When Peter denies Christ, Scripture exposes a sober path from pride to prayerlessness, to rash self-confidence, and finally to denial. Learn how Peter's three denials of Christ become a gracious warning for every disciple—so we “watch and pray” instead of falling. Drawing from the text and historical context, we can trace sin's downward spiral.
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Table of contentsThe Groundwork Is Laid Before The Sin Is Committed.Four Ways the Groundwork for Peter’s Denials Was LaidFirst, Peter Denies Christ Because He Ignored Jesus’s Warning.Second, Peter Denies Christ Because He Was ProudThird, Peter Denies Christ Because He Failed To Pray.Fourth, Peter Denies Christ Because He Acted RecklesslyThe Context for Peter’s DenialsSin Often Begets Worse SinPeter’s Example Should Make Us Sober, Not ProudFour Ways to Learn from PeterFirst, Peter didn’t listen to Jesus.Second, Peter was proud.Third, Peter was self-deceived.Fourth, Peter was unprepared.
Soon after I became a Christian, I started reading the Bible regularly. The approach I took was to read a book in the Old Testament and then a book in the New Testament: Genesis, Matthew, Exodus, Mark, Leviticus, Luke. But then something happened: my friend Elwyn said, “Have you read about David?” I didn’t even know where to look for information about David. He told me I had to read 1 and 2 Samuel. I trusted Elwyn, so I interrupted my Bible reading plan and began these two books.
I reached 2 Samuel 11 when David committed adultery and murder, and I didn’t think I was reading about David anymore. I wondered who the imposter was. David hadn’t been perfect up to that point, but I sure didn’t think he was capable of these horrible sins.
As I reread accounts of David over the years, I saw the groundwork for his adultery. By the time David saw Bathsheba, he already had about twenty wives and concubines. There was no way this sort of compromise wouldn’t catch up to him. He was so used to taking women that didn’t belong to him that by the time he saw Bathsheba, she was just one more woman in that long list.
David's practice of taking multiple wives demonstrated a lack of restraint and an indulgence of his passions. Staying home from the battle just provided the opportunity for David’s indulgence to reveal itself.
The Groundwork Is Laid Before The Sin Is Committed.
Was there any groundwork for David’s sin of murder? No. I would say it was the opposite. David repeatedly resisted the urge to murder Saul, even when it seemed he should. When Saul was in the cave:
1 Samuel 24:4 [David’s men] said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’”
And it did seem that God had delivered Saul into David’s hands. But David restrained himself. When David snuck into Saul’s camp:
1 Samuel 26:8 Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
Again, it seemed that God had delivered Saul into David’s hands. But David restrained Abishai.
So, how do we explain David murdering Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah? David didn’t murder Uriah because he was a bloodthirsty man who couldn’t control himself, despite what Shimei said when he was throwing rocks and insults at David (2 Samuel 16:5-13). Instead, David murdered Uriah because Bathsheba was pregnant and he wanted to hide his adultery. His sin had gotten so far out of hand that he didn’t want to turn back. The groundwork for David’s sin of murder was laid when he was committing adultery.
Here’s another example with the foolish young man who committed adultery with the harlot:
Proverbs 7:8 [the foolish young man] passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house 9 in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. 10 And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
You can’t miss the groundwork. First, he went to her corner, then he took the road to her house, and he did this at night when he thought nobody would see him.
Four Ways the Groundwork for Peter’s Denials Was Laid
And Peter’s denials are similar to David's in two ways. First, we can see the groundwork for Peter’s sin just like we could see the groundwork for David’s sin. Second, Peter’s sin got so far out of hand that he didn’t want to turn back. He started with a simple denial, but then began swearing oaths and cursing himself. I’m stressing this because it isn’t only important to know that Peter denied Jesus. It is also essential to understand how it happened.
First, Peter Denies Christ Because He Ignored Jesus’s Warning.
Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen