Learning the Lessons of Failure. (Mark 14: 66-72)

We all know people who have failed at one thing or another, failed in their job, failed in their business, failed in their marriage. Unfortunately, these same things happen to all sort of people, Christians, and non-Christians alike. Spiritual failure is the most serious type of failure because a failure in your Christian life means an ever-widening distance between yourself and God and even a possible slipping into to sin. I hope that not a shock for some of you, but (Spoiler alert) Christian’s do sin. In fact, people who have known the Lord a long time still sometimes fall. Even Christian leaders fall and sometimes fall big time in the glare of publicity.

What is your response to that? I hope it’s not to sit back with a smug attitude and say, tut, tut, I would never do that or perhaps you might even have a judgemental attitude because there is in fact something we can learn from the failure of others.

Today I would like us to talk about one of the classic cases of failure in the bible. However, I want us to hopefully learn something from this particular example of failure.

This is a very famous story, people who know anything about the bible often know the basic facts that Peter denied he knew the Lord Jesus, three times. What I want to do this morning is walk through this passage, then go beyond this text to look at what I think is a deeply significant, some might say a profound truth. This passage is a straightforwardly recording for us of the events that took place around Peters three denials of the Lord. 

In the first one, he is in the courtyard of the home of the High Priest Capias where Jesus is being cross examined in a sort of quasi-trial. The very fact that he is there means we must give him some credit.

Because remember we found out a few verses back that “all forsook Him and fled”. So, before we you’re too hard on Peter please recognise that he had at least come back and was hanging around the edge of the events unfolding and just by being there he is potentially putting himself in harm’s way.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. ‘You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,’ she said.

(Mark 14: 66-67)

The fact that she refers to Jesus as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ probably reflected a judgemental tone, because Nazareth was seen as a little backwater town that didn’t get much respect. This is how Peter responded.

But he denied it. ‘I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,’ he said, and went out into the entrance.

(Mark 14: 68)

The other gospel accounts tell us that at this point a cock crowed.

Peter says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve never heard of Him”. Earlier in the text Jesus had already predicted that before the cock crowed twice Peter would deny him, three times. So, verse 68 is Peter first denial of Jesus after which he left the courtyard and goes and stands just outside the porch by the front of the courtyard.

This is Peter’s first failure; in fact, this is a climax of a series of failures Peter has in the last week of Jesus’ life. You may remember at the beginning of the chapter when Jesus first predicted this happening Peter vehemently denied it. He literally said, “I would die first before I would do such a thing”. He even dared to compare himself to the other disciples and say that they might fail, but he wouldn’t. 

Another factor we covered a few weeks ago is that he didn’t pray when he was told to, rather he had a nap. Remember a few verses back when they all went to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus said to him, “you should go and pray so that you do not succumb to temptation”. Jesus didn’t say, go pray for me, He said go pray for yourself in order that you don’t fall into temptation, but Peter went off with the others and fell asleep. Then here when actually confronted with the temptation, he lies and says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t know this man”. 

In the context of Peters whole life yes this was a moment of failure.

But please note his failures did not mean he did not have a future as a believer. There is a huge difference between failing and being a failure and that is a lesson worth learning here. Making a mistake does not necessary mean that you are a failure without a future, failure as a Christian believer is not necessary final. 

When the servant-girl saw him there, she said again to those standing rounds them, ‘This fellow is one of them.’

(Mark 14: 69)

So, the first time she spoke directly to Peter, but the second time she spoke to the group, and what does Peter do?

Again, he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.’

(Mark 14: 69)

So, his accent also gave him away. By the way, contemporary historians from that period tell us that the Galileans had a very strong rural accent. So much so that they were forbidden from saying the benediction in the synagogue. Be that as it may, we can see that one failure often leads to another. For example, one lie never stands alone, because you often have to back it up, or cover your tracks with another deception. But the thing I need to point out here, is no matter who you are, or how long you have been walking with the Lord you still have the potential to fall and fail big time. We Christians are not perfect; we are just forgiven. Never forget even if you love the Lord and have been forgiven and have handed over your life to him, never forget that you still have a sinful nature, and you can still make mistakes and fail spiritually and morally. As long as we breath we still have the possibility to go back to our old ways. The gift of eternal life does not guarantee that you won’t fall down in the future.

The most fascinating thing about this story I think is that Peter was so convinced that he wouldn’t do this, “I’ll die first” he had said. Loud affirmation of what you believe, will not guarantee faithfulness. I sometimes think the louder we declare things often secretly underneath we are just trying to convince ourselves that what we say about ourselves is true.

We all are capable of falling away from the Lord or getting into serious moral entanglements. As a matter of fact, Peter demonstrates for us very clearly that determination is not the key thing. Maybe you have done something in the past and are determined to not do it again and you think because you are determined, that is going to help you not do that again. Have your New Year Resolutions taught you nothing. Determination does not determine success and the one great illustration of that in the Bible is Peter.

Nobody was more determined that Peter. So, the issue is not deciding, the issue is not determination, the issue is dependency. Do you remember the Apostles Paul and what he said in his second letter to the Corinthian church.

“For when I am weak, then I am strong”.

(Cor 12:10b).

It’s your dependence on the Lord that will make and keep your strong, not your determination. That’s why the Lord through the Holy Spirit in the very same chapter told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you”. It is not the determination of the human will, it is our dependence on divine grace that keeps us from making mistakes or even falling away. What Peter should have done was depend upon the grace of God to get over that situation before the cock had crowed even the first time. We too when confronted with temptations should immediately pray. Pray and remove ourselves from that situation and rely totally on the Lord. Having said that, let me say again, failing does not mean that you are a failure who has no future. Let’s return to the main text.

He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about.’

(Mark 14: 71)

Now, you will notice there has been a progression in the accusations, the stakes get bigger and bigger as more and more people are drawn into the lie. His denials are getting larger and larger also, to the point of swearing an oath that he did not know what they were talking about. Most commentators agree that the swearing mentioned here means him saying something like, may God judge me if this is not so. I swear before God, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about.’ Then this.

Immediately the cock crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows twice you will disown me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

(Mark 14: 72)

The Lord had said, you are going to do this, you’re going to deny me 3 times and he did.

I said at the start this morning that although I wanted to look at this passage, I also wanted to go a little beyond it.

Let me read you a verse that is in Luke account of these events that isn’t found in Mark.

Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

(Luke 22: 60b-62)

One little extra phrase, but I believe an important one. Jesus didn’t say a word, He just looked, and Peter knew. What a powerful moment that must have been for Peter. This is not a look of anger; it is a look of quiet acceptance. This is not a look of bitterness; it is a look of compassion. I do not see a look of guilty accusation here; I see a look of grace. I do not see a look of hostility; I see a look of sadness combined with forgiveness. It seems to me when Jesus looked, he said I am saddened, but I want you to know that although you failed today, it doesn’t mean you are a failure. So, having seen this, having done this, the text then tells us Peter went out and “wept bitterly” (KJV). However, even though Peter denied him three time, the look of the Lord at one and the same time convicted him yet forgave him and because the text tells us he wept, I believe he got it, and because he got it, he got forgiven and his failures did not define him as a failure. Falling into sin, falling again into sin means you have failed, but it does not mean you are a failure, and you are definitely not a failure without a future.

Let me sum this  by making a couple of observations.

The New Testament was written over a period of about 40 years, starting with the book of James written about 20 years after Jesus’ death and ending with Revelation sometime between 75 and 95AD around 40-60 years after the death of the Lord. We also have some contemporary writings written alongside the bible texts, one of these is by a man named Patnos who is believed to have written what he wrote sometime between 95 and 110AD.  We know this because in his writing he talks about being related to and knowing Phillips daughter. So, he is very close to writing at the same time the later books of the New Testament are being written. This man Patnos says that to a great extent the Gospel account of Mark was Peters preaching material transcribed, transcribed by Mark. He claims Mark witness and listened and wrote down a great deal of what Peter said and much of it is recorded in his gospel account.  Three other very early fathers of the Christian faith also held this view, people like Tertullian of Carthage, Clement of Alexandria, and Irenaeus. If they are correct, then Mark is recording the fact that Peter himself through his own testimony publicly admitting he failed. Another observation worth taking is the Gospel of Mark was written to Christians living in Rome. At that time the Christians were facing things similar to what Peter faced. They were going through the beginning of what would become a full-blown persecution, which means they would be being challenged to deny the Lord all the time. How helpful these writings must have been for them. Be that as it may, the point is this, Peter sinned, Peter failed, Peter fell way below the standard the Lord set for him and he failed, he falls away and sins.

Let me go one step further, he didn’t just commit a sin, he committed an enormous sin, because he knew the Lord, yet he denied the Lord three times. He didn’t just tell a lie. His lie involved him denying the Lord Jesus Christ 3 times. Now we know there is no hierarchy of sins, but some sins definitely have more serious consequences than others. 

But here, Jesus right hand man, one of His key representatives on earth, denies him, three times. You may have sins in your life. Having an affair, stealing, lying, being addicted to drugs, being addicted to pornography, some love to put sins in a hierarchy. But, can a believer who commits such sins be forgiven, restored, and even asked to serve in the body of Christ again. They definitely can. So please hear the greatest lesson of this passage. Christians who know the lord can still fail or fall back into sin. We all can fail and fail big time. But the lesson taught here is, God forgives, God restores, big time.

The Lord forgives sinners, the Lord restores sinners, but most importantly the Lord also uses restored sinners. The Lord here restored Peter and used Him to win 3000 souls to Christ less than 2 months after these events. Peter denied the Lord Jesus just 1 day before he was crucified then 50 days later at Pentecost, He uses Him to establish the church through the preaching of the Gospel. Remember this, I have said it before many times. Salvation is a free gift, trust in Him and you are forgiven of your sins for life, however, you may still sin. But if you fall into sin just fall to your spiritual knees and cry out in sorrow. He will restore you, sanctify you, and use you because God is in the forgiving business.

I have failed many times in my life, but by the grace of God I am not a failure. Maybe when I do fail with God’s grace, I might still learn something. When I fail, and get things wrong, God doesn’t abandon me, he just wants to reveal to me how he might have a better plan for my life, better than the one I am currently following. 

That is what I believe the Lord would teach us this morning. He says, I don’t want you to fail but when you do, I will tell you what I told Peter, failing does not mean you are a failure. It just means if you come back to me, I will forgive and restore you.