Well, let us turn again to that
chapter we were reading just now, end of Mark, Mark chapter
16, and reading again verses 6 and 7. Verse 6, And he saith
unto them, this is the young man sitting on the right side,
it's an angel, clothed with a long white garment, and he's speaking
unto those women spoken of in the opening verse Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of James and Salome and he saith unto
them be not frightened ye see Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified
he is risen he is not here behold the place where they laid him
But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before
you into Galilee. There shall ye see him, as he
said unto you. And the words that I want to
really take for a text are those two words that we find in verse
7 and Peter. But go your way, tell his disciples
and Peter. And we see something of the significance
of the words that are spoken by the angel because of what
the Lord himself had said previously in chapter 14. Verse 27 Jesus said unto them
all ye shall be offended because of me this night for it is written
I will smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered
but after that I am risen I will go before you into Galilee But
Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will
not I. And Jesus said unto him, Verily
I say unto thee, That this day, even this night, before the cock
crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And you'll see from the
words that the angel is speaking of Christ being risen and going
before him to Galilee. and giving this instruction that
the women are to go and tell the disciples and Peter. Peter set apart. And why is Peter
set apart? Not because in any sense he was
superior to others of the Lord's apostles. He often was the spokesperson
we might say, but of course he was so impulsive, impetuous by
nature, always quick to speak. but he is no superior to the
other apostles. We know how the Church of Rome
makes that claim that he is the first of the Popes. It's a false
claim. There's no evidence that Peter
was ever at all in Rome. But that's what the Church of
Rome claims. And it's false. He's no better
than any of the others. But here we see how the Lord
is so tender in his dealings and certain in his dealings with
one who would sin so grievously. How the Lord as a personal ministry
to comfort to us, I'm sure, that the Lord takes account of us
and our own situations, our own needs, and our many faults and
failings, Abback's slidings, amongst those various pithy speeches
of William TipTap, those aphorisms. In one of them he says religion
is a personal thing and that is a truth of course. We know
that the Lord God does set the solitary in families. we have
the doctrine of the church and that should be a great comfort
to us that the Lord does gather his people into local churches
but it deals with us very personally at the same time and we can think
of those words that the Lord spoke unto that man born blind
that he had given sight to when they cast him out of the synagogue,
they excommunicated, cut him off from Israel and the Lord
goes and finds him and says to him, dost thou believe on the
Son of God? Now pointed is that personal
pronoun, dost thou, the singular pronoun. Now the Lord reminds
him that he must as an individual come to that true saving knowledge
whereby he might confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ,
the Son of God. Dost thou believe on the Son
of God? Well here we see Peter being
singled out. Go your way, tell his disciples
and Peter. So I have just two words really
for a text It's interesting we're told of the hymn writer Samuel
Medley who of course was a particular Baptist minister up in Liverpool
back in the 18th century and we often sing some of the hymns
of Medley and we're told how often he would preach on a single
word and I've heard that of others they might preach on such a word
as nevertheless when we find that word in certain contexts,
in the Book of Psalms for example. What a word is that nevertheless,
or but? Well, we have a very short text
to consider tonight, just these two words here in Mark 16, 7
and Peter. And I want to mention two things
concerning Peter. He was very favoured of the Lord,
but also to take some account of his faults, his failings,
his sins, and then finally to see something of the faithfulness
of the Lord Jesus as that one who is the great shepherd of
the sheep. First of all then, the favouring
of this man Peter. He was called, wasn't he, by
the grace of God. And we're told in John's Gospel
of the first meeting that the Lord has with this man, it's
his brother Andrew who introduces him to the Lord. Remember there
in John chapter 1, there are these men, they're
disciples of John the Baptist. the forerunner of Christ, but
John is faithful, he directs them to the Lord Jesus Christ,
behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world and
so we read of those who are moved to follow the Lord Jesus there
in verse 40 of that opening chapter of John's Gospel one of the two
which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew Simon Peter's
brother. He first findeth his own brother
Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which
is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.
And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son
of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas,
which is by interpretation stone. Now it's interesting because
this is the first meeting but what we're told concerning these
men who at that time followed the Lord when John said behold
the Lamb of God we're told in verse 39 they came and saw where
he dwelt and abode with him that day well it was about the 10th
hour the 10th hour would be about 4pm so They're only with him for a short
time. It's not there that they're called to be his disciples, to
be those who would be forever following him. It's not till
later, and of course we're told, aren't we, here in the opening
chapter of Mark's Gospel of the time when the Lord actually calls
these men to be his followers, as he walked by the sea of Galilee. We read in verse 16 of chapter
1, He saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting the net into
the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come
ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook
their nets and followed Him. So they must have already had
some familiarity. They knew who this man was, Jesus
of Nazareth. But now they're becoming His
disciples, His followers. So we have his call, he's called,
he has that call of grace. And isn't it Peter who reminds
us of the importance of that? In his second epistle, wherefore
the rather brethren give diligence, he says, to make your calling
and election sure. Some may be troubled, are they
of the election of grace or not? Well, the secret things belong
unto the Lord. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. But it's interesting, the order that we have there in 2
Peter 1.10, Peter says to the brethren that they are to be
diligent in first of all attending to their calling. Make your calling. This is where we have to examine
ourselves. Have we known that cause? We were speaking last
Lord's Day morning of the Lord Jesus is that one who is the
great shepherd of the sheep and his sheep know his voice and
they follow him and he gives to them eternal life well that's
our calling are we those who have known that call Peter was
favoured he was called by the grace of God and then also of
course we have Peter's great confession what a favoured man
this was when the Lord is asking in Matthew 16 concerning what's
being said with regards to himself, it wasn't that he was ignorant,
he's drawing out his disciples and he says, Whom so ye that
I am, and is Peter also impulsive? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And what does the Lord say? Blessed
art thou, Simon bar Jonah, Simon son of Jonah. Flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto them. but my Father which is in heaven."
He had known that gracious revelation that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed
the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He is God
manifest in the flesh. And then again at the end of
John 6, the chapter of those diminishings, the sifting, searching
ministry of the Lord, the multitude at the beginning and the few
at the end of that sixth chapter. When the Lord challenges his
disciples, what does Peter say, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. He wasn't
just called by the grace of God, he confesses his Saviour. he acknowledges the Lord and
then also how this man was favoured to be so close and so intimate
with the Lord Jesus there were those three weren't there that
we read of on occasions being so favoured not just Peter but
James and John also when the Lord raised Jairus his daughter
to life she was dead And the Lord goes to the house and casts
out those who are mourning, but he takes with him those three,
Peter amongst them, and he raises the child to life again. And then again he's there, those
three, Peter, James and John in the Mount of Transfiguration.
When they see beyond the veil of the Lord's humility, he's a real man, they
see through the veil of his humanity and his humiliation, they see
something of the glories of his deity, he's transfigured and
they see Moses and the prophet Elijah speaking with him there
and Peter's present, he witnesses these remarkable things And then
again, when the Lord goes to the Garden of Gethsemane with
His disciples, He takes those three and He goes a little further
apart. And they are to watch and pray
with Him. And then He goes away from them
and He comes back to them and they're sleeping. They're weary. But how this man was so favoured,
so intimate with the Lord. Oh Peter, you see, so blessed.
Called by the grace of God. Bold in confessing the Lord Jesus
Christ. and the Lord so close to him
and he close to the Lord so many times but then we also have the
faults, the failings and the sins of this man and two sins
in particular I would say we see something of his pride at
times he seems over confident in himself how bold he is to
assert although all shall be offended yet will not I and the
Lord speaks of the disciples as those who are going to forsake
him and he was forsaken of course he has to tread that white press
of the wrath of God all alone but Peter protests although all
the others are offended and forsake never me, never me he says Lord
I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death oh that's
how bold he was but what is it? it's confidence in self it's
the proud heart of the man being manifested pride goeth before
destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall says the wise man
in the book of Proverbs. And how true it was in the case
of this man Simon Peter. We can't really point the finger,
we can't throw stones, can we? We're so often guilty. And how
pride is so insidious. Or think of that hymn 287, it's
a long hymn but it's not one really I suppose suitable for
public worship. but well worth reading through
and thinking upon. It is pride, accursed pride,
that spirit by God abhorred. Do what we will. It haunts us
still, and keeps us from the Lord. Against its influence,
pray. It mingles with the prayer. Against
it, preach. It prompts the speech. Be silent. Still it's there, and it lurks
in our hearts. It's told, isn't it, of Bunyan,
Bunyan was a remarkable preacher, great preacher really, the thinker
and how the great John Owen, the Puritan said he would forsake
all his great learning if he could but preach like Bunyan
preached. But Bunyan tells how on one occasion
he preached and as he came down from the pulpit someone approached
him and congratulated him and thanked him for the wonderful
sermon and he said, well he said I've already had that message
from the devil himself how his pride you see was there he was
proud of the performance, his preaching all that accursed sin of pride
and it's there in this man Simon Peter but there's also unbelief remember immediately after he
makes that confession we referred to in Matthew 16, after he had
acknowledged who the Lord was, his deity, the Son of God, now
the disciples know that Jesus really is the Christ. And we're told, aren't we, from
that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that
he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders
and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again
the third day. Then Peter took him and began
to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the Lord, this shall
not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter,
Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offence unto me. For thou
savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of
men. Oh, there's unbelief, you see.
He doesn't understand. Alright, he's ignorant. as to
what is the exact work of the Messiah. But ignorance is no
please. He's protesting here to the word
of God and to the will of God. It's unbelief. He's speaking
as Satan's instrument. Thou art an offense unto me.
In fact, the Lord calls him Satan, doesn't he? Get thee behind me,
Satan, thou art an offence unto me. And we see how with these
disciples there was so much unbelief. When the women come, you see,
in verse 11, when they had heard that he was alive and had been
seen of her, they believed not, he says. She went and told them,
but they believed not. And then when the Lord Himself
appears to them in the upper room, as we're told in verse
14, the 11, as they sat and meeked, what does the Lord do? He upbraided
them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they
believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen. All this man, you see, there
was unbelief. it is that sin which so easily
besets us says the apostle to the Hebrews it's us, it's believers
he's addressing and how often we have to confess what are we
we're unbelieving believers many a time, unbelieving believers
and how this man's faith did almost give way when he denied
the Lord, the third time he denied. What do we read at the end of
chapter 14? He began to curse and to swear,
saying, I know not this man of whom you speak. And the second
time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the
word that Jesus said unto him. before the cock crowed twice
thou shalt deny me thrice and when he thought thereon he wept
all his faith almost gave way completely he denies the Lord
with curses we see it so many times this
man he was so bold when the Lord is walking on the waters and
he's in the boat with the other disciples and they're afraid
and then they realize it's the Lord and he's out of the boat
and he's walking to the Lord but when he saw the wind boisterous
he was afraid and beginning to sink we're told and we cried
out saying Lord save me and the Lord does save him but what does
the Lord say to him? O thou of little faith O thou
of little faith Wherefore dost thou doubt? O God, deliver us
from doubts. God, grant to us faith and assurance
of faith, and the full assurance of faith, that we might be God
glorifiers. O that faith, though how it sorely
tried, true faith is tried, true faith the life of God, deep in
the heart it lies, it lives, it labours, under load though
damped, it never dies. And why is it that faith survives,
true faith survives because of the one who is the object of
faith. It does not lose sight of that, it's the object of our
faith that is all important. Our faith might be very small,
we might have faith as a grain of mustard seed, the smallest
of all seeds, But faith has to do with a blessed object, a glorious
object, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's looking onto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith. Oh, this man, you see, he has
an unbelieving heart. It's mingled with pride. And
isn't that what we really see in the Garden of Eden? said before
unbelief is the root of all sins but unbelief there is very much
mingled with pride the devil says ye shall be as gods well
let's be like God let's partake of that forbidden fruit will
be God like let's believe the devil's lie and reject God's
truth and it's there in Peter and if it's in Peter surely we
wouldn't pretend that we're better men and women than ever Peter
was But all the Lords, in the gracious ministry of the Lords,
here is the angel, these ministering spirits sent forth to minister
to the heirs of salvation, that about the throne of God, and
they have six wings, and with two they cover their feet, with
two they cover their faces, and with two they fly, they fly at
the command of God. And isn't Jesus of Nazareth God? and here is the angel he's the
Lord's messenger and he's the Lord's messenger now to these
women and through these women to the other disciples but especially
to Simon Peter go your way tell his disciples and Peter oh be
sure to tell Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee there
shall you see him as he said unto you Well let's, as we draw
to a close, say something with regards to the faithfulness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are five aspects that
I want to just mention briefly with regards to the ministry
of the Lord Jesus here. What does he do? First of all,
he prayed for Peter. He prayed for Peter very specifically. and we looked at it in times
past those words in Luke 22 verses 31 and 32 where the Lord says
Simon, Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may
sift you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith
fail not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren and he
is praying there or saying that he's going to pray very specifically
for Peter Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat
now he's speaking to all the disciples really he uses the
plural pronoun you, that's so evident but then also he goes
on to address Peter and says but I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not and when thou art converted it's a singular
pronoun we see the great accuracy and the real beauty of the authorised
version in those verses Luke 22 verses 31 and 32 the difference
between you as a plural and thee as a singular oh yes Satan would
desire all these men he would devour them but the Lord sees
that one of them is in the gravest of danger and that one is Simon
Peter and so the Lord says I have prayed for thee how personal
it is and the Lord prays for Peter is in Satan's sin but he'll be brought out of satan's
sieve. Yes, all the rubbish that will fall through the sieve but
his faith will not fail because of the Lord's prayer for him.
Oh, how satan is so active. Remember how Paul was buffeted
by satan. He says it in 2nd Corinthians
12, doesn't he? lest he should be exalted above
measure there was a thorn in the flesh it was the messenger
of satan to buffet him but we know how the Lord answers all
the wicked temptations of satan in the book of Zechariah and
there in the opening words of chapter 3 the prophet says he
showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of
the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan,
even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not
this a brown plucked out of the fire? Or there is the devil,
you see, he's the great tempter, he's the great accuser of the
present, but the Lord answers him. the Lord prays for his people
and he prays for Simon Peter and he's able to save to the
uttermost all those who come to God by him that's our privilege
we come to God by the Lord Jesus and he is that one who has overcome
that strong man armed he's vanquished sin and Satan Satan's a defeated
foe the Lord prays for his people he prayed for Simon Peter but
what else does the Lord do? Well there in that 22nd chapter
of Luke at the end of the chapter we're told how the Lord turned
and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the words of the Lord
how he had said before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice
and Peter went out and wept bitterly the Lord turned and looked or
when the Lord looks upon his people. What a blessed effect
it has. There'll be many who say He will
show us any good. O Lord, lift thou up the light
of Thy countenance upon us. It's when the Lord looks. And
He does look upon us at times. We sang it just now. Jesus, cast
a look on me. Give me sweet simplicity. That
lovely little couplet at the beginning of Berridge is here.
The prayer that the Lord would look upon us. We need the Lord
to look upon us when we come to pray to Him. And can we not
plead with the Lord God Himself, even our Father in heaven, and
ask Him to look upon the face of His Anointed One, and to look
upon us as those who are coming in the Lord Jesus. The Lord turned,
and the Lord looked upon Peter, and all the effect, he went out
and he wept. Bitter tears, real repentance. so the Lord prays for him, the
Lord lifts his countenance upon him and then the Lord sends this
message and he sends it so specifically to him by the angel the Lord's
messenger the angel says unto those women
be not affrighted ye see Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified
he is risen, he is not here Behold the place where they laid him,
but go your way. Tell his disciples and Peter
that he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall you see
him, as he said unto you. And so there's a message from the Lord through the angel.
But more than that, we know quite specifically that the Lord did
actually appear to this man after the resurrection and appeared
to him not simply when he was appealing to all the disciples all those many witnesses
and we showed himself over 40 days we're told in Acts by many
infallible proofs but he did appear personally to this man
in Luke 24 and verse 34 the message is the Lord is risen indeed and
that appeared to Simon and then remember when Paul in 1st Corinthians
15 is giving that tremendous catalogue of those who were witnesses
of the resurrection 500 brethren at once we read but he also says
he was seen of Cephas He was seen of Cephas, Peter, then of
the Twelve. And then of course, last of all,
we have those words that the Lord is speaking to him at the
end of John's Gospel, in John 21. There, at the Sea of Tiberias,
the Lord comes and appears to the disciples and begins to put
those questions to Simon Peter in particular. He had denied
the Lord some three times. And what does the Lord say to
him? Verse 15, in John 21, When they
had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love
us only more than these. He said unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, Feed my lambs,
He said to him again, The second time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He said unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, Feed my sheep.
He said unto him the third time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? Peter was grieved, because he
said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto
him, Lord, thou knowest all things. They knoweth that I love thee.
Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Of course, the Lord had
said, When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. It was
to feed the sheep. But here is the Lord completing.
The restoration of this way would disciple. Do you know the significance
of what the Lord is doing there? Different words are used. When
the Lord, in verses 15 and 16 asks the question Simon Peter
lovest thou me the Lord uses that word that speaks of the
the best of all love it's the word agape that's the word that
the Lord uses the finest love of all the best love but when
Peter answers he doesn't use that word he uses the other word
philo which speaks of affection it's not such a strong love as
what the Lord was speaking of but when it comes to verse 17
the Lord uses that word philo and that's why Peter was so offended
because the Lord is now questioning even that weaker love that Peter
was ready to confess. How the Lord, you see, in restoring
this man is so thorough. Or the Lord's ministry, you see.
It's a deep ministry. He deals with his people. We
might feel sometimes his dealings are rather severe. Oh, but he's
a good shepherd, he's a good physician, he knows how to cure
his people, he knows how to minister to them. And Peter was restored,
because the Lord says to him, follow me. Well, here we have
it then, the ministry of the Lord, the restoration of this
man. Go your way, says the angel to
these women at the at the empty tomb tell his disciples or tell
the disciple he is risen he's not here you go before you into
Galilee but go your way tell his disciples and Peter or the
Lord grant that we might know those gracious personal dealings
of the Lord with each and every one of us the Lord's faithful
dealings, even with his wayward children. May the Lord be pleased
to bless His Word to us. Amen.