The Passion of Peter

I was asked to write and deliver the sermon for Lenten services. I also read a passage from "Imaginary Jesus" by Matt Mikalatos. Here's the sermon: As I read and researched and learned more about Peter for this message, I realized that I actually know a lot of people who are a lot like Peter. Peter is impulsive. He's a proud person who thinks a lot of himself. He's hot headed, and quick to argue and criticize. He really sounds like a lot of people I know, and even maybe, a little like me. I think we all have a little bit of Peter's character in us. Maybe that's because its one of the biggest problems we as humans face. As Mac Davis sang: Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. It is a funny song. But we're not perfect, and even doing the best that we can, isn't good enough. Did you know that? Did you know that no matter what you do, no matter how good you are, no matter how much money you have, it will not get you into heaven? I looked it up on Travelocity.com, and I couldn't even find the airport for Heaven. The closest it could get me was Havana. So if we can't buy the ticket to heaven, how do we get there? Peter knew in his heart that Jesus was the true son of God. He knew, he had been with Jesus this whole time. He saw the miracles, he saw everything. How can he not have complete faith in Jesus, when he was there? He was there! He heard the parables straight from the lips of Jesus. He saw his own mother-in-law, laying in bed with a fever, sick as a dog, touched by Jesus, and healed instantly. He knew! He knew Jesus was for real. So do we, we know Jesus is for real. I'm sure each one of us has seen the love and miracles of Jesus in our lives. So why then, does Peter deny Jesus? In Luke 24 verses 31-34 Jesus says: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of 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.” And we heard the story, he did deny Jesus, not once, it wasn't a slip up. He did it three times! Did he not even realize what he was saying? He had just expressed his willingness to die with Jesus, and now he doesn't even know Him? How is that possible? I think that Peter was afraid of the peer pressure and he was under a lot of stress. Peer pressure is defined as the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to the group's behavior. Its something we usually attribute to teenagers, however, its something very real in most of our lives. Almost everyone wants to be accepted by the people around them. And during this day in Peter's life, everything he knew fell down around him. He was probably feeling very anxious, scared, and uncertain. I want you to imagine that day in Peter's life. He knows something is going on. Jesus has been talking about how he's going to die. They celebrate the Passover meal with Jesus, who gives them this speech about how happy he was to have this meal with them before he suffers. Then he gives them bread and wine, saying that its his body and blood, broken for them. Then he tells them that one of their band of brothers is going to betray him. So what do they do? They start arguing about which one of then is the greatest disciple! Did they not believe it, maybe they just didn't want to believe it. Maybe they didn't understand. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. If you don't think about it, maybe it won't happen. But as the predictions of Jesus started coming true, Peter's blissfulness started turning into panic. In the garden after taking a nice nap as Jesus prayed, sweating blood for the horrible torture He was about to endure, Peter again, in John 18 verse 10, shows his impulsiveness by pulling out a sword and hacking off the ear of the high priest's guard who comes to arrest Jesus! Jesus, who for obvious reasons, doesn't need Peter as a bodyguard, says, in Matthew 26: “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” So then Peter follows after his rabbi, his leader, his best friend in all the world, who he has pledged to die for, only to say he doesn't know him when he's asked. You see, Jesus has been hauled off. He's being judged for crimes he didn't commit. Peter knows Jesus is innocent, and he's scared. He can't go into the court room, so he's waiting outside, anxious and nervous, scared for his life. Talk about stress! Fight or flight. Its what our bodies and our brains are designed to do when under great stress. We saw Peter choose to fight with the sword, and Jesus said no. So now he's picking flight. If he doesn't know Jesus, then he can't be held accountable, right? If he runs away from the problem, it goes away, right? Was all this really happening? Or was it all a bad dream? I think that perhaps Peter's mind was spinning with all this information, with all these things being dumped into his consciousness at the same time, and his nervous system was being overloaded with adrenaline. People are asking him questions, he doesn't even know what he's saying, he's scared, he's panicking, and then bang, the rooster crows. That rooster must have been like a fire alarm going off in his brain. The terror it must have struck in his heart. The fear, the hopelessness, the anger toward himself realizing that he just did the very thing he swore he wouldn't do! It was done. It was over. The last thing that Peter got to do for Jesus was pretend he didn't know him. It says "He went outside and wept bitterly." Jesus told him to pray not to give into temptation. Was that temptation, the temptation to believe that he could do all this on his own? What if instead of relying on his own strength through this trial of his life, he had prayed for guidance? What if instead of thinking he was such a great disciple, he acknowledged his weakness and asked for help? Maybe he wouldn't have had to go through all that heartbreak. I think that making Peter go through this dreadful denial of Jesus was God's way of teaching Peter humility. If that didn't make him a little more humble, I'm not sure what would. I think that is the plank in our eyes that God keeps telling us about. If we can't look at own sins and shortcomings with honesty, we will never be able to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. But if we stop depending on our own understanding, our own knowledge, and our own preconceived notions, and we start praying for guidance, for understanding, and for mercy, then God will show us His love, and give us these things. I think most people would have a pretty easy time judging Peter to be a pretty poor disciple. But Jesus didn't think so. I also think that many of us have a pretty easy time judging each other to be pretty poor disciples. Praise the Lord that Jesus doesn't think so. In fact, He is so convinced that you are one of His best disciples that He let himself be nailed to the cross and He died to show you how much He believes in you! That ticket to heaven was purchased, not by us, but by the blood of Jesus Christ who died for us on that cross.