Clean Transcript

How Have You Been Looked Upon

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• Turn to the book of Luke, chapter 22, verses 55 through 61. We're going to read, and in the introduction, you'll think we're not going to get to this passage, but we will, Lord willing. So if you will look in Luke 22, the title of the message—listen carefully—is "How Have You Been Looked Upon?" How have you been looked upon? You will understand shortly. Notice in Luke chapter 22, beginning there with verse 51. The Word of God said, Luke 22 verse 51, "And Jesus entered and said..." Let's see. Suffering... I'm sorry, verse 55 is what I want. Verse 55: "And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together, Peter sat down with them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire and earnestly looked upon him and said, This

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• man was with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth, this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly." So the question that I would ask at the very beginning of this message is, have you been looked upon? I could ask the second question, how have you been looked upon? And I could push it even a little further and ask this way: how have you been looked upon by God? Being looked upon can either be in a good sense or bad sense.

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• I got to thinking about all the deputies and the police; they have what they call BOLOs—be on the lookout. In other words, you're looking for someone, you're watching for someone, and you want to look upon someone. So, we can do the same thing. We can look in a good sense or in a bad sense. And of course, we can look upon our children with delight, or we may look upon them with disappointment. We may look upon our spouses with love and affection, or we may look upon them with anger and bitterness.

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• Let me state this truth again. When we're talking about being looked upon, it can be used in a good sense or in a bad sense. For instance, when it comes to lust and when it comes to covetousness, our Lord said in Matthew 5 and verse 27, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So here would certainly be an evil look or a sinful look. And I've heard women say to me about certain individuals, "It looks as if he's undressing me with his eyes." And certainly that would be an evil look and an evil desire, that is for sure. But just like we may look upon individuals for either good or bad, the truth of the matter is that God also looks upon individuals for good or bad. However, let me quickly emphasize the fact: when God looks upon someone for evil, there is no sin on the part of God because God is absolutely, totally, and completely holy and righteous. But the evil look from God comes as a look of judgment and as a look of condemnation as well. For instance,

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• the book of Genesis chapter 6 and verse 12, the Bible says, "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." But notice, God looked upon the earth, and since God looked upon the earth and he saw that all had corrupted his way, then of course that look turned into a look of judgment, because you know what happened to Noah and the antediluvians—those who lived—because God sent the flood and destroyed man and woman as well. And so God may look upon stubbornness and rebellion and wickedness and insubordination and judge it now.

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• I want to show you, if you would, a couple of passages that we can compare. I want you to turn first of all, holding Luke 22, to the book of Numbers chapter 12. And I want you to see not only God looks upon people oftentimes in judgment, in chastisement, but when God does so, we may also look upon them and see the judgment of God. So in Numbers chapter 12, we'll read verses 4 through 15. "And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out, you three, into the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out." So God has looked upon them. He hears everything. He sees everything. And now God speaks very suddenly and says, "Get in front of this tabernacle." Watch. "And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both came forth.

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• And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Now watch this verse: "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow. And Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the Lord said

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• unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again." So Aaron and Miriam had spoken against Moses, and God looked upon that situation, and he certainly sent judgment, and he did so in such a way that when Aaron looked upon Miriam, he saw the judgment of God as well.

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• Now, let me give you another passage to compare with this. I want you to turn to 2 Chronicles 26. So 1 and 2 Kings, then 1 and 2 Chronicles. And look, if you would, at 2 Chronicles 26. This is the passage concerning King Uzziah. Now, let me just simply say this: that King Uzziah, by and large, is what you and I would call a good king. And by and large, he was a godly king until pride came into his heart. So look at it in Second Chronicles, chapter 26, verse 14.

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• "And Uzziah prepared for them"—that is, for his armies—"throughout all the host, shields and spears and helmets and habergeons and bows and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name was spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong." That is, God helped him. Then he got strong. And here's what happened: "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense." Which none were to do but the priest. Now watch: "And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense.

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• Go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land." Now here's an interesting thing: Miriam was looked upon and was smitten with leprosy and was healed. Uzziah was looked upon, was smitten with leprosy,

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• and was not healed. The truth of the matter is, Miriam spoke against God's prophet. Uzziah transgressed his authority and went into the temple and tried to do something he had absolutely no authority to do. So here are two lessons that you and I should learn. Number one: you do not criticize and judge and mock and make fun of God's true servants. That should be obvious. The second one is this: just simply because God has given us authority in one area does not mean that we have authority in every area or other areas. I might be the head of my house, but I'm not the head of Clay's house. I'm not the head of Steve's house. I can only be the head of my house, and just because I have authority there does not mean I have authority in every other home. Just because I'm the pastor of one church does not mean I have authority over all the other churches. And so we have to understand that all authority is delegated by God. It's limited by God. And so therefore, whenever we transgress in these areas, God has the absolute right to judge us. Now the truth of the matter is this: God most often looks upon his people for good. He hears our cries. He knows our needs. He knows our limits. He knows everything about us.

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• I want to show you a passage that has really been a help and a blessing to me. I could quote it, but I want you to see it. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 103, and I want us to look at verses 13 and 14. Psalm 103, and look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14. Notice, if you would please, what the Word of God says. I love this passage. Psalm 103 verses 13 and

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• 14: The Bible says, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Every father in this room has seen a child trying to do something and the job was too big or the load was too heavy, and so the father just simply goes over and helps the child, because we have pity on the child. We know the child is incapable of doing what he's trying to do. So, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Now look at the next verse: "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." Have you ever wanted to do something that was right, good, and holy, but you were just incapable of doing it? Sometimes you might be just too dead tired, or you may be too sleepy. There are many times I've wanted to do something, and I've just said, "Lord, I just can't go any further. I've got to take time and rest." Hmm. Well, the Lord knows our limits. He knows what we can take and what we cannot take. He knows what we can do and what we cannot do. He knows the load that can be placed upon us and that which cannot be placed upon us. Now there's a New Testament passage that parallels Psalm 103 and verse 14, and

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• I've quoted it here before. I don't want to quote it again. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. Listen to what the Bible says: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." Let me stop right there. First of all, the temptation is a test. It's a trial. It's an adversity. It's affliction. It's not a seduction to evil. It's a test. So he says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." So whatever Gary goes through, I go through; and whatever I go through, Clay goes through; whatever he goes through, Steve goes through; whatever Steve goes through, Lorraine goes through. Everybody goes through the same trials. So he says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." Now listen: "But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able." God's not going to put more upon us than we can take. So let me put it to you very plainly: if God places it upon you, you can take it. You may not like it. You may chafe a little bit, but if he places it upon you, you can take it.

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• So let me finish the verse: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." So whenever God places a test upon us, there's always a way of escape. Usually that way of escape is through obedience and submission, but it is still a way of escape. So, we can see all kind of wonderful illustrations about how God looks upon His people. For instance, in the book of Exodus chapter 2 and verse 25, "And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them." Note that God saw their slavery. God saw their persecution. He saw how hard they were being driven. He looked upon them. And when you get to Exodus chapter 4 and verse 31, when Moses was sent and told them that God had looked upon them, the Bible says that the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their

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• heads and worshipped. So God looked upon them.

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• Now, I want to show you a passage that's absolutely, totally astounding. Here's a good question: Why would God look upon any of us? Have you ever considered the humility of God? When we talk about the humility of God, we're talking about the fact that God is absolutely supreme and sovereign and holy and righteous. And God's interest is in God. It has to be in himself. Otherwise, he would not be God. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Psalm 113. And it's a very short Psalm. I want to read all nine verses. I want you to see this. I want you to consider how God humbles himself just to behold things in heaven and earth. The Bible says in verse 1: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

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• From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised." That is all day long. Verse 4: "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in earth!"

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• "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord." Now go back to verse 6. Look what God does: "He humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in earth." I am absolutely astounded, amazed that God would even humble himself to look upon us, especially when we're wicked, we're rebellious, we're ungodly. I'm amazed that he would ever look upon me. And yet the Bible says he humbled himself to behold things in heaven and earth. Let me show you another passage, because I want to continue showing you the vastness and the greatness of God's humility. If you would turn right over to the book of Ezekiel chapter 16. Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. Look in Ezekiel chapter 16. What did God see

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• when he looked upon us? Here's the picture that God paints concerning Israel, concerning Jerusalem. And of course, it's applicable to us because the same is true. So look, if you would, in Ezekiel 16, verse 1: "Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations." In other words, remember, Jerusalem, that's where the temple was. That's where the Levites were. That's where the teaching priests and elders were. "Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite."

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• Now I've got news for you: that means they were idolaters. They were Canaanites. When God came to Abraham, he was an heir of the Chaldees.

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• Now look what he says in verse 4: "And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born." Did you see that? God said, "When I looked upon you, you were filthy, you were wicked, you were absolutely cast out, ready to die." Watch verse 6: "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live." Wow! That is the look of grace and mercy, when God passed by and saw us in all of our sins, and yet he still loved us, set his heart upon us, and gave us life. Now, let me tell you what I've just

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• done. I've just showed you from Scripture some looks from God. I've showed you the look of God upon wickedness in judgment when he destroyed the antediluvians. I showed you how God looked upon his people in chastisement with Miriam and Uzziah. And I just showed you how God has looked upon each of us in grace and in mercy. And I showed you those looks in order to show you another look.

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• That is the look of disappointment. Consider this question: Have you ever disappointed the Lord Jesus Christ? Has the Lord Jesus Christ ever been disappointed in you? Hmm. We used to sing a song when I was a boy: "I'm satisfied with Jesus." You know that chorus: "I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied with Jesus." But the question comes to me as I think of Calvary: Is my Master satisfied with me? Wow, that's a good question. When you look in Luke 22—and that's our text, and I want you to go back there—we're thinking about Peter, and we're thinking about his betrayal of our Lord, his denial of our Lord. And I want you to see that all of this was preceded by pride and arrogance. This is absolutely astounding to me. Let me point something out. I've thought about this so many times. Have you ever thought about the fact that in our dreams we're all heroes? By that I mean not necessarily the dreams that we dream at night—sometimes that's true—but even in our daydreams, when we think about scenarios, when we think about things that may or

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• may not happen, usually we're the hero. I mean, you know, we can save a child or we can save our mates or we can save someone. In words, it always works out in our mind that we are the hero. But unhappily, in reality, sometimes—and most of the time—it turns out that we're the cowards. A good illustration of that is we often boast of what we would do in certain situations. You can hear about people who are in danger, or you can hear about people who are being assailed in some way, and then usually someone's gonna say, "Well, I will tell you what I would do if I was in that situation. I would do this and I would do that." And the truth of the matter is, no one knows exactly what they would do until they get in that situation. But we always have the answer as long as we're not in the situation. We always are the hero as long as

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• we're not actually doing the fighting. Here's what happened that really and truly prepared the way for Peter's denial—and I'm going to say for the denial of the rest of the disciples. So look in your Bible, Luke chapter 22, beginning there in verse 24. The stage is being set because of the pride and arrogance of the disciples. In Luke chapter 22 and verse 24: "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." In other words, strife means an argument. They were fussing and saying, "Well, I'm going to be the greatest," or "I'm the greatest disciple." Watch verse 25: "And he said unto them"—our Lord said—"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth."

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• It's almost hard to imagine, in one sense of the word, that here the twelve apostles are arguing among themselves which one's going to be the greatest. You remember it was the mother of James and John who came to Jesus and asked that he would grant her request. "What is it?" She said, "Lord, please grant that my two sons, that one may sit on your right side and one sit on your left side when thou comest into thy kingdom." Our Lord said, "You don't know what you're asking." But he said, "It's not mine to give; it'll be given to those for whom it is prepared." But obviously, clearly, here they are fighting to see who's going to be the greatest, and our Lord said, "Let me tell you something.

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• When it comes now to my kingdom, if you really want to be great, you've got to be lowly. If you want to be chief, you've got to be a servant." And then here our Lord, who is God incarnate, he said, "I am among you as one that serveth." And of course, over and over in the scripture, the Bible says Jesus Christ saying, "I've not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give my life a ransom for many."

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• So here the disciples are arguing over who is going to be the greatest. Now, let me tell you something. The next stage in the setup for this fall was because they refused to hear the words of Jesus Christ. They refused to acknowledge his warnings.

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• Now, if you look in Luke chapter 22, verse 31, look at verse 31: "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." Look at that. Our Lord said, "Peter, I've got something to tell you. Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift thee as wheat.

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• You're going through a big temptation. You're going through a big trial, a big affliction." But he said, "I've prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." So Peter did not lose his salvation. Don't come up with anything like that. Our Lord said, "I prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." How many prayers that our Lord have that were unanswered? None. Or did he say, "Father, I know that thou hearest me always"? So he prayed for Peter. Peter did not lose his salvation. He said, "I prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." That is, when you get turned back, when there's a repentance. But what did Peter say when the Lord told him, "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not"?

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• He said, "Lord, Lord, really no need to pray for me, because I'm really determined right now. I will go with thee to prison and even unto death." Wow. That does not sound to me like Peter took our Lord's words very seriously at all. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles, holding Luke 22, and I want you to turn to Mark chapter 14. This may surprise you. Hang on. We're going to be looking back and forth in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and even John. But look in the book of Mark chapter 14, if you would, at verse 27. Mark 14 and verse 27.

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• Look at this: "And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." Now our Lord just got out of his mouth, "You're gonna be offended. You're gonna be scandalized." Why? Because it is written. He quotes scripture. He tells them exactly what has been prophesied. And watch verse 28: He says, "But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee." But Peter said unto him, "Although all shall be offended, yet will not I." Jesus said to him, "Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice." Now watch: "But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise."

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• Are you ready for this? "Likewise also said they all." It wasn't just Peter; it was all of them. That's why in Matthew 26, if you go back there, Matthew 26 and look in your Bibles there to verse 35. Matthew 26 verse 35. Look at what he said: Matthew 26 verse 35, "Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples." I want you to think of all the bravado, determination, and manly grit that was expressed in these words: "We will fight, Lord. We will go to prison with thee. We will die with thee, Lord. We will never, ever deny thee. No, we will not." Now go back to Mark chapter 14. I want you to see this. Even though our Lord has told them, "All of you are going to be offended in me because of me this night." "No, no, no, Lord. We're not gonna be offended. We're gonna die with you." Okay, look at Mark chapter 14, beginning there.

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• Oh, let's see. Let's begin reading with verse 46. Our Lord's in the garden, "And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear." That was Peter. "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled." Now watch it: "And they all forsook him, and fled." All the disciples.

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• "And there followed him a certain young man"—this would be Mark—"having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked." Wow. So all of them had said, "Lord, we're not going to deny you. We'll go to prison with you. We'll die with you." And when they took him, everyone fled. They ran. Wow. Now Peter evidently did muster a little courage—not much—but he did muster enough to follow our Lord afar off. So if you look in Matthew 26 and verse 58, Matthew 26 and verse 58, you have to put all of these in together in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 58, the Bible says this: "But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in"—watch this—"and sat with the servants"—that is, the servants of the high priest, the enemies—"to see the end." What? Peter said, "It's over.

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• I'm just waiting till the killing. It's over. It's done with." So he followed afar off and sat. Hmm. Well, look, if you would, in Mark chapter 14 and verse 54. Mark 14 verse 54. Remember now he's followed afar off, but now he does something else. Mark chapter 14 verse 54. Look what happens: "And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire." So now he is fellowshipping, so to speak, at least identifying with the enemies of Christ. He's warming himself by their fire. Now if you'll look back in Luke 22 and verse 54: "Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off." Wow. It does not look like Peter has too much grit and courage at this particular point. He was downcast. He was disillusioned. He was disheartened. He followed Christ afar off to see the end. And when he got in the palace, he was warming himself by the fire of the enemies.

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• So here's my question, and I want to set you up for this: How did Peter even get into the palace? Well, if you look in your Bibles at John chapter 18, you'll see the answer to that question. John 18, and we'll begin reading there with verse 15. Watch this carefully. Please hold Luke 22, but John 18 verse 15: "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple"—that would be John. "That disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without." Why? He didn't know anybody in the palace. John did. "Then went out that other disciple"—that would be John—"which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter." So the only way Peter got into the palace was John happened to know someone in the high priest's palace, and he went to the door and asked this little damsel, asked this little maid, to open the door and let Peter in. Now I want to show you something. I want to show you that

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• it did not take much for Peter to deny Christ. I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22 and verse 56. We can also see it in John 18, if you will hold that, but go back to Luke 22 first. Watch this. I'm gonna read both of them so you can see this. In Luke 22 and verse 56: "But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him." Now look at that: "But a certain maid." Now look in your Bibles to John 18 and verse 17. Here it is, John 18 verse 17: "Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples?"

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• He said, "I am not." Now the word "damsel" in John 18 and verse 17, and the word "maid" in Luke 22 and verse 56, are exactly the same Greek word, *paidiske*. It refers to a damsel, a maid—hang on—a bondwoman, a female slave. This little girl only had authority to open and shut the door. She was not some governmental figure. She was not someone high up in the government or in the palace of the high priest. She was a doorkeeper. And she said, "You're one of them." He said, "Not me." That boggles my mind. So here's a man

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• that has just gone out of his mouth, "I will never deny thee. I'll go to prison with thee. I'll die with thee." And here's a little girl that has absolutely no authority. She said, "You're one of them." "No, no, not me. I don't know the man." Wow. Wow. Look in Luke 22 and verse 58. Look at this: "And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not."

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• Now this man that drew forth a second denial was a kinsman of Malchus. Malchus was the man whose ear Peter cut off. I've been asked innumerable times, "Pastor, do you think Peter meant to cut that man's ear off?" No, he didn't mean to cut the ear off. He was aiming for the center of his head. He just missed. He would have taken him out had he could have. But you know, it has always astounded me when I read this passage, because you remember what happened when he cut his ear off. Our Lord looked at Peter and said, "Put your sword back up in your sheath." And then he reached down and picked up the ear and stuck it back on Malchus. You know, I don't think I'd be too interested in catching a man who just put my ear back on just by touching it. Wow.

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• Now, look in your Bibles to John 18 and verse 26, and you'll see this. John 18 verse 26: "One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?" And again he denied, "I don't know the man." Well, this is the same man in Luke chapter 22. Wow. Hang on. That was just the second denial. Here's the third denial. Look in Luke 22 verse 59: "And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest." Now the speech of the Galileans was different from the Judeans, and you could recognize that. Someone bothers? It's just like in America: you can find someone from New Jersey anytime. And you know, every section of the country has different accents; that's all there is to it. And this has got to be you because you have the speech of a Galilean. "No." He said, "I don't know, don't know

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• the man." Now, I want you to watch this. Look carefully. Here's what I wanted to preach. Verse 61: "And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. Wow. Have you ever wondered about that look? Now I want you to note in verse 61 there are two distinct actions. Both of these are important. Number one: "And the Lord turned." He did not turn away from Peter. He turned to Peter. He did not turn his back upon Peter, although Peter had just denied him three times.

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• The second action was based upon the first action: He turned and he looked upon Peter. Now the word "looked"—it's the Greek word *emblepo*, which means to behold, to look upon, to gaze. Stop and think about that. Each of us have gazed at times, either a landscape or an individual. Our Lord just simply turned and looked at Peter. The gaze had to be one of earnestness, one of compassion, not one of wrath and resentment, but one of love and mercy. And at the same time, it had to be a signal to Peter to put him in remembrance. My goodness. Our Lord just turns and looks. The cock crows. And Peter remembers. And the Bible says in verse 62: "And Peter went out and wept bitterly." I was preparing this message this past week, and I ran across Matthew Henry's commentary on this section. And Matthew Henry pointed out that our Lord's looking upon Peter signified at least six different things. And I want to read this to you because I believe Matthew Henry is correct. He says, first of all, it was a convincing look.

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• Peter said that he did not know Christ. Christ turned and looked upon him, as if he should say, "Dost thou not know me now, Peter? Look me in the face and tell me that thou dost not know me." Oh. Secondly, he said it was a chiding look. We may suppose that he looked upon him and frowned, or some way signified his displeasure. Let us think with what an angry countenance Christ justly looks upon us when we have sinned. Thirdly, it was an expostulating or an upbraiding look: "What, Peter, thou that didst own me to be the Son of God, and didst solemnly promise thou wouldst never disown me, and yet now..."

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• Fourthly, he said it was a compassionate look. He looked upon him with tenderness: "Poor Peter, how weak is thine heart? How art thou fallen, undone, if I do not help thee?" Fifthly, he said it was a directing look. Christ guided him with his eyes, gave him a wink to go out from that sorry company—remember he's warming himself by the fire of the servants—to retire and bethink himself a little, and then he would soon see what he had done. And then he said, lastly, it was a significant look. It signified the conveying of grace to Peter's heart to enable him to repent. The crowing of the cock would not have brought him to repentance without this look, nor will the external means without special efficacious grace. Power went along with this look to change the heart of Peter and to bring him to himself and to put him in his right mind. That's when the next verse says, "And Peter went out and wept bitterly." Think about this: Has Christ ever looked upon you with disappointment? How many times have we done things, said things, thought things that should not have

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• been done, said, or thought? John Trapp, the old Puritan, said it like this: "A stroke from guilt broke Judas's heart into despair, but a look from Christ broke Peter's heart into tears." Here's some applications. Here's the first one: When you think about this, I do not suppose that anyone in this room loves the Lord Jesus Christ any more than Peter did. Peter lived with him for three years, walked with him, ate with him, fellowshiped with him, obeyed him, ministered to and with him. And if someone who is so intimate with Christ for three years could so easily deny him, how much weaker are we when we're not with him as Peter was? What's the Bible say? "Ye which are spiritual,

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• restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." In other words, we can do like Peter and the other apostles: we can boast and we can say, "Boy, if I was in that situation, I wouldn't have done that." Yes, you would have. Apart from the grace of Christ, you would have. Here's the second one: Have we been broken to tears? Have we wept bitterly over disappointing our Lord? I'm sure that each one of us have disappointed him, but has it ever broken our hearts that we really, truly disappointed Jesus Christ? The third one is this: Have you really, truly comprehended how weak, how frail, how shallow we really are? If our Lord does not hold us up, we have no strength.

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• If our Lord does not instill courage in us, we have no courage in and of ourselves. Because if he does not give us grace and mercy, we will compromise, we will deny, we will disappoint him on every hand. May I remind you of that passage in John chapter 15 when the Word of God says this: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." Listen to me: "For without me ye can do"—what?—"nothing." Without me ye can do nothing. The truth of the matter is, I believe oftentimes our Lord does look upon us with disappointment, but we don't really realize it. But I also said the look of disappointment is also a look of encouragement. How in the world could that be? Because Peter went out and wept bitterly; he repented. And the Bible tells us in 1 John 1 and verse 7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." And then he said in

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• 1 John 1 and verse 9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When is the last time we confessed disappointing Jesus Christ? It is possible to disappoint him, and it is possible for him to look upon us with disappointment. We must, we must seek him for grace and mercy. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee.

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• We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Father, for the opportunity to stand and, Lord, it's only your grace that will enable us to stand. It's only your mercy that will enable us to confess thee before men. Otherwise, we will be like Peter and not even confess thee before a handmaiden, a servant. Lord, how desperately we need thee and we need thy grace and mercy. Forgive us, Lord, for disappointing thee so many times. We are so weak. We are so frail. Have mercy upon us. And may we love Thee with all of our hearts.

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• In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

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• so so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:10:41Z