Peter Wept Bitterly: How God Turns Failure into Repentance (Luke 22:61-62)

Peter wept bitterly because God turned his failure into repentance. Explore why Peter wept bitterly (Luke 22:61–62). A single, providential look from Jesus pierced his heart, and brokenness became the path to restoration (Psalm 51:17; John 21). If you’ve failed publicly or privately, there is hope: the same Savior who saw Peter sees you. Peter wept bitterly—and grace met him there. https://youtu.be/RgcgFxbg4AM Table of contentsWe're All Unrecognizable At TimesWhen Peter Was UnrecognizableGod Works Providentially in Our Lives to Produce RepentanceTwo Examples of God’s Providence in ScripturePeter Wept Bitterly Because of God’s ProvidenceWhen Peter Wept Bitterly, God Was Pleased With His Broken and Contrite HeartOur Greatest Ministry Might Be After Our Greatest FailureTwo Encouragements from When Peter Bitterly I know some people can’t watch scary movies. Whenever there’s a scary part, they look away or put their hands over their eyes. My father-in-law, Rick, has a similar problem, but with movies with awkward scenes. When people are embarrassing themselves really badly, he can’t watch. I learned this years ago when we were watching Mrs. Doubtfire at his house in Northern California, where Katie and I grew up. In the movie, Robin Williams loses custody of his children. Desperate to spend more time with them, he disguises himself as an elderly British nanny named Mrs. Doubtfire so he can be hired to care for them. At one moment in the movie, his prosthetic mask slips off, revealing his identity to his ex-wife and children. It’s humiliating, and when I looked over at my father-in-law on the couch, he had his hands over his face and said he couldn’t watch. There’s a moment from David’s life that my father-in-law wouldn’t be able to watch because it’s so embarrassing. David was fleeing from Saul. No place in Israel felt safe, so he chose to hide in enemy territory with the Philistines, where he knew Saul wouldn’t chase after him: 1 Samuel 21:10 David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” Gath is one of the Philistines’ principal cities, where Goliath was from. This was the song they sang about David, and the ten thousands he defeated were Philistines. So it didn’t take long for them to recognize him. 1 Samuel 21:12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. David is understandably afraid they’re going to kill him. This is the moment my father-in-law has to look away. He started clawing at the doors of the gates, acting like a madman, letting drool run down his beard. In Scripture, there are examples of people suffering or being punished, but in terms of sheer embarrassment, I don’t think anything beats this account. We're All Unrecognizable At Times A few chapters later, Nabal, the fool, cut the beards of David’s men. David was so angry that he went to kill him. You say, “Wow, he wanted to kill someone for cutting his men’s beards?” In the ancient Middle East, a man’s strength and dignity were often associated with his beard. Drooling in one’s beard was considered a horrible indignity, but that’s how desperate David was. It worked: 1 Samuel 21:14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” It was taboo to afflict crazy people because others believed God had already afflicted the person, and man shouldn’t intervene in God’s judgment. David was so convincing that Achish sent him away. How do you think David knew how to imitate a madman so well? From watching Saul’s incoherent ramblings and demonically tormented behavior. One of the ironies of this account is that David is fleeing from Saul, but at this moment, there’s nobody in the whole world he looks as much like as Saul. Now, I almost feel like I need to remind you: David was the man after God’s own heart, one of the greatest titles ever given to anyone; he was the man who killed Goliath; he was the leader of the greatest soldiers in Scripture. They’re called David’s Mighty Men; he was the best king in the Old Testament, who all other kings were compared to: they were said to be good if they were like David and bad if they were unlike David, and he was the man the Messiah was named after: the Son of David. But right now he’s clawing on a door, pushing a bunch of spit out of his mouth into his beard. We’re all unrecognizable at times. When Peter Was Unrecognizable Peter denied Christ three times. The first two denials were to servant girls. The second denial involved an oath. The third denial, Peter started swearing and invoking curses on himself if he were lying. Peter looked unrecognizable. It would have been hard to watch. My father-in-law would’ve had to put his hands over his face. But there’s more to the story. Here’s the context. Jesus was arrested in the garden, and then his trials began: three Jewish ones followed by three Roman ones. Peter’s denials occurred during Jesus’s second trial before Caiaphas, the high priest. While Jesus was inside Caiaphas’s house being spat on and beaten, Peter was outside in the courtyard denying Jesus. Let’s pick up at Luke 22:60 with Peter’s third denial for context: Luke 22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly. God Works Providentially in Our Lives to Produce Repentance Let’s ensure we understand the concept of providence, or what I mean when I say God works providentially, as people often confuse this with miracles or the supernatural. A miracle is when something supernatural occurs, or when the natural order is disrupted. For example: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven The plagues are unleashed on Egypt Daniel survives in the fiery furnace Jesus turns water into wine, walks on water, and calms the storm Tongues of flame appear above people’s heads on Pentecost Eutychus falls from a window, and Paul raises him to life These are miracles, but they’re not God’s providence. Providence is when God works through the natural. Here are a few examples of what it could look like: Someone calls us at just the right time, or we feel burdened to call someone, we do, and they say we called them at just the right time We are struggling, we read God’s Word, and receive the encouragement we need We need wisdom, we pray, and God directs our steps Maybe you’ve heard Pastor Nathan tell the story of the time the check in the mail came right when they needed it We didn’t get the job or house we wanted, but we look back later and recognize God gave us the house or job we’re supposed to have These are not miracles, but they can be ways God works providentially in our lives. Two Examples of God’s Providence in Scripture We finished reading the book of Acts as a family and started reading Ezra. God wanted the temple rebuilt in the Promised Land, and He stirred up people to accomplish that. He stirred up Cyrus, king of Persia, to send the Jews back to their land, and He stirred up the Jews to do the rebuilding: Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing…5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. There’s nothing miraculous about God’s this, but it does demonstrate His providence. Earlier, I mentioned the first time David fled to the Philistines. Believe it or not, David actually fled to the Philistines a second time in 1 Samuel 27, and I think it contains a good example of God’s providence and David’s life. David pretended to join the Philistines, so when they were about to go to battle against Israel, they expected him to be one of their top generals. Since David was anointed to become the next king of Israel, he couldn’t fight against his own people, but he also couldn’t reveal to the Philistines that he had been deceiving them without risking his life and his men's. So, what should he do? I don’t think there was anything David could do, but God providentially intervened. One of the Philistine generals said, “We can’t bring David out to battle with us, because he might turn against us and join the Israelites.” So they sent him home. This wasn’t a miracle, but it looks like God’s providence. When our children get caught sinning, we want them to see it as an example of God’s providence. We tell them, “God loves you so much He wouldn’t let you get away with this. He made sure you got caught so you would repent and grow from this.” I don’t know what will bring repentance into someone’s life, but I know God does. So, when I pray for people’s repentance, I often ask God to providentially bring into their lives whatever is necessary to lead to repentance. And I mentioned all this,