Never Say Never
Resurrection Sunday Series 2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Matthew 26:31-35
Matthew 26:31-35
What has happened?
John 12:12-19 - Triumphal Entry
Matthew 21:12-17 - Clears the Temple
Luke 22:10-23 - Lord’s Supper & New Covenant
On the way to the Mount of Olives...
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Have you ever stated “I will never?”
Remembering the song “Never Say Never” from the movie American Tale. The phrase is self-refuting. Ironic. If I say to you that you should never say never, I’ve already done the thing I’ve said not to do, or told you that you shouldn’t do the thing that I have just done. Its also unrealistic. We use the word all the time. And sometimes we BELIEVE that there are certain things, convinced that there is a line we would never cross, or an action/decision that we would never make.
HAHA, for a season of my life before coming to Keystone as the part-time youth pastor I believed that I would “NEVER” be a pastor, well, how did that work out for me? Before that, around 2007-2008 I believed and said out loud that I would never get married because I had just gone through a rough breakup with someone I had through I would NEVER leave that I was engaged to… How did that turn out? Right after our first born was brought into this world through the miracle of child-birth and from the sheer determination of my wife, after 50+ hours of all natural laboring I immediately believed (without saying out loud) we are never having another kid again…
What terrible vision we have for the future, even for our own lives.
What about faith?
We might be convinced of our faith and trust in God, that we would NEVER give into a temptation, or a belief, or a lack of belief. I believe its dangerous to take this prideful, arrogant stance. But Michael, how can it be arrogant to say your faith and trust is in Jesus. I’m NOT saying that. I think what we see here as an example in Matthew 26 is not a reliance upon Jesus, a trust in Jesus, but a reliance on self. Self-determination. Self-reliance.
You see it in the first response from peter in VS 30, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Lets look at the scripture.
EXAMPLE: This attitude or response to what Jesus is saying is sort of like when young men/women believe they are going to be tough or are loyal to someone else, saying things really bold or brash. We’re not going to let anyone touch you Jesus, we’ve got your back. Those Roman soldiers won’t lay a finger on you. Not going to happen. They still can’t see the NEED for this to happen. They haven’t heard or don’t believe Jesus’ own words.
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
The Lord’s will can be hard to understand and difficult to accept.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
Quoting Zech. 13:7
7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Judas has betrayed Jesus, but the disciples were going to desert Him.
I will not underestimate the vulnerability of my flesh.
Don’t underestimate the vulnerability of others.
Politicians
Christians
Brothers and Sister
Leaders
Pastors
All the more reason to remember in Whom we trust!
In GOD we trust.
Tempted to trust in our own
Loyalty/Relationships, Experience, Skills, Strength, Riches, Knowledge
32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Hope is found in the resurrection of Jesus!
33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
Peter’s hope is in his own ability to remain faithful. “I will never!”
That will never happen to me… I will never sin in that way…
We all sin, every day. Every day we need His forgiveness. Every day we need His saving grace. None of us can boast with “I didn’t stumble today.” We sometimes forget the fundamental truth in scripture from...
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
And all of these disciples, the closest disciples of Jesus, who had given up EVERYTHING to follow Him, even they were going to scatter when Christ will be arrested. None of them will be able to boast and say, I went to the trial, I was on trial too, I went to the cross with Christ. I was a witness for Him against the religious leaders and the mob.
34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
Pride blinds Peter and the disciples to their lack of trust/faith in Jesus and leads them to desert Him as Jesus foretells.
35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
Pride is infectious.
Remember last weeks sermon where Jesus warns about causing the young in the faith to stumble. Here is one of the ways we lead others astray, by trusting in ourselves, trusting in our understanding, being content with what we know or with what faith we have.
The disciples didn’t have faith/trust enough in Jesus for what was about to happen. It would be until after the resurrection that their faith would be made whole.
They had an excuse. . . What is ours?
I don’t have an excuse for not trusting in Jesus.
What I mean is this. If we don’t trust in Jesus as Messiah/Savior, from His perspective, from His judgment, according to scripture, we lack saving faith.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The disciples and Jesus are on the way to the Mount of Olives where Jesus is to be arrested. He knows and has told them what will happen to him, but they aren’t willing to accept the will of the Father, that Jesus has to go to trial, be mocked, abused, pressed/crushed, for our inequities, pay the prices, become the perfect sacrifice, bare the cross for us not just so that we don’t have to, but because we COULDN’T. All of us are sinners and must RELY on the saving grace of God through Jesus and His sacrifice.
I rely on Jesus alone.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Next week we are headed to the resurrection from scripture. Between now and next Sunday, what will your life look like? How will you go about your day? Will your faith and trust in Jesus as your Lord and the hope you have in Him for salvation be your North Star for how you think, what decisions you make, how you speak to others, weather you are generous or not, HOW YOU PRAY, WILL YOU READ THE WORD, will you live faithfully to Him persuing Him in your day to day as the day of HOPE approaches knowing that from now until next Sunday there is a sort of gap of time in waiting where after Jesus’ death on the cross, because the discioples were scattered out of fear and despiration, falling from the pride and self-reliance, or strength from within, will you just go back about your business this week or will you be reflecting on what Christ did on the cross and prepare your heart to WORSHIP Him as we come upon Easter (Resurrection Sunday)?
