But the time will come when the spirit of Simon Peter will re-enter the decayed body of Jesus and even the body of Simon Peter will go where Jesus is. The resurrected Simon Peter will go to be with Jesus and so shall he ever be with Jesus IV. Peter asking why he could not go now V. 37, "Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake." Peter fully understood by now that Jesus was talking about His death. That is, he knew it with his mind, but he stillcould not accept it with his heart. If Jesus was going to be put to death, why could not he defend Jesus and die with Jesus? In his heart that is what he was willing to do. In just a short while, he would attempt to do so. When the Jews from Jerusalem would come out to the Garden of Gethsemene to arrest Jesus he would draw his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. There is no doubt in my mind that he would not be aiming at the man's ear. He would be aiming at the man's throat, but the man would ducke and instead of cutting his throat he cut would off his ear. He was badly outnumbered, but he was willing to die with Jesus. V. Peter informed that he would deny Jesus three times Peter was, indeed, in his heart ready to defend Jesus. In his heart he was ready to lay down his life for Jesus. But he did not understand that the reason he could not follow Jesus was the weakness within himself. V. 38, "Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." The reason that he could not follow Jesus in death at this time was because of a weakness within himself. Before the arrival of the time for the cock to crow, Simon Peter would deny Jesus three times. Mark says that before the cock would crow twice Peter would deny Jesus thrice whereas John does not mention the cock crowing twice. There is no good reason not to believe both writers. Mark was just giving the greater detail. The cock would crow twice. But John was not conceraned with that detail. He was just talking about the arrival of the time for the cock to crow. When it did get time for the cock to crow, the cock would crow twice. Most of you have heard roosters crow in the morning. When he comes for him to start crowing, he crows one time right after another. So, in essence, what Jesus is saying is that before daylight would come Simon Peter would three times deny that he is a disciple of Jesus. This would be an event that Simon Peter would regret for the rest of his life. It would forever remain to the discredit of Simon Peter that he would deny Jesus. Simon Peter is singled out of the whole group as an example of a Christian who failed Jesus. He boasted of his good intentions, but he failed to measure up to those good intentions. At least he would fail on this occasion. He would deny Jesus three times. VI. Simon Peter not the only one to fail Jesus Yet Simon Peter was not the only disciple who would fail Jesus that night. All of the disciples who were present would forsake the Lord that night. When the Jewish authorities would come and arrest Jesus they would all be struck with fear. They would all scatter like quail. --- all of them! Peter's intentions were good, but he just did not know his own human weakness. Let me say that Simon Peter is an example of what takes place in all our lives at one time or another. We all fail the Lord in one way or another. When one gets saved he should immediately follow the Lord in baptism and unite with a New Testament church. He should get to work for Jesus immediately. But all too often the newly born-again Christian delays in getting baptized and getting into the membership of a church. Sometimes it is weeks before he makes a public profession of faith and joins a church as a candidate for baptism. Sometimes it is months or years. Sometimes it is never. But the point is that this delay in getting baptized and getting into the membership of a church is an act of denying Jesus the honor and glory that He deserves. When one knows that the Lord is calling him to preach and he delays or refused to surrender to that call then he is denying the Lord just as surely as did the Apostle Peter. He is denying Jesus the service that He deserves. And how many preachers have done this. Simon Peter is not alone in denying the Lord. When one knows that he should witness to an unsaved family member or friend and he either refused to do it or delays in doing it he is denying the Lord the witness that He deserves. Who is it among us who has not failed in this way at one time or another? When a particular Bible truth is challenged and denied by an enemy of truth and a Christian fails to take a stand for that Bible truth to uphold that truth, then he has denied the Lord just as surely as the Apostle Peter did. When a saved person lets the allurements of the world or lets hurt feelings or anything else cause him to drop out of church and stop serving the Lord then he has denied the Lord just as surely as did Simon Peter. And there are countless numbers of Christians who have at one time or another denied the Lord in this way. But what I especially want to point out to you is that in spite of the failure on the part of the Apostle Peter, yet he repented of his wrong and he became one of the strongest Apostles of the whole group. He became one of the strongest and most zealous Christians of all time. He became one of the most powerful and effective preachers of all time. He became one of the most stalwart Christians of all time. It was to his discredit that he denied the Lord. It was to Peter's credit that he did not let his own failure stop him from serving the Lord. Conclusion: I want to challenge each one of you who are saved to dedicated your life to Jesus. There may have been some particular failure on your part. There may have been more than one failure on your part. There may have been a prolonged failure on your part. But let me challenge you get back in the mainstream of God's service. Let me challenge you to take up your cross once more and to get in the work of the Lord. You Christian life is not a failure just because you have failed in one thing. I am going to call upon each Christian present in this service today to dedicate yourself to Jesus and to give your best of service to Him. Repent of whatever failure has been your's and ask the Lord to help you and use you to His glory. He will! Furthermore, I am going to call upon those of you who are unsaved to turn to Jesus and place your faith in Him to save your soul and take you to heaven. You have known for a long time that you have needed to get saved. You have been intending to turn to Jesus and to get right with God. But you have let the Devil keep you on the road to hell. Don't you let him continue to keep you there or it will soon be too late. Call on Jesus today and ask Jesus to save your soul.