Title: Peter’s Testimony
Text: Mark 14:66-72
Date: 3/23/2008
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: Someone once said that Christianity rises or falls on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,’ and of course that is correct. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Several good books have been written on the subject including the classic “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell. For centuries people have tried to explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ. From the very beginning the Jewish religious leaders paid the guards to spread the rumor that the Disciples had come during the night and stolen his body to give credence to their claim that he had risen from the dead. Some skeptics have argued that Jesus wasn’t really dead when they took him down from the cross. Others have claimed that someone else took his place. In reality no plausible explanation has ever been given for the empty tomb.
Of course the gospels and the book of Acts tell us that literally hundreds of people saw Jesus following the Resurrection. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear the eyewitness testimony of one of the Disciples? After all eyewitness testimony is difficult to refute and usually carries a lot of weight with most judges and juries. So it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our guest speaker this morning. Ladies and Gentlemen would you please welcome Simon Peter. (Applause).
Oh my, this is a little embarrassing. I sent him an e-mail the other day and gave him specific directions on how to get here. Maybe I should just slip out and check and see if he’s out in the parking lot. Brian while I’m doing that would you please play that video I mentioned to you earlier.
Monologue: Good morning ladies and Gentleman, sorry I’m a little late, I’ve never been very good at following directions. It reminds me a little of the time that Jesus sent us out on our first Preaching tour. I wanted to go back to my hometown of Capernaum, which is in Northern Israel, but unfortunately I tried to take a short-cut and ended up in Jericho instead. I’m a fisherman and spent most of my life navigating the the Sea of Galilee. I know that lake like the back of my hand. But I must admit to you that I don’t do near as well on the land. But that’s beside the point, I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to tell you about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead some 2000 years ago.
That may seem like a long time ago to you but to me it seems like just yesterday. I’ll never forget the things I heard Jesus say, or the things I saw him do.
I remember the day when my brother Andrew came running up to me and told me that he had found the Messiah. He told me about meeting Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, Andrew was so excited about Jesus that he insisted that I go back and meet Him as well. When I met Jesus, He looked at me and said, “You are Simon son of John. From now on you will be called Peter, which means ‘rock.’
Early one morning James and John, Andrew and I were sitting along the shores of the Sea of Galilee mending our nets when Jesus came walking by. As usual there was a large crowd of people following him. He saw my boat there at the water’s edge, got into it and asked me to take him out a few yards off shore so He could teach the people. I did what he asked me to do and when He finished teaching he turned to me and said, ‘go out a little farther into the deeper water and let your nets down and you’ll catch some fish.’
I looked at him and said, ‘Master we’ve fished all night and haven’t caught anything. Then I thought to myself, we’ll what’s it going to hurt, so I agreed to do it. I let the nets down and when they reached the bottom of the lake my brother Andrew and I started to bring them up. About half way up the nets started to get heavy and by the time we got them to the top of the water the nets were so full of fish that they were beginning to break. We yelled for James and John and told them to come and help us. We caught so many fish that morning that the boats were beginning to sink from the weight of the fish.
I spent most of my life fishing on that lake and I had never seen anything like that. I was amazed, I wasn’t sure how he had done it, but I knew He was responsible for it. I looked at Jesus and said, “go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful man.’
Not long after that my brother Andrew and I were fishing along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus walked by again. This time when he saw us, he called out to us and said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fisher’s of men.” Andrew and I looked at one another and realized that this was God wanted us to do, so we dropped our nets, got out of the boat and from that day on we have been his disciples. The very same day our friends and fishing partners James and John the sons of Zebedee also left their nets lying on the beach and also became His Disciples.
Late one evening Jesus was tired after a long day of ministering to the people around the Sea of Galilee. So He suggested that we all get in a boat and travel to the other side of the lake to get away from the crowd.
We hadn’t been in the boat very long until Jesus fell asleep. Then later that night a terrible wind storm hit and turned the once calm waters of the Sea of Galilee into a tempest. I’ve been in my share of storms on the Sea of Galilee before but this was by far the worst one I’d ever seen. We tried our best to get the boat to the other side but it was all we could do to keep it from sinking. We were forced to wake Jesus up and tell him we were all about to drown. I’ll never forget what he did and what he said. “He got up, rebuked the wind and said, “Peace, be still.” And immediately, the wind stopped blowing and the turbulent sea became calm. We couldn’t believe our eyes, we looked at one another and said, “who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?” I think we all knew that Jesus wasn’t an ordinary man but at that moment we didn’t realize that He was the Son of God.
Later that year we were in the area of Ceasarea Philippi and Jesus wanted to know what other people were saying about him. He asked us, “Who do people say that I am?” One of the other disciples responded by saying, “some people say that you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah, or one of the other Old Testament prophets.” Then Jesus looked at us and said, but what about you, “who do you say I am.” I immediately spoke up and said, “You are the Son of the Living God.” I could tell that he was pleased with that answer because he said, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father who is in Heaven.”
Like I said earlier, I tend to be impulsive and say or do things without really thinking them through. Not long after this incident in Ceaserea Philippi Jesus began to tell us how he was going to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and Chief Priests and that He would eventually be put to death. I pulled him off to the side and proceeded to tell him that I would never allow that to happen. He looked at me and said, “get behind me Satan, for you are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man.” I just stood there, I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say.
During the next 6 months Jesus continued to minister to people and do his best to heal them physically and spiritually. Perhaps the most notable thing that happened during this period of time was when our good friend Lazarus died. But Jesus once again showed that “nothing is impossible with God,’ by raising Lazarus from the dead.” As a result of this dramatic miracle many Jews put their faith in Him. That of course didn’t sit very well with the chief priests and the Pharisee’s who began to look for a way to get rid of Jesus once and for all.
In the Spring of the year we were making our way to Jerusalem for Passover. We were excited about being back in the Holy City and celebrating the Passover together again. As Jesus rode a donkey into the city, people began shouting Hossana and “blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” They were laying palm branches and coats down in front of him. It was all so exciting, but Jesus didn’t seem to be enjoying all of the attention. Looking back on it now, I’m sure He realized that some of these same people would call for him to be crucified in less than a week.
On Thursday Jesus told John and I to go make preparations with a certain man for us to be able to celebrate the Passover in a large room that he owned. We found the man and made the necessary preparations. We enjoyed a good meal, and a time of Fellowship, but Jesus seemed preoccupied. At one point in the meal He said something about one of us betraying him. Of course we had no idea what He was talking about and each of us took turns asking Him whether we were the one.
Jesus said something to Judas, and he got up and left, although no one but Jesus knew why. On the way to the Mount of Olives Jesus shocked us again by telling us that we would all desert him. I immediately said, “Not me Lord, even if everybody else deserts you, I won’t, I’m ready to go to jail with you or even die with you.” Then He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Peter, before this night is over you will deny me three times.” Once again he left me speechless; I couldn’t imagine a situation where I would deny Him once, much less three times.
When we reached the Garden of Gethsamane he told most of the Disciples to sit at a certain spot and pray. Then he took James, John and myself a little farther into the Garden and told us that he was deeply troubled. He then asked us to pray for him and to keep watch while he went a little farther into the Garden to pray. We prayed for a little while, I’m not sure how long, but we got tired and fell asleep. When he returned he looked at me and said, “Simon are you asleep, could you not keep watch for one hour?” I knew he was disappointed, and so once again I tried to pray but once again I fell asleep.
Not long after that we heard voices and we saw the angry mob coming after Jesus. We were in shock, everything was happening so fast. When they reached out to grab Jesus, I took out my sword and did my best to protect him. I cut the ear off of a man named Malchus, who was a servant of the high priest. Jesus turned to me and told me to put my sword away, then he reached down and picked up the man’s ear and put it back on his head and healed him. It was amazing, even in the midst of being arrested Jesus had compassion for his enemies.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do…For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep doing.” Romans 7:15, 19. Paul wrote those words, but I could just as easily have written them, because they describe what was going on in my mind the night Jesus was arrested.
I know what you’re thinking. I know the kind of reputation I have. I’ve seen the way people look at me. I’ve seen how people shake their heads in disbelief as my denials have been read over and over again in church. I’ve heard people say, “Look, there’s Peter can you believe it? Jesus invested three years of His life in Him. He loved him, taught him, put up with his boasting and his impulsiveness. But what did he do when Jesus really needed a friend? He turned his back on him and denied even knowing him.
Yes, I admit it, I disowned Jesus that night. But what about you? What do you think you would have done if you had been in my situation? I doubt very seriously if you would have been as close to the action as I was. You probably would have gone into hiding, like the rest of the disciples.
I was deep inside of enemy territory that night. I was in the courtyard of the high priest. They had taken Jesus to the Home of the High Priest where He was being questioned. I was warming myself by the fire in the courtyard, while trying to find out what was going on inside. I knew I was taking a big chance being there but I had to know what was happening. I knew if they had found out who I was, I could be in big trouble. But I was trying my best to be faithful to Jesus and keep my promise to him. I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be by his side, just as he had been there for me during the past 3 ½ years.
But something was happening. I don’t understand it, but I’ll try my best to explain it to you. You see, a war was going on inside of me. The more I thought about Jesus and the situation He was in, the worse that war became. I was struggling with my commitment to my Friend and My Lord, and my fear of being arrested, jailed or even killed. I knew the Pharisees and Chief Priests were ruthless and wouldn’t think twice about killing me.
My mind was filled with all kinds of confusing thoughts. I wanted to stay. I wanted to stand up for Jesus and declare my allegiance for Him, just as I had done when things were easier. But at the same time, part of me wanted to run. My mind was telling me that it would be safer if I put some distance between myself and Jesus. Now, I know that was just the devil’s way of getting me to think about saving my own skin, instead of thinking about what I could do to help Jesus.
I had been in the courtyard for awhile and nobody had recognized me yet, so I guess I let my guard down. It was a little chilly that night, and I was getting cold, so I decided to get a little closer to the fire. That proved to be a terrible mistake.
There were several people standing around the fire, one of them happened to be a young servant girl of the High Priest and she was the one who recognized me.
The fire had lit up my face. I was no longer hidden by the darkness. The girl blurted out, ‘say aren’t you one of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth?”
At first I tried to ignore her. I sort of mumbled, ‘uh…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I was hoping that would shut her up and it did for a little while. She stopped staring at me, and I eased back away from the fire. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, ‘whew, that was close.”
That war inside of me intensified even more. One voice was yelling, ‘hang in there Peter! Be strong! Don’t give in! You can do it.” But the other voice was getting louder and louder. I can still hear it echoing in my mind, it said, “Peter you’re crazy! Get out of here before it’s too late! Head for the hills man! Jesus will understand.”
I thought to myself, ‘should I run or should I stay?’ If I stay what am I going to say if that girl comes back? But before I could come up with a good answer, she was standing right there in front of me. This time she had some friends with he. She said loud enough for everyone to hear, ‘I’m certain this man is one of Jesus’ followers.’ Before I even realized what I had done, I lied. I flat out denied knowing Jesus. That seemed to satisfy them for a while, so they left me alone.
I was still trying to get a good look in the room where Jesus was. Even though it was just across the courtyard from where I was, I suddenly felt so far away from Him. I began to think, “How could I do such a thing?” How could I deny Him? Just a few hours earlier I had told Him that even if all the others deserted Him, that He could always count on me. And I meant it! I would gladly have given my life for him. But now, now I was nothing but a coward, and a liar, a grown man who was scared of the accusations of a little girl.
Before long they were back again. One of them said, “well of course he’s one of Jesus disciples, you can tell it by the way He talks, his accent gives him away.”
The war inside of me came to a climax. Whatever courage I had had was gone, and words came out of my mouth that I would never have thought I would say about about Jesus. I swore a public oath that I did not know Him. I called down God’s judgment on myself if I wasn’t telling the truth. I again denied knowing him and denied being one of his disciples. I was so afraid, so weak, and so ashamed.
The people in the courtyard were shocked to say the least, but not nearly as much as I was. You see, the good that I wanted to do, I hadn’t done. The evil that I hated, was what I had done. I was a coward, and a sinner. That realization was bad enough. But then I heard a sound that made my heart stop. I heard a rooster crow.
The crow of the rooster was my wake up call. I remembered what Jesus had told me the night before. He had said, “before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” I remembered thinking to myself, ‘how can He say that. I guess He just doesn’t know me as well as I though he did.’ But I was the one who was wrong. He knew me better than I knew myself.
My heart was broken. My mind went blank. I began to cry like a baby. I’ve never felt so such shame, and such guilt. But thank God, my tears were tears of repentance, as I cried out to God to forgive me.
I know how easy it is for you to sit there in your padded pews and criticize me. But you weren’t in that courtyard that night. What do you think you would have done? Let me ask you a question this morning? Has there ever been a time in your life where you kept quiet about being a Christian when you should have spoken up? Young people maybe you were at school, or on the bus. Or perhaps you were on a date, or at a party. Adults, maybe you were at work, at a ballgame, a PTO meeting, or maybe even at home.
The truth is, at some time or another we have all failed to speak up for Jesus. We have all failed to take a stand for him. You may not have denied Him verbally as I did, but you remained silent when He gave you the opportunity to take a stand for your faith.
God did not have my story recorded just to make me look bad. He did it so you could learn from my mistakes. He did it to encourage you to do what you need to do for him. Isn’t it time for you to deal with your denials? After all, I had to come to grips with mine?
Thank God that miserable scene in the high priest’s courtyard was not the end of my story. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus gave me the opportunity to make up for my denials. He asked me three times, ‘Peter do you love me,” and three times I said, “Lord, you know that I love you. And He said, “Then feed my lambs.” That was his way of telling me that he had not only forgiven me for denying him, but was giving me an important assignment. As a result of His forgiveness and with the Help of the Holy Spirit I went on to become a bold and faithful witness for the Lord.
On the Day of Pentecost I boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, and over 3000 people made commitments to Christ.
Some time later John and I were arrested for preaching in the name of Christ and were brought before the Sanhedrin. They demanded that we stop preaching in the name of Christ. I looked at John and He looked at me and we told them that they could do whatever they wanted to us but that we would never stop preaching about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord forgave me, and He is willing to forgive you regardless of what you’ve done. The Holy Spirit can and will give you the strength to be faithful to the Lord regardless of the circumstances.
If you are here this morning and you’ve never asked God to forgive you of your sins I encourage you to do that today? If you’re here and you’ve never invited Jesus Christ into your life I beg you to do it today? Don’t wait don’t let Satan convince you to put the most important decision of your life off any longer. This is your opportunity to stand up for Jesus and pledge your allegiance to Him.
Would you bow your heads as I pray.
***Portions of this monologue are similar to one I read years ago, but unfortunately I don’t remember the author or title of the book.
