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Peter's Fall and Ours
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| By Pastor Richard Bucher, Th.D When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today-- yes, tonight-- before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same (Mark 14:26-31) "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me" (Luke 22:31-34) How could it have happened that Simon Peter fell so terribly? What I am calling his "fall," that he denied even knowing his Lord three separate times, is well known. Peter's fall is well known because it is one those rare events that all four Gospels record. It is well known because for centuries Peter's threefold denial has been a fixture in our Lenten observances. Everyone knows that Peter fell and fell hard. But how could it have happened? After all, the Scriptures tell us that Peter was absolutely determined not to fall. When Christ told his disciples on the way to Gethsemane that they would all fall away -- that very night -- Peter was obviously shocked to hear such a thing and vehemently protested. It was unthinkable to him that he would ever, under any circumstances, fall away from Jesus, or desert Him. According to Matthew and Mark he emphatically said so, twice, with two "even if" statements:
By these "even if" statements Peter was trying to communicate that even in two worst case scenarios, he would remain faithful to Jesus. Even if the other disciples all fell away and he was the only one left, and even if Peter had to die with Jesus, still he would remain faithful and would not fall away, nor deny Jesus. Peter wanted Jesus to know that he had weighed the potential risks and dangers and was resolutely determined to remain faithful no matter what. "With you I am READY to go to prison and to death" (Luke 22:33). Peter was a bold and strong-minded man who was absolutely ready and determined to remain faithful. Yet all this was swept away in a few moments by the question of a servant girl! How could this have happened? How could someone so strong, so determined, and so ready, fall so badly? The first answer is: Peter underestimated his enemy and overestimated himself. The reason why a few questions around a camp fire laid Peter so low, so that he denied His Master, is that Satan was involved in it. Satan, the super powerful, fallen angel, called by Jesus the "ruler of this world," was the real power behind those who challenged Peter that night. What was really going on behind the words of a sevant girl is that Satan was sifting Peter like wheat, as Jesus had told him would happen. In ancient times wheat was placed in a sieve and shaken hard until the chaff was separated from the wheat. That night, Satan shook Peter very hard, attacked him viciously, tested his faith thoroughly. As a result, Peter fell, and fell hard. He had underestimated his enemy and overestimated himself. But in saying this I do not mean to say something like, "If only Peter had been more aware of Satan's presence and strategies; if only he had been more determined, more faithful, a better spiritual warrior, then he wouldn't have fallen." No, and again, no! Speculation is of no help here. The fact is, we don't know what would have happened if Peter had done something differently. The fact is, he denied Jesus three times. He sinned terribly. He fell. And the point of all this is that Christians, even the best Christians, sometimes fall. They sin in ways they were absolutely determined not to sin. They do things they were absolutely determined not to do. They say "yes" to sin in ways that afterward fills them with incredible shame and guilt. They stumble and fall, just like Peter did. This also was the experience of the apostle Paul who confessed in Romans 7, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. . . . I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing" (Rom. 7:15, 18-19). But thanks be to God that the very One who had seen Peter's fall beforehand, saw to it that Peter's fall would not be the end of him. "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Thanks to Luke for recording this, for he alone does!) Jesus knew and permitted this sifting of Peter and even permitted his fall. But he would not permit Peter's destruction. Jesus had already fired a preemptive strike against Satan in the form of a prayer: "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." But didn't Peter's faith indeed fail? Didn't he fall away? Yes, but only for a time, not permanently.That he fell for a time is implied in the words, "But you, when you have returned, strengthen your brothers. " The Greek word translated "returned" in the NIV text, which literally means to turn back, return, or turn around, also is used figuratively for repentance or conversion in many places.1 The "returning" referred to by Jesus is Peter's repentance, that he not only acknowledged his sin, but most importantly, that he believed that He could be forgiven and was forgiven by Christ's atoning death. Put another way, Peter's return is his return to faith: Faith that through Jesus, even Peter's shameful fall could be and was forgiven, The moment Peter believed that even his wretched fall and denial was forgiven, Jesus prayer was answered. For Peter's faith "did not fail" precisely because he believed that such a fall as his could be forgiven through Christ's cross. Contrast this with Judas Iscariot, who though he regretted his betrayal of Christ, apparently could not believe that his fall could be forgiven. His faith failed and he committed suicide. But not Peter.2 Thanks to Jesus' prayer, his faith was revived and he was used mightily by God to strengthen his brothers for the remainder of his days.3 Peter had experienced first hand the words of Psalm 37:23-24 - "The steps of a man are established by the LORD; And He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand" (NAS). Peter fell but he was not hurled headlong into the abyss; the Lord had held his hand because the prayer of Jesus had uplifted him. Simon Peter's fall turns out to be the most comforting message to the rest of us. For we also have fallen in ways that have filled us with shame and guilt. Many of us have fallen so wretchedly that we have wondered whether there could be forgiveness for someone so unfaithful and wicked. But Peter's example consolingly reminds us that just as there was forgiveness for him so there is for us. By his death Jesus atoned for ALL sins, even the most shocking ones. Didn't Jesus say, "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them" (Mark 3:28)? And is it not written, "if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2)? Therefore when we find ourselves in the place of Peter, having fallen miserably, let us do as Peter did, let us believe all our sins can be forgiven and were forgiven through Christ's cross. Otherwise, like Judas, our faith will fail, and our spiritual destruction will be assured. More importantly, this wonderful event is a powerful reminder of grace. For none of us could ever arise from fall, none of us could remain in faith for a single hour if our Lord Jesus had not and did not continue to pray for us. And Jesus has prayed for us, just as surely as he did for Peter. For you do know, don't you, that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for you and me already during His earthly ministry? This beautiful prayer is recorded in John 17, a prayer that Jesus prayed in the upper room the night before he died. There Jesus prayed for his disciples' protection and sanctification: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (17:15-17). Jesus then prayed, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you" (17:20-21). By these words you now have heard that Jesus prayed for you and me long before we were born. For we are those who have believed in Jesus through the words of the disciples, the apostles, the word of the Gospel that is now recorded in the New Testament. Jesus prayed that we might be one, and he also prayed something even greater than this. In 17:24, he prayed, "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." What incredible comfort this, to know that Jesus prayed for you and me that we might be in heaven with Him, to see and experience his glory forevermore! Moreover, not only did Jesus pray for us He continues to pray for us, at the right hand of God. This is the explicit teaching of the Scriptures. Paul writes of this in Romans 8: "Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" (8:34). And Hebrews 7 declares, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." (7:25). What sweet Gospel, that Jesus "always lives" to intercede for us, that he constantly prays to the Father on our behalf! By this prayer we are kept aloft, are raised up, and are protected from savagery of Satan. Praise be to God for his mercy and grace!
1. (e.g., Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:12; Luke 1:17 - John the Baptist will "turn the hearts of the fathers to their children"; Luke 17:4 -- if he returns seven times in a day and says "I repent"; Acts 3:19 -- "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"; Acts 26:18; 1 Thess. 1:9; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:24-25 -- For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.) 2. Is it too much to say that had not Christ prayed for Peter in this way that Peter would have been no different from Judas Iscariot? Why did Peter believe that He could be forgiven and Judas did not? 3. When you have returned, "strengthen your brothers." The Greek word sterizo refers to making something immovable, then to strengthen, confirm, or stabilize. When did Peter strengthen his brothers? Once answer is: for the rest of his life as an apostle. His two letters are prime examples of his ongoing work of strengthening, as is his ministry as apostle described in Acts. How did he do this strengthening? Whenever he preached the word of the Gospel to them, it was for their strengthening. For example, was not Peter speaking from personal experience and was he not strengthening his brothers when he wrote in 1 Peter 5:8-10
The 1 Peter 5 passage above reminds us that ultimately it is God who strengthens, though he chooses to do so through human instruments: "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." So also Romans 16:25: "Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ." See also 2 Thess. 2:16-17. 2 Thess. 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." Other examples of strengthening: Paul tells the Thessalonians that he sent Timothy to them to strengthen and encourage them in their faith when they were going through suffering (1 Thess. 3:1-6). Paul himself told the Romans that he longed to see them so that he might give some spiritual thing to them to strengthen them (Rom. 1:11). This is not to suggest that Christians have the power themselves to strengthen faith. Rather they strengthen as they share the word of God's grace (Acts 20:32) which builds up those who hear it. Pastor Richard Bucher April, 2000 |
