Peter and Denial
Matthew 26:69-75
If there was one person who typified what a disciple should be, it was Peter. Peter is mentioned in the Gospels more than any other disciple and for good reason. He was passionate about his faith. He gave all of himself to whatever he was doing. He was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and not just a rabbi or teacher. He was always the first to volunteer whenever Jesus needed something done. He was the first to answer Jesus’ questions, almost annoyingly so. And he was the first to profess his faith and give his life to Jesus.
Yet it was that same zealous, “dive in head first without looking” attitude which also got him in trouble. At the Transfiguration when Jesus met with Elijah and Moses, Peter proclaimed, “Jesus, this is wonderful! We will make three shrines (or tents)…” and stay here.” Yet Jesus was a man on a mission and a messiah on the move. Peter didn’t get it. When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter answered “the Messiah.” But when Jesus told them of his impending death, Peter took Jesus aside and told him he couldn’t do that. Jesus responded to Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are seeing things from a human point of view and not God’s!” Then at the last supper when Jesus revealed that one of the disciples would betray him, it was Peter who said, I’m ready to die for you. Just hours later Peter was denying Jesus three times.
The experience of Peter teaches us that we have all denied Jesus too. First, we deny Jesus by our words. Matt Roush in USA Today writes, “The tongue has the power of life and death….” That may sound a bit extreme. I mean how can words kill anyone? But consider Karen Carpenter, the popular singer from the 1970’s who died in 1983 of heart failure as a result of complications with anorexia. What started it all? A reviewer called her “chubby.” That little word was all it took to start her on that tragic journey toward anorexia and death. Or consider Rev. Dr. Robert Matton who was ill treated by several church leaders through secret meetings and campaign to fire him. and was summarily fired without cause by the Binbrook United Church. With that, all of his plans, hopes and dreams for ministry were destroyed. On Sept. 17 after throwing all of his ministry resources away, he went on a walk with his wife during which he collapsed of a heart attack, a broken heart, at the age of 55. This caused by the body of Christ which he had faithfully served for 3 years. Our words either build up or tear down. They either bring the unity which Jesus prayed for in His church or disunity. We either profess our faith in Jesus by what we say or we deny Him.
Second, we deny Jesus by our walk. Not only are we called to practice what we preach, we have to practice what we hear and learn about following Jesus. It’s not only how we live and act on Sunday mornings but the other six days of the week outside the walls of the church. If we are one kind of Christian on Sunday mornings and another kind Monday through Saturday, then we are only fooling ourselves about our faith. When our lives do not express the faith we profess, then we deny Christ by our walk. We deny Jesus by our works, or lack thereof. If a person is truly a follower of Jesus, this will be evidenced by the work they do for Christ and the fruit their life produces. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” This is why we as Methodists emphasize Works of Mercy at the heart of our discipleship. We are called to put our faith into practice for James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” So the product of our faith should be to meet the needs of others. At the heart of these acts is justice. Where acts of mercy are, justice is and where justice is, acts of mercy are. Our acts not only meet the needs of others, they also express this mercy in the context of God’s justice done on the cross. In doing so, we are helping to build the Kingdom of God, one act of Mercy at a time, in one life at a time.
Third, we also deny Jesus by our witness. “A true witness delivers souls; but a deceitful witness speaks lies.” Proverbs 14:25 We are called to make disciples by sharing the Good News of what Christ has done on the cross and is doing in our lives. It’s the most important news of all. George Sweeting tells of John Currier who was found guilty in of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later, he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, TN. Life was hard on that farm and without hope. But then in 1968, John Currier’s sentence was commuted and a letter informing him of the news was sent. There was just one problem: he never got it. So John kept on doing what he was doing even after the farmer for whom he worked had died. Ten years went by and then a parole officer discovered John Currier’s plight. He told him his sentence had been commuted and that he was a free man. Then George Sweeting writes, “Would it matter to you that someone sent you a message, the most important message of your life…and (it) was never delivered?” We ( like the Parole office) who have heard the Good News and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others who don’t know (it)…And yet sharing our faith is our greatest fear. Are we doing all that we can to make sure that people get the message?” When we fail to do so, we deny Jesus.
In our words, our works and our witness, we deny Jesus. It’s usually not the great, overt acts of our lives which mark defiance or denial, but smaller more subtle and sometimes unintentional acts: a word of witness withheld, a good deed gone undone, a word which tears down rather than builds up. It’s those small things which can do great damage. When the Titanic was discovered, the most widely held theory to its demise was that hitting an iceberg caused huge gashes in the hull. Instead, when the ship was discovered and inspected, they found 6 relatively narrow slits across the 6 watertight holds. Something small caused great damage. The same is true in life. It’s often the small, more subtle words or acts that can cause great damage.
When Peter denied Jesus 3 times, imagine what he must have felt like: a complete failure, a traitor to his faith and to Jesus. Here he had been a part of Jesus’ inner core. He was his best student. But when it came to put his faith on the line, he failed. He must have been devastated. The text tells us that he “wept bitterly.” He had violated the trust and love of the most important person in his life. He had promised that when all the others would fall away, he would be there. But he wasn’t. Peter runs away to save his own life and for all intents and purposes, his ministry and life in Jesus is over. But then in John 21, the disciples had returned to fishing and there on the shore is a man who Peter recognizes as Jesus. Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to the shore to greet Jesus. They eat breakfast together and Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love me?” And Peter response, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!” Jesus responds, “Then feed my sheep.” Three times Jesus asks this question and three times Peter answers, healing and washing away all of the failure and pain of his three denials. And then Jesus speaks the two words which started Peter’s journey with Jesus, “Follow me” and in them is a an invitation to a new beginning as Jesus’ forgiveness washes over Peter. The story of Peter teaches us that no matter what we do, what road we have traveled, what words we have spoken or how many times we have denied Jesus, we too can be forgiven, freed from the despair, guilt and shame of failure and restored into His grace and life. In Peter, we learn how we can be forgiven and restored to life in Jesus.
First, focus on the problem solver and not the problem. When a problem arises, we are apt to focus on the problem rather than the solution to the problem, Jesus. When a problem, crisis or failure arises, we must put our faith in God who enables us to withstand every crisis and every problem which comes our way. God is our salvation. When Peter got out of the boat during the storm, he found himself walking on water. But the moment he started to focus on the waves, he got scared and started to sink. He should have kept his eyes focused on Jesus. Likewise, our focus should always be on Jesus, especially in the midst of failure or a crisis. When we do, it puts everything into the proper focus.
Second, seek and receive God’s forgiveness. God gives grace to those who fail. He gives second chances to those who say, “I blew it!” The fact is, we all blow it. The Apostle Paul speaks to this from his own experience in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “But He (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Wade Hughes, a pastor’s kid, tells of failing God when he was 16 years old. For the next several days he begged God to forgive him and that continued for years as the enemy kept reminding him of his failure. Many years later, he fell asleep and Jesus appeared right in front of him. He reached for the Book of Life and Wade could see the headings: 1961, 1962, 1963… As Jesus turned to 1968 his heart dropped. Jesus looked at him and said, “Hmmm…” The Wade looked at the page and found it totally clean, as white as snow. He said to Jesus, “I very clearly remember Jan.1 1968.” To which Jesus replied, “You asked me for forgiveness on that evening and I took my blood and washed your black sin and made it as white as snow. I removed it as far as the East is from the West. As far as I am concerned, you have been justified by the blood of the Lamb. I will never remember or recall any of the deeds of your life that is under the blood.” Know this: if God can forgive Peter, he can forgive you. There is nothing you can do or say which puts you outside of God’s grace. All you need to do is confess your sin, ask for forgiveness and then receive it.
Third, become a student of your failures. One of things we fail to do when we fail is we never take the time to learn from it. When we don’t, we miss out on learning from life’s experience but more importantly, we prevent God from using that failure in our life to shape, mold us and teach us. So go to God and ask, “What can you teach me through this God? How can you use this in my life and my growth? How can I grow from this?” Some of life’s greatest lessons and times of greatest growth come through failure. God can use that in your life if you let Him. Isn’t that what Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” There is no greater teacher than Jesus. Give him your crisis, your failure, your sin and allow Him to use that in your life to teach you and grow you. Just go to God and say, “I’m willing to become a student of my failure or sin, God.” Failures and crises are a fact of life. What you learn from them will determine who you become as a follower of Christ.
Fourth, takes those lessons and use them as stepping stones. Your sin and failure can become an instrument that God can use to soften your heart and increase your understanding of others who are struggling with the same thing. Let God redeem that failure or sin by using it to minister to others.
Fifth, have the courage to try again. In his book, “Failing Forward”, John Maxwell says that failure can often lead us to fear and inactivity. In other words, it gets us out of the game and on the bench. One of the worst things we can believe is the lie that the evil one whispers in our ear: “Because of your sin or failure, you’re not worthy.” Jesus died on the cross to make us worthy. In Him, we have been forgiven. You’ve got to believe and claim it and then have the courage to risk failure again and you can only do that knowing God’s grace is always available to you. Not long after Jesus ascended to heaven, a crippled beggar was brought to Jesus to be healed. In that moment, Peter had to decide if he was really forgiven, if Jesus was who He said he was and if his promise was true, that “Greater things than have I done, you will do.” Peter then said to the man, ““Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” Peter trusted God and as a result, not only was Peter healed, the man was healed and God was glorified.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Janet+Lynn/Sapporo+Olympics&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=i2i_UMuFFuLg2AWz8YDQDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1237&bih=667#imgrc=http%3A%2F%2F25.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_m3mtcd9piJ1ql8cp2o1_500.jpg%3Bhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Ftagged%2Fjanet-lynn%3B6qZzI_Q9T2oj0M%3BZYm62pcS3iyXbM%3A%3B117037941699778208520%3B445%3B600 In the 1972 Olympics in Saporo, Japan, Janet Lynn skated for the United States and was expected to win gold. But as she started her final routine, she had no chance at the gold as Austria’s Trixie Schuba had outskated her in the compulsory figures. Saddened by her performance, she argued with God, “I wanted to do it for you, my nation and my coach.” Then she thought, “There’s a bigger purpose to my skating, to show God’s love and to express the gift for skating he gave me.” With that attitude, she went out to skate her best. http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/IwzZM9lXv44/mqdefault.jpg But then the unthinkable happened: Janet fell to the ice. Yet she got up and kept skating, smiling the entire time. https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/1856/90m/img.youtube.com/vi/tW1uV_a3ShI/mqdefault.jpg Her smile became an image which made her a hero to the people of Japan and around the world. As one Tokyo Hotel employee explained, it meant “there is hope, even in failure.”
