“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful”.
Psalm 1:1
We continue to study Peter’s worst week and the similarities of his fall from grace with the path the prodigal son walked.
Step 3: Departing Despite their sinful demands and the damage they were doing to others neither Peter nor the prodigal son recognize their actions as wrong. Thus both continue in the direction they are headed – downward. In Peter’s situation the Lord sends warnings that he is going the wrong way– He warns him of judging others, of arguing over who is greatest, even over arguing with the Lord about his willingness to die for Him. Like many believers today who hear a sermon or receive Godly counsel from others, God spoke to Peter along the way but he never took the time to repent of his drifting.
He did not listen to God speak. His sin was not that bad. A believer going down this path will look back after his fall and realize all the times God tried to get his attention but was ignored. (A note to ponder – God’s word tells us “The god of this world has blinded the eyes of those who believe not.” This is the way believers act who are waking in sin – blinded to the evil they are dong and the consequences that will follow. The truth is – sins blinds!) One of the great agonies Peter will deal with in the days ahead is that God warned him and he did not listen.
Step 4: Sitting with The Scornful God’s word amazes us in its accuracy to predict human behavior. Peter never thought he would deny the Lord but he also likely never thought he would be a living example of Psalm 1:1 – a foolish man warming himself at the fire of those who scoff at the Lord. The same behavior is found in the story of the prodigal son. The Lord says, “he squandered his property in reckless living”. There are only two camps in this world and we will warm ourselves at the campfire of one or the other of them. Choose wisely which fire to sit at!
Step 5: Losing Everything And Recognizing the Magnitude Of The Loss Time passes as Peter and the prodigal son fulfill the lusts of the flesh but pass it does. Eventually their resources are depleted, joy becomes pain and ease becomes sorrow. The believer living in the flesh comes to realize the magnitude of what they have done. For the prodigal son he “squandered his wealth”. For Peter, he realized he was not the man he thought he was. What he could never imagine himself doing – denying the One he knew was the Son of God – he had done. He lost his character, his reputation, his ministry., his closeness.
Step 6. Living With Grief After one has lost everything there is a lot of time alone. For the prodigal son famine drove him to a Gentile’s pig pen – there was no lower place in all the earth. He was a slave of the unclean living with an unclean animal. Luke records “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” The one who thought only of himself is now alone with no one to help him. This gives him plenty of time to think. Peter’s case is more instanteous. The tests come at him rapid fire in the High Priest’s courtyard. He demonstrates his depravity and lack of love for
the Lord and he doesn’t even know it. After his third denial God sends two quick message to him. First a rooster crows. Peter’s memory goes immediately to the Lord’s prophecy made only hours ago. Second, the Lord turns and looks at him. It had to be a look of intense disappointment. Suddenly everything becomes crystal clear but the damage has been done. The rest of Peter’s night, while the Lord is being crucified, will be spent in uncontrolled weeping, guilt, grief and shame.
What can we learn? God writes His word to warn us of where where sin leads. He does not want us to experience its pain. Yet we refuse to listen. That is why Isaiah says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way”. There is no better way to describe the current dwelling place of the prodigal son and Simon Peter. Astray, alone, awful.