Now, you turn in your Bible once
again to Mark 14. Mark 14. I want to consider these
last few verses found in chapter 14. We'll be looking at verse
66 down to verse 72. I've entitled this message this
morning, Peter's Denial. and Peter's repentance. Peter's denial and his repentance. I'm interested. I'm interested
in this because I'm a sinner just like Peter. A sinner saved
by God's grace. All four Gospel writers, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, these beloved friends of Peter, record for
us this painful agonizing but very true and instructive story
of Peter's complete denial of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said,
I do not know Jesus Christ. This story of Peter's fall was
recorded by God the Holy Spirit for our learning, for our admonition,
for our instruction, yea, for our encouragement, in the way
of salvation in Christ Jesus. In Romans chapter 15, don't turn,
just stay right here in Mark 14, but in Romans 15, these words
are recorded. Whatsoever was written aforetime
was written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. You see, the hope
we have in Christ Jesus is a good hope through grace, through grace
alone. Now, you remember the story that
we've studied so far as the Lord Jesus Christ marches toward Calvary's
tree to die for our sin, the sin of God's people. The Lord
Jesus had been arrested by this lynch mob, falsely accused of
speaking blasphemy against God. All the religious council of
the Jewish Sanhedrin, they declared him to be guilty and therefore
condemned him to death. Look at verse 64 of Mark 14. The high priest said, we've heard
this evil speaking. We've heard this vile man speak
vile things against God. That's what blasphemy is. What
do you think? What's your opinion? What's the
verdict? They all condemned Him to be guilty. Guilty as charged. Guilty of death. Away with Him. Crucify Him. We have no King
but Caesar. Kill Him. Do away with Him. Put
Him out of our sight. Now, I must confess to you that
the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed guilty of one thing. You say, what's he guilty of?
Declaring God's truth, declaring God's will, speaking God's truth. He is guilty of that. They said
it was blasphemy. No, it's the testimony of God. It is the very truth of God.
It is the very will of God. He did declare God's testimony. Salvation in Christ. My thought
is this, may we be found guilty of the same Charge me, will you, with being
guilty of declaring God's gospel, declaring God's truth, God's
will in the matter of salvation in Christ Jesus. I want to be
charged guilty with that. Don't you? Guilty of believing
the truth. Guilty of preaching the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Guilty of declaring all the counsel
of God concerning salvation. in Christ Jesus. And then these
vile religious sinners, they began to violently abuse Him. Notice verse 65. They began to
spit on Him. What an insult. To spit in the
face. And you think about this. Whose
face is this? The glory of God shines in the
face of Jesus Christ. They were spitting in the face
of God. And then they started to cover
his face, to put a blindfold on him. Then they started to
strike him with their hand and to mock him in his office as
a prophet. They would say, well, you're
a prophet of God? Prophesy who hit you. He's blindfolded. Tell us who hit you. If you're
God's prophet. Oh, how they abused him. You remember Peter and all the
disciples had abandoned him earlier in verse 50? They all fled away,
they all forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in our study verses today,
we see Peter has found his way back into the camp. Remember
verse 54, Peter followed him afar off even into the palace
of the high priest and he sat with the servants there and warmed
himself by the fire? Peter has found his way back
into the camp of the enemies of the Lord, and behold, he sees
the Lord being mistreated. He hears what the high priest
says unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He beholds how he is mistreated
by these ungodly reprobates. And when he is confronted, when
Peter is confronted by this little maid, he begins to deny. that even
knows our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 66. And as Peter
was beneath the palace, there comeeth one of the maids. I mean,
this is not an armed, brutal soldier. This is just a little
servant girl of the high priest. And she saw Peter warming himself,
and she looked upon him and said, Thou also was You're one of those followers
of this man from Nazareth, Jesus. Yes, you are. You're one of them.
One of those Galileans, and he denied saying, I know not, neither
do I understand what you're saying. And he denied the Lord Jesus
Christ vehemently three times. Now what can we learn from this?
Throughout the Word of God, God the Holy Spirit exposes and records
the faults and failures of some of the Lord's most well-known
believers. Men like Noah, preacher of righteousness. Men like Abraham, called the
friend of God. Men like Moses. Jacob. Jacob had my love. Men like David,
a man up for God's own heart. And yet, the Lord exposes them
for what they are in themselves. Sinful, weak, frail, faltering,
fumbling, falling creatures. Even Paul. Even Peter. The Holy Spirit is
declaring unto all that will hear, All that will hear and all that
will read God's testimony, God's Word. Two things we can learn. First lesson is this. This is
lesson number one. Learn this. All flesh is grass. This flesh, that flesh, your
flesh. All flesh is grass. There is
none righteous, no, not one. There is none to understand.
There's none that seeks after God. We've all gone out of the
way. There is none righteous. No, not one. There's none that
do good. None. In the flesh dwelleth some
good thing. No. In that old rotten nature
that we have, in the flesh dwelleth no good thing. Mark it down. The best of men are only men
at best. We are to put no confidence in
the flesh. Man in his best state, Psalm
39, is altogether vanity. Vanity. Vanity. Lesson number
one. Will you learn it? May God be
our teacher. All flesh is grass. We're to
put no confidence in the flesh. Mine or yours. Anybody else's.
Mom and dad. No confidence in the flesh. Confidence
in Christ. God Almighty. Second lesson is
this, if you've learned lesson number one, you'll be glad for
lesson number two. You know what lesson number two
is? Salvation of the Lord. Salvation
is His doing. This is the Lord's doing and
it's marvelous in our eyes, Psalm 118. Salvation of the Lord. We are sinners saved by sovereign
grace alone. This is a faithful saying. It's
worthy of all except patience. That the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save sinners. Sinners. Not good sinners. Not bad sinners. Not repentant
sinners. He came to save sinners. Does that describe you? Does that describe me? Sinners!
He came to save sinners. Listen to me. Salvation is always
determined by God's sovereign grace. As many as were ordained
to eternal life believe the gospel, no more, no less. Salvation is
always determined by God's decree, His sovereign grace. He prayed
that in John 17. Father, You've given me power
as a mediator over all flesh that I should give eternal life
to as many as You have given to me. Not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy." Romans
9. Salvation then is always determined
by God. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is always accomplished by the Lord alone. It's His doing, His
dying. My doing has nothing to do with
it. One old songwriter said, lay
your deadly doing down. Don't trust your doing. Salvation
is always accomplished by the Lord, His doing, His dying. He
said it is finished. He's prayed, Father, I've finished
the work that You gave Me to do. Salvation is always determined
by God, accomplished by God, and therefore salvation is always,
always, always, what's that word? Dependent upon Him. Dependent
upon Him. Dependent upon the Lord, not
my works, not my faith. Now listen, not my faith. Not my repentance. Not my deeds. It's God who saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
God's own purpose and grace. Faith and repentance are the
fruit of salvation. Faith and repentance are never
the cause of salvation. Faith is a gift of God. Repentance
is a gift of God. He's exalted to give repentance
unto Israel. Faith is a gift of God. Faith
and repentance is not something that blooms in this old rotten
manure pile. This manure pile of a man that
I am, the only thing this manure pile does before God, you know
what it does? Stinks. Filthy rags. Paul said he called
all his goodness dung. You know what that is, don't
you? That's what you put down the
commode. You want to get rid of it, don't you? That's the
same attitude you ought to have towards your own righteousness. Flush it down the commode. It's
dung. It will not merit any notice
before God. Not at all. Something else I
think we can learn from this story. This is another proof
to me that the Word of God is indeed by the inspiration of
God, not by the collaboration of a few sinners. Certainly if this book were just
the good writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, certainly
they would have left that part out about Peter's failing, wouldn't
they? Oh no, God exposes us for just
what we are, sinners saved by God's grace. Now let us consider
several things from these verses this morning and ask God the
Holy Spirit to open our understanding, open my understanding, open our
heart, and speak to us in power. I pray that God will speak to
your heart through His Word, by His Spirit, through this weak
vessel that I am. So, let's consider this, first
of all. Let's consider for a moment the
circumstances that Peter finds himself in. The circumstances
perplexing, aren't they? The circumstances that Peter
finds himself in. Peter's fall seems hard to understand,
hard to wrap ourselves around Peter's failing because he's
one of the Lord's most highly favored and honored disciples.
The Lord had done so much for Peter. He is one of the first
ones called out of darkness Unto that marvelous light, when Andrew,
who was following John the Baptist, and John the Baptist said, Don't
follow me anymore. There's the Lamb of God. Behold
the Lamb of God. You go follow Him. And Andrew
started following Him. And the first thing he did, he
went home and found Peter, his brother, and said, Peter, we
found the Messiah. And when Peter comes before the
Lord, do you remember what the Lord said? Simon, son of Jonas,
you're no longer going to be known by Simon, the son of Jonas. Your name is going to be called
Tephah. Peter, a rock you'll be. We find Peter, blessed of the
Lord so much, called out of darkness to light. Something else about
Peter. Peter openly and boldly confessed that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, that He is the Christ. Peter, whom do you say
that I am?" Remember, he said, we believe and we are sure you
are that Christ. And the Lord said, you are a
blessed man. Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh
and blood did not reveal this unto you, but my Father hath
taught you these things. He boldly confesses the Lord
Jesus Christ as the Christ of God, the Savior of God, the Messiah,
the Mediator, the Advocate. Something else, Peter was with
the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. We remember we studied that in
a few chapters back in Mark chapter 9, when the Lord Jesus Christ
went on that mountain to pray. And the Lord was transfigured
before him. And he beholds the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. His humanity just seemed to be
peeled back for a minute. And his deity shines forth. And
we find Peter gazing on the side of the Lord in glory, the Lord
of glory, conversing with Elijah and Moses about the death that
he would die. Oh, the glorious sight. of the
Lord there on the Mount of Transfiguration. Not only that, but Peter was
an eyewitness of countless miracles of the Lord's power and deity.
His own mother-in-law, who lay dying, the Lord walked in to
the house and healed his mother-in-law. Consider how much this man had
experienced. What he had saw. What he confessed. What he knew. And yet, he denies
that he knows this man. Not once, but three times. Over
a space of an hour, it says in Luke 22, 59. We'll read that
in a minute. Over a space of an hour, he's
confronted and he continually denies that he knows Jesus of
Nazareth. Something else we see here that's
hard to understand. Peter's action and attitude in
light of his recent bold statement. Turn back to Mark 14, verse 27.
Remember his bold statement he made? And the Lord said in verse 27
of Mark 14, And all of you 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 I am
risen, I will go before you into Galilee. And Peter said unto
him, Although all shall be offended, I will not. And the Lord said
to him truly, I say to you that this day, even this night, before
the cock crows twice, you'll deny me not once, Peter, but
three times. Look at verse 31 now carefully.
But he spake to more vehemently, strongly, boldly, if I should
die with you, I will not deny thee in any way, shape, form,
fashion. I will not. Likewise, also said,
all of them. And yet we find all of them,
when it came right down to it, they all cut tail and run like
a bunch of scared rats. A bunch of scared rats. Yet Peter,
after this bold statement, denies the Lord, not just simply, not
just simply denying the Lord, but look what it says down here
in verse 71 of Mark 14. when the little maiden said,
your speech kind of betrays you. You kind of talk like that Galilean,
that man from Nazareth of Galilee. And he said, well, I'll fix that.
I'll show you what I really am in myself, in my nature. And
he began to curse. He began to swear like a drunken
sailor. And then he began to say, I know
not this man of whom you speak. He denied the Lord. I know not
this man. Peter's fall. Something else.
Peter's fall and denial seems to come by degrees. It seems to come gradually. And then like a snowball. Like
a snowball going down a hill. It starts with a little small
thing. And it starts to roll. And it
gets momentum. And it rolls and rolls. And it
snowballs into a total denial. of the Lord Jesus Christ. At
first, he sits among the ungodly to warm himself, hoping maybe
to melt into the crowd unnoticed. Seems like an innocent thing,
doesn't it? I'll just sneak over here and sit down. Maybe they
won't notice me. Then he's asked if he knows the
Lord Jesus Christ in verse 67 and verse 68. And he pretends
like, you know, I don't really understand what you're saying.
What are you saying? And then, as the snowball gains
momentum and rolls down this hill of depravity, when asked
again, he begins to swear and to curse vehemently, denying
that he knows the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, perhaps you're sitting
here in your seat thinking, as a thought crossed your mind,
thinking, well, I'd never do that. Oh, my friend, be careful. Be careful. The heart is deceitful
above all things. Desperately wicked. What a lesson
for us here. And that's why the Lord gives
this to us, to help us along. Peter was indeed a true believer. He was a true saint of God and
an apostle. A great preacher of the Gospel.
But let us never forget, he's just like you. Just like me. A sinner saved by grace. And
apart from the Lord restraining grace, now listen to me, apart
from the Lord restraining grace, there is no evil that we are
not capable of committing. No evil. Our old Adam nature
left unrestrained has a potential for terrible wickedness. Lord, restrain me. Keep me by
Your grace. We must never think that we are
above failing, even to denying of the gospel. Our hope of salvation
is even in this. We might deny Him, yet He will
never disown His covenant people, His covenant sheep. Our assurance
of salvation is not based upon our obedience, but the assurance
of our salvation is based upon His obedience. He was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. By one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. So by the obedience of another
shall many be made righteous." Now listen to me carefully. I want to live to the honor of
Christ. Don't you? I know you do. I want to honor
and magnify Him in my living as well as in my preaching. And I know that you who love
Him want to do the same thing. My heart trembles. The very thought
of bringing reproach upon the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
who loved me and washed me from my sin in His own blood. Yet
I know this, unless Christ Himself keeps me, preserves me, restrains
me from evil that is in me and keeps me, you and I both will most certainly
walk away from the gospel. That's the potential wickedness
that's in every one of us. Now, do you know something of
yourself? If you do, you'll appreciate
these next few things. Here's the second main point
is this. Roman numeral number 2. Notice carefully Peter's conviction
of sin and his means of recovery. He didn't go out and hang himself.
And he wept bitterly in repentance. He was granted repentance. Peter
sinned, but he did not lose his salvation. You know why? We have
an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. My
little children, these things I write unto you that you sin
not. But when you do, well, you're damned. No. It doesn't say that. We have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Peter sinned, but he didn't lose
his salvation. He fell, but He did not perish
in His sin. He stumbled, but He did not perish.
His faith was weak, but it was not dead. He denied the Lord,
but the Lord did not deny Him. Peter belonged to the Lord. He
was one of His sheep, and the Lord can never lose one of His
sheep. Not finally and totally. The sheep may go astray, but
the Good Shepherd, He goes out and finds the sheep. Puts Him
on His shoulder. and takes Him to glory. Peter
belonged to the Lord, and the Lord could never lose one of
His sheep. Peter failed, but the Lord graciously raised him
up again, for He said, I give My sheep eternal life, and they
shall never perish. How did the Lord raise him up
to repentance and recovery? How did it happen? It's right
here in the text. Did you see it? By His grace. Proverbs 24 declares, Man falleth seven times. The Lord raises him up again. I want you to notice several
things about Peter's repentance and his recovery. It's all of
grace. Four things. I like what David
said in Psalm 118, this is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous
in our eyes. Now here's the first thing. How was Peter raised up? By the
marvelous working of the Lord's sovereign providence. Providence. Those things that unfold in time
are decreed by God in eternity, by God's sovereign providence
at the precise moment that Peter started denying the Lord. I wish
I could troll like a rooster. I'm tempted to try it. You think about this. At the
exact moment that creature, God Almighty, the creed, rooster,
rooster, started crowing. At the exact moment God said,
you start speaking. It happened. At the precise moment
Peter denied the Lord, the rooster started preaching. God used a
jackass one time. You remember Balaam's ass? God
used here a rooster to alarm Peter. The Lord in his marvelous
providence, you see my friend, arranges all things, even the
crowing of a rooster. God in his marvelous providence
arranges all things in the life of his elect to bring them to
hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is no mere accident
that you are here today. It is no mere accident that God
has brought you to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is by His sovereign providence that we meet here today. It may
be a rooster in your past that started crowing. It may have
been a jackass or someone who acted like a jackass that brought
you to seek the Lord. You see, the Lord will use even
very small things. That's what the prophet said
in the day of Zechariah, despise not the day of small things. Something else. How did the Lord
bring about this repentance and restoration in the life of Peter? By the crowing of a rooster.
By his marvelous providence. by a marvelous working of God's
sovereign grace. Now hold your place here and
find Luke 22. You've got to see this. Luke 22 gives us a little
more information. Luke chapter 22. Let's begin reading at verse
59. of Luke 22, 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. They were after Peter for a solid
hour. And Peter said, man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet
spake, the rooster started clacking again, crowing again. Look at
verse 61, Mark 5, and the Lord turned and looked on Peter. Wow! He didn't look away from
Peter and say, you denier. He looked at him in love, in
compassion. The Lord looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how he said unto him before the cock crowed thrice,
you'll deny me three times, thrice, before the cock crowed. Peter
went out and wept bitterly, bitterly, bitterly. The Lord looked on
Peter. What a look this must have been.
His eyes, the Song of Solomon said, his eyes were as dove's
eyes. What a look this must have been.
It wasn't a look of anger. I'm sure of that. It wasn't a
look of resentment. It was a look of love. It was
a look of pity. It was a look of compassion.
It was a look of power. It was a look of mercy unto Peter. It was a look that broke his
heart. and locked conviction in his heart. It was a look that
melted him to nothing. It was a look that spoke volumes
to Peter. Oh, he's seen this look before. He's seen this look before. And he speaks volumes to us.
It was a look that said to Peter, I've loved you with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you to myself. It
was a look that spoke to Peter saying, I've chosen you unto
salvation from the beginning. It was a look that must have
said to Peter, I've given you eternal life and you'll never
perish. It was a look that said to Peter, I'm going to die for
you. I'm going to put away your sin. It was a look that said,
fear not, I'm going to redeem thee. It was a look that said,
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. What a look. Look. It makes me
cry out in my heart before the Lord. Lord, look unto me. Look at me and cause me to look
unto You. Lord, look on us in pity and
in mercy in Christ Jesus. Here's the third thing we see.
He's talking about Peter's recovery. By the marvelous working of the
Word of the Lord. Look at verse 72 in our text.
The second time the conch crew, Peter called to mind the Word
that Jesus said unto him. How was he restored? By the Word.
The working of the Word. It says in Luke 22, Peter remembered
the words of the Lord. The Lord's Word convicted Peter
of his sin against the Lord. But we read in Hebrews chapter
4, Verse 12, that His Word is quick and powerful, sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing through the dividing of thunder
a soul and spirit at the joints of the my heart. The Word is
the discerner of the heart. That is why we make so much of
the Word here in Old Zebulun. When we meet together, the Zebulonians,
when we meet together here at Zebulun, we take the Word of
God and read His Word. What does He say? about salvation. What does the Word say about
the Lord Jesus Christ? This is why we make so much of
the Word. Study the Word. Read the Word. Preaching of the
Word. God has promised to bless His
Word. He said, My Word will go forth
out of my mouth. It will not return to me void.
It will accomplish my purpose, Isaiah 55-11. That's what He
said. I believe it. You see, it's through
the preaching of the Word that God has ordained Call out His
elect of His own will, begetting us with the Word of truth. It
is through the teaching of the Word that we grow in grace and
in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are taught to
desire the sincere milk of the Word that we might grow thereby. Fourthly, how was Peter raised
up from denying the Lord? By the Lord Himself being the
advocate for him, being the mediator. The Lord prayed for Peter. and
graciously restored him by His grace. The same Lord today is
our Advocate with the Father. There is one God, one Mediator
between God and men, that is, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, He ever lives right
now to intercede for us. This is very presence before
God. On the throne of God, He intercedes
for us. If you're a believer, resting
in Christ and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for all of your
salvation. I boldly make this statement as the Word of God
says, nothing shall separate you from the love of God in the
Lord Jesus Christ, not even your sin. Nothing can separate us from
His love. The love of Christ never fails. Nothing can separate us from
His grace, His purpose and grace in Christ Jesus. Nothing can
separate us from His mercy. It is of the Lord's mercy that
we are not consumed. Nothing can separate us from
His care. I want you to look at this Scripture
and mark it. Find 1 Peter 5. And this just
makes this verse all the more relative. 1 Peter 5. And look at this. This is Peter
now writing The words that God gave him,
1 Peter 5, verse 6, "'Humble yourselves therefore
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.'"
He careth for you. Nothing can separate you from
His care of you. All what comfort. What comfort
that brings to our heart. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'll
send you home with these words. Roman numeral number 3. Peter's
repentance and restoration is seen in these verses. Verse 72,
And when he thought thereon, he wept. He wept. He thought on these things and
he wept. It says in Matthew and Luke, he wept bitterly. He looked
upon the Lord and wept bitterly. Romans chapter 2 verse 14 declares
the forbearance and goodness and longsuffering of God that
leads us to repentance. His longsuffering, His mercy
does. Several evidences are given here of Peter's repentance. It
says in Matthew 26 verse 75, Peter went out. He went out from
that crowd. In Mark 14, verse 72, it says,
"...he thought on these things, or he looked upon the Lord with
an eye of faith, and it broke his heart." He sorrowed after
a godly manner to repentance. Well, godly sorrow works with
repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. The sorrow
of the world worketh death. He went out and he wept bitterly.
His heart was broken before his Lord over his sin. Oh, the blessedness of the sinner
whose heart is crushed and broken before the Lord. That's a blessed
man. You see, Christ came to heal the brokenhearted. Psalm 34, The Lord is nigh them
of a broken heart, save as such as be of a contrite spirit. Let me remind you the rest of
the story. Let me remind you of the rest
of the story. What became of Peter? What happened to this
man that denied the Lord? Well, we've studied through the
book of Acts. In chapter 2, we read just a
moment ago how he stood before this large crowd there in the
temple of the Jews, and just 50 days after he denies the Lord,
we find him preaching the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ, His
power and salvation in him. In chapter 4, we see this same
man standing before this same crowd. and the religious Sanhedrin
declaring that there's salvation in none other but the Lord Jesus
Christ. May we learn something of our
own frailty and sin. And remember this Scripture,
Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest we
fall. May the Lord be pleased to teach
us this, His faithfulness. His faithfulness. It says in
Isaiah 42.4, one of my favorite Scriptures, He can not fail. He can't. He can't fail to save. He can't fail to keep us. Great
is thy faithfulness, O God our Father. Well, I pray that will
be a blessing to you and a help to you. And I pray the Lord will
teach us these things and cause us to rest with confidence in
our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.