One of the things that I used to say to the men in Jail at our Church service was that whenever they read a story in the Bible, they should try to imagine themselves as the characters of that story. Because these people were regular people, just like us. Today it is time to imagine we are Peter.

Mark 14:43-44 And immediately, while he (Jesus) was yet speaking, Judas comes up, [being] one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd, with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

Now he that delivered him up had given them a sign between them, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; seize him, and lead [him] away safely (securely, under guard).

Mark is the only gospel writer that adds that detail of that last phrase in Judas’ instructions. It makes me wonder if Judas, even as he was betraying Jesus, wanted to ensure the mob did not attack Him or hurt Him, but rather wanted Him to stand trial before the Sanhedrim.

Maybe, as other people have suggested, Judas was thinking that by forcing Jesus to stand before the religious leaders in a formal court proceeding, He would – as usual – undo their every argument. Maybe this is how Judas justified his actions to himself: hoping to force Jesus’ hand to become the conquering Messiah he wanted Him to be.

Mark 14:45-50 And being come, straightway coming up to him, he says, Rabbi, Rabbi; and he covered him with kisses. And they laid their hands upon him and seized him. But a certain one of those who stood by, having drawn his sword, struck the bondman of the high priest, and took off his ear.

And Jesus answering said to them, Are ye come out as against a robber, with swords and sticks to take me? I was daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye did not seize me; but [it is] that the scriptures may be fulfilled.

And all left him and fled.

That last comment by Jesus, heard by all, was meant to strengthen His disciples one more (one last) time:

“It is that the scriptures may be fulfilled.”

Because God is in control.

Mark 14:51-52 And a certain young man followed him with a linen cloth cast about his naked [body]; and [the young men] seize him; but he, leaving the linen cloth behind [him], fled from them naked.

Again, a detail found only in Mark, humorous, pathetic, and reminding us that every last one of those that followed Jesus there ran for their lives in panic.

Mark 14:53 And they led away Jesus to the high priest. And there come together to him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

All the leaders gathered, making this an official tribunal despite the late hour. Most, gathered in their desire to destroy Him. But there were some there that gathered, as called, to ensure the proceedings were lawful. We will hear about one of those (Joseph of Arimathea) later in Mark’s narrative. John’s gospel suggests Nicodemus was also probably there. And then there was someone else…

Mark 14:54 And Peter followed him at a distance, till [he was] within the court of the high priest’s palace; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself in the light [of the fire].

We know from John’s gospel that it was John who gained Peter access to that courtyard. But from the viewpoint of Mark, from Peter’s viewpoint, what matters is that he came back. Yes, he did so from a distance, hiding in the shadows, and then here trying to hide in the crowd; but he came!

And, really, what else could he do? He had sworn to Jesus that he would not abandon Him. But then he drew the sword, attacked the crowd in the Garden and thus made himself a threat and a fugitive. He could have precipitated an all-out fight in that garden and Jesus could have been injured. But Jesus stopped it all.

Even if panic had not seized Peter then, prudence would have demanded that he run so that they would have not have another charge (a charge of violent assault) to level against Jesus. Whatever is going through Peter’s mind, he has come back to see what is going to happen to his Lord.

Mark 14:55-59 And the chief priests and the whole sanhedrim sought testimony against Jesus to cause him to be put to death, and did not find [any]. For many bore false witness against him, and their testimony did not agree. And certain persons rose up and bore false witness against him, saying, *We* heard him saying, *I* will destroy this temple which is made with hands, and in the course of three days I will build another not made with hands. And neither thus did their testimony agree.

It is interesting that even in the middle of carrying out a plan to kill an innocent man, the religious leaders are stuck with abiding by their laws and traditions. They recruited people to give false testimony against Jesus but in the end that testimony was subject to examination… and it is to their credit that they could not accept it because it was not true.

But maybe they do not deserve even that meager credit… because God is in control. And God is a God of Justice, and therefore He will not allow His Son to be condemned by lies. The Father is going to force them to condemn Jesus for being the Messiah He claimed to be, a Messiah they did not want:

Mark 14:60-65 And the high priest, rising up before them all, asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What do these testify against thee?

But he was silent, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and says to him, *Thou* art the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

And Jesus said, *I* am, and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.

And the high priest, having rent his clothes, says, What need have we any more of witnesses?  Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit upon him, and cover up his face, and buffet him, and say to him, Prophesy; and the officers struck him with the palms of their hands.

That is why Jesus was condemned to death: For claiming to be the Messiah but not the Messiah they wanted. (Remember how those of his hometown were offended by the fact that He, a mere laborer, a carpenter, a man just like them, was full of wisdom and power to heal? Imagine that offense now multiplied here when such a man dares claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God.)

And again notice that Jesus, of His own free will, uncoerced, spoke; and He uttered the words He knew would take Him to the cross. Because this is the Plan, and God is in control.

Mark 14:66-72 And Peter being below in the palace-court, there comes one of the maids of the high priest, and seeing Peter warming himself, having looked at him, says, And *thou* wast with the Nazarene, Jesus. But he denied, saying, I know not nor understand what thou sayest. And he went out into the vestibule; and a cock crew.

And the maid, seeing him, again began to say to those that stood by, This is [one] of them. And he again denied. And again, after a little, those that stood by said to Peter, Truly thou art [one] of them, for also thou art a Galilean. But he began to curse and to swear, I know not this man of whom ye speak.

And the second time a cock crew. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus said to him, Before [the] cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice; and when he thought thereon he wept.

God is in control even when we fail

Well before the danger of this moment could be imagined by any of the disciples, Jesus tried to impress on them the severity of His call on their lives. Following the Messiah is not a decision to be taken lightly. It is not a fad… and He is not a rock star. It is not a predilection, a choice among many possible philosophies or ways of life. Jesus declares it to be a life-or-death choice.

Mark 8:34-35 And having called the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever shall desire to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it.

As long as we take those words as metaphors, we are able to stay safely away from the dread of the consequences… But what happens when it dawns on us that Jesus meant it literally.

That is where Peter is right now in Mark’s gospel: He fled to save his life! And to make matters worse he is the one that brought up the whole denial thing. He is the one that when Jesus said they would all abandon Him, he wouldn’t keep quiet, he was the first one to say I will never deny you.

And then as he heard the rooster crow, and saw Jesus turn around and look at Him (as John tells us), surely he remembered these other words:

Matthew 10:32-33 Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, *I* also will confess him before my Father who is in [the] heavens. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will *I* also deny before my Father who is in [the] heavens.

Did Jesus mean it literally?

…denied before the Father…

One of the things that I used to say to the men in Jail at our Church service was that whenever they read a story in the Bible, they should try to imagine themselves as the characters of that story. Can we imagine being Peter, right now?

Have you ever promised God something, truly meaning it, really intending to keep that promise… and then, when it came down to it, failed miserably?

I have. I think we all have.

Maybe some of us have gone as far as Peter just did… by word or deed denied ever knowing, ever having loved Jesus. What do we do, then? What can we do?

There are two possible reactions:

The first: We can ignore it, minimize it, justify it, or maybe even give up altogether. Yes, these are all just one reaction because they are all the same… they are all us, humanly, trying to get out of the consequences.

The second: Do what Peter did, and weep. Mourning is the beginning of repentance.

But didn’t Peter deny Him?

Didn’t Jesus mean what He said, literally?

I believe He did:

Matthew 5:3-6 Blessed the poor in spirit, for *theirs* is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed they that mourn, for *they* shall be comforted. Blessed the meek and humble, for *they* shall inherit the earth. Blessed they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for *they* shall be filled.

Only when we understand how bankrupt we are in spirit, can we truly mourn our fallen state, and only then can we humble ourselves before the God, who – even in this state – loves us, the God that is waiting there, like the father of the prodigal son, for us to come to our senses and hunger and thirst for righteousness. And when we do, He will fill us.

 But didn’t I deny Him?

Didn’t Jesus mean what He said, literally?

He did:

Matthew 12:31-32 For this reason I say unto you, Every sin and injurious speaking shall be forgiven to men, but speaking injuriously of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.

And whosoever shall have spoken a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming [one].

Peter’s denial is not the “unpardonable sin”. All he has to do, all we have to do, is repent, and Jesus will forgive us. The unpardonable sin is the sin that we claim is no sin at all: the sin of calling good evil and evil good. That is the sin that denies that the Holy Spirit has come to call all humanity back to the Father. And if that is the way we choose to live, denying God’s goodness, then we will never repent. (Why should we? We are right and God is wrong!) And without repentance there can be no forgiveness.

Peter wept… And Jesus did not forget about him, for one minute, because at the end of the story, on that resurrection morning the angel had a message especially for him:

Mark 16:6-7…Be not alarmed. Ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, the crucified one. He is risen, he is not here; behold the place where they had put him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said to you.

We cannot fail beyond His power to forgive and restore.