From Resolution to Restoration

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 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.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Each New Year, Resolutions are Made

Each New Year, resolutions are made. Some resolve to lose weight and eat healthier. Others resolve to read more books and watch less television. Still others resolve to be a nicer person. The list of resolutions is probably as long as there are different people. Of course, resolutions are not only made at New Years, they are made year-round.

Our Scripture lesson is an example of such resolutions. It was the Spring of the year, the Passover Feast, and Peter and his fellow disciples resolved to never deny Jesus, even if it cost them their life.

We too make resolutions, not just on New Year’s Day, but throughout the year and all of these resolutions have one thing in common: We break them!

Each New Year, Resolutions are Broken

In the case of Peter and His fellow disciples they broke their resolution that very night! Let me continue reading from Mark 14 at the place I left off.

Mark 14:32–42 ESV

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Let me pause here and make a few observations. Peter and the other disciples were not the only ones who made a resolution that night—Jesus made a resolution as well. On final time, Jesus resolved to obey His Heavenly Father and offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin upon the cross. Luke describes Jesus’ resolve in this way:

Luke 9:51 ESV

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

There was much confusion that evening among the disciples as to what was going to happen, but Jesus did not share in their confusion, He knew exactly what was going to happen: He would be betrayed one of His very own, He would be arrested, condemned and then crucified. This I believe is why He prayed.

Returning to His disciples, Jesus found them asleep and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I believe it is here that Jesus identifies for us the reason we so often fail in our resolutions. Our spirits sincerely desire to keep the resolutions we make, but there is a weakness to our flesh.

When the Scripture writers refer to the “flesh,” they usually use it in one of two ways:

First, they can be referring to our physical, flesh and blood, nature. Of all the creatures God has made we are unique in the universe, we are the union of the physical and the spiritual, and as long as our spirits remain in our bodies, we share in all the limitations and weaknesses of the body. During His first Advent, Jesus shared in all these limitations and weaknesses. This teaches us that this inherit weakness is not sinful, (because Jesus was without sin), it is just weak. This is one of the reason Jesus so frequently prayed. He knew better than we will ever know, how weak our physical flesh is.

There is however, as second way the Scripture writers use the word “flesh.” Frequently, they are not referring to our “flesh and blood,” but rather to our fallen human nature. I believe that when Jesus said, to Peter, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” He was also referring to this fallen nature. Peter and the other disciples needed to pray even more than Jesus did, because they did not just have weak “flesh and blood,” they had a fallen sinful nature, that made them even more prone to sin and temptation.

This is why our resolutions, sooner or later always fail. No amount of will power or self-discipline can overcome the weakness of our flesh; both its inherent weakness and its sinful weakness.

But there is hope, although we fail in our prayers for strength, Jesus prays for us and He never sleeps. Although Mark chose to not include these words of Jesus in his gospel, Luke records them in his:

Luke 22:31–32 ESV

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

This teaches us that what we need this New Year is not will power, but God’s power!

This brings us to the final point:

What You Need this New Year is a Restoration!

After the Resurrection and Pentecost, Peter was a new man. No longer was he the man who would boldly step out of the boat, only to sink helplessly a few moments later. Now he was the man who boldly preached to thousands on Pentecost, bravely stood his ground before the Jewish Sanhedrin and in the end was crucified upside down by the Romans.

What happened? Jesus prayed for him and he received power. Before His Ascension, Jesus said this to his disciples:

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Peter was a powerful man, but he learned the hard way that his power was no match to sin and the Devil, but in his failure, he learned where true strength comes from. Writing to some unnamed congregation, Peter states:

2 Peter 1:3 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

Then a few verses later he writes:

2 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Do you see what Peter is doing here?

Yes, there is a place for effort and will power, but only after we have been filled with God’s power!

So, don’t start the New Year off like the rest of humanity by making resolutions founded on the strength of your will, come to Christ in faith that He might pray for you, so that you will be restored.