Sermon #83[1]
Series: Matthew
Title: PETER’S FALL AND RESTORATION
Text: Matthew 26:69-75
Reading: Office:
Bobbie Estes Aud: Buddy
Daugherty
Subject: The
Believer’s Need of Watchfulness, Prayer, and Grace
Date: Tuesday Evening - May 21, 1996
Tape # S-57
Introduction:
Matthew
26:69-75 "Now Peter sat
without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with
Jesus of Galilee. (70) But he denied
before them all, saying, I know not
what thou sayest. (71) And when he
was gone out into the porch, another maid
saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. (72) And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. (73) And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to
Peter, Surely thou also art one of
them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. (74)
Then began he to curse and to swear, saying,
I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. (75) And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And
he went out, and wept bitterly."
The title of my message tonight is Peter’s Fall and Restoration. The
verses we have just read present us with a picture of God’s servant Peter which
is both humbling and instructive. The fall of Peter is set before us as a
beacon. It has many warnings and many lessons for us. Any careful reader of
God’s Word cannot fail to notice that Peter’s fall is recorded at considerable
length by all four of the gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were
inspired to write out the details of this sad event. Yet, not one of them
offers a word of excuse or explanation in defense of their friend and brother. This is one of those things which
indirectly demonstrates the truthfulness of Holy Scripture. If this Book
were nothing but the compositions of men, it would never have been written that
the great apostle to the Jews was so weak and sinful that he shamefully denied
his Lord and Master.
Try
to picture that cold, bitter night, if you can. It was a most solemn
occasion.
·
The disciples had
just eaten the Lord’s Supper.
·
The Lord Jesus had
told his disciples plainly of his betrayal by Judas, his death as their
Substitute, and the fact that all of them would forsake him.
·
On this evening our Lord
preached the message that is recorded in John 14 through 16.
·
On this evening his
disciples heard him offer up that great prayer of intercession as our Great
High Priest that is recorded in John 17.
·
Peter, James, and
John had spent the evening with the Son of God in the Garden of Gethsemane.
·
The soldiers came to
arrest the Master.
·
Judas betrayed the
Son of God with a kiss.
·
Peter risked his life
to defend his Lord.
·
Then, Peter denied
him three times.
Why
do you suppose that this record is given four times? Why were each of the
evangelists inspired to tell the same sad story in such detail? Surely the Holy
Spirit means for us to give it special attention. Here are four things which appear
to me to be obvious reasons why so much attention is given to Peter’s fall.
1. Peter’s denial of the Lord Jesus must have greatly increased
the pain and grief of our Savior’s sufferings.
2. The Holy Spirit here sits before us, in a most emphatic way,
both the power and the immutability of God’s saving grace.
3. The divine Comforter knew that we would all be subject to
the same temptations by which Peter was overcome.
4. Without a doubt, this fourfold record of Peter’s fall is
intended by God to be an instructive lesson for us concerning the frailty of
the very best of men.
The Word of God does not tell us
much even about the best of those men who lived in Bible times. The history of
God’s saints is scanty. However, the Bible very particularly and meticulously
records the faults of God’s elect. It seems that the Holy Spirit goes out of
his way to remind us that the very best of men are only men at best. Peter was not the infallible bishop of
Rome, as the papist pretend. He was a frail, fickle, fallible man. I cannot
find that Peter and the pope have anything in common except the denial of
Christ.
Peter’s fall seems to say to each of
us: - “You too are weak. You too will fall, if left to yourself. Do not rely
upon your experiences or the firmness of your faith. If you do, you will surely
fall. Christ alone can hold you up.”
Proposition:
My friends, as we care for our souls and the honor of our
God, let us never cease to be prayerfully watchful over our souls, ever seeking
grace from God to keep us from the evil that is in us.
I want to magnify and honor my Lord
in my life. I want to live for the honor and glory of Christ. I know that all
of you who know the Lord want the same thing. My heart shudders and trembles at
the thought of bringing reproach upon the name of our blessed Redeemer. Yet, I
know this: - Unless the Lord himself preserves
me, I will surely profane his name; and the same thing is true of you.
Divisions:
As we meditate upon this sad, sad event in the life of God’s
servant Peter, I want to direct your attention to four things.
1. The Circumstances of Peter’s Fall.
2. The Means of Peter’s Recovery.
3. The Signs of Peter’s Restoration
4. The Lessons for Us Today.
I. To begin, I
want us to consider THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF PETER’S FALL.
We are not considering the fall of a
lost hypocrite or an apostate. Peter was not a lost man, but a saved man, even
when he fell. Not only was he a saved man, he was an apostle of Christ, a
gospel preacher, a man who truly loved the Lord Jesus. Peter was a true
believer, a child of grace, pardoned and accepted in Christ. He was a man of
strong faith, firm conviction, and unrelenting zeal. But he was a man, just
like you and me, a man whose heart was by nature full of sin. On this
particular night the evil of his heart broke out in an unrestrained,
blasphemous denial of Christ, a denial that was accompanied with foul oaths.
As we consider the circumstances of
Peter’s great fall, you will notice that there were no extenuating
circumstances to excuse his guilt. In fact, there appears to have been no
reason for it at all. Everything recorded about it only aggravates Peter’s guilt
in the matter.
A. Peter’s fall seems very
strange because he was one of the Lord’s most highly favored and highly honored
disciples.
We would have expected this from any of the disciples before
we would have expected it from Peter. The Lord had done so much for Peter.
1. Peter was one of the very first men to whom the Lord Jesus
revealed himself in this world. - (John 1:40-42) "One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. (41) He first findeth his own brother
Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being
interpreted, the Christ. (42) And he
brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which
is by interpretation, A stone."
2. He was in the inner circle of the aster’s friends.
3. He appears to have been the chief spokesman for the early
church.
Note: The higher our privileges are the greater our
responsibilities are and the more horrible our offenses will be.
B. Peter’s fall is especially sad
because he had been plainly and faithfully warned.
The Savior told Peter exactly what
was going to happen to him in the plainest
terms possible. He knew the danger to which he was exposing himself when
he walked into the high priest’s palace.
Matthew 26:31 "Then saith
Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me
this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the
flock shall be scattered abroad."
Luke 22:31-34 "And the Lord
said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: (32) But I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (33) And he said unto him, Lord, I am
ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. (34) And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the
cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou
knowest me."
1. Satan desired to have him.
2. His faith would be fiercely attacked.
3. He must watch and pray, that he enter not into temptation.
4. But Peter walked headlong into his sin, rejecting the light
and counsel God had given him. He ignored the light of God’s revelation
C. Peter’s guilt is aggravated by
the fact that it came so soon after he had confidently declared his loyalty and
faithfulness to Christ.
Matthew 26:33 "Peter
answered and said unto him, Though all men
shall be offended because of thee, yet
will I never be offended. (35) Peter said unto him, Though I should die
with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the
disciples."
Just an hour or two after making
this bold and arrogant profession of love and commitment to Christ, he cussed
and denied that he even knew him!
D. The apostle’s fall did not
come at once, but by degrees.
Great, life-threatening sicknesses
seldom come upon men without warning. Usually there are symptoms to warn us
that something is wrong. Even so, believers seldom experience sudden falls into
grave sin. Usually there are symptoms that something is wrong. The problem is
that we ignore the symptoms.
“The Church and the world are
sometimes shocked by the sudden misconduct of some great professor of religion;
believers are discouraged and stunned; the enemies of God rejoice and
blaspheme: but if the truth could be known, the explanation of such cases would
generally be found to have been private departure from God. Men fall in private long before they fall
in public.” J. C. Ryle
Notice that the Holy Spirit records
a specific series of steps by which this man of faith descended into such a low
condition.
1. He was far too confident and proud (vv. 31-33).
2. The Lord told him to watch and pray. Instead, he slept!
3. He followed the Lord afar off (v. 58).
4. He chose to sit with scorners (v. 58; Luke 22:55; John
18:18).
5. He denied his Master by degrees (Mark 14:68-71).
a. At first, he pretended not to understand the maiden’s
words.
b. Then, he denied that he knew the man (A Denial of His Own
Confession (Matt. 16:18; John 6:69).
c. At last, he took up the oaths of a profane man, cussing as he denied his Redeemer, as if to prove his point by foulness.
E. Here is another aggravation of Peter’s terrible sin: All of this was done very close to the
place where his Lord and Master was at that very time suffering for him!
The Lord Jesus was standing right
before Peter’s eyes, hearing every word!
II. Secondly, I
want you to see THE MEANS OF PETER’S RECOVERY.
It is written in the Scriptures,
“The righteous falleth seven times a day; but the LORD raiseth him up.” Peter
fell, but he did not perish. His faith was weak, but not dead. He sinned
miserably; but he was not forsaken. This man belonged to Christ. He was one of
those sheep to whom the Son of God gave eternal life, and promised, “They shall
never perish!” Therefore, Peter was graciously restored by the hand of God. How did the Lord God restore his fallen
child? Here are four things by which God graciously restored Peter. Listen
carefully. These are the very same things he uses to restore his fallen ones
today.
A. A WORK OF PROVIDENCE - “And immediately the cock crew” (v. 74).
The Lord God has many ways to reach
the hearts of his chosen. There are many roosters he can cause to crow to
awaken his erring children.
B. A WORK OF GRACE - “The Lord turned and looked upon Peter” (Luke 22:61).
What a look that must have been! The
Lord turned to Peter. Peter did not turn to the Lord. And he looked upon Peter,
not in anger, disgust, and wrath, but in mercy, love, and grace! That look
reflected all the tenderness, compassion, and faithfulness of Christ toward his
fallen, sinful children. With that look, the Lord Jesus spoke silently, but
effectually, to Peter’s heart. He seems to have said, “Peter”...
·
“I have loved you
with an everlasting love.”
·
“Ye have not chosen me,
but I have chosen you.”
·
“I have given to you
eternal life; and you shall never perish!”
·
“I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee.”
·
“I, even I am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions.”
·
“In me is thy
righteousness and strength.”
·
“Return, return unto
me and I will pardon.”
·
Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
·
“Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
C. THE WORK OF THE WORD - “And Peter remembered the word of Jesus” (v. 75).
1. If we do not remember the Word that has been preached unto
us, all is lost (I Cor. 15:2).
2. We cannot escape the wrath of God if we let the gospel slip
through our ears without effect (Heb. 2:1-3).
3. Yet, we are sure to do so, unless God the Holy Spirit be our
Remembrancer.
It was the Word of God, graciously
and effectually brought home to Peter’s heart, that worked repentance in him.
Note: We
must never presume that the Word of God has no effect because it has no
immediate effect upon the hearts of those who hear it.
Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but
it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Ecclesiastes 11:1 "Cast thy
bread upon the waters: for thou
shalt find it after many days."
D. THE WORK OF THE SAVIOR - “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke
22:32).
As a great High Priest and Almighty,
meritorious Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ prayed for Peter. And that same
great High Priest is praying for you and me at this very hour!
1 John 2:1-2 "My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our
sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world."
These thoughts thrill my soul and
flood my heart with joy, gratitude, and praise. The Lord Jesus Christ is full
of tenderness and mercy. His compassions, they fail not. They are new every
morning! Jesus Christ is a faithful Savior! If you are a true believer, you may
be assured of this fact: Your sins will
never separate you from your Savior! You never shall, for any reason or by
any means be separated from...
·
His Love!
·
His Favor!
·
His Mercy!
·
His Care!
·
His Saving Power!
III. Thirdly, I
want you to see THE SIGNS OF PETER’S RESTORATION.
The
Lord’s work for Peter and upon Peter were effectual. They accomplished their
design. Peter’s heart was restored. Satan had run him through his sieve, but
Peter lost nothing in the process but chaff! Thus satan himself was used as an
instrument of good for Peter!
A. Peter went
out of the place.
Once the
fire was restored in his soul, he no longer wanted or needed the fire which the
Lord’s enemies had kindled. He immediately forsook those who had turned his
heart from his Lord.
B. Peter wept
bitterly.
Sin is no
light thing to the regenerate soul. Convulsive weeping came upon Peter when he
realized what he had done. He could not stand himself. His heart was crushed
within him.
Psalms 51:17 "The
sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
1 John 1:9 "If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
IV. Let me finish
my message by calling your attention to a few of THE LESSONS WE
SHOULD LEARN FROM PETER’S FALL.
I will not
detain you but another few minutes; but I do want us to learn from this passage
those very important lessons that the Holy Spirit intends for us to learn from
it.
A. We should
learn something about ourselves.
We are all
too much like Peter. We are fickle, sinful wretches by nature. There is no evil
in the world of which you and I are not capable.
1. Do not be presumptuous, proud, and self-confident; but watch and pray.
·
I Corinthians 4:7
·
I Corinthians 10:12
2.
Do not be severe with your erring, fallen brethren.
B. We learn again that “Salvation is of the LORD!”
From start to finish, salvation is
by the grace of God alone! Our only standing, our only acceptance, our only
righteousness is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.
1. God’s grace is free!
2. God’s grace is immutable!
3. God’s grace is indestructible!
4. God’s grace is sufficient!
C. We learn that all who are
saved by grace are kept infallibly secure in Christ.
Nothing can ever sever one of the
Lord’s own from him. All who are in Christ are as secure as the very throne of
God.
·
John 10:27-29
D. We learn
from this story that the Lord our God abides forever faithful!
·
Mark 16:7
·
II Timothy 2:13-14
He will not leave his own; and he
will not let his own leave him! “He abideth faithful!”
Application:
1. Keep yourselves in the love of God.
2. Live around the cross.
3. Cling to Christ always.
4. As often as you fall, return quickly to your Savior.
·
He will receive you.
·
He will forgive you.
·
He will be gracious
to you.
·
He will forget your
fall.
[1] See #498 for message by the same title which was preached at Danville on 4\17\83 & 2\2\86, at Kingston, Jamaica 1\29\86, Crossville, TN 6\2\86, and New Caney, TX 6\26\88.