The Faithful and True Witness Mark 14:66-72 & 2 Samuel 9:1-7

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1 1 The Faithful and True Witness Mark 14:66-72 & 2 Samuel 9:1-7 Two stories have been transpiring in Mark 14: contrast Jesus faithfulness with our unfaithfulness and Jesus truthfulness against our hypocrisy Peter is on trial just like Jesus Peter is being questioned, just like Jesus Peter is failing, unlike Jesus Witness = 7 times in ch 14 / martyr = to witness If you follow Jesus, you must be a faithful witness First: This is how Peter Failed Peter swore himself into God s court V 29 - And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 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. 29 Peter said to him, Even though they all fall away, I will not. 30 And Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. 31 But he said emphatically, If I must die with you, I will not deny you. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Only Peter followed. It was at a distance but he did follow. He was trying to be a faithful witness but he failed. 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. Curse = anathematize on himself is not in the Greek It is a transitive verse that has to have an object. 1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed! Don t minimize Peter s sin. He could have done nothing worse. If you minimize his sin, you minimize God s grace.

2 2 Every day is a courtroom. Will you be a faithful witness? Second: This is how Jesus Healed Peter For decades after Jesus was crucified, everyone whom Jesus touched was still alive and bearing witness to Jesus life and work. Every one of them, with great detail, bore witness in their work, their social world and in the church about who Jesus was and what Jesus did 66 - And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, This detail doesn t help the plot, doesn t move the narrative. Why is it there? It s a memory Mark mentions Peter more than any of the other gospels. After Peter s recruitment, nothing happens without Peter presence. Remember John Somerville (The Decline of the Secular University) The world is built on strength and shame but Christianity undermined that value. No one would have said this about Peter except Peter. It is an eye-witness account of what happened. The gospels are historical nonfiction. Christianity is. different than any other religion because it is set in real history. PICTURES: Richard Bauchman s books: Jesus and the Eyewitnesses & Reading the Gospels Wisely IMP: I will buy these books for you and me if any unbeliever wants to read it with me Later, as John 21 records, when Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved him, he asked three times, making Peter retrace each denial. Peter wrote that through Mark. He wants you to know about his failure. What does this say about transparency, about accountability, about grace? Western world: Failure does not make a leader. It was Peter s failure that allowed Peter to lead the church. Anybody here on plan B? Jesus makes B s into A s. It was wrong of Peter to deny Jesus but Jesus used Peter s denial to encourage the church - I Peter 5:5-11

3 3 Third: This is how it Happened Mark wants us to see how this happened. Jesus is on trial. Peter is on trial. Jesus is questioned. Peter is questioned. Peter is charged with something true and gets off. Jesus is charged with something untrue and is crucified. Isn t that ironic? No. It is exactly what Jesus said would happen. This isn t an irony. This is redemption. Jesus was crucified in Peter s place; not simply unjustly but substitutionally. Peter went free because Jesus was condemned in his place. Luke 22: Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you [past tense] that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Romans 8: Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us [present tense]. How are we made right with the Father? Jesus justification. How are we kept right with the Father? Jesus intercession. There is another court in heaven before which we are going to be judged. Standing at the right hand of God the Father is Jesus, our defense attorney, who points the Father, not to our sin but his sacrifice. He is one with the Father (divinity) and became one with you (humanity) so that you could become one with the Father (Union with Christ) The Father can no more reject you than he can reject his Son. He can no more reject his Son than he can reject himself. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you don t have to represent yourself. You don t have to defend yourself. God loves you for Jesus sake. 2 Samuel 9:1-7 & 13 - And David said, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. 3 And the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of

4 4 Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet. 4 The king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, Behold, I am your servant. 7 And David said to him, Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.(13) So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. Jesus was the faithful and true witness in Caiaphas court and he is the faithful and true witness in God s court. Jesus is not before the Father asking for mercy. He s asking for justice. 1 John 1:9-2: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous I m not asking for mercy. I m asking for justice. That sin has been paid for. For that reason, this child can never fall out of favor with you. We aren t getting forgiveness so we can have one more chance. We are getting justice. We are clothed in Jesus righteousness and there can be no commendation (Romans 8:1). There are two types of Jesus obedience: a) Passive Obedience in the Passion His death b) Active Obedience in his Perfection His life One day as I was passing into the field, this sentence fell upon my soul: Thy righteousness is in heaven. And with the eyes of my soul I saw Jesus at the Father s right hand. There, I said, is my righteousness! So that wherever I was or whatever I was doing, God could not say to me, Where is your righteousness? For it is always right before him. I saw that it is not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness is Christ. Now my chains fell off indeed. My temptations fled away, and I lived sweetly at peace with God. Now I could look from myself to him and could reckon that all my character was like the coins a rich man carries in his pocket when all his gold is safe in a trunk at home. Oh I saw that my gold was indeed in a trunk at home, in Christ my Lord. Now Christ was all: my righteousness, sanctification, redemption. - John Bunyan in Grace Abounding

5 5 Conclusion/Application: 1 You are not guilty and are worthy of God s grace "You say you feel overwhelmed with guilt and a sense of unworthiness? Well, indeed you cannot be too aware of the evils inside of yourself, but you may be, indeed you are, improperly controlled and affected by them. You say it is hard to understand how a holy God could accept such an awful person as yourself. You then express not only a low opinion of yourself, which is right, but also too low an opinion of the person, work, and promises of the Redeemer, which is wrong. You complain about sin, but when I look at your complaints, they are so full of self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, and impatience that they are little better than the worst evils you complain of." -Rev. John Newton Being terrorized by past sin is sinning in the present. Why are you beating yourself up? Why do you feel so inferior? You re a Pharisees because you are depending on your own righteousness to make God happy. 2 You are free from the court of human opinion Acts 7: Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. [not a sitting Judge but a standing Advocate] 56 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen was condemned by a kangaroo court but commended by God s court Who cares what they think when you know what God thinks 3 You can be a faithful and true witness If you still need human approval you are: a) Too scared of people b) Not scared enough of God 4 It will give you joy Two things rob you of joy: Inferiority and Superiority

6 6 Isn t grace funny? I shouldn t be but I am. Salvation is a magnificent defeat Damnation is a miserable triumph Grace destroys self-condemnation and self-adulation All of this and more is yours in Jesus. CG Leaders: Peter made his bold claim in the company of Jesus and the other disciples. He failed to keep that commitment when he was alone. Work through the Conclusion to the Behind the Book as discussed Wednesday night. The point is to teach our people accountability: how to hold others accountable and how to be accountable. Help your CG understand the doctrine of sanctification and the relationship of accountability to help us strive toward holiness.