Luke 22.21-38

Nearly every week, people will come to me after the service to ask a question, or comment, about the sermon I’ve just preached. 99% of the time, it’s very nice—you guys encourage me well, which isn’t the case for a lot of pastors—so I consider myself blessed.

But every once in a while someone will come out with a comment which is just so far off the mark that I don’t know how to respond.

And by way of illustration, I mentioned my wife Loanne, and how she once said something that blew my mind when she said it: that the most fundamental relationship in our life is not that of husband and wife, but of brother and sister in Christ. She’ll be my wife as long as we’re both alive; but she’ll be my sister in Christ for all eternity. So that relationship is the foundation on which we can build our lives together as husband and wife.

One time (it wasn’t here, and I was preaching in English, so I feel comfortable talking about it here) during the sermon I talked about the Holy Spirit and his work. A guy came up to me afterwards and said he had a question. He leaned in and said, “So…why don’t you care about the poor?”

I didn’t quite know what to say. “What gave you the impression that I don’t care about the poor?”

“You didn’t talk about the poor.”

I said, “What do you mean?”

A guy came up to me after the service, and said he had a comment about my sermon. (I’m only telling this story because I know for a fact this guy isn’t here today, and doesn’t listen to my sermons—he does not like me.)

He leaned in and said (in all seriousness), “So…you’re saying you have sex with your sister. You realize you’re encouraging incest, right? Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Well no, because that wasn’t the point of this particular sermon. We were talking about the work of the Spirit.”

“So the Spirit doesn’t care about the poor?”

“You know,” he said, “…like ghosts?”

He wasn’t kidding; he was deadly serious when he said it.

I just stared at him for the longest time; I had no idea how to respond to that. Like, that is what you took from what I said? We took a long time that day talking about the nature of our relationship as brothers and sisters in the church, and I’m pretty sure I was clear that Loanne isn’t literally my biological sister. And yet, not only is that what this guy heard, he felt comfortable coming out with this comment

You get to a point in these discussions where you just don’t know what to say in response to what you’re hearing. It’s so far off topic, or inappropriate, or just confused, that you’re simply at a loss for words.

But every so often, someone will say something in response to the message that is so inappropriate that I just don’t know what to say in

Last week we saw one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. In , we see Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper with his disciples. It’s an absolutely beautiful moment. In just a couple of sentences, Jesus sets forth for his people an institution which is so full of meaning that we still continue to be nourished by it, over two thousand years later.

Last week we saw one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. In , we see Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper with his disciples. It’s an absolutely beautiful moment. In just a couple of sentences, Jesus sets forth for his people an institution which is so full of meaning that we still continue to be nourished by it, over two thousand years later.

The passage we’re going to see today is also one of my favorite passages, for a very different reason.

On the heels of that incredible teaching tool Jesus gives his disciples, we see not just one, but a series of actions and reactions from the disciples who are sitting at the table with Jesus. And their reaction to his institution of the Lord’s Supper is about the most disappointing reaction we could imagine.

The disciples are there with him, sharing this incredibly important and meaningful moment with Jesus, and immediately after—not even a few minutes later, but right away—they start coming out with the strangest and most inappropriate questions you can fathom. This encourages me greatly as a pastor. Because if Jesus—the Son of God himself—had this kind of reaction when he taught, then clearly it’s not all my fault.

Let’s go back a little bit to remind us of the context. Jesus is at his final meal with his disciples, and they are celebrating this incredibly meaningful feast of the Passover together. They’re reclining at the table, and we read in :

14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

So we saw this last week. He gave them the bread as a symbol of his body, which would be literally broken for them in just a few hours; and he gave them the cup as a symbol of his blood, which would be shed for them. He told them that this meal is a sign of the new covenant he is establishing with them—he would soon present himself as the perfect sacrifice for his people; he would provide for them the fulfillment of the covenant.

It was an absolutely beautiful moment.

And then things take a turn, very quickly. The first turn comes from Jesus himself.

Betrayal (v. 21-23)

So you see that at the end of v. 20, there are no end-quotes. Jesus says, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood, and apparently without pause, he says (v. 21):

21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Anon, 2016. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

So the first disappointment isn’t really a disappointment—Jesus knew perfectly well what was going on, and we do too, because we read v. 1-6. We know Judas is there with them, and we know what his real motives are.

The sobering thing to realize here is that this is Judas’s first (and last) Communion.

We could wonder why Jesus would have let Judas participate in this Communion, knowing what he was about to do. But we should remember that no one is worthy to come to this table with Christ. And Judas’s presence there with Jesus and the other disciples only accentuates the painful fact that Christ’s betrayal was to come from within—from someone with whom he is close, whom he loved.

When Jesus says, “Woe to that man by whom [the Son of Man] is betrayed”, it’s a lament: he knows not only what’s about to happen to himself, but what will happen to Judas afterward. It’s a profoundly sad moment, and it is that moment that kicks off all the others.

The next disappointment we see here is the ego of the disciples.

The most disappointing response to Jesus’s proclamation we could imagine

Betrayal (Judas, v. 21-23)

Ego (v. 24-30)

24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

Without a pause, Jesus acknowledges that his betrayer is here with them.

So try to imagine this scene. They are celebrating the Passover together—the most sacred Jewish feast. As we saw last week, the Passover was a feast to remember the faithfulness of God toward his people.

In the middle of the Passover feast, Jesus gives them this incredible picture of the bread and the cup, which represent the sacrifice he was about to give for his people: his broken body, and his shed blood. It is the fulfillment of the Passover—God continues to show his faithfulness to his people in sending them a Savior.

And in the middle of the Passover feast, Jesus gives them this incredible picture of the bread and the cup, which represent the sacrifice he was about to give for his people: his broken body, and his shed blood. It is the fulfillment of the Passover—God continues to show his faithfulness to his people in sending them a Savior.

24Il y eut aussi une rivalité entre les disciples pour déterminer qui devait être considéré comme le plus grand parmi eux. 25Jésus leur dit: «Les rois des nations dominent sur leurs peuples et ceux qui exercent le pouvoir se font appeler bienfaiteurs. 26Que cela ne soit pas votre cas, mais que le plus grand parmi vous soit comme le plus jeune, et celui qui commande comme celui qui sert. 27En effet, qui est le plus grand: celui qui est à table ou celui qui sert? N’est-ce pas celui qui est à table? Et moi, cependant, je suis au milieu de vous comme celui qui sert. 28Vous, vous êtes ceux qui avez persévéré avec moi dans mes épreuves; 29c’est pourquoi je dispose du royaume en votre faveur, comme mon Père en a disposé en ma faveur. 30Ainsi, vous mangerez et boirez à ma table dans mon royaume et vous serez assis sur des trônes pour juger les douze tribus d’Israël.»

And just on the heels of that, these idiots start trying to one-up each other. Maybe they were recalling the times when Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel and heal; and they start comparing notes.

Whatever the actual content of their discussion, apparently their one-upmanship rose to the level of an actual dispute.

“You saw me, right? You saw how I healed that girl.”

I hear Jack do this with his little buddies all the time.

“Yeah, but that’s nothing—the guy I healed was almost dead. I touched him, and he got right up.”

“Did you see how high I kicked the ball? It was ten feet over your head!”

Whatever the actual content of their discussion, apparently their one-upmanship rose to the level of a dispute.

“Yeah, but when I did it, it was fifty feet over your head! I’m the best!”

“No, I’m the best!”

“No, I’M the best!”

Now that’s understandable, because they’re seven. This is what kids do.

But these are grown men. They have been following Jesus around for three years. What on earth would have made them think this was an appropriate discussion to have—especially now, during the Passover feast?!

So reading this, I would expect Jesus to act like I usually do when I hear Jack doing that with his friends. (“Shut up, man—you’re embarrassing me!”)

But he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t get angry or scolding; he takes the time to course-correct. He actually affirms their desire to be great, but says that if you want to be great, here’s how you go about it.

V. 25:

25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

So Jesus does two things here that are just brilliant.

First of all, he shows them what true greatness is—it’s not posturing and domineering like every bad human leader ever. It’s service. It’s putting yourself below the ones you are supposed to lead.

The second brilliant thing he does is remind his disciples that he is the ultimately great one they all want to be. He says true greatness shows itself in service; and then reminds them of what they should have remembered all along—that I am among you as the one who serves.

They’re arguing about who’s the greatest—and the answer is, as always, Jesus. They have never seen Jesus do anything but serve those he leads, which makes this dispute utterly ridiculous.

And yet, not only does he teach them rather than scold them; he shows them an unbelievable amount of gentleness and grace.

V. 28:

28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

This was Judas’s first (and last) Communion.

His “woe” = alas over what awaited him.

In other words, he doesn’t condemn them for their ego. He doesn’t condemn them for their pride. He gives them a kingdom—a place at his table, in his kingdom, and gives them authority to judge his people alongside him.

And the way he says it is absolutely fascinating—he affirms the fact that they have stayed with him in his trials…despite the fact that in just a few hours, one of them would betray him, another would deny him, and the rest (all but one) would abandon him. He treats them as he knows they will one day become, not as they actually are today.

Just as he does for us all.

This is the most ill-placed time to have this discussion—as if there was ever a good time.

On to the third disappointment: the naïve overconfidence of Peter.

Jesus takes the time to course-correct: if you want to be great, don’t seek greatness.

Jesus’s gentleness and grace is astounding here (v. 28-30)

Naïve Overconfidence (v. 31-34)

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.”

So this starts off in a fascinating way. Peter doesn’t say anything; Jesus rather addresses him. And he says something that once again reminds us of what we saw a couple weeks ago, when we talked about Satan and Judas.

If you ask Christians who reigns over our world at this very moment, today, a lot of them would say, “Satan.” When pressed on this, they’ll say, “Just look at the state of this world. Clearly Satan’s the one pulling the strings.”

If that sounds surprising to you, it shouldn’t be; someone said this to me just a couple of weeks ago, and it’s far more common than we think.

But here we see that whatever power Satan does have is in fact very limited.

Jesus tells Peter, “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.” Now if any of us heard God say that to us, we would reflexively gulp—the idea that Satan himself has personally singled us out for attack.

But we should remember this. Just like in the case of Job, before Satan could do anything to Peter, he had to ask for permission. He had to get the green light; he demanded to have Peter. He didn’t just take him.

And although apparently God gave Satan the green light to “sift Peter like wheat,” his power was limited. Knowing Satan was going to come hard after Peter in a short time, Christ prayed for him, that his faith may not fail.

When the Son of God prays that your faith won’t fail, you can rest assured: your faith won’t fail. He tells Peter, When you turn again, strengthen your brothers. Not IF you turn again, but WHEN you turn again. God will make sure Satan doesn’t destroy Peter, but only goes as far as he is allowed to.

Now, clearly Peter doesn’t see the grace in this, or the fact that Jesus is protecting him; he hears this as an affront to his character, the idea that Satan could do anything to make him turn away.

V. 33:

33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”

This shouldn’t surprise us—Peter is the loudest disciple. He’s the one who always has an idea, the first one to get up and get moving on whatever task is at hand. He’s the brave one. He’s the Luke Skywalker of the bunch, ready to take on the bad guys single-handed even though he’s horribly unprepared to do so.

We know it, and he knows it.

There is no doubt in his mind that whatever these fools do, he’s not going to turn. He’ll be right by Jesus’s side, fighting with him.

It’s the curse of the idealist—idealists always imagine they are up to whatever you throw at them, they’ll be able to stand firm and take it.

But Jesus gives him a reality check—things are about to get a lot worse than you think, and you will not resist the temptation to fear.

V. 34:

34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Peter may not have believed him at this point, but he would soon.

The last disappointment we see is a lot simpler: it’s just plain stupidity.

We’ll come back to this later on (v. 54-62), but here we see not only a betrayer outed, but also a denier, and a coward.

The bravest, most impetuous among them would abandon him in the most shameful way.

Stupidity (v. 35-37)

35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

On two other occasions in this gospel (9.3, 10.4), Jesus sent out his disciples to preach the gospel, and to bring no provisions with them. He told them to do this because he sent them out with all of the power and resources he had given them, and their proclamation of the gospel would be so bold and empowered that their hearers would provide everything they needed.

But now, with his arrest, trial and death imminent, the nature of his ministry would fundamentally change.

Two other occasions (9.3, 10.4) when Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the gospel, and to bring no provisions with them.

We talked in our home group this week about why the religious authorities didn’t just hire someone to kill Jesus in the street. Jesus wasn’t followed around by the Secret Service; an assassin with a knife could easily do the job. So why go through all the rigamarole of arresting him, and getting the Romans involved, and setting up a public trial?

Why? Because their proclamation would be so bold and empowered that their hearers would provide everything they needed.

And at least part of the answer is that they wanted to make a public spectacle of Jesus. They wanted to show the people that the power and authority of the religious leaders and of Rome herself were against this man. They wanted to convince them that this Jesus was not the good man they thought he was, because good men are not condemned and crucified.

It was going to work briliantly. Jesus knew that in just a few hours, the crowds which had accepted him were about to turn against him.

But now, with his arrest, trial and death imminent, the nature of his ministry would change. The crowds which accepted Jesus and his disciples before were about to turn against them.

So now, going out in the name of Jesus was going to be a dangerous endeavor.

But now, with his arrest, trial and death imminent, the nature of his ministry would change. The crowds which accepted Jesus and his disciples before were about to turn against them.

He tells them to take their money, to take a bag with them, and to buy a sword. We shouldn’t take this to mean that they should arm up and literally get ready to fight back—we see him getting on to Peter for doing that in the garden—but rather, that they should be ready to go through a profoundly difficult period of time. This was going to get worse than any of them were expecting, because, as he said in v. 37, quoting Isaiah, he was about to be numbered with the transgressors.

Because, as he said in v. 37, quoting Isaiah, he was about to be numbered with the transgressors.

Surely the disciples picked up on his reference, but clearly they didn’t fully understand just how bad it was going to get. They get hung up on one particular detail.

“Sword? Hey, we’ve got two swords! Don’t worry, we’re ready.”

Many commentators have noted that when Jesus says, “It is enough,” he’s giving the ancient Israel equivalent of an eye-roll and a “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The weight of this meal could not be overstated. They’ve celebrated the Passover, this most important of Jewish feasts; he has given them the sacrament of Communion, foreshadowing (in pretty unsubtle terms) his own death for them.

He’s telling them that their lives are about to fundamentally change forever, that he’s literally about to be killed, that everyone who has seen him as a teacher sent from God is going to count him as a common criminal, worthy of death…

I’m telling you your lives are about to fundamentally change forever, that I’m

And this is how you respond.

With betrayal… With a fight about who’s the best among them… With spectacular overconfidence… And with a ridiculous attention to a stupid detail that wasn’t the point at all. It’s not so much that it’s sinful; it’s just that they are so focused on the wrong thing that they find themselves waylaid by completely insignificant details.

And the disciples still don’t understand this, as we see from the attention they pay to that one particular detail—we have TWO swords! We’re ready!

“We’ve got it! We’ve got two swords, not just one! We’re good!”

You can almost see Jesus rolling his eyes.

And Jesus says, “Okay, that’s enough.”

Hope

Now can we just acknowledge that this does not bode well for us?

Think about it. These guys were hand-picked by Jesus himself. They had been literally living with the incarnate Son of God for three years. They’d had thousands of conversations with him. They knew what he smelled like. They knew what he looked like when he cried. They knew what he sounded like when he laughed. They knew what he liked to eat. They’d seen him preparing meals, and talked with him while they walked from place to place, and seen how he reacted to insult and to praise. They’d seen him mourn the death of a friend, and rejoice at a wedding. They’d heard every teaching we have recorded in these gospels, and many more, in his own voice.

These guys knew Jesus in a way that you and I have a hard time imagining.

So reading this passage can be profoundly depressing, because if these men would act this way after all that time spent getting to know the Son of God, then what hope could there possibly be for us?

We’ll know the answer to that question if we pay attention to what we see here, and which we’ve seen in the previous texts.

In v. 37, Jesus cites —the chapter in which we see Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant, who was crushed by the will of the Lord, wounded for our transgressions. He’d said long ago that it would happen this way.

In v. 22, Jesus reminds the disciples that the Son of Man goes [to his death] as it has been determined...

V. 22: For the Son of Man goes [to his death] as it has been determined...

As strange as it may seem, all of this—from the betrayal of Judas and the actions of Satan to the most ridiculous, immature and prideful sins of the disciples here—is exactly what God had planned.

And God’s plan was working itself out so that Jesus would be numbered among the transgressors—why?—in order that he might bear the sins of his people and make intercession for them (as he said in ).

That is, on the cross Jesus Christ takes on himself all the sins of all his people—even such silly, immature and prideful sins as the disciples display here.

And that’s what he was getting at in v. 28-30: no matter what the disciples actually were at this point in time, Jesus treats them according to what they will be.

Our of this stupid and shameful group of men, Christ founded his church. Peter, who shows a shocking lack of self-awareness here, and who would deny even knowing Jesus in just a few hours, would in just a little over a month stand up on a roof and preach a sermon after which 3,000 people would come to faith in Christ. All but one of these men would leave, and bring the gospel to the nations, and plant churches, and be the motor through which God’s Spirit would make known his glory to the ends of the earth.

That is our hope. And it is just as sure, and just as steady as theirs.

Because in addition to all of that, for all the knowledge the disciples had of Christ at this point in the story, for the depth of their friendship with him, we can still know him better today than they did at that moment.

And our hope is

At that moment, they could see Jesus and hear him and be in the room with him. But afterward, after his death and resurrection and ascension, Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and to all of his children—including us.

V. 37: Jesus’s reference to —And he was numbered among the transgressors.

So we don’t just get to know Christ; the presence of Christ lives in us through his Holy Spirit.

Again, none of this is out of the hands of the sovereign God—as depressing as this seems, it’s all going according to plan.

Jesus would be numbered among the transgressors, in order to bear their sins and make intercession for them (cf. ).

Out of this really shameful group of men, Christ founded his church.

Even such ridiculous, pigheaded, immature and prideful sins as the disciples display here are atoned for. (cf. v. 28-30—no matter what they actually are, Christ declares of them what they will be).

And for all their knowledge of Christ, for the depth of their friendship with him, we can still know him better today than they did at this point. Because at this point, they could see Jesus and hear him and be in the room with him. But afterward, after his death and resurrection and ascension, Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and to all of his children. So we don’t just get to know Christ; the presence of Christ dwells in us through his Holy Spirit.

Out of this really shameful group of men, Christ founded his church.

And like this really shameful group of men, Christ has sent his Spirit to live in us.

We have a great hope.

If we’re reading this text today, it’s very possible that we are freaked out right now, because we totally identify with these guys.

Have we betrayed him?

Yes. We do it every day. We sin against him—we forget him, we run to idols, we mock him with our lives—every day.

And yet, he still invites us to his table—an unlike Judas, who would die around the same time as Jesus, we get to keep coming back to the table. There is no “woe to that man by whom he is betrayed” for us, because that’s done. He’s already gone to the cross.

And because of that, he invites us—no matter the betrayal—to repent of our sin and return to him.

Are we prideful? Are we driven by our ego?

For some of you the answer to that question is going to be easy: in that discussion over who’s the greatest, you know you’d have been right in the middle of it with the others. For some of you—those of you who are naturally self-effacing—you might have to dig a little deeper.

But this is one of those universal sins that we all struggle with. It may not show up as ego, but rather as selfish desire: we do what we want because WE want it.

And yet, by his Spirit, he gives us a new nature, with new desires, and he invites us to grow in that new nature: to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness ().

Are we naïvely overconfident (and thus susceptible to temptation)?

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Absolutely.

And if you’re not sure that’s true, ask yourself if you pray enough. Our prayers show just how confident in ourselves we really are, because if we really knew that we can do nothing on our own, we’d be praying all the time. We’d find ourselves constantly placing ourselves in God’s hand and asking him, with great sincerity, Lead me not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

But for a good many of us, our prayer life is probably limited to a quick five minutes while we’re brushing our teeth or while we’re in the métro, and then it’s mostly giving the Lord a laundry list of stuff we’d like him to do today.

We are wildly overconfident in our own abilities to do what we need to do on our own.

And so, in his grace, God allows us to fail. He gives us trials. He takes from us the abilities we use as crutches, and shows us that we really, truly cannot do this without him. And by his Spirit, rather than crushing us under the weight of our own inability, he encourages us to know that while we can do nothing on our own, he can give us the strength to stay faithful in any situation.

Are we waylaid by meaningless details, all the while missing the big picture?

So ours is a great hope.

What hope we have then, that of this really shameful group of men God’s Spirit can create the pillars of the church.

Have we betrayed him?

Of course we are.

Don’t raise your hands, but how many of you have gotten into a consequential and contentious debate over a secondary point of doctrine?

Are we prideful?

Are we naïvely overconfident (and thus susceptible to temptation)?

Or—something perhaps a bit more universal—how many of you have spent hours toiling over the question, What is the will of God for my life? Where does he want me to live? What job does he want me to do? Who does he want me to marry?

It’s not that the Bible says nothing about these things; it’s just that these things aren’t the main thing.

But God, in his grace, tells us the main thing.

Are we waylaid by meaningless details, all the while missing the big picture?

Through the life, death and resurrection of his Son, God has reconciled us to himself and adopted us as his children. And now that he has done that, he has clearly told us his will.

-7:

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother… 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

:

Anon, 2016. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

In his grace, God has told us what is essential, to keep us from being detoured by insignificant details: that in Christ, we are his people, so he calls us to live as his people, in conformity to our brother Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, the disciples’ story is our story; the disciples’ folly is our folly; and the disciples’ hope is our hope.

Anon, 2016. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

“What is God’s will for my life?”

So don’t be discouraged. Learn from the disciples’ mistakes, and stay faithful. Grow in the new nature Christ has given you. Pray without ceasing, and remember he provides for your every need. Don’t be distracted by insignificant details, but remember what is essential.

There is still hope for us.

21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

We can do it—or rather, he will do it in us. If he did it for these jokers, he can, and will, do it for us.

24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

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.” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus

35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

Anon, 2016. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.