DAY 5: JESUS’ TRIAL & PETER’S DENIAL
Scripture Passage: Matthew 26:57-75

 

HOLY WEEK TIMELINE:

ON MAUNDY THURSDAY:
• JESUS CELEBRATED PASSOVER WITH HIS DISCIPLES (LUKE 22:7-16).
– He washed His Disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20).
– He foretold His betrayal (Matthew 26:20-25).
– He promised the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-31).
– Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46; John 17:1-26).
•JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS (LUKE 22:47-48).
•THE CHIEF PRIESTS, SCRIBES, AND ELDERS ARRESTED JESUS (MATTHEW 26:47-56).
•THE DISCIPLES FLED (MARK 14:50)

 

“It wasn’t me.” Those three little words have to be one of the earliest excuses we learn to tell. Almost from the moment we can talk, whenever we’re confronted about something wrong we’ve done, we quickly offer up that lie in an attempt to keep ourselves out of trouble. In Matthew 26, we find Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, offering essentially the same excuse he would have made when he was caught causing trouble as a toddler.

 

Read Matthew 26:57-75. After Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, those who captured Him took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, to be tried for His supposed crimes. The authorities in this first trial had no real power to carry out any sentencing, but they could determine just what accusations they would be able to bring before those who did.

 

As Jesus was taken away, most of the other disciples scattered to the wind, but not Peter. He went along. Granted, he didn’t stay right by Jesus’ side, but he followed at a distance. At that point, it seems he at least still had some of the guts and grit he showed when he drew his sword in defense of Jesus when they came for Him. Once they arrived at the trial, Peter didn’t go inside even though he wanted to know how things would go. So, he stayed out in the courtyard where he could still hear and observe everything that took place.

 

What happened inside was a joke. The religious leaders, supposed men of God, had done their best to find people to lie about Jesus. Evidently, they found some, but none whose accusations would stick. Two others did come forward with a twisted version of something Jesus had said about rebuilding the temple after three days following its destruction (John 2:19). That was all it took.

 

Throughout it all, Jesus remained silent until directly questioned whether or not He was the Christ, the Son of God. When He confessed that He was, the religious leaders knew they had Him. There was only one conclusion to draw. To claim to be God was to commit blasphemy, an egregious sin, and a curse toward God. The only way He could be innocent would be for Jesus to actually be the Son of God (which, of course, He was even though none of them believed it). So, there was only one possible punishment befitting such a crime: death.

 

Meanwhile, there’s Peter in the courtyard. He’s just heard that very pronouncement for himself. Knowing his Savior was surely to die, it appears some of his bravado left him. We can see this in what happened next. First, a servant girl recognizes Peter as one of Jesus’ followers. Then, another servant girl also accuses him of being someone that was also seen around town with Jesus. Finally, some of the crowd gathered around for the spectacle of the trial heard in Peter’s accent that he was an out-of-towner and came from the same region where Jesus did.

 

Peter gave the same excuse each of the three times, some version of “it wasn’t me.” At first, he simply said he didn’t understand. Then Peter directly denied even knowing Jesus, which he did once again, adding some cursing to boot. At that moment, a rooster crowed, and Peter knew.

 

What did Peter know? He knew he had done what Jesus had warned him he would do. “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times” (Matthew 26:34). What could Peter do then except weep over his failure? He’d been caught, and no excuse could make it otherwise.

 

We often like to give Peter a hard time. After all, it seems like throughout the gospel stories, he’s consistently putting his foot in his mouth. However, we need to give Peter a break, not because he was innocent but because he was guilty. He was guilty just as every man, woman, and child that night at that trial were guilty, all but Christ, Himself. They were guilty, just as we all are.

 

The good news is this: though innocent, Jesus’ death made a way for us all to know forgiveness, no matter what we’ve done, no matter how guilty we are.

 

THINK ABOUT IT:
What are ways followers of Jesus continue to deny Him sometimes today?
Why is Jesus’ innocence so significant?
What risk is there for you in confessing your worst sins to Christ and asking for His forgiveness?