Mark 14:66-72 * Midweek Lent 3,
PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION:
PETER
Dear Friends in Christ,
Tonight the “Personality of the Passion” we will be examining is an individual from whom we can learn a lot in both a positive and negative way. Because of this mix found within him, I suspect our personality tonight is a man with whom we can identify. He may very well be the best known of Jesus’ disciples – and certainly the one we know the most about. Tonight we look at Peter.
As has been our pattern, we’ll begin with a thumbnail sketch, move to the part he played in the passion of Christ, and conclude with the lessons we can learn from him…
Perhaps the first thing to note is that there are three specific names by which this man is known in the New Testament. His earliest and “given” name was Simon. When he became a disciple, Jesus renamed him “Peter,” which is the Greek word for “rock.” Related to this, he is at times (especially in the letters of Paul) also called Cephas (the Aramaic equivalent to the Greek word “Peter”). So Simon or Simon Peter or Peter or Cephas are all the same person. For our purposes this evening, we’ll call him Peter.
What do we know about Peter’s life and background? Actually quite a bit, so we will just hit the
high points. We know he was originally from the fishing
In reading through the Gospels it becomes evident quite quickly that, whether by age or personal disposition, Peter held a position of leadership among the disciples. First among equals, we could say. Often we’ll find Peter speaking or acting on behalf of the whole group. Along with James and John, Peter was also a member of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. It was these three our Lord chose to have with Him on some very memorable and important occasions.
For example, when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus from
the dead, Peter, along with James and John, was there. Shortly before Jesus entered into His passion
week and was gloriously transfigured on the mountain, Peter, along with James
and John, was there. And during that
agonizing time of prayer when Jesus was in the
After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension we see Peter playing a prominent role in the beginnings of the New Testament Church. He was the central figure on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to speak in other languages, and the Holy Spirit used Peter’s stirring sermon that day to convert 3000 souls. Later the Lord provided Peter with a vision clearly reinforcing that the Gospel message of Jesus Christ was for all people – Jews and non-Jews alike, and that the Old Testament laws which once separated Jews from Gentiles were no longer in force. The Apostle Paul would pick up on this thread of church work in the future, but Peter got the ball rolling…
Peter’s activity in the formation and the beginnings of the
early church is recorded for us in the Book of Acts, but for his later life we
rely on church history and tradition.
The common belief is that Peter eventually ended up in
The manner of Peter’s death was crucifixion, like his Savior’s, but with one exception. At his own request Peter was crucified head downward because he did not feel he was worthy to die the same way Christ did. Where he was buried we cannot say with any certainty, other than to mention the claim made by the Roman Catholic Church that his bones reside somewhere inside St. Peter’s Church in the Vatican is unlikely, and certainly cannot be proven one way or another.
So much for the thumbnail sketch of the man named Peter. A psychological profile of Peter would reveal him as a man of contrasts. Various words have been used to describe him. Among them are “impetuous,” “vacillating,” and “conflicted.” On the one hand, we see many beautiful and bold confessions and acts of faith on his part; on the other hand we also see in Peter instances where his faith was weak and inconsistent. Unfortunately it is this part of Peter’s personality that comes through in our text and the part he played in the passion of Christ. Let’s turn to it now…
“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.
But he denied it. ‘I don’t know
or understand what you’re talking about,’ he said, and went out into the
entryway.”
We will recall that earlier Jesus had predicted when the going got rough all the disciples would scatter from Him like scared sheep. When Peter heard this, he disagreed with Jesus and assured Him that as far as he was concerned, Jesus could count on Peter being in his corner for the whole fifteen rounds. It was after that when Jesus told Peter he would deny His Savior three times. As we might guess, Peter put up quite a protest.
Well, Jesus was captured and, as predicted, all scattered – including Peter. Sometime later, after (we assume) they gathered themselves, Peter and John followed Jesus to the Jewish High Priest’s house where Jesus was undergoing the first of a number of trials. John went somewhere else, leaving Peter alone in the courtyard area. When accused of being with Jesus by a servant girl, Peter forgot everything he had said a few hours earlier and denied knowing his Lord. This was denial #1. He then slunk into the entrance area where he hoped he wouldn’t be seen.
But it didn’t work. “When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, ‘This fellow is one of them.’ Again, he denied it.” The same action is repeated. Denial #2. According to the other Gospel accounts, this second denial bought him about an hour. But then…
“After a little while
those standing near said to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a
Galilean.’ He began to call down curses
on himself, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking
about.’” Denial #3, this time with
the added flourish of cursing and swearing for emphasis. Peter is now in a spiritual free fall. But before he drifts even farther away, the
Lord, who in His almighty power controls all things, including roosters, comes
to the rescue: “Immediately the rooster crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had
spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three
times.’ And he broke down and wept.”
What was Peter’s part in the passion of Jesus? Actually he played a number of parts, but the one he is most remembered for is as the denier of Christ.
What can we learn from him and this incident? I believe there are a number of very practical lessons we can apply to ourselves.
First is to beware of spiritual overconfidence, with a secondary lesson on putting ourselves in compromising situations...
No one can doubt Peter’s devotion to Christ or the initial courage which moved him to follow his Lord to the courtyard. However, we might question his judgment and his spiritual self-reliance. Peter willingly put himself in a position where he must have known it was quite likely his allegiance to Christ would be challenged. Undoubtedly he thought he was strong enough; but he vastly underestimated the weakness of his flesh and the powerful pull of self-preservation in the moment of temptation. The bottom line: Peter thought he was stronger than what he was. And when his faith came under fire, rather than fighting the good fight and making a stand for who and what he was, up went the white flag. Self-preservation won out over allegiance. Three times.
Sound familiar? I think we can see ourselves in Peter. Where did Peter go wrong? He looked to the wrong source of power. There is a great danger in overestimating the supposed strength of our personal faith and underestimating the power source on which that faith rests. In other words, there is a warning for us in putting faith in the fact that we have faith, rather than asking God to provide us with strength in time of trial or temptation.
If ever we have found ourselves – or maybe even self-confidently put ourselves – in a compromising situation and then later been ashamed because we made the decision that it was more important not to feel awkward or more important to “blend in” rather than take a stand or in one way or another just generally didn’t represent Jesus Christ too well, we’ve been in the courtyard with Peter. When he looked only inward (and not upward) for strength and the power to avoid temptation, he failed. And so will we. That’s a lesson we can learn from Peter. That’s why we as Christians need to always stay connected to Christ through Word and Sacrament, a devotional life and prayer…
Another very practical lesson has to do with the manner in which we either represent or consciously put distance between ourselves and Jesus before a watching world. It is interesting to note that when Peter wanted to make sure that he wasn’t identified with Jesus Christ, he used the most effective and convincing tool he had at his disposal: his tongue. He began cursing and swearing. In that way he wanted them to draw the conclusion that he wasn’t a follower of Christ at all…
The very practical lesson for us as Christians is the control of our tongue. If we as Christians fall into the habit of cursing and swearing or using vulgarities and foul language – if the only time outside of church we utter the name of Jesus Christ is when Brett Favre throws an interception or as an expletive to punctuate our displeasure with a certain situation – not only do we break the Second Commandment, but we cannot in the next moment be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ; and that is what we have been placed on this earth to be. Keep this in mind: When Peter wanted to distance himself from Christ, he used bad language. If we talk like Peter talked that night, we’ll be just as ineffective a disciple today as he was back then.
But thankfully there is a third and final practical lesson.
It has to do with repentance and forgiveness.
When Peter recognized that he had sinned and that his sin had greatly
hurt the One he loved so deeply, he repented.
Despite his damaging actions, Peter knew – and was assured by His Savior
– that with Christ there is forgiveness.
That’s why Jesus was in that courtyard in the first place. He was on a journey that would end on a
raised hill called
So let us follow Peter’s example in this regard: When we deny Jesus by our sins, let us repent. And then let us rejoice in the knowledge that in Christ there is forgiveness. Though our sins be like scarlet, our forgiving God has made us white as snow. Forgiven we go forward. In love and service to Christ. Let us remember that Peter the denier with God’s help turned into Peter the pillar of the church…
Peter. A familiar Personality of the Passion. Bold, brave, courageous; but also weak, vacillating, foolish. Kind of like us. With God’s help let us imitate the positive and avoid the negative as we strive to live our lives of faith in a state of Christian consistency. Amen.