John Chapter 18:19-27

Every one of us falls short of the standard of perfection. Maybe your sins are as bad as Peter's in that sense and that you've denied the Lord.

Maybe they're not, but regardless, you know what? The Lord stands here this morning saying, hey, you know what? I'm ready to forgive you. What will you do? Will you just kind of business as usual charge out of here a few minutes when the service is over? Or will you take the time in the next few minutes and say, God, you know what? I'm so sorry. Please forgive me because you have a golden opportunity. As Jesus once again extends His hand to you and says, you know what?

You can have a fresh start again. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is a senior pastor of the Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. Today we have in the studio with us one of David McGee's associate pastors. This is D.A.

Brown. He's been on before. He's been a blessing. Welcome to the broadcast today.

Bob, it's good to be here. The sad truth is that we've all fallen short of God's perfect standard. The good news is that as followers of Jesus, we could be forgiven of all our mistakes. Today, Pastor Dave explains this amazing truth as he continues in the Gospel of John, Chapter 18.

Sounds good, brother. So let's listen as David McGee continues teaching with Part 2 of The Denial. Just a little recap of what we were talking about last week. We were in the beginning part of John, Chapter 18. Jesus was in the garden. And we see the betrayal of Judas and see the rest of Jesus.

And we looked at that. And so we find ourselves in the final hours, if you will, of the earthly ministry of Jesus. So we're going to pick it up in Verse 19. The high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine. Now notice he's asking him about his doctrine. And Jesus obviously has doctrine.

And why do you say that? Well, because I think sometimes we emphasize the miracles of Jesus while we de-emphasize one of the main ministries he had. And that was a teaching ministry. The ministry of Jesus, the earthly ministry, most of the time was spent on teaching.

Now obviously he was here, he came to die for our sins. Outside of that, his interaction and relationships with people were primarily teaching relationships. And I think that's a model for the church today. Now it's interesting that this man asked him his doctrine. And understand something. We need, you need to know why you believe what you believe. I read a statistic, I can't remember it, but it was like 84 or 86% of born again Christians couldn't explain what born again was.

Makes me wonder if they've been born again. It's not real complicated. You should be able to explain it. As a matter of fact, sometime today, let me challenge you with something. You should be able to, in 30 seconds, explain the gospel to somebody. And I would encourage, maybe jot down a note and put 30 second gospel.

And sometime today to your spouse, to your friend, say, hey, I want to do this. I want to do this 30 second thing and I want you to tell me what you think of it. And it would be really cool, since I've asked you to do that, you could find an unbelieving friend tomorrow and say, hey, you know, my pastor told me to try something.

Can I try something with you? I just want to explain the gospel. And another thing you probably should do is have a 30 second testimony. Because it will be rare where somebody gives you like 30 minutes. It's rare somebody walks up to you and goes, hey, tell me your life story, how you came to find meaning in life.

That's rare that somebody will ask you that. But you might have little 30 seconds opportunities all the time that if you had it kind of boiled down. So 30 second testimony, 30 second gospel.

We need to be able to explain that. 1 Peter 3.15 says, instead you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you're asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. Always be ready to explain it. Verse 20, Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world.

I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet. And in secret I have said nothing. Verse 21, why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said. Jesus points out this is an illegal proceeding.

That the question should not have been asked. Jesus is demanding that witnesses be called. Because this was the proper legal course of action.

And in this situation publicly and watch what happens. Verse 22, and when he had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand saying, do you answer the high priest like that? So they understood that Jesus had just said, you know what, this is an illegal proceeding. This is, he was implying the man was violating the law and the guy smacks him.

And we see, we'll see that a lot. A lot of things that they are doing what they're not supposed to be doing. And see this is, they weren't even supposed to have a trial at night.

And if it was for a capital offense, they were to have two trials during the day. The Sanhedrin, or Sanhedrin were the ones that were supposed to meet to make these decisions. The Sanhedrin never met at night. Sanhedrin are the 70 people, the roots go back to the 70 that were appointed under Moses. They had a glorious beginning, but they drifted. And before you start throwing stones at them, understand, take a good look at the Christian church in America today. Understand that we, that we in fact have drifted. Now, not all Jewish people were against Jesus.

There was a lot of people following Jesus, but some of the leadership was opposed to him. We talked about that somewhat last week, but you know how far this had gotten from where it was supposed to be. But again, how does that look here? See, we tend to think, well, you know, the church is somewhere you go when you got it all together. And then we look at people that don't have it all together. We go, well, what's wrong with him? What's wrong with her?

What's wrong with him? They seem to be struggling. They seem to have a problem. Then this is the place they need to be. This is supposed to be a hospital for those who have been wounded, not a museum for wax figures who never do anything wrong anymore. And you know the thing about a hospital, have you ever noticed, there's two kind of hospitals. There's a kind of hospitals that are very neat and very orderly, and then there's the kind of hospitals that are actually being used. So guess what?

The fact that we're a hospital means sometimes things are gonna get messy. In verse 23, Jesus answered him, if I have spoken evil and bear witness of the evil, but of wilt, why do you strike me? If I've spoken wilt, why do you hit me? Understand, Jesus is saying, you know what, tell me what I did wrong.

Well, that's a good question, isn't it? He never did anything wrong. He never messed up. Hebrews 4, 15, 16 says, this high priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we'll receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. He's been tempted in every area that we've been tempted in, but he never did anything wrong.

He never sinned. And what's interesting is the response it gives, because he didn't just, he didn't just turn the other cheek. If you remember Matthew 5, 39 says, but I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. Jesus didn't turn the other cheek. Now, I suggest that there's time to turn the other cheek. Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, but at this point, he turns and he rebukes the high priest. He rebukes him.

It's interesting to me. And Jesus here is exercising extreme power under control. Do you understand Jesus had the authority, had the power at this point to stop this whole proceeding? Can you imagine the blow he could have given the officer that just hit him? It'd been like one of those cartoons, you see, where the guy gets knocked through the wall, but he didn't do that.

He didn't even talk about it. You ever been talking to somebody that just talks about how powerful they are and how strong they are and they keep on and they keep on? You understand that when they're doing that, that they're really not sure of this power that they're telling you about and this strength that they're sharing with you.

They're very insecure in that. But Jesus is not doing that. Jesus is keeping silent. It's an amazing thing later on when he's stricken. I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but they covered his head and were dealing in blows. The significance of that is if you're hitting me, going to hit me, I'm going to bob and weave or move around and so the blow that you hit me with is minimized a little bit by me flinching and seeing it coming.

But if your head's covered, that can't happen and you absorb the full blunt of the blow, making it much more painful. Verse 24, then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. The whole thing is just, the child is a farce. I mean, they had long decided what they were going to do with this whole thing and he bound him up. He hadn't even been tried correctly. Of course, Annas can't tell him what he's done wrong. They're trying to still orchestrate the thing.

Why? Because they're caught off guard. They had not planned to do this during the Passover. They were going to wait because you remember the leader said, well, let's don't take him during Passover.

The people have an uproar. Jesus is in control of the whole situation. Jesus turned to Jesus and said, that's what you're about to do. Go do it now.

Go do it quickly and sets the whole wheels in motion. We'll be right back with more from David McGee on Cross the Bridge. Right now, here's a word from associate pastor D.A. Brown. We want to take just a minute to pray for a few cities in our listening audience.

In Montana, Gallatin, Glendive, Great Falls, Hamilton, Helena, Kalispell and Missoula. Lord, we thank you for everyone listening right now. We thank you for the work that you're doing in their lives. Lord, I pray that you would fill them with the faith that they need to say yes to you. God, we pray that if anyone in these cities does not yet know you, if they've not put their trust in you, that today they would. Lord, we pray for the churches in the area that you give the pastors wisdom. Lord, I pray that people will get plugged into these churches and grow. And Lord, we pray for the city leaders, the mayor, the police chief, the fire department, the town council, everybody in leadership.

Lord, that you give them wisdom and discernment, and we pray for unity amongst the government. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse 25.

Now, Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore, they said, to him, you are not also one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. And one of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, did I not see you in the garden with him? Verse 27, Peter then denied again, and immediately a rooster crowed. Guys, this is one of those biblical events that we're so familiar with, we don't think of the significance. Most of us grew up knowing the biblical story of Peter denying the Lord, so much that we don't really stop and consider it.

This is what I mean by that. Guys, we're talking about Peter. We're not talking about somebody that occasionally went to hear Jesus.

We're not talking about somebody that once a year went to hear Jesus. We're talking about a disciple, a disciple that had spent three years with Jesus, a disciple that was, if you will, was the first string. See, there was three guys that at certain moments and certain times, Jesus would invite these three guys and these three guys only, Peter, James, and John, to the Garden of Gethsemane, to the Mount of Transfiguration. So they were kind of like the first string guys. Well, I go back and forth and thinking that they're the first string, or maybe Jesus is thinking, I can't leave these guys alone with the other guys.

They'll start fighting that, so I'll take them with me. But regardless, he was that close to Jesus, and he fell, and he fell hard. And I think sometimes we think spiritual leaders can't fail, and they can. Peter, a leader, been with Jesus, been trained, falls, fails miserably.

And I think if everyone in here is honest, at some point, your words, your actions, have denied the Lord and what you know to be true. We're told an interesting thing, Luke 22, 61, it says, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. So Peter went out and wept bitterly. The Lord turned and looked at Peter.

Now, understand, Jesus had already been smacked hard at least once, maybe more than that. And he looked at Peter, and that look broke Peter's heart, and he went out and he wept bitterly. Understand, Peter was not a coward. Just moments earlier, Peter had been willing to take on a whole garrison of guys in fighting for the Lord, but he fell. And as you look at these two, because there's 12 disciples, but we're giving this up close and personal look at Judas and Peter. Both of them failed miserably.

Both of them stumbled in their time of testing, but look at the difference of what happens. Judas gave up. Judas gave up. Matthew 27, three says, then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that he had been condemned was remorseful, note the word remorseful, and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, I've sinned by betraying innocent blood. And they said, what does that does?

You see to it. And he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. It says he was remorseful. That's a different word in the Greek than true repentance. It means he felt bad.

And so many of us think that that's enough. As long as we feel bad, wait a minute, there's more to it than that. On top of that, Judas was telling the wrong people, sorry. He should have gone to Jesus and said, Jesus, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that.

See, if ever you have somebody apologizing to you for their behavior towards somebody else, you need something of that person. Because that's what Judas was doing. He felt a little bad.

He went to them, but he should have told Jesus. He was remorseful. He wasn't repentant. Now, 2 Corinthians 7, 10 says, for godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. See, just feeling bad is not enough. You got to go to God and say, God, I'm sorry, and ask for forgiveness.

And with that sorrow comes a sense of not desiring to repeat those same mistakes. Now let me ask you a question. Do you want to end up like Peter? Do you want to end up like Judas? Oh, I understand.

I understand. Right now in your mind, you're going, well, you know, I haven't done anything like that in denying the Lord. Wait a minute. You have no idea what plans God has for you.

And again, the amazing fact, Jesus doesn't look at Peter later on and go, Peter, you're done. Can't believe it. You're a miserable failure. You're done.

You're out. A few months from here, a little over 50 days, Peter preaches and sees 3000 people come to the Lord. He's far from done. But in our wisdom of looking at somebody, we would say he's done. There's a quote by William Shakespeare I really like. It says, we know what we are, but know not what we may be. We know not what we may be. I wonder if Peter had, I don't think Peter had any idea of how God was getting ready to use him. At this point, he's just feeling that he's a failure.

But it's interesting. Peter was not finished. Mark 16, seven tells us this. Now love the way that Peter is designated here, but go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee and there you will see him as he said to you. The Lord spoke through the angels who said, go tell his disciples and Peter. They named him.

Why? Peter had to feel horrible at that point. Church history actually tells us that early in the church that people when he would go through a crowd would make the sound of a rooster even years later, reminding him of his failure.

It's a very human thing to do, isn't it? Not a godly thing to do. And Jesus, when he was talking with Peter about this in Luke 22, 31, he says, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you to sift you like wheat, but I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers.

When you come back, minister to others. What a message of hope. And that's part of the good news.

Peter wasn't done. And while the crowing of the rooster, do you know when a rooster crows? The beginning of a day as the dawn begins to break. Some roosters go schizoid or something. They'd crow all night.

We used to live near one. That's kind of unnerving. But most roosters crow at the beginning of the daylight. See, even in the midst of this, the sun was coming up. A new day was dawning.

Another opportunity. The life lesson here, as followers of Jesus, we can be forgiven of all our mistakes. As followers of Jesus, we can be forgiven of all our mistakes. You understand that? We think in terms of Christianity being forgiven once.

And it is. It starts with that first time of, Lord, forgive me of my sins. But you know what? When's the last time you repented? I don't mean just a generic, oh, Lord, forgive me for everything I did. No, I mean a heart-rending cry.

Lord, you know I did this. Forgive me for that action or that behavior, and give me strength. I don't think we do it often enough. No, I don't think we encourage one another when we stumble. Galatians 6, 1 says, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. We're told we're given the ministry of reconciliation, of seeing people reconciled to God. What an awesome thing to be given. See, this is the thing. And family, you know, usually at this point in the service, it's kind of winding down.

What do I do? I turn towards the emphasis of the person who's seated in here, who doesn't know the Lord is their Savior, never asked for the forgiveness of their sins. And certainly, if you're in here this morning and you've never asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins, I want to give you that opportunity in just a moment. But I want to talk to those of us who've said that prayer, and ask you again, when's the last time you asked the Lord to forgive you of the things you've done wrong? This forgiveness that was purchased at such a high price, do you value it? I used to think, you know, when you did something wrong, you had to go through a season where you felt really bad about it, and then after that season was over, then you could ask for forgiveness.

That's an unscriptural concept. And what I found over the years, to be honest, it got harder and harder as time went by to ask for forgiveness. And now I ask for forgiveness quickly. Oh, Lord, messed up again.

Please forgive me and help me in this area. See, we all have a decision to make in here this morning. It's not just an unbeliever has a decision to make. Every one of us has a decision to make.

First John lays it out like this. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. So may I ask you a question? Because even as I've been saying this, some of you say, I'm good, I'm okay.

Fine. Then you're calling God a liar because you're saying you haven't sinned. Every one of us falls short of the standard of perfection. Maybe your sins are as bad as Peter's in that sense and that you've denied the Lord.

Maybe they're not. But regardless, you know what, the Lord stands here this morning saying, hey, you know what? I'm ready to forgive you. What will you do? Will you just kind of business as usual charge out of here a few minutes when the service is over? Or will you take the time in the next few minutes and say, God, you know what? I'm so sorry.

Please forgive me. Because you have a golden opportunity. As Jesus once again extends his hand to you and says, you know what, you can have a fresh start again.

I'm so grateful that we don't just get one. Sometimes we paint the gospel like that. Well, you know, you can get saved if you promise you'll never do anything wrong ever again. Who's gonna pray the prayer? Who's gonna ask God to forgive them that is in their right mind?

Because all of us realize at some point we're gonna make another mistake. But you know what the Lord says in Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18? I love this verse. Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The darkest thing you've ever done, the worst thing you've ever done, Jesus stands willing and able this morning to forgive you of that. If you will ask and with you ask and forgiveness comes that desire to not repeat those same mistakes over and over. That's something God will do in you as time goes on.

And again, each of us has a decision. We can sit here this morning and say, no, we don't have any problems, we don't have any sin and you're calling God a liar? Are you calling God a liar?

Or you can say, you know what? Thanks be to God. I've been reminded through the Holy Spirit, through the word of God, that I'm not where I should be, that I've recently made some mistakes and I need this forgiveness. Everybody in here has a decision to make. And if you walk out of here without making a decision, you still have made a choice to walk away from the hand of the Lord that is extended to you right now to have that fresh start. Though your sins are deep and dark like scarlet, they can be white as snow.

Who among us would turn down an offer like that? In this moment, in this time, let's all do divine business with the Lord. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short simple prayer for you, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Now, God wants you to pray this prayer so much that He died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask Him to forgive you.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned.

And I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. Jesus said He would not turn anybody away who comes to Him.

And He came for those who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or, you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27117, and share how God is working in your life. You know, the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood, through radio, through the internet, and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use. So if you'd like to support this ministry, please go to crossthebridge.com, click on the donate button, and ask God how much He would have you give, either on a one-time basis or a continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's Word continues to go out through Cross the Bridge.

Thank you so much. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God, with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. Those are terrific, and it's easy and it's free. So folks, sign up today at crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.