MAY 15, 2016
THE POINT
God can redeem us from even our worst failures.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
• We often have good intentions to do the right thing, but we falter when the time comes.
• This is particularly devastating when it comes to our plans regarding the Christian life, making us hesitant to serve again.
• Who am I to think I can serve God?
• We can all learn from Peter.
• Peter failed, yet he learned to rely on God’s power to boldly serve Him.
THE PASSAGE
Luke 22:54-62; Acts 4:8-13
THE SETTING
• Jesus and His disciples had shared the Passover meal (Luke 22:14-38).
• During the meal, Jesus predicted His betrayal by one of His disciples (vv. 21-23).
• Peter had boldly pledged to go with Jesus both to prison and to death, to which Jesus responded by predicting Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed (vv. 31-34).
• Later that night in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed and arrested (vv. 39-54).
• Despite an initial display of boldness in cutting off the ear of the high priest’s slave (v. 50), Peter, along with the rest of the disciples, abandoned Jesus and fled.
• But Peter followed the mob at a distance as they took Jesus to the high priest’s house.
Luke 22:54-62
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.
55 After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.
56 And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, "This man was with Him too."
57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
58 A little later, another saw him and said, "You are one of them too!" But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
59 After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, "Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too."
60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times."
62 And he went out and wept bitterly. NASB
KEY WORD: Galilean (v. 59)
Galilee was a region in the northern part of Israel. Jesus was from Nazareth and Peter from Bethsaida, both towns in Galilee.
We have all denied Jesus.
VERSE 54:
“...a disciple followed Jesus (see v. 39), but this time at a distance. He followed with curiosity to see what would happen, not with devotion to identify himself with the Master.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
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• Despite his show of bravado in attacking and wounding the high priest’s slave Malchus, Peter had fled along with the rest of the disciples after Jesus’ arrest.
• However, Peter managed to regain his composure and now was following Jesus and the arresting party.
VERSE 55:
“He had quietly shifted identities. No longer a follower of Jesus, he became one of the crowd, curious to see what was about to happen and eager for a good time around the fire.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• The fire in the courtyard was needed to keep warm.
• Peter was there to stay warm.
• Peter was also there to get information about Jesus’ situation.
• However, he obviously did not anticipate a the questions he was about to be asked.
VERSE 56:
“The rugged Galilean fisherman could not hide among the group at the Jerusalem court. He stood out from the crowd.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
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• It is impossible to know the motives behind the girl’s question, whether she was being confrontational of just making an observation.
VERSE 57:
• After all of the times that Peter spoke brashly and faced rebuke for speaking without thinking, being a spokesman for Satan, and demonstrating that his faith was small (Jesus walking on water), and other events; denying Jesus was his worse failure.
• Peter still believed that Jesus was going to reestablish the earthly kingdom of Israel.
• His thoughts just could not take in Jesus dying.
VERSE 58:
• Peter’s denials became progressively more vehement.
• After all John had just been admitted into the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus without incident.
• It may have been that Peter, unlike John who was acquainted with the high priest, was not accustomed to associating with the rich and powerful.
• Whatever the reason or reasons may have been, Peter’s actions demonstrated that the Lord knew Peter better than Peter knew himself.
VERSE 59:
“In the end, Peter’s confidence imploded. When the crisis came he was not up to the task. His faith wavered and finally gave way, and he denied Jesus three times—just as the Lord had predicted.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Luke 1-24 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set.” Moody Publishers, 2014. iBooks.
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• Making a bad situation far worse, Peter’s accuser was “one on the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off” earlier in the evening in the garden of Gethsemane.
VERSE 60-61:
“A defensive reaction changed his identity without him being aware of the immensity of what he had said and done. ... He had denied three times any knowledge of or relationship to the man. He now belonged to the crowd and to the devil. Satan had sifted him and found him wanting.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• Here was a chance for Peter to redeem himself and be courageously honest.
• This time his denial came by claiming total ignorance of the situation.
• A rooster crowed.
• The Greek term used for how Jesus looked at Peter describes a direct, ins tense gaze.
VERSE 62:
“The brashly self-confident man disappeared. Now he distanced himself from the crowd. Outside by himself, he wept bitter tears. Grief overwhelmed him. Follow Jesus to prison and to death? He could not even follow him to a mockery of a trial. The grief was as deep as Judas's later proved to be, but the response and subsequent actions would be quite different. Guilt led Judas to suicide. It led Peter to Pentecost.”
Excerpt From: Trent C. Butler & Max Anders. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Luke.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-05-22. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“The devastating reality of what he had done hit Peter with full force. All that Jesus had predicted he had done. His brash overconfidence had not given him the strength to meet this temptation. He had boasted too much, prayed too little, acted too fast, and followed too far. Overwhelmed with shame, guilt, and grief over what he had done, Peter went out and wept bitterly”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Luke 1-24 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set.” Moody Publishers, 2014. iBooks.
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• Peter was overwhelmed with shame, guilt, and grief.
• Peter’s was a weeping that recognized a the bitter effects of sin.
• Peter’s concern for comfort had led him in the end to brokenness.
TRANSITION:
• We have all denied Jesus in one way or another.
• But that doesn’t mean that God will no longer use us.
Acts 4:8-12
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people,
9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
11 "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.
12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.". NASB
KEY WORDS: Nazarene (v. 10)
A term referencing Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus; Nazareth was located in the region of lower Galilee.
Cornerstone (v. 11)
The Greek words translated cornerstone are literally “head of a corner” and can refer to the first stone or to the final stone in a building project.
God’s Spirit empowers our witness.
VERSE 8:
“Peter was delighted to reply. Partly because he knew the answer, and partly because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. We dare not minimize that brief reference by Luke, appearing as it does, at the beginning of Peter's defense.”
Excerpt From: Max Anders & Kenneth O. Gangel. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-04-28. iBooks.
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“Christians with courage never have to stand alone when they stand for the Lord.”
Excerpt From: Max Anders & Kenneth O. Gangel. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-04-28. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“He did not become filled by lengthy prayer or an emotional experience. The filling of the Spirit occurs when the believer walks in obedience to the Word and Spirit (cf. Ephesians. 5:18; Col. 3:16). Yielding to His control releases His power in the believer’s life.
This principle is foundational to all the rest; yieldedness to the Holy Spirit is the key to successfully handling persecution. Because Peter was Spirit-filled, persecution merely drove him closer to the Lord. Lack of being filled with the Spirit is the reason the church today has difficulty facing opposition.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• Peter received a special inspiration that he needed for the task before him of answering the Sanhedrin.
VERSE 9:
“He began by indicting them for the incongruity of putting him and John on trial … for a benefit done to a sick man. He thus turned the tables on the Sanhedrin and subtly accused them of injustice—certainly it couldn’t be wrong to heal a lame man.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• Good deeds are often considered suspicious when jealousy and insecurity abound.
VERSE 10:
“He desired them and all the people of Israel to know that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom they crucified, but God raised from the dead—the beggar stood before them in good health. In the very citadel of the Sanhedrin’s power Peter put his judges on trial by proclaiming the truth about the living Christ to those responsible for His execution. By pointing out that they executed Jesus but God raised Him up, Peter showed them to be the enemies of God.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• Peter used this opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• The name of Jesus represented Jesus’ person, power, and authority.
• Peter wanted all the Jewish leaders to know the Heavenly Father Himself was involved in the death and resurrection of His Son.
VERSE 11:
“Peter was not leading the Jews away from God but preaching the very truth of the Old Testament as fulfilled in Jesus. He was the stone which was rejected by them, the builders or spiritual leaders of the nation. Although they rejected Jesus, God made Him the very corner stone through His resurrection and exaltation.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• The background for Peter’s words here is from Psalm 118:22.
• This text was used by Jesus Himself in His parable of the vineyard, as well as by Peter in his first letter.
VERSE 12:
“How easy it would have been for Peter and John to answer the high priest's question by simply saying, “God did it.” That would have been a religiously and politically correct response, and the apostles could have been dismissed immediately. When they brought Jesus, his crucifixion, and his resurrection into the argument, the whole complexion of the Council changed. The issue now revolved not around a healed cripple, but around the authority of Jesus of Nazareth.”
Excerpt From: Max Anders & Kenneth O. Gangel. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-04-28. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“Peter gives what amounts to a direct invitation to the Sanhedrin to repent and embrace Jesus Christ to be saved. He had already declared that the healing of the lame beggar had been done in Jesus’ name.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• There is nothing of compromise or accommodation in Peter’s preaching.
• As his magnificent declaration shows, he was wholly committed to the uniqueness of Jesus as the only savior.
TRANSITION:
“When we experience God’s restoration, our Spirit empowered witness will never point to ourselves; it will always point to Jesus.”
Acts 4:13
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. NASB
Our bold witness points others to Jesus.
VERSE 13:
“The courage of these men couldn't be doubted, but they were certainly vulnerable on other accounts. They were unschooled which means they had no formal rabbinical training. They were ordinary which means they had no religious credentials. They were courageous, clearly evident by Peter's powerful response to the opening question. And, they were Christ taught: they had been with Jesus.”
Excerpt From: Max Anders & Kenneth O. Gangel. “Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts.” B&H Publishing Group, 2010-04-28. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“That two Galilean fishermen powerfully and successfully argued their case before the elite Jewish supreme court was shocking, so that they were marveling. The explanation slowly dawned on the Sanhedrin, as they began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”
Excerpt From: John F. MacArthur. “Acts 1-28 MacArthur New Testament Commentary Two Volume Set.” Moody Publishers, 1994. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
• The Greek term translated boldness was used is reference to the freedom and courage of a person to speak whatever he or she desired in public.
• Luke used the word to emphasize the courage of those empowered by God to proclaim the message of the gospel.
WRAP IT UP:
• We should acknowledge that our lives are unique.
• We each have experienced unexpected turns, failures, defeats, and regrets.
• But God will use our stories of restoration to touch people’s hearts and point to the grace and power of Christ.
• Failures come to us all, but we need not be weighed down by guilt when Jesus is waiting to offer us forgiveness and restore us to the people He desires us to be.
Repent – Confess any sin and turn to Christ for forgiveness.
Encourage – Be an encourager to others.
Share – Share with others how Jesus restored you.
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