Series — The Road to the Resurrection — Message 12 — The Rise, Fall, & Restoration of Peter
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Church! I want to thank each and every person who has come out to join us today: those in person and those who may be joining us online as well.
I hope each of you had a wonderful week this week!
This morning, we are going to be continuing on in our study of the Book of Matthew and we will find ourselves this morning in Chapter 26 and today we are only going to be looking at Verses 31-35 at a message I’ve entitled...
The Rise, Fall, & Restoration of Peter.
I’ve been excited about this message this week and I think it’s because, so many times I have found myself in this same situation we are going to find Peter in this morning.
I’ll be walking close with Jesus, things are going great, I can feel the presence of God moving in my life…my preaching is strong, the Holy Spirit is moving, people’s lives are being changed, just everything seems to be going right and it never fails…I end up doing something to knock me off course and stifle the progress that God is doing in my life.
One minute I’m on top of the world in my walk with Christ and the next I’m ashamed of my actions and don’t even feel worthy to be called a child of God!
I find myself echoing the words of Paul in Romans Chapter 7… “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
But it’s those next words that bring me back and restore my faith and walk!
Paul goes on to say… “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Dear friend, we make mistakes, we miss the mark, we sin and fall short of God’s glory but I thank God this morning that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning and that He sent His one and only Son to do what I cannot!
I thank God for His Son who lived a perfect life, died a sinners death, and reigns victorious over death, hell and the grave this morning and He did it all because He knew we couldn’t!
This same lesson, is what we are going to see here this morning as we look at Peter, the outspoken leader of the men who would flip the world upside down for Christ!
We’re going to see Peter stand up for Christ one minute and deny he even knows him the next but by the end, we will see Christ restore Peter to his position as leader of the group and embolden him with the mission to lead His sheep.
This is one of the greatest stories of restoration you will find in the Bible and what I hope you leave here with this morning is this…maybe there’s something that you’ve done in your past and it’s driven a wedge between you and God and your ashamed and feel as if God would never forgive you for what you’ve done.
Listen, we serve a merciful God this morning who loves us so much that He was willing to send His one and only Son to die for our sins.
If that doesn’t scream forgiveness I don’t know what does.
He is a merciful God this morning and the Bible says in...
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
In 2nd Corinthians 1:3 Paul tells the Corinthians...
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
The reason He can be our source of all comfort is because He is a merciful God this morning.
Whatever you have done that has separated you from God and made you feel downtrodden, just bring it to Him and lay it at the foot of the cross for through His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven and restored to a right relationship through Him.
With no further ado, let’s look at the rise, fall, and restoration of Peter.
If you have your Bible’s turned to Matthew 26 and Verse 31 would you say, amen.
Alright, before we get into the message I’d like to ask you to bow with me in a word of prayer.
The Rise — (Vs. 31-35, 51-56)
The Rise — (Vs. 31-35, 51-56)
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.
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
Now, what you don’t see here in Matthew but is recorded in the Book of Luke is what Jesus says specifically to Peter next here.
31 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.
How does Peter respond?
33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.
So, we see here Peter once again stepping up as the leader of the group and saying first… “Lord even if I have to die with you I will never deny you!”
Now, you have to give Peter some props here. Let’s fast forward a few hours and I will show you why.
Jump on down to Verse 51 with me really quick.
Now, before I begin to read here, let me give you a quick synopsis of what we’ve skipped.
Jesus and the disciples go to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus begins to pray and I’m not going to get too deep into this because we’re going to back up and look at this next week but Jesus and the disciples are in the garden and Jesus is praying.
Now, who remembers who went missing from the passover feast last week?
Judas right?
Well in the time that Jesus has been praying, ole Judas has done went and spilled the beans about Jesus’ whereabouts to the high priest who has sent his guards to arrest Jesus.
They have showed up to take him and that’s where we pick up here in Verse 51.
51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
Now, there’s a couple details here I want to make a little more clear.
First off, the one who took the sword and chopped off the servant of the high priests ear was none other than our good friend Peter!
Peter told Jesus he was willing to die for Him, right?
And so he does the only thing he knows to do and that’s to try and defend Jesus!
So, he takes out a sword and…whop…off goes the ear of this high priests servant!
Now, who can tell me the name of the high priests servant?
Extra points if you can 😜
His name is Malchus.
10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
I’ve often wanted to preach a message from the point of view of Malchus titled… “My name is Malchus!”
And if your wondering why, here’s why!
After Peter chops off Malchus ear the Bible actually records in the Book of Luke...
51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
Can you imagine being Malchus?
Put yourself in his shoes for just a moment.
Here’s this man who is undoubtedly a devout Jew. He’s heard all the rumors about this man named Jesus. He’s heard the high priests and others no doubt talk about how He’s a phony and a fraud. How this man is blaspheming God by claiming the be the Christ.
And here you are, you get the order to go arrest Him and you think you’re about to be something. The one who brought in the false prophet claiming to be the Messiah!
You’ve got Him in your sights. You’ve laid hands on the man and you’re about to take Him in when all of a sudden out of nowhere you hear this whoosh and then you feel this super sharp pain on the side of your head and something isn’t right.
You reach up and feel where the pain is radiating from and your ear is gone and where it once was is just now gushing blood!
You start to wig out a little and then you hear this man name Jesus tell one of His disciples...
52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.
53 Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?
54 But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
It’s at this very moment something most unexpected happens!
You see this man you came to arrest walk towards you and the look on His face doesn’t seem like the look of this criminal they have claimed Him to be.
Then, out of nowhere, He reaches up ever so softly, and places His hand over your ear and all of a sudden the ringing you have been experiencing stops.
The blood you felt running down your neck ceases.
The ringing suddenly stops and your hearing slowly begins to return.
You look into His eyes and all you see is love and compassion and deep down in your heart, without saying a word, you hear His heart speak to your heart and it whispers to your soul… “Malchus, this is why I came. To save people just like you!”
You don’t know what to do! Inside you’re melting. Your heart is beating a million miles a minute.
He pulls His hand away and you reach up and your ear has been made whole!
You can’t explain it but the way you feel right now you just want to bow right here in front of everyone because the only way to explain what just happened in your life is nothing short of a miracle and something deep down inside of you is screaming… “He is who He claims to be! He is the Messiah!”
Inside, you are torn about what to do but one thing you know…this man named Jesus just made you whole!
Listen friend, I truly believe when we get to heaven one day, we’ll see ole Malchus. And I can’t wait to set him and Peter down and talk about that night!
Now, some might be thinking Malchus and Peter sitting down together for a chat after that? Yeah right.
But here’s my take on it…I bet Malchus thanked Peter for chopping off his ear when it was all said and done because if he hadn’t of, Malchus might have never really met the real Jesus or experienced His miraculous power!
How about that?
So, we have Peter here, he’s done what he said and stood up for Jesus.
Jesus rebukes him for cutting off Malchus ear and tells him to put away the sword and then the Bible goes on to say in Verses...
55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
At this point the scripture from Zechariah has been fulfilled.
The shepherd is about to be smitten and the sheep have been scattered.
The Bible says here… “all the disciples forsook him and fled.”
Even Peter. I’m sure after the scolding for the sword incident Peter just felt like giving up.
“Lord, I did what I thought I was supposed to do.”
Peter thought he was doing the right thing but what he didn’t understand was the Master’s master plan.
That all of this was planned out before the foundation of the world down to the most minute of details and it was done so in order that no one else in history could lay claim to being the Messiah.
Oh, they will try but no one will ever fulfill scripture the way that Christ did.
It’s gloriously impossible to do so!
Peter, not understanding, decides it’s probably better to flee than to stay and fight seeing as this is apparently what His Lord wanted to happen and so he goes.
But…he doesn’t go far and this is where we are going to transition from the rise to the fall.
The Fall — (Vs. 57-58, 69-75)
The Fall — (Vs. 57-58, 69-75)
57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
You have to give Peter props. He don’t have the answers; he don’t understand but he wants to understand.
The Bible tells us here that he follows Jesus afar off and even makes his way inside to see the end.
Now, the trial begins to take place and we’re not going to look at that today because we’ll look at it a little later but after Jesus has been falsely convicted, jump down to Verses 69-75 with me and we will see the fall of Peter.
69 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.
So, here’s Peter and he’s trying to blend in with the crowd and not be seen for fear that he might find himself in the same situation as his Lord but all these people keep coming up and saying… “this is one of them.”
And with each passing time Peter, without even giving it a second thought, denies being a follower of Christ.
One time, two times, and then three!
The Bible even says Peter gets so frustrated that he begins to curse and swear saying that he doesn’t know this man named Jesus!
But as soon as he denies Christ that third time, the Bible says the rooster crowed.
Now, the Book of Luke records something here that Matthew does not. In...
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Can you imagine being Peter in this moment?
You swore you’d never deny Jesus and now you’ve done it just like He said you would but you didn’t even think He knew you were any where around but as soon as you denied Him that third time…the rooster begins to crow and all of a sudden Jesus turns and looks straight at you as to say… “Peter I told you this would happen.”
Can you imagine the sorrow Peter felt in this very moment?
The depths of regret and sadness just overcoming you inside!
The very thing you swore you’d never do, you just did!
“How could I do that? I was supposed to be the leader. He was relying on me and I have failed Him. I’m so unworthy and wretched. The only thing I deserve is death.”
Well Peter, don’t beat yourself up because that’s what we all deserve, Amen!
We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We are all as an unclean thing.
There is none righteous, no not one!
And because the wages of sin is death…it’s what we all deserve!
But praise God this morning that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!
We just like Peter have sinned and continue to sin and come short of the glory of God but praise be to God this morning, that my salvation doesn’t rest in anything I do short of believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary, Amen!
I’m a sinner just like Peter but I too, just like Peter have been saved by God’s amazing grace!
Peter didn’t understand this yet though.
All he understood is that he had failed his Lord and Savior. The one he swore to protect, he has now denied.
And it’s tearing him up inside.
The Bible says he went out and began to weep “bitterly.”
That word means with agony and mental suffering.
Peter was beating himself up over what he had just done and it was taking a toll on him.
We’ve seen the rise. We’ve seen the fall. Now, let’s look at the restoration.
The Restoration — (John 21:1-17)
The Restoration — (John 21:1-17)
Alright, we’ve jumped ahead quite a bit. Jesus has now been sentenced by Pilot, crucified, and even risen from the grave.
He’s even showed Himself to the disciples in a group atmosphere multiple times now.
But we pick up here in John 21 with another account of Jesus showing Himself to the disciples but this meeting is going to be a little different.
He comes to meet with the group but more importantly He comes to meet with Peter individually.
Let’s start in Verse 1 and just work our way through it here.
Vs. 15-17
In order to understand what is happening here in the conversation we must first understand the terminology that is being used.
See, here in America we use the word love to mean many different things but in the Greek language there were 4 different words signifying 4 different types of love.
1. Storge- When this type of love is talked about it means a familial love as in the love that a parent might have for a child.
2. Eros- Now this type of love is actually where the English word Erotic stems from. When talking about this type of love it means a passionate love like the kind of love a husband and wife will have for each other.
3. Phileo- Which means to like or treat affectionately. This type of love is often used in conjunction with brotherly love and is most often exhibited as in a close friendship.
4. Agape or Agapao- Which means to love dearly. This type of love is the most powerful, most noble of all the types of love and most often is used in context to mean a sacrificial love.
Now that we understand that there are different words for the different types of love, you’re probably asking yourself what does all of this have anything to do with the text right?
What we must understand is that this is the first time since his denial of Christ that we see any dialogue between Jesus and Peter.
If you do some studying, you will find that the scripture doesn’t say anything about him being at Jesus’s Crucifixion so from the time he denied Christ 3 times, until now, we can only assume that Peter was in pure agony of how he had spent his last waking moments with the Lord he had come so close to over the past few years.
Now, the Bible says that Jesus had appeared to all the disciples twice before this in Jerusalem but it never said he had a conversation with Peter directly until this point.
See, when Jesus asks Peter in Verse 15: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He uses the Greek word Agapao or Agape. He is saying “Peter do you love me more than the rest of these men do? Do you love me enough to die for me?”
Undoubtedly and with a sorrowful heart he doesn’t think himself worthy enough anymore to be the “Rock” that Christ had called him to be so he answers, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”
Now, the love he responds to Christ with is Phileo love because he doesn’t feel worthy anymore and Jesus tells him “Go feed my lambs”.
There’s something else here I want to show you that I just picked up on yesterday when I was studying back through this.
Not only are there different words used here for love but also when Jesus says “go feed my lambs” the word for “feed” is different and it helps to drive this point home as we work our way further into the scripture.
The word Christ uses for feed here is… “bosko” and it means literally to feed.
Now, just hold onto that detail because it will come into play here in the next verse.
Then Jesus asks him again “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” Again He asks him with the word Agape or Agapao and Peter responds, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” Again only with the Phileo love and Jesus said to him “Feed my sheep.”
Notice this time he didn’t ask Peter if he loved him more than the rest and also instead of feeding the lambs he tells him to “feed his sheep.”
As small of a detail as it may seem, by changing from lambs to sheep, Jesus now says to Peter: look not only do I want you preaching my gospel to the young and unlearned but I want “YOU” to preach to the adults and Jews and anyone who will believe on my name!
Not only does He tell Peter He wants him to feed his sheep but the word Christ uses here for “feed” is “poimaino” and it’s an upgrade from the word “bosko.”
This word means to shepherd…figuratively to lead, to guide, to rule.
So, in essence, Jesus with each passing question, is telling Peter… “not only do I want you to feed my little ones Peter but I still trust you to lead my sheep. You are the one I have chosen to shepherd the flock. I need you to be the leader I know you can be!”
And then we have verse 17 which is where everything comes to a climax for this story!
For a 3rd time Jesus asks Peter... “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?”
Except this time, he asks Peter with a Phileo love instead of Agape.
Now you may be asking what does that mean?
I truly believe that was Jesus saying to Peter: “Peter, you made a mistake. I know you are sorry for it. I know you have been beating yourself up about it but look Peter, I forgive you and I still need you to be my Rock!”
The best part about it is look at Peter’s reaction when Jesus asked him a 3rd time. The Bible says:
“Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?”
When Jesus asked him that 3rd and final time there is no doubt that the scene from the night when he denied Christ just continued to run through his head and with a broken heart and sorrowful spirit he says to Christ:
“Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee!”
Peter was sorrowful for denying Christ and there is no doubt in my mind that this conversation took place so that Peter would know that Jesus still trusted him with his Church and still wanted him to go out and be the leader who would spread His gospel far and wide!
Jesus’ final comment… “Feed my sheep” said it all: “Peter I still love you, and I know that you still love me, now go feed my sheep!”
I’m so thankful that John recorded this record of restoration for us to see.
I think it just really drives home the heart of the God we serve this morning.
A God who loves His creation so much that He’s willing to go to the furthest lengths imaginable to have a relationship with them.
And not only have a relationship but a restored relationship when we go and mess it all up.
Closing
Closing
This morning, we’ve seen the rise, fall, and restoration of Peter, the very first leader of the Church.
A man chosen by Christ to lead the charge of Christianity upon His departure.
And the thing I want you to know this morning is this...
You may have made a mistake that you think God cannot or just will not forgive but friend that’s where you are wrong.
The Bible says the only sin that is unforgivable is the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Ghost.
And what that means is simply denying that God even exists; denying the drawing of the Holy Spirit upon your heart; telling God… “No thanks. I don’t need you.”
Not believing that God is real or is who He says He is…friend that’s the only sin that is unforgivable.
But if you are willing to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ this morning…that He is the one and only Son of God and that He came to die for your sins.
If you are willing to repent of your sinful ways and turn to Him, you can be saved!
And if you are here and you are saved, dear friend I have the greatest news you could ever hear....Jesus has already paid the price for your sins…past, present, and future.
God knows we can’t be perfect. He knows we are flawed in the first degree. He knows that if left to our own devices we will destroy ourselves.
That’s why He gave us His Son, Jesus!
And if you have believed upon Him this morning, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past, if you are willing to come and confess it to Him, the Bible says He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Maybe you are here this morning and you are like ole Peter.
Maybe you are in need of a restoration.
If so, as they get ready to give a song of invitation, I’m going to ask you to come and lay your problem at the feet of Jesus and give it to Him.
Your trash for His treasure!
Won’t you come for now is the accepted time and today is the day of salvation!