Luke's Gospel

We're in Luke chapter 22, and we're gonna read this wonderful, powerful, very beautiful and rather intimate story of Peter and Jesus. And so it's luke 22 and verse 54 to verse 62. Then seizing him, that's that's Jesus, they led him away and took him into a house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and sat down together, Peter sat down with them.

A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight She looked closely at him and said, this man was with him, but he denied it. Woman, I don't know him, he said. A little later, someone else saw him and said, you also are 1 of them. Man, I am not Peter replied. About an hour later, another asserted certainly, this fellow was with him for he's a Galileian.

Peter replied, man, I don't know what you're talking about. Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the lord had spoken to him. Before the cock crows today, you will disown me 3 times.

He went outside and wept bitterly. Let me pray before Rory comes to speak to us. From this passage. Father God, these are tender words, and they will touch us in our minds and in our hearts. We ask you, please, that that would happen.

You'd reveal something about us, and you'd reveal something about yourself. So be with Rory as he opens this passage up to us in Jesus' name, Arm. We'll give the evening all here, and good evening at home if you're tuning in. If you want to keep that passage out in front of you, that would be great. We will be referring to as we go through.

We'll be looking at this story together. So please do keep it up, and then we should hopefully get to understand what this is all about. Right. Now, I I assume the majority of you have heard the term alpha male. And I wonder when you think of an alpha male, I wonder who springs to mind.

I wouldn't I I thought about this during during the break. We could have an alpha male off and find out who's the most alpha male at Cornerstone. I think I would favor myself on this 1. I'm sure if many of you would agree, some may not. But when you think of alpha male, I I actually googled it, because that's what I had spare time to do.

And it said, a man tending to assume a dominant or domineering role in social or professional situations, as I carried on my extensive research into alpha males. I also saw words like confident, willing to take responsibility. This is the type of person who's always offering solutions to problems. This is a brave and bold human being. And I think in in the gospels, in the characters that around Jesus, there's no more alpha male man than Peter.

He is the ultimate alpha. He is, you know, I'm a fisherman. Burly. I'll do it Jesus. I don't think he was from London.

But anyway, you know, this is the piece that we see in the Gospel who who always wants to be the man who does does the thing for Jesus. You know, Jesus says, walking on water, and he said, I'll come out to you Jesus. Let me come. This is the the Peter who always has bold statements. You are the Messiah Jesus.

This is the Peter that has the audacity to rebuke Jesus when he says I'm gonna die on a cross. This is The Peter who when Jesus says, I'm going to wash your feet, set as no chance Jesus. And then when he said, no, I have to, he said, Well, wash all of me then. This is the Peter whose last words in in in this book, in Luke before our passage today, he says, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. And we're gonna see those words being put to test tonight.

See, it's easy to say something, but you've got to be able to back it up with your actions. Right? You know, you'd think about sports stars, or sports people, or politicians. They always have these bold words, but we we only find out if those words mean anything when they actually back him up. So, the classic 1 is is the boxer who says, I'm gonna knock you out fourth round.

Yeah. You're gonna be lights out, and it's always I always find it a great joy when that person doesn't do that and actually loses. So we're going to see Peter's words tested. And now, when we when we when we begin this passage, just before it, it's looked like he's he's gonna back up on those words, You know, in in gethsemane, when Jesus is arrested, who's the 1 who pulls out a sword? Peter.

I'm ready for a physical fight. And and although a terrible swordsman in the fact that he can only chop off a man's ear rather than his head. He's there. He's ready to to to be the man, to be the bold brave Peter. So, he looks like you'll back it up.

If you were if you were with us last week, you would have you would have seen us leave at the scene in Guest, 70 Judis, His 1 of his closest friends has betrayed him. And we've ended the passage in verse 53 where Jesus has said, This is your hour when darkness rains. And so, that's where we are. We move on So verse 54, and and it says seizing him. They led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.

Now, it's in that seizing of the Lord Jesus. We know from other accounts that the disciples scatter. This is the moment when the closest mates of Jesus leave him. And Jesus has led away, and he's led to this high priest house into a kangaroo call, where they're just determined to find Jesus guilty. They're not interested in the real truth.

They're not interested in is Jesus innocent. They're only innocent in getting rid of this man. Who poses such a threat to them. And now the question is, have all the disciples really deserted? Well, actually, this passage appears to suggest that there is at least 1 man.

That it was not willing to give up just yet. There's 1 who who wants to see how how all of this will play out. There is 1 who's not gonna just give up on Jesus just yet. And so, as Jesus is led away, we see in verse 54, there is Peter. And what is Peter doing?

He's following. And maybe you're there going, well, if he's really bold and brave, Peter, that we think he is, He surely should be walking alongside Jesus. He he should be at a distance I mean, you've got to think about it. At least he's there. Right?

I mean, all the other disciples of Scarpeds. So Peter is still there. Peter is still following, albeit at a distance. He's still trying to be this courageous man that he believes he is. And summoning up that that courage that he thinks he's so famous for.

He goes into the middle of the courtyard, and sits around the fire, around a fire where there are people who would oppose him, who oppose Jesus. It's not a safe place. He's in a in a in a in a midst of opposition. And it's in this setting. That we see his words tested.

Is Peter really ready to go with Jesus to prison and to death. And as you watch this scene, you might have heard, I guess many of you have heard this scene over and over again. The thing, every time I come to this passage, I just I just want Peter to succeed. I I love Peter. I love actually how what what p how Peter is is portrayed in the Gospels.

And as he comes here into this test, I want him to succeed. But we see that he doesn't. And so this is my first point, the denial, the denial. We come to verse 56, and Peter is met by a servant girl. And our servant girl in those days, she's just a a slave.

She's got no societal status. She's got no importance about her. But as she sits around the fire, She just glances and sees Peter. And she does a double take, you can imagine. And then she starts to stare.

And I don't know if you've ever seen someone that you you think you recognize and you're staring at them. I mean, I do this all the time and then realize I don't know the person. And they're like, why are you staring at me? And I'm like, oh, I don't know. But There she is, staring, trying to work it out.

Cogs were in, and then she realizes, I know who this is, and she says, this man was with him. Now that isn't a problem for big, big, strong, courageous Peter. Right? This isn't strong for Peter whose name is The rock. Surely, he's gonna stand up to an an an insignificant slave girl.

Right? This is an easy 1 for him. He's willing to get a sword and chop someone's ear off, slave girl. No bother. Right?

First 57, but he denied it. Woman, I don't know him, he said. So he's failed to stand up to a slave girl. He's failed. He's messed up, and you can imagine that as he says those words, I don't know him.

That first knot of shame comes into his stomach. But it's okay because there's an opportunity for redemption that's gonna come. So surely, you've messed at once, Peter, but you won't do it twice, will you? This You you you want to show that you're the bold man. You want to show that you're the brave man So verse 58, we get another 1 sees, you also are 1 of them.

So how was he going to fare this time? This is the time. You you don't have to mess up again now, Peter. You're going to do it this time, aren't you? You aren't going to deny him twice Man, I am not.

Peter replied, Now I I sense the guilt and fear mingling together here. It's growing. In his heart of denied him again. I'm just trying to I I I have to save my life But there's another knot there and and this strangling sensation, this is twisting in his stomach. And our passes by.

We come to verse 59, and we get another. Another asserted That word asserted means he emphatically states. I mean, because of the firelight, it's obvious, because of of what he says is, well, look, Certainly, this fellow was with him, for he is a Galileo. In other words, because of his accent, it's given him away. You know, the the the Galileo accent was quite a regional accent.

Said to the last group, they were probably spouses in in Israel. Yeah? He's going, I don't know him. I'm mad, I'm not. So he's given him away, but it's given him a way to to say, yes, I was because the disciples are from Galile Lee, I can say, yes.

Okay. I was with him. So here's your last chance, Peter, here's a chance to stand up for the 1 that you so claimed that you were ready to to follow to death in prison for a third time, verse 60. Man. I don't know what you're talking about.

I don't know what you're talking about. Mark goes further. Mark says, Peter is calling down curses and swearing to them that that that they don't know him. He's saying, as surely as God lives, I don't know him. You know, if if I'm lying, then God should strike me down.

God should strike you down for accusing me. And as he's denying, at once, Immediately, 2 things happen. Number 1, the cock crows. Number 2, I think, is probably 1 of the most powerful earth shattering heart jolting moments of Peter's existence. Christ as he's surrounded by opposition, as he's surrounded by people who are totally against him, once he's surrounded by accusers, turns, and looks at his beloved friends.

He locks eyes with Peter. And as he's heard the crow, And he's seen the look, Peter's transported back to the upper room, and he remembers what Jesus said to him. It's repeated here, but it was verse 34 as well. Before the cockroaches today, you will disown me. 3 times.

And so the realization hits Peter that Jesus knows his heart so much better than he could ever know it. And he realized that Jesus knew all along that self preservation would win this day. And his courage, big, bold, brave, alpha male Peter, so strong, so courageous. No longer sits there as a courageous man, but he's now a coward. A coward who stays sitting instead of standing god for the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's interesting, isn't it? Peter was with the Lord Jesus for 3 years, 3 years with the Lord Jesus, 3 years under his teaching, under his love, under his ministry. And then 3 times he denies that even knows him. Each denial like a wiping away of each year, he knew him. And so his heart lies exposed before Jesus is there.

I mean, imagine looking into the heart the eyes of the 1 that you've loved for so long and you realize that you've disowned him. There would have been deep hurt there. And it's in this moment that Peter is at his lowest. Verse 62, he goes outside, and he wept. Bittily.

And that word, the word wet bitterly, it's this sort of violent crying, it's streams of tears, these He's gasping and he's sobbing as as his sin sinks him into despair. He's hit rock bottom. The interesting thing about this is that only Peter would have known this detail. No 1 else would have known this detail, and so Peter must have said, I denied 3 times, and the lord Jesus turned them looked at me. This is the moment that would haunt him and make him cringe.

There's always we all have those moments where we look back on like, oh, This is that moment for Peter. Now, I suppose you can ask, why did he fail? Well, I think there's 3 reasons why he failed 1, he didn't understand who Jesus was. See, Peter thought that Jesus was going to be this Amazing king would bring this kingdom. It would be physical.

He would get rid of the Romans, and he would establish a great kingdom. And he was gonna be there. He was gonna be 1 the men that stood side by side with Jesus fighting for this kingdom, but we knew that he didn't understand who Jesus was, because Jesus said, it's by the cross that this is going to happen, which is why Peter rebukes him. Not only is it that he doesn't understand Jesus, he doesn't rely on Jesus. You just got to look back to him saying, I am ready to go with you to prison as a death.

It's all about him, Peter. It's me. I can do it I'm the strong 1. You call me the rock. Surely, I'm the strong 1.

Right? He doesn't he doesn't rely on Jesus, he relies himself, and that shows itself by his lack of prayer in verse 45 to 46. These 3 things sort of intertwine with each other, or a recipe for failure. Now, you might be here, and you might be listening and saying, well, if I was there, I would never deny Jesus. What I treat my friends like that?

Not a chance. How could Peter do this? How foolish Peter is? I think that's how often we look at the bible. We read these stories and go, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, I would never do that.

I would be there alongside Jesus saying, crucify me too. So I get this I I teach history 1 of the great things about teaching history is that when you go through horrible people and empire, so for instance, Nazi Germany, we've always got to talk about Nazi Germany. And you say, and the kids always go, I would never have done that. I would have been opposed to the to the Nazis. But realistically, the likelihood is is that you would have been there with them.

You wouldn't have opposed them The human nature is usually 1 of cowardice and self preservation. Sadly. And the majority of us, I imagine, would flee like the rest of the disciples. Most I mean, they're not even there. We would just get out of there.

See you later, Jesus? I'm not getting involved in this. Some may be braver here. They may have followed a little bit, but usually we would falter still. So not only would we do the same if we were there, but I think the point of the story is we do the same today.

We do the same today. How often as Christians do we have the opportunity to stand up for Christ? How often when we face the issues of today, the world preaches its messages about gender and identity and sexuality and preaches this message about life and death who should live and who should die. How often Do we have a chance to stand up and say, no, this is what Jesus says? And I'm gonna live for Jesus in this moment.

So often when that moment arises, I can stay silent, or maybe you're tempted by sin. You think, well, that's not that's not the same. Well, Jesus actually says, if anyone was to come after me, they need to deny themselves Take up the cross and follow me. So, when we're tempted, when we come across temptation, we have a choice do I live for me, do I live for Christ? Do I deny me or do I deny Christ?

And so there you are in the workplace, faced with gossip. What do I do here? Do I gossip? Do I talk about that person behind their back, or do I deny myself? And say, I live for Christ, I'm not going to gossip.

We're always faced with a choice whether it's self denial or Christ denial. And when we mess up, we deny Christ. But this is this is why this is such a good story because Peter is like 1 of the best people in terms of He's 1 of the people that He's 1 of the chief apostles. He's the 1 that gets sent out is to bring the message of salvation to so many, and he gets it wrong. He stuffs up horribly here, and so do we?

Like him, we mess up. We forsake our love. We forsake the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 of my favorite songs is a song called come thou Fount of every bless I'm not gonna sing it to you, because we're not even though I've got this in the way. But 1 of the lines in it is prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.

So often, I just don't have a regard for Jesus so often I deny him. The Savior, the lover, the 1 who is with us at all times, the 1 who The bible says lives in our hearts, the 1 who said himself, surely, I am with you till the end of the age. That means he's with us right now. And I reject him, and I fail, and I mess up, because I don't understand him, I don't rely on him, and I don't pray. I get it wrong so much.

I fail so much. Unlike Peter, That should move me to grief. He weaves bitterly. He's forsaken his Savior, He's forsaken the 1 who's loved him. If I get this right, the 1 thing that Peter gets right in this story is when he sees how badly he's got it wrong, he's broken.

Now, What I don't want you to come away with it going, oh, well, that was a bit depressing, because it is quite quite hard. This is not a guilt trip. This is a grace trip. It's not a guilt trip. It's a grace trip.

But we must feel our shortcomings to understand the grace. And so look with me, secondly, at the look. The look I think is is the most poignant thing in this whole thing. Although, you know, it was it's it's undoubt Undoubtedly that that Jesus was pained by Peter's denial. And as he looked at him, Peter was brought back to the the upper room in which Jesus had predicted his failure, but also where there is a prediction of failure there is a prayer for faith.

Verse 31 to 32 says this. Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. See, in that look with Jesus, as he locked eyes with Jesus. Yes, his failure was exposed, But we've got to remember who's looking at him.

It's the Lord Jesus. It's the the most loving, gracious, merciful, compassionate 1 And although there may have been pain in his eyes, there was gonna be love and compassion and mercy as well. Because If if Jesus didn't want to have anything to do with Peter, he wouldn't have looked at him. In a look, there is relationship. In a look, he's saying, I'm for you Peter.

And all this is necessary because I'm going to die for you, Peter. I'm going to restore you Isn't it amazing that in his deepest failure at rock bottom, Jesus is still for Peter. I mean, if my best friend disown me, that's it. But Jesus has said, I'm for you still. Yes, Peter would feel the despair, he would feel the guilt and the shame, but in that in that low moment, in that horrible situation that you found himself.

Jesus is saying, I'm going to remold you, I'm going to prepare you for a lifetime of service. This is not the end of the story for you, Peter. And so after Christ dies, for Peter's denial, 4 Peter's sin, 4 Peter's floors in his shortcomings. And as city rises from the dead, they meet on a beach. It's amazing because I didn't see this until very recently.

But on that beach, they sit around a fire. On that fire, Jesus turns to his beloved disciple, and he says, Peter, do you love me? 3 times. Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me?

Now Peter doesn't want that conversation. He doesn't want it, but he needs it, and Christ knows that he needs that conversation. Because otherwise, he'll just be in a life of despair, a life that's trying to prove himself, and that's going to be impossible. Jesus is saying, I'm going to lovingly restore you. That you can live for me.

And there is no doubt that Peter's transformed utter this. It's no longer this self reliant proud man. He's no longer trying to be the the big alpha male. But now, he's now a man who's going to give his life for Christ. He's now a a man who's about self denial, not self preservation.

He's now a man who is totally reliant upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that because he he faces the test, and he stands So if you turn to Acts 2, you don't have to do it now, but in your own time, he stands up in front of a huge group, and he preaches Christ. When he's before people who are gonna flog him and they say, don't preach this name anymore. He says, I can only do what is right in God's eyes, not yours. This is the man who will go to prison for Christ.

Remember what he said, I'm ready to go to prison and to death for you. He goes to prison. He stands the test. And when it comes to his death, he goes to death. And the story says that he was crucified and If the accounts are right, he's crucified upside down because he does wanna be crucified like his savior.

This is a transformed man. This is a man who's had the marks of grace impressed upon his life This is a man who no longer relies on himself. He's not this proud man, but he's a man who's now going to live for Christ. This is amazing grace here. So, yes, we mess up.

We get it wrong. I get it wrong all the time. And I should feel that, that should hurt. There's no doubt that that should hurt, but we must know too the grace of Christ. If we don't know his grace, then we will face despair.

But because of his grace, because of his love, because of his mercy, were restored we're cared for, we're forgiven, we're secure. There's an assurance that we will never be cast out. Even in your darkest moments, Even in your lowest moment as you haven't lived for Christ, Christ is for you. Look at these verses. 1 John, 1 verse 9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purifies from all unrighteousness. You see that? You can mess up, you can be unfaithful, you can deny Christ, but you you you repent, and he will always restore you. Romans 5 verse 1 to 2 says this. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, We have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

We stand in grace. 1 of the most powerful sermons I've heard that we go on a camp called contagious. And this is I think the passage that was preached on, and it said that we stand in Graceland. We don't go away from Graceland. And when you fall You don't fall out of grace land.

You fall in grace land, where Christ will pick you up. And set you on your way again. And because of that, because of that security, because of the love and the grace and the mercy of the Lord, Jesus Christ. That means we can live for him. It means we can go about understanding how glorious the king of graces, it means that we can realize that when we mess up, it's because we're not relying on on Christ that much and and that we need to pray more.

This here, although, yes, Peter got it wrong. The real hear of the story Jesus is full of grace. And so let me ask you, Do you know Jesus? Do you know him? There's no 1 better.

It's interesting in this world. Everyone's scared to fail. Everyone's scared to mess up. Everyone's scared, if I post the wrong thing on social media, if I don't post anything at all on social media, I will be condemned, I will be judged, I'll be scorned, I'll be mocked, I'll be isolated, I'll be cast out. There's such pressure there.

But look at Christ, at your lowest, at rock bottom, he says I'm for you. I love you. I will restore you, I will forgive you. There is none better than this. And if you don't know him, come and know him.

Come and know him. Comeendo is love, come into his grace, come into his mercy, come into his forgiveness. Let me pray. Father we thank you for this passage. We thank you for what it shows us.

Of Peter, and therefore what it reveals to us of our own hearts. And we recognize that we get it wrong. We we fail so often. But we thank you that the Lord Jesus is in this story and he is the true hero. That he is loving, that he is gracious, and that he is restoring us.

And so we pray father that we will more and more be amazed at the wonderful Lord Jesus Christ, and that we will seek to serve and obey him, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.