Well, after the tender and loving and personal prayer of Jesus that we were able to eavesdrop on, the story of Jesus takes a shocking and horrible turn. Let me read from John 18.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas who betrayed him, was standing with them...
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch of the door, and brought Peter in. 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." Now the servants and the officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing there and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
After hearing Jesus declare who he is and why he had come, supporting his claims with miraculous signs that demonstrated his deity, after hearing voices from heaven testify to who he was, Judas turns on him and Peter, in self-protected fear, denies that he ever knew Jesus. Judas, in an act of horrible betrayal, offers Jesus up to the soldiers from the chief priests to face a trial and potential execution. The shocking contrast here is between the pure and tender loving heart of Jesus; and the self-protecting disloyalty of Peter; and the dark disloyal hatred that lives in the heart of Judas.
Remember, way back in John 2, Jesus looked at the crowd and said, "I cannot entrust myself to these people because I know what's inside of them" (Paraphrase). Now these two moments have been recorded and preserved for us because God loves us. Hear what I'm about to say, "It's a call for us to examine our own hearts." You see, Jesus knows how easy it is for us to minimize our disloyalty, our love for the world more than we love Jesus, to minimize the presence and power of sin. Both of these men had been warned. This side of eternity, there's a war for our hearts and souls. You see, when you minimize sin, when you minimize the coldness of your heart, after a while, it doesn't bother or scare you anymore. And because you've minimized it, you don't value, seek, and celebrate the grace that rescues you and delivers you from it.
But there's more. It's so important to say, "Although what Peter and Judas did was a horrible evil, God used it for good." It was God's plan that Jesus would be delivered up to die, so that in his death, we would have eternal life. You see, although we have to face the sin that's still in our heart, evil is not ultimate. Sin is not ultimate. God is! And his will, his great redemptive will, will be done! His work of redemption cannot be stopped until every microbe of sin has been delivered from every cell of every heart of every one of his children. Grace will win!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. After reading and hearing about these two instances of denial and betrayal of Jesus, it can be easy to scoff at the obvious sin of Peter and Judas. However, as you search your own heart, where can you find examples of self-protecting fear in your life? Are there any areas where you can find obvious denial of the way Jesus wants you to live? What parts of your heart live in disloyalty to Christ? How have you potentially minimized that disloyalty?
2. What parts of the world do you find yourself in love with more than your love for Christ? How has the world captured your attention and affection in ways that overshadow your attention and affection for God?
3. As you pause to examine your own heart and heed the warning given to you through this story in Scripture, are there specific parts of your life where you minimize the presence and power of sin? How has any of that minimization of sin chilled your heart and affection for Jesus? Where have you become numb to the presence and power of sin in your life? Why do you think that sin doesn't scare you anymore?
4. How can a minimization of sin devalue the grace that rescues you from it? Are there any specific areas of your life you can identify that don't celebrate the grace that delivers you from your sin?
5. Pause now and ask God to reveal your blind spots to you, and be intentional to pray for deliverance from your sin. Ask him to help you see your sin and celebrate the grace that rescues and delivers you from it.
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• If someone needs to be rescued, why do you think it could be important for that person to recognize that they are in danger first? How does danger help someone to be thankful for being rescued from danger?
• Are there certain areas of your heart where you can see that you are in spiritual danger and in need of rescue? Can I share with you the areas of my heart where I see that I'm in spiritual danger in need of rescue?
• How can we be sure that God will have victory over sin?
For Older Children:
• Why do you think it's important to have an accurate picture of the spiritual danger a person might be in? How would that accurate picture of danger in someone's life make you want to respond...especially if that person who was in danger was close to you (a good friend or family member)? How does the Bible act as a "good friend" in our lives when it communicates stories of betrayal and disloyalty toward Jesus?
• How does minimizing the danger of sin in our lives also minimize the grace that rescues us from that danger?
• How can we be sure that God will have victory over sin?
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