Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 Then 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.’
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter 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.”
35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Our passages lately have all been about preparations for the cross. We've seen the religious leaders try to plot to capture Jesus. We've seen Mary anoint his body for burial. We've seen the preparation of Judas setting out to betray Him. We've seen Jesus celebrate the last supper (though the disciples didn't know it at the time) and bring an end to the old Jewish economy as He set out to be the very fulfillment of the Passover. We saw Him introduce the Lord's Supper.
In our passage today, we see Him preparing His disciples by warning them about what they were going to go through when He was captured and they were scattered.
And then He took the (11) disciples to Gethsemane, His last night with His disciples, and He shows them how to overcome temptation.
In our passage, Jesus was incredibly sorrowful. I think He was often sorrowful - the thought of man's sinfulness, man's estrangement from God instead of intimate relationship, man's depravity, man's continual rejection of their Redeemer - incredibly sorrowful indeed. But in His sorrow, He cries out to God.
And He faced incredible temptation here in the garden. Satan tempted Him to forego the cross thereby preventing the resurrection. And how did Jesus handle this temptation? He cried out to God. He prayed. And though His humanity wants there to be some other way, He prays for God's will to be done, knowing exactly what that will is. He cries out to God, and we see in the account of Luke, that an angel came and strengthened Him. The angel didn't rescue Him from Satan or the cross, but the angel strengthened Him to endure the cross for the glory of God.
Jesus' turmoil was intense. So intense, in fact, that He sweat drops of blood. This is something that can happen when a person is under extreme duress, the capillaries just under the skin dilate until they burst and the blood flows out through the sweat glands - sweating drops of blood. Incredible agony of spirit.
Notice how Jesus' second prayer differs from His first one? First He says - if it can pass, let is pass. And then He says, if it can't pass, I'll do it. God is strengthening Him to carry out His will. And that is what got Jesus through the temptation - His ommitment to doing His Father's will.
If Jesus Himself needs to cry out to God in order to resist temptation - how much more do we need to! And persistently! This was a three round battle! Persistent prayer, commitment to the Father's will.
The disciples didn't recognize this need. They gave in to the natural and were indifferent to the supernatural. Yes, they had had a long week, they'd had a big meal, a long walk, and it was late. They were understandably sleepy. BUT, they had also just been told a betrayer was among them, and that they would all desert Jesus. How could they not have been vigilant in the face of that warning?! They put too much stock in their own good intentions, they didn't recognize their own weaknesses, and they were indifferent to the power of the enemy that was going to tempt them. And so instead of being alert and vigilant, fighting off temptation with prayer like Christ - they slept.
Jesus gained the victory over temptation, and He returned, ready to face the enemy head on.
The sequence for disaster is this: self-confidence which leads to sleep (instead of vigilance) which leads to temptation, sin and disaster. That's the sequence the disciples followed.
The sequence for victory is this: in humility, crying out to God for help, and out of the temptation comes obedience and victory. That's the sequence Jesus modeled for us.
Which sequence will we follow when we encounter temptation in our lives?
Which sequence will we follow even before we encounter the temptation? Self-confidence lulls us into false security. Vigilance and humility keep us on guard and dependent on Christ. The choices we make before the temptation comes play a huge roll in the outcome. Yes, we can humble ourselves and cry out to God after we are tempted - but we're starting from a point of much greater weakness when we do that. When we continually acknowledge our weaknesses and rely on God, we are well on our way to victory.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 26:47-75
1 comment:
I love this post. Thank you.
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