Peter's denial. Peter's denial. Very few events are covered by
all four gospel narratives. For instance, the details of
the birth of Christ is only recorded in two of the Gospels. Now all four give the story of
the cross, his entrance into Jerusalem, his trial, his crucifixion,
his death and his resurrection. But did you know that only one
of the miracles of Christ is recorded by all four gospels?
The feeding of the 5,000. And there is one other event
that is recorded in all four of the gospels. And you know
what it is? Peter's denial. There's so much we can learn
from this. Over the years, I've heard this phrase many times. He was a great man of God. There's no such thing. I hope we won't ever use language
like that. They're weak, sinful, flawed,
contradictory men whom God uses to demonstrate the greatness
of his grace. And such was Peter. In the list of the disciples,
he's always mentioned First, every list, Peter comes first. He, throughout his life, was
a flawed man whom the Lord used greatly. I've heard people say,
well, there was pre-Pentecost Peter and post-Pentecost Peter. Pre-Pentecost, he denied Christ,
fearful before that little maid, and then look at that great sermon
on the day of Pentecost, his boldness and courage in the book
of Acts. Well, I can also show you in
Galatians chapter two, where he had to be publicly reprimanded
by Paul, and he was actually denying the gospel by his actions. That's post-Pentecostal Peter. What faith he demonstrated when
he got out of the boat. Can you imagine putting your
hand or your leg over the edge of the boat and walking on the
water? What faith he demonstrated. None of the rest of them did
that, but you know, somehow I kind of think he was thinking that
too. And he looked at the wind boisterous and what happened? He began to sink. And you know,
I don't think it was a gradual sink. You know, when somebody
sinks in the water, plop, and the Lord grabbed him by the hand
as that took place and pulled him out. What faith he demonstrated
in Matthew chapter 16, when he answered the Lord's question,
whom say men that I, the son of man am? And Peter said, thou
art the Christ, the son of the living God. That's what faith
is. Faith doesn't have anything to
do with what you believe about yourself. It has wholly to do with what
you believe concerning him. And the Lord said, thou art Peter
and upon this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. And you know, in that same chapter,
what amazing arrogance and stupidity was displayed when he took it
upon himself to rebuke the Lord. When the Lord talked about himself
going to the cross, not so Lord, no. It shall not be unto thee.
That's when the Lord said to Peter, get thee behind me. You savor not the things that
be of God, but the things that be of men. You know, he was one
of the three chosen to see the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. What a blessed thing. Special
three, really, Peter, James, and John. Somebody says, explain
that to me. I'm not even gonna try. But what privilege he was given. And during that time, I don't
suppose anybody made a more horrible statement than he did when he
said, let's make three tabernacles. That's for the purpose of worship.
One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. How blasphemous
that statement was. It was Peter who foolishly said
when the Lord was washing the disciples' feet, thou shalt never
wash my feet. He was far too humble to let
that take place. But after the Lord said, except
I'll wash you, you have no part with me, he said, wash my hands
and head too. You know, even after the resurrection,
it was Peter who said, I go fishing. And I don't believe he was talking
about the way you and I would say, we want to go fishing. He
was saying, I'm over this disciple business. I'm going back to be
a fisherman. And several of the disciples
followed him. Now in Mark chapter 14, verse
27, And Jesus saith unto them, all
of them, Judas has already gone out. All ye shall be offended because
of me this night. And you know they were. Every
one of them forsook the Lord. And look at what the Lord says
next. He quotes a passage of scripture
from Zechariah 13, verse seven, to let us know that this was
ordered by God. He said, I will smite the shepherd
and the sheep shall be scattered. Now I've always wondered about
that verse. I'll smite the shepherd, that's gonna cause the scattering
of the sheep? Seems like it'll cause the gathering of the sheep,
doesn't it? But he says, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep
will be scattered. This is a quotation from Zechariah
13, seven. A Waco sword against my shepherd,
against the man that is my fellow. That could only be said of the
Lord Jesus Christ. If I picked out any man and said,
he's like God. Oh, that's so wrong. There's
none like him. Who are you comparing to me? But God could say concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, not he's like me, he is me. The Lord said in John chapter
14, verse nine, he that hath seen me hath seen the father. You know all you can say to that
is bow down and worship. Smite the shepherd, and that's
speaking of the cross, and the sheep will be scattered. What's the point? Now, what would we be saying
if some of them stayed with him during that time and demonstrated
such courage and a commitment to Christ? And while maybe most
of them left, maybe two or three stayed, you know what we'd be
doing? We'd be talking about their courage, wouldn't we? We'd
be talking about what great men they were. But understand this,
the Lord's not going to permit that to happen. You see, he by
himself purged our sins. He did it alone. He didn't have
any of his disciples encouraging him saying, we know you're doing
this for us and we love you for doing it. No, they'd all fled. He didn't have his father helping
him at this time. He said, my God, my God, why
has thou forsaken me? You see in this thing of the
salvation of his people, he did it by himself. By himself. Now look what he says in verse
28. But after that I'm risen, I will
go before you into Galilee. Now, why weren't they waiting
at the tomb? On at least three, I think at
least four even occasions, he said, I'm gonna be raised from
the dead. And it just went over their head. But here he says it again. I
wonder how many things go over our heads. We just don't hear. Did with them. But after I'm
risen, I will go before you unto Galilee. Verse 29. And Peter said unto him, although
all shall be offended. I can see John running. I've
always suspected him of that. I can see Thomas. He's a doubting
person. James, there's not that much
to him. Matter of fact, I can see all
these guys doing it, but not me. Although they all shall be
offended, I will never be offended. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily,
I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, Before the
cock crow twice, you'll deny me three times. But he spake more vehemently,
if I should die with thee, I'll not deny thee in any wise. And he meant that when he said
it, and he believed it when he said it. The rest chimed in,
we're not going anywhere. We're not gonna deny you. We're
not going to leave you. Turn with me to Luke's account
for a moment. Luke chapter 22. Now there were things going on
that Peter didn't know anything about. And there's always things
going on, I mean, you don't know anything about. But look what
the Lord says in verse 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to
have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Now that is literally
Satan has asked permission to have you. Now, why would Satan have asked
for permission to the Lord to have Peter? Because the Lord
directed him to. That's why. Now, somebody says,
you better be able to prove that with the scriptures. I can't.
Listen to this. First Samuel 24 one, the anger
of the Lord was a kindled against Israel. And he moved David against
them saying, go number Israel. Remember that 70,000 people ended
up dying as a result of that. The Lord moved David against
them to do something that he forbid in his word. Now. Second Chronicles 21 says, and
Satan stood up against Israel and provoked them, David, to
number Israel. Now the first one says the Lord
did it. And the second one says Satan did it. Now remember, Satan
is God's pawn doing God's will. And this was all according to
his purpose for Peter's good. You see only the Lord and always
the Lord brings good out of evil. And he brings good out of evil
in this case. And he says to Peter, Peter was
oblivious to this. He says, he doesn't even call
him Peter at this time. He calls him Simon, Simon, Simon,
Simon. Satan hath asked for permission
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. And I want you
to think about how he turned Peter inside out. But I have prayed for thee. What? That you fail not? No. Peter needed to fall, didn't
he? It was for his good. It was for our good. Peter needed
to fall. But what does the Lord pray for
Peter? That your faith fail not. Now, I'm gonna get more into
this in a few moments. But when Peter denied the Lord
Jesus Christ, and he did, he denied him with oaths and cursing
as we're going to see. When he denied the Lord Jesus
Christ, he didn't deny Christ, he denied his association with
him. At no time did Peter ever quit believing that Jesus was
the Christ. the son of the living God. Even
while he was denying him, no doubt horrified that he was doing
something, just going down and down and down. During that time,
he never ceased to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the son
of the living God. And my dear friends, that's what
faith is. Believing him. Now the Lord prayed
for Peter. He said, I prayed for you that
your faith fail not. Now, when the Lord prays, the
father answers him. He gives him whatever he asks. And there's no way Peter's faith
is gonna fail. And look what he says next in
verse 32. And when thou art converted,
notice he didn't say when you convert. He said, when you are
converted. You will be, I'm gonna do that. Strengthen thy brethren. Verse 33, Peter's reply. And
he said unto him, Lord, I'm ready to go with thee both into prison
and to death. Peter didn't get it, did he? Turn with me for a moment to
John's account. John chapter 13. John chapter 13. Verse 36, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord,
whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I
go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me
afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, Why
cannot not I follow thee now? I'll lay down my life for thy
sake. Now, before we go on reading,
I want to remind you that verses and chapter divisions are man-made. They're not inspired. Now, I'm
thankful for them. What if I had to say, you know, this is somewhere
in the book of John, y'all start looking for it. You know, we'd
be in trouble, wouldn't we? I'm thankful for chapter divisions,
and I'm thankful for these verses. But this is one of the most unfortunate
chapter divisions in the Word of God. Let me show you why. Peter said unto him, Lord, why
cannot I follow thee now? I'll lay down my life for thy
sake. Jesus answered him, wilt thou
lay down my life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
the cock shall not crow till thou has denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled. Did you hear that? You're going to deny me three
times. Let not your heart be troubled. How? How? How can that be? Well, turn with me to John 16. Here's the answer to that question. Verse 29, as a disciple said
unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest
all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee. By this
we believe thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them,
Do you now believe? You're talking big. Do you now
believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come that you shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone. And yet I'm not alone because
the Father is with me. These things I've spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you'll have
tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Where is your peace, Peter, and
your courage, and your ability to not do what you're gonna do? No, the only peace there is is
in the Lord Jesus Christ, period. In me, you might have peace. That's why I said, let not your
heart be troubled, It has no reason to be troubled in the
sense that your salvation is in me altogether, completely. Now, the most striking thing
of all four writers' description of Peter's denial is found in
the words, I will. I will. Matthew 26, 33, Though
all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be
offended. You'll deny me three times, though
I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Mark 14, 29, Though all shall
be offended, yet will not I. The Lord tells him he will, and
he spake the more vehemently, if I should die with thee, I
will not deny thee any wise. He said in Luke 22, 33, I'm ready. The word is willing. I'm willing
to go with thee both to prison and to death. John 13, 37, I
will lay down my life for thy sake. I will, I will. Now, anything
that begins in our experience with an I will, there's three
problems with it. Number one, it's grounded in
an ignorance of God's character. You see, if you see who God is,
it'll take the starch out of you. You won't be able to speak
with such confidence about, I will this, or I will that, because
you can't see who he is without seeing your own sinfulness. Secondly, it's grounded in an
ignorance of my own character. If I knew myself better, I just
wouldn't say that, would I? Thirdly, it's doomed for failure. Never leave, Lord, if you will. Don't ever leave that, Lord,
if you will. Thou canst make me clean. Now you're probably familiar
with the story. Look back in Mark 14, verse 66. Mark 14, verse 66. And as Peter was beneath in the
palace, how did he get in the palace? Well, we know from John's
account that John knew someone who let them in. And he was there
watching during this mock trial. He was there within eyeshot of
the Lord because at one time their eyes met together during
this time. But he was in the palace, and
it was a cold night. He was warming himself. And when
she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him and said,
and thou also was with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying,
I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went
out of the porch, and the cock crowed. And you can be sure he
remembered every word the Lord said. And the maid saw him again and
began to say to them that stood by, this is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after that, they
stood by, said again to Peter, surely thou art one of them,
for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. I
thought of when Kevin Thacker was preaching
here a month or so ago, or two months ago, but he's got a strong
Eastern Kentucky way of speaking. You know where he's from. And
I introduced him as a, a pastor from Southern California. And Tucker said to me, that boy ain't
from California. I said, no, he's not. You're
right about that. Well, Peter spoke like a Galilean. Everybody knew you're one of
those Galileans, your speech exposes that. And what did he
do? And he began to curse and to
swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak. You know, during that time, we
read where the Lord looked upon Peter. Not with disgust, Not with anger. He knew exactly what Peter was
going to do. This was not said, but I'm dying
for that sin too. And you know what Peter did? He went out and he wept. And Matthew's account says he
wept bitterly. He hated himself for doing what
he did to sin against him. To deny association with the
glorious son of God and me saying, I don't even know him. denying
him with cursing and swearing. I don't know if that's talking
about bad language or making an oath. I swear before heaven,
I don't know the man. And I'll guarantee this. Peter thought of the words of
the Lord. Whosoever shall confess me before
men. Him will I confess before my
Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. Now let me give you two things. Peter didn't know this, but he
was experiencing the blessedness of blessed are they that mourn. For they shall be comforted. And Peter was not the exception
to the rule. He didn't deny Christ. He denied
he knew him. He denied through cowardice his
association with him. But he did not say, this man
is not the Christ. This man is not the son of God. You see, Christ prayed for him,
remember? I've prayed for you, that your
faith Fail not. And one thing that couldn't happen,
Peter's faith could not fail because Christ prayed for him. But how he suffered, weeping
bitterly. And I guarantee you he thought
he was a reprobate. I guarantee you he thought that
the Lord was going to deny him before the Father. He thought
he'd been cut off. He thought he'd been left to
himself. Now let's close with Mark chapter 16. And when the Sabbath was passed,
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome had
bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. And
very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came
into the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. They said among themselves,
who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away. It was very great. And entering
into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right
side, clothed in a long white garment. And they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, be not
affrighted. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified. He's risen. He's not here. Behold the place where they laid
him, but go your way, tell his disciples and Peter." You see, Peter thought
he was no longer a disciple. And so the Lord says, you tell
his disciples, you make sure you tell Peter. That he goeth before you into
Galilee, and there shall you see him as he said unto you. Now, I have no doubt that Peter
thought he was no longer a disciple. I would too. But you know, the
only one who can tell you you are is the Lord himself. He said,
you go tell Peter. Now, you know what Peter has
in common with me and you? Everything. Everything. Most especially. Peter had no doubt that the only
way he could be saved is by what Christ did for him, nothing else. That is what all Peters, all
of his people have in common. And I love the last words were
given by Peter in Acts chapter 15, when they were arguing over
the law. And he said, why are you trying
to put a yoke on the disciples that neither we nor our fathers
were able to bear? We believe that through the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. Now those Gentiles, The only
way they can be saved is by grace. Same way with us. Let's pray.