Mark 14:72

PETER’S FALL

‘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 14:72

There is no more painful incident in the whole Bible than St. Peter’s fall. What are its lessons? It contains a threefold warning.

I. Against self-confidence.—This was St. Peter’s weakness, and through it he fell. ‘Though all should deny Thee, yet will not I.’ How often we see this. As if I could fall into this error. As if I should leave that duty, or weakly give way to this temptation. I with my bringing up and my advantages, my education and my training. And yet some of the most grievous falls of professing Christians have been from self-confidence.

II. Against unwatchfulness.—This was St. Peter’s error. In the face of warning and of past experience, he was unwatchful. It is when we are off our guard that the enemy is most likely to attack us. And watch most of all against your constitutional failing. Your faults of temperament; sloth, pride, etc. Even against the good points in your disposition and character you must be on your guard. Constitutional tendency, remember, is no excuse for failure in Christian duty.

III. Against cowardice.—This was St. Peter’s sin. His sword is sheathed now. He is following ‘afar off.’ He is keeping well out of sight, lest detection should lead to his arrest. Is this the man who said: ‘Lord, I am ready to go with Thee both to prison and to death’? ‘Though I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in anywise’? Ah! he was ashamed of his connection with Jesus. ‘A seen religion is not always real; but a real religion is always seen.’

—Rev. Prebendary Eardley-Wilmot.

Illustration

‘St. Peter was in a dangerous situation. Dangerous, however, in another sense than he supposed. He was in fear of bodily peril; danger to his soul he did not think about, and yet this was very near. “It is always dangerous when a follower of Christ is sitting among Christ’s enemies without letting it be known what he is.” “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” St. Peter joined the throng of the enemies of Jesus. Profane jest and ribald laughter, derisive glee at the capture of their victim, met his ears on every side. And St. Peter was silent, if not worse than silent. The rest is soon told. He did not confess Jesus Christ, and he ended by denying Him, and denying Him with oaths and curses. And then, the shrill crow of the cock pierces the babel of voices and reaches St. Peter’s ear; and from the inner room where the captive stands, “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” Then St. Peter remembered; then he knew his weakness and his sin; then he felt the folly of his self-reliance; and full of shame and grief and repentance, he wept.’