Will the Real Peter Stand Up

“As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch. The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.”

Mark 14:66-72

In our culture today, we are often told that man is basically good, in fact, modern psychology says you’re more than good, you’re great, and you need to recognize that because your ability to achieve great things in life lies within the power of your self-esteem. And those who fail have a diminished self-esteem, they are somehow helpless victims of something outside of themselves, so the blame falls on their parents and rest of the society because it certainly cannot be their fault. It’s no wonder we have entire generations of deluded people with a sense of self-importance and entitlement, who don’t want to be confronted with the Truth. A perverted mind despises what it cannot understand and will often make the wrong choices. I am grateful that the final judgment will not be based upon the insanity of a corrupt society but the Righteous Judge Who says you will be held accountable. 

If you will recall earlier in verse 30, Jesus specifically warned Peter that this moment would come, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times,” but Peter was so full of pride, loosely based on his self-confidence in his own ability, and his own strength to resist temptation, that he failed to recognize his own weakness and fell into sin. Like many over confident Christians today who fail to pray, they hear Scriptures warnings, then they attempt to silence the rooster in their lives, by chasing the rooster around with an ax! The rooster of selfishness, or self-righteousness, of self-confidence and pride, fear of rejection for standing for Christ. What rooster are you trying to silence in your life? What will you do when persecution is present, will you deny Jesus by keeping silent about God’s Word to avoid conflict? Or worse, will you deny your association with Him all together like Peter, to save your own life? Ironically, Jesus’ trial and Peter’s trial run concurrently, yet the results are significantly different. One is a glaring example of the weakness of a man speaking dishonestly trying to preserve his life and the other is a gloriously shining example of self-sacrifice, and a willingness to speak to the Truth, even in the face of death.

Open your Bibles with me if you would to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, verses 66 through 72. I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we look at today’s text through the eyes of Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, let’s open our hearts and our minds to see what the Spirit of God has to say to us today. Mark 14:66-72.

“As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch. The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.”

Let’s look at verse 66: “As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came.” After Jesus was arrested, and bound taken to the house of Annas, the former high priest, who was the brains behind the scenes, who was to come up with a charge against Jesus worthy of the death penalty which was around 1 A.M., Luke 22 tells us Peter was following at a distance, but when he arrived they wouldn’t let Peter in. John 18 says there was another disciple, believed to be John, that entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest and noticing Peter standing at the door outside, he went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter into the open courtyard below while Jesus was in front of Annas on the second floor. Luke says they, most likely the Roman soldiers and the temple police who arrested Jesus and brought Him to the house of the high priest, after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them and one of the servant-girls of the high priest came. Luke adds an interesting comment, “seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him.”

Verse 67: “And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.’” This is the servant girl who opened the door, the same one who originally wouldn’t let Peter in, the same one who John went out and spoke to and brought Peter into the open courtyard. While Peter is sitting there with the others in the dark, warming himself by the fire, she is staring at him intently, checking him out; obviously she thinks she recognizes him from somewhere. It’s likely that she did, because everybody associated with the high priest and the temple would have seen Jesus earlier in the week, surrounded by His disciples, so perhaps she had noticed him with Jesus then as well. Either way, all of the sudden it comes to her where she knows him from, she recognizes him as one who followed Jesus and she blurts out in front of everybody, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” The word “you” is emphatic, she’s pointing out he’s a part of Jesus’ entourage and that he didn’t belong in the courtyard with the others. Nazarene was a term of derision; it was an insult. 

Verse 68: “But he denied it, saying, ‘I neither know nor understand what you are talking about,’ And he went out onto the porch.” Some early manuscripts add, ‘and the rooster crowed.’ Peter had probably been sitting there for a while, he didn’t see it coming, he’s caught off guard so he’s not prepared. I don’t believe Peter even realized this is what was beginning to unfold is exactly what Jesus warned him about. Peter finds himself in a disastrous situation, caught between his love for Jesus and wanting to see the outcome of the trial, his loyalty wanting to know what they are going to do with Him and his fear that they were going to drag him before courts to be interrogated and put on trial with Jesus. If I were to guess, I’d say most of you have never been brought before the courts, threatened to be put in prison for hate speech for openly professing Christ and proclaiming the Gospel. But, I’m sure there have been times where you found yourself in a situation where you knew you should have stood up for Christ and for whatever reason, in that moment, you kept your mouth shut. I believe we know how hard it can be to take a firm stand for Christ in situations where we know there will be negative consequences. I know I have been caught off guard in the past, I didn’t verbally deny my love for Him, or my association with Him, the problem was I didn’t speak up when something was said that I should have responded to, and I immediately felt horrible, and beat myself up for failing Him in that unexpected moment. How could I allow that to happen? Now, that is on a much smaller scale than what Peter was facing, but I want you to have a better understanding of the kind of situation Peter found himself in, so that we can learn from his experience. None of us are above failing. Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. We must pray specifically for God’s protection to guard ourselves against temptation and difficulty, so that it doesn’t pose a threat.

Verse 69: “The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, ‘This is one of them!’” From a cursory reading of the text, it may appear as though Peter’s denials occurred one right after another, but they actually occur in the same location, over a period of several hours. If you read Luke, he tells us some time passes after Peter went out onto the porch trying to escape and the second denial happens a little later. The first one appears to have occurred when Jesus was before Annas, and the second occurred when Jesus was before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. 

Verse 70 says: “But again he denied it.” Matthew tells us and again he denied it this time with an oath, now he’s really going deep in his denial, swearing he’s telling the truth. What makes the second time more severe is he’s had some time to think about it and he intensifies his denial with an oath. This time is not an accident, it’s premeditated. Have you ever noticed; when people are trying to convince somebody they’re telling the truth, the more they pile up the things on which they’re willing to swear. Today, we often hear people swear on a stack of Bibles, they’ll swear on their parents’ graves and ultimately, they’ll swear on their children’s lives.

The rest of verse 70 says: “And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” Luke tells us about an hour had passed. John says the man was one of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

Verse 71: “But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” The Greek word for curse is “katathematizó,” to curse vehemently, meaning in a strong and emotional way. Peter wasn’t cussing and using bad language, it was far worse! It would be like saying “May God strike me dead and damn me if I’m not telling the truth.” It’s bad enough that Peter would deny Jesus but to take the Lord’s name in vain while doing it, that’s just unimaginable! 

But Peter is frustrated, angry and scared, the very same Peter who boasted he’d die or go to prison for Jesus. Peter who had been following Jesus for over 3 years, who witnessed His healing miracles, healing the lepers, giving sight to the blind, making the lame to walk, raising the dead, not to mention he saw Jesus walk on water and he was the leader of the twelve, the one who Jesus would rely upon on for the future establishment of the church! The lesson here is if this can happen to Peter, of all people, it can happen to anyone of us, given the right set of circumstances. I believe this is a lesson Peter never forgot! Our true character isn’t revealed by what we are prepared to do, it’s what we do when we’re caught off guard, completely unprepared. Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” 

That brings us to verse 72: “Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, ‘Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And he began to weep.” I imagine Peter freezing in mid-sentence, falling to his knees, asking himself, “What have I done?” Luke says “Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter.” Scripture doesn’t tell us what kind of a look it was, but Peter must have been able to see Him from where he was standing, watching Jesus being beaten and spit on. His face was probably battered by this point. There are some who have suggested it was a look of disgust, a look of great disappointment. But I believe it was a look of love, to say, “Even though you would deny Me, I would not deny you.” Whatever the look Jesus gave him was, it must have pierced his soul because Luke says he went out and wept bitterly. The point is, the most painful moment in Peter’s life could have been avoided, if he would have only listened to the Lord and prayed.

The Good News is, we know this was not the end of Peter’s story; our Lord restored him. John 21, “Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’ He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ And in the book of Acts, we see a very different Peter, boldly proclaiming, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away.”

I believe the takeaway here is, when we find ourselves in a vulnerable situation, we need to draw closer to Christ, in prayer, not sitting on the side lines with sinners in some compromising place that can only lead to defeat. Godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret. The real Peter is seen not in his denial, but in his repentance and restoration. And I believe the Lord will do the same for you and me when we stumble. 1 John 1:9, ” If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

May it be so…

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus’ name

Amen

Brian Monzón grew up attending church with his grandmother. Through her actions, she impressed upon him the power of the prayers of the righteous, as she herself spent many hours kneeling before God, praying for her family and the needs of others. Besides being a pastor, Brian has been studying and teaching the Word of God for many years. He has devoted his life to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, praying with and for others, especially the unsaved. Brian is also a proud father of four children. He challenges them to be their best and has strived to raise his family up in church and on the Word of God. To discover more about Brian and his ministry please visit Brian Monzón Ministries.

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