SERMON XIX – William Elbert Munsey
Peter’s defection from Christ.
“Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into 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.
“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.
“And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
” After a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
“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 Galilean.
” And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet Spake, the cock crew.
“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.” — Luke 22:54-62.
THE text is one of the Bible’s most impressive and instructive narratives — not one for unity of discourse, for compacted and elaborate argument, but from the circum- stances of which we may learn several valuable lessons.
I. Christ forewarned Peter of his danger. “All ye shall be offended because of me this night ; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” — “offended,” i. e., lose confidence in him and forsake him. Peter answered : ” Though all men should be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” ” Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren,” — i. e., fail not utterly. Peter replied immediately : ” Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death.” Christ then tells him : ” Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me after- wards.” Peter exclaims with the full fervency of his soul : ” Lord, why cannot I follow thee now ? I will lay down my life for thy sake.” Well said, Peter. Christ said : ” Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake ? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.”
Peter earnestly loved Jesus. Where, then, was his error? He was spiritually feeble — so feeble that notwithstanding his avowed purpose to die for Christ, he could not watch with him one hour in the garden. Peter was fallen, and being fallen was to some degree separated from God, and like plants deprived of the light of the sun his powers were enfeebled to so great a degree, as to be incapable of them- selves for effectual resistance to sin. He was connected with a sensual world by a sensual organism, by his residence, existence, and associations, and his connection with the spiritual was so remote and imperfect, that the adverse in- fluence of surrounding circumstances was too potent for his own strength.
He was beset with powerful enemies incognizable to his material senses, whose spiritual nature gave them immediate ingress to his soul, and whose intelligence made them masters of his motives and defects, and whose characters only prompted them to do evil. Their power over Peter was fearfully increased, when the very promptings of his own nature, as distinguished from his moral sense, inclined him to do that which they desired him to do, and which they would tempt him to perform. The will does not always choose what it is capable of choosing ; but Peter’s will did not escape the blasting and debilitating influences of sin, and was unable of itself to maintain an inflexibility of decision when opposing circumstances. arrived at a certain degree of power. He was spiritually feeble. What was true of Peter is true of all of us in a natural state.
He was unacquainted with his spiritual feebleness. His ignorance was criminal ; he might have known better. Ignorance is subversive of man’s dignity, destructive of man’s usefulness, his virtue, his happiness. Ignorant men are extremists and enthusiasts in religion. They may possess religion and be saved when they die, but their capacities are so contracted, that in the absence of an unbridled and proscriptive fanaticism they are ciphers in the religious world. Their religion is not one of steady, substantial, consistent, and invincible principles, that like the towering rocks of Teneriffe hurl back unscathed and uninjured the stormy surges of the stormiest ocean, but the extravagant manifestation of a malformed sentimentality, at once fanatical, unreason- able, and obstreperous. Voluntary ignorance is a great sin, and sinful ignorance is the cause of the greatest evils that ever afflicted the human race. uMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Peter’s ignorance was ignorance of himself. Knowledge of self is the greatest of all knowl- edge. Know thyself is a law as imperative as if written upon a table of stone.
Peter was self-confide? It. This was the result of his ignorance of himself. Had he known the feebleness of his moral powers he would not have confided in them in the day of trial. His bigoted self-confidence was sinful because it was the result of a sinful ignorance. Causes always import their moral character to their natural effects. It was sinful, because it was self-confidence with relation to a strength which was the prerogative of grace to confer. Hence, it ignored God — ignored God’s grace — ignored God’s plan for saving sinners. ” Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
He was self-reliant. This was the result of his self-confidence. The Christian’s strength in trial, temptation, or spiritual danger does not consist in the summoning up of his own resolutions, and doggedly relying upon them. No ! he is only strong when he goes out of himself and by faith lays hold upon a higher power — upon God. As paradoxical as it is, his strength is in his weakness — when he relies upon himself his power is finite : when he uses not his own powers, but relies only on God as the source of his strength, his power is infinite.
As a logical result of his self-confidence and self-reliance he became carnally secure. A felt security is fraught with great danger. ” Security is mortal’s chiefest enemy.” Let a perfect security reign in an army in the land of an enemy, and any man can see there would be a corresponding weakening. Felt security disarms vigilance, and removes the felt necessity for discipline. Christians are in the land of an ever vigilant and accomplished strategic adversary. Peter felt secure, hence he was unprepared when danger came. But his security was of the most dangerous kind — it was Carnal Security. Carnal, camalis, from car no, flesh. It was security founded upon the powers of the flesh — are- ligious resolution with nothing to back it but the deceitful and treacherous attributes of the flesh, already sold to the Devil, and pledged to betray the resolution into the hands of the enemy at the very beginning of the engagement. It was a religious purpose whose essence consisted in being opposed to the flesh, yet fortifying itself in the dominions of the flesh, and surrendering into the hands of the flesh the keeping and defence of its fortifications. Says Peter, ” I will lay down my life for thy sake “—a sublime religious purpose ! The flesh would certainly resist such a sacrifice, for it would in- volve the sacrifice of itself. A dependence upon the flesh to execute such a purpose, would but result in its utter defeat.
Carnal security is a bed of flowers on the salient brink of hell. There lies the sleeper. Beneath him the fiery surges of woe toss dreadfully, and rush with a howl of horror upon their impregnable boundaries of lightning-scarred scoriae rock — jarring all the shores till the crags upon which the slumberer dreams break away from their fastenings and go crashing dovvn, down, from light through darkness, and he awakes in the nethermost hell.
Carnal security is symbolized by Bunyan in his Enchanted Ground, the last danger between the City of Destruction and the Celestial City ; and well classed by him as the greatest danger between earth and heaven. It appears to be Satan’s last effort. The most dangerous state is when a man is satisfied and his satisfaction lulls into sleep every watchful power. Is not this the condition of a portion of this congregation ? ” Woe to them that are at ease in Zion ! ” Ease! Woe!
Christ’s warnings to Peter are an exhibition of His Omniscience, involving knowledge of the future. Without prescience of future events, Christ could not prepare us by providential dispensations, as he does in many instances, for future calamities.
Knowing what trials await us, Christ warns us as He did Peter. He warns us in His Word. Monuments of apostasy stand out upon the pages of Sacred History and bid us ” Beware!” The wretched Saul in the miserable hovel of the witch of Endor, in his complaint to Samuel, warns us in a voice which makes the blood creep cold in our veins, ” God has departed from me.” Solomon, who had been the recipient of the choice bounties of heaven, in his old age, under the curse of an incensed God, surveys his wealth, his kingly magnificence, his years of debauchery and idolatry, and exclaims, “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Look at the horrid end of Judas the traitor, and take heed how you sell your Lord. Hear the awful “Anathema, Maranatha,” of the Apostle upon the Gentile apostates in every age and clime — ” anathema,” accursed ; ” maranatha,” the Lord will come in vengeance.
Hear further: “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, …. shall he live? All his righteousness he hath done shall not be mentioned : in his trespass and in his sins, in them shall he die ” (Ezekiel xviii. 24). ” The last state of that man shall be worse than the first.” “It had been better not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. ” Read the warning to the churches of Asia, and think of their history in connection with the threatenings pronounced for their defection from Christ : — ” I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place.” Read the whole verse and apply it to this congregation : ” Thou hast left thy first love ; repent, and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place.” This congregation is full of backsliders. Like weights they hang upon the wheels of the church. They are in the way of the church, in the way of sinners, in the way of the minister, in the way to hell. Why did you leave Jesus? What wrong did He to you ? You must die. But Jesus prays for us, as He prayed for Peter : ” Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”
II. But notwithstanding Peter was warned of his danger he fell. Jesus, through the treachery of Judas, was arrested in the garden, bound, and led off towards Jerusalem. His disciples forsook him and fled— all but two, John and Peter. John, however, kept close to his Master, determined to share his infamy, and if necessary die with him. But where, where was Peter, who made so many promises, and formed such bold resolutions ? The account is, ” Peter followed afar off.”
” Followed afar off.” This was the first step m Peter’s defection from Christ — he “followed” Jesus, however. That he followed Jesus is evidence that he still loved his Saviour. But he followed ” afar off,” he was ashamed to confess Jesus now that he was in disgrace. His love for self more than balanced his love for Christ. He follows, but it is at such distance as to make it safe to do so. Jesus loved Peter ; Jesus prayed for him ; Jesus honored him with a call to the discipleship ; Jesus healed the sickness in his family ; made him his confidant ; gave him a glimpse of his Divine glory on Tabor; yet Peter was ashamed of him — ingratitude ASHAMED OF JESUS ! I have seen the ungrateful beneficiary blush with shame before his benefactor. I have seen the blush of shame mantle the brow of the professor of religion, when asked publicly to acknowledge Christ. 1 have seen the detected thief bowed down with shame before the courts of our country.
I have seen the youth ashamed when detected by his parents in unbecoming and vicious associations — ashamed because they had violated human obligations. But I have seen the sinner avow his ingratitude to his noblest, best, and truest friend — that friend who loved him, made, protected, pre- served, clothed, fed, and died for him, and daily add to his ingratitude by studied wrong, without a blush of shame — yea, glory in it — boast of it as if it was some great thing of which he was proud. 1 have seen him rob that friend of that which he himself and all the world acknowledged was his due. I have seen him treat that friend, though that friend was in the very act of doing what all the world and he himself acknowledged to be the greatest favor, with cruel scorn and unkind neglect — all without shame. I have seen him at the same time publicly endorse every act of insult and injury to that friend perpetrated by Devils or men, and exhibit no shame. Every sinner endorses all that is sin — all the murders, adulteries, seductions, and robberies in the history of iniquity, because they are all sins and he is a sin- ner ; because, from the nature of the two antagonistic moral qualities, good and evil, there is no medium ground ; because, in the contest between good and evil, he is on the side of evil, and contributes the whole weight of his character and influence to defend it against the aggressions of Christianity ; because he is in an antagonistic position to Christianity, the only thing which can destroy sin ; because he does all this in open daylight, without shame. Yet the same man would dislike to be found upon his knees in secret prayer. “Who- soever shall be ashamed of me and my words, in this adul- terous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” From shame and fear Peter followed Christ ” afar off.” This was the first step in his defection from Christ. No wonder he sinned. This is the first step in every backslider’s departure. In proportion as men are distant from Christ the less His influence over them. They have less light, less love, and less life. There- fore, the greater the influence of the world, flesh and Devil, the less restraining and preventing grace they have, and the more easily they are tempted.
Many of this church are following Jesus ” afar off.” They are on the highway to apostasy. Does any inquiring sinner in this house wish to know them, that he may not be deceived in the adoption of a spurious Christianity by their example ? I will describe them to you— and mark them well. When our church bells, which will soon toll out oar funerals, pour their resounding intonations along every street and alley of our town, call to the house of God, they query, ” Who will fill the pulpit to-day ? ” The admirers of. Paul will not hear Cephas, and vice versa. That all persons should have ministerial favorites is right as well as natural. We cannot blame irreligious people for acting on this principle, but it is exceedingly culpable in professors of religion. They love the preaching better than the preacher’s Saviour, or they would wait upon the ministrations of any of Jesus’ messengers for the Master’s sake. They are following Jesus “afar off.”
Again, on the Lord’s day they are found lazily sauntering along the streets, or sitting at the corners, in shameful desecration of the Sabbath. They will work all the week for themselves, and will not work one day for Jesus. When you see them, sinner, take my word for it they are following Jesus “afar off.” Don’t emulate their example. Again, when God’s people meet in the prayer-meeting, or to con- verse with each other about Jesus in the class-room, they are at home or elsewhere, yielding to an indisposition for spiritual worship, which strengthens every time they yield to it, which indisposition is declarative of a low state of grace, and demonstrative of the great distance at which they are following their Lord — ” afar off.'”
Again, they are often found indulging a fault-finding, im- patient, and complaining spirit. They complain of the degeneracy of the times in place of putting their shoulders to the wheels and making the times better. They are always prating about the faults of their brethren to others. This they do for several reasons : I. If they can direct public attention to others’ faults, their own personal errors are over- looked, or do not appear so aggravated. 2. Because it is a sort of a quietus to conscience for personal faults to keep their own minds impressed with the faults of others. 3. They love to slander. If they wished to correct the errors of their brethren they would talk to them, but they talk to others. They are following Jesus ” afar off,” or they would have more of his spirit. I might mention the professor of religion who drinks his dram, who is wilfully slack in paying his debts, who neglects to keep his word, who lives beyond his means, who idles away his time, who is envious of his neighbor— David envied his neighbor, and he has said his feet well nigh slipped — I do not say you are hypocrites, that would be unjust — Peter was no hypocrite — but I do say you are following Jesus “afar off.” Come up to the cross. Brethren, I love you, but I can do no good this year unless you help me.
But mark the second step in Peter’s fall. Jesus is surrounded by an immense throng in the hall of the high-priest, with John by his side ; Peter is sitting on the outskirts of the company with some servants, warming himself — he is in bad company : — following Jesus “afar off.” It is just where I would expect to find him. Evil associations are a sure road to apostasy. When a man’s religion is declining these are the associations he seeks, and he seeks them more and Christian associations less, in the same ratio with his decline. Peter, relieved of the moral restraints of good associations, is now easily destroyed. A maid accuses him : ” This man was also with him.” Away goes his boasted strength— he denies him. Another maid comes in and says, ” This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” With an oath he replied, ” I do not know the man ! ” Miserable man ! where are all your resolutions and protestations? You boasted much, John said nothing— now he is true and you are false. A third affirms that he is one of them, ” For thy speech be- wrayeth thee.” A kinsman of Malchus says that he saw Peter in the garden. With blasphemies and curses he denies him. His case in the face of so much testimony is growing desperate, and he would enforce their belief in his denial by horrid oaths. Peter is angry ! Why angry ? Did not Jesus love you ?
Peter is afraid of man. ” Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death.” But when the trial came, he loved liberty and life better than Jesus. He renounces Jesus. Don’t fling stones at him, however. Jesus has been presented to you, sinner, and you too have renounced Him from the same motive — afraid of man. Peter denied his Saviour to save his life, have you not denied Him to win a moment’s applause ? We must love Jesus better than life.
III. I will notice briefly Peter’s conviction and repentance. “The cock crew.” Peter remembered Christ’s prediction and looked towards him. Then Christ turned and looked upon Peter. ” Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” How delicate yet how mighty a reproof. A look! Christ did not go to him, He did not wish to speak; He does all by a look. The elements of that look —
” Turn and look upon me, Lord,
And break this heart of stone.”
Peter went out and wept bitterly. His sin was of the grav- est character — it was a denial of Christ in the most aggra- vated manner. But Christ forgave him. This was night ; the next day Christ took Peter’s sin with him to His cross, and atoned for it. The Lord forgave Peter and very mercifully gave him an opportunity to confess his love to Him. He sent His first message after His resurrection to Peter.
The Jews had three great annual festivals. The feast of the Tabernacles, to remind the children of Israel that their fathers had dwelt in tents in the wilderness ; the Passover, in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage ; the Pentecost, in commemoration of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. These three great festivals have three great corresponding events in the new dispensation. Christ was born during the feast of the Tabernacles or tents, and was laid in a manger ; He was crucified during the Passover ; and He ascended into heaven, and the Holy Ghost descended from heaven, during the Pentecost.
The Passover was instituted commemorative of the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and the means used to effect such deliverance ; it therefore typed Redemption, involving the emancipation of mankind from the bondage of sin. Hence, during the last Passover which meant anything, Jesus the Paschal lamb was slain on Calvary for the salvation of the race. Fifty days after the institution of the Passover the old dispensation was inaugurated by the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai. Fifty days precisely after the last significant Passover, during the last significant Pentecost, the new dispensation was inaugurated by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. At the giving of the Law God came down, and the mount quaked, and there was a sound, a flame, and a voice ; the same phenomena characterized the descent of the Holy Ghost, for God came down, and there was a sound, a flame, and a voice. The Disciples upon this occasion, numbering one hundred and twenty, were all in one room waiting the fulfilment of the promise. It was fifty days after the crucifixion, ten days after the ascen- sion. While they waited “suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind” ! There was no wind, but “a sound as of a rushing mighty wind ” — falling from heaven and filling the chamber ; and the fires of the Holy Ghost descended upon them flashing through their souls, and blazed upon the altars of their hearts, and glowed in tongues of flame upon their brows — symbolizing the instrumental power which was to convert the world — the tongue, the voice of man in the preaching of the Gospel. The converting and sanctifying fires of the Spirit of God, attended by a motionless presence, yet roaring like the whirlwinds and fires of Horeb, filled body, soul, and spirit, till all their thankful powers, blended in a burst of praise and a shout of glory, which rolled along every alley and street of Jerusalem, was heard to the temple, and shook the air over Calvary, and echoed among the tombs of the Prophets and the sepulchres of the Kings.
It was a Jewish festival and there were people in Jerusalem from ” every nation under heaven.” They heard the noise and came rushing together. In compacted thousands they crowded the streets and squares adjacent to and around the Pentecostal chamber of the first heralds of the cross. There was the bloody Jew, the selfish priest, the myrmidons of Pilate. In sight was Calvary — the bloody cross probably still standing — the scenes of the crucifixion recent. Now came forward Peter, the embodiment of the loftiest heroism and the sublimest courage — not the flinching coward who quailed before a servant-maid, but the accuser and judge of the excited mob, the champion of a condemned and crucified impostor. Unique and dauntless with a heart full of the Holy Ghost, with eyes flashing fire, he lifts his voice like the trump of doom, and hushes into silence the clamorous mob by the announcement of what was to them his unwelcome text — “Jesus of Nazareth” — “The Messiah of the Prophets” — “The Saviour of the World.” Oh, what a change religion works in a man !
His was no silvery harangue, no vapid speech, no fustian flowers, or pedantic bombast, but outright he charges them with murder, and preaches faith in Jesus as their only hope. Stern, sententious, terrible, he drove home the truth. His was no sharp and polished sword, but the ponderous battle- axe, which hewed in pieces their prejudices, brought them bowed with conviction, crying, ” Men and brethren, what shall we do ? ” ” Repent, and be baptized, every one of you. in the name of Jesus Christ” From this time ever after- wards he exhibited an intrepidity and stability of character, unlike the Peter before his conversion. According to tradition he was crucified when an old man, near Rome, by the order of Nero, with his head down according to his own request. His body is now said to rest in a crypt of marble beneath the largest cathedral of earth, and his soul is high in heaven with his crucified but now risen Master. Peter backslid, was reclaimed, but was finally saved.