Matthew – God’s Purposes
Matthew 26, NLT
Peter Denies Jesus69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”
74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
THINK ABOUT IT…
Other disciples ran away to seek a hiding place after seeing Jesus arrested. Peter, who bravely walked on water with Jesus, whose instinct was to protect his Teacher when Jesus was arrested by wielding a sword wildly, who impetuously speaks before he thinks, comes as close to Jesus as he possibly can. Fear rises within him as others seem to recognize Peter as “one of those” with Jesus.Peter, trying to hide his identity so he can stay close to what is happening to Jesus, speaks without thinking again. His human reaction is to quickly evade the questions…”I don’t know what you are talking about” which turns to lying and swearing by an oath…”I don’t know the man.”
Did Jesus hear Peter’s words out in the courtyard? Maybe not audibly but Jesus knew Peter. Jesus predicted Peter’s reaction. Luke’s account tells us Jesus DID hear and turned to look at Peter. Can we imagine that look of love? Peter now begins to know himself, sees himself for the loyal but impetuous man Jesus sees, and is remorseful, weeping bitterly.
GOING DEEPER STILL…
Peter has been criticized for following “afar off” (Matt. 26:58), but that was not his mistake. His mistake was that he followed at all. He was supposed to get out! Jesus had warned Peter that he would deny Him. Jesus had also quoted Zechariah 13:7, which states that the “sheep shall be scattered.” Finally, Jesus had expressly commanded the disciples not to follow: “Let these go their way” (John 18:8–9). If Peter had listened to the Word and obeyed it, he would never have failed the Lord in such a humiliating way.
The apostle John was also a part of this failure, for he had followed with Peter and gotten both of them entrance into the high priest’s house (John 18:15–16). Jesus had warned them to “watch and pray” lest they enter into temptation (Matt. 26:41). But they had gone to sleep instead. Consequently, they entered into temptation, and Peter fell. Peter’s denial of Christ was the climax of a series of failures. When the Lord first warned Peter that he would be tested by Satan, Peter affirmed his faith and his ability to remain true to the Lord. In pride, Peter argued with the Word of God! He even dared to compare himself to the other disciples and affirmed that, though they might fall, he would remain true.
The fact that Peter was standing by the enemy’s fire, warming himself, indicates how defeated he was. The denial was even more humiliating because two of the interrogators were servant girls. The third challenge came from a man, one of the bystanders, but Peter failed again. This man was a relative of Malchus, the man Peter had wounded (John 18:26). So Peter’s impulsive deed caught up with him even after Jesus had repaired the damage.
THE LOOK OF JESUSThe crowing of the cock reminded Peter of the word of Jesus. Had Peter remembered and obeyed the word, he would never have denied his Lord. It was at that time that Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61), and that look of love broke the apostle’s heart. Peter went out and wept bitterly.
BUT THAT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!
After His resurrection, Jesus met privately with Peter and restored him to his discipleship (Mark 16:7; 1 Cor. 15:5). Jesus also restored him publicly (John 21:15–19). Peter learned some important lessons during that difficult experience. He learned to pay attention to the Word, to watch and pray, and to put no confidence in his own strength.
Peter, “upon whom I will build my church” learns from his mistakes of taking matters into his own hands. Peter learns from his failing and continues the work of helping people find and follow Jesus. Peter’s gifts of boldness and energy is now used by God to tell HIS story of salvation and restoration through a repentant relationship with Jesus, as Savior and Lord. We love Peter. He is human. He is now humbly bold as He speaks for the Lord.Dear Heavenly Father,
There is a lot to learn from Peter and the way you worked in Peter to restore him. We know you will restore us when we fail. We are assured of your love, mercy and grace. Oh, what a wonderful Savior you are. I’m truly overwhelmed just thinking about You and the way you work in us. Thank you for calling me redeemed!
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
And I’m singing…Redeemed….
Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed
I’m redeemed
All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Because I don’t have to be the old man inside of me
‘Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I’ve got a new name, a new life I’m not the same
And a hope that will carry me home
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Oh God I’m not who I used to be
Jesus I’m not who I used to be
‘Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed
Songwriters: Benji Cowart / Michael Weaver / Michael David Weaver
But Jesus stood there and took MY mocking, MY beating, MY hurts, MY false offenses, MY guilt and shame upon Himself. He was thinking of you and me, all humanity, when He stood there. He could have walked away miraculously, as He had done before on one occasion, but He didn’t. He didn’t deserve anything that was put upon Him. It was time to settle our debt of what WE deserved but didn’t have to pay. THAT’S the point! 
Since no honest witnesses could be found (which in itself proves our Lord’s innocence), the leaders arranged for false witnesses to testify. The law of Moses warned against false witnesses (Deut. 19:15–21), but even the religious leaders twisted God’s Word to accomplish their selfish purposes. That there were two witnesses fulfilled the letter of the law. But that they deliberately lied broke both the letter and the spirit of the law. These witnesses cited a statement Jesus had made early in His ministry: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). It was a serious matter to speak against the temple; this very charge later led to the death of Stephen (Acts 6:12–14; 7:45–50). 
Dear Lord and Savior,
50 Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”
Jesus was not wrestling with God’s will or resisting God’s will. He was yielding Himself to God’s will. As perfect Man, He felt the awful burden of sin, and His holy soul was repelled by it. Yet as the Son of God, He knew that this was His mission in the world. The mystery of His humanity and deity is seen vividly in this scene. 
“Never say never” is a saying that we learn early in life…or should learn…not to say. We learn that as soon as we declare within our humanness that we will never eat cake or chocolate again we begin to crave it all the more and eat a piece. We say we will never be like “that” guy and then we find we are exactly like “that” guy. We say we will never deny Christ, but in a crowd who is against him, do we speak up about our love for Him? Do we go along with the world with denial in another form that says, “Live and let live”. “I have my opinion and you have yours.” And the biggest lie of all, “Truth is what you believe it to be”. NO, Truth is Jesus Christ, whether we choose to believe Him or not.
31 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,
We usually point to Peter as the one who had failed the Lord, but all of the disciples were involved. Jesus referred to Zechariah 13:7 in warning His disciples, but He also added a word of promise: He would rise again and meet them in Galilee. Unfortunately, the men paid little attention to the promise of His resurrection. On resurrection day, the angels reminded them of the meeting in Galilee (Matt. 28:7, 10). 
Never say never. We are fallible, but forgiven humans, saved by grace, redeemed by a merciful Savior. Jesus knows us well. Jesus knew Peter well. Peter would be forgiven completely and be given the responsibility as “the rock upon whom Jesus would build His church” (us). Jesus knew Peter would learn from his failure.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
As we continue on with Matthew’s account of the last days, and now just hours, before the beatings and final torture of the cross, Jesus sits down with his disciples as head of the family over the traditional, Jewish, Passover meal with the Twelve. The story of God protection and provision and rescue is recalled and told as is the tradition. 
Then they sang a hymn and followed Jesus to the Mount of Olives. Jesus will fall on his face to pray that The Cup be taken from Him but still willing to follow what His Father has sent Him to do, “Not my will, but Yours”…
We must begin to read “between the lines” of the following passages through the end of Matthew writings. A great deal can be learned from Jesus about how to live with a betrayer and still love them. “Love your enemies”, Jesus preached on the mountainside…now Jesus is faced with one of the twelve going over to the enemy. Satan is the enemy. Keep that in mind. As we examine these passages, we can see the growing conflict between Christ and the enemy.
Mary is found only three times in the Gospels, and in each instance she is at the feet of Jesus. She sat at His feet and listened to the Word (Luke 10:38–42); she came to His feet in sorrow after the death of Lazarus (John 11:28–32); and she worshipped at His feet when she anointed Him with the ointment (John 12:1ff.). Mary was a deeply spiritual woman. She found at His feet her blessing, she brought to His feet her burdens, and she gave at His feet her best. 
God uses what we have been given to glorify Him. Satan takes from us what we fight so hard to keep to use for the destruction of our souls.
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Dear Heavenly Father,
In our fast paced world it is pretty easy to fill your vehicle’s tank with gas, get groceries, eat a bite at a fast food place, pick up wanted items at stores, and run other errands without really looking at the people who serve you, walk by you or sit at the intersection. You can also work at a job all day long, focused only on the work given to you, without looking at the people who work around you or the people you serve.
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Years ago, while a teacher in Oklahoma with limited funds given for supplies, we knew that what little was given to us, we must spend. Everyone knew it. Some teachers were frivolous, spending on consumables that would only last for that year. Others of us would think about it, pour over the catalogs we were given to make our purchases, so we could get the biggest bang for our few bucks. Wise teachers invested in items they could use for future classrooms. But we ALL knew that with a “zero budget” system, you must use what was given…or we would lose future funding.
Parable of the Three Servants
The talents represent opportunities to use our abilities. If five talents were given to a person with minimal ability, he would be destroyed by the heavy responsibility. But if only one talent were given to a man of great ability, he would be disgraced and degraded. God assigns work and opportunity according to ability. 
Are we anticipating God’s words of, “Well done, good and faithful servant” or “You could have at least….”
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
