Peter the Forgiven
John 12
Our last installment
...click
here ...showed how Judas illustrated "worldly sorrow" or
despair. The last study detailed his life and his failures and promised
that such a tragic end would be contrasted with a study of Peter and how he
rose from the ashes of his failure to be re-instated and used in a mighty
way by the Lord. The study of the two disciples and their contrasting
approaches to their failures could be called:
Contrition vs. Despair -- 2 Cor
7:8-9
- Godly sorrow leads to repentance
- Worldly sorrow leads to despair and
death
Judas the Traitor..."Worldly sorrow
unto death.."
- 2 Cor 7:8-9
- 8 For though I made you sorry
with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the
same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
- 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were
made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a
godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
- 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death.
Simon Peter -- "Godly sorrow..repentance..
life"
- Luke 22:60-62
- 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.
THE NEXT TIME PETER IS
MENTIONED:
- Mark 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white
garment; and they were affrighted.
- 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted:
Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here:
behold the place where they laid him.
- 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and
Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he
said unto you.
Why is
Peter the only one NAMED in Mark 16:7?
Why is
Peter in a lengthy discussion with Jesus in John 21?
Could it
be Peter’s repentance is being rewarded with
re-instatement?
- John 21:15-17
- 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to
Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith
unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my
lambs.
- 16 He saith to him again the second time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou
knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
- 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the
third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all
things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my
sheep.
Question 1: "Do you AGAPE me?" (unconditional)
Answer 1: "You know I’m your dear friend."
Question 2: "Do you AGAPE me?"
Answer 2: "You know I’m your dear friend."
Question 3: "Are you really my dear friend?"
Answer 3: "You know I’m your dear
friend"
Simon Peter -- reinstatement and the fruit of Godly sorrow and
repentance
- Acts 1:15-16
- 15 And in those days Peter stood up in the
midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an
hundred and twenty,)
- 16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs
have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before
concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
- Acts 2:14-16
- 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven,
lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that
dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
- 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose,
seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
- 16 But this is that which was spoken by the
prophet Joel..
- Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.
- 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked
in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do?
- 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Simon Peter -- not perfect, not without fault, though forgiven and
reinstated
- Gal 2:11-12
- 11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I
withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
- 12 For before that certain came from James, he
did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated
himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
- 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with
him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their
dissimulation.
- 14 But when I saw that they walked not
uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them
all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do
the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the
Jews?
Simon Peter -- challenging Christians to spiritual maturity and
faithfulness
- 2 Pet 3:11-12
- 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness,
- 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?
- 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
- 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for
such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot,
and blameless.
- 15 And account that the longsuffering of our
Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the
wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
- 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in
them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction.
- 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these
things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the
wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
- 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.
Amen.
We will all fail --
we will all stumble.
When we do, WHAT
THEN will we do?
There was a young civil engineer
of western Kentucky who assisted his father in his business of railroad
prospecting and surveying. As he traveled from place to place, he fell into the
society of loose men and acquired intemperate habits, more than his father
seemed to be aware of. He shrewdly managed to conceal his evil habits from his
parents who were wonderful Christians, the father being the choir leader and the
mother a soprano soloist. Once, while the young man was employed on a section of
road forty miles from home, it became necessary to lay over from Thursday noon
till Monday. His father would be detained till Saturday, reaching home in time
for the choir rehearsal. The son, instead of going to his home, went to a bar to
begin a spree. The bartender understood his case too well and kept him hidden in
his own apartment.
When his father came home, he
expected to find the boy there. Trouble began when the question, "Where is
Harry?" informed the startled mother that he should have come earlier. During
the Sunday evening service she was to sing a solo, and by special request
--because she sang it so well-- her selection was to be, "Where Is My Wandering
Boy?" It seemed impossible to her to sing that song under the circumstances.
When on Sunday morning, a policeman found Harry, the certainty was no more
comforting than the suspense had been. She was advised that he would be "all
right tomorrow morning," and that she had better not see him until he sobered
up. Toward Sunday night Harry began to come to himself.
His father had hired a
man to stay with him and see to his recovery. When Harry learned that his mother
had been told of his plight, the information cut him to the heart and helped to
sober him. When the bells rang, he decided to go to church. He knew nothing of
the evening program. He was still in his working clothes, but no reasoning could
dissuade him. His attendant, after making him as presentable as possible, went
with him to the service. Entering early by a side door, they found seats in a
secluded corner, but not far from the pulpit and the organ. After the usual
succession of prayer, anthem, and sermon, the time for the solo came. It was
probably the first time in that church that a mother had ever sung out of her
own soul's distress:
Oh, where is my
wandering boy tonight,
The child of my love and care?
Every word was to her own heart a
cruel stab. The congregation caught the feeling of the song, but there was one
heart as near to breaking as her own. She sang the last stanza,
Go for my wandering boy
tonight,
Go search for him where you will,
But bring him to me with all
his blight,
And tell him I love him still.
Oh, where is my wandering
boy?
Just then a young man in a woolen
shirt, corduroy trousers and jacket made his way down the aisle to the choir
stairs with outstretched arms, and sobbing like a child, cried, "Here I am,
Mother!" The mother ran down the steps and folded him in her arms. The
astonished organist, quick to take in the meaning of the scene, pulled out all
his stops and played, "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow." The
congregation joined in the great doxology, while the father, the preacher, and
the friends of the returned prodigal stood by him with moist eyes and welcoming
hands.
Will we take the "Judas"
approach of despair which leads unto death? Or will we respond with
Godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation?"