The Rejected Savior

We come now to the third rejection in this passage: Peter’s three rejections of the Lord.

After the temple guards seized the Lord, they “led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house,” and “Peter was following at a distance” (v. 54). That’s loaded with meaning. He’s gradually disassociating himself from the Lord. But let this be known: We cannot safely follow Jesus from a distance. We are meant to be close to him.

The Lord had warned Peter that Satan was looking to destroy him, and Peter responded very confidently: “Lord, I’m ready to go with you both to prison and to death” (v. 33). Peter is like those brothers that be talkin’ ’bout, “I ain’t scared to go to prison.” But you remember what the Lord said in return in verse 34: “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me.”

In the courtyard the people make a fire. They plan to be there a while. “Peter sat among them” (v. 55). Psalm 1:1 says,

How happy is the one who does not

walk in the advice of the wicked

or stand in the pathway with sinners

or sit in the company of mockers!

Apparently Peter has forgotten that verse. He goes from following or walking with the crowd some distance from Jesus, to standing in the courtyard, to sitting among them. That’s when the three denials happen.

First, “a servant” girl (v. 56) takes a good look at Peter. You can see her leaning in by the light of the fire, observing Peter. When she’s sure, she says, “This man was with him too.” Peter denies it in verse 57. He sounds indignant. “Woman, I don’t know him.” What a lie!

Second, an unnamed man, simply called “someone else,” saw Peter. He didn’t have to study Peter’s face the way the servant girl did. He merely saw Peter and knew Peter was one of the Lord’s followers. He says, “You’re one of them too” (v. 58). But Peter denies the Lord again, saying, “Man, I am not!” Two opportunities to be loyal. Two opportunities to claim Jesus as his Master. Two lies. Two rejections. The rooster is stirring.

Verse 59 begins, “About an hour later.” Perhaps Peter began to relax in that hour. Perhaps he thought no one else would bother him. Maybe he thought his lies had worked. Maybe in that hour the very earliest rays of dawn began to crack the sky. A third man speaks up: “This man was certainly with him, since he’s also a Galilean.” This unnamed man not only recognized Peter as a disciple but also Peter’s connection with Galilee and Jesus’s ministry in that area. The followers of Christ are better known by the world than we recognize. “But Peter said, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’” The third denial. As the words left Peter’s mouth, “Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed” (v. 60).

I imagine the sound of a rooster has never been more terrifying or heartbreaking. Verse 61: “Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter.” Everything that needed to be said was in their eyes. All they needed to understand was transferred in a look. What if Peter had responded differently to the servant girl’s look or the man’s look of recognition, or taken a moment to acknowledge that, yes, he looked like a Galilean? If Peter had been honest in those earlier looks, could he have avoided this final look? If he had thought nothing of the knowing looks of the people in the courtyard, could he have avoided the knowing look of the Lord?

That look from the Lord was followed by Peter’s memory of what the Lord had said regarding a rooster. Then came the bitter tears of a man who’d rejected his Lord.

In the looks and the tears we’re meant to learn something of ourselves: We cannot try to avoid looking like Christ’s followers and ever hope that the Lord would look at us with approval. In fact, Jesus says that if we deny him on earth before men he will deny us in heaven before God (21:9).

But there’s a tremendous difference between Judas and Peter in this chapter. Judas intentionally sold Jesus out. Judas was “the son of destruction” (John 17:12). He was an unrepentant man destined for condemnation. But Peter failed the Lord despite his honest commitment to the Lord. That’s why the Lord restores Peter before the story is over. Peter really did want to ride or die with Jesus. He really intended to stand with Jesus. But in the hour of darkness, Peter’s courage failed him.

There’s a tremendous difference between wickedness (Judas) and weakness (Peter). Wickedness receives condemnation. Weakness receives help and comfort. Nothing could be more important than making an accurate diagnosis of our failures. Do they come from wickedness or weakness? Is our heart darkened with sin, or are our frames but dust?

The Lord rejects the wicked, but he will receive the weak. He invites them, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). In fact, Christ knew Peter’s weakness, and he knows our weakness. He places himself in this position of rejection so that he might be familiar with our weakness and help us with it. Are you weak? Christ is strong! Are you unable to stand in the hour of temptation? Run to Christ, who defeats your temptation. Do not try to stand in your own strength. Fall into your weakness and discover the strong arms of God. Weakness is but an invitation to trust the Lord Jesus Christ with what we cannot trust ourselves: our souls.

Luke 22:63-65

The Lord’s friends were not the only ones to reject him on that night. Consider the nature of this rejection. It’s both physical and personal. They not only beat the Lord; they also mock him. The previous rejections were personal in the sense that they betrayed the intimacy of friends. This rejection is personal in the sense that it assaults Jesus psychologically and attacks our Lord’s character. They aim to discredit and disgrace the Lord.

Specifically, they’re mocking the Lord as a prophet. A prophet was one who brought the word of God to the people. These soldiers reject the idea that Jesus Christ really brought God’s message.

They play a little game. They blindfold him and take turns hitting him. Then they say, “Prophesy! Who was it that hit you?” (v. 64). No doubt that seemed like a funny taunt, but can you imagine the day of judgment when they appear before Christ and he says, “By the way, I know it was you who hit me”?

Verse 65: “And they were saying many other blasphemous things to him.” To blaspheme someone is to slander them, to speak against their person. Luke simply gives us that summary statement. You can imagine the things that were said would not be fitting to say or to write.

Many of us have committed blasphemy against the Lord—especially before we were convinced of our sin and came to believe he is indeed a prophet and the Son of God. When I was a Muslim, I blasphemed him by rejecting that he was the Son of God. How many of us have used Jesus’s name in vain? Some of us mocked the Lord with accusations like, “If Jesus is really God, why doesn’t he . . . ?”

We see this rejection of the Lord, and we tend to feel anger; perhaps we think these men deserve to be condemned. If they never repented then they were, in fact, condemned. But there’s good news for blasphemers, too:

Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. (Matt 12:31-32)

What kind of God forgives blasphemers? Only the kind of God who willingly suffers that blasphemy in order to save the blasphemer. Only the Lord Jesus Christ is so full of love and mercy that he makes a way for those who dishonor him to share in his honor.

Maybe that’s you. Hear the promise again: “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people. . . . Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.” Through faith in the Son of God there is forgiveness for the worst blasphemer. The only rejection that is final is his rejection of us in the judgment. Repent and submit to his lordship before it’s too late.

Luke 22:66-71

Finally, the established religious leadership put Jesus on religious trial. According to verse 67, their main concern is whether or not Jesus is “the Messiah.” The Lord is put on trial for who he claimed to be.

They, of course, don’t really want to know the answer to the question. The Lord knows that these men are willfully blind. They are committed to unbelief. It does not matter what he tells them. They will find a way to reject or avoid it.

Here is the hardest heart of all: the heart that refuses all proof and reason, the heart that refuses to admit what it knows. These men have hardened their hearts in this way.

But the hardness of man’s heart cannot stop the advancement of God’s plan. Despite their unbelief, the Lord goes on to say, “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (v. 68). In other words, there’s nothing you can do to keep me from reigning in honor with God.

In using the title “the Son of Man,” Jesus does tell them that he is the Christ and the Son of God. That’s why they respond the way they do in verse 70. They knew that the “Son of Man,” a title taken from Daniel 7, was a reference to the Deity. They ask: “Are you, then, the Son of God?” The Lord hangs them with their own words: “You say that I am.” Then comes the final rejection. They said, “Why do we need any more testimony, since we’ve heard it ourselves from his mouth?” (v. 71).

Larry King once said that the person he’d most like to interview is Jesus Christ. Mr. King said he’d ask one question: Were you really born of a virgin? For Mr. King, the answer to that question would define human history. That’s the further testimony Mr. King would like even though that’s the plain testimony of the Bible in the Old and New Testaments.

You see, it’s easy to reject Jesus by claiming to need more information. Many people hide behind what they don’t know in order to avoid what they do know. These elders knew Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. They also knew Jesus performed miracles to prove it. But they didn’t want to follow the evidence. They only wanted to confirm their rejection of him. There are many like them today.

What about you? Will you reject Jesus? Will you pretend that you need more information while clinging to your bias? Or will you be honest? There’s more than enough information and testimony to know the truth. It’s why this Gospel was written—so we could be certain that the things we’ve been taught about Jesus are true. What further testimony do you need?

Do not reject Christ. Believe in him. Sincerely seek answers for your questions. When you have them, trust them. If you accept Christ, he will accept you. If you reject him, he will reject you.