Even at our Worst (Good Friday 2023)

Peter and Us

This passage is alarming isn’t it? Maybe even a bit frustrating?

How could Peter falter so quickly? How could he give in so easily with everything he had seen, heard, and experienced walking with Jesus?

Just the night before, he had seemed so confident, decided, and determined.

But when you stop and consider the circumstances, we begin to understand Peter a bit better.

This was a dangerous situation.

Jesus had been arrested. There are lots of political and power issues at play.

The Jewish leader saw Jesus as a huge threat that needed to be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

But what would they do with His followers? Would they round them up and drag them into court? Would they beat them too, or even crucify them next to Jesus?

Peter is the only one of the disciples that follows Jesus into court, even though he follows “at a distance”.

But when the questions come, Peter’s boldness and courage begins to break.

With each question, his denial gets more and more forceful.

Finally, out of desperation to distance himself from Jesus, Mark says Peter “began to invoke a curse on himself and swear.”

Peter isn’t using cuss words here, he is saying “If I am lying may the wrath of God fall on me right now as I speak. I swear I do not know this man!”

Luke tells us it was at that time Jesus turns and looks at Peter and all the Gospel accounts record Peter “broke down and wept” overcome with shame.

Right here is where we are tempted to thing, “how do you say that?”

But maybe we should be slow to judgment and quick to look at our own hearts.

I am reminded of the story of Rachel Scott.

Yes, I believe in God

On April 20th, 1999 Rachel Scott was one of 12 students killed at Columbine High School by two student gunmen.

Rachel was eating lunch with a friend when she was shot. Before her death, she was asked by the shooter “Do you believe in God?”

Rachel was an outspoken follower of Jesus. She had written extensively and was seriously considering becoming a missionary after high school.

Since her death, many have made Rachel out to be a Christian martyr, having died because she was a Christian.

We don’t really know if she would have lived if she had answered that question differently, but her boldness and confidence has been inspiring for many and her story has changed many lives throughout the last 20 years.

But the questioned that begs to be asked in light of this is “How would I respond? If my life was on the line, would I stand for Jesus?”

I hope I, or none of us here, ever have to face that decision, but the reality is we do face the decision of whether we will live for Christ or deny Him every day (actually many time throughout our days).

There is no gun pointing at you, but:

With every careless unloving action to our spouse we say, “I don’t know this man.”

Every day we get up and live our day without reference to him we say “I don’t know this man.”

Every time we allow anger, bitterness, pride, greed, or lust to make a home in our hearts we say “I don’t know this man.”

Every time we chase money instead of generosity we say “I don’t know this man.”

Every time we keep silent about him out of fear of rejection by our culture, or neighbors, for being one of those “Christians” we say “I don’t know this man.”  

In a million different ways, our lives screamed “I don’t know this man!”

He Already Knows

And yet, that is what is so incredible about this passage.

The moment the rooster crows Peter is reminded of the words of Jesus the night before

Mark 14:30 CSB

30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

Jesus wasn’t surprised, He predicted it.

Peter was so confident, so sure of himself that even if all the others would abandon Jesus HE WOULDN’T!

The moment Jesus looked at Peter and those words sunk in, Peter’s failure hit him with the crushing force of grief, shame, and sorrow.

But what Peter doesn’t yet see, but we all must see: Jesus knew what he was going to do and loved him anyway.

Jesus had perfect knowledge of who Peter was, all his fear, failures, and how he would deny him and betray him at his greatest hour of need, and yet He still called him, still loved him, and still went to the cross for him.

Jesus knew Peter at his worst, most sinful moments and loved him.

This is the very heart of the Gospel on display:

Romans 5:6–8 CSB

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Many of us are kept from truly following Jesus because we live either with a deep shame for past failures, thinking “How could God ever accept me, love me, or use me?”

Or we live with a false since of pride, believing that we have somehow earned our right to God’s love and acceptance.

But the heart of the Good News, the Gospel, is that God comes to save us when we are STILL sinners.

We have a God who see us as our worse and was still willing to come, still willing to live, still willing to die, and is stilling willing to CALL us to follow Him.

He took the Curse

Don’t miss the crushing reality of Peter’s final words in this passage.

He was showing us what our sin leads to.

At the core, sin is rejecting and denying God

So God’s righteous judgement, his wrath and punishment we deserve, is to give us what we ask for, a life without Him, separated from all goodness, all love, all truth, and all beauty.

At the end of this chapter, that is Peter’s prospect.

But PRAISE GOD that is not the end of the story.

That is why we can call this day GOOD Friday.

Because the one who knew no sin, took on the sin of all who would trust in Him and absorbed the wrath of God on our behalf, on Peter’s behalf.

Behold the man upon a cross My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!