Courage, Cowardice, and Compassion
Luke 22:54-62
Today we will be continuing our study in the Gospel of Luke. We are in chapter 22
beginning with verse 54. If you are using the pew Bible you can find the passage on
page 711.
While you are locating the Scripture I want to share with you the stories of two men.
Both men lived around the turn of the twentieth century. Both were englishmen. And
both led lives closely tied to the sea. However both men were very different. One man
was known as a man of courage and the other will forever be remembered as a coward.
First I want to share with you the story of a man of courage:
In 1914 Sir Earnest Shackleton made plans to be first person to conquer one of the last
great frontiers. He determined himself to be the first person to cross the continent of
Antarctica.
! –Chose 56 men to accompany him on this adventure–28 in each of two ships
that would approach the continent from opposite sides. Shackleton and his 27
shipmates (and one stow away) would approach from one side while the other ship
would approach from the other side and lay supply depots across the second half of the
continent.
! –Before the expedition could officially begin Shackleton’s ship The Endurance
became trapped in the ice and after 8 long months of being stuck in the Ice the ship
began to break apart from the pressure and Shackleton gave the order to abandon the
ship onto the ice.
! –After 6 months on the ice Shackleton ordered the men into the small boats that
had been salvaged before Endurance sank. They took to the sea and 5 days later
landed on an inhospitable rock known as Elephant Island. This was the first time they
had stood on solid ground in 497 days.
! –Later that same month (now April 1916) Shackleton and 4 of his men took to
one of the small boats and braved the open and icy ocean to reach South Georgia
Island (the closest inhabited land) 800 miles away.
! –16 days later after enduring a storm that sank a 500 ton steamer also bound for
South Georgia Island. Shackleton and his men landed on the south shore of the Island
and after climbing the icy mountain range to the North shore Shackleton reached help
for his men.
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! –Shackleton made numerous attempts to reach his men on Elephant Island in
the following months and was stopped by Ice until he finally reached his men on the
forth attempt 4 months after leaving them behind.
Why do I tell you this story? Because it is a story of courage. During 3 years of
dangerous and hopeless situations Shackleton never lost courage which allowed him to
keep all of his men alive in freezing weather and in the face of sure starvation.
The second story I want to share is the story cowardice, the story of J. Bruce Ismay.
Ismay, like Shackleton was British and lived a life connected to the sea but he was not a
sailor or an explorer. Ismay was a business man. And a man of great self-importance.
Upon inheriting his father’s position as the chairman of the White Star Ship Line he
commissioned the building of the largest, most luxurious, and most efficient ships ever
built. The second of these ships to hit the open ocean was to become the most famous
ship ever, RMS Titanic.
Ismay often accompanied his new ships on their maiden voyage and Titanic’s first
voyage in 1912 was no exception.
As the story goes, Ismay walked the decks of Titanic making it known that he was in
charge of the ship and that even the captain answered to him. It is even rumored that
the ship continued its dangerous speed through a known ice field at his command.
One would think a man of such commanding confidence and presence would have
been graceful under the pressure of the disaster he had played a part in. But as it
happens Ismay found himself not standing with the captain as his ship went down but in
one of the life boats with his back turned to the ship so he would not have to see his
ship go down along with the 1500 people (women and children included) that did not
have the good fortune of being in one of the few lifeboats on the ship.
Why do I tell this story? Because it is one of cowardice.
And today we are going to be looking at a passage that tells the story of a man that
could be place in the camps of both Shackleton and Ismay. We are looking at a man
that displayed great courage one moment and great cowardice the next. Yet we are
also looking at a man that learned a valuable lesson that stayed with him throughout the
rest of his life. A lesson on courage, cowardice and compassion.
So I trust you have had more than enough time to find your place in Luke 22.
Stand with me as we bring honor to God and his Word.
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But
Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the
courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl,
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seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also
with Him.”
57 But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely
this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned
and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to
him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and
wept bitterly.
Before we jump into the text let’s remember where we were last week. Last week we
watched as Jesus was betrayed and arrested. We watched as everyone around Jesus
betrayed Him through sin and we saw how our sin makes us guilty of the same betrayal.
But remember the setting. It was night. A mob of people had come to arrest Jesus and
Peter (even though we know it was misguided) made a courageous effort to protect
Jesus from being arrested. Remember how he drew his sword and cut off the ear of
one of those there to assist with Jesus’ arrest?
Again, even though it was not what Jesus had in mind and He had to fix the mess Peter
made, Peter showed what I would say was pretty impressive courage as he wielded one
of the two swords the disciples had in the face of a full detachment of the temple guard.
And that brings us to the beginning of our passage today and to our first point.
I. Believers can be courageous. (vv. 54-55)
Look again with me at verses 54-55.
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But
Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the
courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
It says “having arrested Him” that is Jesus. They brought Jesus into the house of the
high priest. So this mob of people that were not fans of Jesus arrest him and then lead
him to the place where those who are most threatened by him and those who want to
get rid of him live. They take him into the proverbial “lion’s den.”
But look what it says about Peter. It says “Peter followed at a distance.” Now some of
us might be tempted to throw a stone or two at Peter even at this point and say
something like, “why was he following at a distance?” “Why wasn’t he right beside
Jesus, after all he said he was willing to die with Him?”
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But I don’t think I would throw that stone. Why? Because my question is “Where are
the rest of the disciples? Where are the rest of the people who just a couple of days
earlier had been cheering Christ on as he entered Jerusalem?
They had scattered like the wind. When Jesus was arrested they had run for the hills.
Maybe some of them were already back in the upper room where Jesus would find
them hiding after His resurrection.
So I think it was pretty courageous of Peter to be one of only two disciples that stayed
even within sight of Jesus. And I think it took even greater courage when he saw that
they were taking Jesus into the house of the high priest that he went in and actually sat
down among those who had just arrested Jesus. Think about it, he was a follower of
the one who was arrested sitting in the middle of those who had done the arresting.
I think that showed some real backbone. And why do you think he was able to have
such courage? I think he had some good godly reasons and I think he had some very
human reasons.
I think for one thing he was drawn by his own curious, need to know nature. We know
Peter was never one to be quiet or to do well with being in the dark on a subject. This
would be one of the reasons that was not exactly godly.
But I think he also had courage because he had been emboldened by Jesus himself.
Jesus was in command of the situation when he was arrested. He rebuked everyone
for their betrayal (including Peter), he had said that this arrest must be permitted, and
according to John’s Gospel even those who were there to do the arresting fell down
before Jesus at one point.
Not only that however. He had also witnessed Jesus perform yet another miracle. He
had healed the servant of the high priest whose ear Peter had been the one to cut off.
Peter was not doubt strengthened in his courage because of the strength of the one he
followed.
I think we too can have courage for this reason. We can have courage in the face of
difficulty, ridicule, sickness, uncertainty, and fear if we remember the power and control
of the one we serve.
The part of the story about Earnest Shackleton that I did not share with you was that he
was dependent on God throughout the entire ordeal. He made a point of taking his
Bible with him when he abandoned ship. He led his mean in the reading of that Bible
daily while they were camped on the ice. He even tore out a few Psalms to keep close
to him and read to others when they were forced to abandon all but food and provisions
when they boarded the small boats to reach Elephant Island.
That is the courage of a believer.
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If we will remember that nothing will happen to us that is outside the power, knowledge
and plan of God we will have the courage to face any hardship. And the courage to
follow Him even when it may be a little scary or difficult to do so.
If we stay close to Him we can be counted in the camp of the courageous.
However we are human, we are fallen and we are sinners and so was Peter. Which
means we can easily go from the camp of the courageous into the camp of the cowards.
We can see from the Scripture that not only can believers be courageous but…
II. Believers can be Cowards (vv. 56-60)
This is a very important thing for us to remember and I think Scripture bears that out. I
think that is why all four of the Gospels relate to us the account of Peter’s denials. And
the reason we need to be aware of our own cowardice as believers is because until we
face our weaknesses, fears, and sins we cannot come to Christ for his forgiveness,
strength, compassion and grace.
So let’s look at Peter’s cowardice and see what message it might have for us.
Let’s walk through verses 56-60
56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and
said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
Now why do you think Peter suddenly went from courageous to cowardly? Why do you
think he suddenly denied Jesus when this servant girl confronted him?
Do you think maybe because it was the easy thing to do? Don’t we often fall into sin
and even denial of Christ because it is the easy way out? Think about it. Here is this
lowly servant girl asking him about himself, what is it going to hurt to just tell her a little
lie just to get her off his back. I mean after all she is really just a nobody. He will
probably never see her again after this night. What is the harm?
The harm is that it is not what he was called to do as a follower of Christ. He was
expected to follow Christ’s example. He was expected to do his best to bring glory to
the Lord. And telling a lie about himself is not the way to do that. And what’s worse,
denying in his lie that he even knows Christ is not the way to do that.
I know that none of us are likely to go that far, or at least I hope we would not, but in a
sense we deny Christ every time we do something in front of others that would make
them wonder if we indeed follow Christ as we say we do.
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Every time we lose our temper. Every time we are unkind. Every time we speak in a
way to tear someone else down. We deny Christ because it is the easy thing to do. It is
much more difficult and takes much more courage to keep our cool when we want to fly
off the handle in anger. It is much more difficult and takes much more courage to be
kind when we are tempted to treat someone they way we may feel they deserve.
Or maybe we go along with the ways of the world because it is easier than standing up
for our beliefs. Often times we lament how much more worldly things are today than
they were a few years ago. TV is increasingly more vulgar and violent. School and
athletic organizations are increasingly callous toward those who would prefer to be at
church on Sunday’s and Wednesdays. But do we do anything other than complain?
No, we simply take the easy way out and do as everyone else and continue watching
TV and allowing our schedules to be planned away from church without ever speaking
up.
It takes courage to do things that are not easy.
Peter also denied Christ and was a coward because he was afraid. Look at verse 58.
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
Peter’s simple denial had not worked. The easy way out had not removed the suspicion
that surrounded him. The rumor was spreading that one of Jesus’ followers was among
them and another individual persists in accusing Peter.
At this point Peter is starting to fear for his own safety so having already denied knowing
Christ he now denies even who he is. He says he is not one of Christ’s followers so he
will not have to answer any questions or put himself on the line.
Do we ever deny Christ out of fear? Maybe not with words the way Peter did but
perhaps with out actions.
Have you ever been in the presence of someone whom you knew was not a Christian
and fearfully chose not to share Christ with them. Maybe you were afraid they would be
angry with you. Maybe you were afraid they would reject you. Maybe you were afraid
that they might ask a question you could not answer. Maybe you were afraid you would
just make things worse and drive them further from Christ. Whatever the fear, it drove
you to deny who you are by keeping silent about the one you serve.
Taking the easy way out is the way of the coward, fear can rob us of our courage and so
can frustration.
Look at verses 59-60
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59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely
this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
This time someone confidently pointed to him as one who followed Jesus. They even
gave supporting evidence to give validity to their accusation. John, in his Gospel, even
says it is a family member of the one whose ear Peter cut off.
Look how Peter responds “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” with the
implication that the man doesn’t know what he is talking about either. In Matthew it
evan tells us that Peter began to curse and swear with an oath that he was not a
follower of Jesus.
As the night wore on Peter’s nerves were tested. He became increasingly anxious and
now in his great frustration because he has not been able to get them to leave him
alone he explodes.
Does frustration ever cause us to explode and become cowards? Absolutely. When we
are frustrated we become cowardly Dads and husbands that yell at or belittle our
families rather than leading them in the way God has called us to do. Rather than
teaching our children to obey and patiently guiding them we ignore them until we cannot
ignore any longer and then like a coward explode on those we should be loving.
When you become frustrated moms and wives you may be tempted to go silent and be
inwardly angry instead of courageously encouraging you husband to lead or teaching
your children by example to honor God.
Frustration is a cowardly denial of the power of Christ in our lives. It will rob us of our
courage every time. And it quickly causes us to feel as if we have not only hurt those
around us but it will also quickly cause us to see that we have ceased to rely on God for
strength and courage.
This is where Peter finds himself. As soon as he has exhausted himself in his cursing
and frustration and denied Jesus for the third time he hears the rooster crow. At this he
remembers what Jesus had said to him less than 24 hours earlier. “You will deny me
three times before the rooster crows.”
We might ask why he didn’t remember this during the night when he was denying he
even knew Jesus. And the answer could be any number of things: fear, excitement,
adrenaline, fatigue. But it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that he went from
courageous to cowardly and recognized it.
The good news is however, that this is not where we end with Peter. He does not stay
forever in the camp of the cowardly. Why? Because…
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III. Believers receive Compassion (vv. 61-62)
We receive the compassion and grace of Christ and his forgiveness. Look at verse 61…
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the
Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
It says Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Folks, this was not a look of I told you so.
This was not a look of anger. This was not a look of disappointment. It was a look that
said “Peter, I knew you would deny me and still I love you and I forgive you.”
It was only this kind of look that could have caused Peter to react the way he did.
62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Peter did not feel he had been reprimanded, he did not feel he had been rejected, he
did not feel he had been accused. He felt like he had received a look of love and
compassion when he did not deserve it. He experienced the grace of God. He was
given love and forgiveness that he had not earned. And it caused him to weep bitterly.
It caused him to draw closer to the God and Savior he loved and served.
It caused him to enter back into the camp of the courageous where he ran to the tomb
of Jesus, where he listened to his risen Savior, where he spoke boldly of Jesus when he
was threatened not to do so, where he even died a martyr’s death, as he from that day
forward courageously served the Lord.
That is the kind of change we should long for the compassion and grace from the Lord
to bring about in our hearts and lives. A courage that causes us to say Jesus and the
grace he gives is worth any difficult or dangerous thing that comes our way.
The compassion of Christ is something that we should value in such a way that we
would have the courage of Krishna Pal. Pal was one of the first four Hindu Bengalis
that William Carey led to the Lord after 7 years of mission work in Burma. Krishna Pal,
his wife, his sister-in-law and a friend were to be baptized but were threatened
numerous times by other villagers. After the threats only Pal was willing to follow
through with his baptism because he believed their threats, bribes, and false gods were
“a trifling in comparison to the riches of Christ and his grace.
That is the courage we should strive for. But we should take heart in Peter. Knowing
that if we have failed or should we fail in our courage for Christ in the future he will look
upon us with his compassion and grace. And that we can regain our courage in him
and follow faithfully in his strength.
So this morning if you find yourself in need of his compassion. If you find yourself in the
cowardly camp of denial, fear, or frustration reach out to Jesus. Receive his
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compassion, weep bitterly at your failure, and stand tall and courageous in His grace
and forgiveness.
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