Simon Peter – His Life and Its Lessons
HIS FALL
We now follow our beloved apostle into the darkest and most humbling scene in his entire history – a scene that we could hardly understand or account for if we did not know something of the infinite depths of divine grace on the one hand, and, on the other the terrible depths into which even a saint of God or an apostle of Christ is capable of plunging if not kept by Divine power.
It seems amazing to find on the pages of inspiration a record of the fall of such an eminent servant of Christ as Simon Peter. In our wisdom, we might think it best to draw a curtain of silence over such an event. Not so the Holy Spirit. He has seen fit to tell us plainly of the errors, failures, and sins of such men as Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul, in order that we may learn holy records from such holy records the lessons of human frailty and Divine grace. While full of solemn warning, these lessons provide precious consolation and encouragement. We learn what we are, and we learn what God is. We learn that we cannot trust ourselves; that if we are not kept by grace, there is no depth of sin into which we are not capable of falling. But, we also learn to trust the eternal stability of God’s grace that has dealt with the erring ones – the sinning ones of other days, so that we might lean with ever-growing confidence on the One Who is “the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.”
Not one of the four evangelists omits the fall of Peter. For instance: “And when they had sung a hymn they went out into the mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto Him, Though all shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt. 26).
In these few words Peter reveals the root of the matter. That root was self-confidence – not an uncommon root among us. We cannot question Peter’s sincerity. No doubt he meant what he said, having not even a remote idea of what he was about to do. He was ignorant of himself, and we generally find that ignorance and self-confidence go together. Self-knowledge destroys self-confidence. In other words, the more fully self is known, the more it must be distrusted. If Peter had known himself, known his tendencies and capabilities, he never would have uttered the words quoted above. But he was so full of self-confidence, that when his Lord explained what he was about to do, he replied, “Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee.”
This is full of instruction for us. We are all so ignorant of our own hearts that we deem ourselves incapable of falling into certain gross sins. But every one of us should bear in mind that if we are not kept each moment by the grace of God, we are capable of anything. We have materials in us for any type or amount of evil. So much so, that whenever we hear someone say, “Well, though I am certainly a failing and stumbling creature, I’m not capable of doing anything like that,” we feel assured that person does not know their own heart; and is in imminent danger of falling into some grievous sin. It is well to walk humbly before our God, distrusting self, and leaning on Him. This is the true secret of moral safety. Had Peter realized this, it would have saved him from a terrible downfall.
But Peter was self-confident, and, as a consequence, failed to watch and pray. This was another stage in his downward journey. Had he felt his utter weakness he would have sought Divine strength, casting himself on God for help in time of need. Look at the blessed Master. Being a Man, having taken the place of the creature, He agonizing in prayer while Peter was fast asleep. Yes, Peter slept in the garden of Gethsemane while his Lord was going through deep anguish, knowing that much more still lay before Him. “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter and the sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with Me. And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What! could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
What tender grace. What readiness to make allowance. What moral elevation. And yet He felt the lack of sympathy, the cold indifference to His sore agony. “I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” Oh, how much is involved in these words. The Son of God looked for comforters. That perfect human heart craved sympathy; but there was none for Him. Even Peter, who declared himself ready to die with Him, fell asleep in view of the agonies of Gethsemane.
Such is man – even the very best of us. Self-confident, when we should be self-distrusting; sleeping, when we should be watching; and fighting, when we should be submitting. “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.” How incongruous, how utterly out of place – a sword in company with the meek and lowly Sufferer. “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” Peter was entirely out of the current of his Master’s spirit. He was not in union with our Lord’s path of suffering. Peter would fain defend Him with carnal weapons, forgetting that His kingdom was not of this world.
This is peculiarly solemn. To find an honored servant of Christ failing so grievously should be sufficient to teach us to walk softly. But, we have not yet reached the lowest point in Peter’s downward course. Having used a sword in defense of his Master, we next find him “following afar off.” “Then took they Jesus, and led Him, and brought Him to the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.”
What company for an apostle of Christ. “Can a man touch pitch and not be defiled by it? Can one walk on burning coals and his feet not be burned?” It is dangerous for a Christian to sit down among the enemies of Christ. To do so proves that decline has set in, and is making serious progress. In Peter’s case the stages of decline are clearly marked: (1) boasting in his own strength; (2) sleeping when he should have been praying; (3) drawing his sword when he should have been meekly bowing; (4) following afar off; (5) making himself comfortable in the midst of open enemies of Christ.
Now the last scene in this terrible drama unfolds. “And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest; and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I, what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them, for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny Me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept” (Mark 14:66-72).
Luke adds a touching clause: “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. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
What a terrible scene. A saint of God, an apostle of Christ, cursing and swearing that he did not know his Lord. Because of this, some might question the fact that Peter was a genuine saint of God? They find it hard to conceive such a thing as a true child of God could fall so terribly. But such questioning is a gross mistake because they have not yet learned what flesh is. Peter was as much a saint of God in the palace of the high priest as he was on the mount of transfiguration. But by a humiliating and painful process, he had to learn for himself. No doubt, if anyone had told Peter that he would one day curse and swear that he did not know his Lord, he would have shrunk with horror from the thought. He might have said, like one of old, “Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?” Yet it was so. None of us know what we may do until we are in the circumstance. Therefore, we must walk humbly with our God day by day, deeply aware of our utter weakness, clinging to Him Who is able to keep us from falling. We are safe only in the shelter of His presence. Left to ourselves, we are capable of anything, as our apostle found to his deep sorrow.
But the Lord was watching over His erring servant – He never lost sight of him, not for a single moment, He had His holy eye on the whole process. If given an opportunity, the devil would have smashed the vessel into hopeless fragments. But he could not. He was but an instrument in Divine hands to do a work for Peter that Peter had failed to do for himself. “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted (or restored), strengthen thy brethren” (emphasis added).
This permits us to see the root of the matter. Peter needed to be sifted, and Satan did the work – just as in the case of Job, and the man in 1 Corinthians 5. It seems wonderful, mysterious and solemn, that Satan would be so used. Yet it is so. God uses him for the destruction of the flesh. He cannot touch the spirit of a Christian, because it is eternally protected by God. But it is terrible to be in Satan’s sieve. Peter found it to be so, as did Job, and that erring Corinthian.
But, Jesus said, “I have prayed for thee” – so Peter would not fall? No; but having fallen, that his faith would not fail; his confidence would not fade away. Nothing surpasses the grace that here shines forth. The blessed One knew all that was going to happen – the shameful denial, the cursing and swearing; yet, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not” – that your confidence in the eternal stability of My grace would not give way. What a marvelous Savior.
Then, there is the power of that look. “The Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.” This is what broke Peter’s heart, causing a flood of bitter, penitential tears.
