Paper, Scissors, Rock

Transcript

Good morning, family. If you have your Bibles, would you please turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14, and we’ll begin at verse 66. This is the word of the Lord. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 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 mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, This man was one of them. But again he denied it. And after a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter, Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,

I do not know this man of whom you speak. And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he broke down and he wept. This, brothers and sisters, is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, as we approach your word this morning, we do pray that you would give us soft hearts. We pray that your Spirit would open up our eyes to the truth contained in this story of a follower of Jesus who has fallen. We pray, O Lord and God, that as we examine the life of Peter, that you would help us to revel in the redemption of our Lord Jesus, that we would see hope. We recognize, Father, that in order to understand anything, to apply the text, for it to penetrate our heart,

for us to breathe in its truth, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. So we pray that the Spirit would be our guide, and that we would sense the presence of the Spirit as we go through this exercise of rehearsing the gospel through your word. We pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen. Well, our culture is strangely entertained by stories of these spectacular starts with failed finishes. In some strange way, it almost feels like we revel in the stories of people who rise from nothing and grow to prominence, but quickly fall deep into the abyss of the irredeemable because of some financial, social, or moral failure. So typically, the way this works in our society is that we spend all of this time praising and celebrating the rise of a person’s success, only to completely cancel that person should they somehow step out of line, or stand on the wrong side of the

ever-shifting cultural climate, or heaven forbid, fail to live up to our perfect expectations. And when this happens, the cancel part of our culture never leaves room for reconciliation or recovery from these kinds of falls. So functionally, what this means then is that if you fail once, or if you fall, you’re canceled indefinitely with no hope for restoration. The world is merciless and unforgiving when it comes to people who fail or fall. And you see, brothers and sisters, this is what makes the message of the gospel so sweet in that it is specifically designed for people who fail and fall. As followers of Jesus, we can rest our confidence on the promise that Jesus will never cancel us, even when we fail him in the most egregious of ways. This is what makes the light of the gospel shine all the brighter in our dark and punitive world.

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The Pride of Peter

The forgiveness and restoration of Jesus is in every way counter-cultural because it counters cancel culture. And really, in our text this morning, we get a picture of this reality. We see up close and personal as a follower of Jesus, in fact, a famous follower of Jesus, Peter, who in a moment of weakness forfeits his loyalty to Jesus and falls this unimaginable fall. Now, to be clear, if this happened today, if this would happen to Peter today, it would be the end of Peter. Peter would be canceled indefinitely. The culture would eat him alive and socially showcase their disdain for Peter as someone who publicly betrayed his very close friend. And there would be no hope of reconciliation or recovery. Peter would have gotten what he deserves. But praise be to God that he is not like our world, that he did not deal with Peter

according to his moment of weakness, which of course means that Jesus doesn’t deal with us according to our moments of weakness. Jesus is a loving and forgiving God who radically restores us and changes the story of someone who, according to the culture, should definitely be canceled to someone who is completely made new. And so what I want to do this morning is look at our passage and all of its kind of train wreck, you know, all of its ugliness and messiness, to see exactly how and why Peter failed Jesus so badly, not because I want us to revel in the wreckage, but because I want us to hopefully see as we look at Peter’s failure and fall our own hearts in this story and our own tendencies to fail and fall just as badly as Peter did. But this morning I want to be clear, I have no intention of leaving us with

Peter’s fall only, because Peter’s fall is not what defines or characterizes his life, his love, and his loyalty. In fact, I will move us around a bit in our Bibles this morning to look at Peter’s larger life, give us a bit of a biblical theology of Peter to showcase not just the rise and fall of Peter, but also the restoration of Peter. Because when we see the whole story of Peter, we get a glimpse of the radical mercy of Jesus, who restores fallen sinners like Peter and like you and me. So this morning I’ve entitled this sermon Paper, Scissor, Rock, and hopefully the title will make more sense as we move along. I know that’s not how you typically say it, but it’s the way I’m breaking it down. So to help us move along, I’ve broken up this sermon into three sections. We’ll look at the pride of Peter, which might be the paper, the pruning of

Peter, which would be the scissors, and the prominence of Peter, which would be the rock. Now, normally we preach expositionally, and we will do that, but we will also bounce around a bit, as I’ve said in our Bibles, because I think this will prove to be helpful for us as we look at the whole life of Peter. Okay, so let’s begin first by looking at the pride of Peter. At first glance, Simon Peter seemed the most unlikely candidate for ministry. I mean, he was religiously uneducated, young and inexperienced when it came to religion or religious people. Peter was super rough around the edges, quick to speak, slow to listen, had a bit of a temper or an anger problem. Peter was a self-employed fisherman, which means that he was acquainted more with physical labor than mental labor, which means he lived a life of a whole lot of hustle

and very little study. Now, more than anything, Peter was a proud man, very self-motivated and self-confident. Now, these are the kinds of qualities that don’t fit the prototype of a typical minister or, in this culture, of a rabbi. But Simon Peter, with no formal ministry training, with no leadership development skills, with no degree in Old Testament Scripture, would go on to become perhaps one of the most influential and effective ministers the world has ever known outside of Jesus himself. In fact, Simon the fisherman would become Peter the Apostle, an exclusive title and position reserved for only a few men in human history, and Simon Peter would eventually come to be known throughout the church as the Rock. In fact, it was Jesus himself who gave Simon the name Peter, or Petros, which means the Rock. The question is, how did Peter rise to such ministry success?

How did Peter go from a fisherman to a faithful minister? Or how does he move from rags to righteousness? Well, maybe it was Peter’s radical confidence. In Mark chapter 1, verse 16 through 20, it tells us that as Jesus was walking along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, he sees Peter and his brother Andrew sitting in a boat fishing. And out of all of the people in this overpopulated sea of fishermen, Jesus calls out to them from the shoreline and says, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. As Peter and his brother hear this unique call from Jesus, Peter responds by giving up everything to follow Jesus in radical obedience. Peter boldly, with no reservation, gives up his life, his vocation, and his reputation to follow Jesus in his radical commitment, along with his brother Andrew. Well, maybe it was the radical imitation of Jesus that Peter was so acquainted with.

As Peter continued to follow Jesus and observe the life and ministry and miraculous work of Jesus, he is eventually commissioned by Jesus along with the other disciples to go out and participate in the ministry of powerful preaching and participate in the miraculous works. And in Mark chapter 6, verse 12 and 13, we see that’s exactly what happened. Peter, along with the other disciples, goes out and he calls people to repent in his preaching. He casts out demons and heals all kinds of sick people. Peter observed Jesus and imitated and patterned his life after the ministry of Jesus. But maybe that wasn’t it. Maybe it was the radical intuition about Jesus. In Mark chapter 8, verse 27 through 30, which is the turning point in Mark’s gospel, Peter makes this crazy confession concerning the person and ministry of Jesus. As Jesus was asking his disciples, he asked them,

who do the people say that I am? And the disciples tell him, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, some say that you’re a prophet. And then he asked them, well, who do you say that I am? And then Peter says, you are the Christ. Peter alone, out of all the disciples, makes this profound confession that Jesus is the long-anticipated Messiah. So Peter, although he came from humble beginnings, his resume on paper was pretty thick. Peter was committed. He was able to imitate Jesus. He had amazing insight as to who Jesus was and his ministry mission. Peter had come a long way from an uneducated fisherman to a faithful and fruitful minister of the gospel. Now, looking at Peter’s rise to success, the world, from their vantage point or even from a managerial perspective, would easily deduce that Peter’s success was a result of his

hard work, his diligence, and his unique insight. That’s what employees are always looking for, that his success was owing largely to his own doing. It’s highly likely that Peter understood his own success this way, which would account for the many accounts of Peter’s self-confidence that got him into all kinds of trouble. But you see what Peter failed to recognize, and what was often Peter’s problem, is that his rise to success had nothing to do with him. He did nothing. Jesus did everything. Remember, it was Jesus who called Peter, not because Peter had some, you know, hidden quality about him that would be useful in Jesus’s ministry. No, Peter’s just a man, a flawed man for that sake. Jesus selected this flawed man to showcase his glory that God moves most profoundly with unimpressive people. And Jesus’s call was an effectual call. Peter’s, his radical commitment was owing all to

Jesus. Here’s the truth, Peter could not follow Jesus because of Jesus’s effectual call. And Peter didn’t preach or do miraculous work in his own strength. His power and authority was delegated by Jesus for him to do that work. And even Peter’s confession, if you think about it, did not come from Peter’s vast intuition or understanding. In Matthew’s gospel it tells us that Jesus told Peter, you only confess that I’m the Messiah because the Father in heaven revealed that to you. You see, Peter in every way was a made man. Jesus made him the man he was. Jesus was the one who platformed Peter and gave him his ministry success. But from Peter’s vantage point, he was a self-made man, which now you can understand why Peter had such radical but misguided self-confidence because he believed his ministry success and his tenacity was indigenous to himself.

So though it was in every way Jesus that made Peter’s ministry great, it was in every way Peter’s pride that led to his great fall. And this great fall that stemmed from his pride, from his self-confidence, had long been in his heart. But over the last few days of Jesus’s Passion Week, it became increasingly more pronounced. And so what I want to do is briefly walk you through this kind of snowball of Peter’s self-confidence that played out over the Passion Week. In Luke’s Gospel, it tells us that just after Jesus mentioned that he was going to be betrayed by one of his disciples and immediately following the institution of the Lord’s Supper, the disciples began to talk among themselves as to who was going to be the greatest. I mean, he just heard Jesus say, one of y’all is going to betray me and they’re talking about who’s going to be

the greatest. And then here’s what’s interesting, right after this conversation, Jesus addresses Peter. And he says in Luke chapter 22, verse 31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. Peter said to him, Lord, I am ready to go both to prison and to death. Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me. And then in Mark chapter 14, we looked at this a little while ago, in verses 27 through 31, while all the disciples are out in the Mount of Olives, Jesus tells his disciples, you will all fall away. You’re all going to fall away. Peter said to him, even though they all fall away, I will not. And Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you, this very night,

before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he that is Peter said emphatically, if I must die with you, I will not deny you. You see, Peter makes these bold claims because he’s filled with such self-confidence. He thinks to himself, you think you know me, Lord, but you don’t. I got this. You don’t know the kind of man I am. I’m confident that I will remain faithful. You see, on paper, Peter had all the marks of a courageous and loyal disciple. He’s radically committed. He’s done radical works. He’s made this radical confession about Jesus as the Messiah. And he’s constantly made these radical claims that he will not fall away, that he’ll remain faithful in the face of opposition. But Peter failed to see his biggest blind spot, his pride and his self-confidence. It is the pride of Peter that causes him to fold

in a matter of only a few hours. First, by falling asleep in the garden three times, and then by denying Jesus in a courtyard three times. And you see, this is why, brothers and sisters, Jesus says in the Garden of Gethsemane to Peter, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. I mean, Jesus just told Peter that Satan was trying to sift him like wheat. That means that Satan has sought permission from Jesus to violently shake Peter’s faith, so much so that Peter might experience an unrecoverable fall. You see, Peter’s flesh was weak, and Satan did attempt to shake his faith. And Peter’s weakness of self-confidence played out in this epic failure of a threefold denial. And we see that in our text this morning. We see the first of these three denials

When Confidence Crumbles

in verse 66 and 68. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 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 mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. Now, after the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane, and after Jesus was arrested and taking away, Peter followed behind at a distance and got into this courtyard. Now, why does Peter follow Jesus anyway? Well, because Peter really loved Jesus. This much is clear. Peter loved Jesus. Peter no doubt had every intention to be there for Jesus when everything went down. And the fact that Peter actually does follow Jesus, albeit at a distance, is because he’s confident that when the time comes and the pressure builds, at the right moment he will stand with

Jesus and for Jesus. But when they arrive, as Jesus is above the courtyard in this room, as Andrew preached last week, on trial by these important Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin and the chief priest, Peter was downstairs in the courtyard standing next to a fire, facing a different kind of trial with far less important people who actually had no authority. And it’s here where he first folds. In fact, this servant girl, who was likely the maidservant of the chief priest, she looks at Peter, and as Peter is attempting to warm himself by the fire, she’s curious about this man. She tries to make out his facial features under the flickering of the flames, and though it’s dark and the shadows are bouncing across his face, the maidservant’s eyes begin to adjust to the dim light, and she eventually identifies Peter. I got him. I know who this guy is. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I know who

he is. Though Peter tries to be covert and inconspicuous, she clearly recognizes him. She says, you were with the Nazarene, Jesus. And to be clear, when she references Peter with the Nazarene, she’s being a bit derogatory, because Jews from Judea often look down on Jews from the north in Galilee. It’s a lot like how Portlanders treat Californians, though we’re all on the west coast. I felt it, so.. So no matter how much Peter tries to distance himself from being associated with Jesus, it’s impossible for Peter to not be known as one of those a part of Jesus’s entourage. In fact, from this point forward, Peter will never escape his brand association with Jesus. But nonetheless, Peter, without hesitation and without reservation, immediately denies Jesus. I don’t know him. And it’s interesting what Peter says. He doesn’t know, nor does he understand what she means, which really just puts a lot of extra on the denial.

Not only does he lie about knowing Jesus, he also lies about not knowing what she’s talking about. He knows what she’s getting at. But instead of defending his savior and his friend, he pleads ignorance about everything. And then Peter quickly realizing that he’s vulnerable, it’s clear now he can’t just roam around the courtyard without being noticed, he falls back. He retreats and he makes his way out of the center of the courtyard, away from the light of the fire, and moves into the gateway of the courtyard where he can hide in the shadows of darkness. Now, I can imagine Peter had no intention of denying Jesus this way. I imagine Peter was likely completely caught off guard in the moment. In fact, it only came to his attention after he heard the rooster crow. The sound of the rooster crowing the first time reverberated in his mind and

snapped him back to the conversation that Jesus had with him only a few hours earlier. I tell you, Peter, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. Peter’s denial sets in motion what the Lord accurately prophesies about Peter. Jesus is right. He’s always right. And what a bogus denial if you think about it. I mean, it’s one thing to deny Jesus in the face of persecution and death, or in the front of religious authorities, but to deny Jesus in front of someone with no authority, with no political sway, with minimal damage, like this teenage maid, it’s just bogus. But you see, this is how Satan gets Peter. Not by some massive strategy that Peter is keenly aware of and waiting for, but through some unassuming trip up, something Peter was not really even thinking about, something quick and ridiculous.

I can imagine Peter’s response after this first denial. I can’t believe I just did that. How could I just do that without even thinking? How could I let that happen? He denies Jesus in the darkness of night, standing in front of a courtyard fire pit, in front of a maid servant. This is not what he anticipated. But it doesn’t stop there. We see in verse 69 and 70, and the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, this man is one of them. But again, he denied it. As Peter moved away from the courtyard, away from the light of the fire, into the dark hallway to hide himself, he looks even more suspect. And so again, this maid servant points him out, but this time she not only addresses Peter, but she makes Peter’s presence known to the bystanders, those standing around in the courtyard.

And immediately, without thinking again, he denies Jesus. You see, it wasn’t enough for him to hear the rooster crow once. And you would think, after hearing that rooster crow once, that he would have been more on guard, that he would be willing to redeem his original denial. I tripped up there, but I’m not going to let that happen again. But no, not with Peter. He digs in deeper with his lying and his denying. And now his self-confidence is really beginning to buckle. But it doesn’t stop there. And then finally, we come to the third denial. And we see that in the second half of verse 70. Luke gives us a heads up. Luke tells us that it’s about an hour of time difference, just so you don’t think it’s like bang, bang, bang. He had some time to think about what was going on, okay? But at the second half of verse 70,

it says, and after a little while, while the bystanders again said to Peter, certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. This time it’s not the maid, but it’s the crowd of people. The bystanders have all come together in agreement to confirm that Peter is connected with Jesus. In fact, they’re certain that he’s connected with Jesus because of Peter’s accent. They know Peter is from Galilee because they know folks from Galilee. They know how they talk, like those Southern California surfers. And what’s crazy, if you think about it, the very words that Peter uses to distance himself from Jesus is the very thing that exposes his closeness to Jesus. His accent. Peter, no matter how hard he tries or how hard he lies, he can’t wiggle out

of his association with Jesus. And so what does he do? He swears and he invokes a curse on himself. Essentially, Peter says, I swear to God, I don’t know this man. I swear to God, I don’t know him. And not just that, it’s almost as if he’s saying, listen, if I’m lying, then let me be cursed by God. And you see, this is exactly what people do when they get caught in a lie and they try to wiggle out of it. I swear to God, this denial here is so far from Peter’s original claim to boldness. You remember he said, even if they all fall away, I will not. He said, I’ll die for you before I deny you. He said, I’m willing to go to prison and even death before I deny you. And here he not only denies Jesus, but he does it in a way

that basically says, if I’m lying about not knowing this Jesus, then let me be cursed. Let me die. It’s almost the exact opposite of what Peter said he would do for Jesus. Peter tells the crowd, I do not know this man of whom you speak. And it’s this right here, it’s this right here that showcases this comprehensive denial. It’s a denial of not just association, but awareness. This is perhaps the deepest of all denials. He has said with his words and his actions that he denies his relationship with Jesus and he denies even knowing who this Jesus is. Remember, this is the one he once professed to love and be loyal to, but is now pretending he doesn’t even know him. So Peter denies Jesus the third time, just like Jesus predicted. And in verse 72 it says, and immediately the rooster crowed a second time.

And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he broke down and wept. Peter, in all his zeal and self-confidence, has fallen as far as you could possibly fall. When the smoke came, Peter folded like paper. Peter, the rock, has in a span of only a few hours hit rock bottom. From the moment Peter made his bold confession, he began falling. And as the rooster crowed the second time, the weight and the significance and the impact of his denials finally hit him. You know, Luke’s gospel tells us that at the same moment when Peter denied Jesus the third time and the rooster crowed the second time, the guards were moving Jesus from upstairs through the courtyard. And when Peter made this denial, Luke’s gospel says that the Lord turned and looked at Peter.

So it wasn’t just the sound of the rooster’s crow that sobered Peter, it was the eyes of Jesus in that moment of denial that melted Peter’s heart like wax. The haunting eyes of Jesus, witnessing his beloved disciple Peter betray his God and Savior and friend. This, no doubt, had a lasting effect of guilt and shame on Peter. Can I ask you this morning? How long does it take for you to sober up from your sin? I mean, how long does it take for us in our moments of denying Jesus, of choosing our sin over Jesus, to come to our senses? How far into sin do we need to fall to feel it, to be broken and to weep over our sin? And do we not know that the eyes of the Lord are always watching, even when we don’t think he is? Does that shape the way we see our sin

and most importantly our Savior? Or do we deny the seriousness of our sin as if our sin is no big deal? Or do we deny that our Savior sees all our sin? And listen, I don’t think that when Jesus looked at Peter it was a look of condemnation. I mean, we don’t know exactly what that look was like, but I imagine it was more of a look of compassion. Because again, Jesus loved Peter. He loved him. Don’t forget that. Jesus loved Peter. As failed and as flawed as Peter was,

Jesus loved Peter. But though it was a look of compassion, the eyes of Jesus still pierced the heart of Peter. I also want you to see something here. Out of everything Peter did wrong, he did one thing right. He broke down and wept. He broke down and he wept. Peter felt guilt, but not just because he got caught or because his sin was exposed, but because of his deep love for Jesus. And don’t forget that. Peter loved Jesus. Though he failed Jesus and though he was flawed, Peter deeply loved Jesus. When his eyes locked with Jesus, he felt the pain of forsaking the one he loved so deeply. He weeps because he genuinely felt remorse for denying his Lord and Savior and friend. And you see, this right here is where true repentance begins. An awareness of guilt followed by deep remorse and an eventual turning away from sin that we chased after

and a turning back to the God we love. We should grieve our sin, not just because the consequences, but because of our disloyalty to Jesus. And listen, there is a difference between worldly sorrow and godly grief. Worldly sorrow says, I feel bad because I got caught and I don’t want to suffer the consequences. Godly grief is to feel real remorse for choosing to love your sin more than you love God. So Peter feels real remorse and real guilt for his grievous acts of disloyalty to Jesus. But what he feels the most is his own heartbreak for how he denied his Savior and friend. And listen, this was Peter’s last encounter with Jesus before the death of Jesus. So just let that sink in for a minute. The last time Peter saw Jesus before Jesus dies was the exact moment of his third denial of Jesus.

And this reality was likely sinking Peter deep in shame and sorrow for what he did. And this is the last we hear from Peter until after the resurrection. In fact, it’s the last time we hear about Peter in Mark’s gospel except for this one little tiny thing, and we’ll look at that later. Now again, if this was our culture, if this was our world, and we knew that Peter denied his friend like this just before he died, he would be canceled. It would be the end of Peter’s story. No one would touch Peter ever again. But praise be to God the story doesn’t end with Peter here. Though Peter denies Jesus just before his death, Peter is not canceled by Jesus. But Jesus does cut Peter. He does cut him, and this brings us to the pruning of Peter, or the scissor. The Lord will take Peter’s grief and guilt

The Pruning of Peter

and shame and restore him, but not without first chastening him. The Bible tells us that the Lord chastens the ones he loves, and this chastening of Peter comes in the form of cutting him, but not the kind of cutting that is intended to inflict pain as some sort of punishment, but more of a surgical cut to remove that which is causing all the pain. And for Peter, that is his pride and self-confidence. And before we get to how Jesus cuts Peter, I want you to see the beauty of how Jesus initiates the restoration of Peter. Remember, Peter failed Jesus. The last interaction with Peter and Jesus, Peter failed Jesus miserably. But look at how Jesus initiates here. And I want to show you this, but in order to do that, we need to bounce around a bit in our Bibles, okay? But keep in mind that everything that

we’ll look at from this point forward is post-resurrection of Jesus, okay? So first, turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16. Now, I told you before that Mark’s gospel, that in Mark’s gospel, after Peter denies Jesus the third time, that’s the last we hear about him except for this one little tiny thing. Well, this here is that one little tiny thing, but it’s actually a pretty significant thing, okay? So let me just set some context here. After the death of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and a few other women went to the tomb of Jesus to care for the body of Jesus. And when they show up, they saw the stone that covered the tomb rolled away. And they’re, wow, how did that happen? Who rolled away the stone? So they enter in the tomb, and of course they don’t see Jesus, but

they do see a man there, likely an angel. And this man says to them in verse six and seven, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He’s not here. See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. Now, did you catch that little detail? Did you catch it? The angel said, go tell the disciples and Peter. And this here is the kindness of the Lord to Peter. Obviously, Peter was wrecked and wondered whether Jesus was willing to forgive him for his great fall. You remember the people in the courtyard essentially identified Peter three times and said, you’re one of them, meaning you’re one of the disciples. And to all three of those responses, Peter said, no, I’m not.

I’m not one of the disciples. I don’t know him. So when the Lord gives the angel the specific directions to inform the disciples and Peter, it is partly to initiate the restoration of Peter. It is to tell Peter, though you failed me, you are still my disciple and I still love you. You see, Jesus knew that Peter would have assumed that his denial would call into question whether he was still a disciple. I mean, Peter saw what happened to Judas and so he was concerned that he might have been canceled by Jesus. But Jesus had every intention to restore Peter. This here is a picture of the persistent love of Jesus that has every intention to receive Peter and not just receive him, but chase Peter down to restore him. So Jesus, immediately after his resurrection, makes the restoration of Peter a priority. Jesus comes after Peter. Jesus initiates. And what a great comfort this is for us,

dear brothers and sisters. If you are his, he is willing to forgive you. And more than that, he will come after you when you fall. If you hear nothing else this morning, I hope you hear this. If you are his, if you fail or fall into sin, and you think that it’s so bad that he will not forgive you, you’re wrong. You’re wrong. You are still his child. You are still his disciple and he still loves you. This is one of the greatest comforts we have as a Christian, that though we fail him, he pursues us. He will find us and he will fix us. Now, if you will turn with me to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24.

When the women do come and tell the disciples and specifically Peter, that Jesus has risen from the grave, I want you to notice in verse 12 how Peter responds. But Peter, after hearing this news, rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves and he went home marveling at what had happened. So, Jesus initiates the restoration of Peter. Jesus was coming after Peter through this message of this angel, and now Peter is coming after Jesus. And this here is a perfect picture of the pathway of restoration. Jesus comes after us, we come after Jesus. The Lord beckons us to come to Jesus and repent, and so we come to Jesus and repent, and he forgives and he restores. And this here should be a good reminder to us when we fall into sin. When we feel guilt and shame over our sin, Jesus will lovingly come after you,

but you must come to Jesus. You must come to him. And why in the world does Peter run into the empty tomb? Because Peter has spent enough time with Jesus to know that the resurrection is the proof that the payment of all of our sins and failures are forgiven. And that the resurrection of Jesus confirms that his death was an acceptable payment for our sin. And of course, this has real-time implications for Peter, because it pays for his own sin of denying his Lord and Savior three times. This is why he runs to the tomb and why he runs back celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Now, if you would turn with me to John chapter 21. John chapter 21. And as you go there, I’ll set a bit of context. Remember, Peter has yet to see Jesus since the night of his denial. And here we have this

scene where Peter is in a boat with a few other fishermen. After Peter’s denial, he says, it’s all helpless. I’ll just go back to what I used to do. I’ll just go fish. But they don’t catch anything. He’s no longer a good fisherman. Any fish. And so as Peter is in the boat with his disciples, he can’t catch any fish. They see this man from the shoreline, and this man says, why don’t you cast your net on the other side of the boat? And so they say, all right, we’ll just try it. They cast their net on the other side of the boat, and they catch all these fish. Could barely pull it into the boat. And then one of the men in the boat recognizes that the man on the shoreline is Jesus. There is our master, the resurrected Lord Jesus. And Peter, realizing that it’s Jesus, what does he do?

He jumps out of the boat. He jumps out of the boat and swims as fast as he can to Jesus. Now think about this for a second. Peter’s last encounter with Jesus was his denial. And now he sees his Lord and Savior in the flesh. The resurrected Jesus still in the flesh. And he can’t wait to get back to Jesus to make things right. And I really want you to take in the brevity and the beauty of this whole exchange, because this is an amazing picture for you and for me. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Peter said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And listen, Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know all things. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. It’s here where Jesus cuts Peter with his words. Despite Jesus, despite Peter’s self-confidence, what Peter needed was Jesus to do something for him. Peter needed Jesus to gently hold his heart like a surgeon and cut out the cancer of self-confidence and pride that was killing Peter. Peter needed Jesus to chase him down, to rehabilitate him, to reconstruct him, and to forgive him of his sin over and over and over again. And so Jesus brings Peter around another fire, but this time in the light of day to pull Peter back to that moment

around the first fire in the dark of night when Peter denied Jesus. And with these leading questions, Jesus gives Peter the opportunity to confess his love for every denial. This is why Jesus asks him three times, do you love me? So that Peter could confess, you know I love you. The words of Jesus cut him deeply and penetrate his self-confident heart to correct what was misaligned before he restores. A.W. Tozer says it is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he’s hurt that man deeply. And Jesus with his words hurts Peter to help Peter. And it’s here where you see the radical compassion and correction of Jesus collide in this complete restoration. But it doesn’t end with restoration. While cutting to correct with his words, Jesus at the same time recommissions with his words. He says three times, if you caught it, feed my lambs,

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The Prominence of Peter

tend my sheep, feed my sheep. Peter needed to hear this from Jesus so that Peter could grow into what God called him to become. The rock. And this is exactly what happens. Peter is recommissioned by Jesus back into ministry, which brings us to the prominence of Peter or the rock. Peter would go on in ministry to do marvelous and miraculous things. In fact, in Acts chapter 2, it tells us that on the day of Pentecost, Peter preaches this sermon and some three thousand people are saved and baptized. In Acts chapter 4, it says that about five thousand people heard the word that Peter preached and believed. I mean, this is powerful and productive ministry and exceptionally rare. But listen, I want to be clear. It’s not just the powerful preaching or the amount of people who believed because of Peter’s ministry that makes him so

prominent. A lot of people will pull your attention there and say, look what God did. Look at the fruit of all of his labor, how effective his preaching ministry was. But I don’t think that’s what makes Peter so prominent. If you would turn back with me to Luke chapter 22. Jesus says something here to Peter that I think sets in motion his ministry prominence. I left this out the first time by design, but Luke chapter 22, verse 31 through 34. You remember, Jesus says, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. When you have turned, did you catch that? Peter predicted, I mean, Jesus predicted that Peter would turn just like Jesus knew Peter would fail and fall.

Jesus knew he would turn. And when Peter turns, he is to strengthen his brothers and sisters. This is huge. This here is what I think makes Peter’s ministry so important. It is Peter’s fall and eventual turn that gives Peter both the ability and relatability to strengthen and encourage the brothers and sisters in the faith. Peter’s life, having been completely reshaped and reconstructed by Jesus after his massive fall, radically serves to strengthen the church. Something to keep in mind is that Mark’s gospel is Peter’s very account. It is Peter’s retelling of his experience in the life and ministry of Jesus. And I wonder if you’ve noticed throughout Mark’s gospel, every time Peter has held nothing back from his ministry failures. Peter embarrassingly pushes all of his pride and all of his failures to the forefront. He doesn’t hide it away. He puts it there for us to examine, to look at, to examine.

Why does he do that? Because Peter wants Mark to tell the story of Peter’s great pride, of his great fall, so that we might see the depths of God’s great mercy and restoration. So that prideful people like you and definitely like me might hear of God’s compassion and restoration and be strengthened. So that you might see your own pride and own self-confidence and self-sufficiency and bring it all to the feet of Jesus in repentance. And listen, some years later, Peter the Rock, he writes 1 Peter as an encouragement to the church. And in chapter 5, in verses 5 and 6, he makes this little but powerful statement concerning how we as Christians ought to live and how we are to function within the church. And he says in verses 5 and 6, clothe yourself, all of you, with humility towards one another. Why? For God opposes the proud, but gives

grace to the humble. Peter experienced that grace when God turned his heart from pride and made him humble through his experiences. He goes on to say, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Pride and self-sufficiency have no room in the kingdom of God. For you to understand who you are as a sinner requires for you to humble yourself before God, so that he might raise you up before the Father. He goes on to say in verse 10, and after you have suffered a little while, Peter knows of this kind of suffering. He knows of this kind of trial. He’s experienced it firsthand. He says, after you have suffered a while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself, listen, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Peter’s prominence, his prominence in ministry, is that his life is a picture of the gospel, a great fall, and a great redemption. It sings to us every time we open up God’s word and we hear about Peter and his pride. It sings to us that if God could restore Peter, his great pride and his great fall, he can restore us in our great pride and in our great falls. I wonder if you are hearing this morning, if you’re thinking to yourself, there is no way God can forgive me for all that I’ve done. I have denied him way too many times. Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, listen, what you explain to Peter pales in comparison. I’ve done way more bad things than Peter. Peter has denied Jesus. I have done way worse things than that. You need to hear this morning, that there is no sin so severe

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that God cannot save you from it. There is no fall so deep that God cannot pick you up out of it and save you and rescue you from it. All you have to do is repent and believe. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus in faith. Reorient what you’re pursuing, the sin that you love, put it to death and chase Jesus in love, allegiance and loyalty and obedience. Do that and he will rescue you from your sin. You can come to Jesus this morning with full confidence that he will not cancel you. In fact, the only thing Jesus will cancel is your debt of sin and the condemnation that you rightly deserve because of your sin. Run to Jesus this morning. Run to him. Run to the empty tomb to see the resurrected Jesus and he will embrace you in his arms and forgive you of all of your sin.

Jump out of the situation that you’re in and swim to Jesus. You can do that this morning. Take him by faith. He will save you. He will rescue you. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we do thank you that you and your kindness has seen fit to put the life and ministry of Peter on display for us to see so that we might see your radical and saving mercy, so that we might experience what the life and Jesus and his ministry means for us. It means redemption. It means restoration. It means reorienting our love and it means saving us from great falls and complete failures. We pray, O Lord and God, that we would hide these truths in our heart when we trip and when we fall, that we might see that you come after us and that you call us to come after you and that when we come after you,

you are gracious and compassionate and merciful and forgiving and you will make us new. Help us to hear that this morning and know it and hide it in our hearts. We pray all of these things in Christ’s name. Amen.