From Failure To Forgiveness

Now, all four Gospels record this particular event with Peter.

We know the story well.

Mark's Gospel is unique, at least, if not for any other reason, for this.

I want to remind you that Mark is actually writing Peter's eyewitness account.

Do you remember that?

It's been about two years since we talked about that.

But that is the case.

We go back to the early church fathers, and we see a number of them,

beginning with a man named Papias, who was born in AD 60.

So Papias is coming up at the end of the apostolic era.

He personally knew the apostle John, who had passed on to Papias

that the Gospel of Mark was actually written by Mark as a result of Peter's preaching.

It was Peter's eyewitness account.

And then that testimony passes on to many other early church fathers,

Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Rome, certain manuscripts,

some of the oldest manuscripts we have notate this.

So when we come to Mark's Gospel here, we're not reading Mark's perspective necessarily.

We're reading his structure, but we're not reading his testimony necessarily.

We're actually reading Peter's,

which makes this a little bit more significant as we come to this particular part, doesn't it?

It doesn't make it more or less reliable.

That's not what I mean.

But it does help shape our thoughts about Peter himself.

Because for Mark to have recorded this with such detail and with such clarity

indicates that in the decades following Jesus' resurrection,

as Peter went through the places that God would send him preaching the Gospel,

he routinely tells this embarrassing story of his own failure.

Do you see that?

The only way this becomes such a prevalent story is if Peter's actually the one sharing it,

because none of the other apostles were with Peter in that moment.

The only way anybody knows about Peter's denial is either if Peter tells them or Jesus tells them.

And so Peter goes on preaching the Gospel and he begins to open up.

So it would seem then that the spiritual pride we so often characterize Peter by

is ultimately transformed to sincere humility

by the loving restoration that he experiences by Jesus.

Isn't that interesting?

Isn't it amazing the transforming power that Jesus has on our lives?

That in a moment of forgiveness, as we'll get to at the close of our study,

in a moment of forgiveness and restoration,

this one thing that we often regard Peter as being,

which is kind of rash, passionate, but rash, not really thinking clearly,

certainly prideful,

is actually the very thing that probably in the early church he wasn't known for.

In the early church, he's probably known for humility,

known for meekness.

So then this story, as we come to it,

is not so much a story of failure,

it's a story of forgiveness.

It's a reminder that even the strongest of us

have the potential for great sin,

great defeat,

but the faithfulness of Jesus here

provides the gift of restoration,

the gift of reconciliation

to all who will love and follow him.

So it's a lesson then for any believer

who falls short of Jesus' call to discipleship.

In other words,

it's a story meant for all of us to learn from.

Let's jump into it.

Number one,

first thing is very simple,

just one word,

failure.

Failure.

Now all of us have experienced failure in our discipleship,

perhaps even catastrophic failure.

No one else may be aware of all the events of your life,

but perhaps there have been times in your life

where your sin was so severe

that you would categorize it

as catastrophic spiritual failure.

But perhaps it's maybe just you

and a couple others

who have to really think about that,

or whoever would even know

that some of those things unfolded in your life.

Can you imagine being Peter?

And there is someone

who has come along the way

and taken perhaps your greatest failure in life

and written it down for the sole purpose

that for the next 2,000 years

people can gather on Sunday mornings

and they can study the details

and scrutinize your particular failure.

We haven't experienced it quite like that, have we?

There is some irony here.

Peter is what we refer to him as.

His name was Simon.

Jesus is the one that began to call him Peter,

which means rock or the rock.

Jesus calls him that.

And then it's ironic that in this moment,

what we actually,

maybe most of us know Peter most for,

is actually crumbling

rather than being firm, steadfast.

But let's remember,

Jesus didn't give Simon the name Peter

because of what he was,

but because of what he was going to make him into,

what he's going to make him to be.

And before we begin to examine his sins,

let's at least acknowledge

that Peter was faithful enough

to find his place

in the courtyard of Caiaphas

at considerable personal risk.

There's only one other disciple

who is even in the vicinity

and it's John.

You'll have to go to John 18

to see how his story begins to unfold.

He has some connection.

It actually gets him inside the courtroom

to see what's actually unfolding with Jesus.

But Peter perhaps is there

not because he knows anyone,

but because he just loves Jesus.

No other disciple followed along.

No other disciple on the runaway

stopped and realized what they were doing

and decided to follow along.

This is in one sense,

his commitment to Christ

making his fall so dramatic.

And we don't need to forget that.

That had he not been so faithful to the Lord,

and he wouldn't have fallen so severely.

That sounds a little backwards,

but this is kind of what's unfolding here.

Let's just work through the denials here.

There's three of them.

Let's work through the narrative itself

and then we'll draw an application.

Denial number one is verse 66.

As Peter was below in the courtyard,

one of the servant girls of the high priest came

and seeing Peter warming himself,

she looked at him and said,

you also were with the Nazarene Jesus.

But he denied it,

saying, I neither know nor understand what you mean.

And he went out into the gateway

and the rooster crowed.

So as Jesus is upstairs in the courtroom,

Peter is just outside downstairs in the courtyard.

And with his face illuminated by the fire,

it's not very surprising that someone recognized him

as one of Jesus' followers.

Now Mark says that it was one of Caiaphas'

young servant girls.

She immediately accuses him

of being a follower of Jesus.

Now she's not just trying to strike up

some chit-chat with Peter here.

We get that, right?

At this point, she views him as an outsider,

perhaps even an imposter,

who has worked his way into the crowd

in order to disrupt the proceedings

and defend his teacher.

If she was among the crowd

that went to the Garden of Gethsemane,

she would have perhaps recognized Peter

as the one who has already drawn his sword

and tried to take care of business himself.

Maybe she wasn't there.

We don't really know.

But at some point, she recognizes him

as being one who has been with Jesus

and she immediately is on guard

and accuses him of being a follower of Christ.

So recognizing that his cover has been blown

and understanding the danger that he was in,

Peter denies the accusation

and he just brushes his off

as if he didn't even understand

what she was talking about.

This is kind of a sly way.

You notice his phrase here.

I don't even know what you're asking me.

What do you mean?

He's playing a little dumb here, isn't he?

I don't even know who that guy is.

Now, I don't know why nobody stopped

and asked Peter,

then why are you here at two in the morning

at a trial at the high priest's house?

He doesn't make a lot of sense,

but he's just kind of casting it off

as if, no big deal,

I just kind of wandered in.

Maybe you'd get to this point

and you'd think,

well, you know,

Peter's just acting in self-preservation.

All of us would probably do this.

We're just trying to save our own lives.

Not really that big a deal.

But that's precisely what makes it a big deal.

At the very least,

it was a blatant lie,

a sinful behavior,

unbecoming of anyone who would say

that they're following Jesus.

But more than that,

it was an outright denial

of the one who he had committed

his entire life to serve.

This is a terrible sin.

The moment of self-preservation

is actually the worst part of it.

That he's saving his own hide

in order to deny Christ.

Sinclair Ferguson said that

our personal weaknesses

need only the least pressure

from temptation

to bring us to our knees.

The inquiries of a servant girl

were enough to draw out from him

the horrible realities

of his own heart.

So despite Peter's bombastic insistence

that he would follow the Lord

to the death,

he falters and stumbles

at the meager opposition

of a young servant girl.

It's not even one of the soldiers.

It's not one of the leaders of the Jews.

This is a slave.

She's responsible to clean the house,

to wash people's feet.

And it takes this one meager opposition

from the young servant girl

for Peter, the rock,

to completely fall apart.

That's why I think Paul writes

to the Corinthians

that we are to take heed

if we think much of ourselves

lest we fall.

Mark's the only gospel author

to record this first rooster crow.

And perhaps it was an important element

of Peter's testimony about the moment.

Maybe that's why Mark includes it

because maybe Peter mentioned it so often.

I point it out

because it should have served

as a warning to Peter.

Jesus had already told Peter

that there would be three denials

before the second crow.

Surely this was one of God's gracious warnings

meant to get us to recognize

our temptation.

So this Peter goes to the first denial.

He hears the first rooster crow.

Perhaps that's meant by God

to get his attention.

Peter, what are you doing?

Stop.

Listen to yourself.

Listen to what you're doing.

And maybe that's why Paul follows up

that earlier verse with this

in 1 Corinthians 10.

No temptation has overtaken you.

That is not common to man.

God is faithful

and he will not let you be tempted

beyond your ability.

But with the temptation

he will also provide a way of escape

that you may be able to endure it.

Maybe that's what God's doing here for Peter.

Here's rooster crow number one.

Here's your warning, Peter.

Don't go any further.

You've already messed up.

Don't go any further with it.

Do you remember in the whole scenario

with David and Bathsheba?

David looks out of his window

and he notices Bathsheba

and he sends one of his servants

to go and get her for him.

And remember what his servant does.

This is not right, king.

You shouldn't do this.

What is that?

It's an early warning in temptation, isn't it?

Don't go there, David.

Don't go there, Peter.

Doesn't God do this for us?

We get to moments of weakness

and we're beginning to move forward

in a moment of temptation

and God through his spirit perhaps

just brings to mind

and calls us to recognize

what we're about to do

or how we're about to fall.

Or perhaps it's a spouse

that steps in and says,

hey, I've noticed this going on here.

You need to think about this.

Or maybe it's someone

that you go to church with

and you have coffee

and they just hit on the one thing.

Or maybe it's a church service

and you hear the one passage

and it's just the Lord sending these warnings to you.

Don't go there.

Don't do that.

Watch what you're doing.

I think that's the graciousness of our God.

This also might be why Peter would later write

that vigilance was so necessary

for defeating the attacks of Satan.

Satan is indeed fierce

but God is faithful, Paul says.

And with every temptation

there is grace to persevere.

And I think this is an evidence

of that being true.

That's denial number one.

Look at denial number two.

Verse 69.

And the servant girl saw him

and began again

to say to the bystanders,

this man is one of them.

But again, he denied it.

So Peter withdraws from the fire at least.

He gets away from the crowd a bit.

The servant girl can't let it go.

We know people like that, right?

They just can't let stuff go.

She follows along to where Peter goes

at maybe the door of the courtyard.

And she says,

no, I think you're one of them

except this time is different.

This time it's not just

the servant girl questioning Peter.

This time she's accusing him

and she's accusing him to the others.

So she's not looking at Peter now.

She's looking at the others.

She says, he's one of them.

So the threat is taken up a notch, isn't it?

And Peter again denies it.

Look at denial number three, verse 70.

And after a little while,

the bystanders again said to Peter,

certainly you are one of them

for you are a Galilean.

But he began to invoke a curse on himself

and to swear,

I do not know this man of whom you speak.

So a little time passes by.

I don't take it that Peter

was a very introverted, quiet person.

He seems very extroverted in the scriptures.

I imagine he can't go very long

without talking to somebody.

And maybe that's what's happening here.

He begins to talk

and his accent betrays him.

This would be like,

you know,

a trial taking place

maybe up in the Northeast

in New York

and one of us is the outsider

and you step in to testify

and everyone knows

you're not from around here.

And there's something like that

going on with Peter here.

He's talking and the group now,

it's not the servant girl anymore,

it's the whole group.

Now they're saying,

you're one of them.

We can tell by the way you're talking.

You've been with him.

You follow him.

You're one of them.

And with each circumstance,

the accusations intensify

and so do Peter's denials.

He passionately,

his passionate personality

finally explodes in this moment.

Only this time

it was to deny the Lord

rather to defend him.

It's a complete 180 now

with Peter.

He swears that he doesn't know Jesus

not in the sense of using profanity

but in the sense of invoking

a curse upon himself.

And maybe he used profanity.

He was a fisherman.

We have no idea.

But that's not the point

of what Mark was saying here.

It would be akin to one of us

saying I swear to God

or with God as my witness

except in that culture

a statement like that,

an oath like that

was very serious.

Peter's essentially saying to them,

if I'm lying to you,

I'm calling God as my witness

and he can deal with me.

He can kill me if he so chooses.

And if you're lying,

he can kill you too.

And he brings about this oath.

He invokes this curse upon himself.

And think about that for a moment.

Not only is he denying Christ,

not only is he lying,

but now he is invoking

a curse upon himself

saying God can kill me

if I'm lying,

knowing full well

that God knows he's lying.

He's making a mockery,

foolish mockery

of the God that he's supposed

to love and worship.

Do you see how quickly

our temptations and our sins

can begin to snowball?

And we don't listen

to the warnings.

And we continue on

chasing the thing

that we really want

or maybe out of fear

we refuse to do the thing

that maybe we should do.

And then before long

we stop and we realize,

what have I done?

Look how far this has gone.

This is not just about

self-preservation.

Look what it has taken me to.

I've made a mockery of my God.

Sinclair Ferguson says,

poor Peter,

he loved his master

too much to desert him.

And so he followed him

at a distance

at considerable risk.

Yet he loved himself

too much

to remain indifferent

to the consequences

of all out faithfulness.

Now it's really easy

to write that.

But it's true, isn't it?

Peter in this moment,

the one who said,

I won't do it,

is actually the one

who does it worst.

Failure.

Number two,

fulfillment.

Fulfillment.

I said earlier

that Mark's primary purpose

is this contrast,

encouraging believers

regarding failures

and faithfulness.

We can't ignore the fact

that Peter's failure

was actually

an explicit fulfillment

of what Jesus said

would happen.

And this prophecy

is actually key

to understanding

why Peter is so devastated.

Just look back with me

at verse 29 for a moment.

You're there in Mark 14.

Verse 29,

Peter said to him,

even though

they all fall away,

speaking of the other disciples,

even though

they all fall away,

I will not.

And Jesus says to him,

truly I tell you,

this very night

before the rooster crows twice,

you will deny me three times.

But he said emphatically,

if I must die with you,

I will not deny you.

And they all said the same.

Now there's the bombastic statement,

there's the spiritual pride,

there's also the prophecy.

No, Peter,

that's not gonna work that way.

You're actually gonna deny me

three times tonight.

Look at verse 72,

and immediately

the rooster crowed

a second time.

Peter remembered

how Jesus had said to him,

before the rooster crows twice,

you will deny me three times.

I don't wanna bore you

with unnecessary lectures

about roosters crowing habits,

but I'm going to.

Just to give a little context,

I think it helps us here

understand Peter's predicament.

But William Lane

notes the historical relevance

of this,

and the way that it would unfold.

He actually cites

a 12-year study.

I don't know who chooses

to study for 12 years

the crowing habits

of roosters in Jerusalem,

but apparently somebody

did the study,

and he cites it

in his commentary.

It's actually quite interesting.

The way that this would have worked,

and it still does today,

there are three distinct crowings

in that particular area.

I don't know if it would be

the same here.

I'm a city slicker,

so I wouldn't know.

Some of you could correct me probably,

but at least in that area,

there's three distinct crowings.

The first one happens

between about 12.30

and 1 o'clock in the morning.

The second one happens

about an hour or so after that,

and then the final one happens

about an hour or so after that.

So in Roman timekeeping,

when they said

the final watch of the night,

they actually referred

to that final watch

as the rooster crow,

because that's what signified

about three o'clock

in the morning,

the final crowing of the rooster

in that particular area.

Now Lane also acknowledges

that the roosters crowed

for about three to five minutes

at a time

before they went quiet again.

Now here's why I bring

all of that up.

That means between the first crow

and the second crow

that Peter experiences here,

there's about an hour of time

that probably has elapsed.

That means that Peter's denial here

is not, we can't just reduce it

to a momentary misjudgment.

We can't reduce it to that

because over the course of an hour,

he decidedly, willfully denies the Lord

three different times.

See, this is in his mind at this point.

He's not going to admit

in this moment to following Christ

and being a follower of Christ

to save his own hide.

That's the thing.

And it's not just because

he slipped up in a moment.

No, he's doing this over and over,

over the course

of an extended amount of time.

In other words,

there's no way for us

to justify Peter's sin.

Now again, Lane notes

that the rooster would crow

three to five minutes

before everything goes quiet.

So there's no way for Peter

to have missed

the significance

of this crowing.

So immediately after denying Jesus

for the third and final time,

the rooster crows

and Peter remembers.

And what is it that he remembers?

Just a few hours before

when he so foolishly

confronted Jesus

and said,

you're wrong.

I'm not going to forsake you.

And Jesus says,

no, actually,

before you hear the second crow,

you're going to deny me three times.

Peter never imagined

a circumstance

that would lead him

to deny the Lord

that he loves so much.

The sound of that rooster

settled on his heart

and mind

like nothing

he had ever experienced before.

And Luke's account

adds a fascinating element

to the story

that dramatizes it

even further.

You read it to you.

Luke chapter 22

Luke 22 · chapter mention

and verse 60.

Immediately while he was speaking,

the rooster crowed

and the Lord turned

and looked at Peter

and Peter remembered

the saying of the Lord

how he had said to him,

before the rooster crows today,

you will deny me three times.

Now remember,

between the first crow

and the second crow,

probably about an hour

if not a little bit more.

Peter's at least there

for an hour.

Long enough for Jesus

to go through

this kangaroo trial.

Long enough for Jesus

to have endured

the things that he endured

and is now being led away

from Caiaphas' house

in order now

to go see Herod

and then eventually

to see Pilate.

And at the moment

that Jesus is being escorted

out of Caiaphas' house,

being brought down

from upstairs

to the courtyard

in order that he can leave,

Peter denies him

for the third time.

The rooster crows

and Peter looks up

and who's there?

Jesus.

And Jesus and Peter

lock eyes.

And what do you think

was the impact

of that on Peter?

Do you remember

how the trial ended?

We read it

just a moment ago.

When they're finished,

they cover Jesus' head

and one by one,

they take turns

punching him in the face

and trying to get him

to say who it was

that did it.

And when they were tired

of doing that,

whoever it was

that was involved,

they pass him off

to the temple police

who were outside

in the courtyard

to take him over

to the next place

of judgment.

And remember

what it said they did.

They received him

with blows.

So these men

inside the courtroom

pass him off

to the soldiers

in the courtyard

and as he's being

passed off,

the soldiers themselves

begin to beat him.

So when Peter

looks up at that moment

and he locks eyes

with Jesus,

what he saw

was a beaten,

bloodied,

abused man.

It's not just about

seeing the eyes

and remembering

the statement,

it's about what he saw

in Jesus' condition

in that moment.

The very thing

that Peter was afraid of,

the very thing

Peter wanted to avoid

which led to his denial

is the very thing

that Jesus

was so faithfully

enduring

for Peter's sake.

King Hughes says,

Peter looked at the torn,

bleeding visage

of Jesus

and their eyes locked.

Oh, the pain.

The rooster began

to crow

for the next

three to five minutes

over and over

and over

and over

and Peter remembered

Christ's prophecy.

He remembered

and he remembered

and he remembered

and he remembered.

You know,

what do you think

he saw

in Jesus' eyes

that night?

I don't think

that Jesus

would have rolled

his eyes

and looked at Peter

with disgust.

I don't think

that that would have

been true of Jesus.

I don't think

that he would have

gotten one of those

I told you so,

I can't believe

you would do this

to me

kind of looks.

What did Peter see?

I think Jesus

looked at Peter

with the same

compassionate eyes

with which Peter

had seen Jesus

look at so many others

over the course

of three years.

What has Mark

noted so often

about Jesus?

His compassion.

His compassion

on the people.

His compassion

on the hurting.

His compassion

on the sinful.

His compassion

on the outcast.

And now Peter's eyes

lock with Jesus

and what he sees

is those same eyes

that he's seen

for so many

other people.

Perhaps

for the first time

Peter's recognizing

himself

as the unclean leper.

Perhaps for the first time

Peter's recognizing

himself

as the Gentile

quote

dog.

Perhaps for the first time

Peter's recognizing

himself

as the demoniac

in the cave.

And however

a person

can communicate

with a look

a thought

and we know

people can do it

because our wives

do it all the time.

If it's possible

to communicate

with your eyes

I'm doing this

for you

that would have been

what Peter

saw that night.

He sees the compassion

of the Lord.

And I think

ultimately

that's what

broke him.

It's a combination

of recognizing

his own failure

he's reminded

of that failure

with the crowing

of the rooster.

But it's not just

the reminder

of his failure

it's being confronted

with the image

of Jesus

beaten and bloodied

on his behalf

in that very moment.

Saying because

of what I just did

he has to do that.

And that's what

breaks him.

Failure

fulfillment

number three

forgiveness.

And this is the part

we want to hurry up

and get to right?

Forgiveness.

Verse 72

the last phrase

he broke down

and wept.

Matthew and Luke

record it

just a little bit

differently

but basically the same

he went out

and wept bitterly

they both say.

He ugly cries

this moment.

The weight

of that moment

for Peter

is unlike

anything else.

You've experienced

those moments

right?

So upset

with your own sin

so upset

with the fact

that you have

fallen again

and the weight

of that

settles on your heart

it settles

on your mind

but what

makes Peter

different

from Judas?

That's a question

I want us to ask

before we get

to the forgiveness.

Why did Peter

get to the restoration

but Judas

didn't?

What made him

so different?

Didn't Judas

demonstrate

extreme levels

of regret

as well?

Yeah he did.

Why don't I

read it to you?

Matthew 27

when Judas

his betrayer

saw that

Jesus was

condemned

he changed

his mind.

He brought

back the

30 pieces

of silver

to the

chief priest

and the

elder

saying

I have

sinned

by betraying

innocent blood

and they said

what's that to us?

That's a you

problem Judas

is what they said.

Throwing down

the pieces

of silver

in the temple

he departed

and he went

and he hanged

himself.

Judas

had regret.

Judas

probably

wept.

What makes

him so

different

from Peter?

There's a lot

of ways to

answer that.

The way the

scriptures tend

to answer

this question

is by pointing

to what happened

beyond those

moments of

regret.

Judas's

regret didn't

lead him to

repentance and

faith.

his remorse

didn't indicate

that he was

now willing

to believe

and follow

Jesus.

It only

indicated that

he couldn't

live with

himself.

He couldn't

live with

the burden

of condemning

and taking

part in

the condemnation

of an

innocent man.

It just

shows that

he had a

moral compass

like every

other person.

God

but he

doesn't

seek for

mercy.

He doesn't

seek for

forgiveness.

Instead he

just tries to

remove himself

from the

experience of

guilt.

Now that's a

very different

thing than

what Peter

does.

Peter probably

by faith in

the words of

Christ actually

continues in

his discipleship

despite the

guilt.

Do you

remember the

promise Jesus

had given?

Look back in

Mark 14.

Look at

verse 28.

This is in

the midst of

telling Peter

and the other

disciples that

they're going to

forsake him.

And look at the

promise in

verse 28.

After I'm

raised up,

in other words

I'm going to

die, I'm

coming back

to life.

Then what does

he say?

I will go

before you

to Galilee.

In other words,

I'm going to

meet you again.

We're going to

fellowship again.

And it's going

to be in

Galilee after

I raise up

from the

dead.

Now I want

you to flip

over to

chapter 16.

Chapter 16.

This is the

morning of

Jesus'

resurrection.

Mary Magdalene

and the other

Marys have

come to

the tomb.

And look

at verse

7.

This is the

words of the

angel that

awaited them

at the tomb.

He's telling

them what to

do.

Jesus has

risen.

And then he

says,

but go tell

his disciples,

and then he

emphasizes Mark

does,

and Peter

that he's

going before

you to

Galilee.

There you

will see

him just

as he

told you.

So remember

the ladies

have come

to the

tomb.

They don't

see Jesus.

One of them

does,

most of them

don't.

They don't

see Jesus.

They want

to,

they just

see the

empty

tomb.

The angel

says,

go to

Galilee,

tell the

disciples to

go with

you.

And by

the way,

make sure

you tell

Peter to

go there

too,

because there

you will

see him.

And that's

significant,

isn't it?

Promise after

promise to

Peter.

I'm going

to meet

you.

I'm going

to meet

you in

Galilee.

Now,

I don't

know if

Peter imagined

that restoration

and forgiveness

was possible

at that

moment,

but he at

least had

enough faith

and love

for Jesus

to actually

go back

to Galilee.

So flip

over with

me to John

John 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21,

and that's

where we

see,

as Paul

Harvey would

say,

the rest

of the

story.

John

John 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21.

Now,

just because

Jesus gave

the promise

doesn't mean

that Peter

has enough

faith to

believe the

promise,

okay?

That's where

Judas is.

Judas just

doesn't believe,

so he goes

and kills

himself,

all right?

Peter's heard

the promise,

Peter is

overwhelmed

by his sin,

but he has

enough faith

to follow

Jesus,

to Galilee,

and wait

for him

there,

and that's

what he's

doing.

In John

21,

look at

verse 1,

let's read

the first

six verses.

After this,

Jesus revealed

himself again

to the

disciples by

the Sea

of Tiberias,

that's the

Sea of

Galilee,

and he

revealed

himself in

this way.

Simon

Peter,

Thomas called

the twin,

Nathanael of

Cana in

Galilee,

the sons of

Zebedee,

and the

others,

and two

others of

his disciples

were together.

Simon

Peter said

to them,

I'm going

fishing.

They said

to him,

we'll go

with you.

They went

out and

got into

the boat,

but that

night they

caught nothing.

Just as day

was breaking,

Jesus stood

on the shore,

yet the

disciples did

not know

that it

was Jesus.

And Jesus

said to

them,

children,

do you

have any

fish?

And they

said,

no.

And he

said,

did you

try the

other side?

Cast the

net on the

right side of

the boat,

and you'll

find some.

And what's

amazing about

it is they

don't recognize

that it's

Jesus at

this moment,

but they

still cast

it on the

other side.

I would

imagine,

as most of

the fishermen

you know,

these fishermen

were pretty

superstitious,

right?

So they

cast it.

Now,

they were

not able

to haul

it in

because of

the quantity

of the

fish.

So they've

gone back

to Galilee,

and what

are they

doing?

I don't

think this

is an

indication

that they

were quitting.

I don't

think that's

it.

Because Jesus

said,

go to Galilee

and wait

for me

there.

So what

do they

do?

They go

to Galilee

and they

wait.

And what

do fishermen

do while

they wait?

They go

fish.

They're

waiting for

Jesus.

Now,

I want you

to see

how Peter

responds to

this.

Look at

verse 7.

That disciple

whom Jesus

loved,

probably John,

therefore said

to Peter,

it's the

Lord.

And when

Simon Peter

heard that

it was the

Lord,

he puts

on his

outer garment

for he was

stripped for

the work,

and he

threw himself

into the

sea.

That's

amazing.

Kind of

ridiculous,

but amazing.

They're out

there,

not too

deep,

they're out

in a bit

of the

shallows,

and they're

fishing all

night,

and this

wonderful

miracle takes

place,

and they

finally realize,

okay,

that's not

just anybody

on the

shore,

that's

Jesus,

and Peter

in his

excitement

because he's

been waiting

for Jesus,

throws himself

into the

lake so he

can swim

to the

shore.

Now the

rest of

them just

paddle behind

him in

the boat,

but Peter

swims there.

What does that

tell you about

Peter in this

moment?

He loves

Jesus.

He wants

to see

Jesus.

He wants

to be

with Jesus.

That is a

very different

thing than

what we see

in Judas.

It doesn't

mean he wasn't

carrying the

discouragement of

his failure,

and we'll see

that in a

moment,

it.

But he

had a

consuming

love for

Jesus that

couldn't be

denied.

Now, if

you're in

the midst

of a

moment of

failure,

that's the

question to

ask.

Is the

regret that I

feel and

the guilt that

I sense

merely because I

have a moral

compass that God

has built into

the fabric of

my DNA,

or do I

really love

Jesus,

am I

committed to

following him,

and I'm

discouraged because

I failed him?

There's a big

difference between

those two

responses.

And they all

finally get to

the shore.

Jesus has

breakfast prepared.

They have a

meal together,

and then a

conversation breaks

out between

Jesus and

Peter.

This is in

front of

everybody.

Look at

verse 15.

They had

finished breakfast.

Jesus said to

Simon Peter,

Simon, son of

John, do you

love me more

than these?

And he said

to him,

yes, Lord,

you know that I

love you.

And he said

to him, feed my

lambs.

And he said

to him a

second time,

Simon, son of

John, do you

love me?

And he said

to him, yes,

Lord, you know

that I love

you.

And he said

to him, tend

my sheep.

And he said

to him a

third time,

Simon, son of

John, do you

love me?

Peter was

grieved because

he had said

this to him the

third time.

Do you love

me?

And he said

to him, Lord,

you know

everything.

You know

that I love

you.

And Jesus

said, feed

my sheep.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

when you were

young, you used

to dress

yourself and

walk wherever

you wanted.

But when

you're old,

you will

stretch out

your hands

and another

will dress

you and

carry you

where you

do not want

to go.

This he said

to show by

what kind of

death he was

going to glorify

God.

And after

saying this,

he said to

him, follow

me.

And I'm

going to

have to leave

it to you

to really dig

into this

particular

paragraph,

and I hope

you will if

you have some

quiet time this

afternoon.

I want to

note just a

couple of

things as we

wrap it up,

though, okay?

First,

restoration is

available for

every disciple

of Christ,

but the

process is

painful.

Jesus

wastes no

time cutting

to the

chase with

Peter here

in Galilee.

Notice

verse 15.

Simon,

son of

John,

do you

love me

more than

these?

Remember

what Peter

had said

on that

night?

Jesus

says,

you're all

going to

forsake

me.

Peter

says,

they

might,

but I

won't.

In other

words,

I love you

more than

them.

I'm more

committed

than they

are.

Jesus

deals with

the

spiritual

pride

immediately.

Peter,

do you

really

love me

more

than

them?

Were you

right,

Peter?

Jesus'

three

questions

then

reflect

Peter's

three

denials.

Now,

I've heard

people try

to point

to the

Greek

that's

used

here

in

different

Greek

words

for

love.

That's

not the

point

of this

passage.

The

same

words

that are

used

for

love,

the

different

Greek

words

for

love

in

this

passage

are

all

used

elsewhere

for

God's

love.

So this

is not

a matter

of

Jesus

using

different

words

for

love.

That's

not

what

this

is.

Jesus

isn't

even

speaking

Greek.

So we

know that

that wouldn't

be the

case.

So what's

the purpose

of these

three

questions?

Well,

it mirrors

Peter's

three

denials.

That's

why when

you get

to the

third

one,

Peter's

grieved

by the

third

one,

not

because

the

word

Jesus

uses,

but

love

reflects

a

denial

of

Jesus

that

night

in the

courtyard.

Restoration's

painful.

Our sin

has to be

confronted,

and Jesus

wastes no

time confronting

it.

Then after

his questions,

notice that

Jesus

affirms

that he

still intends

to use

Peter.

Verse

21,

or verse

15,

feed my

lambs.

Verse

16,

tend my

sheep.

Verse

17,

feed my

sheep.

Action

statements,

ways that

Jesus

intends to

use

Peter.

What do

we get

from that?

Well,

there's

always

usefulness

in God's

plan,

not for

perfect

people,

but for

repentant

people.

Peter in

this moment

is going

through the

painful process

of restoration,

and Jesus

says,

feed my

sheep.

Do what

I've

called you

to do.

then he

affirms

that one

day,

Peter will

face a

similar

circumstance,

but this

time he'll

succeed.

He talks

about the

way he's

going to

die,

which

church

tradition

teaches

us that

he was

crucified

and unwilling

to be

crucified in

the way

that his

Lord was.

He

demanded

to be

crucified

upside

down,

and tradition

says that's

exactly what

happened with

Peter.

What's

Jesus'

point here?

I think

this is a

moment of

encouragement

for Peter's