1.
In the name of
Jesus. Amen. Bad company leads to sin. See it in Peter’s
association with the enemies of Christ. Peter followed Jesus from a distance to
the high priest’s palace. Now inside of the palace, Peter finds himself in a
situation highly charged with danger. John
18:18 says, “Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because
it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with
them, standing and warming himself.”
2.
Meanwhile, Jesus
is being subjected to accusation, false witness, abuse, and trial. Outside, no
doubt, are assembled some of those who had taken part in his capture in the
garden. Listen in and imagine what you might be hearing. They’re discussing the
events of Jesus’ capture. Listen to their ridicule and mockery of Jesus. Hear
them boast of how easily they’d captured him. The blasphemy may already have
begun here: “He saved others; he cannot save himself” (Mt 27:42).
And there’s Peter in the midst of the enemies of Jesus, Peter who had fled,
Peter who had followed from a distance, as we spoke about last week. It’s not
that he’s chosen to hang with them, become part of their crowd. He’s even there
for the right reason—to see Jesus. But he’s put himself in a dangerous
situation. His presence among the enemies of Jesus eventually led to his denial
of Jesus.
3.
Peter’s situation
isn’t unique. We, too, find ourselves in bad company, among evil associates. They’re
around us without our seeking them. We have these contacts where we live, work,
go to school, and seek our pleasure and recreation. It’s true simply because
we’re part of human society. The problem is that we naturally desire the
approval of people around us, whether their influence is good or bad.
4.
We live among
people who are a bad influence, and they pressure us to conform to their style
of life. They tempt us to be like them—to be dishonest in our work, cheat on
our spouses, or imitate them in a worldly, materialistic outlook on life. You
find yourselves attracted by a crowd that tries to draw you into the abuse of
alcohol, drugs, or sex. The approval of such people may give you a warm, fuzzy
feeling, but it’s full of danger.
5.
Sometimes we go
asking for trouble. The books and magazines we read, the movies we see, the
radio and TV programs we hear and watch, the Internet we explore—these things
become daily companions that we choose, and often they’re very bad company. Our
lives are greatly influenced by these companions of our leisure hours. We are warming ourselves at the fire of the
enemy. The fire will consume us. It is the fire of hell. Friendship with the
world is death as James the Apostle reminds us.
6.
But friendship
with God is life. Jesus is the friend of sinners. “I have called you friends,”
Jesus said (Jn 15:15). When Judas placed the betraying kiss on Jesus’ cheek, he
said, “Friend, do what you came to do” (Mt 26:50). “Greater love has
no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn
15:13). Jesus said that. Jesus did that, for you and for me. “[He] made
himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. . . . And being found in human
form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross” (Phil 2:7–8). He was obedient where you and I are disobedient.
He died for our sins, so we need not die in our sins. We’re forgiven. We’re at
peace with God.
7. This was Jesus’ whole purpose in coming to earth—to reestablish our
relationship with God, which our sin had broken, to bring us back into God’s
company. Jesus has drawn us back into the
circle of God’s friendship—even more, into the circle of God’s family. We have
a bond with God that means we’re free from the sin- and death-riddled
friendship of the world. What a friend we have in Jesus!
8.
Now you can live
in the world and yet not be of the world. How do you do that? By not
deliberately seeking employment, company, or fellowship with people who are
manifestly godless or who are open enemies of Christ. And since you live in the
world and must deal with enemies of Jesus every day, be a witness for God and
for good.
9.
There’s a time to
flee from the presence of evil associates. St. Paul brings us this counsel from
God: “Go out from their midst, and be separate from them” (2 Cor 6:17).
The Scriptures are full of examples and exhortations to flee from the presence
of evil. We have the example of Joseph in Egypt, who fled from the presence of
the temptress, Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39:12). St. Paul advises young Timothy to “flee
youthful passions” (2 Tim 2:22). When he speaks to Timothy about
materialism and covetousness, he advises, “But as for you, O man of God,
flee these things” (1 Tim 6:11). There’s nothing cowardly in such flight.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to get out and run for your life. The
decision to stay or run must be immersed in earnest prayer for divine guidance.
10.
Peter made the
mistake of failing to identify himself as belonging to Jesus. His presence in
bad company soon led to his denial of Jesus as his Savior & Lord. It can
also happen to us. Traveling in bad company can cause us to lose our greatest
friend, Jesus, the friend of sinners. What a loss!
11.
Jesus saves us
from all that. The agony of the garden, the pain and death of the cross were
all for you. When you are weak, when you stumble, when you fall, there’s a way
up; there’s a way back. There is confession. “O God, I have sinned.” There
is absolution. “God has put away your sin.” Then follow, by God’s grace,
the growing desire to live and walk in the company of God. This is the story of Jesus, Peter, and each
of us. Amen.
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