A Faithful God

A Faithful God

Mark 14:27-31

            There is an old saying we are all familiar with, “The bigger they are the harder they fall.” We used to say that back in grades school about a bully that needed to be knocked down to size. But the same thing is true sometimes in our faith. Sometimes we need to be knocked down to size because the image we have of ourselves is inflated.

            Even the best of us can fail. Those who appear strongest on the outside in their faith can be very weak on the inside. Nobody is perfect and even the strongest believer can fall into temptation, sin, and failure. The Bible teaches us we all fall short of the glory of God.  And we should never think too highly of ourselves. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before the fall.”

            Throughout the Bible, that is what we see from the heroes of the faith. For example, Noah came off the ark and got drunk and naked and acted like a fool Infront of his sons. Abraham lied about his wife Sarah and said she was his sister. David committed adultery, and Solomon, we don’t have time to talk about Solomon and all his wives.

John Mark the author of this gospel got homesick on a mission trip with the Apostle Paul and ran home to mama. The Corinthian church used the Lord’s Supper as a time to get drunk. The church of Laodicea was lukewarm, and God said He was going to spit them out of His mouth.  These are the cream of the crop. The best of the best and yet as strong as they were they all failed God.

And the same thing is true about us because our pride is strong, and our flesh is weak. And that is a recipe for disaster because we are too self-reliant and lack total dependency on God. That is what we see from Peter in our passage this morning, but there is a little bit of Peter in all of us. We are all so self-centered. We promise way more than we deliver in our spiritual life. We talk the talk, but we don’t walk the walk. What is amazing, is through it all God loves us anyway. And that is what we see in this passage. God is faithful even when we are not. (Read Mark 14:27-31)

            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.” (Pray)

            In our passage this morning Jesus and the eleven remaining disciples have just departed Jerusalem. He has just given them the upper room discourse that we read about in the Gospel John chapters 13-17. Jesus has just instituted the Lord’s Supper, where He promised these disciples, they would all celebrate with Him one day in the Kingdom of God.

Now as they go out, they are singing songs and worshipping the Lord. They will be ascending the Mount of Olives headed for the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus will be arrested, put on trial, and crucified the next day. Judas is no longer with them. He is making his own arrangements with soldiers from the Chief Priests and the scribes, to meet them at the Garden of Gethsemane.

 Jesus takes this opportunity, as they are walking along, to prepare them for what is about to happen. He wants them to understand, not only are they going to fail Him and abandon Him when He needs them the most, but that it is okay, He understands, and He wants to welcome them on the other side. He doesn’t want them to be afraid to come back to Him. And He doesn’t want us to be afraid to come back to Him either.

Whenever we make mistakes in life, we need to remember we have a God who loves us and wants what’s best for our lives and He always welcomes us back. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done you can always come home to Jesus. That is what is so amazing about grace is it doesn’t depend on our love for God, but it is all about His love for us. What we learn from this passage is God is faithful even when we are not.

The first thing I want you to see in this scripture is the prediction, Vs. 27. This is a huge announcement by Jesus, and the disciples never saw it coming. Jesus says, “You will all fall away.” It is important that we understand His tone here. He is speaking to them with love. He is speaking to them with tenderness and compassion. He s not hostile toward them.

These are His most faithful followers. These are the best of the best. These are the ones who have left their homes, walked away from tax booths, and departed from their families. These are the ones who for the last three and a half years have stood by His side through thick and thin. They have heard the gospel, seen the miracles, and fed the thousands. No one has ever been so close to Jesus as these men. They know Him and believe in Him as the Messiah.

And despite all that, He says, “You will all fall away.” Now it’s important we understand that doesn’t mean they will fall from grace. It doesn’t mean they will lose their salvation. The Bible is clear about that. John 10:27-29 Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand.”

No one who is a true believer will ever lose their salvation. What Jesus means by “fall away” is they are going to fail in their commitment to Him. They will let a moment of weakness get the best of them and in fear, they will desert Him. Isn’t that true for all of us?

There are times in our life when we are on fire for God and we are high on the mountain, and then there are times we are pulled away by the world and find ourselves down in the valley. There are moments of weakness in every one of our lives, when we make mistakes and we make bad choices and I am so thankful that we don’t have to wonder if we are saved.

The phrase “fall away” here comes from a Greek word that gives us the English word “scandalize.” It means to fall into a trap or to stumble and trip over something. In other words, the disciples were going to spiritually be tripped up and fall from Jesus side.

But notice why; “Because it is written.” This what the scripture has said is going to happen. Jesus knows the Word of God because He is the Word of God, and He knows exactly what is going to happen. He knows how it is going to happen and He knows why it is going to happen.

He quotes Zechariah 13:7, “I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered.” Now we know who the shepherd is. Jesus has already told us in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.” So, we know who the shepherd is, and that this prophecy is a fulfillment of His suffering and crucifixion that is to come. But notice who is doing the striking. The word “I” here is referring to God the Father. He is the striker. Isaiah 53:10 says, “It pleased the Lord to crush Him.”

It’s important we understand who killed Jesus Christ. Did the Jewish leaders crucify Him? Absolutely, did Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers hang Him on a cross? Absolutely, was it your sin and mine sin that put Him there? Absolutely. But ultimately the cross was the divine plan of God. And God the Father was the striker of the shepherd. And the result of the shepherd being struck down was the sheep were scattered. When all of this begins, they will all fall away and flee from His side. But God is faithful even when we are not.

That is the prediction Jesus makes in this passage. The next thing I want you to see is the Promise, Vs 28. “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” What an encouragement this is. We learn that God is going to have the last word. Not only is He going to put His Son to death, But He is going to raise Him from the dead as well.

But I want you to notice the promise to the disciples. Despite your failure, in spite of you abandoning me when I needed you most, meet me in Galilee. I can’t help but wonder how long He knew they would fail Him. I have to believe He knew it from the beginning. He is omniscient, meaning He knows all things. So, I have to believe He knew about this before He ever called them to follow Him. Yet He called them anyway.

That should be a great encouragement to us. If you are someone who takes your relationship with God seriously and you evaluate yourself and where you stand with God, you should be encouraged by this Word. Because let me ask you this, How many times have you failed God? How many times have you over promised and under delivered in your faith? Jesus knows full well these disciples are going to fall like dominos when the pressure is on yet He chooses them anyway.

I am certain, as I stand here today that there are times in each and every one of our lives that we fail God. How many times do we fail to pray? How many times do we fail to witness? How many times do we fall out of church and fellowship? Yet God remains faithful even when we are not. It is by the grace of God that He takes flawed imperfect people and uses them to bring Him glory.

That is what we learn from this passage. Failure is never final with God. He is the God of the comeback story. He is the God of second chances who allows us to begin again and start over with a clean slate. He says, I know you’re going to fail me. I know your going to fall away, but I choose you anyway. That’s the promise. That failure is never final with God.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the protest, Vs. 29-31. Up to this point Jesus has tried to get them to face their failure and to recognize their weakness. Because it is only when we recognize where we are weak that we can learn to correct them. But notice Peter’s response.

Vs. 29 says, But Peter said to Him, “Eventhough all may fall away, yet I will not.”  There are several things about Peter’s response that stand out to me. 1.  You have to appreciate Peter’s loyalty. There is something about his attitude I really like. He is strong and confident, but the truth is he has no idea how weak he could be.

2. He is putting himself on a pedestal. He thinks He’s special, he thinks he is better than everyone else. Notice what he says, “even though all may fall, not I.” He can recognize the weakness of others, but can bot see it in himself. 3. He is correcting the Lord. Jesus is telling him what is going to happen, and Peter says, “no it won’t.” Notice the pride and arrogance. Jesus is talking to all of the disciples, but Peter is the one protesting. He is the type of person that will not allow in one else to have a chance to speak. He is self-promoting and self-reliant.

Notice how many times he uses the word “I” here. Once in Vs. 29 and two more times in Vs. 31. Peter has glaucoma. He needs an eye exam, because it all about I!!!!!. He is so full of himself, he doesn’t even know himself. The proper response to Jesus would have been to repent and seek forgiveness but He has a big head and a fat mouth.

 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.”

Let me ask you this, can you identify with Peter? Do you recognize your weaknesses? Do you understand the only things that are good about you come from the Lord? James 1:17 says, “every good and perfect gift comes from above.” It all comes from God.

Notice the response from Jesus instead of backing off and letting Peter off the hook, He lays out the details for him of exactly how it is going to happen. Vs. 30, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times.” Jesus says, don’t tell me what you are going to do Peter, I know more about you than you know about yourself.

Think about this, Peter’s denial of Christ wasn’t going to take place sometime in the distant future. He was going to deny him in a few minutes. He was going to deny Him three times before morning. Peter was going to go 0-60 in the opposite direction. All of his self- confidence was going to melt like play-doh.

But listen this isn’t about Peter; this is about you and me. When we rely on our self-confidence we are relying on weakness. Our strength comes from the Lord. Our confidence grows in Him. The Apostle Paul said, “ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength,” not myself.

Notice how stubborn Peter is in Vs. 31 He refuses to give up. “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.” Notice the verb tense here, “he kept saying it.”  He didn’t just say it once and he didn’t just say it twice, but he kept saying it over and over again. He refuses to let it go.

Also notice he understands what’s at stake. He says, “even if I have to die with you.” So, he understands the cross. He understands Jesus is talking about death. He is acknowledging that. The problem is he doesn’t understand himself. And the same thing is true in our life. We are experts at so many things in this world. We can be expert builders. We can be expert hunters. We can be expert shoppers and planners and teachers. But we are completely blind to our own heart. Jeremiah 17: says, “the heart of man is wicked beyond measure who can understand it.”

Peter refused to accept the truth about himself and was self-reliant, but there were three things that caused this self-confidence in Peter. 1. Peter couldn’t see the cross. Jesus told him all about the cross, but Peter didn’t believe it. Remember back in Mark chapter eight when Jesus first announced He was going to suffer and die, Peter rebuked Him and said, “no way that’s not going to happen to you. The fact that God would sacrifice His own Son for the sin of the world was to much for Peter to grasp.

What about you? Are you able to grasp the key elements of the gospel? Do you understand it was the wrath of God toward the sin of man that placed Jesus on the cross and that He died that you might be forgiven?

2. The second thing that caused Peter to be overconfident was that he didn’t recognize his own weakness. He had a real big self-image and a real small self-awareness. He didn’t think he was capable of this kind of sin. I think that’s a mistake we all make. We believe we can go places sinners go and do things sinners do and were not going to get burned. The truth is it is easier for someone to drag you down into their sinful lifestyle than it is for you to lift them up out of it. Recognize that and avoid those pitfalls.

3. The third reason Peter was overconfident was because he wasn’t listening to Jesus. He was ignoring the Word of God. Jesus was telling him what was going to take place, but he refused to hear the warning. When we ignore the Word of God and choose to do things are own way we are headed for failure.

The Word of God serves as guard rails on the road of life. It keeps us living within the will of God. Jesus said, “A wise man is one who hears my words and puts them into practice.” James said, “don’t just be a hearer of the Word of God but a doer of the Word of God.” It is not enough to know what the Word of God says, if we want to benefit from it we have to live it and apply it to our lives.

Every time I meet a new believer who confesses their faith in Christ, I can’t help but get excited for them. They have experienced a new life in Christ. They no what it means to be forgiven. They are free from guilt and shame and filled with a new purpose in life. And they will say, “I am never going back to where I came from again. And that is an incredible feeling.

But it is also naive. To think that mere words can overcome persecution, and temptation, and sin is a mistake. It takes spiritual maturity. It takes commitment and dedication to your faith in God. It is not something you say, it is something that you have to become. And you can only become that through the grace of God. By failing and finding out He is faithful. Pride and self- confidence is a dangerous place for a follower of Jesus Christ, because anyone who walks with the Lord is going to experience failure. The good news is; God is faithful even when we are not.