51:55

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Jesus, Peter, disciples, verse, Christ, Jerusalem, deny, scatter, shepherd, Galilee, Mark, Messiah, notice, olives, meal, Passover meal, Zechariah, Satan, Lord, Israel

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

1. The Shepherd's Prediction.. - 5 -
2. The Shepherd's Restoration.. - 8 -
3. The Shepherd's Compassion.. - 10 -

The Gospel - 12 -

 

Introduction

This morning we come to Mark 14. We've been studying the gospel of Mark, we come to Mark 14, verses 27 through 31. And you can see, the title of this sermon is "A Forecast of Failure." So often we hear of martyrs who died because they would not deny their faith. We read these martyrs in books like Foxe's Book of Martyrs. We hear of stories like men like Martin Luther, who was told to recant his books, in which he wrote against the heresies of the Catholic Church. And his books were filled with truth -- with gospel truth. To which Martin Luther when he was told to recant, he said, this, "I am conquered by the Holy Scriptures quoted by me, and my conscience is bound in The Word of God, I cannot and will not recant anything. For it is neither safe, nor honest to act against one's conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other. So, help me God. Amen."

 

Or men like John Hus, who when he was chained to the stake, so that they could set him on fire and be burned. He said this, "My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake. And why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?" To which John Hus was then burned at the stake for Christ.

 

When we hear of men like that, who stood faithfully for Christ, and the truth of God's Word, we would like to think that you and I would do the same thing. But the reality is, there have been many times in our lives when we have been ashamed of Christ. When we have not been so bold, to speak up for the truth. When we've been afraid to take a stand for Christ, because we might be mocked or ridiculed. We've all done that. Every one of us as believers have done that. And in the long line of believers throughout the centuries, we would not be the only ones who have done that.

 

In fact, in our passage here this morning, we're going to see Jesus confront the eleven disciples with the reality that each one of them is going to deny Christ. All of them, every one of them is going to turn away from Christ. One of them won't just deny Christ one time, but he'll deny Jesus three times.

 

While we often read passages like this, and we look at these disciples and their failures, this morning, what I want us to do is I want us to see Christ. I want us to look at Christ in our passage. I want us to see Christ in this encounter with His disciples and see what Christ does. As He prophesized the failures of these men who have spent the last three years of their life with Him. So, I'd encourage you to turn to Mark 14, and follow along, as I read our passage for us. I'll begin in verse 26.

 

"After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
    27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ 28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.” (Mark 14:26-31)

 

If you remember from last week, we saw Jesus in Jerusalem at the house of a man who let Him and the disciples use the upper room in his house to celebrate the Passover. It was then that Christ instituted one of the two ordinances in which you and I practice in the church. He celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples. But He transformed that meal, and He gave it a new meaning. He told them that the bread represents His body, and that the cup represents His blood, which is the blood of the new covenant that is poured out for the forgiveness of many.

 

And Jesus at that final Passover meal, He instituted what you and I call communion. He instituted that ordinance that night, as He ate that final meal there with His disciples in that upper room. After He finished the meal with His disciples, He then sang a hymn with each one of them. And they then left the city of Jerusalem, and they headed back to the Mount of Olives. Which they would have done every night as they came into the city of Jerusalem, they would then head back to the Mount of Olives, and they would go back to Bethany, which was where they were staying.

 

But before they did that, before they left Jerusalem, to head back to the Mount of Olives, there was something that took place at that meal -- at that Passover meal -- that I want to show you that ties in with our passage here before us. And so, turn over with me to John chapter 13. John chapter 13. In John, chapter 13, Judas has left. He's no longer there at the meal with these guys. He has gone out to betray Jesus. And so now it's Jesus there with eleven of His disciples around the table. And look at what Jesus says in John chapter 13, beginning in verse 31. In verse 31.

 

"Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; 32 if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
    36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.” (John 13:31-38)

 

This is there at the meal. This is happening during the Passover meal, as Jesus is there with the eleven. Peter, being so bold and so prideful, says to Jesus, "I will lay down my life for you." What did Jesus then say? Jesus told him, No, no, Peter, you're going to deny Me three times. You will deny Me. All of this takes place during the meal. But it doesn't stop there. Turn over to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Luke gives us a fuller account of what is happening here at this meal. And in Luke chapter 22, beginning in verse 28. We read this.

 

"“You are those who have stood by Me in My trials;” (Jesus again talking to the eleven here) “29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
    31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” 34 And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.” (Luke 22:28-34)

 

Again, this is taking place here at the meal. This is happening as they're sitting around, enjoying the Passover meal. And notice what it says in verse 32 there. Notice Jesus says, "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again." (Luke 22:32) What is Jesus saying there? You are going to turn away from me, but you will turn again back to me. He is telling Peter; you are going to repent. Repentance is going to happen.  Judas would not repent; Judas would go and hang himself. But Peter did, Peter would repent.

 

Notice there who wanted at Peter? Notice who wants Peter there in verse 31. Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. Satan wants after Peter; he wants to get his hands on Peter and sift him like wheat. Jesus here uses of a very vivid illustration, sift that word, "sift" their means to shake or to violently shake, to separate the chaff from the grain. And so, what they would do, is they would gather up the wheat and then they would shake it. And as they shook the wheat, then it would divide the chaff from the grain. They would fall down, and they would blow the chaff away, and then they would be left with the grain. That's what they wanted.

 

And he says, Look, Peter, Satan wants to sift you. He wants to shake you. Satan wanted at Peter, just like he got a hold of Job. Remember what Satan did to Job? He was allowed to go and get a hold of Job only under the authority of God. And when he comes to Job, he kills his wife, he kills his family, he causes Job than to have boils and sickness. Job is miserable then. And Job continued to trust in God through it all.

 

And Satan wants after Peter, just like he got a hold of Job. But notice this... who protected Peter? Jesus did. Jesus protected him. He guarded him. He said, "but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail." (Luke 22:32) Think about this. He prayed for Peter. And Peter didn't even know it. Peter is walking with Christ. He's hanging out with Christ. He's just living life with Christ. And he doesn't even know, he doesn't even recognize and realize that Satan wants him. And Jesus is praying for him. He's guarding him. He's protecting him. Christ was guarding and protecting His own, just like He always does. Right? He protects His own.

 

Do you realize that Satan wants at us? He wants us. He wants to take us down. But Jesus won't let us be handed over to him. He kept Peter from the enemy. Clearly Satan got a hold of Judas, right? He entered into Judas. And he got a hold of Judas. And Judas welcomed Satan to have him... because that was his heart. He allowed for Satan to get a hold of him so that he could go and betray the Messiah. But Christ would not allow Peter to go. He was holding Peter, even though Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him. Which He had already predicted at the meal.

 

But then there's a second time that Jesus tells Peter that he's going to deny Him which leads into our passage here in Mark 14. In Mark 14. Turn back over to Mark 14. And as we work our way through this passage again, I want to see Christ on display here. And so, we're going to break this passage down into three points.

 

1.     The Shepherd's Prediction

 

Our first point we're going to see here is The Shepherd's Prediction, The Shepherds Prediction, beginning of verse 26. Notice what it says there. "26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ (Mark 14:26-27)

 

They're making their way now to the Mount of Olives. They've finished up the meal, the meal is now done. And Jesus now gives them this prophecy, as they're making their way out to the Mount of Olives. But this time notice, it's not just about Peter. This time, He doesn't say, Peter, you're the only one who is going to fall away. Who is He talking about here as He gives this prophecy? This prediction? He's talking about all of them. Every single one of you. All of the eleven. Which is what Jesus says in verse 27, "you will all fall away." (Mark 14:27)

 

Every one of you is going to fall away. Now think about this. In just a few hours, in Christ's life, he is going to be arrested and put on trial. It's now about midnight, as they finish up the meal. It's around midnight, and they're making their way now out of the city. Jesus is about to be betrayed, arrested and put on trial. Jesus knows what is coming ahead of Him. How does He know? Because He's God. Because He's God, because He's omniscient, and He knows all things. This right here is the deity of Christ put on display. He says, I know every single one of you is going to fall away, even though Peter continually insisted, I will never deny you...in fact, I'll go to prison with You, Jesus. And He says, no, no, no, no, every one of you is going to deny me. Jesus predicts that all of them are going to fall away.

 

This word "fall away" in the Greek is the word "skandalidzo", which is where we get our English word scandalized from. It means "to cause to be brought to a downfall, or to put a snare or a stumbling block in the way." They would be ensnared, there would be a stumbling block that would come. Now, this here doesn't mean that they lose their salvation. We understand and know that once you have been saved, you are always saved, that you cannot lose your salvation. And Jesus is not saying you're going to fall away, and that you're going to lose your salvation, but you're going to fall away and that you're going to deny me. They're not going to become apostates. They won't deny the faith. But they're going to fall away from Christ. Think about this, after three years of ministry with Christ. Jesus has been feeding them. Jesus has been teaching them. Jesus has been doing all of this ministry with them for three years, they've been hearing Him preach. They've been watching Him do these miracles; walk on water, feed the 5000, feed the 4000, all of these things -- they've been watching Him do. Even Peter, James and John, they saw him glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration. But Jesus predicts here, you'll all fall away. You're all going to deny Me.

 

And how does He know this? Because He has supernatural knowledge, supernatural knowledge, He is omniscient. He knows everything. And He knew that no one would have His back. Not a single one of the eleven is going to stay with Him. Not even his closest friends, not even those who spent the last three years with Him as he poured His life into theirs. He knew that He was going to the cross alone. They would all deny Him. And He knew this because He was God in the flesh. He knew all things.

 

So not only did Jesus know this, because He is the God man -- because He is omniscient. But Jesus also knew this because He knew his Bible. He knew His Bible. Notice what it says 27. It says, "Because it is.."  what? "Written." It is written, that means it was written down in the Scriptures. It was written down in the Old Testament. It was written down in the past that this was going to happen. It's prophesied that His disciples are going to do this. What was the prophecy? Notice what it says there, "I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED. (Mark 14:27) 

 

Now, where does it say this in the Bible? Well hold your finger in Mark 14 and turn it over with me to Zechariah 13. Zechariah 13. If you go to Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, hang a left. It's the next book there. Zechariah. Zechariah 13. And in verse 7, it says this,

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

And against the man, My Associate,”

Declares the LORD of hosts.

“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;

And I will turn My hand against the little ones. (Zechariah 13:7)

 

Zechariah, in this book here, he has been prophesying about the Messiah, about the shepherd that he talks about there in verse 7. He's been prophesying about the Messiah in chapters 11 and 12. And in chapter 12, he tells of the shepherd being pierced. Notice in chapter 12, and verse 10, it says,

 

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced (Zech 12:10). 

 

The One in whom they have pierced. It's talking about Christ there. It's talking about the Messiah, that there is going to be repentance in Israel, as they look upon the One in whom they have pierced, that Israel is going to receive one day, their Messiah, they will put their faith in Christ.

 

Then chapter 13, talks about how God will remove the false prophets from Israel. In verses 1-6. He's going to remove the false prophets from Israel, as a result of his rescue and salvation of Israel. And then over in chapter 14, it tells us about Christ's return to come and establish His kingdom. Look at chapter 14 in verse four, "in that day", in what day? Verse 1, "a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you."  Verse 3, "then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations is when he fights on a day of battle."  And in verse 4, "in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem, on the east. And the Mount of Olives will split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other toward the south." (Zech 14:4) And then in verse 9 it says, "And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day, the LORD will be the only one and His name, the only one." (Zech 14:9)

 

What's that talking about there? That Christ is going to return, and He will establish His kingdom. He is going to be king over the entire Earth. And He's going to sit on His throne there in Jerusalem in the temple, and He's going to rule and reign as the king over all. Zechariah prophesized that.

 

But then in chapter 13 in verse 7, Zechariah contrasts the false prophets of Israel with the true shepherd here. And it is the true shepherd -- the Messiah -- that Zechariah is talking about here. And notice how the shepherd is described. Notice what it says there. This is the this is the Lord declaring this, he says,

 

Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against…” (who?) “the man…” (Zech 13:7)

 

Notice that. He says, "the man". That is this shepherd is going to be a man. He's going to be a human being. That word there in the Hebrew means a strong man or a close companion. That is, he's not just any old man. No, he is a strong man, and he's a close companion to the Lord God.

 

Then God goes on and He says, against the man, notice there, "my associate" against my associate, that means one who was close to Him, one who was in union with the Lord. One who is equal with God. Who is that? Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He is the God- man. He is the shepherd there that he's talking about. And what does it say will happen when the shepherd is struck? What's going to happen? "The sheep will scatter." The sheep are gone. Now, some see this fulfilled in two ways.

 

• First is a direct fulfillment of the disciples following away since Jesus is speaking directly here to them.

 

• But second is a fulfillment of, of Israel being the sheep being scattered, which would be the destruction of the temple in 70AD, when what happened to the Jews? They scattered all over the globe. They're scattered, they were dispersed all around the world. But Jesus, as Jesus quotes this, back in Mark 14, as He quotes it, He applies it primarily here to the disciples. He says that He is going to be struck, and the sheep (those disciples) are going to scatter. That's what happened, right? Jesus is struck and the sheep scatter.

 

Now Peter is going to be around. We know that Peter is going to be around once Jesus is arrested, and about to be put on trial. We know that Jesus is there, or that Peter is there. But Peter is in the background watching. He's in the background, watching all that's taking place. John is the only one that we see at the cross with Mary. But they all scatter. They all leave them.

 

Now they did remain in Jerusalem. But they weren't found to be with Christ. These guys would have continued to come to Jerusalem because they were celebrating what? Passover, the feast of unleavened bread. Remember, we talked about Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread? It's eight days long. And so they would continue to go from Bethany back to Jerusalem, and they would stay there in Jerusalem, they would be hanging out there in Jerusalem. But once Jesus is arrested, what do they do? Do they stay with him? They don't. They all scatter.

 

Turn back to Mark 14. Notice what Mark says there, "I will strike down the shepherd." Notice this, who is the "I" there? The "I" there is the Father. The Father says, "I will strike down the shepherd." (Mark 14:27) I will strike down my son. He will strike the Messiah. Remember, it wasn't Judas who put Christ on the cross. It wasn't the Romans who put Christ on the cross. It wasn't the Sanhedrin, who put Christ on the cross. Although every single one of them is guilty for what they did to Christ. It wasn't them who ultimately put Christ on the cross. It was God who put Christ on that cross to be the sacrifice for our sins. God said, I will strike my son, I will strike the shepherd. And He put them there to be the sacrifice for our sins so that you and I could be saved. The father did this.

 

Here's the amazing thing. Jesus knew all this would happen. He knew every one of these details. He knew all this is going to happen. How? Well not only because He's omniscient. Because He knew His Scriptures. He knew The Word of God. It was predicted that Christ, the Son of God, would be struck by the Father so that you and I could be saved. And so that there is The Shepherds Prediction.

 

2.     The Shepherd's Restoration

 

Let's look at our second point here this morning. Point number two, The Shepherds Restoration. The Shepherds Restoration. Look at what it says there in Mark 14 in verse 28. "But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." (Mark 14:28)

 

Now remember, this is not the first time that these guys would have heard Jesus talk about the resurrection. Listen to Mark chapter 10 in verse 33. Jesus says, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” (Mark 10:33-34) Jesus told them about the resurrection. He told them that this is going to happen.

 

And then in Mark 9:31, "For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” (Mark 9:31-32) Jesus is telling them, yes, I am going to die, but I will rise again. He's been telling them about the resurrection. And He tells them that He is going to rise on the third day. But this didn't come compute with these guys. It doesn't compute with them. It doesn't compute with their theology. Why? Because in their theology, they didn't have a dead Messiah. And so therefore, they wouldn't have what? A resurrected Messiah. They think that Jesus is going to come and He's going to conquer Rome, and He's going to establish the kingdom right, then.

 

That's why even in Acts chapter 1, they say, "Lord, is it is it at this time that you're going to restore the kingdom in Israel?" (Acts 1:6) Oh, guys, you don't get it. Look, your job is to go and take the gospel out, I'm going back to be with the Father, but you go and preach the gospel. They think that Christ is coming to establish the kingdom. But Jesus tells them here, look, I am going to die. I'm going to die. And I'm going to rise again.

 

Now I want you to notice three promises that Jesus gives here in this verse.

• First, He promises that He is going to be raised. He promises that he's going to be raised, he knew that He was going to the cross, and He knew the agony of the cross. That is why in the garden, He was sweating drops of blood. Now Jesus was not afraid of death. He was not afraid of death. But He knew that He (the perfect, sinless, spotless lamb) would take the wrath of God upon Himself to save us. He knew what was coming, He knew of the cup of wrath that He was going to drink, so that you and I could be saved. So, He was in agony in the garden, because of that.

 

He was the one who knew no sin. And He became sin on our behalf, so that you and I could be saved. He took the wrath of sin for us. But He also knew wouldn't stop there. He knew that He was going to conquer death. He was going to conquer sin and death, and that He was going to rise again. And it's not only a prediction, but it's a promise, where He says, I will rise again, you can be sure of that.

 

• Second, He promised that the disciples would survive all of this. Notice what He says there in verse 28. "After I have been raised, I will go ahead of you." What were these these guys going to do? They were going to scatter. They were going to deny Christ, they were going to leave Him. But they were also going to be safe. Why? Because Christ was going to keep them safe. He was keeping them safe. He would make sure that nothing happened to them. In fact, that was his prayer and John 17. Listen to John 17, verse 11. Jesus says, "I am no longer in the world and yet they themselves are in the world. And I come to You, Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as we are one." (John 17:11-xxx)

 

He is praying to the Father and He was praying for His disciples, those in whom are His, and he's praying for them. He goes on in verse 12, of John 17, "while I was with them, I was keeping them in your name, which You have given me, and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the Son of Perdition so that the scripture would be fulfilled." (John 17:12-xx)

 

Jesus says, I have guarded them, Father, I have protected them. I have kept them safe. And He's kept them safe, up to this point and beyond. And even though they would deny Him and they would scatter, He still loves them. And He keeps them. And He says, I'll lose none of them.

 

• The third promise that He gives, He promises to restore them back to fellowship with Him. Jesus says again, in verse 28, "I will go ahead of you to Galilee." Now why would these guys go back to Galilee? That was their homeland. That's where they were from. They were going to stay in Jerusalem until the Feast of Unleavened Bread is over. And then they would all head back home back to Galilee. That's where all of these eleven guys were from. But notice, Jesus doesn't say, I will meet you in Galilee. But what does He say? I will go ahead of you to Galilee. When you get back home, Jesus says, I will be there waiting to receive you to Myself.

 

Which is exactly what happens in Matthew 28, verse 16. Listen to what it says. “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:16-18) Jesus sees the eleven disciples and they come, and they run up to Him, and they worship Him.

 

Why do they worship Him? That's all they could do when they see the risen Christ...is to worship Him. And they run up and they worship Him. And it says, some were doubtful. That's not speaking of the eleven, because there were more than eleven, Jesus had more than eleven disciples. And so some of those other ones would have doubted, but not the eleven. They came and worshipped. They bowed down to Him. As they come home to Galilee, there's Jesus, ready to meet them, and to receive them.

 

Now, this time on the mountain in Galilee, was not the first time that they had seen the risen Lord. It's not the first time.  He appeared to them at least twice in Jerusalem, in the upper room. Remember? That was the time where Thomas doubted, right? Unless I see Him, I will not believe. So, Jesus appears and He says, all right, believe Thomas. Here I am. I'm risen.

 

They stayed in Jerusalem there because they're celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But eventually, they make their way back to Galilee. And that is then where Jesus gathers His sheep together on that mountain there. And what does He do? He restores them. And then He commissioned them to go and make disciples. That's the Great Commission. That's when the Great Commission happens right there on the mountain in Galilee, when they come running up to Him, and they bow down and they worship Him. And He says, yes, now listen, "All authority has been given to Me and heaven on earth. Go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them to observe all that I've commanded you."  (Matt 28:20) And He gives them the Great Commission, right there on that mountain, as He restores them. And then He sends them out to go and minister...He gives them their ministry.

 

And so that's The Shepherd's Prediction, and The Shepherd's Restoration. Let's look here at our final point this morning, The Shepherd's Compassion. The Shepherd's Compassion.

 

3.     The Shepherd's Compassion

 

Look at verse 29. "But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” (Mark 14:29) Behold the pride of Peter. What a prideful man. Pride in his heart. Now remember, this is not the first time that Jesus has told Peter that he would deny Him. He told him back at the meal, you're going to deny Me Peter. What did Peter do? No, you got it wrong, Jesus. And then they are there at the Mount of Olives. And Peter, you're going to deny Me.  Whoa, no, you got it wrong, Jesus. I'm not going to deny You.

 

Look at how Peter is so self-confident and prideful. How arrogant. He was to make such a statement to Jesus. Even though all may fall away yet I will not. He's basically calling Jesus a liar here. Jesus, You think I'm going fall away? Oh, no, no, no, You have it wrong Jesus. Pretty sure Peter tried to do that another time too, didn't he? When Jesus said, I'm going to go and die, after they tell Hm, You are the Christ, you are the Messiah. And He says, That's right. Now I'm going to go to the cross and go and die. And what does Peter do? He pulls Jesus aside and he rebukes Him? And he says, No, You're not. And what does Jesus say? "Get behind me..." who? "Satan." (Mark 8:33) You think Peter would have learned his lesson? But he didn't. He didn't. 

 

As one commentator said, "Peter arrogantly elevated himself above the other disciples."  Look, they're all going to deny you. Maybe they will do that, but I won't Jesus. No, not me. Because I'm Peter. I'm a rock. I won't deny You. And so, Jesus has to get very pointed than with Peter. Look what it says in verse 30. “And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” (Mark 14:30)

 

Look, you are going to deny Me, Peter. It's going to happen. Now, if you remember the timing here, they had just celebrated the Passover, a four-hour meal, they've been together. And now they're up on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem at about midnight, they would look beyond the Kidron Valley and they would then see the city of Jerusalem there. Candles are lit. Why? Because it's Passover, they would see the light that's, that's flickering there in Jerusalem, as the people are all preparing themselves, as they're all there to celebrate the Passover.

 

Jesus is about to be arrested on this midnight, if you remember how, how the Jewish people divided the night -- they divided it into four watches. The first watch was called evening (this was from six to 9pm.) The second was called Midnight (this was from 9pm until 12am, or midnight.) The third then was called the rooster crow. The rooster crow, (from midnight to 3am,) as the sun would begin to rise, that's when you would hear the rooster crow. The fourth was called the morning (which was 3am then to 6am.) But this here, that Jesus is referring to is the third watch, He says, look before 3am -- within three hours, you Peter are going to deny Me three times.

 

You're not going to just deny Me once Peter, you're going to deny Me three times. But Peter keeps going. Look at what it says in verse 31. "But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also. (Mark 14:31) Obviously Peter, the spokesman, he loved to open his mouth. And so, he's speaking for all the guys and the guys go Yeah, that's right. We're with Peter. Oh, Peter. Oh, Peter.

 

One commentator says, "Although there was genuine love for Christ behind his protest, it revealed his sad ignorance of his own weakness."   Peter thought he was so strong in and of himself. Instead of realizing or recognizing how weak he was, and how he needed to rely upon Christ, He says no, no, Jesus, I won't deny you. Peter still thinks that he's strong enough and bold enough to stand for Jesus.

 

And not just him, but all of the other guys as well, as they jump in saying the same thing. But Jesus knows for certain that not only are all of them going to fall away, but Peter is going to deny Him three times. And yet knowing this -- listen church -- Jesus still has compassion for Peter.

 

How do we know? Let me show you. Turn over to Luke 24. Luke 24, I want to show you what happens in Luke 24. In Luke 24, we read about Jesus’ resurrection. And then we read about what we call the road to Emmaus, where Jesus met two disciples. One was named Cleopas, the other one... we don't know who it was. But it's two of these disciples. Remember, Jesus had more than eleven. And so it was two of these disciples that Jesus meets on the road to Emmaus. And oftentimes, we read this account of Jesus appearing to these two men on the road to Emmaus, and we just focus on them, but I want to show you something that happens.

 

Look at verse 31. "Speaking of these two men, they then come and they break bread with Jesus."  And in Luke 24, verse 31, it says, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:31) They then realized You are the Messiah, You have been risen. And then Jesus vanishes from their sight.  In verse 32, and “They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to” (where?) “Jerusalem (Luke 24:32-33)

 

Why would they go back to Jerusalem? Who's there? The eleven. Watch this, look at what happens. "They returned to Jerusalem..." verse 33, "and found gathered together the eleven, and those who were with them saying” (Luke 24:33) Now, who is talking here? This is not the two guys, this is not the two disciples that say this. This is the other eleven that are they're gathered together. Most likely in that upper room where they celebrated Passover together. And they're gathered together, and look at what they eleven say in verse 34, "saying, The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to..." Who? "to Simon." (Luke 24:34)

 

Who is that? It's Peter. Even before Jesus appeared to these two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who had He already revealed Himself to? To Peter. He had already gone to Peter, the man who denied Him three times. The man in whom, when Jesus was arrested, He then looks at Peter after Peter denies Him that third time, and he looks him in the eyes, knowing that is the third time that Peter has denied Him. But what does Jesus do? He comes back to Peter. He has compassion on Peter. Why would Jesus do this? Because Peter belonged to Him. Peter was His.

 

The Gospel

 

Some of you are here this morning, and you don't belong to Christ. You're not His because you have not repented of your sin, and put your trust in Christ alone, for the forgiveness of your sins. If you're here this morning, and if Christ was to return today, you would be left, because you don't belong to Him. But I have good news for you. Christ says, Come to Me. And He says, if you will repent of your sin and put your faith in Him, you will have ever lasting life with Him for all of eternity. And then when He comes again, He will gather you unto Himself because you will be one of His. And so He commands you, and He calls you today to repent of your sin and put your faith in Him. And if you do that, you will become a child of God. You will then belong to Christ. If you haven't done that, I would urge you to do that today. Come to Christ so that you would belong to Him.

 

And if you belong to Him -- listen, church --  He will never fail you. Never. Every one of us has failed Christ. But He will never fail us. Never. We are His... church. We are His, we belong to Him, and He will never give up on us. He has promised us that we will never perish, but we will have what? Eternal life with Him. Why? Because He is a loving and compassionate savior. And that should drive us to love Him, and to serve Him and to worship Him that much more. What a great Savior we have. Amen?

 

Father, we thank You for our time in Your Word this morning. We thank You for our compassionate Savior. Father, we thank You that You struck the shepherd so that the sheep could be saved, so that we could have eternal life with You. Father, I pray for anyone who was here this morning that does not know You. Father, I pray that You would grant them repentance and faith in You -- that they would turn to You -- realizing and recognizing that they cannot save themselves. I pray that they would fall at the feet of Jesus, that they would cry out for mercy and grace and that You would grant it to them and do a work that only You can do. Father, we thank You for Jesus -- who holds on to us. We have all failed Him. But we thank You that You never fail us. We thank You for being our loving and compassionate savior. Help us to live in light of this truth. For Your glory and Your glory alone. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.