Peter's "Eye Witness Calvary"
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This morning we celebrate Easter. It is the time of year that we celebrate all that Jesus Christ did for us when he willingly gave up his life.
This morning I want to look at what at the events of the last week of Jesus’ life from a different point of view. This morning I want you to put yourself in the place of one of Jesus most trusted disciples. The disciple named Peter.
Peter
Peter
My name Simon. You probably know me as Petras or in English, Peter. But my best friend gave me the name Rocky.
You see, that was the name Jesus gave me.
Oh Jesus, my wonderful friend Jesus!
Many people have asked me what happened when Jesus died. Honestly, those events are still overwhelming to me. But if you will allow me, I will share with you took place the very first Easter.
Perhaps, it will help you be able to understand the true meaning of this wonderful day we call Easter Sunday!
PREPARATION:
PREPARATION:
I want to begin my story on the day of Passover preparation.
That’s when Jesus sent John and me were sent into Jerusalem to find a man carrying a water jar on his head.
We were to follow that man until he entered into a house. Then we were to say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” (Luke 22:11)
and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
Then Jesus told us the man would lead us to a large upstairs room. There John and I were to prepare the Passover meal.
It was just like Jesus to send us on some kind of mission that didn’t make sense. But we went into Jerusalem, followed a man carrying a water jar on his head, and we were led to an upstairs room where we prepared the Passover meal. Just like Jesus said!
So there, John and I got busy making preparations for us to celebrate the Passover Celebration with Jesus.
But none of us thought it would the last earthly celebration with Him.
ARRIVAL/WASHING THE DISCIPLES’ FEET
ARRIVAL/WASHING THE DISCIPLES’ FEET
Jesus arrived right on time.
The meal was prepared and ready, so everyone gathered around the table. Everyone, that is except Jesus.
He had gone back to the door and taken his robe off, picked up a basin of water and a towel and came to each of us to wash our feet.
There was NO WAY Jesus going to wash my feet! And when He got to me I told him that! But he said if he did not wash my feet I could have no part of Him.
Well, I you know me! I’m an all-in or all-out kind of person. I wanted to be all-in with Jesus, so if he really wanted to wash me—then I wanted Him to wash ALL of me!
Jesus said all I needed to be clean was to have my feet washed! I sat there in disbelief as He gently washed my feet.
When he finished washing our feet he went and put his robe back on and came and sat down at the table where he explained that we need to follow His example.
UPPER ROOM MESSAGE
UPPER ROOM MESSAGE
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
As we ate, and followed the Passover ritual, Jesus began talking about one of us betraying Him. We all sat there somewhat speechless.
I leaned forward and asked John find out which of the disciples would dare to betray our Lord!
Yet, all Jesus would say was it would be the one with whom He dipped the bread.
Well, that could have been any of us. Each of us had dipped the bread with Jesus at least one time through the night.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
Jesus also talked about the fact that He was going to leave us. He said He was going to die.
In fact, He was going to be crucified.
I couldn’t take that kind of talk, so I spoke up saying I would never allow that to happen to Jesus. I would sooner die than to see Jesus die!
All the other disciples agreed with me. Together we would NEVER let Jesus be crucified! NEVER!
But Jesus told me before the rooster crowed in the morning, I would deny Him three times.
I sat there in disbelief! There was no way I was going to deny Jesus tonight! In fact, there was no way I would EVERY deny Jesus! No, I would rather die with Jesus than to deny Him!
Jesus Comforts the Disciples
Soon we were eating and sharing in the Passover experience.
As we sat around the table Jesus kept talking about how we would see him for a little longer, and then he would be gone. Then He told us:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas spoke up and told Jesus what we were all thinking. He told Jesus that none of us know the way to where He was going. But Jesus simply said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
A NEW COMMANDMENT
A NEW COMMANDMENT
Jesus told us that people would know we are His followers by our love for each other. He actually said,
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Then he went on,
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
I sat there mesmerized once again by the words Jesus spoke.
THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
When we finished the Passover Celebration we left the upper room. We went outside the city gate.
We crossed the Kidron Valley up the hill to the Mount of Olives. There we entered an Olive Grove that was known in the area as the Garden of Gethsemane.
Shortly after entering the grove, Jesus asked James, John, and me to go farther into the grove with him. As we walked, it was clear that Jesus was in deep pain.
Jesus Asks Us to Pray
We soon stopped and Jesus asked the three of us to watch and pray with Him. He told us,
Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Then, He went a little farther into grove, and began to pray.
I honestly wanted to pray! More than anything I wanted to be faithful to Jesus and keep watch and pray with him.
But the events of the day, weighed on me. I was tired and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t stay awake to pray. Soon I was fast asleep.
Jesus Comes Back
The next thing I heard was the voice of Jesus. He woke the three of us up, and said,
“Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?”. . .
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again, I tried to stay awake. I was determined that I was NOT going to fail Jesus! But despite my best attempt I ended up falling asleep again.
The next thing I heard was Jesus’ voice saying,
“Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
When we looked we saw Judas with temple guards and a mob of men armed with clubs, swords, and torches coming towards us.
Judas, that betrayer, hugged Jesus and kissed him. A KISS? That sign was reserved for those loyal followers. Those who love and cared for the teacher. Betray Jesus with the sign of loyalty? How?
At that point, the mob began to grab at Jesus—and I was going to show everyone I was willing to die for Jesus.
So, I grabbed my sword and began to swing it. I saw the servant of the High Priest, a man named Malchus.
I aimed at his head to split it in two. But you know, I’m a fisherman not a swordsmen. So I missed and ended up cutting off his ear.
Jesus looked at me in disbelief, and said,
“Put your sword back in its place”. . . “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Jesus reached down and picked up the man’s ear, and put it back on—healing him.
From that point on, everything got mixed up. Jesus was being led away by the mob, and the rest of us were running in every direction.
We were running for our lives. I still can’t believe I ran. I told Jesus I was prepared to die with him, and now I was running for my life.
John & Peter
John and I ended up running in the same direction, and when things quieted down, we decided that we would go to the house of Caiaphas.
You see, that was our best guess as to where they took Jesus. We figured they would go there to present Him to the council.
Since John’s family was prominent in the region of Galilee, he thought he could get us the courtyard of the house. And it worked! We walked right in!
Because John and his family were well known, John was able to go inside the house. I was left out in the courtyard.
Peter’s Betrayal
While I was out in the courtyard a young servant girl of the High Priest came up and said,
“You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
But I told her,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I was afraid that she might question me again, so I moved to one of the outer fires that was closer to the gate.
But another servant girl was there and she boldly announced,
“This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Once again, I denied it. But this time I denied it with an oath,
“I don’t know the man!”
I stood there quietly, trying to hide my face in the darkness. But it was no good, those standing around the fire with me began staring at me.
Then they began talking among themselves. Then they looked at me and bold stated,
“Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
At this point in time I began to cuss and curse. I called down curses on myself, and swore to them that I did not know Jesus.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the rooster crowed. And when I heard that rooster, the words of Jesus came flooding back to me, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
At that moment, I was flooded with emotions! So I ran out of the courtyard weeping bitterly! I had betrayed my Jesus three times!
Somehow, I ended up back at the upper room where earlier in the night we celebrated the Passover.
I was surprised at the people who had gathered there. Together we sat and waited to hear the fate of Jesus.
Perhaps that was the worst part of night—the waiting.
John finally arrived to give us the news. The Romans had ordered that Jesus be crucified. I couldn’t believe my ears. The man who was filled with such love, condemned to die.
And the worst part was Jesus was condemned to die—TODAY!
Via Dolorosa
A group of us hurried down to the main street, called the Via Dolorosa—the road that was used to move prisoners from the Roman Pretorium to Golgotha—the place of the skull.
We stood there and watched as they led Jesus down the street. He was barely recognizable. Beaten and battered He tried to keep up with the procession but he couldn’t. He was too weak from all the beating he had endured.
It killed me to watch Jesus stumble as he carried the patibulum—the heavy crossbar of the cross.
When he stumbled, I wanted to reach out to him, but I was too far away.
One of the Roman Soldiers grabbed a man in the crowd and forced him to carry the pabulum for Jesus.
After all I had done, denying Jesus—I would have gladly carried it for Him! I would have gladly traded places with Him!
THE CRUCIFIXION
THE CRUCIFIXION
We followed along with the rest of the crowd. But I always afraid that someone would point us out to the officials.
I tried to watch the horror of the crucifixion, but I just couldn’t watch. John, Jesus’ mother Mary, and several other women moved closer to the cross, but I just couldn’t. I had betrayed Jesus. It should have been me hanging on one of the crosses.
I had denied Jesus, and now I couldn’t watch the scene that was playing out before my very eyes. My guilt wouldn’t allow me to look at Jesus as He hung on the cross, being tortured to death.
I had denied Jesus. You can’t imagine the guilt, and shame that flooded over me! And now I had watch my Jesus suffer.
When I could stand it no longer, I began to wander aimlessly through the city of Jerusalem. Tears flooded my eyes because everywhere I looked I saw a place where Jesus changed a life.
Around noon, the sky went dark. It was as if the sun, like me, couldn’t bear to shine. As I wandered through the streets of Jerusalem, there was an eeriness in that darkness.
I don’t know how long I wandered around. But I do remember that at about 3:00 in the afternoon while the sky was still dark, the entire city of Jerusalem shook violently.
Somehow my wanderings took me back at the upper room where we had celebrated Passover.
John arrived back at the upper room and gave us the news. Jesus was dead.
Two men, Joseph of Arimathea a secret follower of Jesus and Nicodemus (the one who came to Jesus by night) both of them were a part of the Sanhedrin and gone to Pilate and requested the body.
Now they had taken the body and hastily wrapped it up and laid in the tomb owned by Joseph.
The women had followed and seen the place where Jesus’ body was placed. And they reported that a Roman guard had been placed at the tomb, and the tomb had been sealed with the seal of Pilate.
THE WAIT
THE WAIT
The women arrived at the upper room just as the Sabbath began. We could do nothing until sunrise Sunday. The woman quietly gathered together the needed spices and cloth that would be needed to properly anoint and wrap the body of Jesus.
As for me, I spent two nights filled with fear and without much sleep. I was afraid every time I heard the Romans go by. I just knew at any moment troops were going to come and seize us like they grabbed Jesus.
THE RESURRECTION
THE RESURRECTION
Early Sunday morning the women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome headed off towards the tomb.
I must have finally fallen asleep. It seemed like the women were only gone a few minutes when they came rushing in. Excited and confused they began to tell us that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen from the dead.
I couldn’t believe my ears. It was bad enough that Jesus had been crucified, but now someone had to steal His body—well that was more than I could stand.
I jumped up and ran out of the house. I running towards the tomb. John ran after me, but John—he’s a runner. I mean, look at me. Do I look like a runner?
John passed me and arrived at the tomb before me. He was standing there peering into the tomb. I ran right by him, running right inside the tomb. Inside to cave we saw the strips of linen that had wrapped the body, and the piece that would have been over the face was folded and laying off to the side by itself.
Seeing the empty tomb caused me to believe even more in Jesus—but honestly, I still didn’t understand the resurrection until later that evening.
THE APPEARANCE OF JESUS
THE APPEARANCE OF JESUS
The good news traveled fast—Jesus had risen from the dead!
That evening most of the disciples were once again gathered together in the upper room. We were talking about Jesus and speculating about what the Jews would do next.
All of the doors and windows were locked for fear of the Jews. All of the sudden Jesus appeared. He showed us His hands, His feet, and His side.
But I could barely look at Him. The guilt and the shame was overwhelming and almost more than I could stand.
Then, as quickly as He appeared, He was gone. Yet, in that moment, I knew he was alive! He’s alive. From death to life, Jesus had conquered the grave.
But for me, none of that didn’t matter much because I had denied Him.
PETER’S RESTORATION
PETER’S RESTORATION
All of us were excited and glad to see Jesus alive, but it wasn’t the same. You see, He wasn’t with us every day.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I looked around and announced to the others, they said they would go with me!
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.”
So a bunch of us made the trek down to the Sea of Galilee where we fished all night, but caught NOTHING!
So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning we saw a man on the shore making a fire. Since our boat was not too far from shore, He called to us, asking,
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.
“Friends, Haven’t you caught anything?” Of course we answered “No.”
That’s when he told us to put the net on the other side.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Most of us in this boat are professional fishermen! We’ve fished all night long, and had the net on every side of the boat and caught NOTHING! What good would it possibly do to put out the net out again on the right side of the boat?”
But that’s when John told me, “It’s the Lord.” JESUS?
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
When I heard that, I didn’t give it a second thought. I jumped into the water and swam to shore.
There I was, face-to-face with Jesus. Immediately, my guilt and shame came flooding back! I just stood there staring at Him.
That’s when I heard the commotion back in the boat. The others were shouting and laughing, because the nets were filled to overflowing with fish!
After getting the net of fish in, and eating a bite; Jesus asked me to walk with him. Looking back at all of the fish that had been drug up on shore Jesus asked me, “Peter, do you love me more than all of these?”
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Jesus used a word for love that means “unconditional love.” But how could I say I loved Him unconditionally? After all I HAD DENIED Him.
So I answered him, “Lord you know I love” But I used the word that means loving Him like a brother.
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus told me to feed his lambs.
“Feed my lambs.”
We walked a few more steps, and then Jesus asked me a second time “Peter do you love me unconditionally?”
“Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Once again Jesus used the word for unconditional love. And still I couldn’t say I loved Jesus unconditionally. I just couldn’t get past the fact that had denied him three times. So again I answered, “Lord, you know I love you” using the same word for loving like a brother.”
His answer was, take care of my sheep.
“Take care of my sheep.”
We took a few more steps and Jesus asked me again, “Peter, do you love me like a brother.”
“Simon son of John, do you love me?”
This cut me to the quick, because Jesus asked me if I really loved Him, and this time He used the word that means love like a brother. I looked deep into His eyes and with trembling I told him,
“Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
“Lord you know all things, you know I love you like a brother.”
To this, Jesus replied by saying I was to feed my sheep.
“Feed my sheep.”
I had denied Him three times, and now three times He confirmed my love for Him. In that moment Jesus restored me.
Through His grace all of my guilt and shame was taken away.
This is the story of the cross. It is Jesus restoring our broken relationship with God.
Friend, I don’t know what you have done in your life.
I don’t know what guilt and shame you carry, but I do know, the story of the cross is the story of forgiveness.
The story of the cross is the story of God’s love for us.
And the story of the cross is the story of having a broken relationship with God restored. And I know that today, IF you need your relationship with God restored, then today you can experience the story of the cross.
During our last Passover celebration with Jesus, He told us that the bread represented His body which was broken for us.
He told us that the cup was His blood that was shed for us.
And He told us to remember the Story of the Cross by participating in a similar custom that for centuries now has been called, The Lord’s Supper.
So on this Easter Sunday Morning, we are going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I’m going to ask our Deacons to come forward and remove the covering that is over the table.
If you are here visiting with us, and you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and if you are seeking to make Him your Lord then we invite you to participate in the Lord’s Supper with us.
If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, or if there is something keeping you from allowing Jesus to be your Lord (Master) then we ask that you simply allow the bread and the cup to pass.
For Paul wrote this warning,
Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
And we wish that on no one.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
