When I'm able to do some extracurricular reading, I like to read biographies and learn about church history. It's not too hard to find some good stories of some who have become heroes of the faith because they have stood firm and they have trusted the Lord in many cases despite great hardships, despite suffering, or even persecution. And it's encouraging when you have opportunities to hear some of these stories and read some of these biographies of Christians who have gone before us, to see how they have counted the Lord as worthy of their trust and their service, even when it has cost them, in some cases, very greatly. sometimes has even cost them their lives. But they believe the Lord is worthy. They remain faithful. Often in these kinds of biographies and the sources on church history, when it comes to the heroes of the faith, you get the highlights. It's the retelling of the parts of their lives that contribute to them being considered the heroes of the faith. And so we read of their victories. We read of the times when their faith remained through the tests and the trials. But it's less common to read the lowlights of Christians of the past about their failures. The times when their faith wavered. The times when it maybe almost looked like faith was non-existent for a time. Now those kinds of stories, probably one of the reasons we don't read it as much is because it's not as much fun to read. But there are some very important lessons to be learned from failure. Now you'll notice as you read through the Bible that the Bible is a very honest book. And we read a lot in the Bible about human failure. Even in the lives of those who many would consider heroes of the faith. Even in the lives of many who are listed in Hebrews chapter 11, who are in that chapter being commended for their faith. Like Abraham, commended for his great faith. And yet, we know Abraham failed. You think of Jacob, Moses, King David, And there are good reasons for their being included in Hebrews 11. They had a great faith in a great God. And yet, the Bible is also honest about these men and their failures. And it's there, recorded in Scripture, so we can learn from their failures. As we've been working through the Gospel of Mark, We've had opportunities to learn from some bad examples. Some of those bad examples have been Jesus's disciples. A notable one of those that we've seen just recently was Judas. There's a lot that can be learned from the really bad example of Judas. We've seen that he was one of the 12 who turned on Jesus even though he had been so close with Jesus. He learned so much from Jesus. He had so much opportunity from Jesus. He turned on him. He turned him over to those who had put him to death. And the bottom line in that example of Judas, the main thing we should learn from Judas is don't be like Judas. Don't follow his example. We've had other opportunities to learn from the failures of Peter. There are ways, as we see some examples of ways that Peter has failed, that we shouldn't be like Peter. Don't go the way he went in some of these ways. But we also see that Peter learned from his failures. And that is a good example to follow. Because we're going to fail. We have, as Christians, perfection and holiness as the goal. That's the direction we want to go toward perfection and holiness. But we also know that we're not going to reach that goal in this life. Even if you are a Christian, you have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, Lord Jesus Christ alone. You have been cleansed of your sin and forgiven. You have eternal life. You have a new nature within you. You have the Holy Spirit living in you. And that definitely makes a difference. But you also still have the flesh. The old man is still with you. And we're not perfect yet. We're still sinners. So we're going to fail sometimes. Proverbs 24.16 says, For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again. As followers and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't want to fail. That's not the goal. But realistically, we know we do fail sometimes. So what we do after we have failed, what we learn from it, those are some of the most significant things that set a Christian apart. What you do after you fail. and what you learn from it. We're not going to come across Judas again in the Gospel of Mark. Mark's done with that guy. Matthew tells us the result of Judas' sin of turning against Jesus, turning him over to those who are going to kill him. In Matthew chapter 27, if you just skim through there, we won't turn there this morning, but Judas realized that he had done wrong. He felt remorse. He gave the money back that he had received for betraying Jesus and then he went and hung himself. So Judas' response to the conviction that he felt for his sin was to feel sorry for himself. Everything for Judas was about Judas. Suicide is the ultimate form of selfishness. Judas was a selfish man. Judas was not a righteous man who got back up after he fell. He fell, and then he fell the rest of the way. Don't be like Judas. Don't follow the example of Judas. It's different with Peter, though that may be hard to see at times. Peter fell and fell greatly. We've read the verses here in Mark 14, so we know the big idea of the main passage that we're looking at this morning. And just a little reminder of where we were last week, that Jesus is on trial before the chief priests in the Sanhedrin. We've seen that the judges have become the prosecutors to try to find something to hold against Jesus to put him to death. That's not how it was supposed to be. These are supposed to be impartial judges trying cases, not the prosecutors trying to find a way to put Jesus to death. But that's what they've become. And while that's going on, Peter, down below in the courtyard, denies being one of Jesus' disciples. And then he denies even knowing who Jesus is. How do we get there? How do we get to that point where Peter, has sunk so low. Well, Peter, we know a fair amount about Peter. Peter was one of the twelve disciples. He had been with Jesus almost constantly for three years. Peter saw the miracles that Jesus performed. Amazing miracles, like raising Lazarus from the dead. Can you imagine being there and seeing that happen? That would be amazing. Peter was there. He heard what Jesus taught. Including things about Him being the Messiah. Him being the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament. That was Jesus. Peter heard those things taught. Peter was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. He saw Jesus change into the glory that He has with his father in heaven. Peter heard the gospel right from the mouth of Jesus. Peter was a close friend of Jesus. Every privilege that you could have as a follower of Christ, Peter had it. It seems like that kind of went to Peter's head. And that was his big problem. Peter was prideful. Peter had a big problem with pride. He was very confident in himself. You'll hear people today talk about that being a good thing. Self-esteem and self-confidence, you want that, we're told by the world. Peter had it, and it didn't work out too well for him. And it won't for us either. A humble trust in the Lord is much to be preferred than being prideful, self-confident. A humble trust the Lord. Now we've seen evidence of Peter's pride on many occasions. Even that night, the Thursday night, we saw much evidence of Peter's pride. That Thursday night during the Passover Supper, there was a similar event to another one that we saw earlier in Mark Mark doesn't record this one, but we looked at it in Luke a few weeks ago. When the disciples, sitting around the table, they were sharing this meal with Jesus. Jesus was teaching them some very important things. He had just talked about how one among them was going to betray him. And the disciples start arguing with each other about which of them was the greatest. Now that wasn't just Peter. It was all of them. But from everything else we know about Peter, it's probably fair to assume that Peter was speaking the loudest and had the most reasons to give for why he was the greatest disciple. That sounds like Peter, doesn't it? Well, following that argument, that Thursday night, Jesus warned Peter specifically about what was coming later that night. This warning, again, wasn't recorded in Mark. We saw it in Luke 22, starting in verse 31. Jesus said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. You remember what Peter thought about that warning that Jesus gave? Verse 33, but he said to him, Lord, with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death. And he said, I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you've denied three times that you know me. Now, Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter. Jesus knew how serious the trials were going to be that night. And so he warns all the disciples again later in that evening. We saw it in Mark 14, starting in verse 27. Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because it is written, I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. So Jesus said, he was not guessing or assuming. He knew. He knew what was going to happen. Hundreds of years before, the prophet Zechariah had said, he was quoting a prophecy from Zechariah, that all the disciples of the Messiah would fall away and desert Jesus. Well, you remember what Peter thought about that warning. Verse 29, but Peter said to him, even though all may fall away, Even if all the rest of these guys here, these disciples, if they all fall away, yet I will not. Jesus said to him, truly I say to you that this very night before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times. But Peter kept saying insistently, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all were saying the same thing also. Though Peter reassures Jesus, you can count on me, Jesus. I will be faithful no matter what comes. I will be faithful. There is nothing that could sway Peter in Peter's mind. He would not fall away. He would not deny Jesus. Jesus knew better. A little later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus warned Peter And James and John, they need to stay awake and be alert to pray. You men need to pray because Jesus knew the temptation, the trial that was coming that night. Well, how did Peter, James, and John respond to that warning? They were confident in their faith. They weren't concerned. Their faith was strong. They went to sleep. Now Peter's pride is exactly the reason for what we read here at the end of Mark 14. Peter's pride is exactly the reason that Peter failed. He trusted in the strength of his faith and Peter failed. You may remember last week we saw a little about Peter after Jesus' arrest, after the trial began. I said we'd save the details of that for this week. John recorded that Jesus was first taken to the house of Annas. He was the father-in-law of the high priest. He'd actually been the high priest several years before. He still had a lot of power and influence. We talked about that last week. But we also saw last week in Mark 14 and verse 54 that Peter had been following at a distance. Peter loved Jesus. There are things that are commendable about Peter in being there that night. He loved Jesus. He was concerned about what was going to happen to him. He was following at a distance. He was afraid. He was concerned about what might happen to Jesus, but he was also afraid of what might happen to him. if he got too close. So he was falling at a distance. And we've seen that Peter and the other disciples have already fled when Jesus was arrested. They were afraid of being associated with Jesus at that time. It's becoming more obvious to us as we read this scripture, Peter's faith wasn't as strong as he thought it was. John also records in John 18, verse 17, that even as Peter was at the door to go into the place where they took Jesus, it says, then the slave girl who kept the door said to Peter, you are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not. You think about Peter. Everything that he had seen and been through with Jesus. In that instance, he says, I am not a disciple of Jesus. I don't follow him. Now where we are in Mark 14, starting in verse 66, Peter is in the courtyard of Caiaphas. Now this may have been a shared courtyard with the home of Annas. It's possible that when they moved Jesus from the home of Annas to the home of Caiaphas that they just crossed the courtyard and went to the other side of the compound. But Peter is there. He's in the middle. Verse 66 says this, 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. Now this may have been the same servant girl who was at the door, but we don't know for sure. But remember Peter's confidence in himself. Even if I have to die with you, he said, just a couple hours ago, I will not deny you. Now this was not a soldier with a sword to Peter's throat who was interrogating him. It was a curious servant girl who thinks that she's seen him before. You also were with Jesus in Nazarene." Now, pointing out that Jesus was the Nazarene was a put-down. It would have been considered a kind of humiliating thing to be from the town of Nazareth back then. That was a nowhere place. No one of any reputation was from there. It wasn't a respectable place. But we've been talking about all the ways that Jesus humbled himself so that he could identify with us, us lowly sinners, and how Jesus didn't come as a king to live in a castle with all these servants, but Jesus humbled himself. Nazareth was the perfect place for Jesus to grow up. He came to be humble. This girl, calling him Jesus the Nazarene, she was being kind of snarky. And suddenly Peter's faith was not as strong as it was a few hours before. At this time, in this instance, Peter just wanted to blend in with the rest of the crowd. He wanted everyone around to think that he was just one of them. He was afraid to have people think that he was associated with Jesus. So he denied it. He's basically saying, little girl, I have no idea what you're talking about. Just a few hours before, he thought he was ready to take on an army. But when his faith was really tested, a girl with an attitude was a little much for him. Maybe some of you can relate. Your faith has been tested by a girl with an attitude. We'll save that for another day. His life at that point was not necessarily in danger. It was just a girl asking questions. He denied it. At the end of verse 68, it seems that Peter has decided he's gotten a little too close. He's been following at a distance, but maybe this is still a little too close. And so he tries to remove himself from more of the crowded area. He goes back to the porch. Now this would have been kind of like an entryway between the courtyard and the street, just to get away from some of the people. After that, in some translations, verse 68, it says that a rooster crowed. I was surprised to learn that even different New American Standard 1995 updates. Some of them have that in the verse, and some don't. That's the first time I've ever come across that discrepancy. But saying that a rooster crowed. Now there's some question if that phrase is original there. It might have been there, but we don't know for sure. Later in verse 72, Mark points out that a rooster crowed a second time. And so there had to be a first time in there somewhere. It might have been at the end of verse 68. The rooster crowed. Now whether or not that belongs there, by comparing the details of all the gospel accounts, we find that this whole scene took place for two to three hours. Jesus' trials in Annas' house and Caiaphas' house The time that Peter was in that courtyard and on the porch spanned a time of two to three hours. So Peter's denials didn't happen just one after another. There was time in between for Peter to think about what he had said. After he made that first denial at the door, he had a little time to think about it before he denied it at the fire. And after denying at the fire that he was one of Jesus' followers, he had some time to think about it. before he denied him again on the porch. He had some time to think about what Jesus had warned him about. He had some time to think about the way that he had argued with Jesus. I won't deny you. It'll never happen. I'll be faithful to you to the death, he said. So this wasn't just a mistake. It wasn't just that Peter was caught off guard and he spoke without thinking. It may have started out that way, but as this goes on, he knows what he's doing. Peter failed. He failed big. Verse 69, the servant girl saw him and began once more to say to the bystanders, this is one of them. But again, he denied it. Matthew and Luke indicate that this was a different servant or maybe it was a couple of servants But with the same accusation as that other one This time not questioning Peter, but pointing it out to the people around making accusation. Hey everyone. Look at this guy He was with Jesus You remember him being at the temple the other day with Jesus. This is the guy Peter again denied it No, I am not one of them. I am not one of Jesus' disciples. Going on in verse 70, after a little while, the bystanders were again saying to Peter, surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too. How would they have known he was a Galilean? Peter's response to their accusations had been, Y'all are out of your cotton-picking minds. Where would they have assumed he was from? Well, not Galilee, unless there's a Galilee, Texas, which I wouldn't be surprised if there is. But these southerners, southern Judeans, could tell by his accent. They knew where he was from. He wasn't from around here. He was a Galilean. And that was more evidence because that's where Jesus had come from. Added to the fact that he really looked like that one guy who'd been with Jesus at the temple earlier that week. Added to the fact that according to John, a relative of the guy that got his ear whacked off, Malchus, thought he remembered seeing Peter in the garden earlier that night. Now, it was dark, but people had torches, and that would have been a pretty memorable event. to see the guy whack off his cousin's ear and then Jesus put it back on. This guy says, I'm pretty sure I saw you there. Peter was scared. His confidence in himself that had been so strong just a couple hours ago is no longer there. Verse 71 says, He began to curse and swear, I do not know this man you are talking about. Now that doesn't mean that he started saying a bunch of cuss words, though he may have. If a person wants to blend in with the world, that's an easy way to do it. Swearing profanity, that's the world's way. But more to the point of this verse, Peter was calling down curses upon himself if he was lying. So it's like he was saying, may God strike me dead if I'm lying to you and I actually am a disciple of that man. He was calling God as his witness to his lie. And that was blasphemy. The very thing that Jesus was being charged with by the Sanhedrin, Peter was doing it in the courtyard. He was blaspheming God. This was a major failure for Peter. Remember the big idea of what we're seeking to learn in this portion of Mark? The very high cost of the forgiveness of your sins. Salvation was free to you if you are saved. If you have been saved, you have been saved by grace alone. Only by God's grace. You cannot earn it. You cannot deserve it at all, in any way. You are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. It's a free gift. But that forgiveness, that salvation, was very costly to Jesus. One of the closest friends of Jesus, at the worst possible time, denies being his follower, and then denies even knowing who Jesus was. Peter, a close friend of Jesus, sinned against him. I don't even know who that guy is. While Jesus was on his way to die for Peter. What we've looked at this morning might appear to be four denials, if you were keeping count. Counting that first one in John. When Jesus said there would be three, that kind of seems like maybe we have a contradiction here. But I believe the explanation for that is that there were three occasions that night that Peter denied Jesus. And in those three occasions, Peter was answering more than one person. So there are actually several denials in three separate occasions over this period of two to three hours. Peter said, I am not a follower of Jesus. I don't even know who he is. So the shepherd has been struck. The sheep have scattered. Peter is being sifted as wheat by Satan. He's denying his friend Jesus. It looks like everything is falling apart. But remember, this is going just exactly as Jesus said it would. Jesus prophesied all of this. It's going according to plan. Verse 72 says immediately, a rooster crowed a second time. Luke tells us that as that rooster crowed, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Can you imagine that? Peter had just said what he said. I don't even know that man. Jesus turns around and looks at him, the face bloody and bruised from the beating that he was getting from the Sanhedrin and the temple police. This was how he was humbling himself. to offer himself as a sacrifice by dying on the cross, to pay the price required for your sin to be forgiven, to provide forgiveness and salvation, eternal life for Peter. And Peter had just blasphemed God and said with oaths that he didn't even know that man. Jesus was looking at him, blood on his face. It's pretty low for Peter. He really failed. He now knows that Jesus knows. The rest of verse 72 says, 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. Matthew and Luke both tell us that Peter went out and wept bitterly. Judas, again, He felt remorse for what he had done to Jesus. How is Peter different than Judas? They both sinned greatly against Jesus. But there was a big difference in what happened after they sinned. Judas sinned and then went deeper into selfishness. Peter repented. Now we're going to see Peter again in Mark. So we're going to have more opportunities to look more at the repentance of Peter. But in Scripture we see much evidence of the fruit of Peter's repentance. Including the fact that it was just a couple of months after Jesus' crucifixion that Peter stood in Jerusalem and proclaimed Jesus Christ to anyone who would listen. He confronted the sin of those who put Jesus to death, even if that could have cost him his life. And at that time, that was a very real possibility. He was no longer trusting in his own faith, in his own resolve. He was trusting in Jesus and His strength, His faithfulness. And we know Peter didn't become perfect. He still stumbled. and failed at times. I think the next book that we're going to study after Mark will be Galatians and we see an example in Galatians of a failure of Peter that Paul had to confront him. But evidence of real faith in Christ and salvation is not perfection in this life. There will be growth The fruit of the Spirit will become more evident if someone is a believer, but there will also still be sin. But when there is sin, there will also be repentance. Proverbs 24, 16, For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again. J. Vernon McGee correctly observed, Peter could repent of his sin And that is the real test of a genuine believer. These are some of the many lessons we can learn from Peter's failure. This would have been of particular interest to Mark. We know some things about Mark who wrote this gospel. Mark knew something about failure and desertion as he had deserted Paul and Barnabas in Pamphylia when things got hard on that missionary journey. It's recorded in Acts 15. That wasn't the end for Mark, just as this is not the end for Peter. It's interesting to consider that Peter wrote 1 Peter, which is a letter written to persecuted believers to strengthen their faith so they will not fail as he failed. They can learn from his failures. Peter has learned some very important things from his failure, and then from his repentance and his restoration. Sin is never good. Sin is never the right solution to any problem. It is never the right response to any difficulty. Sin always causes problems. Sin is always against our holy God who loves us enough to die for us. So we should always hate the sin that remains in us. But we also need to know and be honest that sin does remain in us. So when we fail, the right response is repentance. Confess it. Turn to the Lord, confess that sin, repent of it. Turn the other way. I'm done with that. I don't want that. I want that sin dead. I'm sorry that it was committed against you, Lord. Take that sin away. Repentance is always the right response. And because of the high price that was paid by Jesus Christ on that cross for our sin to be forgiven, it will be forgiven. We owe God daily praise for such amazing grace. We know our sin is forgiven. Even the sin that remains that we should hate is forgiven.