The Lord predicts Peter's denial in our passage today. Peter is probably the last of the disciples anyone would expect to deny Jesus. He was the first of the group to declare his belief in Jesus as the Son of God. He is bold and outspoken. He appears to have all the qualities needed to become a great leader in the Christian church. And he does have these qualities, but at this point he's still trusting in himself and in his own strength. Peter's confidence in himself is going to have to be shaken before he can be used for the kingdom of God.
As they make their way to the Mount of Olives, Judas is no longer with the group. The Apostle John tells us that Judas made his departure during the Last Supper, "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night." (John 13:30) Jesus is walking with the eleven who are left. Earlier He predicted that one of their number would betray Him, and I don't know whether they suspect yet that Judas is the one, but I don't believe they suspect they will all desert Jesus when He is arrested.
"'You will all fall away,' Jesus told them, 'for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'" (Mark 14:27) He quotes the words of the prophet Zechariah who foresaw the death of the Messiah and said by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "'Awake, sword, against My shepherd, against the man who is close to Me!' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." (Zechariah 13:7) The remainder of this passage from Zechariah foretells the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD and the mass slaughter which will occur at that time, but Jesus stops His recitation before He reaches that portion. The time has not yet come for the remainder of the prophecy to be fulfilled, so He does not quote it.
The Greek word Jesus uses for "fall away" is "skandalisein" which means "to be caught in a trap". When Jesus tells the disciples they will fall away He does not mean they will fall into apostasy and lose their souls. They will not renounce their faith. But they will be caught in the trap of unpreparedness which will lead them to be overcome by fear when armed soldiers appear and seize Jesus their Shepherd. They will be unprepared because they won't obey the instructions Jesus will give them when they reach the Garden of Gethsemane: "watch and pray". This is why the sudden troubles of life sometimes catch us so terribly off guard and why our hearts are struck with absolute panic: because we have not always been consistent in watching and praying. Jesus has been consistent in His own watching and praying. Nothing ever catches Him off guard. Nothing causes Him to flee in terror. Nothing causes Him to change course and turn back.
Jesus often predicts His death, but He always follows these predictions with the promise of the resurrection, "But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." (Mark 14:28) If the story of Jesus ended at the cross, what hope would we have? How could we be sure He is the Son of God? How could we know that our faith in Him is able to save our souls? Jesus rose from the dead as proof that His sacrifice on our behalf was acceptable to a holy God. Jesus rose from the dead as proof that He has the power to conquer sin, death, and the grave. Jesus rose from the dead as proof that He is who He says He is and that He is able to save us to the uttermost. If He had not risen from the dead, we would have no hope at all, as the Apostle Paul states, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17)
When Peter hears Jesus' prediction that they will all scatter, he probably looks around at the ragtag and unruly group of men and thinks to himself, "I can picture some of these guys running off and leaving the Master. Take Thomas for example: he struggles with doubts. When Thomas sees Jesus arrested he will probably give in to his doubts and stop believing in Him. Or James and John: they are caught up in worldly ambitions, wondering which of them will get to be Jesus' right hand man when He rules the nation. If they see Jesus arrested instead of being crowned King of Israel, they will fall away. What about Simon the Zealot? He expects Jesus to overthrow Rome and become King of Israel. I definitely think he will fall away when he sees Jesus arrested. Nathanael, the one whose honesty Jesus commended, is going to begin to doubt whether anyone would come and arrest an honest and innocent man and put him on trial, so I can picture Nathanael falling for the lies of Jesus' enemies. James the son of Alphaeus is so quiet I sometimes forget he's here. I can't imagine him speaking up for Jesus, so I know he's going to run away. Jude, also known as Thaddaeus, is a lot like James. I don't think he will speak up for Jesus either. Matthew, who used to be Levi the tax collector, will probably just go back to his old job and his old ways. When he sees Jesus isn't inheriting the kingdom at this time, he will find it more profitable to work for Rome. As for Philip, I think he lacks the faith to stick with Jesus. Earlier during the supper Jesus had to say to him, 'Don't you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.' (John 14:9) So I don't believe Philip has the faith to stand firm. Judas Iscariot has already split the scene. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing, but what I do know is he's not where he's needed right now. I don't think Jesus can count on Judas. I'm not even sure about my own brother Andrew. At first he thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah, but then he became a follower of Jesus after John testified that Jesus is the Messiah. But if he sees Jesus arrested, won't he begin to doubt? After all, he's already been a devoted follower of two great teachers. Perhaps he will simply move on to a third. But as for me, I believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ! I believe He is the Son of God! Nothing will ever make me doubt that. Nothing will ever make me desert Him. All the rest of these guys may let Him down, but I never will."
Peter now puts his thoughts into words, "Peter declared, 'Even if all fall away, I will not.'" (Mark 14:29) Don't we all sometimes have more faith than we should have in our own strength? This is why we must watch and pray, so that at all times we are reminded that the strength to face every circumstance in life comes from the Lord and not from ourselves. Watching and praying are essential tools to keep us from falling for the lies of the enemy and falling into temptation. Have you ever done things you never would have pictured yourself doing? Have you ever been shocked by your failure to live up to your own standards? I've been there! I've fallen into some traps that I believed were incapable of snaring me. I could have pictured some of my friends and neighbors falling into those traps, but not me! We can't reach our full potential as Christians or be valiant workers for the kingdom of Christ if we are doing the work in our own strength. We are headed for a fall when our confidence is in ourselves and not in the Lord.
"'Truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'today---yes, tonight---before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown Me three times.'" (Mark 14:30) Peter probably feels insulted and outraged by the very idea. He has professed to believe Jesus is the Christ, which makes Jesus equal with God, which means Jesus knows all things. But on this one subject Peter is certain Jesus is mistaken. "But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.' And all the others said the same." (Mark 14:31)
These men aren't telling a fib. They honestly believe they are incapable of deserting Jesus. They genuinely love Him. They have given up their former occupations to follow Him. They have suffered weariness and hunger and thirst along with Him. They have risked their reputations to follow Him. Naturally they are confident they will also risk their lives for Him.
They will be bitterly disappointed in themselves. They will come face to face with a fear so great that nothing will matter to them in that moment except escaping with their lives. They will be forced to admit in their hearts that they were wrong. But that's alright. That's how it needs to be. Before they can become the men who are going to preach the gospel that changes the world, they have to be humbled and broken. They have to learn to depend on Jesus for the courage and strength to do what they are called to do. Peter is indeed going to publicly deny Jesus three times. But later on, after he's been humbled and broken, he becomes one of the greatest gospel preachers in the history of Christianity. He is going to be martyred rather than deny the name of Jesus ever again.
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