A Sermon for a Winter’s Evening

A Sermon for a Winter's Evening

(No. 3181)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1910.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of
coals, for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood
with them, and warmed himself." John 18:18.

WE note from this incident that it was a cold night in which our
Redeemer agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane.

[See Sermon #2767, Volume 48–JESUS IN GETHSEMANE.] A cold night and

yet He sweat! A cold night and yet there fell from Him, not the sweat
of a man who earns the staff of life, but the sweat of One who was
earning life, itself. "His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood
falling down to the ground." No natural heat of the sun, or of a sultry
evening caused this! The heat within His soul distilled those sacred
drops! His heart's throbs were so mighty that it seemed to empty itself
and His life-floods rushed with such awful force that the veins, like
overfilled rivers, burst their banks and covered His blessed Person
with gory drops! On such a wintry night as this, while you wrap your
garments about you, I would ask you to remember the olive garden and
the lone Sufferer, all unsheltered, entering into the dread anguish by
which He won our souls from death and Hell! The sharp frost may be a
useful monitor to us if it makes us think of Him and remember that
dark, that doleful night when all the powers of evil met and, even unto
blood, He strove with them for our sakes!

Now we will take you away from the Garden to the high priest's hall
where the incident occurred which is regarded in the text–and we will
make as good a use as we can of it. I suppose it was a large dark hall
in which the soldiers, the priests and the rabble were gathered
together. There may have been a few lamps lighting up the far end where
Christ was with His judge and His accusers. But the greater part of the
hall would have no other light than the glare of the fire which had
been kindled–a charcoal fire, around which the band of men who had
seized Christ and the servants of the high priest gathered to keep
themselves warm. We are going to make five observations upon that and
upon the fact that Peter was among those who warmed themselves at that
fire.

I. The first observation is this. THIS IS A TYPICAL INCIDENT AS TO THE
MOST OF MEN.

Jesus Christ was being tried. Some were very busy about it, being full
of malice and burning with rage. But a great many more were
indifferent–and in the Presence of a rejected and maltreated Savior
were carelessly warming their hands. It was not a matter that
interested them. They did not care whether He escaped or was
condemned–it was very cold and so they warmed their hands. Now, in a
land like this, where Jesus Christ is preached, it is a sad
circumstance that there are individuals who oppose Him and His Gospel.
There is the infidel who denies the Gospel altogether. There is the
superstitious man who sets up another way of salvation. And there is
the persecutor who rages at Christ and His people. Yet these active
enemies are comparatively few–the great bulk of those who hear the
Gospel are not open opponents– but like Gallio, care for none of these
things. They know that there is a Christ and they have some idea of His
salvation, but it does not interest them, or awaken any sympathy in
their minds. "What shall we eat and what shall we drink?"– these are
the great questions of their catechism! But as to who this glorious
Sufferer is and why He died, and what are the blessings which He bought
with His precious blood–none of these things move them–and they
forget, neglect, or despise the great salvation and the Savior, too!
They are full of the business of warming their hands! The death of
Jesus may be important to other people. It may concern ministers,
clergymen and professors, but it is nothing at all to them. They have
other matters to attend to and their own comfort is their main concern.
Around that charcoal fire the servants of the high priest warmed their
hands and so, in their temporal comforts, or in murmuring at the lack
of them, the most of

men spend their lives. To them it is nothing that Jesus should die! A
rise in their wages, a fall in provisions, or a change in the money
market is far more important to them!

If you think of it, this is a very terrible thing. Christ came into the
world to save men, yet men do not think it worth their while to turn
their gaze upon Him! He takes their nature, but His Incarnation does
not interest them. He dies that men may not perish–and men care not
one whit for His great love! One goes away to his farm and another to
his merchandise. One has bought a yoke of oxen and goes to test them.
Another has married a wife and, therefore, he cannot come. They are
eager for the bread which perishes, but they make light of the meat
which endures the everlasting life! They think much of this world, but
nothing of the world to come. Jesus is over yonder at His trial and
they are warming their hands!

I pray you think this over a few minutes, any of you who have been
indifferent to the great realities of redemption, and see what it is
and who it is that you thus treat with discourtesy. It is the Son of
God, the Redeemer of men, whom you neglect! Can you imitate those who
rattled the dice-box at the foot of the Cross, in utter hardness of
heart, though Christ's blood was falling upon them as they cast lots
for His clothes? Can you trifle in the Presence of a dying Savior? Can
you, did I say? Alas, some have done so for thirty, forty, fifty and
even 60 years! And unless the almighty Grace of God prevents, they will
continue to trifle, still–to sport, play and seek their own welfare in
the Presence of the bleeding Son of God, within earshot of His dying
groans!

Look, He dies and they place His body in the sepulcher! But on the
third day, according to His promise, He rises again from the dead! That
risen Savior is surrounded by the glory of unspeakably precious
promises, for He has risen for the justification of His people and as
the first fruits of them that slept–the great pledge that all those
who sleep in Him shall rise as He has risen! An august mystery–a
mystery which brought angels out of Heaven, the one to sit at the head
and the other at the feet, where His body had lain! And yet men eat,
drink, sleep and wake as if no risen Jesus had been here! In the
Presence of the risen Christ many only warm their hands, for it is
cold. The animal has mastered the mental. The body, which is the baser
part of man, and cleaves to the dust, has subdued the soul, and so the
man allows himself to trifle in the Presence of Jesus risen from the
dead!

Nor is this all, for He that rose from the dead ascended after 40 days!
A cloud received Him out of the sight of His disciples and He rose into
Glory and now He sits at the right hand of the Father, reigning there,
head over all principalities and powers–King of kings and Lord of
lords! Men do not generally trifle in the presence of a king. If they
have petitions to present, they put on an air of reverence. In the
Presence of the Royal Intercessor who pleads for us day and night, one
would think there would be some interest excited! But no, the multitude
warm their hands and think nothing of Him. In His Presence, they forget
His redeeming love, neglect His great salvation and remain without God
and without Christ. This is terrible! As I see the worldling merely
caring for his personal comfort while Christ is in Glory, I marvel,
first, at the insolence of the sinner and, secondly, at the Infinite
Patience of the Savior!

The Lord Jesus is to come a second time to judge the earth in
righteousness. When He shall appear, no man knows, but come He
will–and everyone of us must stand before Him. If we are alive and
remain, we shall join in that great throng. And if we fall asleep
before His coming, we shall rise from the dead at the sound of the
trumpet which proclaims His Advent–and shall all be judged of the Most
High. The hour of His appearing is not revealed in order that we may
always stand on tiptoe, expecting it to be today, or tomorrow, for He
has said, "Behold, I come quickly." Oh, how can you still be
money-grubbing, pleasure-seeking, enjoying yourselves, living only for
this world, living to got a competence, living to be what is called,
"respectable," and to feed yourselves like the beasts of the field?
Have you no thoughts for the Judge and the day of His coming? Shall our
immortal spirits spend all their energies on these trifling temporary
things in prospect of that great tremendous Day when Christ with clouds
shall come? Surely the solemnities of judgment should constrain us to
think of something nobler than earth and time!

There was no harm in their warming their hands, neither is there any
harm in our attending to the things of this life. Indeed, they ought to
be seen to, and seen to with care–but there is something higher,
something nobler and loftier for us to do than to serve ourselves! And
as it was horrible that we should be so callous in the presence of the
suffering Jews, so is the widespread indifference of sinners a terrible
thing! I would to God that the unthinking portion of those who hear the
Gospel might be startled out of their groveling care for the things of
this life and each one of them be led to ask, "What have I to do with
this Jesus of Nazareth? Is His blood sprinkled upon me? Has He cleansed
me from my sin? May I

hope for salvation through Him?" Oh, consider these things and give an
answer to your consciences! And God do so with you as you shall think
of Christ, your Lord.

II. Secondly, we remark that FOR A DISCIPLE TO MAKE HIS OWN COMFORT THE
CHIEF THING IN THE

PRESENCE OF HIS SUFFERING MASTER IS MOST INCONSISTENT.

One does not wonder at the high priest's servants making a fire of
coals, for it was cold–and one is not surprised at their standing to
warm their hands, for they knew but little, comparatively, of Christ.
They had never tasted of His love, they had never seen His miracles,
they had not been asked to watch with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane,
they had never heard Him say, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for
flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you." The marvel is that Peter
should stand there among them warming his hands! Why did he do so? Not
because he was indifferent to his Master. Let us do him justice–it is
plain that he was in a dreadful state of mind that night. He was so
attached to his Master that he followed Him up to the door of the hall
and stopped there till John came out and admitted him. He went up to
the fire because he thought he must act as others did, so as to escape
suspicion. And as they warmed their hands, he did the same, so as to
appear as one of them. It so happened, however, that the light of the
fire shone upon his face and lit up his countenance, so that one said,
"You are one of His disciples." Then, to get away from observation, we
find Peter passing into another part of the hall, where, I suppose, it
was darker. The people were talking and Peter must talk, for it was his
weakness to do so, and, moreover, he might have been suspected again
had he been silent. Then another remarked, "You also are of Galilee,
for your speech betrays you." He was discovered, again, and so made for
the door, but was known there, also. He was all in a tremble. He did
love his Master, weak as his faith was and, therefore, he could not
leave Him–and yet he was afraid to confess Him. He was worried and
troubled, tossed to and fro between a desire to rush forward and do
some rash thing for his Lord–and a fear for his own life! He went to
the fire because nobody would think that a follower of Jesus could warm
his hands while his Master was being despitefully entreated.

You see the gist of my observation, that for a disciple of Christ to
make his own ease and comfort the main thing is most palpably
inconsistent with the Christian character! Ah, dear Brothers and
Sisters, our Lord had not where to lay His head. Though He was rich,
yet for our sakes He became poor–can it be consistent for the
Christian to make the getting of money the main business of life? Is
such a disciple like his Master? The Master gives up everything–shall
the disciple labor to aggrandize himself?

Some warm their hands, not at the fire of wealth so much as at the fire
of honor. They want approbation, respect, esteem–and they will do
anything to gain it. Conscience is violated and principle is forgotten
to gain the approbation of their fellow men. Whatever happens, they
must be respected and admired. Is this as it should be? Are they really
disciples of the Nazarene? Is that their Master, despised and rejected,
spit upon and jeered? Is He their Lord who made Himself of no
reputation? If so, how can they court the smiles of men and sacrifice
the Truth of God to popularity? What can be more inconsistent than the
disciple warming his hands and the Master enduring the contradiction of
sinners against Himself? Dear Brothers and Sisters, every time our
cheek crimsons with shame because of the taunts of the wicked and we
lower our colors because of the jeers of the godless, we are guilty at
heart of the meanness of seeking to fare better than our Lord! Every
time we check a testimony because it would involve us in censure, every
time we stay from a labor because we covet ease, every time we are
impatient at the suffering which the Cross involves, every time we
"make provision for the flesh, to obey the lusts thereof," every time
we seek ease where He toiled, honor where He was put to shame and
luxury where He endured an ignominious death–we are like Peter among
the ribald throng–warming our hands at the fire while our Lord is
buffeted and shamefully entreated! May the Holy Spirit keep us from
this!

III. We now come to our third observation. IT IS MUCH BETTER TO BE COLD
THAN TO WARM OURSELVES WHERE WE ARE EXPOSED TO TEMPTATION.

Peter, if he had known it, was better off outside the door than in the
hall. I suppose he had forgotten the Master's warnings, for if he had
thought of them, he would have said to himself, "Peter, you had better
go home. Did not Jesus, in fact, tell you to go home when He said to
those who came to seize Him, 'If you seek Me, let these go their way'?"
It would seem to have been the path of humble obedience to have gone
his way and not to have pressed into the hall. Though no doubt the
motives which led both Peter and John into the high priest's house were
commendable, Peter's position among the soldiers and hangers-on around
the fire was extremely full of peril and offered no corresponding
advantages. Did he not know that "evil communications corrupt good
manners"? Did he not know that the men who had taken his Lord prisoner
were not fit associates for him? Should he not have felt that though he
might have his hands warmed, he would be likely to get his heart
blackened by mixing with such company?

Brothers and Sisters, I like to warm my hands, but if I cannot warm
them without burning them, I would rather keep them cold! Many things
are in a measure desirable, but if you cannot obtain them without
exposing yourself to the smut of sin, you had better leave them alone.
I have known professors far too anxious to mix with what is called,
"good society." Now, for the most part, good society, as things are,
nowadays, is very bad society for a Christian. The best society in the
world for me, I know, is to associate with my Brothers and Sisters in
Christ. Title, rank and wealth are a poor compensation for the lack of
true religion! Yet some professors covet the honors of the ungodly
world and they say, "It is not so much for ourselves–we are advanced
in years–but we want to bring the girls out, and our young men, you
know, our sons must have some society." Yes, and for the sake of this
dangerous luxury our churches are deprived of successors to godly
fathers! Instead of seeing the younger members of Christian households
drafted into our ranks, we have continually to begin again with new
converts from the outer world. Full often professors who God prospers
in this world so train their children that they forsake the spiritual
worship of God and turn their backs on principles for which their
forefathers dared to bleed and die! I charge you, Brothers and Sisters,
remember that if you cannot be admitted into "society" without
concealing your principles, you are far better off without society! Has
not our Lord called us to go outside the camp? Are we not warned
against being conformed to this world? Deny yourselves the warm place
around society's charcoal fire, for its sulfurous vapor will do you
more harm than the cold!

Some whom I have known have ventured very far upon very dangerous
ground to win the affection of a chosen object. There is no wiser
precept in Holy Scripture than that which commands Christians to marry
"only in the Lord." It never can conduce to take comfort of any
Christian man or woman to be unequally yoked together with an
unbeliever– you had far better remain in the cold of your bachelor or
spinster life than warm your hands at the fire of unhallowed marriage!

Not a few are tempted by the cleverness of certain literature to defile
their minds with skeptical and even blasphemous writings. Such-and-such
a "Quarterly" or, "Fortnightly," is so very clever that you are
regarded as a Philistine and an ignoramus if you do not read it! Yet if
you do read it, you are never the better, but very much the worse for
your pains–why, then, yield to its more than doubtful influence? Do
you pray the better for such reading? Have you more faith in God after
perusing such works? No, but doubts which would not otherwise have
occurred to you are sown in your mind, difficulties which only exist in
ungodly brains are conjured up–and the time which ought to have been
spent in devotion and in growing in Grace, and in bringing others to
Jesus–you waste in battling for the very life of your faith which you
have needlessly exposed to assault! I do not believe it to be essential
to roll in a ditch every day for the sake of proving the efficacy of
the clothes brush! Neither is it worthwhile to seek out infidel doubts
in order to try our logical powers upon them! Some tell us that we must
keep abreast of the times, but if the times run the wrong way, I see no
reason why we should run with them! Rather let us leave the times and
dwell in the eternities. If I can be cheered and refreshed by good
literature, and be the better and wiser for it, I am thankful. But if I
must, in warming my hands, defile them with unbelief, I will sooner let
them become blue with cold!

Perhaps, dear Friends, our liability to be injured by that which
renders us comfortable is one reason why God does not subject some of
His best people to the trials of prosperity. Have you not sometimes
wished that you were rich? I daresay you have. But perhaps you never
will be. You did prosper, once, but it came to an end. Once or twice
the prize of wealth seemed within your reach–others seized it–and you
are still working hard and earning a bare crust. We do not know what
you might have been if you had been allowed to succeed. In warming your
hands you might have burned them. Many Christians have been
impoverished by their wealth and brought to inward wretchedness by
outward prosperity. You have flourished best in the soil in which the
Lord has kept you–anywhere else you might have run to seed. Some years
since, when the first larch tree was introduced into England, the
person who had brought home the specimen put it into his hothouse to
grow. It did not flourish, and no wonder, for it delights in a colder
atmosphere! The gardener therefore pulled up the spindly thing by the
roots and threw it upon the dunghill! And there, to everybody's
surprise, it grew wonderfully! It was created to flourish under trying
circumstances–and perhaps you are of the same order. Learn the lesson
and be content to be where you are!

IV. A fourth observation is this–IF A CHRISTIAN ACTS INCONSISTENTLY,
HE IS PRETTY SURE TO BE FOUND OUT.

Here was Peter warming his hands and he thought that nobody would know
him–but his face, as we said before, was illuminated by the light of
the fire and one said, "Surely you are one of His disciples." The fire
did not merely warm, but it threw light on him and showed him up. And
so, when it comes to pass that a Christian gets into association with
the ungodly and figures with them, his sin will find him out. I have
noticed, in a very wide sphere of observation, that bad men may do
wrong for years and not be discovered–and that hypocrites may contrive
to carry on their hypocrisy half a lifetime without being unmasked. But
a true man, a real child of God, if he shall only do a tenth as much
wrong as others, will be certain to be detected! Peter tried to look
uncommonly comfortable and calm while at the fire, but he could not do
it. He revealed himself by the twitches of his face and the very look
of him! And when he spoke, as we have already said, the tones of his
voice betrayed him. A Philistine helmet will not sit well upon an
Israelite! He wears it awkwardly and is known, though in disguise. Ah,
Christian, you had better keep to your own company–it is of no use for
you to try to travel incognito through this world, for it will detect
you! Never go where you will be ashamed to be seen, for you will be
seen. A city set on a hill cannot be hid! A lighted candle must be
seen. A speckled bird will be noticed where no note is taken of others.
Worldlings have lynx eyes with which to spy out erring professors–and
they are sure to publish your faults for they are sweet morsels to
them! "Report it! Report it!" they say. In vain will you try to pass
yourself off as a stranger to Christ–your speech will betray you and
the finger of scorn will be justly pointed at you for your
inconsistency! Therefore, keep to your own company and walk not in the
way of the wicked.

V. The fifth point is this–and you all know it to be true–IT IS A
GREAT DEAL EASIER TO WARM YOUR

HANDS THAN YOUR HEARTS.

A few coals in a fire suffice to warm Peter's hands, but even the
Infinite Love of Jesus did not, just then, warm his heart. O Sirs, what
was the scene at the end of the hall? Was not that enough to set all
hearts aglow? It was a bush that burned with fire and was not consumed!
It was the Son of God struck on the mouth and vilely slandered–and yet
bearing it all for love of us! O Sirs, there was a furnace at the other
end of the hall–a furnace of Divine Love! If Peter had but looked at
his Master's face, marred with agony, and seen upon it the mark of His
terrible night's sweat, surely, had his heart been right, it would have
burned within him! One marvels that with such a sight before him–if
Peter had been Peter–if he had only been true to that true heart of
his, he would have braved the malice of the throng, placed himself side
by side with his Lord and said, "Do to me whatever you do to Him. If
you smite Him, smite me. Take me and let me suffer with Him." If he
might not have done that, one would not have wondered if Peter had sat
there and wept till he broke his heart to see his Master treated so!
But alas, the sight of his Lord, accused and betrayed, did not warm
Peter's heart.

My Brothers and Sisters, we sometimes wish that we had actually seen
our Lord, but seeing Christ after the flesh was of small service to
Peter. It was when the Holy Spirit used the glance of Jesus as a
special means of Grace that Peter's heart was thawed and his eyes
dropped with tears of repentance! O Lord and Master, though a bodily
sight of You would not warm us if You should walk up these aisles and
should show Your pierced hands in this pulpit. Yet, if Your blessed
Spirit will come upon us tonight, we shall see You by faith and the
sight will make our hearts burn within us, though it is winter! Come,
sacred Spirit, shed abroad the love of Jesus in our souls and so shall
our love be kindled, and burn vehemently! Grant it, therefore, we pray
You, for Your love's sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: JOHN18:1-27.

Verse 1. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His
disciples over the Brook Kidron, where was a garden, into which He
entered, and His disciples. From our Lord's example, we should learn,
when trouble is near, to meet it with composure. Our Savior did not sit
still, but, as the hour approached for His betrayal and death, "He went
out with His disciples." The passing over the black Brook Kidron,
through which flowed the filth of the Temple, was very significant.
King David had crossed that brook long before when he had been driven
from his home by Absalom's rebellion–and now the Greater David went
"over the Brook Kidron, where was a garden." He especially wanted
solitude, just then, for one of the best preparations for suffering is
to get alone with God. Learn this lesson, also, from your Lord's
example and, as He put Gethsemane before Calvary, if you can put an
hour of prayerful contemplation before your expected suffering, it will
be a great help to you.

2. And Judas, also, who betrayed Him, knew the place: for Jesus
ofttimes resorted there with His disciples. That dark and gloomy olive
garden was no pleasure garden that night! It had often been a place of
retirement and of prayer for the Master. What happy memories His
disciples must have had of being with Him there for a season of prayer!
It was a very choice privilege for them to be with Him when He
preached, but it must have been, if possible, a still greater privilege
to be with Him when He prayed. It is not recorded that His disciples
ever said to Him, "Lord, teach us how to preach," but at least one of
them was so struck with His prayers that he said, "Lord, teach us to
pray." We may well ask Him to do that for us now. Perhaps some of you
would like to be taught how you can become great–it is much more
important for you to be taught to become prayerful!

3. Then Judas, having received a detachment of men and of officers from
the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches and
weapons.It does not matter much about the band of men and officers with
lanterns and torches and weapons, but the dreadful part of the
narrative is that they were led by one who had been a disciple of
Christ, one who had been numbered with the Apostles! Is Christ still
betrayed by His professed friends? Yes, it is so, but may you and I
never be guilty of that terrible crime! Yet why should we not unless
the Grace of God should prevent it? We are of the same flesh and blood
as Judas–and although we might not be tempted by a sum of money, we
may be tempted by a sinful pleasure or by a sinful shame. Lest we
should be led astray, let us pray that we may not enter into temptation
and especially ask that we may be preserved from betraying our Lord as
Judas did.

4. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went
forth and said to them, Whom are you seeking?Because of His Divinity,
He knew all that would come upon Him, but what a wondrous Manhood His
was that although He knew all that would befall Him, He went forth calm
and composed, resigned to His Father's will and said to those who had
come to seize Him, "Whom are you seeking?" I think He is saying to some
of us, "whom are you seeking?" We have not come here to slay Him. We
have not come here to fight against Him and lead Him away to crucify
Him. Yet I hope that we can truly say that we have come seeking Jesus.
If this is really your heart's desire, it shall surely be fulfilled to
you!

5. They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am H.
Or, rather, "I Am," pronouncing the words with a Divine dignity which
had a startling effect upon them.

5, 6. And Judas, also, who betrayed Him, stood with them. As soon,
then, as He had said to them, I am He, they went backward and fell to
the groundIt seems as if our Lord intended to let them realize
something of His Divine Power and Glory, for the utterance of that
august expression, I Am, which is His Father's name, staggered them and
they fell to the ground. Do you not wonder that they did not rise up
and go away and leave Him after they had fallen at His feet and asked
His forgiveness? They did not act so, for the power of fear, when it is
not accompanied by love, is very small. There was enough power in it to
make them fall down to the ground, but there was not power enough in it
to make them fall at Christ's feet confessing their sin!

7, 8. Then He asked them again, Whom are you seeking? And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He: if,
therefore, you seek Me, let these go their way. [See Sermons #2616,
Volume 45–christ's care of his disciples and #2368, Volume 40–THE
LIVING CARE OF THE DYING CHRIST.] It is

very cheering to us to think of our Lord meeting all the enemies of His
people, gathering up all their weapons into His own heart, that His
people might go free. You and I, if we had been in such a case, would
have been hurried and worried–and our fears would have made us
selfish–we would have forgotten our poor friends who were with us! But
Jesus thought not of Himself–He thought of His poor trembling
disciples and, therefore, He said, "If, therefore, you seek Me, let
these go their way."

9. That the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, Of them which You
gave Me have I lost none. He had only said that just a little while
before, but this verse shows us that the New Testament is as sure to be
fulfilled as the Old Testament. It was a new saying, not then written,
yet it had all the life and power of God in it! So it must live and
must be fulfilled.

10. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high
priest's servant, and cut offhis right ear. The servant's name was
Malchus. Here is every prospect of a fight! Simon Peter has begun it
and the armed men will be eager to continue it. We always have our
Simon Peters about–men of emotion, men of impulse, men of impetuosity.
They are not a bad sort of Christians and I do not know what we would
do without them. Our cold, frozen thinkers would not do much without
our warm-hearted Peters to help to thaw them! Still, Peter was only one
of the 12 Apostles and though they call him the head of the church, he
made a very poor head of the church just then! He drew a sword and
began to use that carnal weapon by cutting off the right ear of
Malchus! It was a great mercy that the Lord was there to heal the ear
and to forbid the use of the sword in His defense.

11. Then Jesus said unto Peter, Put your sword into the sheath.
Shalllnot drink the cup which My Father has given Me?Here is another
helpful lesson for any of you who have a trial before you. Do not seek
to set the trial aside–use no wrong means to escape from
affliction–drink your ordained cup! Though Peter's sword is handy, put
it up into its sheath and do not use it. Bear and forbear, on and on
and on to the end of the chapter! Drink the cup that your Father gives
you. However bitter it is, it is sweetened by the fact that He gives it
to you! Shall not a true son of God drink the cup that his Father
presents to him? There can be no harm in it and it must work you some
real good–so put up your sword and lift the cup to your lips–and
drink it to the dregs.

12. Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus
and bound Him. When you are bound with sickness, or bound with
weakness, or bound in any other way, do not complain. Your Master was
bound and I think we ought to be willing to be anything that Christ
was. What was good enough for Him is good enough for us. "They took
Jesus and bound Him."

13. 14. And led Him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to
Caiaphas, who was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he
who gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should
die for the people. Christ could not die without the question of
expediency turning up. I never knew any great sin in the world, nor any
great heresy, nor any great combination of men to maintain it without
the question of expediency coming under consideration. Expediency is
the great Christ-killer! Many, nowadays, say to us, "Do not preach
against error–it is not expedient to do so. Do not break away from
evil associations–it is not expedient." How many there are of even
good men who do certain thing, not because they are right, but because
they are expedient! But, Believers in Jesus, in the name of your Lord I
implore you to hate expediency, since it put Jesus to death! It was a
wicked expediency that would murder Christ in order to save a nation!
But it did not really do so, after all, for the guilt of slaying Christ
brought upon the nation the growing crime of Deicide.

15. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that
disciple was known unto the high priest and went in with Jesus into the
palace of the high priest. This other disciple was, no doubt, John, who
thus veiled himself as he did on other occasions.

16. But Peter stood at the door outside. It would have been better for
him if he had stayed there–he would probably have been more out of the
way of temptation than he was inside the palace of the high priest.

16. Then went out that other disciple, who was known to the high priest
and spoke unto her whom kept the door, and brought in Peter. John
doubtless acted thus out of kindness to Peter, but he was the means of
bringing his friend into a place where he was not strong enough to keep
his feet. You and I may act like that, perhaps, in perfect innocence
and even with commendable kindness–yet we may be unintentionally doing
our friends a great wrong! I notice that John seems to have been the
first of the Apostles to associate with Peter after that terrible fall
of his. And in his record of Peter's denial of his Lord, he does not
mention his cursing and swearing as Matthew and Mark do. He appears to
have felt great tenderness towards Peter–perhaps all the more so
because he had been the innocent means of getting him into the place of
temptation.

17. Then said the damsel who kept the door unto Peter, Are not you,
also, one of this Man's disciples? He said, I am not. Ah, Peter! Ah,
myself! If anyone is trusting in himself, he may soon utter a lie
concerning his Lord as Peter did. Keep us, O God, by Your Grace, or
else it will be so with us. It was nothing but a poor maidservant that
cowed this brave Peter–the man whose sword was drawn just now in his
Master's defense is not able, truthfully, to answer the maid's
question, "Are not you, also, one of this Man's disciples? He said, I
am not."

18. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of
coals, for it was cold: and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood
with them and warmedhimself.'While his Lord and Master was being
maltreated and abused over yonder at the end of the hall, Peter was
warming himself at the servant's fire. Ah, he was getting cold
spiritually while warming himself physically! And it sometimes happens
that when men are warming their bodies, they are at the same time
cooling their hearts. I have known a man warm himself at a very big
fire through coming into possession of a large amount of property–but
he has also grown very cold, spiritually, for these coals of fire do
not warm the heart.

19-21. The high priest then asked Jesus of His disciples and of His
doctrine. Jesus answered Him, I spoke openly to the world. I always
taught in the synagogue, and in the Temple, where the Jews always
resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why do you ask Me? Ask them
which heardMe, what Ihave said unto you: behold, theyknow what
Isaid.Our Lord's teaching was never deceptive. He did not say one thing
and mean another. He could truly appeal to His hearers concerning His
teaching. It is a great thing for a preacher to be able to feel that
his hearers know what he has said to them. We cannot always say that,
for some of them forget and some of them do not understand what we say.
Some of them do not give sufficient attention to know what it is that
is said, but Christ's preaching was so clear and plain that He could
truly say, "Ask them which heard Me, what I have said to them: behold,
they know what I said."

22, 23. And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by
struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Do you answer the high
priest so? Jesus answered him– Not as Paul did, "God shall smite you,
you whited wall." The Master is superior to the disciple at all points.
Jesus said–

23. If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why
did you strike Me?Let us pray that whenever we are despitefully
treated, we may keep our temper and be as composed as our Lord was. And
if we must make an answer to our accusers, let it be as discreet and as
justifiable as this answer of our Lord's.

24, 25. Now Annas had Him sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest. And
Simon Peter stood and warmed himself John thus resumes the narrative
concerning Peter from the 17th verse–"Simon Peter stood and warmed
himself."

25. They said, therefore, to him. Two or three or more of them speaking
at a time said to him–

26-27. Are not you, also, one of His disciples? He denied it and said,
I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being the kinsman
whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did not I see you in the garden with
Him? Peter then denied it again. Ah, me, they who lie once will be all
too apt to lie again! Those who deny Christ once will be apt to go to
still greater lengths in their denial of Him. May they be stopped as
Peter was!

27. And immediately the cock crew. May the cock crow for some who have
been asleep up till now–and warn them that the night is far spent and
that it is time for them to awake out of sleep–and wash their eyes
with tears and repent of having denied their Lord!