Peter's Denial

[0:00] Let's pick up on chapter 14, starting verse 27. Let's read. So this is going to be broken two pieces. So this is about Peter's denial.! So the first verses are 27 to 31.

[0:12] And then we're going to break into verses 66 to 72 as it continues on. It's Peter's denial of the Lord. And then we're going to have another chapter, go to another chapter in John 21.

[0:24] The ending part, which is a good part, after this denial. And I really wanted to look at that. So that's how it's going to flow today. So let's read some of this here now. And Jesus said to them, you will all fall away.

[0:39] So remember where we're at now. After the Lord's Supper, it's at night. And he's talking to the disciples. And this is what he says. And Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because it is written, I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered.

[0:52] But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. But Peter said to him, even though you all may fall away, yet I will not. And Jesus said to him, truly I say to you that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times.

[1:09] But Peter kept saying insistently, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they were all saying the same thing. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls and the high priest came.

[1:24] And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, you also were with the Nazarene Jesus. But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.

[1:35] And he went out into the entryway. And when the servant girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, this is one of them. But again, he was denying it.

[1:46] And after a little while, the bystanders were again saying to Peter, surely you are one of them, for you are also a Galilean. But he began to curse and swear, I do not know this man you are talking about.

[1:59] And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter, remember how Jesus had said the statement to him, before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

[2:09] And throwing himself down, he began to cry. And let's go back to the, let's kind of tear this apart a little bit. And I hope you can give me a little grace.

[2:21] We've got a lot going on here today. So I'm probably going to go a little bit beyond our normal quitting time here. But you know I'm pretty straight to the point, right? So it'll go well.

[2:35] So here we are, verses 27 to 28. And Jesus said to them, you will all fall away. Because it is written, I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

[2:49] And so we remember in the last supper there, Jesus tells everyone that he's going to be betrayed. And now he's telling the disciples they're all going to fall away.

[3:00] So this is quite a statement that Jesus says to these people. This is becoming a very dangerous time. I think they sense scary things are going to happen away.

[3:12] Jesus says, even tells them they're going to fall away. And I was wondering, at the time, can we tell why would they fall away? I think they're going to be scared and frightened.

[3:22] I don't know if it's necessarily rebelliousness, just afraid and scared. And I'm reminded of, we just learned in Mark 13, be watchful.

[3:34] Stay awake. And they were warned of that, yet they're going to fall away. They're not going to be loyal. They're not going to hold the fort.

[3:44] God wants us to hold the fort. And they're going to fall away. God will strike down the shepherd. This is another prophecy of the gospel message.

[3:59] God will strike down the shepherd in fulfillment of his will. This comes from Zechariah 13, 7. What a powerful thing.

[4:10] Once again, he's telling them what must take place. If you read Isaiah 53, similarly. But Yahweh was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief.

[4:25] If he would place his soul as a gift offering, he will see his seed. He will prolong his days, and the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in his hand. God was pleased to crush him.

[4:36] That was a prophecy. It had to take place. We celebrated the breaking of bread, the remembrance of what he went through, the pain and suffering was in the prophecy. It had to happen. It's amazing.

[4:54] And then lastly, back to verse, let's go back one second, back here again. He says, and at the end there, but after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

[5:07] I think that's just an amazing verse. All this is going to take place. They're going to fall away. He's going to be betrayed. After all this happens, after I raise, I want to meet with you guys again.

[5:21] The love of Christ. It's a great verse of love. I want to meet with you guys again, because I love you guys. I want to help you guys. I'm not giving up on you guys. You might be giving up, but I'm not.

[5:32] I think it's a great verse. Verse, also, he also says in Matthew 20, okay, we did that one. There we go. Okay, Matthew 28, 10.

[5:44] It says, then Jesus said to them, so Jesus is talking to the women that first saw the resurrected Christ. He's talking to these women. He goes, do not be afraid.

[5:55] Go and report to my brothers to leave for Galilee, for there they will see me. So he's also even telling the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee after all this.

[6:08] And we're going to see that they, the ending part, we're going to see that they go there. And that's a good thing. So let's continue on now. All are going to fall away and so forth.

[6:21] And here Peter says, but Peter said to him, even though all may fall away, yet I will not. And Jesus said to him, truly I say to you that today, this very night, before rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times.

[6:38] But Peter kept saying insistently, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they were all saying the same thing. A strong, powerful Peter.

[6:51] Strong statement. We've seen Peter speak like this before. Another verse similar to this. Important to look at, I think. Luke 22, 31.

[7:03] Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat. But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail in you.

[7:15] Once you have returned, strengthen your brothers. Jesus is praying earnestly for him. That's encouraging.

[7:26] That's encouraging. And again, this is not the first time Peter talks so strongly about, I'm not going to deny you. We saw it back in, where was it?

[7:38] Mark chapter 8, I believe it was. Remember Peter rebuking Jesus when Jesus says that I have to die? And Peter rebukes him. And then Jesus has to rebuke you and said, get behind me, Satan.

[7:49] So Peter has a strong personality. Let's continue on. But Peter said to him, even though all may fall away, yet I will not.

[8:04] He says it. And Jesus said to him, truly I say to you that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times. But Peter kept saying insistently, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.

[8:18] And they were all saying the same thing. Even though all will fall away, I will not. That's quite a statement. They might fall away.

[8:31] I'm not. I'm more loyal. I love you more. Whatever you think Peter's thinking there. I'm not going to fall away.

[8:42] That's quite a, almost proud really, statement to make. It's really, really interesting. He doesn't defend his brothers at all. Just thinking about himself.

[8:54] We're going to come back to this statement later and see how Jesus helps Peter with this. It's phenomenal what Christ does. And so then Jesus interrupts Peter in verse 30.

[9:08] Truly I say to you that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times. Won't be a momentary slip.

[9:19] Once, maybe. But not three times. Not three times. This will not be a momentary slip. In verse 31, but Peter kept saying insistently, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.

[9:36] That's a powerful thing he's trying to say. And they were all saying the same thing. He wasn't alone in this conversation. We don't know what they said, but he wasn't alone.

[9:51] Boy, Peter's sure confident. Sometimes confidence, overconfidence, cannot be a good thing. So let's summarize a little bit about the disciples here.

[10:03] If you have your Bibles, verse 23, from the same chapter, all drank of the cup. All of them did in the Last Supper.

[10:17] Verse 31, we see there, they all said the same thing. They all have allegiance to Jesus. I'll die with you. I'm not going to deny you.

[10:28] I'm going to go with you. They all have allegiance. But if you read verse 50, we're not going to read that one today. If you read verse 50, they all left him.

[10:40] Kind of interesting how that progression went so quick. All of them. It really is a reminder that Jesus had to go to the cross, not for the many, but for his close friends also.

[10:56] We know he went to the cross for everybody. But it reminds us that they spent all that time with Jesus. No, I'm going to the cross for you too. They needed the saving power of Christ.

[11:08] These disciples did. Clearly. Clearly. Okay.

[11:19] So now we're going to jump to how Peter responds after saying all these things here, okay? And so this, so Jesus has already been betrayed from Judas.

[11:32] So he's already in custody. And here we read. Verse 66. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.

[11:43] So Peter went to see what's going on with Jesus. Right? Went to where this trial was taking place. And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with the Nazarene Jesus.

[11:56] But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you're talking about. And he went out into the entry. He left.

[12:06] Went to another spot. Get away from here. Clear denial. Couldn't be more clear. Clear. So as Jesus is going through a formal trial, Peter's going through this huge fire trial of his own, isn't he?

[12:22] At the same time. Despite Peter's desire to draw attention, he draws much. Just a servant girl and some bystanders.

[12:33] He can't get away. His first denial is complete. And then he, as we see there, he leaves.

[12:44] So let's see what happens when he moves away a little bit. And when the servant girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, This is one of them.

[12:55] But again, he was denying it. Second time. And after a little while, the bystanders were again saying to Peter, Surely you're one of them.

[13:06] For you're also a Galilean. But he began to curse and swear, I do not know this man you are talking about. The third time.

[13:19] And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said the statement to him, Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

[13:30] And throwing himself down, he began to cry. So changing places didn't help his cause at all. They're still there. He denies them the second time. They're accusing him of being Galilean, which he is.

[13:43] He's from Galilee. And he curses and he swears. He is just completely in the flesh, if you will. Completely out of sorts.

[13:54] I do not know this man. He can't even say the word Jesus. And in this exchange. Afraid to say the word Jesus. And this next verse cuts at the core every time I read it.

[14:09] And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Luke. And Peter remembered the word the Lord, how he had told him, Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.

[14:23] You know, I was wondering why the, I think it's only Mark shares that the rooster's going to crow twice. I wonder if the first time was maybe a chance for Peter to change his mind.

[14:37] I don't know. Can't say that for sure, but it's just a thought. Clearly. So I'm thinking to myself, and Peter cries, he repents for his actions.

[14:51] But the Lord looked at Peter. I know I've maybe shared this once before. I wonder what that would have looked like. What do you think that look, the look on Jesus' face would have been?

[15:03] Was it shame or scorn? Or was it, was it love? I love you, Peter. I know you're going through this. I kind of think it's that. I can't say for sure. But boy, the Lord was looking right at Peter.

[15:18] I wonder how Peter felt on that. We do know he went to the ground crying. That's a good thing. That's the first good thing Peter did. That was really, really, really good.

[15:31] This is one of the first open denials of Jesus in the book of Mark. And again, this is a stark warning how quickly faithful people can fall into sin.

[15:44] He's the lead apostle. And here he is, denying Christ, not just once, twice, three times, adamantly. sin can happen that way so quick, can't it?

[15:59] Even the most faithful. So I always like to just remind ourself how incredibly gracious the Lord is when we sin.

[16:11] Romans 5.20, saying, now the law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Peter's going to get grace.

[16:24] We're going to see it. Amazing grace. It's a great song. It's amazing grace. So let's go to, let's go to Galilee now.

[16:38] Remember Jesus told the disciples go to Galilee? They're going to obey that. So let's go there and see what happens. Is there more to the story? We also know that Jesus met the hold up disciples in Jerusalem.

[16:51] You know, they're scared. They're all hiding someplace. He met them twice. The story about doubting Thomas is in there a little bit. And so now they make the trip. Probably 60, we were talking about 60, 70 some miles.

[17:05] It might have took a week, maybe two weeks. We don't know. It probably took a fair amount of time to get to Galilee. Time to process and think what's happening here. And so we're going to go to the book, we're going to go to the book of John now.

[17:19] Starting in chapter 21. And we'll see here that the disciples are there. They don't realize Jesus is there. And let's read this account.

[17:30] After these things, Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and he manifested himself in this way.

[17:43] Simon, Peter, and Thomas, called Didymus, and Nathaniel, of Canaan and Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing.

[17:56] They said to him, we will also come with you. They went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. So as I'm reading this, you can think about when we taught when the disciples first came to Jesus.

[18:12] Some really similar story here, really. They caught, where am I at here? I'm going fishing. Verse 4, But one day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

[18:30] So Jesus said to them, children, do you have any fish? They answered him, no. Slide. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.

[18:46] That's exactly what we read earlier when Jesus called them to discipleship. Cast the net over. Catch more fish. And they did. So they cast, and they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

[19:01] Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on, for he was stripped for work and cast himself into the sea.

[19:14] But the other disciples, the other disciples came in the little boat, and they were not far from the land, but about 200 cubits away, dragging the net full of fish. So we see Peter, the leader, going out to fish.

[19:30] And I was wondering, okay, well, first of all, let's remember, they obeyed Jesus by going to Galilee. So they're in the right place. So I used to think they're just going back to their old ways again.

[19:44] I don't know if we can say that. Maybe they're getting some fish for their families. I don't know. Providing for their families. But the good news is they're in the right place.

[19:57] A large net full of fish. You can just imagine their memories, what they're thinking about this huge pile of fish coming in. the Lord's there and they see Jesus.

[20:11] That's incredible. And remember, let's remember Peter's repentant heart. He fell to the ground and he was weeping at what he did. And what does he do now?

[20:22] He jumps out of the boat and runs to Jesus. That's honestly probably the best thing you could ever do when you make a big mistake when we sin.

[20:33] I don't know if you're always going to cry. Repentance looks different for everyone, I think. You may be a silent bow on your head. I don't know what repentance looks like turning back to the Lord.

[20:46] It's different for everybody. Maybe you will cry. Maybe you should cry. But Jesus is beginning, or I'm sorry, Peter is beginning to see the forgiveness and the amazing grace of Jesus.

[21:02] Jesus. That's why I had to go to this part of the story because I didn't want to leave it his denial. There's so much more to this part of the story. And probably, if I had one sentence to summarize today's message, Peter's denial doesn't disqualify him.

[21:21] He's going to get back on track. He's forgiven. The finished work was complete. He rose from the dead. He forgave our sins.

[21:34] It is amazing. Do you ever feel disqualified? Or unuseful? Some of us hang on to things for years sometimes.

[21:45] We feel unused by God. Disqualified. God just wants us to turn back to him. It's hard, I know. Sometimes you need to have a discussion.

[21:57] We're going to see that yet, too. Peter's still going to have a discussion with the Lord. But just remember, if you feel disqualified, maybe you need to talk to someone.

[22:08] Talk to one of us. Talk to a pastor or a close friend if you feel that way. Talk about the scriptures. There's lots more to talk about about that, to feel the presence of God and how he forgives you and how to get turned back.

[22:21] This is not an alone game. Sheep. Sheep stick together. Sheep are social. Sorry. You know what I mean.

[22:34] They like to hang out with each other. And they help each other. It's not just the pastors that shepherd. Sheep help each other. It's very important. Next few verses, I'm just going to summarize.

[22:47] So they come ashore. Jesus has a charcoal fire. There's fish cooking there. And Jesus says, bring some more fish. And he tells them, come and have breakfast with them. He's providing for them.

[23:00] As God always provides for us. He provided the fish. They had to do the work to get the fish. But he provided the fish. So let's read one more time when Peter's calling.

[23:15] Just look carefully again what the calling was. It's back the first time when Peter met, when Jesus called Peter to discipleship, to come follow me. Let's go read that little section.

[23:26] It's in Luke 5, 8 through 10 that I want to read. But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, so remember, this is right after they caught all the fish the first time when he's calling them for the context.

[23:44] Okay, is everyone with me on that? When Jesus calls Peter, the same thing. They're fishing all night long. We didn't catch nothing. Throw it over to the other side. It was the same event that took place. And so this is the exchange now.

[23:56] But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. Kind of a similar reaction, really, from what we read today.

[24:10] For amazement has seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken. And James and John and sons of Zebedee who were partners with Simon were all likewise amazed. And Jesus said to Simon, do not fear.

[24:25] From now on, you will be catching men. That was his initial command to Peter. So let's go back to John here and continue reading.

[24:38] Verses 15. This is the last section of scripture for today. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

[24:50] He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my lambs. He said to him again, a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

[25:02] He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

[25:14] Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.

[25:25] Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. I don't think it's an accident that it was three times. Peter denied Christ three times.

[25:37] Jesus is asking Peter three times, do you love me? I don't think that's an accident. I think that's intentional. And Jesus is restoring the relationship and what the command was to catch men with Peter.

[25:53] I don't think this was about forgiveness. I think that already took place. I think this was about righting the ship and what it meant to love. Loving people.

[26:07] You remember Peter said, I don't care about those guys. I'm not going to deny you. You remember that part? I don't care about those guys. The first question we see here, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

[26:25] I think he was talking about the disciples. Peter was claiming to, I'm better than them guys. I'm not going to leave you guys.

[26:38] Jesus has given Peter a chance to answer the question correctly. Peter does not answer the question, oh yeah, I love you more than those guys. He doesn't say that, does he?

[26:49] He says, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. So I'm just wondering if that's why Jesus asked that question like that. And Peter answered it correctly.

[27:01] Yeah, I love you. Sometimes we compare, I think. Oh, you love Jesus more than me. Well, I love Jesus more than you. That's not biblical at all.

[27:13] I'm more mature than you are. No, that's not, that's not, that's not how we're supposed to think. God's calling each of us directly. Tim, do you love Jesus?

[27:26] Yes, I love you, Lord. What are the three responses? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He says it a second time.

[27:37] Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And of course, Peter's getting anxious. Why do you keep asking me this? Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus is just helping Peter focus in on what's important here now.

[27:55] I've forgiven you. He didn't even mention the denial. Nowhere in there is there a mention of denial. Do you ever repeat someone's sin back to them when they're repentant?

[28:08] I bet I have many times. Well, you said that. I said, sorry. I said, I'm sorry. Should be good enough. If someone is forgiven and they said they're repentant, we don't need to keep bringing it up.

[28:24] That's not good, right? Jesus didn't do that. It's a big thing Peter did, right? Nope. Jesus has given Peter an opportunity to affirm his love for him.

[28:37] And this is what Jesus says you need to do. You need to tend my lambs, shepherd my sheep, and tend my sheep. You know the Bible says we're sheep. We're lambs.

[28:49] And we need lots of care and lots of help. If you study sheep, I've heard people talk about it. They're pretty dumb. They do lots of dumb things. If there's a fence to get through, they'll do it.

[29:01] I worked one summer for a guy working on his house. He had a few sheep. Doggone, if there wasn't one little crack like that, that sheep got through there. It was just the funniest thing I've ever seen.

[29:13] Grass is greener on the other side. Remember Mark 12? We learned in Mark 12 about Pastor John, I think, one of the Johns, probably you, shared on loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

[29:31] And the second is like it, love your neighbors, you love yourself. Jesus is getting more specific with Peter about his task at hand. Shepherding, tending, taking care of, overseeing.

[29:46] So does our sin disqualify us? Nope. But we do have a response to turn, repent, back.

[29:58] Maybe you need to run to Jesus like Peter did. Peter. Peter's sin did not disqualify him.

[30:10] If you want to read more about Peter, you start reading in the book of Acts. He started doing amazing things for God. He's preaching, sharing the gospel.

[30:20] People are getting saved. Three times he was thrown in jail. You better not talk about Jesus anymore. Nope. I'm going to talk about Jesus.

[30:31] There's no denial there. He went through a fire. Hot fire during that time. And he responded right. That was a good thing.

[30:42] That's a great story. He responded correctly. And that's really all of us when we sin is how we respond. Respond like Peter. Learn what the truths are about loving people.

[30:54] What's your task in all that? So let's pray. Thank you, Father, for the grace that I've been given here to go a little longer today. I thank you that the word is truth.

[31:07] Thank you for the life of Peter. Sure interesting. I think we read more about Peter in the book of Mark than we do any other disciple. It's pretty cool.

[31:18] Lord, you showed us real good truth about love, forgiveness, and grace. Amen.