This morning, we pick back up in our study of the Gospel of Mark, and we come to an event that Jesus warned his own disciples about – the denial of Jesus by Peter. To see that, let’s read Mark 14:66-72 together. This passage gives us a spiral of denials, and each one highlights different ways that people deny identity with Christ. From this text, see three denials – The Ignorant Denial, the Insistent Denial, and the Irreverent Denial.
From verses 66-68, see the Ignorant Denial. When Jesus was arrested, he was taken to the chief priest’s residence for trial. Apparently, after striking the servant of the high priest with his sword, Peter managed to fade into the background and then follow the mob. We are told in John’s account that another disciple (probably John himself) was known to the high priest and managed to get permission for Peter to enter the outer court. Peter sat by a fire with the servants and guards, waiting to hear what would become of Jesus, and while he sat there, a servant girl of the high priest recognized him. She calls him out – “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” To this direct challenge, we could expect, given Peter’s earlier actions, that he would proudly stand and proclaim his loyalty to the true Messiah, but he doesn’t. Instead, Peter pleads ignorance. He says, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” This statement is an appeal to double ignorance. First, he claims not to know Jesus. Then, he says that he doesn’t even know what she’s talking about. This appeal to ignorance is an obvious lie, not just for us, but for those who were there. For one, we are told down in verse 70, that the girl recognizes him as a Galilean. Galilee had a distinct dialect and culture (like being from the South might give us away today). This girl could just make an educated guess of Peter’s association, based on that alone. But, she also knew who Peter was because of who she was. It says that she was a servant of the high priest. The mob that arrested Jesus was from the high priest, and the man that Peter attacked was a servant of the high priest. It is very likely that this girl was at the arrest, and even if she wasn’t, she’d certainly heard of all that had transpired.
Peter’s appeal to ignorance is inexcusable. Any denial of Jesus that appeals to ignorance is inexcusable, especially in America. Certainly, there are unbelievers in the far-flung corners of the world who might appeal to ignorance on the day of judgment because they have never heard the Gospel. But, Paul says, in Romans 1:18-20, that even they are without excuse. He says, “What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes… and divine nature are clearly seen in the things that are made. So they are without excuse.” As Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” There is no one who can claim ignorance on the day of judgment. But it is certainly the case that Americans have no claim to this. Our country, even today, is saturated with the Gospel. There are popular Christian stories like The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that are rich in Christian symbolism. Even JK Rawling, the author of the Harry Potter books, said that her story is framed around the Gospel. Thanks to the work of the Gideons, there are Bibles in hotels, schools, and military bases. Church services are broadcasted on network TV every Sunday. And, there are churches on every corner in America. Now, certainly, we should be faithful witnesses and work to spread the Gospel in our community, but there is no excuse for anyone within eyeshot of a church. That type of ignorance is willful ignorance. It is a choice not to know, and it will be judged on the last day.
The second denial we see is the Insistent Denial. This servant girl is persistent. She knows who Peter is, and she won’t let it go. So, in verse 69, she says again, “This man is one of them.” Notice, her accusation shifts with this statement. When she first identified Peter, she claimed he was “with Jesus”. Now, she says that he is one of them. She is accusing him of being a part of Jesus’s inner circle (which he was). Peter insistently denies this accusation. So, he has moved from claiming that he doesn’t even know what she is talking about, to saying that he isn’t associated with him. He isn’t just pleading ignorance, he is denying any association with Jesus.
This type of denial is common today. I often hear people say something like, “My Jesus would never condemn someone.” Or, “The Jesus I know is all about loving people.” Let me just say, if you have to begin a statement with “My Jesus”, you probably don’t know Jesus. But, what is meant here is a disassociation. People who draw a distinction between their Jesus and the Jesus of orthodox Christianity are trying to distance themselves from the real Jesus. They are denying him because it is culturally awkward or because it might create a rift between them and their friends. Yet, to distance yourself from the Jesus of the Bible is to reject the Son of God as he has been revealed. You don’t get to create a new Jesus that is all your own and then claim to be a disciple. You either follow Jesus for who he is, or you have nothing to do with him.
Finally, see the Irreverent Denial from verse 70-72. The girl makes a third accusation, and this time she is certain. She knows that he must be one of Jesus’s disciples because he is Galilean. To answer her certainty, Peter responds with religious fervor by invoking a curse and making an oath. Now, we have been affected by our culture to read the words curse and swear as though Peter said a vulgarity here. That is not what he did. Instead, when it says that he “invoked a curse”, it means that he called down judgment. The Greek word is “anathema”, which means to call on God to condemn a person to Hell. But, he does this for himself. He effectively says, “If I am a disciple of Christ, let me be accursed.” And, he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to swear by it. Likely, he said something like, “I swear to heaven” or “I swear on the temple, I am not a disciple of his.”
This is the bottom of the downward spiral of denial for Peter. This is a horrific denial for three reasons. First, in this curse and oath, Peter is violating the third commandment, which we read earlier. The third commandment forbids taking the Lord’s name in vain. We’ve come to view that as putting “God” before a curse word, but that isn’t what it means. To take the Lord’s name in vain is to claim identity with or the authority of the Lord with a heart that is set against him. It is exactly the hypocrisy that Jesus condemned in the Pharisees. Yet, here, Peter pronounces both a curse and an oath on the authority of heaven against the king of heaven. With this curse and oath, he denies his Lord.
Second, in this curse and oath, Peter violates the teaching of Jesus. In Matt. 5:33-37, Jesus teaches that his disciples should not make an oath by heaven or anything else, but instead, their yes should be yes and their no should be no. The disciples of Jesus were only to speak the truth. They weren’t to use oaths as a means of deception. But here Peter does just that.
Third, in this curse and oath, Peter becomes the anti-disciple. In Mark 8, Jesus prophesied for the first time that he would suffer, die and rise again. Peter rebuked Jesus, saying that this could not be. In response, Jesus said, in verse 34, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it… For whoever is ashamed of me… of him will the Son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father.” This was the warning of Jesus to Peter, and now, Peter violates this warning. In the moment when Jesus would take up his cross, instead of denying himself and unashamedly following, Peter denies Christ to save his life.
What a sad moment of shame and guilt for Peter! Yet, this is not the end of Peter’s story. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, in John 21, it tells of how Peter and the other disciples went back to Galilee. One morning, they are out on the boat, and they see a man standing on the shore. Peter recognizes that it is Jesus and jumps out of the boat to swim to him. Jesus fixes breakfast and fellowships with his disciples. During the meal, three times, Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love me?” and three times, Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, I love you.” Jesus does not meet Peter’s denial with rebuke, correction, or even penance. Jesus meets his denial with forgiveness and love. And, beyond that, Jesus doesn’t just offer forgiveness. He recommissions Peter as a disciple. After each of Peter’s responses, Jesus says, “Then feed my sheep.” Based on Peter’s repentance, Jesus commissions him to the work of the Gospel.
The forgiveness and commission that Jesus offers here should serve as a lesson for us. The guilt and shame of our past sins have been nailed to the cross and buried in the tomb, and we have been resurrected with Christ to new life. Like Peter, we have been empowered and commissioned to the work of the Gospel, and we can go with boldness and do that work. So, may we go and speak the truth of the Gospel and faithfully witness of our Lord Jesus.
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