Do We Deny Jesus
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Oct 15, 2022
- 4 min read
Do we deny Jesus? That can be a tough question to wrestle with. We don’t want to be like Peter: full of bravado yet when the heat was on, he so easily denied his Lord and friend. Yet if we are honest, there is a bit of Peter in each of us. There are times when we deny Jesus: I do not know him. As you read the words of the Gospel, ask for the grace to see all the times you have denied Jesus.
Warnings and Encouragements (continued)
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12 : 8-12
Scriptural Analysis
Luke opens chapter twelve of his Gospel by telling the disciples not to have fear. In this passage he tells them to instead be the. ones who acknowledge Jesus, who confess Jesus. Be eager to share the Gospel with others. Jesus promises that if we do this, he will acknowledge us before God. However, if we fail to do this, if we do not acknowledge Jesus but instead deny Jesus, he will deny us before God.
Despite this stern warning, Jesus tells us that the denial of him is not an unforgivable sine. The one who denies Jesus can be forgiven just as Peter was forgiven after having denied Jesus three times. Even those who scourged and crucified Jesus can repent and be forgiven.
Luke then gives us this curios line about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Recall that Jesus is charged with blasphemy when he forgave sins earlier in Luke’s narrative, “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, ‘Who is this that speaks blasphemies?’” (Luke 5:21) In this instance, Luke appears to be using blasphemy to refer to being obstinate in one’s sins and refusing to repent. This is in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit. The Grace of the Holy Spirit brings about the forgiveness of sins so if one refuses to repent there can be no forgiveness. Luke is providing a warning to all those who feel they have no need of repentance.
Finally, still warning the disciples about persecutions, he tells them to not be concerned with their own defense. The Holy Spirit will let them know what to say in such moments. Only in Luke’s Gospel do we see this contrast between blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and and then the Holy Spirit being the one to inform you of what to say in your defense.
Daily Application
Denying Jesus can take two forms: active and passive. The active denial of Jesus is what Peter did. When asked directly if he was one of the disciples he said he did now know this man. Most of us will never find ourselves in such a situation. People don’t typically ask us directly if we know this man.
Passive denial, on the other hand, is far more prevalent and something that is easy for most of us to fall into. Passive denial does not involve the out right rejection of Jesus: we don’t utter, “I do not know him.” Instead, we deny Jesus by failing to conduct ourselves as if we know him. We deny him when we engage in gossip in the office. We deny him, when someone uses the Lord’s name in vain and we act like it does not bother us. We deny him when we sit down in a restaurant or cafeteria and fail to say grace or make the sign of the cross. We deny him when we see that person in need and fail to act. We deny him when someone cracks the door to their heart open to us, and we don’t share the Gospel with them.
Passive denial is far more prevalent in our modern American society than active denial. However, the more we passively deny Christ, the more likely the day will come when we will be faced with an active denial situation: when we are faced with a choice, deny him or die. As the culture becomes less Christian, Christianity moves from something that informs the culture, to something that is tolerated (where we are today), to something that has to be eliminated (where we are going). When we enter that final phase, we can expect the persecution of Christians to increase greatly. Additionally, the more we passively deny him, the easier it becomes for us to actively deny him.
Do we deny Jesus? If we truly believe that he is who says he is, then our hearts should be bursting with a desire to share him always: to be proud that we are his and not the urge to deny him. Invite the Holy Spirit to show you those times that you have denied Jesus. Then ask for the grace always in those movements to be like our blessed Mother never denies her sone but rather always points us to him.
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