We return to working our way through John's Gospel. This
morning we're going to spend a little time looking at Peter's denial of Jesus.
Let me tell you up front what I am aiming for. I want this bit of Scripture to
become a mirror for you. I want you to get a better understanding of yourself.
I want you to grow in wisdom. That's the goal. Listen as I read our text, John18.15-27.
Let's start with the obvious. Peter sinned. Now, while
that's true, it's not helpful to you unless I get a bit more specific about how
Peter sinned. So, here are some specific ways in which Peter sinned.
First, Peter sinned against love. He was to love Jesus.
Jesus was his teacher and his friend. But when push came to shove Peter thought
of himself first. Loyalty to his teacher, love for his friend, went out the
window. Proverbs says,
A friend loves at all times …
Peter failed to be the friend he presented himself to be. In
this, he sinned.
Then, there is pride. Peter's pride is a basic cause of his
sin. It starts with something Peter said to Jesus earlier in the evening.
Though they all fall away because
of you, I will never fall away.
Peter compares himself with the other apostles and makes
quite the boast about his loyalty. 'I'm not like them. I'm much better than
they are. I will remain loyal.' What pride! Again, something from Proverbs
fits.
Pride
goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride will always trip you up. After all, pride is about
focusing on yourself. That's true whether we're talking about comparing
yourself to others or if the issue is survival. So, when confronted, Peter
thought of himself and his own welfare first and, as a result, denied that he
knew Jesus.
To sin in these ways is obviously bad. But it's worse for
Peter. He was blessed more than most. He heard all of the sermons that Jesus
preached to the crowds, as well as those teachings that were limited only to
the Twelve. He saw the miracles and was given power to perform some himself.
And Peter saw something of Jesus' glory on the mount of Transfiguration. Now,
connect all that with this from Jesus.
Everyone to whom much was given, of
him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will
demand the more.
God does not judge all in the same way. Peter was given
much. That made expectations of him all the greater. And it made his failure,
his sin, all the worse.
That's how Peter sinned. And I think that you can see that
it wasn't just a little nothing. Peter sinned big.
Now let's ask a different question. Let's probe some of the
depths here by asking a 'Why?' question. Why did Peter sin in this way? Here
are three good answers. Peter sinned in this way because it was part of God's
plan. Remember, Scripture tells us that God ‘works all things according to the
counsel of His will’. 'All things’ includes all things, even Peter's sin of
denying Jesus. Peter sinned because it was part of the plan.
Here's a second answer to that question. Peter sinned in
this way because Satan wanted to destroy him. Jesus told Peter about this.
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat …
Peter is just like Job. Satan was after them both. But Peter
didn't respond as well as Job did.
Then, a third answer. Peter sinned because of his own
foolishness. He didn't understand himself. He wasn't aware of his weakness or
his own tendencies to unbelief. He was not wise. Jesus tried to warn him.
Watch and pray that you may not
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Did Peter watch and pray? No, he slept instead. And so, he
sinned. And he only has himself to blame.
Now, did you notice how John put the events of that night
together? He wrote about Peter's first denial and then after referring to
something else, he wrote about Peter's two other denials. What's that
'something else' in between? It's Jesus standing before men who are set on
killing Him. And how does He respond to that? He does not cave in. He doesn't
give in to fear. He stands and speaks truth. John did that to make the contrast
clear. Two men were confronted that night. One man stood faithful and the other
man didn't. If Jesus could respond honestly and fearlessly before His enemies,
Peter could have done the same before a servant girl. But he didn't.
Now, what should happen with Peter? Jesus was quite clear.
whoever denies me before men, I
also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
So this is what Peter should expect.
On that day many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your
name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you
workers of lawlessness.’
Peter, who denied Jesus before men, should hear those words.
Jesus should deny him before the Father. But that doesn't happen. Why not?
Doesn't he deserve it? He absolutely does. But it doesn't happen. Why? The only
reason is the grace of God. Because of the Gospel, there is always forgiveness
for sinners who repent. Always. And so, when we pick up the story in Acts what
do we see? We see Peter. But he's not hiding in a corner because of the shame
of his sin. He isn't waiting for Jesus to deny ever knowing him. No, Peter,
believe it or not, is still one of the apostles. And more than that, he is a
leader among the apostles, acting like the rock that Jesus said he would
become. He preaches boldly before thousands and stands unafraid before the same
men who murdered Jesus, threatening the same to him. You see, Peter was
forgiven, and he believed that he was forgiven. The sin was gone, and Peter
acted as if it was gone. And as a result, he became a powerful tool in the
spread of the kingdom. And the key? He believed the Gospel.
Each Sunday we have a corporate confession of sin. And right
after that we have a declaration of pardon. Here are a few of the verses that
are read.
For as high as the heavens are
above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as
far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from
us.
Come now, let us reason together,
says the Lord: though your sins
are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall become like wool.
I, I am he who blots out your
transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Why do we have this confession and declaration as a part of
our weekly worship? One reason is that we need to confess our sin and be
forgiven of it. But another is to drive home to you that your sins are real and
that they are really forgiven. All that is needed for you to enjoy that
forgiveness is repentance and faith: being honest with the Father about what
you did and then coming again to Jesus for forgiveness and change. If you do
that, is it possible that the Father would refuse to forgive you? Is it
possible that He would refuse to blot out your transgressions but rather to
continually remember them? No, it is not possible. Do you know why? John tells
us in his first letter.
My little children, I am writing
these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation
for our sins …
When you come clean about your sin before the Father, Jesus
is right there reminding Him of His own sacrifice. 'Father, I paid for that
sin.' Peter was forgiven his sin. Jesus made that happen. You are forgiven your
sin. Jesus makes that happen.
So, what is the sign that you believe the Gospel, that you
believe that Jesus has paid for that sin you just confessed? How about this?
Once you confess your sin to the Father, you find yourself rejoicing. You are
rejoicing that you are forgiven. And that rejoicing doesn't start after a time
of penance where you tell yourself over and over what a jerk you were to sin.
No! As soon as your prayer of confession is over your rejoicing begins. After
all, that's when your forgiveness is granted. That's when the Father forgets
all about it. You can rejoice because of the Gospel.
Let's go back to something that I said earlier. I told you
that one reason that Peter sinned was because it was part of God's plan. So,
why would God plan to do that to Peter? Here's one good reason. It was so that
Peter could get to understand himself better. Our sins find their roots in our
hearts. And as Jeremiah tells us,
The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Getting to know the dynamics of your own heart is really
hard. That's true of you, and it was true of Peter. So, the Father set things
up so that Peter could see something of what was hidden in his own heart. Peter
got to know himself better - his pride, his selfishness, his weakness - because
of what happened. And the same can be true of you. Every time you repent of
some sin you have the opportunity to get to know yourself better. You can ask
yourself, 'Now, why did I sin like that?' When you pose that question you're
asking about what was going on in your heart. It’s a question that would be
good to pray about. You may not be able to answer the question after one or two
times you pose the question. But over time you will begin to see patterns. And
as you do, you will understand something of what's going on in your heart. It's
as you repent of those root sins, sins hidden in your heart, that there can be
some very large change. That’s when you really get to understand yourself. So,
you see, the Father wanted Peter to go through all of that for his own good.
And He does the same for you. Take advantage of that. Ask the question, 'Why
did I sin like that?'
Last thought. I began the sermon by telling you that I
wanted to use the text as a mirror so that you could get to know yourself
better, so that you could grow in wisdom. So, looking at this text what do you
see about yourself? I hope that you see that you are someone who sins, just
like Peter did. Don't minimize that. But I hope that you also see that you are
someone who is completely forgiven of those sins, just like Peter was. Don't
minimize that either. To flourish as a person, like Peter did, all you need to
do is believe the Gospel.