Restored - Mark 14:66-72

Introduction

Read Mark 14:66-72

Mark 14:66–72 (ESV)

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 the 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.

When I was growing up, I would watch the show, “Home Improvement” with Tim the “tool man” Taylor.

He loved tools and working with his hands, although he very often messed things up. But one of the things he did really well was working on cars. In fact, throughout the run of the show he always had a running project of either building a car or restoring a car. In the later seasons, he and his oldest son had purchased an old run down car for the express purpose of restoring it and making it new.

There are people who are great at restoring things back to their original condition or bringing something to an even better than new condition.

Restoration - return (someone or something) to a former condition, place, or position. repair or renovate (a building, work of art, vehicle, etc.) so as to return it to its original condition.

This was the theme of this year’s youth camp, “Restored.” We looked at how Peter had really failed Jesus and was in need to be restored.

Peter’s Background

Let’s quickly review Peter’s background for those who may not be familiar with this Biblical character.

Peter’s name was originally Simon. Simon Peter was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. His brother Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When John pointed to Jesus and told his disciples that Jesus was the one they were waiting for, Andrew began to follow Jesus. Then he went to tell Simon about Jesus.

Simon Peter and his fellow fishers had been working all night long with no luck of catching any fish. Jesus comes by the next morning with a crowd following Him and he decides to climb into Peter’s boat and asks him to push away from the land where he would then proceed to teach the crowds. After teaching, Jesus tells Simon to let down his nets for a catch. Of course, Simon, the professional fisher tells Jesus, “we’ve been doing this all night long, but since you ask, I’ll go ahead and do this.” Simon did not really expect to catch anything. However, when he obeyed, they caught a huge number of fish. At this point Simon realized that Jesus was more than an ordinary man. He fell to his knees and admitted his sinfulness to Jesus. It was at this point Jesus told Simon that he would be catching men rather than fish, indicating that Simon would be a follower of Christ.

Later, Peter would confess his faith in Jesus by declaring his belief that Jesus was not simply another prophet, but rather that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus said that Peter knew this only because God had revealed it to him. Jesus would also give Simon the new name of Peter, which means “Rock.”

Peter had some great moments of faith, but he also had some times of weakness as he was learning what it meant to follow Christ.

Everyone Needs Restoration

But with all of Peter’s ups and downs, he never really faced a failure like he did in the passage that we have read this morning.

Back in verses 26-31 of this same chapter, during His last supper with His disciples, Jesus told them that he was getting ready to die and that all the disciples were going to fall away. Peter declared his loyalty to Jesus saying that he would die for Jesus. Jesus, however, knowing all things, said that Peter would betray him before the night was over.

Sure enough, as Jesus was being tried before the council, Peter was confronted by a servant girl who recognized him as one of Jesus’ followers. Peter vehemently denied even knowing Jesus. Think about this, as Jesus was on his way to dying for His people, Peter, one of his closest friends denied even knowing Him.

All Sin is Essentially a Denial of Knowing or Needing God

Peter’s sin here is grave indeed. We might think, who could deny Jesus like this?

And yet, if we are honest, we have to admit that we have all committed this same kind of treason.

Adam and Eve, when they took of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, chose to deny their relationship with God so they could be their own gods.

Every time we lie, we deny our relationship with God in order to try to save and protect ourselves. Every time we harbor unforgiveness, we deny God by taking justice into our own hands. Every time I lust, I deny that true joy and pleasure is found in Christ alone. Every time I steal, I deny that Christ alone provides all my needs. Every time I dishonor my parents, I deny the authority that Christ has given to them for my good. Every addiction I feed is a denial that Christ alone can satisfy my soul.

Every sin is ultimately a denial of Christ.

All Have Sinned

Peter seems to have lost his standing with Christ. He appears to have gone from the top disciple to being the lowest of the disciples, if he can even consider himself a disciple at this point.

Peter is damaged goods and he is probably wondering if there is any hope for restoration and renewal for him.

But the truth of the matter is, Peter is not the only one who has failed Christ. We all are in this same situation.

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We all fail, even as believers. And if we don’t think we have, then we have actually deceived ourselves.

1 John 1:8 (ESV)

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

But when we begin to see our sin for what it is, we can begin to wonder, is there any hope for us too. Can Christ still love us even after failing?

Jesus is the God Who Restores

But here’s the truth about our God. We have a God who loves to save and restore His people.

We know that just a few short hours after Peter denied Jesus, Jesus would die upon the cross for the sins of the world, including Peter’s sin of denial. However, if we put ourselves in Peter’s shoes, we might wonder, can Jesus forgive me of that kind of sin? Would Jesus still want me as His disciple?

God desires to save and restore

Let’s look at how God reveals the resurrection to His disciples. We have Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb and instead of finding Jesus’ body, they find the empty tomb as well as an angel there. Listen to the response of the angel in Mark 16:6-7

Mark 16:6–7 (ESV)

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

Notice how the Angel not only tells them to go tell Jesus’ disciples, he makes it a point to include Peter. God is anticipating Peter’s response of feeling unworthy of being called a disciple and wants to make sure that Peter knows about Jesus’ resurrection.

But not only this, but Jesus comes to Peter to restore Him.

John 21:4–7 (ESV)

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

Jesus comes to the disciples, but they do not recognize Him. What is interesting here is that He comes to them in a very similar way that He encountered them when He first called them to follow Him. In Luke 5, we see that Jesus told Peter to cast the net to catch fish, even though they had been working all night and had not caught anything. When Peter obeyed, they had caught a large number of fish. Jesus then called them to follow Him as His disciples.

Now Jesus has come back to them in the same manner to reveal Himself to them. He is sending them a message that He is giving them a fresh new start.

Your past failure does not have to define you.

Jesus is once again calling to them to follow Him as His disciples. He is saying, “I still want you, no matter what you have done.”

Your identity is found not in who you are or in what you have done, but in who Christ is and what He has done for you!

God has always been a God who Restores

Isaiah 43:1–7 (ESV)

But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Fear not, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you.

I will say to the north, Give up,

and to the south, Do not withhold;

bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the end of the earth,

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

We were created for God’s glory and although we have fallen short of His glory by living for our own, He is working to restore us to the place He created us to be in. He wants to continue to use us for His glory and honor.

He has brought Peter back into a right relationship with Himself and will continue to use Peter for His glory and He offers us the same kind of restoration.

Jesus demonstrated God’s love for us

How do we know that this is God wants? Because Christ has demonstrated His love for us on the cross.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Even as Peter was denying Christ, Christ was on His way to the cross to die for Peter’s sin and for all of ours as well.

You might be thinking, there’s no way God can still love me after all I have done. Please listen to me, the cross shows us how terrible sin is. But the cross also shows us how great the love of God is.

Tim Keller: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

Do not believe the lie and the arrogance that believes that my sin is greater than what Christ can overcome.

Christ wants to save and restore us and He demonstrated that on the cross. We must daily turn to the cross to remind us of the incredible love God has for us and of the grace that is greater than all of our sin!

Restoration is Available in Christ

Turn to Christ in faith and repentance

Restoration is available in Christ. All we have to do is to turn to Christ in faith and repentance.

John 3:16 (ESV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

We are called to believe in Christ. This is more than just a mere intellectual belief. This is a belief in Christ that He is better than anything else this world can give to us that then leads us to turn away from our sin and turn towards Christ. It is the kind of faith that leads us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus, will not die, but live forever in the presence of God, the way we were meant to do.

Through our faith in Christ, God restores us to a right relationship with Himself. He is making us new again.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We see the language of restoration right here. This is what happens when we die to ourselves and place our faith in Christ. We become new once more.

God’s Grace Will Restore Us Both Spiritually and Physically

Not only does God restore us in an instant, He also restores us as He makes us holy in how we live. God calls us to live lives of physical holiness, not just to be declared righteous.

After Jesus appeared to the disciples and reinstated His call to them, He invited them to have breakfast with Him. After breakfast, here’s what Jesus does for Peter:

John 21:15–17 (ESV)

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, 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?” 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.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Jesus is restoring Peter spiritually. Just as Peter denied Christ three times, now Jesus is giving Peter a chance to profess his love and faith in Christ three times. This is a grace towards Peter. But it is a costly grace, for this restoration process is once again reminding Peter of his failure and his need for Christ.

However, notice Jesus’ call to Peter during this process. Jesus is calling Peter to a life of obedience. He wants Peter to continue to serve and minister to others as well, to feed His sheep. Restoration includes, not just a spiritual renewal, but also a physical renewal as we are called to a life of obedience and holiness to Christ.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (ESV)

but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God wants to restore us, not just spiritually, but to restore us in all areas of life, which includes physically. We may not be able to reach perfection on this side of heaven, but we are called to pursue holiness in the here and now, as we follow Christ and as we serve others.

We do this as we learn how to follow the commands of Christ. We ought to have people, mentors, we can look to learn from, who can encourage us to grow in holiness and righteousness.

We also grow in holiness as we experience God’s good and gracious discipline in our lives.

Proverbs 3:11–12 (ESV)

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

God loves us and will discipline us when we sin, not because He wants to be the great cosmic killjoy, but because He loves us and wants what is best for us.

Spiritual restoration is much like removing cancer. It is good and necessary, but it is also painful in the process.

Seek to learn from others and to learn from God’s good and holy discipline that seeks to grow us more into the image of Christ.

Do you have someone you are learning from as you grow in the holiness? And do you have someone you are teaching and helping guide in their life of restoration in Christ? If not, is there someone God is placing on your heart to reach out to begin that kind of relationship?

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