MARK SERMON XII – TRAVESTY TO MAJESTY – MARK 14:53---16:8
Series Within A Series
PART TWO – AT DAWN ON FRIDAY – “I don’t know this man.”
MARK 16:13-18 . . .
Tennessee Ernie Ford used to be a favorite singer of mine; and one of his catchy tunes stuck with me: “Tell Saint Peter at the pearly gates that you hate to make him wait, but you’ve just gotta have another cigarette.”
This is just one small example of the frivolous use made of Peter’s identification with the “keys of the kingdom” that were figuratively given to the apostle to symbolize Peter’s prominent leadership position that he was to have in the early Christian movement. Keys – symbol of authority!
One of the many sights I recall during a trip to Rome, Italy in 1974 was St. Peter’s Basilica - said to have been built over the burial site of the Apostle Peter. In front of the basilica, the massive cobblestone courtyard and surrounding edifices are named St. Peter’s Square - the place where tens of thousands gather to witness the appearance of the Pope. Thrilling!
These two examples – one frivolous, the other regal – illustrate how the life of Peter has impacted people in all walks of life. Some view him in jest as “keeper of the Pearly Gates” - about which many funny stories have been told. Others place Peter on a pedestal of honor that acclaims him to have served as the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
This fascinating fisherman, who put his fishing business on hold and teamed up with his brother Andrew along with his business partners James and John to follow Jesus, has left an indelible impression upon the hearts and minds of Christians the world over - and particularly has captured the imagination of sculptors and artists through the centuries.
Paintings of Simon Peter adorn the walls of great cathedrals named in his honor; statues depicting his sainthood grace the courtyards and porticos of multiple institutions throughout the world.
Peter’s fame actually was bestowed upon him by Jesus who - in a dialogue with his disciples - asked a question that gave Peter a chance to declare his discovery of who Jesus really was --- Matthew 16:13-18 . . .
No greater compliment can be paid to anyone than for someone to say, “He is my rock.” My sister often refers to me as her “rock” – even though I make light of it by retorting, “Yeah, I am hardheaded.” Well, I am her “rock” in the sense that she depends on me to take charge of her affairs in the absence of her ability to do so at this point in her life. Quite an honor!
How honored Peter must have felt when Jesus renamed him “Petra” meaning the “rock” upon whom Jesus would depend for taking charge of building His Church – one “pebble” at a time. What an affirmation by Jesus of Peter’s rock-solid faith in Him as “the Christ, Son of the living God”.
Never has a “play on words” meant more than Jesus’ use of the word “rock” to characterize the durability of His Church that would be built upon a firm foundation of faith in Christ - the kind of rock-solid faith expressed by the Apostle Peter – first among fishermen in the village of Bethsaida . . . one of the first to be called to follow Jesus . . . always mentioned first in the list of the Twelve Apostles . . . the first to discover who Jesus really was, and the first to declare publicly firm faith in Jesus as the Messiah!
No wonder Jesus, when he encountered the women who had learned of his resurrection, directed the women to “go tell Peter” who then became the first to go inside the empty tomb to check it out.
No wonder “Peter the fisherman” became “Peter the preacher man” – the one who delivered that powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost when the Christian movement was inaugurated with several thousand conversions!
No wonder “Peter the preacher man” was so successful – at the first Christian Council meeting, convened in Jerusalem in the year 50 A.D., at the urging of the Apostle Paul, so that church leaders might come together and agree to embrace Gentile converts – at opposing those in attendance (mainly Christian Pharisees) who insisted on adherence to Jewish laws including circumcision as requirements for becoming a Christian. “Not so”, said Peter!
No wonder Peter stands shoulder to shoulder with the Apostle Paul - in his leadership of the early church, and his authorship of two epistles, not to mention his tutorship of the young man Mark, whose first written account of the Good News is thought by many to be based on the teachings of Peter.
And on and on we could go “singing Peter’s praises!”
Yet, with all these great attributes and accomplishments that literally stagger one’s mind, we must come to grips with “Peter the sinner man” – and therein lies perhaps the most significant lesson we learn from a character study of “Peter the fisherman” turned “Peter the preacher man”. He was indeed human - like all the rest of us! His most infamous display of sinful humanity was his denial of Jesus as predicted --- Mark 14:54 and 66-72 . . .
The irony of Peter’s cowardly acts of denial is that, up to this point, Peter had acted courageously - with reckless abandon – as was the case when he drew his sword in the Garden - ready to take on a whole mob.
Not to be overlooked is the fact that, when all the other Disciples had fled, the last place that anyone would have dreamed that Peter would go to would have been the courtyard of the High Priest’s house – and yet that is precisely where he went. So, at least Peter partially kept his word that he would never forsake Jesus – until the moment when he was recognized as “one of them.” How do you react when you are identified as a Christian?
Nobody knows what Peter was thinking about the situation that prompted him to blurt out three times, “I do not know the man.” However, we do know that, later on, he felt genuinely sorry for his cowardice . . . failure . . . lapse of judgment . . . momentary loss of courage.
Can’t most of us relate to Peter’s moment of weakness? Perhaps there have been times in our own experiences of life when we, for example, might have spoken up but kept silent . . . behaved in a way that went along with the crowd rather than reveal our true conviction . . . participated in questionable activities that in effect were not becoming of a Christian.
Sooner or later we felt convicted by our silence . . . indulgence . . . misconduct . . . lack of response . . . lies, and we felt sorry for our sins of omission as well as our sins of commission; but guess what: we learned the same comforting truth that Peter learned from his experiences of failure:
Christ still loved him despite his sins; God forgave him; and, because of his expression of remorse and experience of rededication, he atoned for his mistakes by redoubling his efforts to serve the risen Savior and Lord for the rest of his life – even to the point of becoming a martyr for the sake of the gospel. Unconditional love imparts courage and confidence!
What Christ did for “Peter the sinner man” He can do for you and me and anyone who is willing to admit their sins, faults, failures, short-comings, mistakes and errors of judgment, express remorse, and surrender their all to Jesus, asking Him to have His way from this day forward.
The man who, three times, said “I don’t know the man” experienced such a dramatic change by the resurrection of Jesus that, when he met Jesus face to face in one of our Lord’s resurrection appearances, three times he affirmed his love for Jesus --- John 21:17 . . .
Having denied Jesus three times, Peter was given a chance to redeem himself by affirming his love for the Lord three times. The proof of his love would become evident as he carried out his assigned task. So it is with us; and the assignment each of us has been given is to love one another. Amen.
