Sermon Central
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The Restoration For The Galilean
Contributed by Rich O' Toole on Feb 1, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: Peter denied Jesus three times. Later Jesus restores Peter
The Restoration for the Galilean
Good morning.
Many of us remember the TV show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The show was hosted by Ty Pennington, and it was about rebuilding homes, trying to give certain families hope.
The show would do electrical, plumbing, roofing, and, if needed, they would demolish the entire house and build a new one.
When Sandra and I started life together, we rented a little house that turned out to be a sick house, complete with black mold and infestation problems.
This house was a total wreck and, in my opinion, beyond hope.
Picture if the Home Makeover show came over and tore that house down and replaced it with a brand-new mansion.
The new mansion would have a chef’s kitchen, granite counter tops, new flooring, and all the latest home upgrades.
Please open your Bibles to two places, first to John 21, place a bookmark there and to Mark 14, as we continue in that study.
Last time we were in Mark, we learned about the beginning of Jesus’ trials. A group of religious leaders were at Caiaphas’ house waiting for Jesus to arrive and begin the first illegal trial.
But where were His Disciples? They had all forsaken Jesus…
As the trial was happening, Peter hung out with the enemy and warmed himself with their fire, which is a picture of being comfortable with sin.
This morning, we will learn about Peter’s complete denial of Christ but, we will also learn about Peter’s complete restoration.
I. The atrocities during the denial.
Read Mark 14:65
Remember who this Jesus is that these religious leaders were torturing.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. NKJV
Even though Jesus was fully God, He humbled Himself and came in the likeness of a man. Jesus was a man with all the temptations and frailties, just like the rest of humankind.
The body has a very unique way of protecting itself when we see something with our peripheral vision. Think about how the eye automatically blinks when it sees something coming towards it.
Being blindfolded meant Jesus could not flinch or guard against the punches, so the strikes to His face would have been much more destructive.
He was beaten so badly He was almost unrecognizable.
800 years prior to this event in the NLT of Isaiah 52:14 Many were amazed when they saw him — beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person. NLT
The reason these men were able to do this was because Jesus allowed it as He submitted to the will of the Father.
The amazing fact is, Jesus not only loves us, but He also loved these men as well. The love of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the pride and hatred of the men who brutalized our King.
Spurgeon says, “Understanding that Jesus endured such pain and humiliation should cause us to respond in three ways.”
1. We should bravely bear pain and humiliation for His sake.
When we are mocked and ridiculed for our faith, remember what our Savior endured for us.
2. We should be more diligent to praise Jesus. “How earnestly we ought we to honor our dear Lord.”
The King loved us so much, He endured the shame and paid the price for us to be born again and receive Eternal Life.
3. We should have more assurance and confidence in receiving the finished work of Jesus for our redemption.
Remember, while these beatings and trials were going on, Peter was outside warming himself at the enemy’s fire.
II. The rooster revealed Peter’s heart.
Read Mark 14:66-72
Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was willing to die for Jesus and he even cut the ear of one of the soldiers who had come to arrest Jesus. Then Jesus healed the man.
But here, Peter sees a servant girl as a threat to his life.
Last time we learned about the steps to Peter’s denial that led him to the enemy’s fire. Here, let’s look at the progression of Peter’s failure that led to his full denial of knowing Jesus.
Peter denied he had been with Jesus, Peter also lied about knowing Jesus, and finally Peter cursed and swore with an oath.
This is the same progression we sometimes see when someone gets caught. Rather than repenting, a person might deny, lie, and swear they didn’t do the thing that they are accused of doing.
Notice those around Peter say, wait a minute, you have a Galilean dialect, surely you are one of His followers.
