Matthew 26: 31-35, 69-75
31Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
" 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'[c] 32But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
33Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."
34"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
35But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
69Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.
70But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."
72He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"
73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."
74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
There are a lot of grace stories out there. I’ll bet a bunch of you have grace stories of your own. Stories that illustrate the whole idea of being given that which is not deserved. With most people, that story usually involves being so far down a path, sometimes a very destructive one, that there is no foreseeable way out of it. But then, just when you thought all was lost, there is way through or sometimes you find yourself through the problem and you don’t really know how you got through just that God gave you the strength to make it and you did. What every story about grace has in common, is that by its very nature, grace is something we do not deserve.
Towards the end of his life, when he was suffering from the effects of years of heavy drinking, W.C. Fields was discovered by one of his friends to be reading the Bible. The friend said, “Fields, you’re an atheist. What are you doing reading the Bible?”
Fields promptly replied, “I’m looking for loopholes.”
Grace is just that: God’s loophole and it’s not because he missed something, it’s not a theological mistake. It is the very foundation of God’s love and interaction with each and every one of us.
Let’s enter into God’s grace together.
This story illustrates our daily need for grace.
One day a kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots.
He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked down and sure enough, they were.
It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. But she managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. And it was only then that he announced, "These aren’t my boots."
She bit her tongue rather than scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off then he said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em today."
Stifling a scream, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the ill-fitting boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?"
To which he replied, "I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots."
So who needs grace anyway? Grace is like getting something for nothing and it really bugs us when people get something for nothing: especially when its somebody else.
The term grace is used in very different ways. Often, we use it to describe the little ditty we say before we eat when we take a moment to thank God for all the extra calories we are about to consume.
Sometimes the term grace describes someone’s attitude. Like the teacher in that little story. She showed grace in controlling herself and not losing her temper. Athletes who lose but don’t whine and blame the refs are said to be graceful losers.
Biblical grace is different. It has to do with forgiveness. It can be experienced through repentance but only if we are willing to let go of our guilt. Biblical grace is like medicine, in that it only works for those who need it. Biblical grace is free but it’s definitely not cheap. After all, grace cost Jesus his life. Biblical grace is easy to come by but the road to understanding it is usually paved with pain and hardship.
Peter was chosen as today’s example of grace because we are approaching Easter. We are in the season of Lent and one of the themes of Lent is repentance. The flip side of repentance is grace but repentance is not the flip side of grace. The natural step after repentance is to experience grace but it is one that very often is not taken because, in reality, God’s loving grace really does seem to us to be too good to be true.
We all know the story of Peter. Peter was a fisherman. A real fisherman. Not a sports fisherman like the guys you see on tv advertising their favorite lure. This is Joe Fishing Reel and this is my favorite lure, the magic bass popper and if you call right now, I’ll send along a bag of my favorite bait, stinky feet worms, absolutely free. Nope, that wasn’t Peter. Peter fished for a living. He cast nets and pulled them in by hand. He was strong. He was independent, and he was proud. He was honest to a fault. If they had a fisherman’s union back then, he would certainly have been a member. Peter was loyal. Peter stuck up for his friends. Peter made sure they knew they could count on him if they needed him. That was Peter. When Peter said to Jesus earlier in chapter 26, “I would die with you”, Peter meant it. There was nothing in Peter’s nature that said he would do otherwise. Peter was committed to his friends and Peter was especially committed to Jesus.
So why, when it came down to it, did Peter deny knowing Jesus? Why would Peter forget all that he had said and leave Jesus to die alone? Peter had to be emptied of himself. He was too full of what he thought he was and he needed to be more full of grace. Peter could die with a sword in his hand. Peter could easily have gone down with Jesus in a fight. What he could not do, was willingly submit himself to what he knew Jesus was submitting himself. Peter was a fighter, a leader, not a sheep. He could not follow Jesus because he was not able to humble himself to the point that was needed to follow Jesus.
You see, Grace is for beggars. Grace is for the needy. Grace is for the needy. Grace is for those who have indeed fallen and can’t get up. Look at the people in scripture to whom grace was given. Zaccheus was a dishonest tax collector. Jesus called him his friend. Jesus stepped in and saved the woman caught in adultery. One of his most devoted disciples, Mary Magdelene was a prostitute when Jesus saved her from a life of despair. Over and over again we see Jesus reaching out to those who are the least of society but the ones who know they are the most in need. In fact, Jesus was challenged by his detractors because he spent so much time with what was considered to be the worst part of society. His reply to their accusations was simple, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. . . I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” [Mt. 9:12, 13]
R.C. Sproul says that “Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God’s grace and God’s grace alone . . . It is difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people – for beggars. [Because of our pride] We don’t want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there.” We like to think that God is good to us because we deserve it. We like to believe that we are good enough to deserve that which we have not right to expect.
Grace is very personal. Grace must be personal otherwise we could never get a hold of it. If we cannot point to even one instance in our lives where grace is absolutely needed or all is lost, then grace will continually be just a concept that we never quite get a grasp of and we will continue to think that the kingdom of God is something we deserve. If there is nothing in our lives that needs grace, then grace is a luxury for us, and a necessity for those who really need it. Grace becomes something God has done for other people but not for me because I don’t really need it.
For Peter, the need became personal. Peter had denied his relationship with Jesus. Peter had betrayed his oath. Peter had been confronted with a deep character weakness in him that he may not even have known existed. Without grace, the rest of Peter’s life would have been one of deep despair.
The miracle of God’s grace is not that we become something that we are not but that we are accepted as that which we are. Grace may change our perspective, grace may change how we “see” but in reality, it does not change us. We may change because of grace. We may change when we understand even just a little of what has been given to us. We may allow God to give us strength, faith, hope, and courage to change when we grasp just a bit of God’s motivation for extending grace to all His children. Grace can motivate us to change But it is a deep truth that change is not necessary in order for us to receive and keep grace. Grace is a free gift from God to his children.
Earlier I said that repentance was not the flip side of grace. Well, what is the flip side you may wonder. I’m going to end with this story. It’s a little long but it will illustrate the flip side of grace.
F. Jim Cymbala preaches at a church in the slums of New York. He tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counselors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about fifty, disheveled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, “Could I talk to you?” We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, “What a way to end a Sunday. I’ve had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here’s a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine.” He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I’d never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I’d talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn’t inhale facing him. I asked him, “What’s your name?” “David.” “How long have you been on the street?” “Six years.” “How old are you?” “Thirty-two.” He looked fifty- hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. “Where did you sleep last night, David?” “Abandoned truck.” I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I’ll give him some money. I won’t even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don’t give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. I took the money out. David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, “I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I’m not going to make it. I’m going to die on the street.” I completely forgot about David, and I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me. See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn’t know what was happening. I pleaded with God, “God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I’m so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!” Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of His person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don’t love this smell, I can’t use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell. Christ changed David’s life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in 6 days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, “This is for you.” It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford. A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. David is now an associate minister of a church in New Jersey. And I was so close to saying, “Here, take this; I’m a busy preacher.” We can get so full of ourselves.
The flip side of grace, is grace, the flip side of grace is grace,grace, and more grace.
