March 27, 2022
Morning Service

In our journey through the end of the Passion Week, we have experienced the intimacy of the Last Supper, the agony in the Garden, and the chaos with the arrest of Jesus.  We, the disciples, have been blindsided as we watched exactly what Jesus told us would happen transpire before us. We all scattered fearing for our own safety and greatly confused.  Our focus today will be upon two of the disciples who experience similar experiences but react very differently.  Judas has decided to betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver; we can only speculate at what it was that drove him to do such a thing (other than he was chosen for the task).  Peter has declared that he would die rather than desert the Lord and tried to do so in the Garden by pulling his sword. Jesus stopped him in his tracks throwing him into a time of confusion that leads to his denying the Lord three times.  These are both stories of failure.  We each have our stories of how we have failed the Lord along our journey.  I pray through this study today, we gain a better understanding of how we are to handle our failures and what true repentance looks like.  Let’s begin with Peter.   

Mat 26:69-75 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  (70)  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  (71)  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  (72)  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  (73)  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  (74)  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.  (75)  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly.

            Have you ever been there?  You have professed to be a Christian and are following Jesus and then you do something or give in to a temptation in a moment of weakness.  There then comes that moment where you have to look in the mirror and admit, first to yourself, that you have tripped and fallen flat on your face; failed.  It often happens like Peter in stages as in his first denial he simply tried to divert the attention elsewhere; “I don’t know what you are saying.”  Secondly, he denied with an oath and thirdly, cursed and swore that he did not know Him.  In Luke’s gospel he tells us that Jesus looked directly at Peter as the rooster crowed; can you imagine how he felt in that moment in time.  It was in that moment Peter realized his failure; he had taken a path he had sworn that he would not go down. This is the moment of truth that is the most crucial in how you handle your failure.  You can run away from your mistake, justify it by your circumstances, or you can OWN it.  Peter owns his failure as he “went out and wept bitterly.”  He realized that despite his own strength and resolve he failed and needed help; it was a very humbling experience for this proud fisherman.  True repentance comes with a time of ownership and desire to change.  Judas takes another approach to his failure.

 

Mat 27:1-10When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.  (2)  And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  (3)  Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, (4) saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!"  (5)  Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.  (6)  But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood."  (7)  And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.  (8)  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  (9)  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE VALUE OF HIM WHO WAS PRICED, whom they of the children of Israel priced, (10) AND GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER'S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME."

            Judas comes to the point, as Peter did, realizing that he had “sinned by betraying innocent blood.”  He, however, chooses a different path to deal with his failure.  He does try to make amends, but falls short and chooses instead of repenting and seeking forgiveness to run away from reality and takes his own life.  This was prophesied of him many ears earlier as Matthew states here from Zechariah.  The principle however is still true showing Peter repented, sought after forgiveness, and was eventually restored but Judas though showing only remorse and not a desire to change stopped short of true repentance.

            Repentance can be defined as feeling regret or remorse AND a desire to change.  Feeling bad about what you have done is not enough, we must also own up to the failure and have an inner drive to not fail that way again.  Our failure should hurt us deeply.   Imagine how Peter felt as Jesus looked at him as the rooster crowed; it was a remorse that hurt him deep into his core with a desire to change.  We too should have that same feeling when we fall into sin.  Paul wrote this to the Corinthian church on their repentance:

 

2Co 7:8-11 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.  (9)  Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.  (10)  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  (11)  For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

            Paul’s letter caused the church at Corinth to painfully examine themselves and make changes because of their failure (sin).  It made them to be diligent (earnest), clearing (make changes), indignant (realization that you failed), fearful (alarm), vehement desire and zeal (energized to action), and vindication (clearing of yourself through repentance).  This path to repentance begins with honestly owning up to your sin, feeling sorrow for it, and then seeking forgiveness, restoration, and walking the path with a new perspective.  The result of  our repentance is change and also forgiveness; a second chance.  John wrote to us and spelled out exactly how this process is to go and the Lord’s reaction to it.

 

1Jn 1:8-9 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  (9)  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            The wonderful truth is that God knows we will sin and has set up this way of restoration for us.  IF we confess, own our failure, He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  God promises to forgive us and we MUST accept that forgiveness as a “new” beginning and move forward in our journey.  There may be some changes that need to be made, put up some guardrails, to help us avoid making our sin a pattern in our lives.  We must follow the Corinthian church’s example we just read about.  This is all focused on the repentance of a believer to his errors, but let’s go back a step and look at one’s initial repentance.  It is something God greatly desires and requires to begin our journey to salvation with Jesus.

 

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

 

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

            This is God’s desire for you, to come to an initial point of repentance in your life and seek after Him.  After hearing the gospel message, receiving it for yourself, that is followed by a time of repentance that make heaven celebrate!  Jesus’ work is complete, now it is up to you.  God is waiting on you to make the first move.  I picture Him as the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son; as He waits on the porch looking down the road for our return.  The Prodigal comes to the point of repentance and humbly returns home to seek forgiveness.  This is our story as well as we come to the Father.

 

Luke 15:20-24 "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  (21)  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  (22)  "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  (23)  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

            Our Heavenly Father is patiently waiting on you to “come home.”  He is speaking to you this morning.  Repent and allow God to change your life into something better than you can imagine.

 

Heavenly Father, hear our cry this morning that we need You.  We are weak and You are strong.  Bring us all to the realization that we are loved by You.