the page you’ll see the scripture for today and you’ll notice that I have two passages. We’re going through the Gospel of Mark, so that’ll be our primary passage, and then we’re going to hear a little bit concerning Peter in the garden, I’m sorry, in the garden, but in the courtyard. It might have been a garden, I don’t know, but it was a courtyard of the high priest and how he reacted in that situation and then how he was confronted later on by Jesus and how that was helpful to him also as he met in Galilee with his disciples. So, I’m just going to be skipping around the Middle East here briefly. This is God’s holy word, Mark chapter 14, verses 66 through 72.
And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus. But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you mean. And he went out into the gateway, and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him, and began again to say to bystanders, This man is one of them. But again he denied it. And after a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter, Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak.
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.” Now we move to John chapter 21 verses 15 through 17. And they’re up in Galilee now. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?
He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.”
Thus far, God’s holy, inspired, and infallible Word. May the Holy Spirit take that word now, transform it in our lives into blessed service for our Lord. Thanks be to God. Gracious Heavenly Father, continue to be with us this morning. We pray that we’ll get a lot out of this passage. We’ll change our lives, change the way we think, change, Lord, how we can best serve you. Lord, we are weak like Peter, but we know your forgiveness is complete, and thank you for that.
Help us, Lord, not to dwell on the past, but to look ahead, forgetting those things that are behind, but holding fast to what is to come, especially the great appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. Well, things are moving fast with respect to Jesus’ suffering.
What do I mean by that? Well, I mean that from Mark’s writing, and Mark is sort of a compact gospel as we know, things just move right along. You don’t have long stretches where there are explanations. intense conversations and those kinds of things. But as I have shown you, we’re looking at least a little bit into John this morning, but things are moving along.
And so we’re slowing down to observe the disciple Peter as he waits in the courtyard of the high priest. Now unlike most of the disciples, Peter and his friend John followed Jesus to the places where he was being tried by the Jewish authorities. John had better connections, evidently, than Peter, so he went inside where Caiaphas was holding court, Caiaphas being the high priest, and he was able to observe the proceedings, and if you read John’s Gospel, you can get a little more detail. John was there looking at things, all the way through the arrest and abuse and crucifixion and so forth, John is able to supply us with a lot of things that he was able to see. Peter’s still down in the courtyard, and he’s evidently satisfied at least to be that far, and he doesn’t want to be noticed, however. He wants to sort of blend in with the shadows, with the people. I must say it didn’t happen.
He was noticed, as we have read, A servant girl called him out and others joined her eventually. So now the question was, could Peter, trapped as he was, you know, it’s easy to get in, not so easy to get out, but trapped as he was, how was he able to handle the pressure of the situation? Now, again, all the other disciples had fled this way and that way and the other way. We can say, well, thanks for the courage of Peter and John, but we’re going to see that even Peter breaks down.
In fact, that’s one of the descriptions. He broke down ultimately. So we’re going to look at four things this morning. I have to move pretty quickly here, but we’re going to look at things in the wake of the capture of Jesus. the arrest, if you will. Secondly, pride, flesh, and the rooster. Thirdly, broken and restored. He broke down, but he was restored. And finally, we’re going to take a few minutes and find out about agape love, because it really comes to the fore in the passage here. Well, first of all, in the wake of the capture.
Now, Peter was a fighter. I don’t know how many fights he got into growing up, but he got to be a big fellow and he didn’t push Peter around. If you tried to fight him, you probably are on the hurting end of the fight. He wanted to fight, but Jesus said, no, we’re not fighting, Peter. This is all part of God’s plan. I don’t think Peter ever quite got over that. He wanted to fight, and that was probably one reason that he said, I’m gonna go a little further here and see what I can do. What could he do? There were some possibilities.
For example, he had heard Jesus say, I could, if I wanted to, call twelve legions of angels. You know, a Roman legion was a large number of soldiers. He said, God could send twelve legions of angels and I could win the battle that way. But Jesus said, no, I’m not going to do that.
And then there was always in the mind of any of the disciples, especially Peter, I think, that Jesus was a king. It’s a matter of his kingship. Well, if he’s a king, then at some point, he must seize the throne. If he’s really the king of God’s people, then all these things that have bound him, whether it was ropes or chains or whatever they had on him at that point, he’ll be able to get out of that. I think he was thinking along the lines of Samson, you know, in the Old Testament. They took Samson several times and bound him, and he just broke off the ropes. And he wasn’t trying to be king or anything, but he got rid of his attackers at that point.
And I think, at least Peter, kind of thought, well, Jesus will do that too. He’ll just break off those ropes and chains, and he’ll say, now I’m king, and I’m taking over. So, you know, Peter had some reasons to think that maybe things would turn out as he hoped, and not in what it looked like it was going to be, and that Jesus is going to be taken, harmed, and even killed. Well, as we say, Peter was in the shadows, hoping that no one would notice him.
But I think as he sat there in the shadows, he began to feel that his life was in danger, that this was not the great victory that he had foreseen, and that he was going to have to deal with something in the way of trouble. If things continued the way that they were, these doubts began to arise in his mind. And if you want to explain, well, why did he break down so quickly, so easily? Because all of his plans that at least they were formulating in his mind, they just kind of fell apart.
Proverbs, the book of Proverbs says that uncertainty makes us afraid even of the smallest threat. I’m just quoting one passage from Proverbs 28 verse one. It says, the wicked flee when no one pursues. And I’m sure Peter was looking over his shoulder, are they going to grab me at any point here? And that’s why when they began to ask him, well, you’re one of them, aren’t you? No, no, no, I don’t know anything about this whatsoever.
Well, another place. that Peter had been recently and where Jesus spoke recently, this came from the Lord’s lips, the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. Spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. And the flesh gets the upper hand with Peter as it did so many people.
Think back on Abraham. Abraham and Sarah said, well, we’re not having a child. God said he would give us a son, but we don’t see any son coming. And so let’s get Hagar to bear a child, and that child will be our son, and so forth. That was fleshly, the Bible says it was very fleshly on Abraham’s part. Well, we’re not gonna stick with Abraham at this point.
We’re going back to Peter again, and Peter is saying, oh, if only I could get my sword again. If only I could be Jesus’ defender and rescuer at this point, then things would be different. He even said earlier, he said, even if everybody else abandons you, I won’t. I won’t do that. But the flesh, the flesh is weak and the flesh got the upper hand with Peter.
All right, we move on then to pride, flesh, and the rooster. Self-confidence, and Peter had a lot of self-confidence. Self-confidence can be a kind of pride, okay? And Peter, very opinionated, of course, he always had something to say, did think very highly of himself. Oh, the flesh is so strong. Our flesh is weak in the sense that we can’t control it, but the flesh itself can overcome us very easily. It was pride that drove Peter into the courtyard in the first place. Why did he go? Why did he think that it’d be all right if he went in there? Because he thought highly of himself.
I can figure this out. Even if trouble comes, I’ll figure a way of escape. Pride drove Peter. into the courtyard, thinking that he could somehow rescue and absolve Jesus, take away those charges. I think he said, not only am I a strong guy, but I can out-argue anybody here. I’m sure he thought in those terms. Well, like many another Israelite, and I’ve already mentioned Abraham, Peter believed that he could find a fleshly solution to save Jesus from death.
You know, Jesus didn’t want to be saved from death. He didn’t like having to go to death. He said, Lord, let this cup pass from me if it’s possible. But he did not want to avoid death. In fact, he said, that’s why I came. I came into the world to lay down my life for sinners. And of course he did just that. Pride goes before destruction, the Bible says.
And Jesus had told him he didn’t stand a chance. That’s what he told him in the upper room there. Peter, before the rooster crows twice, you’re going to deny me three times. Peter didn’t believe that for a minute at that point. But Jesus very clearly stated that, Peter, your pride is going before your destruction. He had already, Peter, I’m speaking of now, Peter had already lied and denied three times.
And I’ve just kind of thought of some colloquialisms for that. The first time he said, oh, you’re one of them, aren’t you? And he said, huh? Huh? Me? And then she brought it to his attention again, and he said, oh, not me. Not me. You’ve got the wrong fellow here. And then finally, he says, I don’t even know him. I have nothing to do with him.
And then what happened? The rooster crows the second time, actually. And it says when that happened, it was just like a ton of bricks falling on Peter. He broke down and he wept. Which brings us into our third point here, broken and restored. Broken and restored. That’s good news, isn’t it? Not that we’re broken, but that we’re restored.
Denial, you see, was the last thing that Peter ever thought he would do. Here’s his exact words when he was pridefully talking to Jesus. If I must die with you, I will not deny you, he said. John must have really had a good memory because he got the exact response that Peter had to Jesus. If I must die with you, I will not deny you.
And what’s interesting, of course, is that Peter and Mark kind of collaborated in the gospel of Mark. So you not only have John who would remember such things, but Peter, maybe even better than John. And if Mark had been around there, John Mark we’re talking about. There may have been three people who remembered that statement at that point.
And every time it was brought up to Peter, it must have just crushed him that much more. We’re told that big, tough Peter broke down and wept. And it’s not just his pride, you see, that got to him. It’s the same thing that happened to Judas Iscariot. Now it says about Judas that Satan entered into him. I don’t know that Satan ever entered into Simon Peter, but Satan was certainly pushing him along. Satan said, go into the courtyard. You can take it. You can stand up, stand up for Jesus. You’re a good soldier. Didn’t know much about the cross at that point, but stand up for Jesus.
Earlier, Jesus anticipated Peter’s woe and Satan. And He says to him, Satan demanded to have you. Can you imagine that? Satan demanded to have you. Now I think probably Satan and his minions, they demand that of all of us. I want Don or Mary or Sue or Bill or whoever. I want them. I demand them.
Because the whole thing with Satan and the Lord is that Satan is going to outdo the Lord. He’s going to show the Lord is not so powerful, not so great. Satan demanded to have you. But, even though he wants to sift you like wheat, Jesus says, I’ll deliver you.
He doesn’t say that. He says, I will pray for you. This is an ongoing matter, Peter. I’m not just gonna sort of lift you out of the courtyard there and you’ll be alright. I will pray for you. I’ll pray for you. Satan has demanded to have you to sift you like wheat. But I will pray for you. I am praying for you.
Peter met the risen Christ later on when they went into Galilee. But we assume that all that time he was in Galilee And every step he took on the road from Judea up into Galilee, this kept eating at him and eating at him. You denied the Lord. You don’t even belong in this company. You can’t expect that Jesus is going to receive you or help you anymore. You’re just like Judas Iscariot. You might as well go hang yourself. You think that Peter escaped that kind of thinking? I think it was heavy, heavy upon him. He was a broken man. I think he was weeping every time he thought about it.
But while he was in Galilee, and these things were eating at him, Jesus gave him three corresponding opportunities. How many times did Peter deny the Lord? Three times. How many times did Jesus ask him a question here? Do you love me, Peter? Three times. That’s not accidental. That’s not accidental. It was the Lord saying, yes, you have done wrong, Peter. Some terrible missteps here, Peter, but I’m praying for you. Let me ask you again, do you love me? Lord, you know I love you. Do you love me, Peter? Lord, you know I love you. Peter, do you really love me? Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.
I don’t know how public this was. I don’t know if all the other disciples were looking on, but I know that as far as Peter was concerned, it was just him and Jesus trying to get things straightened out. And I wanna talk as we close here this morning about this matter of love. In the passage, Jesus always uses, well, I won’t say always, but he uses his predominantly agape, you love me with that kind of love. And Peter always uses phileo, which is the word for brotherly love or close friendship.
I think Peter is saying, like the prodigal son, Lord, I’m not worthy even to be under the same roof. Just let me be one of your servants. Let me take the lowest place. I know that I have hurt you, and I know that I’ve denied you, and I know that I deserve everything that Judas has gotten out of all this. The Lord, you see, says, no, Peter, because I’ve loved you with a different kind of love.
I’ve loved you with sacrificial love. That’s what agape is, sacrificial love. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. There’s nothing about sheep here, but I just want to start off with the fact that Jesus says that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Now that’s agape love. He doesn’t use the word love right there. But later on, several chapters later in John again, he says, greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You see, they just blend right together in there.
He’s saying to Peter, I love you with sacrificial love. And even now as I’m going to the cross, I’m going to the cross and sacrifice myself that you might not perish, that your sins might be forgiven. Jesus said, I will lay down my life for the sheep. And he did. And he said, this is the greatest kind of love. I can’t show you any greater love than this, Peter, that I can take your sins upon myself and pay the price that they deserve. Interestingly, Jesus did not speak Greek. The whole New Testament is written in Greek. There’s a few Aramaic expressions in there, but essentially the New Testament’s all in Greek, but Jesus never spoke Greek. He spoke Aramaic.
So, what does that mean? It means that John, and we’re looking at John now rather than Mark, but you could apply it either place, but John is translating. When John quotes Jesus, he’s translating. And when Jesus says, agape, agape, and then finally he says phileo in the third instance, John is not just saying, oh, I can pick any old word for love that works. Seeing there’s something there to think about.
Now Jesus did occasionally, in other situations, say, phileo, I love. But in this case, I think it’s very significant that he says, I love you with agape love. I love you with agape love. I even love you with phileo love, phileo. In Greek literature, sometimes there’s no distinction between the two, but in this case, in the scripture here, and particularly in the passage that we’re looking at there, it does have significance. You have agape, the strongest love, and you have phileo, a weaker kind of love.
And Peter answers Jesus every time with this milder thing, you know that I love you with this milder love. And is he trying to sort of excuse himself, or is he really just a poor guy that can’t make any more commitment to Jesus than that? I think, again, it’s the idea of the prodigal son, where he says, I don’t deserve anything. If I love you at all, Lord, and you know my heart, you know everything, you know that it’s a very, very weak love. If I had that strong love, I never would have denied you like I did. And he’s admitting to Jesus that his love for Jesus, for his Lord, is the weak kind. I wonder if it might not all of us say that, Lord Jesus, I love you, but it sure is a weak love.
Sure doesn’t have much strength behind it. But you know, Jesus says, okay, I’ll accept that. Not completely, but I’ll explain in a minute. But I think Jesus is saying, well, you love Me, don’t you? Yes, but it’s such a weak love. But He says, I’ll take your weak love rather than no love at all. I’ll take it. The last thing He says to Peter is, do you love Me with the weak kind? And Peter says, yes, you know everything, Lord. You know that I love you even though it’s a prodigal son kind of love. John remembers this. And he remembers that Jesus was saying, I accept, I accept you.
I accept your weak love. Sometimes we think, oh, the Lord just, I’m such a foul up. I can’t get things done. I disappoint the Lord. I even deny him and so forth. And the Lord still says, I detect that love. It’s weak. It’s not what I want it to be, but it’s a weak love. But he says, I will make it strong. And when you continue on through the New Testament, basically it’s this over and over again, agape, agape, agape, that kind of strong love.
Where does it come from? It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ who says, my love is poured out into you. It’s the fifth chapter of Romans. My love is poured out into you through the Holy Spirit who’s given to you. Yes, you start off weak, but Jesus says, I’ll make you strong. Not strong to fight, to draw your sword or your gun or whatever. I’ll make you strong to love Me no matter what.
And that was true in Peter’s life later on when he has to give his life for the Lord. It’s true for the other disciples who had to die, lay down their lives for Jesus’ sake. How so? How is that possible? Because the strong love is what Jesus gives to those who cry out, Lord, I’m weak, but you can make me strong.
So then to Peter and to us, the Lord says, go then and love as I have loved. Leave all those missteps, mistakes, sins behind. Follow me. I didn’t continue on in the passage, but one of the last things that Jesus says in this encounter with Peter is, follow me. Peter says, oh, you know, this other disciple, this and that. The Lord says, let’s just concentrate on Peter, OK? And he says, Peter, God has plans for you. But what I want you to do right now, above everything else, is I want you to follow Me. But Lord, I’m so unworthy. But I’ll give you strength. I’ll give you worth. I’ll give you what you need if you follow Me. And that’s the message to us today. We say we’re Christians. That means we’re supposed to be followers of Jesus, but are you really following him?
Is your love weak? He can make it strong. You wish things were more powerfully employed in your life? The Lord says, I’ll make it that way. Just follow me. Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we do pray for the kind of agape love that Peter needed. We, Lord, really need to be broken and restored as you will in our lives. We need to turn away from the flesh, from pride, and we need, Lord, to march on with you until you are crowned the king ultimately, when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Lord, help us to get in that line and that train and that mode of thinking and to rejoice in it. In Jesus’ name, amen.