Profiles of the Passion: Peter - A Profile of Denial

PROFILES OF THE PASSION 3) Peter - Profile of Denial Luke 22:61-62 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus, grant that balm and healing In Thy holy wounds I find, Ev-ry hour that I am feeling Pains of body and of mind. Should some evil tho’t within Tempt my treach’rous heart to sin, Show the peril, and from sinning Keep me ere its first beginning. Amen. (TLH 144:1)

(Taken from 1 Peter 1:1-5) To the pilgrims of the Dispersion (at Prince of Peace), elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. My name is Simon, son of Jonah. But you probably know me better by the name which Jesus gave me, Peter. Tonight I have been asked to share with you my profile and help you to see something about yourself. I think you will be surprised how much you and I have in common. Allow me first to share a little about myself and my background. I grew up in the Galilean town of Bethsaida, on the Northwestern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Over time my brother Andrew and I moved to the town of Capernaum, where we took up the fishing trade with two other would-be apostle brothers, James and John. My brother Andrew, like John, was a disciple of John the Baptist. And it was actually Andrew that first brought me to Jesus. After John the Baptist had pointed out Jesus to Andrew as the Lamb of God, my brother followed Jesus and spent the day with Him. Andrew came found me and told me that he had found the promised Messiah, the one that the prophets had spoken of. And more than just telling me about Jesus, Andrew actually physically brought me to Jesus. And it was at that moment that my life changed. Upon Jesus seeing me, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). Cephas is Aramaic for the Greek name of Peter, which you are all quite familiar with. It wouldn’t be until much later that I understood why Jesus gave a name that means “A Stone.” At one point during the three years that I followed Jesus and was taught by Him, Jesus asked us what people were saying about Him - who they though He was. Well, there were various opinions among the people as to who Jesus was. Some people thought He might be John the Baptist or the prophet Jeremiah, back from the dead. Other people thought that maybe the prophet Elijah had returned from heaven. Jesus then asked us who we thought Jesus was. I couldn’t help myself from speaking up. I had no doubt about who Jesus was. I believe the same thing about Jesus as you believe. I said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” I said that because I was certain that Jesus really was the prophesied Messiah, just as my brother Andrew told me. But as He taught us and we saw all the good things He did, I knew that He was true God, the Son of God. Is this not the same thing that you just said about Jesus earlier in your worship service? Jesus then revealed to me that the reason I was so confident about who He was, was because God had revealed this truth to me. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:17-18) I didn’t just believe that Jesus was the promised Christ, the Son of the living God because Andrew had told me that. I believed that because God Himself had created faith in my heart. Faith which believed the rock-solid truth that Jesus is the Son of God. The rock-solid truth that Jesus would build His Church upon. The rock-solid truth that all believers would confess - just as you believe and confess. So rock-solid that Hell was powerless against it. And so I began to see why Jesus called me Peter, which means “a Stone,” after He spoke of the rock-solid confession I gave about who Jesus is. But for me, it was often one step forward, two steps back. No sooner had I spoken this rock-solid truth about Jesus, then I said something stupid. Jesus had just said how blessed I was because of what God had revealed to me. Jesus then went on to talk about His suffering, death, and resurrection. This was an offensive thought to me! The thought of Jesus being mistreated and put to death was unbearable. I pulled Jesus aside and I actually rebuked Jesus for what He had said! How foolish of me to rebuke the Christ, the Son of the living God. "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" (Mt 16:22) Somehow I thought I knew better than Jesus. What I didn’t realize, but Jesus did, was that Satan using my words to tempt Jesus to not go through with His Passion. Jesus promptly rebuked me, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Mt 16:23) So Jesus went from speaking about how blessed I was because of what God had revealed to me, to calling me Satan for tempting Him not to go through with His mission. This is kind of a summary of my life of following Jesus. I was so often bold and confident, which was not a good quality but a weakness. My involvement in the events of Jesus’ suffering and death, is my greatest shame and embarrassment. It is an account that you hear of every year, so I’m sure you are quite familiar with it. After we had finished celebrating the Passover with Jesus and He had instituted the Lord’s Supper, we left the Upper Room and headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. Along the way, Jesus said these ominous words, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Mt 26:31) Jesus was warning us - all of us, including me! Jesus was making known that another prophecy of the Old Testament would be fulfilled when we would abandon Him that night. Once again, I thought I knew better than Jesus - and for that matter, better than the Old Testament! I boldly promised Jesus, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." I just couldn’t imagine myself stumbling, and falling into sin on account of Jesus! Jesus warned me, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." This couldn’t be! Jesus couldn’t be right! He was my God, my Savior, my Teacher, and my Friend! How could I ever deny Him once - let alone three times and all in that very night! I told Jesus He was wrong, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" I was ready to stand at Jesus’ side - all the way to death, if I had to! I thought I was pretty strong. I thought my faith could handle anything that came my way. What I didn’t realize was just how weak I was. That night, the very thing Jesus warned me about, the very thing I told Jesus He was wrong about, took place. After Jesus was arrested, John and I followed from a distance, so we could see what was going to happen to Jesus. John was able to get us access to the courtyard of the high priest, where I warmed myself by a fire, with others, paying close attention to what was happening with Jesus. That is when it began. An unarmed servant girl approached the fire I was sitting at and began starring at me. Then she said, "This man was also with Him." I began to panic! What if they found out I was one of Jesus followers? I was in the enemies territory now. They might arrest me as well and treat me like they were treating Jesus! "Woman, I do not know Him," I told her. But it did not end there. A little while later I was approached again by the servant girl, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth. This is one of them." She was starting to attract attention. I again denied it. But others started joining in, so I swore to them with an oath, "Man, I am not. I do not know the Man." I thought I was off the hook, but about an hour later I was approached a third time, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it." This couldn’t be happening, I thought! Now I am doomed too! I feared for my life! I began to curse and swear, "I do not know the Man. I do not know this Man of whom you speak." Then it happened. The rooster crowed for the second time that night. From where I was I could see Jesus and as the rooster crowed, He turned and looked at me. It was a look that pierced me to my very soul. The very thing I promised Jesus I would never do, I had done, just as He warned me. I was so ashamed of myself. I had denied my Lord! It was so overwhelming, that I ran away crying. There was my Lord suffering scorn and shame, being slapped and spit upon. And what was I doing? Cowering in fear in front of a servant girl, trying to save my hide by denying I was with Him or even knew who He was! My profile is a profile of denial. My friend, the Apostle Paul, wrote, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor 10:12) I thought I could stand, but boy did I ever fall. But God used my denial to humble me and teach me to find my strength in Him. I needed to see how great of a sinner I was in order to see just how much I needed a Savior. Jesus’ look that night, revealed just how weak of sinner I was. But on Easter Sunday morning, I learned the greatness of Jesus’ grace and power to save. I ran to the tomb to find that Jesus had risen from the dead. He had paid for all my sins - including my sins of denial. He died to forgive me and He rose to assure me that I was forgiven. The Lord went on to use me for great things in His church. He used me to deliver a powerful sermon on Pentecost. A powerful sermon which the Holy Spirit used to bring many people to faith in Jesus. Later, as I stood before the same Jewish council that Jesus stood and was commanded to stop preaching about Jesus, HE gave me the strength to defy them and continue preaching the good news about Jesus. And it was Jesus who gave me the strength to remain faithful unto death, when I died a martyrs death even as Jesus told me would happen. You and I have so much in common! Which one of you doesn’t think you believe so firmly in Jesus and your faith in Him is so strong, that nothing would ever deter you from being faithful to Him. Yet, how many times have you denied Jesus? Maybe you didn’t curse and swear that you don’t even know who Jesus is, but haven’t you denied Jesus by your words and actions? Like that time your unchurched friends started making fun of Christians and you joined right in because you didn’t want them to make fun of you too. Or that time that you joined in, using the same dirty language that they use, because you didn’t want them to think you were different. What about denying Jesus with love? On the same night I denied Jesus, He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35) Jesus loved us and died for us! Aren’t we denying that we are one of His disciples every time we speak or act unloving toward one another?! What if Jesus looked at you at those times? How would you react? You and I have a great deal in common. We both think we are stronger than we are. So join me in repenting and humbling yourself before God. Rejoice that Jesus died even for our sins of denial and pride. Run with me to the empty tomb and see that Jesus has risen from the dead! God accepted the payment He made for every last one of your sins and my sins. Look to Him for your strength and rely on Him for your protection. And be amazed, as I was, at how the Lord could use such a foolish sinner like me to do great things in His Kingdom. May Jesus keep you faithful unto the end. Amen.

Profiles of the Passion: Judas Iscariot - Profile of Betrayal

 Mid-Week Lenten Theme: PROFILES OF THE PASSION 1) Judas Iscariot - Profile of Betrayal Text: Matthew 26:14-16 Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, Which before the cross we spend, Life and health and peace possessing From the sinners’ dying Friend. Lord, in loving contemplation Fix our hearts and eyes on Thee Till we taste Thy full salvation And Thine unveiled glory see. Dear fellow redeemed in Christ Jesus, who gather together this night to ponder our Savior’s passion - His suffering and death to purchase our salvation, grace and peace be multiplied to you in His name! Profile - those of you who make use of the social networking tool called “Facebook” will be very familiar with that word “profile.” On Facebook you have the opportunity to tell your friends and the world something about yourself and you put that on your “profile” page. You can include such information as a picture of yourself, your birthday, your relationship status, your political views, your religious views, your hobbies, your favorite quotes, and who your Facebook friends are. But even if have never been on Facebook, you probably know what a profile is. When we are talking about a personality profile, we are talking about an informal biography of someone. A sort of sketch or outline of their life and characteristics. The Passion account of Jesus suffering and death is made up of many different people who were involved in different ways. Certainly our Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure in the Passion. It is His Passion. It is the account of His suffering and death for our salvation. But as we read the Passion account, we hear about different people. Who were these people? What role did they play? Why did they do the things they did? During our Mid-week Lenten services we want to consider just that - profiles of the Passion. We want to examine the profiles of different players in the Passion account. My plan is that by drawing on what Scripture tells us about these people, to present their profile in the first person - let them tell you their story and what we can learn from them as we examine their profiles. Tonight we begin by examining the Passion profile of Judas Iscariot, a profile of betrayal. To guide our meditation this evening, we turn to the Word of God as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, reading verses 14 through 16: Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. So far the Word of God. Good evening. My name is Judas. I imagine you know my name pretty well and probably don’t anything good with my name. I am not speaking to you tonight to make light of or excuse the things that I did. You have every right to be disgusted and appalled at me. Let me begin tonight by telling you a little about myself. I am often referred to as Judas Iscariot. I am referred to this way so that you do not get me confused with another one of the 12 apostles, Judas, the son of James, sometimes also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus. I was called Judas Iscariot, because Iscariot means “man from Kerioth-herzon,” the region of Judea that I came from. Out of the many disciples that Jesus had, he chose me to be one of the 12 men to be His special students. As one of the 12 apostles I was with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. Along with men like Peter, James, and John I followed Jesus for three years. I saw many, many miracles performed by Jesus. I was there when Jesus fed the 5,000 and then the 4,000. I helped collect the baskets of leftovers. I saw Him heal the sick and paralyzed, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the mute. I saw Him cast out many demons. I was in the boat when Jesus calmed the seas. I saw with my own two eyes, Jesus walking on the water and then calling Peter out of the boat to walk on the water too! But more than what I saw is what I had the opportunity to hear from Jesus. From His own lips I heard Him expound on the Gospel. I was there when He delivered His Sermon on the Mount. I heard Him tell those many parables that you even teach your children about in Sunday School. I heard Him say so many things about what the Kingdom of God was and what it was not. I heard the Gospel from the mouth of Jesus. And after following Jesus and being taught by Him for a couple of years, He sent us out. Along with the other 11 apostles, He gave me power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. Along with 11, He commissioned me to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick among our fellow Jews. Though I saw all this, heard all this, and did all this, there was one thing I loved more than all of it combined. I loved money. I coveted it. I wanted as much as I could get my hands on. And I loved my job as one the 12 apostles. I was in charge of the group’s money bag. As Jesus would preach, teach, and heal, people would give us money - in the same as you take up an offering during your worship services here. What was so great about being the treasurer of this group? Well, the other 11 were so gullible and trusting, that no one ever audited me. I could take as much as I wanted out of the money bag for myself and no one was ever the wiser! Meanwhile I was accumulating much wealth for myself! It was my love for money that led me to eventually sell-out to the enemies of Jesus. For some time I had known that they were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus. The leaders of the Jewish church couldn’t stand Him or His teaching and wanted to kill Him. I thought this seemed like a great business opportunity for me and my bank account. After all, if Jesus was really who He said He was, He could certainly escape unharmed from the hands of these men, just as He had done before! But if Jesus did not escape, and they killed Him, He would be shown to be the fake Messiah that they thought He was. Either way, I thought, I was going to get paid! So during Holy Week, I snuck away from Jesus and the other apostles, and met with the chief priests. I proposed the following business transaction with them, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” They couldn’t have been more pleased to see me and hear my proposal! And then, right there in front of me, the counted out 30 pieces of silver. It was amazing to see that silver shine! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. So I waited for the right opportunity to trade Jesus for those 30 pieces of silver. Those 30 pieces of silver would have been something like 70 of your U.S. dollars today. During the celebration of the Passover, I found my opportunity. Jesus was alone with the other 11 apostles. There were no big crowds that would cause trouble. And I knew where Jesus would be. Jesus had often taken us to the Garden of Gethsemane to get away from the crowds and pray. So toward the end of the Passover meal, I left the table and went to the Temple to arrange the exchange - Jesus for those 30 pieces of silver. The chief priests and elders of the Temple sent with me a detachment of well armed temple troops and officers. I had the perfect plan. I arranged to give the soldiers a sign, so that they would know who they should arrest. I would give Jesus a friendly kiss. I thought it was the perfect plan because then they could get their man and the other apostles wouldn’t suspect a thing. I would just tell them that the troops and officers must have been following me. But it didn’t go the way I had expected. That silver that once shimmered and looked so beautiful, now looked like the ugliest thing I had ever seen in my life. Jesus knew! Jesus knew exactly what I was up to! I should have known I couldn’t hide anything from him! When I kissed Him, He spoke these words that have haunted me ever since, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Lk 22:47) Then they bound Jesus and took Him away! Jesus didn’t resist, He didn’t fight. He went along with them willingly. When they spit on Him and mistreated Him, He didn’t fight back. When He was being whipped, He did not slip away from their grasp as He had before, but endured it silently. And then the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, condemned Him to die by crucifixion. I couldn’t take it. The silver that seemed so enticing before, now made me sick when I thought about how I had gotten it. I went back to the chief priests and elders and told them, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But do you know how they responded? They who had been so glad and eager to work with me before, now said coldly, “What is that to us?” (Mt 27:4) They didn’t care what I was going through! They only cared that they got Jesus and He was on His way to die. That was the last straw. Not all the money in the world could comfort my soul! I couldn’t show my face again to the apostles. I betrayed my own Master and Lord! I betrayed the Son of God! The only escape I could think of, was to kill myself. So I went out and hanged myself only to find that this was no escape but entrance into an eternity of torment in hell! So what can you learn from looking at my personal profile? There is much my wretched example can teach you. The chief lesson I have for you, is to not harden your hearts to warnings from the Word of God. Time and time again, Jesus warned me about the path I was headed on. He loved me and was trying to call me to repentance. Jesus never extended anything but love to me, even though He knew I would betray Him. In fact, just hours before I would betray Him, Jesus washed my feet. Something only the lowliest of servants usually does for their master and his guests. He washed my feet! The feet of His betrayer! At the Passover meal, Jesus came right out and told me that He knew I what I was up to. But I ignored Him and played dumb. When Jesus said that someone at the table was going to betray Him, all the other apostles asked if they were the ones that was going to betray Him. So rather than being obviously guilty, I joined in by asking, “Rabbi, is it I?” knowing full well that I was going to betray Him that night. Jesus, once again, reaching out to me in love, trying to call me back to Himself said, “You have said it.” (Mt 26:25) Jesus also warned me that night saying, “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Mt 26:24) Jesus was trying to get me to think about what I was doing. Not only was Jesus warning me about it, but the Old Testament prophets were warning me about what I was about to do! They prophesied that I was going to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver - the value of a dead slave! It would have been good for me if I had never been born, rather than choosing the road I chose, which continues on forever in torments of hell. My heart was cold to the words and love of Jesus. That is because something else was more important to me - money. What the Apostle Paul would later on write about money, might as well have been written on my gravestone. “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Tim 6:9-10) I loved money more than I loved Jesus. And the devil took advantage of my desire to be rich. When faith in Jesus left my heart, the devil entered in and worked with my sinful desires to betray Jesus into death. Learn from my profile. Do not follow on my path to destruction. Nothing is more valuable than Jesus. When Jesus calls out to you in His Word warning you about the path you are on, do not ignore Him. When a follower of Jesus warns you about your sin, examine your heart to see if it is true, repent, and look to Jesus for forgiveness. The death that Jesus died was not in vain. He died to pay for all sins of betrayal. I rejected His forgiveness and redemption and am now paying the price forever in the darkness and unquenchable fires of hell. Jesus is your hope, your forgiveness, your salvation, and your life. There is no sin too great for Him to forgive. May my horrid profile cause you to examine your hearts, repent of your sins - even your sins of betrayal - when something in your life became more valuable to you than Jesus, and in faith look to that Jesus who was sold for the price of a dead slave and see your Savior. When you fall into sin, do not hopelessly despair unto death as I did, but in sorrow over your sins run to Jesus and find cleansing in His innocent blood. Please, learn from my horrid profile of betrayal! Amen.