Let us turn to God's Word again. We turn to the Gospel according
to Luke in chapter 22. And I'll read the portion from
verse 54 to verse 62. Luke chapter 22 reading verse
54 to verse 62. Then took they him and led him and brought him into the high
priest's house and Peter followed afar off and when they had kindled
a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together Peter
sat down among them but a certain maid beheld him as he sat by
the fire and earnestly looked upon him and said this man was
also with him and he denied him saying woman I know him not. And after a little while another
saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man,
I am not. And about the space of one hour
after another confidently affirmed, saying of the truth, this fellow
also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man,
I know not what thou sayest. And while he yet spake, the cock
crew. And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord. And he said unto him before the cock crow, Thou
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. We've been considering something
of Christ's experience, his agonies in the garden. of Gethsemane
as it's recorded in the previous verses here and then last time
we were considering how they came to arrest Christ there at
verses 47 to 53 and remember the words that Christ spoke to
them in that 53rd verse when I was dating with you in the
temple he says you stretch forth no hands against me But this
is your hour and the power of darkness. This is your hour and
the power of darkness. There were various occasions
when they would have sought to take the Lord, but we're told
His time was not yet come. But He had set His face now.
Back in chapter 9 He set His face. We're told to go to Jerusalem. because he knew that that time
must come and he was very conscious of it as he wrestled in prayer
with his father there in the garden. It was that terrible
hour that had been ordained from eternity when he must make that
one sacrifice for sins forever. But this morning I want us to
consider not so much the Lord but Peter's part in all of these
things. Now Peter here is one who denies
his Lord. Previously we've seen that Christ
had spoken to him that he was going to be put into that very
sieve of Satan. Remember back in verse 31 As
the Lord said, 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 said unto him, Lord, I
am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And
he said, I tell thee Peter the cock shall not crow this day
before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And that word of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that awful solemn word that Christ spoke to the Lord
Jesus Christ must have its fulfilment. Not that Christ is the author
of sin. That of course is not possible. Here is the mystery of God's
sovereignty. But what the Lord had said concerning
Peter, that he would deny him before the cock crowed, that
must have its accomplishment. And that's what we see. So clearly
in this portion that we've read at verse 54, following Christ's
word is accomplished. Christ's word is fulfilled. And yet Christ is not the author
of Peter's sin. No man say when he is tempted,
I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth God any man. But every man we know is
tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and in time.
And sadly this is what we see in the case of Peter. But the
Lord, you see, had said how he would pray for this man. how
the Lord would intercede for him, and intercede for him most
specifically and most particularly. In verse 31 he uses the plural
pronoun, remember, Satan has decided to have you. Though the
Lord is speaking to Simon Peter, he's making reference not just
to Peter, but to all of them, all of the disciples. Satan has
decided to have all of you. that he may sift you. He is the
great adversary. But, says Christ, I have prayed
for thee. It's a singular pronoun. The
Lord sees that Peter is that one amongst his followers who
is the most vulnerable. Not that the Lord doesn't pray
for the others. He never lives to intercede for his people.
But here we see that the Lord takes particular account of this
individual. because he is in the greatest
of danger, the greatest of need. I have prayed for them, that
thy faith fail not. And Peter's faith does not fail. In fact, Peter is restored. And we see that here at the end
of the portion that we read, verses 61 and 62. And these are
the verses really that I want to particularly send to your
attention upon this morning. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord and we had said
unto him before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice and
Peter went out and wept bitterly here we have Christ's gracious
look that look of compassion the Lord turned it says and looked
upon Peter and what is the consequence of that look we see the restoration
of Peter and all that that restoration involves in those bitter tears,
that spirit of true repentance that was granted to him. But
first of all let's consider something of Peter's situation, the sin
of Peter. Do we not see in this portion
how sin multiplies? as sin is constantly aggravating
itself. It grows worse and worse. It has been rightly said that
man knows the beginning of sin, but who can bound the issues
thereof? We read in the opening verse
of the book of Psalms of that blessed man, that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. There we have something
of that progression. He walks, he stands, he sits. He's with the ungodly, he's with
the sinners, he's with the scornful. There's a certain progression
with regards to that evil man, that wicked man. And the blessed
man is the man who is delivered from such a course of living. There is, I say, a certain progression
in the ways of sin. And we see it with Peter. Every
man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death, says the Apostle John. and in the compass of those
two verses in that opening chapter of his epistle we see something
of the history of sin from its conception lost when it hath
conceived bringeth forth sin from its conception to its death
in the compass of just a few words all the wages of sin is
death how awful is sin The fear of the Lord is that
blessed thing that preserves God's people from sinning, does
it not? By the fear of the Lord, men
depart from evil. Or that we might know something
of that fear of the Lord to keep us from the ways of sin, the
ways of Satan. We sang in our opening phrase
concerning that fear of the Lord, an unctuous life, to all that's
right, to bar, to all that's wrong, to have that fear of God
in our hearts as we come before Him, as we come under the sound
of His Word. We might have some sense of who
it is that we're dealing with. The God who has revealed Himself
here in the Scriptures, a God who speaks to us, and speaks
to us that we might be kept from what we are as sinners. But let
us consider Peter's case here. See how his sin begins in verse
54. They take the Lord Jesus. They lead him away. They take him, we're told, to
the house of the high priest. And Peter followed afar off. Peter followed afar off. Peter, as it were, will keep
his distance Matthew Henry says something
like this that his sin began sneaking. He's following and
yet he doesn't want to be too close to the Lord. He keeps himself
at a distance. He's ashamed really to be too
closely identified now with Jesus of Nazareth. He's fearful as
to what the consequences might be for himself if he is altogether
identified with Christ. We often sing at baptisings that
lovely hymn 427, Jesus, and shall it ever be a mortal man ashamed
of thee, ashamed of thee whom angels praise, whose glory shines
to endless days, ashamed of Jesus, That dear name on whom my hopes
of heaven depend, No, when I blush, be this my shame, That I no more
revere his name. Peter here then begins by sneaking,
by following, but he follows afar off. He doesn't want to
be too closely identified, he wants it to appear that he has
nothing at all to do with Jesus of Nazareth, that he's just an
observer of these things, that he's just curious to understand
what's going on here. This is how his sin begins in
verse 54, he follows a far off But then in verse 55 we're told,
when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, this
would seem to be an open court, referred to as the hall, with
various rooms around that open court, and Christ, as it were,
is being moved from one part to the other, and those who are
in the middle of the court can see what's taking place around
them. When they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and
were sat down together, Peter sat down amongst them. What does he do now? Here we
see how he is beginning to identify himself with these people. Now these were the very ones
of course who had gone to the garden to arrest the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he is quite happy now to
come and to sit amongst them. He settled as it were in their
midst. In a sense we can say he is sitting
in the seat of the scroll for the one that the psalmist speaks
of there in the opening psalm. He had kept a distance but now
you see how things are progressing. He will go on in due course to
begin to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 56, A certain maid
beheld him, as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon
him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him,
saying, Woman, I know him not. Oh, what progression there is
here! He was previously there, keeping his distance away from
them, now he's He's mixing with them these people who have come
to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ, these people who are bent upon
his destruction, these who will be crying out for his crucifixion. And so what does Peter do? He
denies him. How awful are things in Israel, how it progresses,
how it grows. And then you see his language
becomes ever stronger. In verse 58, after a little while
another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said,
Man, I am not. He denied, we are told there
in that portion that we read in Matthew 26. He denied now
with an oath. I do not know the man, he said. But he said it so strongly, he
swore an oath as he said it. He denies him with curses, does
he not? That's what we're told when we compare these various
accounts. And then there's a lapse of time. These things are not all happening
one after the other. Peter is there, you see, he's
sitting amongst them. Verse 59, about the space of
one hour after. Another confidently affirmed
saying of a truth, this fellow also was with him. For he is
a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not
what they say of us. And immediately, while he did
speak, the cock crowed. Oh, how he is now so set, you
see, in this awful rut of sin. He's gone amongst his people.
He's sat with them. The time has gone on and he's
still there. And he now denies Christ again
and we're told how This time he began to curse and to swear,
saying, I know not the man. In fact, what we have there back
in that portion that we read in Matthew chapter 26 and verse
74 is an anathema. He anathematizes himself, as
it were, let me be a curse. That's what he's saying. Let
me be a curse. If I know this man. I don't know
him. He altogether disowns Christ. There is an awful progression
then in the sin of this man. Sin, I say, friends, is such
a dreadful thing. Oh, thou hideous monster, sin!
What a curse hast thou brought in all creation, grown through
the pregnant cause of misery! Thou hast ruined wretched man
ever since the world began. Thou hast God afflicted. Nothing
less than that would do. And yet so often we're guilty,
are we not? We sin so lightly. We're drawn aside of our own
life, we're enticed. How often Satan comes, how often
Satan is able to gain the advantage over us. And we need to be those
who are looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot keep ourselves
We must be kept by Him, kept by the power of God. Through
faith unto salvation, says Peter. It's the same man. He knew it. He knew the truth of what he
was writing there in his epistle. He couldn't keep himself. He
must be kept and he must be constantly kept, always kept. Kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, says Peter, ready
to be revealed at the last time. We have to look to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the only one that is able to overcome sin. Satan and
every adversary, every foe. Oh, has he not vanquished sin? Has he not done it by his death
upon the cross? O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? Says Paul, the sting of death
is sin, the strength of sin is the law that thanks be to God
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has died that he might vanquish
sin and in dying he has done that. But then also of course
in the resurrection he has overcome death and the grief, the consequence
of sin. Remember how when He speaks of
Satan coming, he can say the prince of this world cometh and
have nothing in mind. There is nothing that Satan was
able to take advantage of in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in
a sense that means that his temptations were the more severe the greater.
When Satan assaults us there is much that he can work at.
in our fallen nature. Much that he can take advantage
of, there was none of that in Christ. And so Satan must come
with all his evil powers and seek to destroy him, but he couldn't.
So he assaults him. We've observed him there in the
Garden of Gethsemane, he wouldn't be deflected, would he? Though
he were a son, we are told in Hebrews, yet learned the obedience
by the things that he suffered. How he suffered there, as he
agonized with his father in prayer, but he would see that work through,
he wouldn't be deflected from it. And this is the one I say
that we must be looking to. The only one who has overcome
sin, and vanquished Satan, and triumphed over death, and the
grime and Peter knows that and Peter learns that and he learns
it in this bitter school of his own sad experience when he was
brought to deny the Lord and he does it by the grace it doesn't
all happen at once but see how Peter is viewed here
how he is accused view him, how they see him. This certain May that we read
of in verse 56, Behold him, it says, as he sat by the fire,
and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with
him. The word that we have here for
fire really means the light, the light of the fire. As he
sat there, and she could see him, you see, though it was the
night season, though it was dark there was light from the fire
and she earnestly looks upon him she beheld him, it says that
indicates a look of some intent and she makes her accusation
she speaks to the others this man was also with him, she says
and the Lord is denied. Peter denied Him, saying, Woman,
I know Him not. But then you see another saw
Him. After a little while in verse
58, another saw Him and said, Thou art also of them. They see they are observing,
they are watching him and watching him that they might accuse him
of being with Christ again you see in verse 59 we are told another
confidently affirmed saying of a truth this fellow was also
with him for he is a Galilean in the other accounts We're told
now that when that charge is made out of Galilee it was because
of what he had said, his speech. He spoke like a Galilean. So
it wasn't just a matter of observing and looking at him, it's the
way this man speaks that says something of him. Now, these
accusations that they're making against him, identifying him
with the Lord Jesus Christ, Isn't that good in a sense? If people were to observe us
so intently, as to recognise something of Christ in us, some
association with Christ in us. We are told in the Acts how the
Jewish council took knowledge of them, that is of Peter and
John, that they agreed with Jesus. Or is that the case with us,
you see, when we're with the Lord? It's evident to others. They know it because of the way
in which we conduct ourselves. There's something of the Lord
to be seen in the manner of our living. This is a good accusation,
really. Although in the midst of it all,
of course, Peter is sinking ever deeper into sin as he denies
the Lord. But it's good, is it not, if
people would only recognise that we have something of Christ about
us, something of the savour of the Lord Jesus Christ in our
conversation, that Christ is evident in the way in which we
conduct ourselves, the way in which we walk, that we are those
who are the imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is what
Paul calls for, is it not? be ye followers of mine. Even
as I am of Christ and the word, the particular word that is used
there in Corinthians is that from which we get our word mimicked,
strangely. Followers, imitators of the Lord
Jesus Christ. How these then are viewing Peter,
how they are looking at him, how they are observing But it's
the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ looks upon him that we
must ultimately come to. These words that we have in verses
61 and 62. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter. Those accusers had been looking
upon him, studying him, but now the Lord as he is doubtless moved
from one room to another around that courtyard the Lord turned
and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord
and we had said unto him before the cock crow thou shalt deny
me thrice and Peter went out and wept bitterly. Are we those friends who as we
come into the services, desire that the Lord Himself would look
upon us. We sang in that lovely hymn of
Berwick, Jesus cast a look on me. Give me sweet simplicity. Is that our prayer as we come
to worship God? We want that gracious shining
of the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, Him lifting up the light
of His countenance upon us. granting to us that godly simplicity. Do we come with that singleness
of mind? We will set our affections here,
not on things on the earth, but we want to set our affections
on those things that are apart, where Christ is, at God's right
hand. As the psalmist says, there be
many that say, who will show us any good? Lift thou up the
light of thy countenance upon us. We want the Lord to look
upon us, because we know that that look of the Lord is a gracious
look, a healing look, a comforting look. Remember the blessing that
the Aaronic priests were to pronounce upon the children of Israel at
the end of Numbers chapter 6. and in pronouncing that blessing
they were actually putting the name of the Lord upon the children
of Israel number 622 the Lord spoke unto Moses saying speak
unto Aaron and unto his son saying on this wise ye shall bless the
children of Israel saying unto them the Lord bless them and
keep thee the Lord make his face shine upon the and be gracious
unto them. The Lord lift up the light of
his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. It's a threefold
blessing of course. It's the Lord, the Lord, the
Lord, it's Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It's a Trinitarian blessing. And as that blessing is pronounced
upon Israel, they shall put my name They shall put my name upon
the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Name is singular
there in verse 27, but we see in the previous verses that God
is three, He is the Lord, the Lord, the Lord. Three persons
in one God, or the great blessing of the triune God. And yet we
see that the Some, the substance of this blessing is God's face.
That is God making himself known. The Lord make his face shine
upon them. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon them. And this is what the Lord is
doing with Peter. The Lord turned itself and looked
upon Peter. Now let us observe with regards
to this look, two things. First of all, it certainly is
a convincing look or a convicting look. What is the consequence
when the Lord looks upon a sinner? Peter went out and wept bitterly. Has the Lord looked upon you
as a sinner? Really looked upon you? Behold
you. If so, you'll know something
of Peter's experience here. You'll know something of those
bitter tears. Oh yes, we see something of the
awfulness of sin. That sin that we sought to say
a little of earlier. That sin that grows, that progresses
so terribly. We know something of the awful
nature of sin in the light of God's holy law. That's the ministration of the
law is it not? It's not for a righteous man,
it's for the sinner. And it's meant to show us what
our sins are. In the law we have that revelation
of the holiness of God and the righteousness of God and the
justice of God. And God is terrible as he reveals
himself there in his holy commandments. But friends we need something
more than that recognition of what sin is in the light of the
terrors of the holy law of God. Surely Joseph Hart is right when
he says law and terrors do but harden all the while they work
alone. but a sense of blood-bored pardon
soon dissolves the heart of stone. All we need to see sin also in
the light of that grace of God and that mercy of God and that
love of God that is revealed to us in all the fullness of
the gospel. And this is what we have here
you see, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the gracious Saviour
who turns and looks upon Peter. And as the Lord turns and looks,
so Peter remembers the Word of the Lord. And we need not only
the Word of the Lord, we have the Word of the Lord, we have
it before us here in the Scriptures, but we need the Lord to look
and to look to us as it were through His Word. To come by
His Spirit in His Word. that there might be that blessed
application of the word and the truth of it to our hearts. It's
then you see that there's a godly sorrow. How awful sin is when
we see it in the light of Christ's offerings. All that Christ endured. The contradiction of sinners
against himself. Not only that contradiction of
sinners, all that he suffered at the hands of his father, when
he came so willingly to make that one sacrifice for sins forever. Remember the burden of his prayer
there in the garden? How, above all things, he was
seeking that the Father's will should be accomplished. If thou
be willing, he says, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not
my will, that thine be done. And what was the will of the
Father? It was that he must be obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And it's there in
his dying that we see the greatness of that love. Having loved his
own which were in the world, he loves them unto the end. It's there you see in Christ
that we see what sin has done. He must suffer, he must bleed,
he must die, he must make his soul an offering for sin, he
must bear in his holy person all the wrath of God in order
that his people might be freed from all the guilt and all the
power of their sins. Or do we know it, friends, that's
godly sorrow, that workers repentance to salvation, not to be repented
of. The sorrow of the world, Paul
says, worketh there. All that godly sorrow. It's when
the Lord turns, you see. The Lord turns and looked upon
Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord. And we have said unto him, before
the cock crowed, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out
and wept bitterly. It was a convincing look. It
was a look that brought conviction into the soul of this man, a
realisation of what he was as a sinner. But the Lord didn't
only look, did He? The Lord had prayed for him.
I have prayed for them, that thy faith fail not when thou
art converted. That's His restoration, you see.
Strengthen thy brethren. And so, besides a a convicting
look, it's also a converting look that the Lord gives, it's
a comforting look. And I want, as we conclude this
morning, just to remind you of the different stages, the various
steps that we see in Peter's restoration here. And his restoration is all together
in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's altogether the result of
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see a number of
stages. First of all, as we've just said,
Christ prayed for him. I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not. The Lord Jesus Christ prays for
his people. He has accomplished his work
as a priest here upon the earth, he has made the one sacrifice
for sins forever, but now he has entered into heaven, and
that is another part of his priestly work, is it not? In heaven he
ever lives to make intercession for all that come to God by him. What a comfort it is, friends,
when we think of our prayers, our such poor prayers. Our words
so often fail us, we can't really articulate what we're feeling
in the depths of our soul. Here is our comfort, the Lord
takes these poor prayers of ours, these groanings and these moanings,
and he makes them prevail. The Lord prayed for this man
Peter, and how necessary that was to his restoration, but the
Lord didn't just pray. What does the Lord do? The Lord
looks. the Lord looked upon you the
Lord turned and looked upon Peter or that the Lord would do the
same for you and me turn and look upon us but he does more remember how
at the resurrection he sent a message directly to this man Peter must
receive a specific message. The end of Mark, in Mark chapter
16, when he appears to those women
at the empty tomb on the resurrection morn. Mark 16 verse 6, He saith unto
them, Be not affrighted, He seek 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." Now why did the Lord say that?
Why didn't He just say, go your way, tell His disciples that
He goeth before you into Galilee? Why didn't He Specify, Peter,
tell his disciples and Peter. Well, the Lord's ministry is
a particular ministry. He deals with individuals. This
is our comfort. He'll deal with you, he'll deal
with me personally. Here we see his great concern
for this man, Peter. I have prayed for thee. Remember
the significance there in verses 31 and 32 between the plural
pronoun you the singular pronoun thy. But then also we know how that
the Lord actually appeared to this man. He didn't just send
a message to him, but he quite definitely came to him and appeared. Those who were in the upper room
in those two, being with Christ on the road to Emmaus, hurried
back to Jerusalem. What do they say those that are
met in that room as they enter in? Chapter 24 verse 34, The
Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon. He was seen of Cephas, or Peter,
says Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. The Lord quite deliberately made
himself known in the resurrection to Peter. It's all part of his
restoration and ultimately of course we see it in those remarkable
verses that we have in John's Gospel, the end of John's Gospel,
where the Lord questions him so closely, he denied Christ
three times and what does the Lord say to him there? John 21
15 So when they had dined, Jesus
saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love us, O Mary,
more than these. He saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, love
us, O Mary. He saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith 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, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, feed my
sheep. And there you see the restoration
is completed. This man who had sinned so grievously,
who had pronounced curses upon himself in denying Christ, who
had sunk into the depths of sin, who had been sitting in the seat
of the scornful, yet there was restoration. All friends, where
sin abounds, Christ does so much more abound. These men knew it.
Paul knew it. He was a persecutor of the church.
Peter knew it. He was a denier of Christ. And
isn't this our comfort, friends, in the Gospel? That the Lord
Jesus Christ deals so kindly, so graciously, so tenderly with
sinners. He doesn't break the bruised
knee. He doesn't quench the smoking
flames. Here we see something then of the tenderness of his
ministry to sinners. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter, And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had
said unto him before the cock crow, Thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. May the Lord be pleased to bless
to us his own truth for his name's sake. Amen. Our Bible hymn of the morning
is 1099, and the curant is Psalm number 231. Jesus, omnipotent to save, exalted Prince
of grace, light, life and love, thou dost bestow on men of vilest
grace. Number 1099. Jesus of Naples, tend to save, Light, life, and love Thou dost
bestow On men of vilest race The heart of steel to Thee must
yield The adamant give way The stoutest rebel, thou and me,
And all thy sovereign sway. Thy dying love, thy mercy now, And tears of penitential grief,
Gush from the sinner's eyes. Pardon through Thy dear
words and blood, And thy good spirit on the heart
That gracious pardon seals I hate my sins, I loathe myself O quell my lust, nor let me fall. He prays with lifting heart. The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee. The Lord make his face to shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee and give thee peace. Amen.