Denial & Restoration
The Darkest Night • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Mark 14:66. Today, we’re looking at Peter’s denial. Just a reminder of where we’ve been we are now 62 sermons into Mark and we will finish Mark on July 6th. We’ve been in here since January of 2024 with little breaks in between. After Mark we will go into Philippians and then Ruth and Jonah. So that’s the game plan and I’m looking forward to, Lord willing, going through it with you all.
Here in our passage, we are looking at the Darkest Night where Christ is being betrayed by Judas and handed over to the Sanhedrin and Mark presents us this typical sandwich style narrative that he does. Pretty much he split the narrative in verse 52 and records what Christ was going through and now he’s going back to pick up the narrative following the disciples and them scattering from the Garden of Gethsemane.
And our story begins with an unnamed disciple sneaking Peter into Caiaphas’ home. This historical site is known as the Palatial Mansion. John 18:15-16
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.
This disciple was close enough to the high priest to be able to bring in a guest during this unusual trial. Let’s give credit where credit’s due— Peter is walking into a den of murderers and liars. He is not denying Christ yet. Let’s see what happens in Mark 14:66-72
66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 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.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 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.
Peter finds himself in the courtyard of Caiaphas. This is a model of what the excavations have found in Israel. The home was a 6,500 sq foot home complete with toilet and baths for ceremonial washing. The open area right here sits roughly 3-4 above the courtyard. This room was 3,000 sq feet and used for hosting political gatherings, parties, and religious events. Christ would have been on trial in this room, meanwhile a trial of a different sort was happening in the courtyard below.
A servant girl of Caiaphas’ saw Peter warming himself by the fire in the courtyard and she doesn’t ask him if he is a disciple, but she accuses him and says “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” That stops Peter in his tracks and he denied it out right.
If you’re taking notes, write down the first point which is
I. The Danger of Denying Christ
I. The Danger of Denying Christ
Look at Peter’s response, he says “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” This denial is in direct contradiction to what Peter said he would do just a few hours before.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Peter is denying Christ by distancing himself from any association with Jesus. The word here in the Greek is arneomai which means to refuse, reject relationally, to renounce association with. This word is used with heavy warnings throughout the New Testament.
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
That’s a heavy warning, right? I think Jesus meant it and the warning is there for you and I but Peter also heard these words of warning. Peter is in a dangerous spot spiritually but his denial of know the Lord Jesus.
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
Another stern warning for us. If we deny the Lord Jesus Christ, He will deny us on that last day. Very serious stuff for us to consider.
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
We see here that denying the Lord Jesus Christ is a sign of being a false teacher, heretic, and object of destruction.
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
So in this passage we learn that those who deny the Lord Jesus are ungodly people who pervert the Gospel. Once again extremely serious things to consider. These verses are not about true believers but false teachers. But Peter is here in this passage denying the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s not exactly the poster child of faithfulness for us, is he?
The word deny is interesting because the definition of the word can mean “to refuse to accept the existence, truth, or validity of”. In other words, one usage of the word, which is its usage here, implies that there is a previous knowledge or relationship. Peter was the one at Caesarea Philippi who said, “You are the Christ the Son of God!”
He knows Jesus of Nazareth is more than just a carpenter from Galilee. He believes that He is the Son of God! And yet, here is Peter denying Christ. Why? Because he’s more concerned for his own safety rather than allegiance to his Lord. This statue sits right outside the Palatial Palace. You can see the two servant girls and the guard that ask Peter about his denial. The rooster sits on top of the pillar. This highlights the denials of Peter and we have to recognize that this is an extremely serious sin. All sins are deadly serious because the wages of sin is death every sin is serious. We may see the same weakness in our own life, that we see in Peter’s, but we must be careful never to excuse it. If we minimize Peter’s sin, we will minimize our own. And if we minimize his sin, we will minimize his bitter tears, his repentance, and the grace of Christ in His restoration.
Peter, the fierce defender of the Lord has been brought low by the accusation of a servant girl. Don’t we all operate in inconsistencies? Peter says “I neither know him nor have any idea what you mean.” The first denial here of knowledge is oida means a theoretical knowledge and the second of any idea is epistamai means practical knowledge. So Peter’s denial is a complete denial of Jesus— in theory and in practice! It’s amazing how quickly men and women can move away from our Lord when they do not walk in full reliance upon God. You see, we must remain in the power of God. We never outgrow God and we never outgrow the Gospel.
Peter moves away from his accuser into the gateway and rooster crowed. This is the first time the rooster crows. But a change of place is not proof of a change of heart. The servant girl again tells the others in the courtyard “This man is one of them.” But Peter denies it again. And again someone accuses him because his accent is Galilean and Peter starts to swear and bring curses down. Pretty much he swears and he threatens them to stop accusing him because “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” Notice Point 2:
II. The Forms of Denial
II. The Forms of Denial
The denials escalate. From silently sneaking, to outright denial, to making oaths and curses and this teaches us that denying Christ looks different. It’s not always with our words but sometimes it’s subtle compromise or living against God’s plan. Sometimes denial is in the words we say, but other times its in our conduct, how our emotions get the best of us, or even just practical things.
For Christians in the 21st Century there are tons of ways that they may be tempted to deny Christ. It could be gender affirmation, visiting websites you shouldn’t, committing slander online, avoiding fellowship with believers.
When Christians begin to conform to worldly values then that’s a form of denial of Christ as well. Consumerism, affirmations of sin, wasting time, prioritizing financial success over other things are all things that permeate the church. Titus 1:16
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
A lot of Christians adopt entertainment-driven strategies to reach people. Preaching gets replaced with talks, worship gets replaced with light shows, and the danger is a Christless Christianity that doesn’t save and doesn’t sanctify.
A lot of Christians deny Christ by avoiding obedience at nearly any cost. Many Christians know what the Word says about evangelism but couldn’t tell you the last time they shared the Gospel with a lost person. Christians are afraid of being perceived as pushy, judgmental and they become functional fatalists by saying “I’ll pray for my friend and let my life share the Gospel!”
Listen, your friends and family are not going to be saved by your works. They will be saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ and they need to know about it! You need to live a God glorifying life, so this isn’t license to sin, but it is license to share. Live holy lives and share the Word.
Some Christians are rapidly adopting a type of moral relativism that doesn’t exist in Scripture. It’s a “live and let live” kind of attitude that people can just believe whatever they want and God will sort it all out at the end. Listen, John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is one way to be saved, and its through faith alone in Jesus Christ! Jesus is the way to salvation and you’re not doing anyone any favors by believing and holding to these views that are ultimately denials of the King that died to redeem you!
For Peter, he denied Christ completely, overtly, even using curses and oaths to convince those around him that he didn’t know Jesus. The way that Peter was cursing wasn’t just by swearing but was swearing by God’s own name! It’s the Greek word anathematizein. While there may not be words like that your actions scream to a watching world that you don’t know Jesus. Let me ask, if you were on trial for your faith would there be enough evidence to convict you that you are a Christian?
We must remember that there is tremendous danger in denying Christ. Matthew 10:33
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
The consequences for denying Christ are many. There are severe spiritual consequences like separation from fellowship with Jesus and grieving the Holy Spirit and our conscience. Paul, in talking about lives that glorify God gives this warning in Ephesians 4:30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
If you continue to walk down a path of constant denial then that can lead to your eternal separation from Christ Jesus as well. This doesn’t mean you lose your salvation, it means that you were never saved to begin with. This leads to a big question: Did Peter lose his salvation when he denied Christ? The answer in short is no.
Our confession, the Baptist Faith & Message says “All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.”
It seems to me that Judas and Peter are walking down similar paths from our perspective, yet God in His sovereignty knows the paths they walk and meets them differently. For Judas, he was a reprobate who had no hope. He was chosen as one of the Twelve, but Christ is clear that he chose Judas knowing he was a devil. His words, not mine. But Judas regretted his decision, “made it right” by rejecting the money, but in his despair went and hung himself. He was never a follower of Christ to begin with.
He was like those Jesus taught about in Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
And yet, Peter was on another path. Here we see in verse 72. “And he broke down and he wept.”
The third point here is that there is a
III. The Grief That Leads to Grace
III. The Grief That Leads to Grace
You see, these tears were an important part of Peter’s restoration. Peter denied Christ. Luke tells us that its at this moment that Jesus and Peter look at each other. In the midst of the trial that Jesus was enduring, He never forgot Peter. He looked and He saw His disciple that He loved dearly denying Him. Cursing. Invoking God’s holy name in an oath and Peter was cut to the heart.
You see, repentance literally, definitionally means that there is a change of mind toward sin, righteousness, and God. Definitionally it means that, but true repentance includes grief over sin. Not just guilt like what Judas had, but a godly sorrow and brokenness over sin. 2 Corinthians 7:10
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
You see, Peter understood the heinousness of his own sin. There was no doubt that Peter was guilty of betraying Christ, denying the Son of God, and behaving in a way that was inconsistent with being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
And yet, there was still abundant grace for Peter. You see Christ knew about Peter’s denial ahead of time. Mark 14:30
30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
Jesus knew about the denial, He warned Peter about the denial, and He still loved Peter in spite of the denial. This whole event is tragic, but its not without a happy ending. You see, Mark was written to believers in Rome. It’s likely that Peter was even in Rome at this time and serving as its elder. Can you imagine reading this about your pastor? Because that’s what happened to the Christians reading this. And Jesus told Peter that this would happen. That they would scatter. And that he would come back and meet them in Galilee.
27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
This breaking down of Peter was key to Peter’s building up. God is the God of second chances. In Mark 16:7 after the resurrection the angel said
7 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.”
God wants Peter to know that forgiveness is for him too.
We read about Peter’s restoration in John 21:15-19
15 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.” 16 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.” 17 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. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Here we learn the final point today:
IV. The Restoration of the Repentant
IV. The Restoration of the Repentant
Jesus restores Peter by seeking him out and addressing his denial head on. He know’s Peter’s regret. But regret is not the same as repentance. It’s not the same as forgiveness. It’s not the same as salvation. Just as Jesus does with Christians, He may allow us to be in our sin for a season but it’s a miserable season for those who are His. You can’t be a Christian and love your sin. Sin feels sick. It feels wrong. You might be ensnared for a time. You might live in it for a while. But a moment will come, just like the prodigal son, where you come to realize what you’re doing and return to the Father with tears and remorse.
All of us have been in Peter’s shoes at one time or another. We’ve either fallen into sin, allowed our relationship with Christ to turn cold, kept silent about our faith, and what Peter’s testimony teaches us is that despite all our failings, forgiveness is available. You can run from God for a season. You can be like the prodigal that went so far into a foreign land. But repentance is just a step away.
Peter’s repentance is through an affirmation of his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Three times, Peter was asked, “Peter do you love me?” The third time, Peter was grieved. But Peter knew what was happening and as a result of this restoration, Christ used Peter in a mighty way.
So what do we learn from all of this?
Well we learn that God’s sovereign plan takes into account our failures, sins, and denials and God uses even them for a redemptive purpose. Romans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We also should remember that while God knows those things it doesn’t give us license to sin so that we would receive more grace! The Holy Spirit empowers us to live holy, faithful lives and overcome sin! Romans 6:1-4
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
We also learn than no failure is too great for God’s grace. You might think that your sin is too much, too great, too unique… listen, Christ knows them all and today offers forgiveness for you. You can be forgiven by going to Christ and asking forgiveness of your sin too. The Bible tells us Romans 5:10-11
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
You see, Jesus died to save adulterers, liars, blasphemers, the disobedient, and thieves. He died for us while we were enemies and we are saved, not by doing better. Jesus didn’t tell Peter to do better next time. We are saved by faith alone in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Trust in Jesus today to cover all your sins and save you from the wrath to come.
Head- God wants you to know that His grace restores even our worst failures through repentance and faith. God’s mercy is sufficient enough to redeem even the most serious sins when we turn to God with genuine repentance and faith.
Heart- God wants you to believe His grace forgives and restores all who repent and trust in Christ, no matter their sin. Unlike Judas, whose regret led to despair, Peter’s godly sorrow and faith led to salvation, showing that true belief in Christ’s grace brings restoration.
Hand- God wants you to repent and trust in Christ’s grace for forgiveness and restoration. So turn from any denial of Christ—whether through words, actions, or cultural compromise—and actively trust in His grace for forgiveness, as Peter did after his sin.
