Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 22. Today we're going to be looking at verses 54 to 62, the story of Peter's denial of Jesus.

Last week we talked about Jesus' arrest. We are moving quickly now toward the crucifixion. What Luke does not include is two hearings that happened after Jesus was arrested. He went first to Annas's house. Annas was the former high priest, and the father-in-law of the current high priest.

Then Annas sent him over to Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the high priest that year.

It's very likely that Annas and Caiaphas both lived in one compound — one big palace separated by a courtyard. Luke doesn't focus on what's going on inside the building on both sides of that courtyard. Luke focuses on what's going on in the middle.

Are you in Luke 22? Let's read starting in verse 54.

54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:54-62

Peter gets a bad rap. He has kind of become the whipping boy of preachers for 2,000 years, and I don't think that's fair.

Peter was chosen by the Lord to be the leader of the disciples. Peter was chosen to be one of the three that got to go up on the mount of transfiguration. It was Peter that broke out and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. It was Peter and Peter alone that got out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus. Peter seemed to be a very strong, natural leader.

And yet Peter also made his share of mistakes. On the Mount of Transfiguration, he stupidly suggested that tabernacles be made for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, putting them on the same plane. After his famous confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, he denied that Jesus was going to be crucified. Jesus went from saying the Father had revealed this to Peter, to "Get thee behind me, Satan," in one breath.

Very famously, at the Last Supper, Peter swore that he would never abandon Jesus, that he would go to the death with Jesus. In the garden, when Jesus was being arrested, Peter was the one that whipped out the sword. He was ready to put action to his words.

Peter is kind of a mixed bag. He had moments of greatness and moments of profound human failure. And we are going to look at the greatest moment of his human failure in this story.

The way I want to approach this passage is to first talk about Peter's failure and then to talk about Jesus' strength. Peter's failure, then Jesus' strength. Let's pray, and then we'll jump into that.

{Pray}

1. Peter's Failure

The verses we read this morning take place during Jesus' hearings before Annas (the former high priest) and Caiaphas (the current high priest) in the high priest's palace compound. Luke doesn't tell us what happened inside those walls — he picks up with the third hearing, the formal one before the Sanhedrin, in verse 66 — but he does tell us what Peter was doing while Jesus was going through these trials.

Remember, a group from the temple, and some soldiers with them, came in a big posse to the garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. This was the religious leadership of the temple, the high priests and their lackeys, that was driving this. So it's natural that they go back to the high priest's palace first.

When this happens, every disciple except John and Peter heads for the hills. They scatter. They go to the ground. They are nowhere to be found until after Jesus' resurrection.

But not Peter. Peter wants to see what is going on. He wants to be close to Jesus. So he just joins the crowd that is carrying Jesus back and walks into the palace compound with them.

You know, there are two types of people. There are people that, when a tragedy happens, want to stay as far away as possible. Let's call them "smart people." Then there are people who want to drive around and see it in real time. I may or may not be married to one of those people.

Peter is rubbernecking here. He wants to know what is up. So he just pretends like he's part of the crowd and gets in the back of the line and follows Jesus back into the high priest's palace.

We like to give Peter a hard time for being a coward — but this is extremely bold. I mean, he just cut off one of these guys' ears. You would think he would skedaddle. But Peter boldly just pretends like he belongs there and joins the crowd he just attacked.

So it's the middle of the night. It's a cold night. Someone lights a fire in this courtyard, and all of these people are huddled around the fire, no doubt talking about what is going on inside the walls of the palace. Peter just sits down with them.

The first person to say something to him is a servant girl. She gets to looking at Peter and says "Hey, were you with Jesus?"

Now Peter is behind enemy lines. These people just arrested his Lord. He probably thinks "if they know who I am, they are going to arrest me or beat me up." So very quickly Peter says "Woman, I don't know Jesus."

Some time passes. They go back to sleepily sitting by the fire and someone else looks at Peter and says "You were part of the disciples weren't you?" And again, Peter denies Jesus - this time denying that He is one of Jesus' followers "Man, I am not."

An hour or so later one more person get's to looking at Peter and says "Surely you are one of the disciples - I mean, you are even a Galilaean."

(Apparently Peter's accent gave him away.)

And Peter get's all hot and even swears and says "Man, I don't know what you are even talking about."

So three times in the space of a few hours, Peter has denied Jesus. He's denied knowing Jesus, He's denied being one of Jesus' followers, and he's denied Jesus again with curses.

Look with me at verses 31-34.

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Luke 22:31-34

Now, when Peter said that he would go to prison or die for Jesus, I believe he meant it. I think he showed he meant it when he whipped out his sword and cut someone's ear off in the garden.

But Jesus had said "The cock won't crow before you deny that you know me three times."

And just as peter is finishing up denying Jesus for the third time that night - a cock - a rooster - crows.

But a second thing happens at the same time. At the same time, Jesus is being led from one house to the other, right by where Peter is sitting. So as Peter is cursing and saying he doesn't know Jesus a third time, Peter hears the rooster and then turns around and see's Jesus making eye contact with him.

And the text tells us "Peter went out and wept bitterly."

Peter failed pretty badly here. Jesus is inside getting tried in a kangaroo court. Getting lied about. Getting beaten up. And fifty feet away, his lead disciple is out there denying that he even knows Jesus at all.

Peter was strong and brash and bold and self-confident and he fell flat on his face. He failed miserably at the worst possible time.

I think he wept because he realized how much of a sinner he was. He realized that all of those bragging statements he made about never abandoning Jesus were not true. He was, at his heart, a coward who was ashamed to be named with Jesus.

And I don't want to give Peter too much of a hard time here - because we are failures too. All of us are. We've all failed the Lord and will fail the Lord.

• Maybe you've failed Him by giving into a sin you swore you would never do again.
• Maybe you've failed the Lord by staying quiet when you had the opportunity to speak up for Jesus.
• Maybe you've failed the Lord by giving into peer pressure that you know was wrong.
• Maybe you've failed the Lord by choosing your own comfort and safety over what you know the Lord wants you to do.

All those are general things - but I have no doubt that many of you can think of a specific thing - a time that you failed Christ and that you are deeply ashamed of.

Peter is a picture of us. He is so very human and so very flawed.

So we've talked about Peter's failure, but I want to talk about a second thing this morning and that is...

2. Jesus' Strength

Because there is a wonderful truth in this story of Peter's failure and that is that it didn't surprise Jesus at all.

Look again at verses 31-34:

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Luke 22:31-34

I want you to notice a few things about this whole situation that show us the heart and the strength of Jesus to deal with failing sinners like you, me and Peter.

First, notice that Jesus knew that Peter would fail. He predicted it. He said "Before the rooster crows, you are going to deny that you know me three times."

At that point, such a denial by Peter seemed impossible to Peter. But Jesus saw it clear as day.

And church, can I tell you that Jesus knows about your failures too - past, present and future. When Jesus saved you He knew about your weakness and He knew the times you would let Him down.

That doesn't make it right. It doesn't mean we shouldn't weep bitterly over our sin. It just means that it isn't a surprise to our Lord.

Notice a second thing about Jesus' strength in this situation. Jesus prayed for Peter.

In the garden of Gathsemene - before Jesus was arrested, Jesus wasn't just praying for himself, He was praying for Peter. He said here in verse 32 "But I have prayed for you."

Did you know that Jesus is praying for you? Hebrews 7:25 says:

25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25

In 1 John 2:1 it says it this way:

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1 John 2:1

We have an advocate, we have an intercessor, and He is praying for us. He knows about our sin. He knows about our human failures and He prays for us. He prays that we don't give in completely, that we don't give up on God. "That our faith fail not."

A third thing to notice about Jesus' strength in this situation of Peter's failure is that Jesus loved Peter and forgave Him of this denial.

Church, have you ever felt betrayed. Have you ever felt stabbed in the back by someone close to you. That is the hardest thing to forgive and to get past.

But that sin - the sin of Peter and the sin of you and me - Jesus bore on the cross.

Maybe, just maybe, the reason that Peter went out and wept bitterly was because at that moment, Peter realized that he was a sinner, that he was unable on his own to properly live for Jesus. Maybe he realized that he wasn't the hero of the story - fighting for his own salvation - but that Jesus was.

When we come to that realization. When we see ourselves as we really are - as sinners, as failures, as unable to save ourselves - that is a truly bitter pill. But it is only after that that we can realize that Jesus loved us anyway and Jesus died taking that sin on Himself.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

One more thing that shows Jesus strength in this story is Jesus had a plan for Peter after His betrayal.

In verse 32 Jesus said:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke 22:32

Jesus knew Peter would fail, Peter would repent and Peter would come out of this. Jesus didn't say "if" - he said "when thou art converted."

Peter would go on and be restored. Jesus would formally do that in John 21. Then Peter would be the one who preached Jesus at Pentecost.

Jesus knew all of this, including Peter's failures.

Before Peter ever denied Jesus, Jesus already knew there was going to be a day when Peter would stand up and strengthen his brethren.

Before Peter ever heard the rooster crow, Jesus already knew Peter would preach at Pentecost.

Before Peter ever went out and wept bitterly, Jesus already knew that Peter's story wasn't over.

And maybe that is what somebody here needs to hear this morning.

Your failure does not have to be the end of your story.

Maybe there is something in your life that you are deeply ashamed of. Maybe there is some moment you wish you could go back and erase. Maybe you made promises to God and broke them. Maybe you said, "Lord, I'll never do that again," and then you did it again.

Maybe, like Peter, you have had a moment where you were forced to see yourself for what you really are.

Don't waste that moment.

Because one of the most dangerous things Peter ever said was, "Lord, I am ready."

He thought he was strong enough.

He thought he was brave enough.

He thought he was committed enough.

And in one night, all of that confidence in Peter came crashing down.

But what Peter discovered was that when Peter was weak, Jesus was still strong.

Peter failed, but Jesus didn't.

Peter's courage failed, but Jesus' courage didn't.

Peter's faithfulness failed, but Jesus' faithfulness didn't.

Peter's promises failed, but Jesus' promises didn't.

And that is the hope of the Christian life.

Our hope is not that we are going to be strong enough to never stumble.

Our hope is that we have a Savior who is strong enough to save us, strong enough to keep us, strong enough to forgive us, and strong enough to restore us when we fall.

That doesn't give us permission to sin. Peter didn't walk away from that courtyard laughing. He went out and wept bitterly.

There ought to be brokenness over our sin.

There ought to be repentance.

There ought to be some tears sometimes when we realize how badly we have failed the One who loves us.

But church, don't stop at the tears.

Peter didn't stay outside that courtyard crying for the rest of his life.

Jesus wasn't finished with Peter.

And Paul asks a wonderful question in Romans 8:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"

And after listing tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and peril and sword, Paul says:

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

And then he finishes the chapter this way:

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Church, Peter discovered that night that even Peter couldn't separate Peter from the love of Christ.

His weakness couldn't do it.

His fear couldn't do it.

His denial couldn't do it.

His worst night couldn't do it.

And if you are in Christ this morning, your failure cannot make Jesus stop being Jesus.

So when you fall, don't run away from Him.

Run back to Him.

Confess it.

Repent of it.

Quit making excuses for it.

Quit pretending you are stronger than you are.

And put your confidence where it should have been all along — not in your strength, but in His.

Because this story isn't ultimately about how badly Peter failed.

It's about how wonderfully Jesus saves failing people.

Peter denied Him.

Jesus loved him.

Peter fell.

Jesus restored him.

Peter was weak.

Jesus was strong.

And nothing — not even our worst failure — can separate those who are in Christ Jesus from the love of God which is in Him.