Remorse to repentance

Matthew 26:69-27:14 from the daily reading in the One year Bible

Peter’s Denials

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Judas’s Remorse

27 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; ² and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.

³ Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” ⁵ And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. ⁶ The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” ⁷ And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; ¹⁰ and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴ And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.

A key element in receiving the forgiveness of God is being able to forgive ourselves. In today’s text we see that both Peter, who denied Jesus and Judas, who betrayed Him, were sorry for what they did. Look at the account of Peter’s denial:  Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”  A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.”  Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.  Peter had sworn that he would follow Jesus even to death. Yet a few hours later he denied Him not once, but three times. Look though at what Peter did later after Jesus had been crucified and buried. In John 20:3-8 it says:  Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,  and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.   Peter still sought to be with Jesus. He didn’t hide in shame. He didn’t allow himself to be consumed with guilt and blame.

A few hours before the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter, in Luke 22:14-23 it says:  When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”  And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.   Judas was among the disciples for whom Jesus washed their feet. Judas was offered the broken body and the blood of the New Covenant. Yet in today’s text it says:  When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.   Judas felt remorse, but rather than accepting the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, he paid the price for his own sins.  

We too need to decide if we will truly accept the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, or if we will continue to pay the price ourselves. Peter didn’t take the grace of God lightly. He knew full well the price that Jesus paid, but he received the forgiveness gratefully. He was changed. He went from being fearful of the accusations of a young girl, to become a bold witness for Christ. It is good that we feel remorse and even weep bitterly when we fall into sin, but like Peter we should run to the resurrected Christ. Romans 6:23 says:  The wages of sin is death. On the cross Jesus said: “It is finished!”   We need to determine that we will not continue to pay for what has already been paid in full.

Heavenly Father thank You for the demonstration of Your love, that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Thank You Jesus for the new covenant; that You paid for my sin in full. Thank You that as it says, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in me. I run to You so that I can walk with You.  Amen.