Hitting Bottom: Peter’s Denial
Fortifying the Foundations # 39
John 18:12-27[1]
7-4-04
Intro
I want to begin this morning with a clip from the movie “Stand & Deliver.”[2]
The movie is based upon the true story of a math teacher, named Jamie Escalante. Through his leadership, a group of inner city students at East Los Angeles Garfield High School rise to excellence on the National Advanced Calculus Exam. “All’s well that ends well” and by the end of the movie their hard work pays off.
But the scene we are going to watch comes in the middle of the movie right after they have suffered a major set back. The students have taken the test and scored extremely high. But the authorities accuse them of cheating and disqualify the scores. In this scene Escalante has hit rock bottom emotionally and feels like giving up.
Show clip Ch 9 0:40:35 to 0:43:44.
I showed that clip because I do not want us to approach Peter’s denial without some since of his emotional state at the time. While Jesus was being brought before Annas for interrogation[3], Peter was also facing his own trial—the trying of his faith—a trial Jesus had predicted only a few hours earlier. Do you remember the conversation Jesus had with Peter when the Lord warned him that Satan had asked to shift him like wheat?[4] Here in John 18 that sifting is taking place. Here in John 18 Peter denies the Lord three times. Here in John 18 Peter hits bottom!
Do you know what it means to “hit bottom”? Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addition knows what it means to hit bottom. Often when a person is giving his or her testimony at a twelve-step program the individual will refer to a time when he or she hit bottom and knew something had to change. Anyone who has dealt with discouragement and despair knows what it is to hit bottom. Anyone like who has given his very best and still failed, like Jamie Escalante, knows what it feels like to hit bottom.
I. What kind of person is this hitting bottom in our text?
1. Peter is a sincere, dedicated follower of Jesus. Does your theology have any room for a sincere follower of Jesus to hit bottom? Some people can’t see that happening. Like Job’s friends they have very simple take on life. If you’re godly and love the Lord, you will prosper, you will succeed, you will climb and not fall.
But I want us to realize that Peter is not climbing up the ladder of success here in our story. No, he is falling headlong into failure and experiencing an emotional crash that is hard to imagine.
I can understand Judas’ betrayal. Judas had hardened his heart all along. At the core of his very being he was a thief. He was not trying to serve the Lord. He was trying to use the Lord for his own ends. There is no sincerity in the heart of Judas. There is no devotion to Christ, only a cold, hard heart of unbelief.
But Peter is different. He really does love the Lord. He really is trying to do what’s right. Who has tried any harder than Peter to follow his Lord? Peter is a man after God’s own heart. How can it be that a person with such sincere motives could find himself at such a point of failure? If he really loved the Lord, how could he possibly deny him three times?
I must first establish this truth. Sincere, dedicated people can and sometimes do fail the Lord. David was a man after God’s own heart. The terrible sin he committed is almost unmentionable. How would the media handle it today if it were discovered that President George Bush had gotten involved in an adulterous affair with the wife of one of his top generals and to add insult to injury had the man killed? David’s sin was an unimaginable crime and it was perpetrated by a man anointed by the Holy Spirit to write most of the Psalms. Could I just say that life is a little more complicated than we would like it to be?
Sometimes good people act out of character. When Abraham lied to Pharaoh about his wife, Sarah, he was acting out of character. Abraham was not a habitual liar. He was by and large a man of great integrity. But in that situation he blew it and blew it big. In the New Testament God does not call Abraham a liar. He calls him a man of faith.[5]
In all these cases there were negative consequences that followed the sin. Nobody gets away with anything. If you were to ask King David if his sexual fling was worth it he would tell you, “No, a thousand times no.” David suffered horrible reaping as a result of his sin. But the one sin was not an accurate definition of who he was. I’m sure it marked his reputation for the rest of his life. Even when God has forgiven a person, people do not always do the same. When we think of Peter, we remember a lot of good things about him. But one thing we always remember is that Peter was the disciple who denied the Lord.
2. Peter was naturally a very courageous person. Who would have ever thought that Peter would have been the disciple to deny the Lord? Certainly not Peter, we know that from the way he had answered the Lord just a few hours earlier when Jesus had told his disciples that they would all forsake him. “Smite the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter.” Peter was quick to respond to that, “Even if I have to die with you, I will not disown you.”[6] Peter had every intention of being true to the Lord to the very end. No one would have ever expected him to cower down before the woman keeping the gate and deny his Lord. You might expect him to impulsively pull out a sword and cut somebody’s ear off the way he did in the garden. But you would never expect this big, burley fisherman to back down when asked if he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter was probably considered the bravest man in the group. But this night he acts out of character.
This night a sincere follower of Jesus Christ hits bottom!
II. What caused him to hit bottom?
We need to understand the dynamics of this because if Peter could hit bottom like this so could I (and so could you). “Wherefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”[7] Peter had already gotten on a downward slide before his denial of Jesus.[8]
1st. There was his controversy with Jesus about the cross. Matt 16:21-26 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
Notice the issue here. Jesus talks about the way of the cross, the way of suffering, a process that the world despises and refuses to accept. Jesus is saying not only that he must walk the way of the cross but all his true disciples must walk in that path as well. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” There are a lot of people who want to jump on a successful, religious bandwagon. There are plenty of people who would like Jesus to come into their lives and help them live the American Dream or fulfill some other personal agenda. We even want our sins forgiven. And of course, we want to go to heaven instead of hell. But when Jesus starts talking to us about a personal cross, when Jesus’ way is different than the way we thought it would be or should be, then we just might have a controversy with him.
Have you ever had a controversy with the Lord? No doubt, some of us here are currently in a controversy with the Lord. I certainly know what it is to have a controversy with him. It usually happens when God doesn’t do it the way we think he should.
That can be the beginning of a downward spiral if it is not properly resolved. When I have a controversy with Lord others may or may not know that is going on. But either way this is usually the result. I pull back from the Lord a bit. I feel somewhat offended and may harden my heart. The joy of serving Him begins to elude me. The 3-letter word “why” begins to take prominence in my thoughts. I might even hear myself saying down deep, “That’s not fair, that’s not right. This should not be happening.” (Peter’s controversy with God’s ways and means.)
2. Then you have Peter’s self-reliance. Of course, when we pull back from the Lord there follows an increase in self-reliance and a decrease in God-reliance. We know things are not completely right between the Lord and ourselves so we naturally are reluctant to lean on Him.
Peter is quite sure that regardless of how all the other disciples may flake out when the going gets rough, he will be there. Isn’t it interesting how our natural strengths can become the point of our greatest failures? Why, because over the years we have learned to depend upon those strengths rather than depend upon the Lord. We are far more likely to rely upon the Lord in those areas where we are aware of our own inadequacies. But Peter knows that in the natural, in comparison to most people he is not easily intimidated. So out of his mouth comes unwise boasting. His words reveal his heart. He is committed to Jesus and is sure he will stand strong with him.
3. The thing that normally follows self-reliance is prayerlessness. Jesus leads his disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane and says to them, “Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”[9] What does Peter and the other disciples do? They sleep instead of pray. Luke tells us they were sleeping for sorrow. I cannot be too hard on these guys because I know a little bit about how hard it is to pray when you have been overwhelmed by disappointment and discouragement. If you’ve ever been there you will not be too quick to condemn those who are not praying the way they should. Peter and the other disciples had experienced a lot of discouragement by the time they got from the Upper Room to the Garden. They were wiped out. They didn’t feel like praying. But still they should have done what Jesus told them to do and prayed instead of sleeping.
4. Peter finds himself in a state of confusion and discouragement over what happens next. When the mob arrives at the Garden to arrest Jesus the real test begins. Peter has neglected prayer and is not operating in the spirit. He is operating in the flesh. His intentions are still good. But instead of doing the right thing he does the wrong thing. With great zeal he tries to help Jesus. He gives it his best shot and the results are disastrous. The crowd has come to arrest Jesus. Malchus stands at the front defying Jesus. It is a tense moment. Then suddenly one of the disciples yells out, “Shall we strike with our swords?”[10] Peter immediately responds with his sword and starts hacking away at the problem. That’s usually what we do when we’re not in the spirit. Malchus sees Peter’s sword coming at him and ducks. Instead of losing his head he loses an ear. But what Jesus does next completely frustrates and bewilders Peter. There in front of everybody Jesus rebukes Peter who has been trying to help him. Jesus reverses what Peter has done and heals Malchus. Peter has given it his best shot and nothing has worked out. He doesn’t know what to do so he flees with the other disciples as the mob arrests Jesus.
Peter is very discouraged. He has tried and tried hard and nothing is working out. Have you ever been there? Can you understand how Peter was feeling by this time? Can you put his denial in that context? Peter’s denial did not happen in a vacuum. It happened to a very discouraged disciple who felt he had given it his best shot.
III. What happens when Peter hits bottom?
There are Peter and John running for their lives with the other disciples. It was the only thing they could think to do when the officials bound Jesus. But as they run they begin to think about what is going on. Peter and John slow down and look back toward Jesus and the soldiers. (Most Bible scholars conclude that John was the “other disciple” who with Peter followed Jesus to the High Priest’s courtyard.) I see these two friends look at each other and turn around. Together they follow the crowd into Jerusalem.[11] It is surprising that John would be known by the High Priest. That is one reason some people question whether this other disciple is John.[12] But he is let into high priest’s courtyard and Peter has to wait outside at the door. John comes back and talks with the girl who is watching at the gate so that Peter can come in.
1. Here comes the first denial.
The challenge comes from an unexpected source in an unexpected way. This girl asks Peter in a friendly sort of way, “You’re not one of his disciples are you?” By her tone and by her words Peter knows that she expects a negative answer.[13] She just needs his assurance as he walks through the gate. It is so natural and so easy to just smile and say no. This first temptation is very subtle. What else is he going to say if he wants in? He certainly can’t do Jesus any good outside the gate. It is so very easy to justify that first lie. But now Peter has a problem. He has portrayed himself as an innocent bystander. When the next challenge comes it is going to be very hard to reverse the course he has taken.
Peter tries to just blend in with the ungodly crowd. He goes and stands by the fire like everybody else. He makes small talk with them even though his heart is with the Lord. There he is trying to fit in with the world but in his heart he is not of the world. Have you ever tried that? I remember in my late teens trying to live that way. It is a miserable state to be in. Somehow the world discerns that you’re different. You don’t fully feel like you’re a part of that crowd. Your heart is still crying out for the Lord. But then again, you have denied him. Things between you and the Lord are not as they ought to be. Oh, the turmoil Peter must have felt in his soul as he stood in front of that fire. Then someone in the group took a good look at Peter and said, “You’re not one of his disciples are you. A few other in the group chimed in with the same question.”[14] Peter firmly denied that he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Notice how he keeps slipping in deeper and deeper. The further you go with a lie the harder it is to turn it around. Finally, a relative of Malchus insists that he is a follower of Jesus. I’m sure a lot of people there noticed Peter when he cut off Malchus’ ear. “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Now the stakes have just gone up. Will Peter stop lying and risk owning up to his relationship with Jesus? Think about what may have been going on in his mind at that moment. “This guy is a relative of Malchus. What will he do if he finds out that I’m the one who attacked Malchus and cut off his ear? This situation has gone from bad to worse.” Peter can no longer gently respond with a no. A simple “no” is not convincing them. So he begins to swear and cuss to bring force to his no.
2. In the heat of that moment he hears a rooster crow. Immediately he remembers what Jesus had told him a few hours earlier, "Will you really lay down your life for me?” Jesus had said, “I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (John 13:38)
It had just happened. Peter had done something he never dreamed he would do. Someone has well said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go and cost you more than you want to pay.”[15] It is the absolute low point in Peter’s life. We have traced his downward slide to this place. We have learned from his experience and will hopefully not duplicate it in our own lives. Imagine the inner conflict Peter is feeling at this point. Down deep he has never stopped loving the Lord. He has failed in his confession and in his witness. It is a dark hour in his life. But his faith has not utterly failed and we know why. His great High Priest, Jesus, had prayed for him that his faith would not fail.[16] Peter is not a Judas. But he feels his own disappointment in himself. The crow of that rooster has brought everything in perspective.
God’s timing is perfect. Jesus has just been led into the courtyard on his way to Caiaphas.[17] The moment that rooster crowed Jesus turned and looked into the eyes of Peter. It was not a look of anger. It was not an “I told you so” look. It was a look of pure love and compassion. That’s what broke Peter’s heart at that moment. There is Peter cursing and denying the Lord. There is Jesus looking at him with such tenderness that Peter can do nothing but melt before his gaze. It was not the fear of punishment that turned Peter’s heart that day. It was the revelation that at the point of his greatest failure Jesus stood there with tenderness in his eyes unaltered in his love for Peter.
Peter broke under that gaze and began to weep. He rushed out of that place a broken and repentant man.[18] I wish we had time to talk about the way Jesus restored Peter after his resurrection. It is a most comforting theme to the disciple who has sinned and come short of the glory of God. Peter’s experience is a warning to not allow discouragement to set you on a downward slide toward denial. But it is also a call to every sincere believer who feels he has failed God in some way. Is the One Who saved you in the first place any less able to restore you to Himself today? Is His love for you any less today than it was yesterday? You may feel the same kind of shame and disappointment in yourself that Peter felt when that rooster crowed. You may wonder how God could ever forgive you or use you. But let Peter’s experience turn your eyes to the one Who looks on you this morning like no other can look. Look into your Savior’s eyes and see His love and compassion for you. Take that look into your heart today and you will never be the same again.
Invitation
TEXT: John 18:12-27
12Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.
15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not." 18It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. 19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said." 22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded. 23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" 24Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest. 25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."
26One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. NIV
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[1] Text was presented earlier in the service using DVD from Visual Bible International (www.gospelofjohnthefilm.com ). Text is provided at the end of this message for easy reference. All quotes are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
[2] Warner Bros. 1988 directed by Ramon Menendez.
[3] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1884) p.547-548 points out that Annas had been High Priest but at that time his son-in –law, Caiaphas held the office. Annas was so powerful and influential that at least five of his sons also filled that office. Edersheim places Peter’s denial at the Palace of Caiaphas, not Annas. Some authorities (F.B. Myer p. 316) think they may have resided at the same cluster of buildings.
[4] Luke 22:31 and John 13:
[5] Romans 4 and Galatians 3
[6] Matthew 26:33-35 and John 13:37
[7] I Cor. 10:12 NKJV
[8] G.Campbell Morgan, The Westminster Pulpit (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1955) p. 190-194 traces this downward progress with extremely helpful insight.
[9] Matthew 26:41
[10] Luke 22:49
[11] Can not remember where I read a similar portrayal of the incident.
[12] Arthur Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John Vol. III ( Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975) p. 178
[13] Leon Morris, Reflections of the Gospel of John (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2000) p. 612-616
[14] Morris, p. 617 Comparison of the gospel accounts bear this out.
[15] Source unknown
[16] Luke 22:31-32
[17] Myer, p. 322
[18] Luke 22:63; Matt. 26:75
