For Whom The Cock Crows
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Open your Bibles with me to Mark 14.
While you are finding your place, let me share a story with you.
In February 1990, Mike Tyson was the undefeated, undisputed, heavy-weight boxing champion of the world. He had his own video game, and His name was synonymous with winning.
Tyson was scheduled to fight a young up and comer named Buster Douglas.
As soon as the fight was announced, Tyson was picked as the heavy favorite. In fact, odds for the fight were a staggering 48-1 in favor of Tyson.
Tyson and his crew were so confident they didn’t do any of their normal prep or conditioning work. When they arrived in Tokyo ahead of the fight, Tyson bragged he had done little to no prep for the fight.
Then, they got into the ring. And instead of an easy win, Tyson found himself in the fight of his life. Through 10 grueling rounds, Douglass did not back down and in the end, the “undisputed champ” was knocked out cold, left to crawl the mat for his mouthguard while Douglass lifted a belt.
The Douglass win over Mike Tyson is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history, but for us this morning it reminds us the even the greatest of men still fail.
As Robert Burns wrote, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” and this is true for us as well.
With that in mind, I’d ask you to look with me to Mark 14, starting in verse 66.
While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the high priest’s maidservants came. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
But he denied it: “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about.” Then he went out to the entryway, and a rooster crowed.
When the maidservant saw him again, she began to tell those standing nearby, “This man is one of them.”
But again he denied it. After a little while those standing there said to Peter again, “You certainly are one of them, since you’re also a Galilean.”
Then he started to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
Immediately a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered when Jesus had spoken the word to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Pray, invite people to sit.
This morning, as we continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark, it would be foolish to continue in this passage and not remember what happened just a few short verses ago.
Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.
Just hours before, on this same night, Peter had sworn his undying allegiance to Jesus, even as Jesus told him he would fail.
In verse 47, he even seems to prove that allegiance in a sense.
One of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear.
Mark doesn’t make this clear, but John is happy to clarify that the guy who cuts off an ear is Peter.
And this is the same guy who just a couple hours later is standing in the courtyard denying Jesus.
And Don’t mishear me.
I’m not glad that Peter failed.
I wish that he had stood his ground and spoken the truth with boldness.
But, Peter’s failure brings me both relief and frustration
Frustration because I want him to be strong.
And relief because I am just like him.
Peter’s failure revealed his need for grace at the deepest level.
Despite all he had seen, all he had witnessed, all he had learned.
Despite his ardent declarations and lines in the sand.
Peter fell short. And so do I. So do you.
Friends, our failures also reveal our need for Jesus’ grace.
But the greatest danger we face is that we refuse to see it.
I’m afraid that far too many of us see ourselves more like Peter at the table than Peter by the fire.
Peter by the fire knows that he falls short.
Peter at the table thinks he never will.
And if you’re paying attention this morning, you should be asking yourself one of two questions.
The first would be, “Will I fail?”
And the answer to that question is yes.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
I’m not beating you up-because all and everyone means I mess up too, I fall short too.
So, don’t get hung up on this, because all of us fall short.
But the second question is where I want to spend the majority of our time together.
And it is also the question that vexes me more, because, see, in alot of ways I’m just like Peter.
Peter, at this point, has spent night and day with Jesus for three years.
I haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh, but I’ve been following Him for alot longer than that.
Peter had witnessed great works of God and so have I
Peter had expressed great convictions of faith and so have I.
Peter told Jesus that he was all in and so have I.
And yet, Peter still fell short and so do I.
And so the question I want us to look at together this morning is this:
Why do faithful disciples still fail?
Why is it that we, who haver committed our lives to Christ, who are reborn in Him and desperately trying to be like Him still fail?
It is probably the greatest frustration for me, that after all this time, I still fall short.
And while this question is one that would take more than just the time we have to answer, I believe our passage gives us a glimpse at three distinct reasons that this continues to be a struggle even amongst faithful believers.
And identifying these things as believers can help us to avoid them and to grow in Christ. Let’s look at them together, starting in verse 66:
While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the high priest’s maidservants came. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
But he denied it: “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about.” Then he went out to the entryway, and a rooster crowed.
The first reason faithful believers still fail is this:
Faithful believers fail when they misplace their confidence.
Faithful believers fail when they misplace their confidence.
Back in verse 29, Peter was all confidence, wasn’t he?
Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.”
But when the moment came, Peter’s confidence collapsed.
A few hours ago, Peter was ready to die for Jesus. Now, standing in the courtyard, he denies even knowing Jesus.
Peter’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t love Jesus enough;
Do you really think Peter is standing in that courtyard because He gave up on Jesus? No!
Peter’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t love Jesus enough; the problem is that Peter’s confidence is in Peter.
I’m reminded of a pastor I once heard speaking at a conference.
To a room full of pastors, he said “don’t ever start believe you are incapable of falling.”
Because the minute you believe that you put your confidence in you instead of in Jesus.
The minute you believe that, you are no longer on guard against what will never be a threat.
And the sin you think you are immune to is the one that will trap you in it.
At that conference, that pastor was talking about sexual sin.
And two years later, that pastor was accused of falling in the same thing he warned others about.
Saying “I could never fail like this,” is like putting on a blinking sign telling the enemy where to strike.
But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.
You don’t need confidence in yourself; you need confidence in Jesus.
This world says only the strong survive.
Jesus says
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
The chant of the Christian is not “I think I can, I think I can.”
It’s “I know I can’t, I know He CAN!
You love Jesus? You say you’ll never fall like Peter?
You better get your eyes off of yourself-because you fall all the time.
You better get your eyes fixed on Jesus because He is the only one that never will.
Every man woman and child had faith in the Titanic until it started sinking.
On the top deck, it hit that ice berg and people laughed and played soccer with the pieces.
2.5 hours later, they fought for the last seats in life boats from the waters where their unsinkable ship had sat.
Faithful believers fail because they misplace their confidence in themselves. Put your confidence in Jesus.
Let’s Continue:
When the maidservant saw him again, she began to tell those standing nearby, “This man is one of them.”
But again he denied it. After a little while those standing there said to Peter again, “You certainly are one of them, since you’re also a Galilean.”
Then he started to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
The second reason faithful believers fail is this:
Faithful believers fail when they fear people more than they trust Jesus.
Faithful believers fail when they fear people more than they trust Jesus.
NOTICE HERE: The more threatening the accusations become, the more forceful Peter becomes.
At first, it’s like there’s some kind of mis-understanding.
It get it, my accent is funny.
I’m sorry, I’m not tracking with what you’re trying to see to me or about me.
Then, it’s denial of association.
“Look, I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
Finally, when he really feels threatened, all of a sudden, the tone changes.
Peter, the servant of the Lord, is cursing and swearing oaths to a lie.
To quote Shakespeare’s Hamlet:
“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!”
This statement has become an idiom because it is true.
As a parent, I can tell you it is generally the case that:
The more adament the denial of an accusation, the more likely they are lying.
In general, there are two situations that brings about the denial of the truth in a believer.
The first is when you are caught in a sin situation and you don’t want to admit it.
The second is like Peter, when you fear the reaction of others because of where you stand with Jesus.
But can I tell you this morning that the two are the same.
Both responses are born out of a fear of man and a lack of trust in Jesus.
Jesus died to free you from sin and death.
Scripture promises that what awaits you in confession is freedom.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
Both of these verses point us to a God who is for us.
He promises us freedom and forgiveness when we confess our sins.
He promises honor and blessing in return for suffering with Him.
And, so, when we choose to deny the truth in self protection, what we are saying is that we fear men and we don’t trust God.
Peter’s problem here isn’t that He is afraid, but that his fear is greater than his trust of God.
We need to learn to trust Jesus entirely.
The works of his hands are truth and justice;
all his instructions are trustworthy.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
if we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
Ask yourself this:
If Jesus is the One who has never failed me, why is He the One I seem to trust the least?
It is time to put your trust in Jesus over the ones who really fail.
Let’s look at the last verse together:
Immediately a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered when Jesus had spoken the word to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
The third reason the faithful believers fail is this:
Faithful believers fail when the underestimate their weakness.
Faithful believers fail when the underestimate their weakness.
Peter exuded confidence… until he didn’t.
“He broke down and wept.”
The rooster crowed and Peter knew that Jesus was right.
Despite being told exactly what would happen, he still fail.
The tragedy in Peter’s failure is that he truly thought he was strong enough. He didn’t understand the depth of his own weakness.
By 1986, the U.S. Space shuttle program was considered a triumph of modern engineering.
Space shuttles had become so routine and predictable, that NASA decided to send a High School science teacher on a mission into orbit.]
But there was a problem. The night before launch, the temperatures in Florida were plummeting. An engineer named Roger Boisjoly was convinced that the freezing overnight temperatures would stiffen the rubber O-Ring seals in the fuel tanks and cause them to fail. Boisjoly and his team fought with the leadership at NASA, but they were worried about the pushback they would get from a cancelled launch. They told Boisjoly, “take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat.” With that, they cleared the shuttle for launch.
On January 28, 1986, a crowd gathered at NASA. Florida school kids, like me, stood outside looking up. Millions watched the live, televised launch of the Challenger spcae shuttle. And just 73 seconds after Liftoff, the O-Rings failed exactly as Boisjoly warned, killing all seven crew members in a ball of fire.
Now, don’t mishear me. We are supposed to live in the boldness and confidence of Jesus.
Walking in faith means stepping when it doesn’t make sense.
It means trusting God and acting like He’s going to show up, even when we can’t see Him.
But friends, the greatest weakness to fear is the one you don’t see you have.
Because all of our strength, our confidence, our boldness comes from Jesus.
When you know that you’re weak, you know how to pray.
Let it be that we are a people that depend on the God is is strong in our weakness.
This morning, let our attention be focused on Jesus
Let Him be your confidence.
Trust Him enough to let go of your fears.
Recognize that apart from Jesus, weakness is what remains.
As our worship team comes to lead us in song, the altar is open.
Maybe you are here this morning, and you’ve been leaning on your own strength
And all that has led to is a place of failure and shame, as you realize you aren’t enough.
And if that’s you this morning, Jesus is ready to meet you right where you are, to put your confidence in the one who never fails.
Maybe you’re here, and you’ve been so consumed by what others think that you’ve stopped pursuing the One who died to free you from those chains.
And if that’s you, it’s time to stop chasing applause and approval that will never bring you the joy you’ll find in Jesus.
Maybe, you’ve always got it together because you’re strong-but the secret you don’t tell anybody is how badly you fail.
Because the truth is, you’re still weak just like the rest of us.
And if that’s you, it’s time to come to the One whose yolk is easy and whose burden is light.
I’m going to pray, and then, if Jesus is calling you, I invite you to come.
I don’t have all the answers. But the One who does is waiting for you if you’re ready to come.
Pray.
