Hopefully by now you’ve had the opportunity to visit the prayer room in the hall. Among the many prompts for prayer, you’ll find the ‘pray for the world’ corner. And on the table, there are some fact sheets from the Open Doors World Watch List. Each year, Open Doors produces the World Watch List, highlighting the countries where Christian believers face the worst persecution. You can read about (and pray for) the top 5 - North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan.
Christians in those nations (and in the other 45 from the World Watch List) face danger and persecution just because they are Christians. Many face the choice between denying Jesus or dying. And, time and again, Christians choose Christ and death, rather than denying their Lord. When we hear of what is happening around the world, we realise just how easy we have it here in Northern Ireland. It’s not illegal for us to meet together; we aren’t in danger of the secret police interrupting our meetings, of being arrested, or of facing death.
And yet, even here in Richhill, there might still be pressures to deny Jesus. They may be more subtle, but they will still come. It might be as you call into a friend’s house on the way home, and they tease you about being in church on a Thursday night. Or maybe in your workplace when you’re asked what you did at the weekend, and you share all sorts of things, except where you were between 11am and 12noon on Sunday morning. Or a friend will challenge you about something the Bible says - you don’t really believe that, do you? The pressure is to conform, to avoid embarrassment, to not be put on the spot. So you smile, and dodge the question.
In case you’re feeling guilty, and just before you switch off, take heart. You see, rather than the Bible portraying perfect people and honourable heroes; God in his grace gives us the fill picture - as Oliver Cromwell is reported to have asked while having his portrait painted: ‘warts and all.’
We think of Peter as one of the heroes of the faith - the bold, outspoken, courageous, first off the mark, leading disciple. We look at him and think he must be in a league of his won; so high above us in rank and power; he wouldn’t do the things we have done. Yet look at him as our reading ends tonight: ‘He went outside and wept bitterly.’ (62)
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back to the start, and see how Peter finds himself weeping bitterly - and what it might mean for us.
Back in verse 31, Jesus is still in the upper room with his disciples. They’ve shared in the Last Supper, when suddenly Jesus shared some surprising words with Peter (who is also called Simon):
‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.’ (31-32)
Jesus says that Satan has asked God for something. Other versions suggest something even stronger - that Satan has demanded. What has Satan asked for? ‘To sift you as wheat.’ That ‘you’ is plural - you all (or yousins). Satan wants to sift all the disciples as wheat.
Now, when I hear of sifting, it normally makes me happy. It means that Lynsey is busy in the kitchen with a sieve and some flour, which means that in a little while there’ll be some cakes or buns to sample. Good times. It’s not such a good time for the flour in the sieve though. It is shaken around, bumped about. It wouldn’t be so pleasant.
For the wheat being sifted, it was to be shaken up so that the chaff would be removed, and the wheat held in the sieve. But this is Satan asking for the disciples to be sifted, to be buffetted, to be tested, to see if they will give up on Jesus. All the disciples will be sifted, but Jesus tells Peter that he is praying for him, that his faith may not fail.
Do you see how Peter responds to these words? ‘But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”’ (33) The other gospels recall similar words of bravado, where Peter says something like - even if all the rest fail you, I never will. They might fall away, but I’ll remain with you. Even at this point, Peter is being sifted, tested.
Jesus speaks the unthinkable for bold Peter: “I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (34) Now, we’re not told how Peter responds here. Matthew and Mark both tell us that Peter says, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ (Mt 26:35, Mk 14:31) He doesn’t believe what Jesus has just told him.
But it’s one thing to declare that we love Jesus and stand with him in the upper room where it’s safe. It’s another thing on the dark hillside of the Mount of Olives, or by the fire in the courtyard of the high priest’s house. It’s one thing to sing our praise to Jesus here in church, but another thing by the fireside of a friend. What will happen to Peter?
By verse 54, Jesus has been arrested on the Mount of Olives. He has been taken to the high priest’s house. The rest of the disciples aren’t mentioned. They have fled. But Peter ‘followed at a distance.’ He hasn’t given up yet. Peter joins the crowd by the fire, he’s settling into his place, getting warmed up, when the first accusation comes.
‘A servant girl say him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”’ (56) She may have been among the crowd which had gone to arrest Jesus. She may have watched as Peter swung the sword and lopped off the ear of the high priest’s servant. She knew him, had seen him with Jesus. But he quickly denies it: ‘Woman, I don’t know him.’ (57)
Time passed, and again the accusations come. ‘You also are one of them.’ ‘Man, I am not!’ (58). And an hour later, a third accusation comes: ‘Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.’ (59) This is all taking place in Jerusalem, among the city slickers. Galilee was away to the north, a more rural place, with a different accent, maybe seen as a bit more backward. It would be like someone from a rural part of Northern Ireland being up in Belfast, you can tell they’re from somewhere else. So to be a Galilean, where Jesus was also from, was to be seen as part of Jesus’ group.
‘Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.’ (60-62)
In just a few words, we get the drama of the scene. The Lord turns and looks straight at Peter. And Peter weeps bitterly. What a turn around, in the course of one evening. I am ready for prison and death. Then, I don’t know him.
Was Satan triumphant in his request? He had requested that the disciples be sifted like wheat. It looks like they have all failed the test. They have all abandoned Jesus. And Peter, despite Jesus’ prayer that his faith may not fail, Peter has failed and denied his master. Is Satan victorious? Are we pawns in Satan’s hand and power?
Definitely not! You see, Satan does not have any power over us by himself. He is on a leash; he had to ask God and be granted permission to sift the disciples. His testing of them still lies within the power and sovereignty of God. In the heat of the trial we can easily forget that God is still in control.
But more than that, Jesus’ prayer was answered. It might look as if it wasn’t - Peter denied Jesus, after all - but this was a momentary stumble; this was a final, fatal fall like Judas in his betrayal. Rather here’s what Jesus prayed: ‘But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ (32)
Jesus knew that Peter would deny him; yet even before the fact, he paves the way back; he gives him the job of strengthening his brothers ‘when you have turned back.’ After Jesus is raised from the dead, he restores Peter, on the beach, by another charcoal fire. Three times, he asks: ‘Do you love me?’ And three times Peter replies, ‘You know that I love you.’ (Jn 21)
Peter would strengthen the brothers when he had turned back. And he still continues to encourage and strengthen us as we see how he denied Jesus, but turned back again to his Lord. This episode is written for us, to show God’s grace in Peter’s life.
And just seven weeks later on the Day of Pentecost, Peter would stand in the very same city and declare that Jesus is the Messiah - he would not deny Jesus again. So if you’re feeling the heat; if you’re under pressure; if you’re being sifted - remember that Jesus is praying for you; he is interceding at the right hand of the Father for you right now. And remember that in Jesus, your failures are not final, and they are not fatal. In Jesus, we have the victory.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill in the Characters Around the Cross Holy Week Series on Maundy Thursday 18th April 2019.
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