eVEN fAITHFUL FOLLOWERS fAIL

April 16, 2010

eVEN fAITHFUL FOLLOWERS fAIL

Matthew 26:69-75

Cynthia Culver

Central Truth

Our sin is no surprise to Jesus. He knows the exact moment and circumstances under which we will fail. He loves us anyway.

And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:74b-75)

Peter Denies Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

FAILURE! You just got caught in your sin. Cringe! Ugh! What are you going to do now?

I love this passage. There is NO escaping the enormous failure that this was for Peter. And by the way, I would have failed here, too. We often make fun of Peter for his blunders, but the truth is, just a few hours before the "three denials and a rooster crow," he alone pulled out his sword and cut off a guy’s ear to defend Jesus! Now, that is no coward . . . in that moment, anyway. And isn’t that the point? We ALL have COLOSSAL moments of failure in life! Moments when our sin is exposed, and people see right into our hearts. Jesus predicted Peter’s failure, and He could predict ours, too. He isn’t surprised when or how we sin nor the circumstances surrounding it.

The longer I walk with the Lord, the more He reveals things that are going on in my heart. I am as aware as ever that I can be a follower of Jesus and maybe even faithful and still have huge failures (just like Peter). I don’t want to sin, but I do. I don’t want to betray Jesus with my choices, but I do. And this is what I love about the Lord, He knows everything, and He still loves me. He loves us even though He knows how and when we are going to betray Him. There is no hiding it, and yet there is no escaping the depth of His love. He came to earth, subjected Himself to sinful man, and died on a cross—BECAUSE we fail.

I am challenged by Peter's response to his sin. He wept bitterly. I want my sin to remind me of how much I need my Savior and how desperate and dependent upon Him I am for faithfulness every day. Someone once said to me, and I think of it often: "There I go, doing again the things I don’t want to do. Boy, do I need a Savior. Boy, do I need you, Lord."

1. How have you failed this week, month, or year in your relationships?

2. How have you responded to your failures?

3. What steps do you need to take? Will you sit for 10 minutes and remind yourself and rest in the Lord's love for you even in the midst of them?

FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What did Peter do?

2. Why do you think he denied knowing Jesus?

3. Do you ever deny knowing someone because other people might make fun of you? How does God want you to respond?