Peter's Denial: A Warning About Self-Confidence

Posted too much. Listen to little prey too little act to fast fall too far and as a result, he fell to little Peter had discovered the corruption of his own flesh. Even in the face of his best. I think that's his denial of Christ. But even in this heartbreaking story.

There's actually a lot of encouragement. In fact, Peter story provides a great lesson for recognizing what genuine repentance looks like and what it doesn't look like John MacArthur showed you that today on grace to you as he continues his brand-new series from the Gospel of Mark, titled the divine drama of redemption. This is a fast-paced, big picture look at the crucifixion, the resurrection and the other important events surrounding that first Easter. It's designed to give you a fresh appreciation for Christ's great sacrifice as resurrection Sunday draws near.

So if you have your Bible turn the gospel of Mark and here's John with the lesson.

One of the popular lies of our culture, if not the dominating popular lie of our culture and it's an old one is that man is basically good and that not only is man good generically but you as an individual are more than good your great you're more than great your wonderful and you need to recognize that because all your power in life resides in your self-esteem, and all your influence in life and your ability to achieve great things lies in the power of your self-confidence and people who fail in people who struggle are people who lack the power of self-esteem and the power of self-confidence people are programmed from early education to believe in their personal power, their personal worth their personal rights their personal beauty, their personal talent and to reject the reality that they are corrupt and fallen an evil and sinful and selfish and prone to disaster.

They are radically depraved whole generation now, or perhaps two or three generations exists of deluded people who when they get out of elementary school and face reality. Find out that they can't make their world what they've been told they could make their world and it certainly can't be their fault so they all become victims and the rest of society has to somehow take the blame for these poor victims.

These great, wonderful, superior individuals who are unparalleled.

Their failures have to be explained by something outside of them. So people live. In spite of these ridiculous notions with a perpetuated sense of importance and personal power and blame what's around them for failure to achieve market down self-esteem, self-confidence, personal pride is sin. It is an evidence of corruption. It is very arrow point of sin. It's where sin starts with pride. You can't re-label it as a virtue without deceiving everyone today were going to meet her believer one of us and not just one of us.

When one of the best of us, and certainly one of the most privileged of us who spent three years walking with the Lord and was the leader of the apostles were going to meet our familiar friend, Peter, and were going to find out a very very profound lesson in the danger of self confidence, danger of self confidence.

Let's begin in verse 66 as Peter was below in the courtyard.

One of the servant girls of the high priest came in seeing Peter warming himself.

She looked at him and said, you also were with Jesus the Nazarene, but he denied it, saying I neither know nor understand what you are talking about and he went out onto the porch servant girl sign and begin once more to say to the bystanders. This is one of them. But again, he denied it and after little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, surely you are one of them for you are a Galilean to but he began to curse and swear, I do not know this man you are talking about. Immediately a rooster crowed a second time and Peter remembered Jesus had made the remark to him before rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times and he began to weep. This is colossal.

This is Peter, who said, to whom shall we go you and you alone have the words of eternal life.

Who said you are the Christ, the son of the living God, this is Peter, the great leader the great preacher. How can this happen. This is a believer and this is not just a momentary slip up his denials.

If you think they happened in a brief time, you miss that his denials are strung out over two hours and the first one was a shock and a surprise, but the next two were premeditated responses, not just knee-jerk Jesus on trial for two hours from 1 to 3 Peter denial from 1 to 3. They run concurrently. Christ is seen in glorious triumph speaking honestly knowing it will cost him his life. Peter speaks this honestly trying to preserve his life out while what Peter did is is not necessary don't have to do this it does happen.

You say you mean actual true believer could do do this now we us all absolutely and you know that because although you've never stood before a tribunal that threatened to execute you and you never stood before some court that threaten to put you in prison for the sake of Jesus Christ, you have stood before people, and when you knew you should have confessed Christ you kept your mouth shut right so you know what this is like. If not on a colossal level like this on a smaller level but you know how hard it can be, in some circumstances to openly profess Christ because there are negative consequences. You know that you have it in you to do this, even though you love Christ you're not forfeiting your faith in him. You know you're not abandoning your trust in him.

You're not disdaining him were once you loved him. You're just unwilling to confess him and admit that you are his. And we all tasted of that we understand Peter situation.

How can that happen that can happen because while we are new on the inside.

We are incarcerated in our fallen flesh and is still corrupt and sinful and self protective, and that's what happened. Peter so we can learn crucial lessons from this experience with Peter and that's what I want us to see this morning. First will look at the story then we'll talk about its implications.

The story begins with foolish confidence, foolish confidence in the story really begins the night before. This denial occurs between 1 o'clock and 3 o'clock in the morning on Friday at the same time Jesus is having this illegal trial before Annis and Caiaphas, but it was the night before Thursday night in the upper room from sunset on to midnight when they were celebrating the Passover, Jesus and the disciples and when he instituted the Lord's table, the communion service. It was in that context in that upper room that Thursday night that our Lord looked at Peter and said this Simon. Simon is not good when they repeat your name twice.

It's never good, never good Simon. Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. Satan is asked permission to come after you the same way. He asked permission to go after Job and I'm gonna let them go after you because I want to prove as I prove with Job that saving faith can never be broken. No matter what happens. However, this is going to be a great trial for you. I have prayed for you.

Your faith may not fail. Faith can't fail because the Lord intercedes for us the faith of Job didn't fail the faith.

Peter didn't fail faith in Paul when a messenger of Satan was allowed to come after him didn't fail. Faith doesn't fail. That's perseverance. However, though we don't stop believing we can fall to a temptation to be cowardly and not confess our faith.

But he said to him, Peter says Lord with you. I am ready to go both to prison and to death and Jesus said to him, I say to you, Peter the rooster will not grow today until you denied me three times it that you will deny that you even know me three times. Later that night, Judas left. Later that night the 11 left the upper room they go toward amount of olives, Jesus says you will all fall away.

You will all fall away. Verse 29 Peter said even though all may fall away yet.

I will not. And here's Peter again, saying, Lord, most of the time. You know what you're talking about.

You really do your really good on the kingdom. Your grade on salvation. You just don't know how strong I am well Jesus said, truly, I say to you this very night before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times. He said it again on the walk. Peter kept insistently, saying, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you your wrong or the boldness of the sky. He is so confident so foolishly confident he is dangerously over confident he is foolishly confident. Proverbs 1618 says pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. First Corinthians 1012 let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Peter is really set up for fall.

His inner man. His love for Christ is love for the truth. His desire to be obedient to give honor to Christ, fully functioning, but he fails to understand the power of his remaining flesh and foolish confidence leads to failing cowardice, failing cowardice, we pick up the story. Here in verse 66. At this point Peter was below in the courtyard. Now let me just kinda give you the scene here.

They arrest him.

They tie him up Jesus as the disciples scatter. Judas is long gone, but the other 11 scatter as Zechariah 13 seven predicted they would.

And they flee Jesus is taken balance to the house of Annis 1 o'clock in the morning.

It is in this environment inside the house that belongs to the high priestly families in which Peter's denials take place. It is also inside this house first. In the apartment belonging to Annis in second in the apartment belonging to Caiaphas, the Jesus goes through the two aspects of the Jewish trial.

There's 1/3 kind of for show trial where they repeat their accusations and conclusions in the daylight before the crowd to give it the sense of looking legal because trials were not allowed to be held at night all three denials that occur in the same location but they occur over a period of two hours. Now, as we see Peter. We asked the question, what's he doing there.

What's he doing there. Well, he's driven there by his love for the Lord. He's driven there by his desire to be loyal he's driven there by the fact that he has made these constant protest stations that he would ever defect right, he's just trying to have some integrity so he finds his way back to this entourage that is moving in the blackness between midnight and 1 o'clock after having arrested Jesus in the garden. He's EE finds them and he follows them back to the house of the high priest, it's in that situation that he is exposed is in the courtyard and one of the serving girls in verse 66 who served the high priest came and she sees Peter warming himself. Verse 67 in the flickering of the firelight in the middle of the night she sees him there and it says she looked at him. Luke 2256. Luke's account says she stared at him is not a glance she's looking to see if this isn't somebody that she recognize remember not Jesus for that whole we could been pretty much in the temple, surrounded by his disciples and everybody associated with the high priest and his family knew about them and where they were because they were they were tearing into their temple system. From Monday through Wednesday, so perhaps she had seen him she was just checking it out to make sure he was the one she thought she looked at him and said, you also were with Jesus the Nazarene, meaning that he had come from the town of Nazareth and he says I neither know nor understand what you are talking about. No sooner did he say that then what you read in verse 68 it says I neither know nor understand what you're talking about but if you have a new King James or an old King James you will read this and he went out into the porch and the rooster crowed was Peter doing try to get away, he went out onto the porch. What it would mean the porch what's what's what's the porch that's the vestibule might become an old archaic words, it's the corridor it's the corridor that leads back out to the street. It's dark, it's out of the flickering fire away from the people into the corridor into the hallway that leads out T's gotta get away. It may have dawned on him the first time he heard that crowing of the rooster that he was on schedule to do exactly what the Lord said he would do so. He ducks into the corridor and some time passes clearly verse 69 says the servant girl saw him and he's confronted another time, and perhaps on this occasion there was again more than one question directed at him by more than one person, but the servant girl who saw him again once more to say to the bystanders. This is one of them.

This is one of them hiding here in the corridor.

But again, he denied it. Verse 70 again.

He denied in Matthew says he denied it before all of them. He denied it again and if you read Luke Luke says he said I am not one of his followers. Matthew says I do not know what you're talking about his second denial maybe is even a more fierce denial and now he said some time to think about it buddies really caught second denial is not a prop to Monsanto trip up.

It's premeditated. Now he's deep into this really deep into it. Matthew says that this accuser one of this accusers on this second go round said this fellow was with Jesus the Nazarene, and Matthew says Peter with an oath denied with an oath.

I swear it's the truth I fallow.

It's the truth.

You think now he probably get out of there, but he doesn't. He hangs around in verse 70 look at it after a little while after little while Luke says about an hour, another hour goes by he still milling around in the night wanting to see the end wanting to see the way it turns out, and maybe he's heard the screams of blasphemy that have been hurled from the mouths of the Sanhedrin against Jesus but he still there and the bystanders. This is the third time. Verse 70 were again saying to Peter, surely you are one of them for you are a Galilean two-headed. They know he was a Galilean. Did he have a name tag. No Matthew 2673 says your speech betrays you at a Galilean accent so in verse 71, he began to curse and swear I don't know this man you're talking about curse and swear what you mean.

Cursing, pronouncing a curse on himself if he is lying. He literally pulls down the hand of God on his own head if he's lying.

He is really hit rock bottom. I do not know this man you're talking about.

How could he save immediately. Verse 72, says a rooster crowed a second time and all that the Lord told him it come to pass the Lord and make it happen.

The Lord knew it would happen, and it happened because Peter wasn't ready.

He wasn't prepared didn't have to happen, the Lord knew it would happen because Peter was unprepared, brash, overconfidence, foolish confidence led to failing cowardice. How does this happen. How does this happen what leads to this may give you lessons okay number one.

He boasted too much.

He boasted too much self-confidence. He was strong. He was a man he could handle anything follow Christ anywhere any had that bolstered by warm, affectionate feelings toward Christ. He boasted too much, too much confidence in his strength too much confidence in his flesh. Secondly, he listened to little he listened to little Jesus told him and told him and told him this is great danger waiting for you say 10 wants to sift you, you will deny me and he spurned all those warnings he did not take the word of the Lord seriously. He ignored the word of Christ. He rejected warnings and reproof dangerous boasted too much. He listened to little. And thirdly, he prayed to little he slept through the permitting Lord said in the garden watch and pray for us to enter into temptation. You taught him in the in the disciples prayer. Pray this way.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. He should of been awake and praying that instead of sleeping. He prayed to little he omitted the spiritual duty you omitted the drawing on divine power and a downward impulse of his own flesh dragged him into the pit of cowardice boasted too much listened to little prayed to little. Fourthly, he acted too fast. He reacted on his own without considering the Lord's will grab the sword started swinging around. He was out of sync with the plan of God. He was out of sync with the purpose of God. He was driven by his own fleshly impulses. He wanted to make a hero out of himself.

He wanted to increase his reputation.

He wanted to affirm his self-confidence.

This is just more of his pride, he boasted too much. He listened to little prayed to little acted too fast and he followed too far he would've been a lot better off of you going all the way across the courtyard and stood right with his Lord.

That was always the safest place to be. He fled with the rest he followed far off. He is curious, but not courageous. He is a compromise or he's mingled around the fire and now he's stuck he may go long enough.

He sat with the man at the fire wanting to blend in so nobody would know who he was and it was his desire to blend in. That was the compromise followed 24 for the practical implications of that are so important.

You want to follow close you want to stay close boasted too much listened to little prayed to little acted too fast, followed too far and as a result, he fell to little he had discovered the corruption of his own flesh.

Even in the face of his best intentions. I think he believed in himself. That's the problem that's the problem. He doesn't believe in himself anymore. He knows what he is capable of. This is a profound lesson and Jesus said to him when you are converted when you turn around. From this you will be able to strengthen the brother because you will be able to teach them the lesson you learned about the weakness of the most resolute, self-confident believer, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Great lesson for us to learn not to be overconfident to understand the weakness of our flesh and steel ourselves against the kind of cowardice that broke the heart of Peter and grieve the heart of his Lord. That's John MacArthur here on grace to you. He's a pastor, author and Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary.

John's current study is reminding you of the great truths of our salvation. All that Christ went through for sinners like you and me. The series is titled the divine drama of redemption. You know John what we seen in this study about the disciples failures, and particularly today with Peter's collapse as he denied Jesus. It brings to mind the fact that sometimes may be overlooked.

Use trusted in your book on the 12 disciples that these were not supermen, always in control, never weak, never fearful, in fact, almost the opposite. These guys seemed a whole lot like well thus yeah I know I've said this many times. The reason Jesus shows such weak and ordinary men is because that's the only kind. There are the book, 12 ordinary men is had quite a ministry to the years. It was years and years that we just had that series on audio and it was downloaded on the website and we had CDs on the answers we would go back to tapes on that series.

But when the book came out, it all of a sudden catapulted into a huge amount of interest so the story of the disciples is the story of 12 ordinary men, they are very ordinary. In fact there are so ordinary. The Jesus basically named them. Oh you of little faith, society, and it was it seem like they never developed theologically or in faith.

From the beginning to the end because they were they were still confused. After three years of his ministry as things began to move toward the cross. They exhibited a lack of faith, the lack of understanding they were telling Jesus, he wasn't going to do what he said he was going to do so. Their faults and foibles and weaknesses basically make them like us 12 ordinary men were the most popular studies we have ever done. And it's available in book form that why is it important for you to read this book because you can find out what the Lord can do with ordinary people, ordinary men ordinary women. It's a deep dive into the lives of the disciples everything we know about them from the New Testament and will see their weaknesses, their strengths, their failures and their victories and they will be a model and an example for us to follow. So get a copy of 12 ordinary men available from Grace to you. Yes, this is one of John's most popular books it will show you how Christ used ordinary people to turn the world upside down and how he can use you to pick up a copy of 12 ordinary men when you contact us today. This softcover book is reasonably priced and shipping is free to order, call 855 grace or shop online@jidety.org.

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I'm Phil Johnson reminding you to watch grace to you television on Sunday. Check your local listings for channel and times and be here tomorrow when John continues his brand-new Easter series called the divine drama of redemption with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace