The Dangers of Self Confidence
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Mark 14:26-31
Mark 14:26-31
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
In Ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates famously declared that the unexamined life was not worth living. Asked to sum up what all philosophical commandments could be reduced to, he replied: 'Know yourself.’
Peter thought he knew himself better than Jesus did - ‘you’re wrong Jesus, you’ve got me wrong, I’ll never forsake you. I know my heart - that is something I know I would never do.’
This passage if it teaches us anything it teaches us this; let God’s word speak louder to you about who you are than your own convictions.
Jesus had told them what they would do - 'you will all fall away!’ but Peter felt confident in himself, he felt he could take the heat with Jesus, whatever might come his way. But sure enough just a few short hours later we read:
50 And they all left him and fled.
Self knowledge isn’t bad - it’s a good thing, but we must remember our own weakness and our own frailty. Socrates didn’t reckon on the problem of sin in the equation of knowing oneself, we are unable to know ourselves perfectly because our perception is warped by the flesh. As Christians our self knowledge must make allowance for this, for our tendancy to err, and we ought instead to take God’s word above our own concerning our nature and our abilities or lack of.
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Let us take comfort in the thought that the Lord Jesus does not cast off His believing people because of failures and imperfections. - JC Ryle
After finishing their passover supper together Mark tells us that they sung a hymn. Isn’t it incredible how Jesus, knowing every detail of what was about to happen to him still observed the passover supper and sang hymns of praise to the Father?
If we were to know the future it would paralyse us, but Christ kept moving forwards in faithfulness. His heart wasn’t so overcome with fear that it prevented him from giving praise and honour to the Father.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
There are to lessons for us here about what to do when faced with something difficult or scary in the future:
Look to Jesus, turn your heart to him for strength.
Do the right thing in the moment.
Within a reasonable doubt we know exactly the hymn that they would have sung together - the Hallel, Psalms 115-118. And when we read those Psalms, we see how heavy they are with prophetic references to Christ!
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Christ is the cornerstone that the builders rejected. Speaking of this passage Jesus said Matt 21:44
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Christ the cornerstone will either save you or crush you. If you stand upon Him as your foundation you will never be moved, He is our rock of salvation, our firm foundation. But he will reject those who reject him in the end.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
VERSE 27
Jesus tells his disciples that they will all fall away, and then he quotes from the book of Zechariah.
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
This is the Lord speaking - awake, o sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me. CSB (against the man who is my associate) KJV (my fellow), NLT (who is my partner).
Who is this shepherd? He is God’s shepherd, and He is literally with God according to the Hebrew, he is God’s associate. The language is reminiscent of John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And who is striking the shepherd? Jesus tells us - it is the Father! He adds the first person pronoun to the quotation - I will strike the shepherd.
The language reminds us of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah:
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Men like Steve Chalke, Brian Zahnd and the author of the Shack William P. Young baulk at the idea that God the Father struck his own Son for the sins of mankind - they call it a barbaric doctrine, they call it Cosmic child abuse but it’s right the way through your Bible, in the Old and in the new testament.
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
In the Old Testament the sword of the Lord is a sword of judgement which comes to execute justice upon those who deserve it. Why would God’s sword of judgement fall on His own son? Who we know lived a life without sin and who was well pleasing to the Father?
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Father smote the son because he stood bearing our sins, He bore our guilt and suffered the penalty that should have been ours. That sword ought to have been mine to take, it ought to be yours. Were it not for Christ it would be our future - but now because that sword fell upon Christ it can no longer fall upon those whose sins he bore.
My theology is found in four little words: Jesus died for me. - Spurgeon
Jesus prophesied that his sheep would be scattered. That they would fall away. But note - they wouldn’t stop being his sheep!
“He foresaw my every fall, my every sin, my every backsliding; yet, nevertheless, fixed His heart upon me.” - AW Pink
Jesus promised them that he would rise from the grave and meet them in Galilee. An incredible fact that Peter seems to entirely miss - he is too busy defending himself!
hubris
/ˈh(j)uːbrɪs/
noun
1.excessive pride or self-confidence:
Hubris is perhaps the single most common reason that people miss what God is saying to them - pride, self confidence, self consciousness. It’s common for pastors to sort of make a joke out of Peter, but the reality is we’re way more like him than we’d care to admit! We are too often concerned with self-expression, too often caught in subtle pride, too often over confident in our knowledge that we miss the subtlety of God’s word to us, we gloss over it, we’re too concerned with proving ourselves.
I don’t think Peter was lying - i think he really fancied in that moment that he wouldn’t fall away. It was Peter who drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of those who came to arrest Jesus wasn’t it?! But conviction isn’t as weighty as actual obedience. We can be quick in moments of deep conviction to make promises to God that we don’t know we can keep, we write cheques with our mouths that our hearts can’t pay.
It would have been better if Peter had simply said - Lord, please pray for me, give me the strength not to forsake you. Our faith is better resting in the grace of God than in our convictions.
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
What was it that held Peter from becoming just like Judas? Was it his own strength of character? His own resolve? No, he denied Jesus publically, not once, or twice but three times! What held him in faith was Christ’s prayers for him. We’re just the same - my confidence that I won’t fall away isn’t in my own faith, I believe I’m just like Peter. I can’t say for certain how my heart would fare if placed in the most dark and frightening of situations. But I have confidence that I won’t fall away because I know that Christ is praying for me!
9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. (Robert Murray M’Cheyne p. 179)
If I must die with you - I will not deny you. This is the Christian life - to take up your cross and follow Christ. And where is he going? He goes to lay down His life for the sake of the world, and so do we! We are to lay down our lives, to take up our cross. What does that mean?
To die to sin
To die to the powers of darkness
To die to self!!
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