Jesus Questioned & Denied

[Read John 18:13-27]

Jesus said some very hard things through his ministry on earth. One of those hard sayings feels additionally hard in the context of this morning’s passage. Jesus said this, “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33, ESV). Think about that for a moment. Whoever denies Jesus before men, Jesus will deny before the Father. That’s a hard saying. It’s especially hard as we read this story about the Apostle Peter’s denial of Jesus before men…

As we dive into this morning’s passage, it will be helpful to set the stage a little bit because it helps give us a better picture of what is actually happening in this passage. The passage begins by saying, “So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.” (John 18:12, ESV). So, this large group of soldiers and temple guards tie Jesus up and haul him off.

What’s really interesting to me is where they haul him. We read, “First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.” (John 18:13, ESV). This has created some confusion over the years, and for me as I’ve studied the passage. This passage clearly states that Caiaphas is the high priest at the time. And John reminds us that Caiaphas played a role in this plot to kill Jesus: “It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.” (John 18:14, ESV). So, Caiaphas was the one who gave them the idea to kill Jesus and Caiaphas was the high priest at the time. So, who is Annas? And why are they bringing him to Annas in the first place?

Well, Annas was the high priest at one point, and he was a highly respected high priest. The Mosaic Law said that a high priest was a high priest for life. However, somewhere along the way, the Romans came in and removed Annas from being the high priest and eventually appointed Caiaphas in the position. It seems like the Jews were unhappy about this (and rightly so) and were still functioning, in some ways, as if Annas was their “true” high priest. That’s why they bring Jesus to Annas first and that’s why he is even described as the high priest later on. They are still honoring him for, what they consider, his God-appointed role. However, there is also some speculation that Annas was in on the plot as well, which would also explain why they brought Jesus to him first.

As they bring Jesus into the courtyard of Annas, we read, “Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.” (John 18:15, ESV). This should cause you to ask a couple questions. First, where are the other disciples? Second, who is the disciple called “another disciple”? To answer the first question, we must assume that Jesus was correct when he said, “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.” (John 16:32, ESV). The rest of them ran away—they scattered the moment the shepherd was struck. The only two that remained following Jesus were Peter and this other disciple.

That leads to the second question of who this disciple is. The best guess is that it’s John—the one writing this gospel. It was common practice at that time not to refer to yourself directly, but in a roundabout way. The Apostle Paul talks about himself vaguely when he says that “he once knew a man who”. Mark, the gospel writer, talks about “a young man” who ends up running off naked when Jesus was arrested, most likely talking about himself. It’s common to understand John’s references to “the disciple whom Jesus loved” as being references to himself, which makes it seem very likely that this is also John talking about himself. All that remained with Jesus at this time were Peter and John.

John had some connections with the high priest, which allows him to get into the courtyard to see what is happening. Peter didn’t have those connections, so John vouches for him and brings him in too. This is where things get difficult.

As Peter and John are entering the courtyard, we read, “The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”” (John 18:17, ESV). Notice how this is worded. The servant girl says “You also…” which assumes that she already knows that John is one of Jesus’ disciples—remember, he had connections with this family. So, this servant girl already knows that John is one of Jesus’ disciples and is asking if Peter is too. Wouldn’t you think that information and the way the question is worded would have made it easier for Peter to answer differently? I think so. Actually, everything about this first denial is written in such a way to show us Peter’s weakness. This wasn’t a soldier asking him, it wasn’t a big burly man asking him, it was a little servant girl who already knew that John was a follower of Jesus and was asking if Peter was too, and Peter still says “I am not.”

This is the same Peter that said earlier, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37, ESV). This is the same Peter that tried to boldly take on a couple hundred soldiers by himself in the garden. Now, he is overcome by a little servant girl, who isn’t even asking an accusatory question, but most likely a simply cynical question: “You’re not one of THOSE people are you?” and Peter says, “I am not.” — “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33, ESV) — Then Peter hides himself in the crowd by the charcoal fire.

After Jesus is questioned, the scene comes back to Peter trying to blend in by the fire and we read, “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”” (John 18:25, ESV). Notice that this is worded exactly the same as before, including the word “also,” which seems to insinuate that John is still standing next to Peter AND that these people know that John is a follower of Jesus. Peter responds the same way, “I am not.” Then, we get this little detail, “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”” (John 18:26, ESV). It just so happens that one of Malchus’ relatives was standing by that same fire and he definitely remembers the face of the man who cut his relatives ear off. So he calls Peter out on it and says that he remembers seeing Peter in the garden. We read, “Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.” (John 18:27, ESV). The rooster crowing is a reminder that this is what Jesus had told Peter would happen, but Peter REFUSED to believe it would happen. Yet, here we see it clear as day. Peter not only denies Jesus once, but he denies him three times. “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33, ESV).

This is a good reminder for all of us of a couple principles from God’s Word. The first is, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41, ESV). The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Peter wanted to be bold and strong and remain faithful, but his flesh was very, very weak. The same thing is true of each one of us. That’s why Jesus tells us that we need to pray for strength and perseverance in the midst of temptation. That’s why the Lord’s Prayer ends with “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” because the spirit may be willing, but our flesh is very, very weak.

And that leads right into the next lesson that comes from various places in Scripture: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12, ESV) or another way of saying that is: pride goes before the fall. I think this is what happened to Peter. Peter told himself that this could NEVER happen to him. He was too strong for that to happen. So, he wasn’t prepared for it and put himself in a position where he would fail, and he fell. Pride goes before the fall.

I think this is often behind many of the failures of religious leaders we’ve seen lately. They tell themselves “I would never commit adultery. I’m too holy, too strong, too good to do such a thing” and slowly they put themselves in positions where they are led into temptation, to which they eventually give in and fall. Pride goes before the fall.

I see teenagers and adults do this on a regular basis. I’ve repeatedly heard teenagers say, “I will never get involved in drinking and drugs. So, it’s fine if I hang around it. I’m never going to be one of THOSE people!” Or I hear people say, “I would never sleep with someone who is not my spouse. So, it’s fine if I put myself in situations that are a little too close, or flirt a little, or snuggle a little, or…it’s not like I’m one of THOSE people.” Pride goes before the fall.

John Calvin reminds us that it doesn’t always start off as a major sin or a major denial. It often starts off very small, with something seemingly insignificant: “At first, the fault will not be very great; next, it becomes habitual, and at length, after that conscience has been laid asleep, he who has accustomed himself to despise God will think nothing unlawful for him, but will dare to commit the greatest wickedness. There is nothing better for us, therefore, than to be early on our guard, that he who is tempted by Satan, while he is yet uncorrupted, may not allow himself the smallest indulgence.” (Calvin, 203-204).

Jesus stands as a contrast to all of this. RE Brown says, “John has constructed a dramatic contrast wherein Jesus stands up to his questioners and denies nothing, while Peter cowers before his questioners and denies everything.“ While we see Peter quivering and failing in the presence of a little servant girl, we see Jesus bound and standing before a man of great power without flinching, without backing down, without denying anything that he has taught throughout his entire ministry.

We read, “The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.” (John 18:19, ESV). Notice that Annas is not just questioning Jesus about his teaching, but is also questioning Jesus about his disciples. No wonder, Peter was getting nervous to be associated with him. Yet, Jesus refuses to get his disciples involved in this mess because he has already promised to protect them. So, Jesus responds only about his teaching saying, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” (John 18:20–21, ESV). It’s always hard to determine the tone in which things are said, but obviously they thought Jesus was being disrespectful in the way he said it because one of the guards hits Jesus and rebukes him for speaking improperly to Annas.

There are different thoughts on why Jesus responds this way. One is that he is protecting his disciples, basically saying, “You don’t need to involve my disciples in this. I haven’t hidden any of my teaching from anyone. If I said it in private, I’ve also said it in public. So, leave my disciples out of this and ask someone else. Everyone knows what I’ve been teaching.” Another reason is that there was a Jewish law that in these types of interrogations, it may have actually been illegal for them to question Jesus directly, and that the case had to rest on eyewitness testimony. So, Jesus could have been pointing out that this was a kangaroo court, and they weren’t following proper procedure, and was telling them to ask the witnesses like they should have been doing in the first place. OR, this was Jesus’ way of trying to remove the veneer of what they were doing. They knew what Jesus had been teaching. They didn’t really need to ask him. They were just putting on a show to pretend like they were doing things in good order. The guilty verdict had already been put in place. So, Jesus wants them to stop pretending like that wasn’t the case. OR, it is some combination of all these. Either way, the point is to show Jesus’ steadfastness and firmness and refusal to deny anything in the midst of tremendous pressure.

We see this even in the way Jesus responds to being struck by the officer. He doesn’t strike him back in anger and frustration. He also doesn’t cower and curl up into a ball. Instead, he remains steadfast. He says, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” (John 18:23, ESV). He continues to firmly and steadfastly hold to what he has said and what he has taught. Jesus knows he has spoken truth here, and it doesn’t matter if they like it or not, it’s still true. That’s why he basically tells them, “Instead of hitting me because I said something you disliked, why don’t you try to point out where I spoke falsely.” They don’t like that response, so they send him off to Caiaphas.

Another aspect of Jesus’ firmness and steadfastness in this passage is seen in his willingness to walk this path of suffering alone. Remember what we read earlier: “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.” (John 16:32, ESV). Ten have scattered and left him alone already, and throughout this passage, we’ve watched Peter deny Jesus three times, leaving him alone once again. Jesus cannot walk this road of suffering and death with anyone else. He must walk it completely alone and we see him walking that path with steadfast firmness, denying nothing.

Here’s what’s beautiful and powerful about this scene. We’ve seen the start contrast between Jesus and Peter in this passage. Jesus steadfastly walking the road of suffering alone, denying nothing. Peter wavering and falling immediately denying everything, being reminded of Jesus’ hard words: “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33, ESV). Yet, because Jesus resolutely walked this path of suffering, remained faithful in life and in death, became the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, then rose again from the dead. Because Jesus did this, it wasn’t the end of Peter’s story. Peter will be forgiven because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Not only will Peter be forgiven for denying Jesus, but he will be restored and strengthened by Jesus himself.

This is so powerful. Before, Jesus had told Peter that he could not follow him, and Peter showed that he couldn’t follow him. However, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after Jesus has overcome the world, he looks Peter in the eye and says “Follow me.” There’s this great line from a guy named JC Fenton: “Peter cannot follow Jesus, until Jesus has died for him.” We will see Peter forgiven for his denial of Jesus, restored by Jesus, and strengthened by Jesus. Isn’t it powerful to realize that Jesus refused to deny anything so that he could forgive the one who denied him? Then, as we follow the rest of Peter’s story through the book of Acts, we will not see him denying Jesus when things get tough, but he will remain firm. Eventually, church history will tell us that Peter will be crucified upside down because he refused to deny his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What changed? Jesus lived, died, and rose again and Peter was humbled and restored. He no longer relied on his own strength, in his own pride, but relied on the strength that God supplies through the Holy Spirit.

The same can be true of us. Maybe you’re here this morning and have failed greatly. Maybe you’ve denied Jesus Christ before men and are fearful that he will deny you before his Father in heaven. Maybe you’ve found yourself sliding down the slow path toward sin and death and feel enslaved and trapped, wondering if you’ll ever be able to get out. Look to Jesus. Don’t rely on your own strength. Don’t try to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Don’t think that you can rely on the same pride that got you into that mess. Instead, recognize your weakness and look to Jesus. Ask him to forgive you for your failure. Ask him to restore you and reconcile you to him. And then pray every single moment of every day that He would give you the strength you need to overcome the temptations that keep coming your way. That’s what it looks like to walk each day by faith. That’s what it looks like to live each day, not in our own pride and strength, but to live each day in the power of the Holy Spirit.