John 18:25-27

25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not." 26One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with Him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

The synoptic gospels record Peter’s denials getting more and more harsh each time, even leading to his swearing that he didn’t know Jesus. John doesn’t go there, but it’s appropriate to see how that downward spiral or slippery slope comes on quickly and is hard to avoid after that first slip.

Peter lost his joy and fellowship with the Lord. He wasn’t cast out nor did he cease to be a child of God, but he lost the victory of discipleship. And more than that, I think Peter thought that his Christian life was over. You don’t hear anymore of Peter for awhile. The next time you see Peter he’s back up in Galilee. And what is he doing? He’s fishing. All night he’s fishing and catches nothing. As though Peter is saying, “I’ve miserably failed as a disciple, and I’m going back to do something I know something about.” And God doesn’t even give him one solitary fish, because He’s not done with teaching Peter this lesson—because there’s no way back. Notice three things:

First, Peter fell even though he had been warned beforehand. It is one thing to fall, but it’s another to fall when you’ve been told beforehand that it is going to happen. And not that it’s going to happen three years from now and you’ve forgotten about it; it’s going to happen that night. That’s the wickedness of our hearts; that’s the measure of our unbelief. Second, notice how far Christians can fall. Christians are capable of committing the most heinous of sins. I’m not trying to make light of Christian profession. I’m not advocating an easy-believism, but Noah can be drunk and David can commit adultery, and Peter can deny his Lord three times within Jesus’ hearing, and, according to Luke, within Jesus’ sight. And there go I, but for the grace of God. And thirdly, notice the difference between Judas and Peter. There is no difference. There will come a difference, but it’s not recorded here. At this point, there is no difference between what Judas did and what Peter did. Do you see what John is saying? He’s saying that the assurance of our salvation does not lie in our sin; it lies in our repentance. Although we are capable of committing the most heinous of sins – and God, for His own purpose, allows us to fall into those sins – the assurance of our salvation lies in repentance. Every morning when Peter awoke and heard the rooster crow, it would remind him of the grace of God and the love of Jesus and the unrelenting determination of God not to lose any of His own.

In the midst of this unjust trial and undeserved shame and mockery, Jesus is likewise dealt the bitter blow of denial from His own beloved disciple, one of those for whom He was suffering this reproach. Oh, how deep is Jesus’ love! Knowing how we would turn our backs on Him, in our weakness, even after having known the depths of His love and free favor, He was still resolute to die in our place. When we denied Him, He still loved us, and gave Himself for us – for we too, just as Peter, have at times trusted in our own strength and turned our back on our Lord. But Jesus, unchanging forever, loves us nonetheless, but rather hastens to restore us and bring us back to Him. How faithful is our Great Shepherd, and how safe in His care may we foolish sheep rest!