 Anyway, here we are in the Gospel of Mark. We're going to be looking at verses 27 through 31 today, and so as is my normal way, I'll be reading to you from that passage, giving you a little bit of a background development for you, and then move into the verses before us. So let's begin reading here in Mark chapter 14 at verse 27. I'll read to verse 31, and we'll get into our study. Mark chapter 14 verse 27. 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 will be scattered. But after I've been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. Jesus said to him assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he spoke more vehemently. If I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said likewise. Jesus has been celebrating and has just celebrated the last Passover with his men. When you read the gospel of John, John gives us more information concerning this night, and he opens with a revelation of the heart of Jesus Christ. In John 13, in verse 1, it says it like this, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. So in John 13, verse 3, he wrote that he knew his Father had given all things into his hands. So when it says all things, that speaks of all authority. In other words, God had put all things under Jesus' power. So Jesus was fully aware of his supreme power and he was fully aware of his divine origin. He was aware that he had come from God and he was aware that he was going to God. So what did he do with this kind of knowledge? What did he do with this kind of authority? Well the Bible tells us that he arose from supper, he put aside his garments, he girded himself with a towel, and then he washed and dried the feet of his men. Now when Jesus was doing that, we all know the story, Peter resisted. He even spoke to the Lord, he spoke to Jesus, he said, are you washing my feet? You shall never wash my feet. So Jesus responded, what I'm doing you don't understand now, but you will. You see if I do not wash you, you have no part of me. And I've always enjoyed Peter's immediate response, it's so in character with the Apostle in John 13.9, it says that Simon Peter said to him, Lord not my feet only, but also my hands and my head, give me a bath. I mean if it requires that to be with you, give me a total bath. It's interesting what he's saying. He's saying Jesus if you are purifying me for fellowship with you, then I want to be sanctified, set apart, purified. I want to be sanctified completely. Wash my feet that my walk may be purified by you. Wash my head that my way of thinking may be washed by your word. Wash my hands that my works done for you will be acceptable to you. I want to be totally set apart. Now that's something that the Apostle Paul prayed that believers would also desire. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 23 Paul said, May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it's revealing how Christ revealed total authority and how it is to be wielded. His authority was wielded by service, even on his last night with his men. You see one of the Apostles should have washed his feet, not the reverse. So the lesson is simple. If you wash their feet, they are also to wash others' feet. In John 13 verses 15 through 17 Jesus said it like this, He said, For I've given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who has sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, if you perceive these things, if you understand these things, blessed are you if you do them. There are a lot of people, a lot of Christians who say, Well I know that. I can still remember sharing this happened more than once, but I can remember sharing in particular one occasion where somebody was talking to me after a service and had a question and had a bit of a problem and so I gave a scripture for them to contemplate, perhaps put into practice and I remember sharing that with them and they looked at me and they said I already know that verse. And so when they said that I remembered what Jesus said, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. It's not simply knowing, it's the doing and that's what you have to do if you want to be set free. So Jesus is saying that. You know these things but you're blessed, you're happy, you're joy filled if you do them. You see the sad fact was that Judas whose feet Jesus also washed had rejected what Jesus said. Now as we've already seen after Jesus gave Judas bread, Judas had gotten up from the table and left in order to betray him. So after he left, Jesus instituted communion and he taught them and he prayed for them and he continued preparing them for their future ministry. Now in verse 26 here in chapter 14 it says when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives. That's where we left off last time and as I mentioned this hymn was actually hymns of praise out of Psalm 113 to 118. They're going now to, they're going to go to the Mount of Olives and when they would finish the singing of those particular Psalms, the Psalms of Ascent they would close by singing Psalm 145 verse 10 where it says all your work shall praise you O Lord and your saints shall bless you. So that's how they're closing and will close their evening. Judas has left. He's going to complete his betrayal of Christ and as I mentioned no longer are they 12 now they are the 11. It's more than likely late in the evening it's around 11 p.m. He's about to leave the upper room perhaps to prevent trouble. They're about to leave but it seems that before they do he continues teaching. They're going to leave after he finishes his teaching. Now I've encouraged you and I do so again. If you want to get a more full account of what was taking place you'll want to read John's account from chapter 13 to verse 17 because in verse 1 of chapter 18 after all of this has taken place John writes when Jesus had spoken these words he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. The brook Kidron, the word Kidron means dark or murky, the blood, the sacrifice would run off into this particular brook. It was called dark and murky. Now at verse 27 Jesus said to them now notice 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 will be scattered all of you all of you will be made to stumble. The word stumble speaks of being tripped up. It speaks of being entrapped or enticed to sin. All of you will suffer a moral breakdown. Now this wasn't said in a way to criticize them. This was said in a way to prepare them. Not a single one of you will remain strong in the face of temptation. See each one of these men will be lured into the sin of denying him. Now how could they come to the point of scattering from him? Well, their faith was resting on a false estimate of strength and commitment. They thought that they were strong enough to remain faithful. We'll see that in detail in just a moment. But they felt they had the strength within them. They had the love within them. They had the commitment within them. Now there was a Christian artist many years ago his name was Keith Green. Some of you perhaps are familiar with him or have heard of him. He wrote a song entitled Grace by Which I Stand. And one of the lyrics is Lord I remember that special way I vowed to serve you when it was brand new. But like Peter I can't even watch and pray one hour with you and I bet I could deny you too. See these people had a false estimate of their strength, their commitment and their love. They wanted to remain strong. It's not that they want to deny him as a matter of fact you'll see in a moment how they respond to this. They wanted to remain strong. But the problem is they're rejecting what Jesus is saying and in doing so they're trusting in themselves. Romans 12 verse 3 Paul said it like this, he said, for by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. Each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think and that's what they're doing. There's no way we're going to reject you. There's no way we're going to deny you. There's no way we're going to forsake you. They want to remain strong. It's been said that the greatest deception is self-deception. We need to think soberly about ourselves. We need to be aware of our weaknesses in Romans 7.21 it says I have discovered this principle in life that when I want to do what is right I inevitably do what is wrong. There's a principle within me, the one who wants to do what is right but I have an inevitable tendency to do the wrong thing. So the men were trusting in their own love and their own strength for Jesus and they're falling prey to their own self-confidence and the giving way to pride. In 1 Corinthians 10 verse 12 Paul said it like this, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Proverbs 16 verse 18, pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall. They were not aware of the intense battle that they would soon go through. Now Jesus has been making it clear. He has spoken in this way more than once. He has made it clear that they're going to deny him. On that night he said that not one of them would remain steadfast in John chapter 16 verse 32. John records that Jesus said this indeed the hour is coming yes it has now come that you will be scattered each to his own and will leave me alone and yet I'm not alone because the Father is with me. Each one of you is going to scatter. You're going to leave me but the Father is with me. Now that night Jesus was teaching his disciples about discipleship. He had encouraged them to faithfulness and to dependence in John 15 4 and 5 he said abide in me I will abide in you no branch can bear fruit by itself it must abide in the vine neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me I am the vine you are the branches if a man abides in me and I in him he will bear much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing or they're going to learn really learn this lesson very soon. Now again in verse 27 it is written I will strike the shepherd the sheep will be scattered once again Jesus points to the scripture that foretells the future he's quoting from a prophet in the Old Testament named Zechariah Zechariah ministered around 520 to 470 BC and in Zechariah 13 verse 7 God inspired him to write awake oh sword against my shepherd and against the man who is my fellow my associate sayeth the Lord of hosts smite the shepherd the sheep shall be scattered so Jesus is revealing that Zechariah points out God will strike the shepherd. In other words God is the one who initiated salvation salvation and the plan of salvation was not made up by man salvation and its plan was given to us by God and that echoes the writings of Isaiah as well as Paul in Isaiah 53 verse 10 it says it was the Lord's will to crush him cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering he will see his offspring and prolong his days and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand he said it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer the plan of salvation is not made up by man or initiated by man it was the Lord's will to provide the lamb who would take away the sin of the world when Paul was emphasizing this in Romans 8 32 he said he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things the sheep scattered when they saw Jesus taken by his enemies they will not prove to be as faith filled as they thought and that's going to occur in a short time he goes on though and he says in verse 28 but after I have been raised I will go before you to Galilee after I have been raised now when they heard him say this that they were going to scatter and all they must have been defeated he was telling them that they would reject him that they were going to abandon him now he had already told them one of them would betray him now he is saying they all will abandon him but he goes on to say in verse 28 but after I have been raised I will go before you to Galilee now why would he say that well much of Jesus' ministry was done in Galilee but he points out that he will be raised the ministry of Jesus Christ is built on his resurrection never forget that the ministry of Christianity ministry of Jesus Christ all of his works and words they are established on and they rise or fall on his resurrection if he remained dead and in the grave then we have all men are most miserable Paul would say so everything about us as believers is that we do not worship a dead teacher profit or good man we worship a resurrected Savior and Jesus is pointing that out you see from the very beginning of his ministry when he was in Canaan of Galilee just in that in that region he had made some statements it's found in John chapter 2 where it says in verse 19 that Jesus said destroyed this temple and in three days I will raise it up in John 2 21 it says he was speaking of the temple of his body so what he's doing is he reminds him of what he's been saying all along he's saying I will be resurrected now as we've gone through Mark we've noted that he had often told that to his men that he was going to die and resurrect we saw that in chapter 8 we saw that in chapter 9 and in chapter 10 in Mark 10 33 and 34 it says it like this Jesus said behold we're going up to Jerusalem the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes they will condemn him to death deliver him to the Gentiles they will mock him scourge him spit on him kill him and the third day he will rise again they didn't understand yet the purpose and the power of his resurrection the purpose and power would provide for his followers forgiveness of sin and a brand new life in Romans 6 verse 4 we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father we too may live a new life but he goes on to say after I've been raised I'll go before you to Galilee many of his teachings and works have been performed in that region so I'm going to go before you now the way he says it I will go before you reminds us that a shepherd goes before the sheep as he is leading them in John chapter 10 verse 4 it says when he brings out his own sheep he goes before them the sheep follow him for they know his voice now as this is taking place the apostle Peter can't resist Peter verse 29 said to him even if all are made to stumble yet I will not be I want to spend some time looking at Peter I like him because he's a bonehead I really do I have a fondness for him because he had such a it's obvious when you read your scriptures and you see his the things he says he was very impetuous he would say things quickly and once again he's doing so he's saying even if all are made to stumble yet I will not be listen Jesus I can't speak for them but I want to assure you of something I will never be made to stumble now at the supper again recorded by John Jesus had made a very painful statement in John 1333 he had said little children I shall be with you a little while longer you will seek me and as I said to the Jews where I'm going you cannot come so now I say to you when he had said that that had injured the heart of the apostle Peter and he responded in John 1337 and 38 Peter said to him Lord why can't I not follow you now I will lay down my life for your sake Jesus answered him will you lay down your life for my sake most assuredly I say to you the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times now by looking at Luke's account we get a more full understanding of what's taking place because Luke in chapter 22 verses 31 through 34 wrote the Lord said Simon Simon Satan has asked to sift you as wheat but I've prayed for you Simon that your faith may not fail and when you've returned to me strengthen your brothers but he replied Lord I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death then he said I tell you Peter the rooster will not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know me Peter truly loved Jesus he believed that he could be totally loyal to him to the end he couldn't bring himself to the point of believing that he could ever deny the Lord Jesus Christ in the deepest part of his heart he honestly believed that he loved him completely but when you see him protesting you see three weaknesses we can learn from one is he revealed that he really didn't take Jesus at his word you see Jesus said just said all of you will be made to stumble but in essence the apostle Peter is saying to Jesus sorry you've got it wrong this kind of response seems to be connected to his impetuous nature remember when when Jesus had first prophesied his own death it was Peter who tried to correct him in Matthew 16 verse 22 Peter took him aside began to rebuke him saying far be it from you Lord this shall not happen to you in essence Peter is rejecting Jesus his word and is responding with unbelief and second thing is he treated his fellow disciples with disrespect even if all are made to stumble I won't in effect he's saying I'm better than all of these guys you've got Matthew over here you've got you've got James over here you got John over here you got these guys here to be honest with you you know I've been kind of checking them out and um you know I don't want to you know get in your business but you chose some guys that are kind of weak and you need to you need to well I'm just giving you my advice here I'm just letting you know and that's kind of how he was and so what he's doing in making those comments is he is actually disrespecting the other men and not understanding his own nature I'm better than they are is basically what he's saying but Paul would ask in 1st Corinthians 4 verse 7 who makes you differ from another in Proverbs 28 26 it says those who trust in themselves are fools but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe so he's disrespecting and then finally he's trusting in his own strength I will never fall away I'm too committed to even consider such an act again when pride comes then comes shame with the humble as wisdom Proverbs 11 2 tells us so Jesus speaks to him notice verse 30 Jesus said to him assuredly I say to you that today even this night before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times you most certainly will deny me now Matthew gives us more insight I want to combine that Matthew 26 34 Jesus said to him assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows you'll deny me three times before the rooster crows Matthew says and Mark emphasizes crying twice before the rooster crows twice you'll deny me three times the rooster crying represents one of the four divisions of night evening was from six to nine midnight is from nine to twelve midnight then there was the term called a rooster crow it was from midnight to three that's when roosters began their crowing then you had morning morning was observed from 3 a.m to 6 and so as he's telling in this verse 31 he spoke more vehemently even if I have to die if I have to die with you I will not deny you and they all said likewise even if I have to die I will not deny you Simon you will you will deny me Simon couldn't tolerate the thought when it says that he spoke vehemently that means that he kept speaking he kept saying with deep emotion I will die with you I will die with you I will die with you though I'll deny you I will die with you and he kept saying it with passion and emotion I wonder sometimes as I look at this I I can't help but think about how easy it is for for for us even to this day to say oh Lord I I love you so much I would never betray I I love you I will serve you I'll follow you you know the apostle Peter had a great relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ I mean Jesus called him while he was a fisherman and so Peter and the other men but Peter had the opportunity to walk with the Lord Jesus Christ to see the works of the Lord Jesus Christ he saw the miracles where Jesus would cause the the lame to walk he he was there when Jesus for for gave a man who was paralyzed of his sins he saw that take place he he saw demon possessed men set free he he saw people who were healed of various diseases that the deaf could hear the the mute could speak he was in a boat he he he saw Jesus as he's walking on water and he cries out to him if it's you command me to come in and he climbs out of the boat and Peter himself walked on water he was with Jesus when Jesus is walking and and and he's informed of a of a young woman who is a little girl who's very sick a girl we've we looked at the story of jeres' daughter and and he goes in he's he takes Peter in there with him with and and he he raises a child from the dead to lead the kumai little girl I see until you arise he saw that when the widow of name was there accompanying the funeral procession of her son her only son it was Jesus who stopped that funeral procession it was Jesus who who raised her son from the dead Peter saw that it wasn't that that long before it was very shortly before when when when Jesus was approached by a servant who said the man wasn't the man whom you love very much Lazarus is is dying he's close to death please I've been sent to bring you and the scripture tells us that in John in John 11 that Peter rather Jesus waited and then finally came and so by the time he comes the sisters are approaching him there and they're saying if you'd only come my my brother wouldn't have died if you'd only come and and Jesus said he'll rise again oh yes I know he'll rise in the resurrection and that's when Jesus said I am the resurrection in the life and he walks up to that grave and and they say he's been dead for days he he stinks by now and and Peter's aware of these watching and Jesus says remove that stone Lazarus I say into you come forth it wasn't dramatic at all it was just a voice calling come out and he comes dressed in those in the grave clothes and he says release him let him go and they saw that I've seen you do so many miracles recently you did that I've seen you debate the Pharisees I've not a single one has ever been able to to stump you with a question you you win every one of their argument I there's no way how could I how could I deny you I I've walked with you for three years we've walked in various places together I've heard your words I've seen your works your love has been so incredible it wasn't that long ago we were at at Caesarea Philippi and and and you had asked that question you had said who do men say that I the son of man am and and I answered John the Baptist Elijah Jeremiah one of the prophets because we all had heard that Herod had been Satan those things and people were beginning to wonder whether John had been resurrected from the dead I'm just telling you what what the people are saying right now and that's what they're saying they're saying that these things you may be a prophet you may be Jeremiah John the Baptist Elijah who do you say that I am and that's when Peter said you are the Christ the son of the living god blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah flesh and blood is not revealed this unto you but my father in heaven you've received revelation Peter God gave it to you it wasn't human insight it was God's spirit can you imagine he camped out with Jesus he ate next to Jesus he walked for miles and miles with Jesus had conversations with Jesus fell in love with this man this man was God in the flesh you are the son of the living god and you're telling me that I'll deny you how can those things be I was a fisherman I was doing well my brother and I were in business with James and John we we were doing well and then one day one day you called me and I I followed you I left everything behind my business everything my my wife I've been gone for three years off and on I may see her but I'm following you and now you're telling me that I'm good I can't no I will never do I will die with you I would never I would die with you I'd go to prison with you sometimes we look at the apostle we say how could you have done that then sometimes you may think well wait a minute there have been times when I've said to God I love you so much I don't know when I got married I said I will love this woman for the rest of my life and then one day I decided I didn't when we had children and we dedicated our babies I said that I would raise these children in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord I told you that and yet soccer became more important than church it's not that hard it's really not that hard it's just not no condemnation just a fact that we make these promises to God oh I will do this see when I got married I didn't make an oath to the to the witnesses that wasn't an oath to them when I got married I didn't make an oath to the pastor who performed our our ceremony and I didn't make an oath to the people who were there for the wedding ceremony I made an oath to God to God sometimes we forget where our olds really are who were really speaking to Peter could not imagine himself ever denied the Lord I've seen too much I've gone through too much I've done too much the Holy Spirit had been given to to Peter in a way during the pre-Pentecost time where he had actually done miracles he had gone out with the men and and and not only had he communicated who Christ was but they performed miracles these things that happened and how are you how is it that you're saying you know sometimes we we judge ourselves stronger than we really are and we limit the temptation that we're enduring Peter was very very sure he would not deny him if I have to die with you I will not deny and later on we're going to see it later on when Judas leads those officers and and and and all to come and take Jesus here in the garden Peter pulled out a sword he was ready to take off somebody's head he was willing to die as a hero I'll lay my life down for you we see that that's not the act of a coward he was sincere but he didn't listen to Jesus Jesus said Simon Simon satan has asked for you he's obtained you the way that that satan asked permission to destroy Job he did the same thing with you satan has desired you he's asked for you and he's obtained permission to sift you even as wheat is sifted in Israel when they would sift the wheat they would take the grain they go to a high hill where the winds were and they throw up the grain and the chaff would blow away and the kernels would would fall back into that basket and he's asked to sift you even as as wheat is sifted he's gonna he's gonna do a damaging work in your life Peter he has asked and God my father has given him permission he has asked and obtained permission to sift you but I have prayed for you that your strength fail not and when you are converted strengthen your brethren you see Peter all your boastful pride in how much you love me you love me more than these you love me more than others is going to be proven to be weak well-intentioned but I already know what you're going to do you're going to fail see when the Lord called us when Lord called you he he's he's not surprised at what we've done after getting saved he already knew that he knew what would happen when he called this guy he knew what I would be and he still called me he knew what you would be and he still called you why because he loves you and he knows what he can do but he's also going to break you he's also going to form you he will break you and form you and then that pride is going to be sifted right out of your life and he's going to give to you a strength that you didn't know you could have because it comes from him and Peter is going to learn that Peter is going to learn that strength comes after his weakness he's going to learn that though he's saying I'll die with you that's that's what he wants to do he won't if dying is necessary to be with you I'll pay the price once again by relying on his own strength he failed to see himself but he wasn't alone in making the boast they all repeated this and they all fell you see it was by their failure that they learned how little they knew themselves it was through their failure that they learned their weakness and it was by their failure that they came to humility Psalm 119 verse 71 says it well it is good for me that I've been afflicted that I've been humbled that I might learn your statutes it is good for me that I've been afflicted that I have gone through a humbling process that way I have learned not just what it says but what it means been walking with the Lord for a while now and when I was first saved at the age of 20 I started teaching the word at the age of 23 I could give Bible studies I relied an awful lot on on good solid commentators didn't have a whole lot of life experience when I first began to teach but I can tell you now after 49 years of dividing the word that I know it better now than I did 49 years ago I can tell you that much of what I said with certainty was finally taught to me through experience that's why I tell you this that's why as a pastor I can say this the number one lesson I've said it before that I've learned when people have said after all these years of being a Christian pastor what is the number one lesson the number one lesson is simple it all works out in the end it all works out in the end just hold on allow the bruising and the breaking because it forms you into the person you want to be it teaches you how to be a humble individual it teaches you what it means to depend on God as long as you allow the bruising to make you into what God wants you to be he can use you and in the in the case of not only the Apostle Peter but also of these men they all said we'll die too but in fact they all for so come in flat they all did and that was not a surprise smite the shepherd the sheep will be scattered but Jesus gathered them back because that's what the shepherd does he calls the sheep by name and he draws them back I wonder if he may be drawing anybody back today I wonder if some of you have been bruised and broken maybe found yourself in a place that you never thought you could be you never thought you could be there and one day you woke up and found yourself there how did I get there you know you can travel miles away from Jesus but it only takes one step to come back and it takes one step after he breaks you and after he bruises you he heals you and then he uses you never forget that and maybe somebody right now needs to hear that maybe right now