One of my worst memories occurred while shoveling gravel out of a pickup truck with a co-worker. We were filling in holes in a gravel parking lot, but the Holy Spirit had bigger plans for me. The Spirit was prompting me to see if this man was a follower of Jesus.
I resisted every impulse of the Spirit because I was afraid of the response I might get from him. Little did I know that this would be the last time I would ever see him alive.
That happened nearly 60 years ago, and I still feel deep regret to this day. I imagine Peter felt similar pangs of guilt throughout his life, even though he had been forgiven and restored. You will remember Peter’s story, a time when fear silenced his faith.
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A female servant came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”
When he went out to the porch, another female servant saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”
After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed.
Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:69-75)
An Accurate Account
I often say that the biblical account wouldn’t read as it does if it hadn’t happened exactly this way. The Bible wouldn’t record the primary leader of the early church denying Jesus if it weren’t true. Peter denied knowing Jesus to two of the lowest-status people of their day: female servants. The third denial took place before a crowd of people.
Furthermore, Peter used an oath on two occasions to emphasize his lie that he wasn’t associated with Jesus. Taking an oath then would be similar to someone today saying, “I swear on a stack of Bibles that I don’t know Him.” In one instance, to drive his point home, Peter even added profanity to the oath.
Ancient literature rarely treated its heroes this way. They were almost always pictured in glowing terms, but that is not the case with the heroes of the Bible. This unvarnished honesty is one of the most authenticating aspects of the Scriptures.
The Root of Peter’s Fear
Crucifixion was widespread in the Roman Empire. The Romans learned it from the Persians, who developed it as the most painful and humiliating way to execute someone. Around 4 BC, the Romans crucified 2,000 rebels, and during the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, approximately 35,000 people were put to death in this manner.
Jesus was considered a rebel by the Romans, and anyone associated with Him would be placed in the same category. To discourage rebellion, the Romans ruthlessly crucified both the leaders and the followers of any uprising. If Peter or the other disciples had been openly connected with Jesus, they likely would have been crucified alongside Him.
My fear in the back of that pickup truck was simply of rejection. Peter’s fear, however, was rooted in the prospect of the worst kind of death humans had invented up to that point in history.
Overcoming Fear
I played in an intramural basketball league in college. I didn’t know the status of one friend’s relationship with Jesus. The one thing I did know was that I didn’t want to make the same mistake with him that I had made with my former co-worker.
After one game, I stopped him by our cars in the parking lot and said, “We are friends, and I don’t want to miss the chance to tell my friend about my best friend, Jesus.” He responded by telling me that he was already a follower of Jesus, just like me.
Ten years later, he was transporting grain from his farm to an elevator in the town where I was serving as a pastor. I wasn’t at the church that day, but he went out of his way to stop by and say hi. I can’t help but think that our conversation about Jesus after that basketball game made a lasting impact on our friendship.
All of us face fears when it comes to standing up for Jesus, though fortunately, none of us have to fear crucifixion. Let’s consider what we need to do to overcome our hesitations, so we can tell the world about our best friend, Jesus.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Matthew 26:69-75 today on YouTube.
Real Voices 