There are some stories in the Gospels that are a delight to read. Many miracles of Jesus that can just fill you with joy and gladness when you read them. And then there are stories that feel like a gut punch. And it's into that second category I think I'd put Matthew 26, verses 69-75. It's cringeworthy. I think every time I read this passage, it's just unbelievable that it happened. One denial would have been enough. Two is already too many. But there were three denials of Peter. And Matthew isn't even the only gospel that reports it. All four gospels report the threefold denial of Peter. On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, and in the early hours of that Friday morning when He was before the Jewish High Court at the Sanhedrin. It's not even a long account, it's seven verses. But these seven verses are painful to read. They don't recount an unforeseen event. They were predicted. Every one of these denials you see in Matthew 26, Jesus said in verse 33 to Peter, Or Peter says first, though they all fall away, I will never fall away. But Jesus to him, truly, I tell you this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Jesus even says to Peter what Peter is going to do that very night. He knows who's going to do it, what they're going to do and how many times it's going to happen. Peter, three times before the rooster crows. And Peter very pointedly replied in that following verse, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. Now, this event was predicted by Jesus. Peter didn't believe it was going to happen. He insisted I would die for you before I would ever deny you. But both Jesus and Peter can't be right in Matthew 26. They can't both be right. He's either going to deny Jesus or he's not going to deny Jesus. And up to this point, when we've seen what Jesus has prophesied and what Peter has prophesied, we're on good ground to say Peter's wrong. Peter is going to speak better than he believes is going to then will actually take place to phrase it that way. He's speaking with great confidence, but he will fail to meet even his own expectation. I mean, our devotion to Christ can sometimes feel that way. We can think very highly of our devotion to Christ. And then certain circumstances may reveal that, in fact, we believe far too confidently in our own strength and we're not as strong as we think we are. Peter is very prone to confidence and overstating things in the gospel. So it's no surprise that he so strongly insists that I will not deny you. I would die with you. That's what I'm prepared to do. It's not happening to just any of the disciples. This is Peter, Peter, who's the most prominent of the whole group. Peter, whose name is listed first in Matthew 10 with the list of disciples, this is Peter, who was the first disciple to be named in the gospel in Matthew four, when he left his nets and began to follow immediately after Jesus. This is Peter, who in Matthew 14 said, Lord, if it's you on the water, command me and I will walk on it to you. This is Peter who in Matthew 16 answered Jesus' question, who do you say that I am? He said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus said, my father in heaven has revealed this to you, not mere flesh and blood. This is Peter who among two other disciples in Matthew 17 went to a mountain and beheld the glory of Jesus in what's known as the transfiguration. This is Peter who heard the father say in that moment on that mountain, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. This is Peter, who went with the Lord, accompanied by James and John, to an even more inner location in the Garden of Gethsemane, while other disciples were left on a more outer rim, where Jesus would pray to the Father, there a short distance away from Him. This Peter, who insisted that he would never deny Jesus. It's the same Peter who, in Gethsemane, drew his sword when the arresting party arrived and tried to interrupt This arrest, not on my watch, he must have been thinking, and sliced off the ear of the high priest's servant named Malchus. This Peter said, I will never deny you. Jesus said, before this night is over, before the rooster crows, it's going to happen three times. It turns out, Jesus knows Peter better than Peter knows Peter. And that superlative idea is true for every one of us. Our self-awareness is not as accurate as we think it is. Our self-perception and our evaluation of our strengths are not what we think they are. Jesus knows us better than we know us. And the denials of Peter form the outline for the passage. The denial number one is in verses 69 to 70. Verses 71 to 72 is denial number two. and denial number three in verses 73 to the end. Peter's in this courtyard. The scene is set for us in verse 69 before the first exchange takes place. And we got to review for a moment. Why is Peter in the courtyard? Jesus has been arrested. Peter's not been arrested also. Peter probably has a bit of a target on his back because he's a recently assaulted the high priest servant. which is grounds for being taken in and questioning. He's being even somewhat courageous, even being present in the courtyard. It's not as if his life doesn't have some measure of risk already. He must have been at least in weighing the risk, confident that he probably wouldn't be taken in. But then these exchanges begin, you see. Now, Jesus has already been taken in and arrested. He has been interrogated by the Jewish High Court known as the Sanhedrin. And we've already been told where Peter is in verse 58. So prior to our story this morning, in verse 58, we were told that Peter was following the arresting party from a distance. And he went as far as the courtyard of the high priest. And then going inside, he sat with the guards to see the end. So he's sitting there in the courtyard of the high priest's home where Jesus has been taken and where at least most, if not all of the Sanhedrin have been gathered. And they're going to interrogate Jesus led by the high priest. And there are going to be various false witnesses to accuse him. We looked at those proceedings last Sunday morning. Now, it tells us here in verse 69, picking back up with Peter, Peter's sitting outside in the courtyard. So we had Peter mentioned earlier in verse 58, and now the narrative resumes where we left off with him. You know what happened in the middle of that is Jesus was questioned. The placement of Peter's episode is intentional here because we are able to see back to back people being questioned and oaths being made. The high priest wants to put Jesus under an oath. I adjure you by the living God. Tell us if you're the Christ. And Jesus is not going to deny His role, and He's not going to deny who He is. In fact, what you see in the account with Jesus is faithfulness before those who are questioning Him. You can contrast this very starkly, can't you? With Peter. Who will be unfaithful and denying what he knows to be true before the people who are questioning him? Our good news does not lie in Peter. It lies in the one who in that high priest's home is faithful, the lamb led to slaughter. Peter's there in the courtyard because he knew John. And in John 18, we're told something that Matthew doesn't report here, but it might help clarify a situation. In John 18.15, Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another disciple, since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest. We understand this to be John, the disciple, in John 18, who has entered, and Peter was standing outside a door, probably the door to the courtyard. So this other disciple who was known to the high priest, he went out and spoke to a servant girl and Peter was brought in. And so Peter has been allowed into this courtyard area where he is waiting. What we're told then is sitting there outside the courtyard, a servant girl comes up to him. This begins the first exchange and denial, this servant girl. It tells us that she came up to him and said, you also were with Jesus, the Galilean. You were with Jesus, the Galilean. She probably uses the word also because Peter's not the only disciple who had come in. John is there. So by saying you also were with him, she may be referring to in addition to John, perhaps. You were with Jesus, the Galilean. It's an interesting word there that she attaches with Jesus. It refers to the place where he had spent so much ministry in the northern part of Israel and that region of Galilee. He had called disciples on the Sea of Galilee. He had done miraculous things in Galilee. He had healed many and did miracles before thousands and thousands. And Galilee was important place in Jesus's public ministry. And it's also where Nazareth was. So even though Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth. So it's very natural for people to associate Jesus with that northern region, like in this phrase, Jesus, the Galilean. So you were with him, she said. Now, she's speaking directly to Peter here, but it doesn't seem that his answer to her would have only been heard by her. A very valid question could be, why is a little servant girl someone that Peter is scared to say the truth to? Well, notice that it tells us in verse 70, he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean, implying that she's directly speaking to him, but whatever he says is going to be heard by more than just her. It's not as if he could whisper it. People are interested in this answer. You're also with Jesus the Galilean. It tells us he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean. While, of course, he does know exactly what she means. Now, some may wonder why he felt compelled to deny his association. And if we keep in mind that the presence of them all here, that could explain why his Angst is even greater than if he was just before a little servant girl, as the text most literally says. Readers might recall Jesus's words that strike a very uncomfortable tone here in Matthew 10, 33 and 34, or 32 and 33, rather. Matthew 10, 32 says that, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in heaven. This is an uncomfortable moment here because we're wondering, you know, here in this moment, what does it mean for Peter? Here he is denying that he knows Jesus. Now, it's most likely that Jesus is not speaking of an isolated moment in one's life in Matthew 10, but rather of this continual, settled posture of denial where someone is either recognizing and acknowledging Jesus in Matthew 10 or denying them. And on Judgment Day, their posture toward Jesus is being displayed. But nonetheless, it's an awkward moment. Because the reader of Matthew's gospel knows in Matthew 10 that we should confess Jesus. And here, Peter is saying, I don't know what you mean, trying to distance himself from this conversation. He doesn't want it to continue. He's not waiting for a follow up. Now, what's the risk Peter wants to avoid? Keep in mind, he's assaulted the high priest servant just a bit earlier in Matthew 26. That's an offense he could be charged with and penalized for, probably not killed for necessarily, unless they convince the Romans to do so. However, if Jesus is convicted of blasphemy by the Jews and then convicted of an insurrection by the Romans, then Jesus's associates may also pay a high price for being associated with Jesus. The Romans are going to crucify Jesus as an enemy of the Roman state, if you will. He's being viewed as an insurrectionist who has a movement that is politically undermining what's going on. Jesus is this professed king. When Peter denies it before them all, I do not know what you mean. He's concerned for his safety. He's concerned for his physical comfort. He is fearful. Let's just acknowledge for a moment, just together thinking about this, zooming out on a more broad point. If believers are in a situation where they are being asked if they are following or with Jesus and they deny Jesus, the rock bottom explanation undergirding all of that is they are afraid. They are afraid. That is the only explanation at bottom that explains a believer who is faced with this circumstance and says something that they ought not to have said. They could be fearing various things. They might just fear mockery. They don't want to be insulted. They don't want to be mocked and jeered at. They could fear ostracism. from their friends, from their family, from their co-workers. They don't want to associate themselves with Jesus because other people aren't going to take me in as easily if they know that my commitment is to the Lord Jesus Christ. They could fear rejection by them, or even more so, fear suffering. Not just emotional or verbal abuse, but physical suffering. This is a real issue faced by believers around the world on a daily basis. They fear pain. So in many cases, what's feared by believers in a moment of this kind of circumstance is not the very fact of death, but what leads up to that pain and suffering. So what lies beneath Peter's denial is fear. That's always what lies under a believer's denial of Jesus. In verse 71, it tells us that he went out to the entrance, meaning that he doesn't stay where the servant girl was when she asked him this question. He begins to move away because he's gone into the courtyard and now he's backing up toward the entrance. This is a kind of distancing, right? Not merely geographically, but it seems that Peter's really trying to distance himself in terms of being identified with Jesus in any way. In verse 71, he went out to the entrance, and another servant girl, there's more than one of them, and they're in that courtyard, and one of them sees him, and she says to the bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. Notice that this second person does not speak directly to Peter, she speaks to others about Peter. But in the first situation, and in the second situation, there's more than one person involved who's gonna hear him. and who heard what she said. So in verse 71, he's at this entrance and the servant girl says, to bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. It's more specific here. Earlier, Jesus the Galilean was used. Now again, Galilee's the region in the northern part of Israel where Nazareth was. Nazareth is a village in Galilee. What you have then is someone who spoke broadly about the region in the first case, and now someone who's being very specific in the next case. It's not a contradiction. It's just zooming in on the maps. So in verse 71, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. It's possible. that some of these people would have been among those in that party that went with clubs and swords to Jesus? Or she at least saw them bring in Jesus and sees Peter following from a distance? She's associating Jesus with Peter and Peter with Jesus. Maybe she saw Peter with Jesus earlier that week. Jesus had been going back and forth to Jerusalem, going to the temple, teaching daily. One of these reasons surely is the best explanation. But he, in verse 72, again denied this association. And then we're told he denied it with an oath. I do not know the man. Let's think about some of the irony that wouldn't be lost on a careful reader here in Matthew's Gospel. In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, He does speak about swearing oaths, because some took oaths very recklessly and very thoughtlessly, and if they substituted the name of God for heaven or the throne or the temple or something like that, then they could get away with breaking their oath. They wanted to not be bound by what they said. So Jesus' point in essence was, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Be truthful. Speak the truth. have to say, oh, let me tell you how serious I am. Okay, I swear by this or that or that or the other. He says you ought to be so known for the truthfulness of your words that you don't have to back that up. But Peter is denying this with an oath, which means he is swearing in the name of God that he does not know the man. It's interesting that she said, he's with Jesus of Nazareth, and Peter doesn't even mention Jesus's name. How distancing is it to say, I don't know, he doesn't say I don't know Jesus, I don't know the man. Oh, not only did he know Jesus, he knew things about Jesus, he had said things in affirmation about Jesus, he had seen miracles, and to say I don't know the man, that's awfully distancing oneself from Jesus in these words. Even the servant girl says Jesus' name. Note as well, in Matthew 26, Jesus was put under oath by the high priest in Matthew 26, 63. The high priest says, I adjure you by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. In other words, he's saying, I'm putting you under oath. Now speak. So I want the truth. And then Jesus begins to speak in answer about being the Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, seated at the right hand of power, coming on the clouds of heaven. So notice the contrast here. Before God, Jesus is speaking truthfully, and before God, Peter is speaking falsely. He denied it with an oath. I do not know the man. And then in verse 73, After a little while, and Luke's gospel tells us it's about an hour that passes between denial two and three, after a little while, about an hour, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you two are one of them for your accent betrays you. Now they're either meditating from that point earlier in that second denial about what they heard and what it sounded like and the region it might remind them of, or Peter's continuing to talk in the courtyard. and they're overhearing what he's saying. But Peter must have felt like he had solved it at this point. After all, he had sworn an oath before God that I don't know the man. And now these bystanders go up and they're saying, eh, certainly you two are one of them. Boy, they're very confident. They're not just saying, you know, here's a theory we've got. They're saying, certainly you two are one of them. In John's Gospel, in John 18.26, we learn that the person leading this round of questioning was a relative of Malchus, the high priest servant that had his ear cut off in Gethsemane. Which puts another awkward layer on what happened here, because he knows what has happened, and Peter is the one who had done that in Gethsemane just hours earlier. They're very confident. Certainly you're one of them, and the them is the disciples, no doubt. Again, associating it with Jesus and His followers. The reason, though, is for your accent betrays you. Let's think about this for a moment. Your accent betrays you. There are certain regions, of course, of the country where if you're from the South and you go up somewhere, or if you're from maybe New York City, or if you're from Canada, or if you're from other regions in the world, you can kind of distinguish someone's accent to a location, right? So we know this. Well, what you need to know is that the Galilean which is where Peter was and the majority of Jesus' ministry was in Galilee. A Galilean spoke a different dialect of Aramaic. And so the way words were pronounced and used did stand out if you were from the North. And they'd already been suspecting that he was with Jesus the Galilean. And that he was with Jesus of Nazareth, which was in Galilee. And the more they hear Peter talk, they think, this guy is from Galilee. This isn't a coincidence. We are certain that you're with them. You're one of those disciples. So Peter has stood out then to the bystanders to his own dismay. They've taken notice. And he then in verse 74 begins to invoke a curse on himself and to swear. The text says, I do not know the man. Again, you have this idea of swearing a note, but this this other phrase is added, calling down a curse. Here's a note about our translations. It does say, literally, he began to invoke a curse and to swear, I do not know the man. But translators will often supply the word that he began to call down a curse on himself, because after all, he was making an oath coming from himself and that maybe he was saying, you know, may God's judgment fall upon me. The difficulty with that reading is to swear an oath was to already imply that in the breaking of that oath God's judgment would be upon you. There are some scholars who say that Peter is not the object of God's curse language here. But that Peter, in so wanting to distance himself from Jesus, is saying, I swear I don't know the man. May God bring a curse on him. May God bring judgment on him. So that Peter is not the clear object of the curse he's praying for at all. But very possibly, because of the escalating nature of denials, Peter is swearing not only that he doesn't know the man, but if that man inside the Jewish high court proceedings or whatever is guilty, then the judgment of God be on him. It raises the stakes. There is an escalation in these denials. For example, consider these following truths. The second denial escalated from the first one. It tells us that Peter began to swear an oath, whereas in the first denial, he only said, I don't understand what you mean. The third denial also involves Peter swearing an oath, so we have to ask what's different between the second and third denials. Both of them have oath language. What has this language that he's beginning to curse? Well, it's not talking about profanity here. It's about calling down a curse on someone who is worthy of judgment under God. The third denial also has the statement, I don't know the man. So even what Peter says with the I don't know is no different from the second curse. What makes this one an additional escalating moment that stands out? This language of he began to call down a curse or invoke a curse may not refer to a curse on himself. Already, friends, that's implied in swearing an oath in the name of God. So why the additional language here? Is someone else involved with the language of oath-swearing and the like now? Possibly so. Possibly so. Peter so wants to distance himself. I don't know the man. I don't know the man. Consider that the titles the high priest has used in verse 63 are the titles Peter is not even willing to apply to Jesus in such a moment, though Peter has previously confessed them. Peter just says, I don't know the man. But look at what the high priest says in verse 63. Tell us if you're the Christ, the Son of God. Tell us if you're the Christ, the Son of God. In Matthew 16, 16, that's exactly what Peter confessed. I believe you're the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when the high priest wants to know that about Jesus, the high priest is not convinced that's who Jesus was. Peter was. And now in this moment, the words of Christ and Son of God are being used by someone who doesn't believe in Jesus inside that high priest's home. And here's Peter on his third opportunity. Denial after denial after a denial. And he doesn't even say, this is who I believe Jesus is. He doesn't even use the name Jesus. I don't know the man. I swear it. It's a sad scene. And the text says immediately the rooster crowed. The timing is so important because Peter utters these words followed by this crowing, just like verse 34 said would happen. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus said before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. So denial number one, denial number two. When number three happens, this rooster crows in Matthew's gospel. And Luke's gospel puts something even more uncomfortable in the mix. In Luke 22, 61, it tells us that there was a way where either the windows were or where Jesus was passing from one room to another, led by the people, that Peter and Jesus, there was a way where they could have a line of sight. And in Luke 22, 61, it tells us that at the timing of the crowing, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. What a moment! What a cutting moment, where Peter has said, I don't know the man, I don't know the man, the rooster crows, and Jesus looks at him, just in fulfillment of what He had previously said to Peter, this very night you will do this three times. It tells us in verse 75, Peter, remember the saying of Jesus before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times. He went out bitterly and wept. It all comes coming in like a wave in his mind and heart. Going out means he's left the vicinity altogether. You know, he was earlier in the courtyard among some guards and a servant girl that he moved out toward the entrance or entrance itself to get away from them. And now he's out altogether. He's left the vicinity, completing geographically what's going on in his heart. He's trying to distance himself from associating with the disciples and with Jesus. And it tells us that he went out and he wept bitterly here. He's distraught. He remembers what Jesus has said and he's overcome with weeping. And I think that this is a signal here of the disgust he feels for himself and what he has done. Truly sorrowful over this episode again and again. Jesus told him it was going to take place. He was so sure he would never do it. There are multiple progressions in this story we should note. First, there's a progression in those who are speaking to Peter. First, a servant girl speaks, and then a servant girl speaks to bystanders in verse 71, and then a group of bystanders speak to Peter in verse 73. There's also a progression in Peter's denials. He says he doesn't know what the girl means in the first one. The second denial includes an oath. The third one, he's swearing an oath and invoking a curse, possibly on himself or upon Christ. And then thirdly, there's a progression in Peter's location. We've seen this already, sitting in the courtyard to being then at the entrance into that courtyard and now being out entirely. The episode moves this way literarily so that we can feel the escalation and the heightened sense of, I can't believe this is happening, like a reader would, and then seeing Peter as he has distanced himself now geographically fully outside the scene altogether. The way this episode is told shows without a doubt that Peter was wrong to do what he did. Peter knows he's wrong. In reflecting on this, he's overcome, weeping bitterly. His actions are framed unfavorably. They're contrasted with Jesus, who inside is bearing true witness, and Peter outside bearing false witness. And Peter's bitter weeping at the end proves that he is distressed and sorrowful over all he's done. The question is this, is there forgiveness for something like this? Could a real disciple of Jesus do a thing like what Peter did? Now, I want to be careful here. I'm using the word could. I'm not using the word should. I'll use that in a moment. Could a real disciple do this and there be forgiveness in the name of Christ? And the answer is yes. Peter is forgiven. In fact, in Matthew 12, 32, the reader has already seen in the gospel that a word spoken against the son of man is forgivable. We also see other evidence in Matthew's gospel and beyond Matthew's gospel of Peter's restoration. This is not damning for Peter. So yes, I think a real disciple can have a moment of weakness like this. Was Peter's offense forgivable? Yes, it was. Yes, it was. But if it is indicative of a more general posture of being against Christ, then on Judgment Day, that's not going to be overturned. one's posture against Christ, a life of denial of who Jesus is, will be shown on full display. But Jesus does forgive Peter. In Matthew 26, 32, Jesus had earlier said, I'm going to go before you to Galilee after I'm raised from the dead. He's saying this to all of them. And you know what we're told in Matthew 28, 16, that all 11 remaining disciples go to Galilee. You know who that includes? That includes Peter. After the resurrection, Peter is going to Galilee. It ensures that Peter is included. In Matthew 28.7, Peter is included among the disciples, by implication, who are going to go there, and among the brothers, in Matthew 28.10, who are in Galilee. He's considered a disciple, and a brother, and a follower of Jesus, even after this episode in Matthew 26. And that's just looking within Matthew. Let's broaden that. In John 21, Peter is three-fold reinstated. And I think what John is doing by Jesus reinstating Peter, asking a question three times, is mirroring the three-fold denial of Jesus that Peter committed in the high priest's courtyard. Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? in John 21. So in John's gospel, Peter is restored at the end of the book. Think about the book of Acts, the portrayal of Peter in the book of Acts as a bold, courageous apostle and church leader and missionary. That's a very important thing to affirm beyond the gospels. The book of Acts records what's happening. Peter was very influential and crucial in the life of the early church. Then think even broader than that, toward the end of the New Testament canon, you have two letters. First Peter and Second Peter. And I think the very existence of those letters shows Peter's devotion to Christ and to the church long after this particular episode. And then one outside the biblical canon. The tradition according to church history is that Peter died a martyr's death. It's very interesting when you consider what's happening here in 26 when he's denying Jesus. I don't know the man. I don't know the man. But according to church history, he died a martyr's death in the 60s under the reign of Nero by crucifixion. So a moment ago, I said, is it possible it could a real believer have a moment like this? And I would say, yes, that could happen. But we've got to be very careful here. Because someone denying Jesus might reflect a real believer in a moment of weakness or it might reveal that someone does not know Christ at all and have had a continual posture against the Lord Jesus Christ revealed clearly in that moment when they refused to suffer for him. Let's change the question up. Should, should a real disciple do what Peter did? And the answer must be no. Should a real disciple say, I don't know the man. I don't know what you're talking about. I swear I don't. Calling down judgment upon himself or others. The answer must be no. A believer should not do that. And there are several reasons why. And we'll end with these. Number one, the Bible shows us the fullness of who Jesus is. I want you to consider the timing of this. This is before the cross and before the resurrection when Peter denies Jesus. The timing is important because even in the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter definitely wasn't at the other one. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was willing to be very bold, pulling his sword, cutting off the high priest here. It became very clear, though, that the kingdom is not going to be brought about by violence in this sense. Peter is told to put away his sword. And I argued that in our message on those verses from verses 47 to 56, that that was a pivotal moment for Peter because this military political view of the Messiah was still part of the confusion that Peter had in his mind of this Messiah who said again and again, I have to suffer and die. I will be raised. All enemies are going to be subjected under his feet. He's going to be the son of David who will rule forever, but he must suffer and die. And this was so difficult for Peter to understand. But in the book of Acts, you see a whole other Peter. We see the fullness of who Jesus is. So believers are not confused about who Jesus is or what he's come to do. We have the fullness of God's revelation for us in his word. We know more about Jesus in this moment than Peter realized in the garden or the courtyard of the high priest. We understand fully because we are after the cross and the resurrection. We understand who Jesus is in fullness. And I mean in the fullness of God's revelation. Number two, the Bible teaches us there are more important things than physical comfort and safety in life. This is something we always should keep in our mind. In Matthew chapter 10, we're told by Jesus in verse 38, whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And I think the underlying idea there is those whose main goal as a professing Christian is to say, I want to make sure I'm never in any trouble, never in any danger. I don't want any cost to my faith. I want to make sure that all things are going to be good for me, safe all the time, comfortable all the time. I don't want any risk. I'm just going to prioritize that physical safety above all things. That's like my modus operandi. Well, Jesus is saying that if the preservation of our life is simply the thing that we care most about, and that's just the way that we live, then we need to be very careful here, because Jesus says whoever saves his life and seeks to preserve his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. It's a picture of recognizing there are more important things in life than physical comfort and safety. Philippians 121 could be another example. of this same truth. Philippians 121 says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. For Paul, the ending of his physical life was not the greatest loss. But I think sometimes for people who profess to be believers, the worst thing they can possibly imagine is losing their physical life earlier than they would want. And Peter clearly has an undergirding feeling of fear that is motivating his denials in each of those cases. So the Bible teaches, number two here, that there are more important things than physical comfort in life. Namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel, and the advance of the church. Number three, the Bible tells us not to fear what man can do. The Bible tells us not to fear what man can do. Listen to Matthew 10 again in verse 28. Jesus says, do not fear those who kill the body but can't kill the soul, which is people. They can take the body's life. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. In other words, we need to have a fear of God above all things, for the body and the soul are ultimately in the hands of God. This is why we sing, in Martin Luther's words, let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. The believer knows that in Matthew 10, 28 and other passages, there are more important things than physical safety and comfort in the world, but we are not to fear what man can do. We are to fear God. Number four, the Bible promises blessing for the persecuted. So if we are opposed and mocked and insulted and rejected and ostracized or suffer or die, listen to the words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew five, beginning in verse 10. Jesus says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and under all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account, rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets before you. Now, Peter is the one we're looking at in Matthew 26, who did this, right? But listen to what he wrote in first Peter four, long after this episode. Decades later, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4, verse 14, If you're insulted for the name of Christ, you're blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. Peter felt a lot of shame for the name of Jesus in the high priest's courtyard that day. And decades later, you can't imagine Peter would have forgotten that moment. And Peter says, don't be ashamed. Peter knows what that feels like. And Peter says, you're blessed if you are persecuted for the name of Christ, if you're insulted for the name of Christ. And then lastly, in number five, in Revelation 12. The Bible tells us that endurance conquers the dragon. The Bible tells us that endurance conquers the dragon. In Revelation 12, it tells us in verse 10, I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ have come for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God. They've conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they love not their lives, even unto death. So the conquering here and the endurance that's portrayed is a glorious defeat of the dragon who wanted them to deny Christ and to value their life and their safety above all things. Friends, there are things worth dying for. There is a Christ worth loving unto death. A kingdom and a gospel whose truths are worth so much that the whole world and the universe could be in the opposite balance of the scales and there would be no equality. The gospel and the worth and the infinite value of the Lord Jesus Christ is something we must reflect on. First of all, that we might live for Christ, but then should the opportunity ever come for us to confess Christ before accusers, that we would testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. but don't you know it's certainly the case that if we don't live for Him, we won't die for Him. If our daily concern isn't following after Christ and loving Him and esteeming Him, it will be very easy to deny Him should the cost come, because we don't live when it's risk-free for Him. The question will be, what will our life be like this week? what we aim to do on Monday and aim to do on Tuesday. And the Bible's heartbeat for the disciple is that we love Christ more than all things. And sometimes those commitments and resolutions are put to very fiery tests around the world for believers. May we know what Paul knew in Romans 8, where he says, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who could be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? In verse 35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it's written, for your sake we're being killed all the day long, we're regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things, We are more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.