Peter: An Inconsistent Disciple Series

PETER: AN INCONSISTENT FRIEND

Matthew 26:31-35 & 69-75

Series: A Day in the Life of… (Easter Series)

Some people are forever identified with a glaring mistake they made, and their many positive contributions are completely forgotten. For example, if I mention the name of Richard Nixon, everyone immediately thinks of the Watergate scandal. His China visit, his foreign policy, and his ending of the Vietnam Nam war are forgotten.

Mention the name of Bill Buckner to baseball fans and they begin talking about the time he missed an easy ground ball that cost Boston the World Series. Fans forget that in 22 years in the majors Buckner’s fielding percentage was 99.1. He went through some entire seasons with no errors.

To Michigan Wolverine basketball fans and to the University of North Carolina fans the name of Chris Webber will forever be remembered as the guy who panicked when he found himself in a lock tight defensive trap by the Tarheels as the time on the clock of the 1993 NCAA Championship game was quickly ticking away. In the midst of his panic, he called a timeout. The only problem was that Michigan didn’t have any timeouts left. Because of Chris Webbers mistake, Michigan was issued a technical foul, which allowed the Tarheels to go to the free throw line and to maintain possession of the ball. This mistake allowed Carolina to capitalize on Chris Webbers’ mistake, thereby winning the 1993 NCAA Championship. (Praise God!) But most sports fans forget the outstanding game Webber played for 39 ½ minutes of that game. And that mistake labeled Chris, to many folks, as a choker.

God evaluates each person’s life in total context. But human beings have a tendency to exaggerate the offenses of others and forget the positive contributions.

I think the Biblical character of Simon Peter gets a bad rap in that way. Mention his name in Christian circles and the first thing that comes to mind is, “That’s the guy who denied Jesus on the night of Jesus’ arrest. He was that inconsistent disciple who was up and down, disloyal, and a swearing betrayer.”

But there’s a lot more to Simon Peter’s character than that. There were good reasons why Jesus chose Simon as one of His inner circle of three. There were positive traits in Simon that motivated Jesus to say, “Blessed are you Simon, I will give you the keys to the kingdom.” It’s true that he made an awful mistake on the night of Jesus’ arrest, but even on that final night he did a lot of things right.

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman once explained that in writing history she tried to avoid, “Flash Forwards.” When historians write about the Civil War, for example, they should resist the temptation to include asides like, “Of course we all know who won.” From the early months of the Civil War right through until Gettysburg, it looked as if the South might prevail. Tuchman tried to avoid flashing forward to a later, all-seeing point of view; she sought instead to recreate history for the reader, conveying a sense that, “You are there.”

When we read the story of Peter’s failure, we know the end of the story. It’s easy to ask, “Why didn’t he speak up for Jesus in the courtyard?” We know that Jesus rises from the dead and ascends to heaven as the glorified Son of God. But all Peter knows is that his leader has suddenly become the target of a politically motivated criminal investigation. Everybody else has abandoned Him.

If we read it without flashing forward, we’re going to say, “Wow! Who is this lone guy who’s still loyal, who still hasn’t given up on Jesus despite overwhelming odds against Him?”

Let’s trace this critical day in the life of Simon Peter. I want you to see that the mistake he made could only have been made by an exceptionally courageous and committed disciple. Listen closely because there are some important lessons for us when we are inconsistent friends of Jesus.

The drama begins as Jesus and the disciples leave the upper room in Jerusalem, where they have just shared the Passover meal. Matthew 26:31-35 reads: “Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.’ Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’ “I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same.’”