How the Mighty Have Fallen

Introduction

-{John 18 & 21}

-The evangelical world was rocked over the past few months as an independent investigation looked into the life of internationally renowned Christian author and apologist Ravi Zacharias who passed away last year. They found that he was involved in gross misconduct including the sexual assault of innumerable women, a number of affairs, and other sins that are unbecoming any human, much less a Christian.

~There is no doubt that the evidence that was found is true. This does not come from rumors or personal vendettas. The ministry that he founded, RZIM, admits that the report is accurate and is doing all it can to support the victims and make things right.

-But I personally have been rocked by this news. Soon after I became a Christian, I heard Ravi Zacharias speak at a conference and I heard for the first time that Christianity is reasonable, defensible, and provable. He was my introduction to the world of Christian apologetics, which eventually led me to get my doctorate in that field.

-What Ravi did is horrendous and inexcusable. After preaching Jesus and defending Jesus for decades, he fell into a trap of sin that took him down places that he should never have gone. I mean, a guy who was so smart, whose brain and intellect seemed to be thousands of times greater than any of the rest of us, how could he do something so foolish?

-I know that it brings up a lot of other questions. I know there’s the question of whether or not he was even saved. I’m going to go under the assumption that he was, but no one really knows other people’s hearts.

~But then, does it mean that Christians can fall into such gross sin? I believe so, because we still have to deal with the sin principle in the flesh, and if we are not very, very careful we can go down a dark path.

~I think another question is, had Ravi lived, could God have restored someone like him?

~And then that brings up a more personal question, that if you or I fall and stumble into sin, could God restore someone like us?

-I want to look at a hero in the faith who had a great fall, and then see what Jesus did in response to that.

1) Humans will fall hard in their fragility (18:12-18; 25-27)

READ JOHN 18:12-18, 25-27

John 18:12–18 ESV

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. 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, 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. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

John 18:25–27 ESV

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

-Although we human beings like to think that we are tough and resilient and able to handle everything and control everything, in actuality we are very fragile. It does not take much for us to become broken.

~God through the prophet Isaiah says:

All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field….The grass withers, the flower fades…(Isaiah 40:6–8 ESV)

-In and of ourselves, we are not tough enough or strong enough to withstand much, including the temptation to sin and so we make big mistakes and make wrong choices.

~Oh sure, we like to boast big things—but it is all hot air. As again the Scripture reminds us:

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)

-And so, here you have Peter. A man full of passion and vigor. But we also know that he is impulsive, hot-tempered, and he likes to speak and act before he thinks.

~Let’s face it—Peter is us. You have to love Scripture because it doesn’t sugar coat anything. It shows real people doing real human things, acting and reacting like real humans do—this is an argument for its historical accuracy. It doesn’t hide the flaws of the heroes.

-Peter boasted many a great thing about his devotion to Christ. Now, I have no doubt in my mind that he believed every word of it. He really did love Jesus and he really did want to serve at his side. The problem was that his confidence was in himself. He thought that he could conjure up enough strength to actually follow through with all of his boasts. The problem being, he was thinking from an earthly perspective and not a heavenly perspective; and he thought too much of his own strength and had no clue about his own weaknesses.

-After Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, it was Peter who said that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the Living God. And then when Jesus said He would be arrested and killed Peter rebuked Jesus saying that it would never happen. Peter probably had in mind that he would never allow that to happen to Jesus, to which Jesus replied get behind me Satan, you’re not thinking the thoughts of God.

-At the Last Supper Jesus explained to the disciples that He was going somewhere that the they could not follow—speaking of His death. Again, Peter makes boasts. We find this exchange between Jesus and Peter:

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (John 13:36–38 ESV)

~You can imagine Peter thinking to himself: There ain’t no way I’d ever do that.

-And then after the supper and after Jesus gives a last set of teachings to his disciples, they go off to the garden that they frequented for prayer and fellowship. Judas comes with his mixed band of soldiers and temple guards to arrest Jesus. Without batting an eye Peter pulls out his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. He's ready to fight for Jesus, but Peter again gets rebuked.

-So, now, consider what happens in our passage. One of the disciples, most likely John, knows the High Priest and his family and is able to get himself and Peter into the courtyard of the High Priest’s complex. Peter hangs out in the courtyard waiting to see what happens. The servant girl at the door confronts him: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS ARE YOU? Nope, just here to see what’s going on.

~Somebody else from the crowd asks: SURELY YOU CAN’T BE ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS? Nope, not me. Just hanging out.

~Then someone who was part of the group that arrested Jesus, and happens to be a relative of the guy whose ear Peter cut off, says: I’M PRETTY SURE I SAW YOU IN THE GARDEN WHEN WE ARRESTED HIM. And again, Peter denies it.

-John’s version of the account is very understated—just giving quick facts. The other gospels tell us that Peter got so heated that he invoked a curse on himself and swore that he wasn’t a disciple of Jesus. That doesn’t mean that he cursed and swore in the way that we think, using foul language and all that. It means he said something to the effect: I SWEAR ON THE LIVING GOD THAT I AM NOT THAT MAN’S DISCIPLE, AND IF I AM LYING MAY HE CURSE ME AND MY FAMILY FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS! Or he said something to that effect.

-Before all of this, Peter makes big boasts and he takes bold actions in the presence of Jesus and the other disciples—so how in the world could he then fall so greatly that he would lie and deny the Jesus that he said he loved?

~Part of it may have been the fact that Jesus and the other disciples weren’t present with him. He put on a good front while with Jesus and the gang, but when he was alone, he lost courage and abandoned his discipleship.

~And it’s also interesting that John emphasizes that it was a cold night—maybe it’s a picture of Peter’s heart. Peter’s heart may have grown cold in the face of adversity, and his love and devotion for Jesus chilled.

-After his third denial, the rooster crowed. Now, the gospel of Luke gives us an interesting fact that raises the drama of the moment. Peter was in the courtyard that John had gotten him into, but Jesus was within Peter’s eyesight in another part of the complex. Peter may not have heard what was going on or had any understanding of what was happening, but he could see some of what they were doing to Jesus. But when the rooster crowed, Luke tells us that Jesus looked at Peter. Out of all the people in the complex and in the courtyard, and with all that was happening to Him personally, Jesus was still able to fix His gaze on Peter. Peter saw it and remembered that Jesus had predicted what he had just done—lied and denied his Lord, Master, and friend.

~We don’t know what Peter thought or felt at that moment, but the realization of what he just had done fell on him hard. And the other gospels tell us that Peter left the courtyard weeping in sorrow.

-Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

~And we sit here, and we judge Peter for what he did. And yet we deny Jesus when we keep silent when given an opportunity to share the truth of the gospel. We deny Jesus when we post on social media, proudly showing off our wrong attitudes. We deny Jesus through our actions when we do things that are clearly unbiblical, and then get defensive about them or we reason why we had a right to do it.~~~~~You know, Ravi Zacharias reasoned that God owed him such things because of his service to God. We all have our reasons, or so we think. So, don’t sit there all pious judging Peter when you do the same or worse.

-We are all fragile, just as Peter was. If we aren’t already going down a corridor of sin, we are all susceptible to it. Our great fall is just one small choice away.

-So now, the great Peter has fallen—he denied his Lord and lied about his connection with Jesus. What will Jesus do with someone like that? And in turn, what will Jesus do with you and me when we fall?

2) Jesus restores us for His service (21:15-17)

READ JOHN 21:15-17

-Only Jesus and Peter knew what Peter did. And then Jesus dies, and Peter has to live with the guilt of his denial. But then Jesus rises from the dead. Peter is overjoyed that his friend and Lord is alive. He doesn’t understand everything that is going on, all he knows is that Jesus is with him again.

~But then he remembers what he did, and he knows that Jesus remembers what he did. So, there is a conflict within Peter—joy for the return of the Lord, and yet shame knowing that he had a great fall.

-I can imagine in the ensuing days and weeks that anytime Peter was in the presence of the Lord that he tried to divert his eyes away from Jesus, his talking with Jesus was a little shorter and colder than normal. He still had an enthusiasm for Jesus—I mean, as we will see later in the gospel of John, Peter jumps out of a boat to swim to Jesus. And yet there is that barrier there—that conflict is still brewing within him.

-Finally, Jesus broaches the subject, and hits it directly. Notice, it is Jesus that goes after Peter to restore Him. Jesus wants to restore the fallen. As much as He wants to save the lost, He also wants to bring His wandering sheep back to the fold in full fellowship. Jesus takes the initiative.

-But the process of restoration may be painful. Jesus hits it head-on and asks the question that Peter probably never wanted Jesus to have to ask. PETER, DO YOU LOVE ME?

~That question ripped the wound wide open. Here, he is waiting for Jesus to berate him—IF YOU LOVE ME PETER, WHY DID YOU DENY ME? IF YOU LOVE ME PETER, WHY DID YOU LIE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ME? IF YOU LOVE ME PETER, WHY DIDN’T YOU STAND UP FOR ME WHEN YOU HAD A CHANCE?

~That’s what Peter expected, but that is not what Peter received.

-Instead, Jesus invites Peter to step up and fulfill the ministry that Jesus always intended for him—Peter, feed My sheep, take care of My flock, lead My people and disciple them in My ways.

-But in the process of restoration, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved Him—one time for each denial. Peter answers the same—you know I love you. That Jesus even had to ask once was gut-wrenching, much less three times. It says that Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time.

-In order to restore Peter, the fall had to be dealt with. The sin itself was taken care of at the cross—but just because Peter was forgiven doesn’t mean he was ready to do the work of Christ. The strain on the relationship had to be healed so that there was no barrier to Peter ministering in Jesus’ name.

-So, Jesus purposefully reaches out and restores Peter, and it is a restoration that is tailor-made for Peter, because Peter’s fall is unique, as is all of ours. Jesus doesn’t just do generic restorations. He deals with the individual, where they’re at, what they have done, and does the work within that context. It’s all based on grace through faith, based upon His finished work on the cross.

-Peter, on his part, had a remorse for what he had done, but it led to a repentance that didn’t turn away from Jesus, but turned to Jesus. It would have been easy for Peter to just run away and go off into obscurity, never to be heard from again. But he didn’t, no matter how painful it would be to deal with his fall.

-But, here’s the thing—Jesus did not give up on Peter. Jesus did not toss Peter to the side. Jesus did not reject Peter. Peter may have denied Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t going to deny Peter.

-And guess what: after you fall hard, being a fragile human being, Jesus will not give up on you either. Jesus will not toss you to the side or deny you or let you rot in obscurity. If you allow Him to, He will restore you. He is reaching out to you to heal you, but are you going to repent and turn to Him?

-I am not saying that there won’t be consequences to our sin. There might be devastating consequences if we fall hard enough. But Jesus will still not deny us.

~And in saying that Jesus restores, I am not saying that Jesus will give you back everything that you’ve lost because of your sin. That probably won’t happen. But He will restore your fellowship with Him, and He will invite you to minister in His name in some way. It may have not been what it was before, but it will be something, nonetheless. It will be serving the King.

Conclusion

-I have a friend who, early in his life, loved Jesus but may have been a typical cultural Christian—he was devoted to a point, but it didn’t always translate in his life. He allowed himself to get caught up in the world of pornography and it cost him a lot…his marriage being at the top of that list. He was far from God for a while.

~But Jesus sought him out and healed him and restored him. The consequences of sin will always be around, but Christ gave him a greater devotion to Himself than ever before. My friend found a wife that loved Jesus as much as he did, and God gave them a ministry to young couples to help guide and counsel them so they don’t make the same mistakes.

-My friend had a fall because he too is a fragile human being, but God restored him and gave him a ministry that makes much of Jesus.

-And what about Ravi? Ravi died, so we will never know what could have been. But had he lived, Jesus would still be pursuing him, even though he would have paid dearly for his sins. Nevertheless, the cross can even cover those.

-And the cross of Jesus Christ covers your sins.

~Maybe you have had a great fall, and don’t even know what to do to pick up the pieces. Jesus is seeking you out to restore you so He can use you. Why not come to the altar today and run to Him.

~Or maybe you know someone that had a great fall, and you want to pray on their behalf that they would repent and allow Jesus to restore. Jesus hasn’t rejected you or them…

-But you can’t be restored to something you’ve never had, and maybe you’ve never had a relationship with Jesus. He is seeking you out too…