What About Those Who Have Never Heard?

What will happen to people who never hear about Jesus?

 

One of the big questions Christians sometimes ask is, What about people who die having never heard the gospel? What will happen to them? 
We understand easily enough from Scripture that 1) those who accept Christ as their Saviour receive the Holy Spirit and are given the free gift of eternal life, and that 2) those who consciously reject his gift of grace forfeit the gift of salvation and face an eternity separated from God.  

 

We may not like it. We may worry about friends and family who don’t have faith and think they are fine without God. We may even wonder why a good God would not give a second chance after death – but we understand deep down that there is something terribly wrong about forcing people to accept a gift they don’t want. Hebrews 9.27 says that people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment so it seems clear that we all have to make a decision about Jesus in this life.

 

But what about people who never hear about Jesus and are therefore not even aware that there is a decision to make? What about people in far off lands where the gospel has yet to penetrate, or countries where there is another majority religion? Or even in some western countries where the church is so lamentably unrecognisable from the Book of Acts that people never see an authentic, vibrant Christian community and therefore never take a second look? 
They understandably reject a sickly version of Christianity. Will God treat them as if they have rejected Christ? Universalists say that God will just save everyone in the end but there is nothing in the Bible to back that up, so it seems a bit like wishful thinking.

 

It’s a hot potato whose temperature is increased by the fact that the Bible doesn’t really seem to spell out in detail what will happen to people who die having never heard about Jesus. Consequently, different Christians, even ones who bow to the authority of Scripture, hold different views.

 

Some point to Jesus being the one and only way to God (Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, John 14.6) and they take that to mean that anyone who has not made a conscious profession of faith in Jesus cannot be saved. Acts 17.30-31 is another passage some Christians quote to support this point of view. 
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

 

To the charge that this seems unfair, some who hold this view then point to Romans 1.18-20 which says that everyone can understand enough about God through creation and their conscience to know exactly what they are rejecting, so they cannot plead ignorance. 
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

 

But others tentatively and respectfully disagree. They say that, although Jesus is always the means of salvation, maybe people can be saved by what he did on the cross - even though they don’t necessarily know or understand everything about it. 
They say that God’s wisdom and justice will take into account how clear their understanding was about what God was offering them in Christ. So God will judge them according to the light they had because he is absolutely fair.

 

They might well agree that the New Testament says that we are saved by faith, not by works. But then ask, “What about Romans 2.6-8? 
God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 
“Doesn’t this Scripture suggest,” they ask, “that there are people whose good lives show that the Lord illuminated their hearts with some kind of simple faith even if they never actually heard the gospel as such?”

 

As I said above, the Bible’s authors do not go into this question in any depth. Overwhelmingly, their emphasis is on us preaching the gospel so that everyone can hear about Jesus and have a chance to respond to it personally, rather than wondering what will happen to people if we do nothing. 
That’s why the best answer to the “What about those who have never heard?” question is “Who do you know who hasn’t heard about Jesus - and what are you going to do about it?”

 

In Genesis 18.25 Abraham pleads with God to save Sodom from the judgment he had threatened because of the great and grievous evil they had committed. Abraham appeals to God to show mercy, (which he does), and Abraham asks himself, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 
It’s a rhetorical question to which the implied answer is "Of course!" - but it’s a question worth reflecting on as we think about the destiny of the unevangelised. Can we trust our wise, all-powerful, all-knowing creator God, who knows every secret of every heart, to do the right thing on the Day of Judgment? Will not the Judge of all the earth do the right thing?

 

I hope we have seen enough of God in our own lives to be able to say, “Yes, we can trust him. He will do right.” He is righteous in all his ways (Psalm 145.17). He is good. His love endures forever (Psalm 136.1). And he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98.9).

 

And I also hope that we will see again the urgency to tell everyone we know about Jesus – and grasp how vital it is to respond to him in repentance and faith.

First published at www.kingsdarlington.org

Simon Peter: Defying a Gagging Order (Acts 4.1-31)

Introduction

There was once a businessman who decided to open a casino and striptease club opposite a school. (I’m sure that wouldn’t be allowed in real life, but this is just a story, so play along). Facing this undesirable situation, a group of concerned Christians got together and challenged the businessman, shared the gospel with him and urged with him to do the right thing and move his establishment elsewhere.

But he refused, so they mobilised other Christians all over town for a night of prayer. They prayed until daybreak asking God to miraculously stop the moral rot in their town. Two days later, so the story goes, there was an electrical storm. The striptease casino place was burned to the ground. Praise God! High fives all round!

But not for long, because the businessman then sued the Christians, claiming that they were liable for the damage. Because it was their prayer meeting that caused the storm! The believers defended themselves against the allegations, claiming that they could not possibly be held responsible.

Ironic, isn’t it? Swearing on a Bible before a judge and jury, the playboy businessman suddenly believed in the power of prayer. And the prayerful, Bible-believing Christians vigorously claimed it had all just been an unfortunate coincidence.

And the moral of the story? Well, there are three. And they all fit with today’s passage of scripture, as we’ll see. 1) Do we respond to evil, as Christians, by moaning about it or praying about it? 2) When we pray, do we murmur the odd half-hearted request to God, or do we purposefully set aside quality time and join together in faith? And 3) When we do see answers to prayer, do we tell of God’s power, testifying that he has done it, or do we quietly wonder if maybe it was just a bit of a fluke?

Last week, Phil was telling us about what happened in Acts 3. If you weren’t here, it’s about when Peter and John go to the temple, where they encounter a beggar who is lame from birth. Peter heals him in Jesus’ name, and the man elatedly jumps up and praises God, astonishing onlookers.

In the excitement, a crowd gathers, and Peter explains that the healing happened through Jesus, a man they were guilty of murdering, but whom God raised from the dead as the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets. He then urges them to repent and turn to God so their sins may be forgiven.

How does that straight-talking speech go down? Let’s pick the story up in chapter 4, verse 1, which explains what happens the following day.

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘“the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked. ‘Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.’
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’
After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

I think it’s fair to say that Peter’s little thought for the day does not go down all that well. After the excitement of the church’s birth in Acts 2, by Acts 4 the honeymoon is already officially over. The trouble in Acts 4 will lead, as the book unfolds, to increasingly violent persecution and martyrdom, including eventually for Peter himself.

This is the first time the church meets proper hostility, a state of affairs that continues to this day. Persecution will endure until the Lord returns.

For example, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law estimates that in the first 220 days of this year at least 7,087 Christians were killed and about 7,800 abducted in Nigeria. They report that roughly 100 churches are attacked every month, and since 2009, over 19,100 churches attacked or looted or abandoned in that country. 

The news media does not, generally speaking, find any of this worth broadcasting. After all, it must prioritise informing people who’s been voted off Strictly Come Dancing.

In Acts, it all kicks off because the church is growing fast; By chapter 4.4, just months after the resurrection, the movement has already reached 5,000. The scribes and chief priests are watching their congregations dwindle as people flock to join this unofficial group led by untrained riffraff from up north. It must have felt really annoying.

So they order Peter and John to explain themselves. Naturally, Peter volunteers as spokesman.

Notice, Peter is not rude or obnoxious, but he is straight-talking and direct. There’s no longwinded “in my opinion” or “perhaps” about Peter’s reply. He is filled with the Holy Spirit, v8 says, and the Holy Spirit never waffles.

“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified [yes, it was you] but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed… Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved.”

The evangelist Vance Havner used to say that salt gives flavour, salt purifies, and salt preserves. But salt also irritates. Real Christianity is a bit of a nuisance. It rubs this world the wrong way.

The ruling Sanhedrin meets to discuss what to do. How should they react? They should say, “Well, this healing looks like an incredible miracle. And this Peter guy looks like a new man. How can we explain this? He was running away in panic just a few weeks ago, and now he is fearless. We should investigate his claim about Jesus. What if it’s true?”

Actually, some do do that as the movement continues to grow. Acts 6.7 says, “The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

But at this point, the senior clerics dig their heels in, and their only ambition is to stop the gospel spreading any further, so they threaten Peter and John, and strictly forbid them to speak about Jesus anymore.

Satan loves it when Christians talk about anything else but the gospel.

During the English Civil War, the future founder of the Quakers, George Fox, knew it was time for him to get right with God. He wondered from town to town looking for a Christian who would help him make his peace with God.

In the first town he visited, the local parson was fascinated by his questions and confessed that he too had many more questions like them. But no answers. Disappointed, Fox went to a second town where a minister told him that his spiritual anguish might be eased if he just smoked a little tobacco. Frustrated, he went on to a third town but, instead of helping him, the vicar flew into a rage because George Fox had accidentally stepped on his flowerbed. In a fourth town, the reverend suggested that bleeding himself with leeches might soothe his unsettled soul.

George Fox lamented in his diary, “they were all as nothing to me, for they could not reach my condition.” If George Fox had met Simon Peter instead of the useless clergy of his day, he would have certainly heard the gospel and probably responded to it.

Because Peter says here, “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

So what will Peter and the others do now? They have just got out of jail for disturbing the peace and they’ve been given a gagging order for hate speech.

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you have given a testimony on Good Friday in the annual public act of witness. And someone who has an axe to grind has made a complaint that you’re intolerant or phobic of whatever lifestyle is currently being promoted.

So you’ve been ordered by the local authority to keep the peace and not speak to anyone under any circumstances about what you believe. You’ll just stir up trouble. You’ll be responsible for causing a public nuisance. It’s a private matter. It’s the law.

What should you do? What does Peter do? The chapter continues. Verse 23.

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.”
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

What does Peter do? He leads a prayer meeting, not asking God that the council will change its mind but for the nerve to disobey the authorities even more blatantly than before.

This is the prayer equivalent of bungee jumping or parachuting. The wearing of safety equipment is recommended – literally in fact – because v31 tells us that the walls of the building where they prayed was shaken. You know you’ve had a good prayer meeting when you have to measure it on the Richter scale!

What does Peter’s prayer meeting teach us about prayer? Five things. And I’ll run through them as briefly as I can.

1) Pray together - not just alone

Firstly, pray together, not just alone. Verse 23 says, “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people.” There is no trace in any page of the New Testament of solitary Christians. No one manages fine on their own. “When they hear the threats, they raise their voices together in prayer to God” says v24.

In all creation the humble snowflake is among the most fragile of things. It is very small, it weighs next to nothing, it quickly melts and is easily crushed. But bound together with other snowflakes it can form an avalanche capable of burying a village.

Likewise, prayer is so much more powerful when there is agreement in the Spirit and we sense breakthrough and we all say, “Amen” with conviction.

We pray together here at King’s in many different ways, but our monthly prayer and worship night is modelled on this gathering here in Acts 4. This is a top priority for us. We believe in the power of prayer together. It changes things. It makes a difference.

2) Focus on God - not on problems

Secondly, focus God, not on problems. “They raise their voices together in prayer. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they say, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them’” says v24.

What are they doing there? They are focusing on the power and authority and supremacy of God; not on the scale and complexity of their immediate difficulties.

And they go on; v25… “Lord, you spoke by the Holy Spirit…” Why do they say that? God knows that. They are reminding themselves that God is the God of real revelation, he has spoken his powerful word, he has already disclosed his mind to us and it is breaking into the realm of our experience.

And then they say this; v28… “Herod and Pontius Pilate met together … to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

Again, God knows all this. They’re declaring the truth to themselves that God is in charge of history. There is power in speaking out the truth that nothing takes God by surprise. He will accomplish his plan; he will do what he has said.

Whenever I begin my praying by rattling on to God about how unfair life is, I pray with no perspective, no authority and no power. That’s why Peter leads these people to start by focusing on God.

3) Start with praise, not petition

The third thing flows from the second. Spend time in praise and worship before bringing a list of stuff for God to sort out. God absolutely deserves high praise. He is worthy of our adoring worship. It’s just the right thing to do.

But, more than that, worship pulls down the strongholds of fear and unbelief. Worship leads us into the presence of God where there is fullness of joy. That’s a good place to pray.

So start by exalting and magnifying the greatness of the Lord and speaking out truth about him. The first Christians did.

“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” Only then, with our minds renewed do we move on to petition.

4) Pray specific prayers - not vague ones

Fourthly, when they present their requests to God what they actually ask for is very precise, very exact. Specific prayers get specific answers, and vague prayers get vague answers.”

There’s no waffly church language; no repetitive rambling in v29-30. They pray, “Lord, consider their threats” and then they ask God for two very specific things.

One, “Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” And two, “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Helen Roseveare was a missionary in what was then called Zaire, now DRC. And she once told the story of a baby who was born prematurely. Her mother died in childbirth, so they brought the baby and its sister to the orphanage where she worked. This is what she wrote:

“We tried to improvise a homemade incubator to keep the baby alive, but our only hot water bottle was leaking. So we asked the children in the orphanage to pray for the baby and its sister. One of the children stood up to pray, ‘Father, please send us a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late; the baby will die. And Father, please send a toy doll for the baby’s sister so she doesn’t feel so lonely and sad.’

That same afternoon a parcel arrived from England. The children looked on impatiently all the time they were unpacking the parcel. To their great joy, surrounded by piles of clothes, there was a brand-new hot water bottle. The child who had prayed for a doll started to burrow down into the package saying, ‘If God sent us a hot water bottle, he has sent a doll too.’ And she was right!

Helen Roseveare wrote, “Our heavenly Father knew in advance that that child would ask for those very things. Five months earlier he had led a group of women in a small English church hall to place those particular items into that particular package.”

Who knows what blessings will be opened when children around the world open the shoeboxes you prayerfully pack in the next few weeks!

Specific prayers get specific answers, and vague prayers get vague answers. I want to encourage you, when you pray, to ask God for precise things.

5) Know that God answers in his time - not in ours

The fifth and last thing, we know very well, but we can find it hard to accept… Sometimes God answers our prayers quickly - and sometimes he delays.

In v29 the believers pray, “Now, Lord… enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

And in v31 God answers their prayer straight away. “After they prayed, (or as the ESV translates it ‘when they had prayed’) the place where they were meeting is shaken. And they are all filled with the Holy Spirit and speak the word of God boldly.”

They ask God for boldness and God gives them what they ask for immediately. I love it when that happens.

Kathie once prayed for a friend called Beth who had had a violent stomach bug for two weeks and kept being sick. Immediately after Kathie prayed, Beth rushed to the toilet. I don’t know what went on in there. It sounded like a municipal firework display! But she came out, said she felt much better and was fine from that moment on.

But we know that it’s not always like that, don’t we? Don’t be discouraged if God doesn’t answer your prayers straight away. Simeon and Anna waited and waited before they set eyes on the Messiah they had been praying for and longing for a whole lifetime. But wasn't it worth the wait?

Ending

As I close, one last thing. The story is told that the first Christians on the African continent each had a little place in the bush outside the village where they spent time with God and prayed.

After a while, the routes that led to their prayer spots got worn down and became actual paths. So it became obvious which Christians were praying daily and those who were not. Those who really believed in the power of prayer used to say to the others, “Friend, why is the grass growing on your pathway?”

I want to grow in boldness, and I want to see the Lord stretch out his hand to heal and perform signs and wonders. Do you?

Well, let’s not let the grass grow on our path.

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 2 November 2025.

Simon Peter: Denying Christ (Luke 22.31-62)

Introduction

I once watched a National Geographic documentary on the hunting behaviour of lions. I was treated to a masterclass from an apex predator.

Here’s what I learned. They typically hunt in packs, and the pride will organise itself into specialist roles. Some lions flank the herd looking to select and isolate one victim, while the more vigorous lions chase and capture the unfortunate prey as it flees.

Lions are stealth hunters, so they use their surroundings to conceal their approach. They usually strike at dawn or dusk, using their excellent vision in the half-light to their advantage. Once within range (around 30 meters away), they spring an ambush. This is when the documentary plays exciting music with a pulsating drumbeat.

When the lead lion reaches the zebra or antelope or whatever, it sinks its claws into the victim’s hide and uses its superior weight to pull it to the ground. Then it suffocates its target with mandibles of death, biting into the throat, breaking the neck and severing the jugular, before ripping into the carcass and licking the still warm blood from its lips. No wonder this magnificent beast sits at the top of the food chain.

What’s this got to do with Simon Peter? Just this; about 30 years after Jesus’ public ministry, Peter wrote the following words: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Satan, the enemy of our souls, is a relentless stalker, patiently looking for an opportunity to pounce. He’s real. He’s cunning. He’s ruthless. But we need not live in fear or let the enemy terrorise us. The devil can scheme to harm us all he wants. But Peter goes on to impress on his readers a strategy that anssures our defence. “Resist him,” he says, “resist him, standing firm in the faith.”

We’ll return to that passage in more detail at the end of November, but for now I want to ask a question. How did Peter know all this? I mean, where did Simon Peter learn that Satan behaves like a lion hunting down its unsuspecting prey? What experiences in Peter’s life could he draw on that lead to this conclusion?

And my answer is that I think he learned this truth in the incident he is probably most famous for, his three-fold denial on the night Jesus was betrayed, arrested and tried.

All four Gospels include this incident, differing subtly in emphasis, which allows us to build up a complete picture of what happened.

All four Gospels tell us that Jesus predicts Peter’s denial and that Peter emphatically protests his loyalty, saying he would sooner die with Christ than desert him. All four mention a servant girl. Matthew and Mark highlight how each denial grows in intensity, ending with Peter spitting out oaths and curses. All four mention the cock crowing, though Mark adds that it crowed twice.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell how Peter weeps bitterly, a detail John, the briefest report of the four, leaves out.

But, of the four Gospels, Luke’s is the most personal and relational. He brings out the emotional tones a bit more than the others. For example, only Luke includes the poignant scene where Jesus makes eye contact with Peter just as the cock crows, and this is the Gospel account we’ll focus on most this morning.

Let’s start at Luke 22.31. We’re still in the upper room, where we were last Sunday. Jesus has washed his disciples’ feet, as we saw then. He has patiently taught them at great length. The Passover meal has now been eaten. Jesus has broken bread and lifted the cup, speaking of his body and blood. Now, they are just about to leave for the Mount of Olives and Jesus says:

‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’
But he replied, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’
Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.’

…They then finish their conversation, leave the upper room, and head off to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus agonises there as he faces what he knows is to come. He tells his disciples to watch and pray, but they fail to do either, falling asleep on the job. Then Judas appears, leading a detachment from the temple guard with blades and blunt instruments to arrest Jesus. Peter impulsively draws his sword and severs a servant’s ear. Which Jesus heals. Let’s pick it up again in v54.

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant-girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, ‘This man was with him.’
But he denied it. ‘Woman, I don’t know him,’ he said.
A little later someone else saw him and said, ‘You also are one of them.’
‘Man, I am not!’ Peter replied.
About an hour later another asserted, ‘Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.’
Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed.
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Before we drill down into Peter’s denial, I want to teach into some important things.

Christ’s sovereign foreknowledge

Firstly, let’s pause to appreciate and marvel at Jesus’ total sovereign, prophetic foreknowledge of this entire situation. Jesus knows all about Judas’ planned betrayal. He knows all about the disciples’ imminent mass desertion where their support for him will totally collapse. And, specifically, he knows all about Peter’s denial, not once, not twice, but three times, just hours away.

He has already described to them in detail on at least three prior occasions what will happen to him. He knows he will be handed over to be crucified and that on the third day, he will rise again.

This is nothing to do with intuition or hunch. The Bible is showing us Christ’s perfect omniscience as God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for all eternity fully God, the divine eternal Word, made flesh.

As we read these words, facing our own failures, our own inadequacies, our own griefs, what good news this is! Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is painting a portrait for us of a Saviour, going to the cross, who sees everything about Peter; all his hollow words, all his empty promises, all his misplaced bravado, and he is surprised by nothing. Because he knows Peter through and through, and he knows all things from beginning to end. The Lord’s wisdom is both intimate and infinite.

Consider this, if you will. If the distance between the earth and the sun (which is 93 million miles) were represented by the width of a sheet of paper, the distance between the earth and the next nearest star (Proxima Centauri) would be a stack of papers 70 feet high.

On this scale, the width of our Milky Way galaxy would be equivalent to a stack of papers 310 miles high. Yet even this unimaginably huge galaxy is like a speck of dust in an immeasurably vast universe.

And the Bible says that Jesus Christ holds this universe, and everything in it, all together by his powerful word. He holds all things. He rules all things. He knows all things.

He knows why I blew it yesterday. He knows how I will let him down today. He knows what I will make a complete hash of tomorrow. And, just as Jesus was still willing and ready to go to the cross for Peter, so is his love endlessly patient and steadfastly unwavering for us. Take that in!

In the early 1960s, a young evangelist called David Wilkerson started a ministry called Teen Challenge that would eventually see thousands of armed gangsters and junkies converted and set free from their addictions. But his book The Cross and the Switchblade tells how his first visit to New York City to try and engage with the criminal underworld was a disaster.

Through a big misunderstanding, he found himself arrested by the police which became big news. He saw his photo on the front pages of the papers. Far from making an impact on the city, he became a laughingstock instead. The humiliation almost led him to give up before he had really begun.

Where’s the wisdom and sovereignty of God in that embarrassing failure? But less than a week later, he felt God speak to him as he prayed, and the Lord said, “Go back to New York.” After three days of protesting to God and excuses, he reluctantly returned and made contact with those gangs again.

Amazingly, he found that the doors which had been slammed in his face earlier were now wide open for him right across the city. Because the gangs could now relate to him in a way they never could before. “The cops don’t like you; the cops don’t like us either,” they said. Now, suddenly he was like one of them. God had made a way.

You see how the all-knowing sovereignty of God can assure blessing in your life, even after apparent failure? The Lord knows. And the Lord reigns. Are you trusting him for your future?

Satan’s strategic targeting

The second thing I want to underline here before we look at the denial itself is the demonic targeting of leadership.

“Simon, Simon,” says Jesus, “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.”

The ‘you’ in v31 is plural. The NIV has helpfully translated this for us as “All of you.” So Jesus is saying here that Satan asked to sift as wheat not just Peter but all the disciples.

Satan is real, he is more powerful than us, and we must take him seriously. But he has to crawl and ask permission from God to afflict us, and he cannot go an inch further than the Lord permits. So, if Satan’s grovelling request doesn’t align with the Lord’s sovereign purposes to sharpen us and train us in righteousness and make us more holy, that permission will be denied.

I want you to notice that the devil’s strategy here is to attack the whole group by targeting their future leader and front man, Peter. That’s why Jesus switches from plural ‘you’ to singular ‘you’ in v32, “But I have prayed for you, Simon.”

Do you see what it’s saying here? This is really important. If Satan topples the leader, he can bring down the whole group. If he takes out the pastor, he can ruin the whole church. Zechariah 13.7 says, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”

This is why the New Testament says, “Remember your leaders.” In four of Paul’s 13 letters, he specifically asks his readers to pray for him, and in another three letters he mentions that they already are praying for him.

Brothers, sisters, pray that all who lead in various ways at King’s will fight the good fight of faith against the enemy. I know some of you pray for us daily; thank you for your prayers, we need them – and we feel them.

What does “sifting as wheat” mean here? “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.” The answer comes in the following sentence where Jesus says, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” So, sifting as wheat means a demonic attack which is designed to wreck the disciples’ faith.

And Jesus is confident that his prayer will be answered, because he says, “And when [not if] when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus knows that Peter’s faith will fail, as we’ll see in a moment, but he also knows it will not fail totally and finally. Why? Because he has prayed that it won’t.

Peter’s tragic failure

So, two thirds into this sermon, we finally get round to the denials themselves. Peter impulsively promises in v33 he will never abandon Jesus, even if it means imprisonment or dying with him.

Never is one of Peter’s favourite words. You shall never go to the cross. You will never wash my feet! I will never disown you. And each time Peter is wrong. Never say never!

How do you feel when you make promises you fail to keep? You feel wretched, don’t you? Of course you do.

Peter’s denials are among the most relatable moments in the Gospels, because they speak directly to our human flaws, our fears, our failures. The truth is though that, thanks be to God, we can all still have a future.

All four Gospels agree that the first denial comes in response to an observation from a servant girl. John adds the detail that she is a doorkeeper in the high priest’s private residence. It’s night. It’s cold. So, Peter stands near a fire to try and keep warm.

The girl looks intently at him, staring at his face. No charges have been made against the disciples, so there is no reason at all why Peter should feel the need to defend himself. He’s not on trial.

But Peter is tired and stressed and cold. And fear overcomes him, so he denies any knowledge of Jesus. Mark adds that at this point, Peter physically distances himself, moving out to the entryway.

What do you fear as a Christian? What makes you distance yourself from Christ?

My observation is that Christians are often reluctant to say what they really think about the uniqueness of Christ, about human sexuality and about gender because they fear it may lead to vilification, personal attacks, loss of employment and so on.

Political campaigns, the media, business and even some church people relentlessly drive a narrative that attacks and mocks what God says. That can feel lonely and intimidating.

In many places the desire to fit in is stronger than the decision to stand out. Are we allowing fear to push us into permanent silent retreat? Doesn’t the Bible speak with sufficient clarity about these things?

Where do we go with this kind of fearfulness? Psalm 34.4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Bring your fears and insecurities to God. And claim his promise of taking that fear away.

The second denial, v58, comes a little later, and this time it’s a man in a nearby group who challenges him. Luke shows that the pressure ramps up a bit because he goes beyond what the servant girl says. Peter wasn’t just “with” Jesus. He was “one of them.” This isn’t just a matter of inadvertent physical proximity. Peter is being closely associated with Jesus’ traveling band. He is an insider.

Peter denies it again. “Man, I am not,” he protests. Yes, you are, Peter. You have been part of that band for three and a half years. That’s a lie, Peter. The devil is a liar from the beginning and the father of lies. When we lie, we sound like the devil. The devil who is, at that very moment, trying to sift Peter like wheat.

Each denial ramps up in intensity. The third one is more serious than the second, which is more serious than the first. By this time, an hour or so later, Jesus has been moved from his preliminary hearing with Annas to his trial before Caiaphas. There’s an ominous sense that this night is going very badly.

Luke tells us that the next accuser, not just suggests, but insists that Peter is connected to Jesus. He is adamant. “Certainly,” he says. “His northern accent gives him away.” John adds that this third accuser is related to the servant whose ear Peter has earlier severed with a blade. No doubt he is very upset. “If I find the man who did that to you, I’ll kill him.” You can well imagine him saying that.

No wonder Peter sounds like he is panicking at this point. He strenuously denies all knowledge of what this stranger says. Mark and Matthew add that Peter backs up his denial with a string of oaths, swearing to God he doesn’t know what he’s going on about.

God’s transformative grace

And as the words leave his lips, the cock crows. Then, what drama; Jesus turns at that very instant and his eyes meet Peter’s.

What do you think that look communicates? Judgement? Bitterness? I told you so? Pain? Sorrow? Disappointment? A blank stare?

Surely, it’s the look of love. The face of grace. Because that glance across the courtyard does not crush Peter into depression and despair. It melts him into repentance and renewal.

Peter heads off into the night, weeping bitterly. He is distraught. His remorse and anguish and heartbreak pull him down to what must surely be the lowest point in his entire life.

But look, no failure, however bad, need be final with God. Turning to Jesus in repentance opens wide the door for forgiveness, healing and restoration.

As we’ll see in detail next week, this threefold denial is not going to be the last word. There is grace.

And Jesus will come to him, as he comes to every one of us today. Not with an angry confrontation over how badly he messed up. Not with not with a tut and a rolling of the eyes about how much of a letdown Peter and we turned out to be. But with a simple question; “do you love me?” Do you? Do you love the Lord?

The Jewish thinker Rabbi David Aaron once sighed and said, “I wish I could love the greatest saint like the Lord loves the greatest sinner.” Oh, so do I.

Ending

I noticed a title in a Christian bookshop once called Has Christianity Failed You? It was a book written for disaffected people who don’t do church anymore because they feel that church has let them down.

Sometimes our expectations are not met because those expectations were unrealistic in the first place. But sadly, churches can - and do - fail people. Leaders can disenchant and members can disappoint. Every Christian can, like Peter, deny the Lord in many, many ways.

The church may have failed you in the past; it probably has. But Jesus and the gospel fail no one. Like Peter, every saint has a past. But like Peter, every sinner can have a future.

It’s why Jesus says in v32, after your personal crash, after your denials, after your bitter weeping, after your running away in shame, Jesus says, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

He means, strengthen them with your testimony as a restored failure. Strengthen them when you tell them how good it is to be forgiven. Strengthen them when you explain to them no matter how faithless we are, he remains faithful. Strengthen them with hope and with belief that no matter how lost you are, with Jesus there is always a way back.

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 5 October 2025.