Peter: Learning to Follow Jesus Mark 14:26-31, Dan Olinger Sunday, January 8, 2017

Transcription

1 Peter: Learning to Follow Jesus Mark 14:26-31, Dan Olinger Sunday, January 8, 2017 Introduction: One of the most interesting and beloved characters in the Bible is Peter. We all know Peter, and we all instinctively like him. In many ways he seems like one of us. He s a fisherman (Mt 4.18; Mk ), a down-to-earth guy. He s married (1C 9.5), and his mother-in-law lives with them (Mt 8.14; Mk ; Lk 4.38). He s brought to Jesus by his brother Andrew (Jn ) and becomes a disciple (Mt ). He seems to be a leader; whenever the disciples are named, he s listed first (Mt 10.2; Mk 3.16; Lk 6.14). He s named as being present for key miracles (# Aland Harmony): 21 Net full of fish Lk a Resurrection of Jairus s daughter Mk Lk b Healing of issue of blood Lk Walked on water Mt Temple tax money from fish s mouth Mt Withering of fig tree Mk [21] Repeated net full of fish after resurrection Jn Along with fellow fishermen James and John, he forms Jesus inner circle of disciples, privileged with close access at special times, most especially at the Transfiguration (Mt ; Mk ; Lk ). It is Peter who makes the great confession of Jesus as the Christ (158 Mt ; Mk ; Lk 9.20); it is he who, when many of Jesus disciples are abandoning Him, says, To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! (158? Jn 6.68); and it is he who first enters the empty tomb (352 Lk 24.12, 34; Jn ; 1C 15.5). But like us, he has his share of problems. He s brash. Sometimes he s just curious o When Jesus tells a parable, it s Peter who asks Him to explain it (150 Mt 15.15; 203 Lk 12.41). o Peter is one of the four who ask Jesus about the end times, prompting Him to deliver the Olivet Discourse (288 Mk 13.3). o At the Last Supper, it s Peter who asks John to find out who the traitor is (310 Jn 13.24). But sometimes his mouth gets him into trouble o When Jesus tells His disciples to forgive, Peter asks how many times he has to do that (172 Mt ). o When Jesus talks about rewards, Peter asks what s in it for him (255 Mt 19.27; Mk 10.28; Lk 18.28). o When Jesus washes the disciples feet, Peter argues with him (309 Jn ). And sometimes he goes beyond his words to act unwisely o He cuts off a servant s ear at Jesus arrest (331 Jn ). I d like to focus our thoughts today on the incident for which Peter is most famous, and which directs his thinking for the rest of his life. Reading: Mk , All 4 Gospels note that Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Jesus. And all 4 Gospels record that denial. It s as critical to the story of Peter as it is to the story of Jesus. We re looking at Mark s account because it s the longest probably because Mark wrote his Gospel under Peter s supervision. We re getting Peter s direct testimony of an event he would never forget. Prediction (26-31) A. Setting (26) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

2 The Passover meal traditionally concludes with the singing of the last part (Ps ) of the Hallel (Ps ). Ps 118 ends, 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly! 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. 18 The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. The walk would take at least 15 minutes (IVPBBC). John records, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. Teaching (27-28) 27 And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. You will all be scandalized passive indicates something done to them; they will be overwhelmed (GNTC). What is happening is frightening. But it s part of God s plan it s prophesied in Zec 13.7, and God is the one who strikes the shepherd and it s going to turn out fine. He will rise from the dead, and they will be restored to Him again. B. Response (29) Peter said to him, Even though they all fall away, I will not. I is emphatic: Oh, no, I would never do that; not me. o They might, but not me! walking on water. o Do you love me more than these? (Jn 21.15). Peter s in denial about his denial. He is overconfident, in the face of Scripture to the contrary. Correction (30) And Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. Jesus has specific, detailed knowledge refuting Peter s brash claim. You is emphatic: even you! (WBC). And though the others will desert Jesus, Peter will do worse: deny Him. C. Hardening (31) But he said emphatically, If I must die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said the same. His denial is repeated (verb is imperfect), vehement, and extreme (double negative). o He s strutting around like a crowing rooster (ECB). Peter refuses the words of God not only from scriptural prophecy, but from the mouth of Jesus Himself. o Cf You are the Christ to whom shall we go? He engages in leadership to an evil end. Luke records, 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. I. Fulfillment (66-72) A. Accusation (66-71)

3 1. By a servant girl (66-68) 66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus. 68 But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. The girl looks intently (emblepo) at him Say, I know you! (WBC). You is emphatic. Nazarene is a pejorative (Jn 1.46, Nathanael to Philip); that Nazarene, Jesus (NIV). Peter clearly acts out of fear. As we ll see, the accounts taken together demonstrate that there was a crowd of witnesses, and this was, after all, the courtyard of the high priest s house, where Jesus was being tried for his life. Would you have done any better? o Peter loved Jesus or he would not have been there. Yet, even his love for Jesus could not overcome his fear of being identified with him (HNTC). Only Mark records this first crowing of the rooster. God graciously gives Peter a warning reminder in the midst of his temptation. How will he respond? 2. By a few others (69-70a) 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, This man is one of them. 70 But again he denied it. Matthew reports, 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And Luke says, 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, You also are one of them. Someone here is masculine, leading many interpreters to conclude that the questioner was a man. John (18.26) says that one of the questioners was a relative of the servant whose ear he had seen Peter excise in the garden. Surely he would remember Peter! Taking these accounts together, we see a picture of increasing pressure on Peter. o Peter moves out into the entranceway (Mt) (away from the light? [GNTC] closer to the escape route? [IVPBBC]) to get away from the servant girl. o She follows him and points him out to others. o Another servant girl (Mt) takes up the accusation and repeats it to the others. o Then a man (Lk) faces him down with the blunt accusation, You are one of them! o This thing s going viral. And Peter denies, denies, denies. 3. By the group (70b-71) And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. Luke reports that the little while was about an hour. Now the group is gathered against him. Matthew tells us that they knew he was a Galilean by his accent. This is something he cannot deny. Shibboleth. They have him.

4 In desperation, he begins to curse: As God is my witness May God strike me dead if. He invokes the very name of God to support his lie. He breaks the Third Commandment, which notes, the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. o Swear may imply that he invoked a curse on Jesus Himself (NIGNTC). o Remember how he told Jesus emphatically vehemently that he would not deny Him? B. Devastation (72) And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he broke down and wept. A second time. Jesus was right. Peter has failed completely. His confidence was arrogance. He has denied His Savior and Friend. All is lost. Luke tells us that at this precise moment, as the rooster crowed, Jesus looked at him. What a devastating moment. o The courtyard was below what was happening in the palace (66). Ironically, at the very moment Jesus accusers were challenging him to prophesy (v. 65), one of his prophecies was coming true (NAC). And Peter bursts into tears ( broke down ) and keeps on weeping ( wept, imperfect). But all is not lost. Yes, Jesus is unjustly convicted and executed. But that s not the end. In fact, it s part of the plan. Jesus will not stay dead, and His death will have accomplished more than Peter could ever have imagined. Conclusion Peter s life was never the same. We all know the stories from Acts, how he Took leadership of the apostles in selecting Judas s replacement ( ); Preached at Pentecost (2); Healed the lame man at the Temple (3) and faced down the Sanhedrin afterwards (4; 5.29); Passed judgment on Ananias and Sapphira (5.3-15) and Simon the sorcerer ( ); Healed Aeneas ( ) and raised Dorcas from the dead (36-43); Evangelized Cornelius, the first Gentile to convert (10-11); Was delivered from prison and execution by an angel (12); And he s a dominant figure in the Jerusalem Council (15.7, 14). That doesn t look like the same Peter, does it? What could cause a change this drastic? What had Peter learned? He learned that God wins. He learned that God s enemies have no real power. He learned that believing and obeying God s Word is more important than anything else. And 30 years later he wrote a couple of letters, in which he shared some of the things we ve seen him learn today. For the next 5 weeks we ll be looking at the second one, to drive these lessons home. How do you do in the testing times? Are you confident that God s going to win, and that the trials have purpose? Are you confident that you don t have to fear enemies who mock and accuse? Do you store God s Word in your mind so that you can recall it in times of crisis and depend on its truthfulness and reliability? And what of the times that you fail?

5 Peter is outside swearing false witness and denying his relationship with Jesus in order to save his own skin, while Jesus is inside bearing true testimony, about to pay the price of faithful friendship by sacrificing his life for sinners like Peter. Though Peter denies Jesus, Jesus does not deny Peter (Walter Elwell, ECB). When you fail Him, He does not fail you. He is faithful (emunah). Amen! Benediction What are you afraid of? What failures have defeated you? God s love and plan for you is much bigger than that. 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.