How would you react?
Mark 14:10-11, 27-31, 43-47, 66-72
10. Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.
11. They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.
(vv. 10-11)
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.
(vv. 27-31)
43. Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
44. Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.”
45. After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
46. They laid hands on Him and seized Him.
47. But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.
(vv. 43-47)
66. As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came,
67. and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.”
68. But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch.
69. The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!”
70. But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.”
71. But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
72. Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.
(vv. 66-72 NASB95)
When things get difficult, how do you react? Keeping a cool head is relatively easy whenever things are going smoothly. But what happens when the unexpected occurs? When things do not go as you had planned, how do you respond? When the pressure is on, and you feel pressed in on every side, do you sometimes do or say things you later regret?
All of us have experienced a failure to respond in a consistently Christian manner. All of us have, no doubt, said and done things we wish we could have a re-do. Pressure has a way of getting to us. It has always been our nemesis.
In Mark 14, we see illustrated the various responses to Christ by those around Him when the pressure was one. The time of His death was near; and it is at this point that the opposition against Him was in full bloom. It is during these times that loyalty is tested and depth of character and commitment is revealed.
It is interesting to study the actions of all those involved in Christ’s death. There is Mark, the writer of this gospel, who was perhaps the young man who followed Jesus at a distance, and when recognized and seized by his cloak, left his cloak and fled naked. There is Judas, who betrayed Christ; Peter, who denied Him; Caisphas, the plotting religious leader. We see Pilate, the man caught between loyalties; Barabbas, a criminal set free as Jesus took his place. Simon, the Cyrenian, who was compelled to carry Jesus’ Cross; the soldiers, who were only doing their duty; and the centurion, who, in the midst of doing his duty, saw the Son of God. At the foot of Jesus’ Cross, all of the Marys were there; and, of course, John, who loved Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea comes into view, who boldly went into Pilate to claim the body, and gave his tomb for Jesus’ burial. And last but not least, Jesus is at center stage, who gave His life for us on that horrible Cross.
All of these reacted under pressure. They reacted in different ways. How we react under pressure is very important. What would you have done had you been there as the opposition grew toward Jesus? How would you have reacted when the soldiers came by night to take Jesus? Would you have boldly stood forward to confess Christ? Or would you have denied Him? And if you did deny Him, what then? Is there forgiveness for those who fail?
While we may be tempted to consider all of the reactions to Jesus’ persecution, today we will look at two: Judas and Peter. And I would like to focus around on two questions.
The first is, "What would you have done had you been there in the middle of the opposition to Jesus?" And the second is, "What are you doing today in the midst of the attitudes of opposition in the community, at the workplace, and in the society at large?"
What Would You Have Done Then?
If you had been there at the time of mounting opposition to Jesus, what would you have done? How would you have responded when the pressure was on? Let’s look together at the case of Judas.
Judas is an interesting study in human nature. What we see in Judas, we also see in ourselves at times. We see in him attitudes of selfishness, greed, lust for power, confusion, depression, and betrayal. None of us are like this all of the time, but at times we can see in the mirror of Judas our own reflection.
Look at his situation. Judas was one of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus Himself had chosen Judas. He was the only disciple who was not a Galilean. Perhaps he felt slightly out of place because of it. He was a member of a nationalistic Jewish sect dedicated to the overthrow of Rome. And he had been made a leader, the treasurer of the group. In any case, he followed Jesus, and I’m sure that he loved Jesus in his own way.
There is no doubt in my mind that Judas wanted Jesus to be the Messiah. But, of course, his view of what the Messiah would accomplish was far different than Jesus’ view. Judas saw the Messiah as a national hero, leading in the overthrow of Rome. And the establishment of a physical and political Kingdom. But Jesus had been talking about dying on a cross, about giving His life to redeem mankind, as a ransom for many. Jesus had been talking about a heavenly Kingdom instead of an earthly one. I’m sure all of this was very confusing to Judas. How could the Messiah die and deliver Israel? This was not something that Judas would want to hear.
Perhaps it was because Judas believed Jesus was the Messiah that he did what he did. He tried to force Jesus’ hand. Judas took matters into his own hands by betraying Jesus to His accusers. We don’t really know exactly why, we can only speculate at this point. The preponderance of evidence, however, seems to indicate that Judas felt that if he could force a confrontation between Jesus and Rome, perhaps all-out revolution would occur, with Jesus leading the Jewish opposition; perhaps even calling legions of angels to overthrow the yoke of Rome. It could have been that Judas thought nothing could really hurt Jesus. Whatever the situation was, Judas had a victory theology which did not allow for the Cross.
In any case, Judas betrayed Jesus. Perhaps as we have said, Judas was trying to force Jesus’ hand. Perhaps Judas was impatient with Jesus. Have you ever felt that way? Is the Lord ever too slow for you? The worst prescription to hear is that something will take time. Judas may have felt that Jesus was not his kind of Messiah, and so felt a need to force Jesus into his mold. Jesus was not fulfilling his expectations, and so something had to be done. And so, for thirty pieces of silver, Judas betrayed his Lord.
He betrayed Him with a kiss, and the soldiers took Jesus away. When Judas saw the result of his decision play out before him, when he saw the outcome of his choice, he regretted his action against Jesus, he tried to back out of his deal and give the money back. Remorse and depression set in. He realized what he had done was to condemn his Messiah to death. He couldn’t handle it. He had taken matters into his own hands. That was his sin. Now, he must take himself into his own hands. This he did by attempting to hang himself. But the rope broke, and he was dashed to pieces on the rocks beneath.
There are times when we sin the same. There are times when we take matters into our own hands. We attempt to do the work of God in our own ingenuity and strength. We attempt to force God’s hand. We become inpatient with God. Sometimes, He is not the God of our expectations, and we try to make Him after our own image. The drive to do things our way is very strong. And we are all capable of denying our Lord. When Jesus said one would betray Him, all of the disciples asked, "Is it I?"
Keeping Judas in mind, let’s turn our attention to the case of Peter. Peter is also interesting. While it is possible to see ourselves in Judas, it is almost impossible not to see ourselves in Peter. Peter was impulsive, quick-spoken, full of emotion; but at the same time, also weak. He thought that he was loyal, even more loyal than the others. When Jesus indicated that they would all forsake Him, Peter replied, "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not." When Peter said that, I am convinced that he meant it. But he misjudged himself. We do, too. What Peter had in mind was that he was willing to fight to the death for Jesus. And I believe he was. Whenever they came out to take Jesus in the garden, it was Peter who drew his sword and cut off the High Priest’s servant’s ear. There is no doubt in my mind that Peter would have gladly fought beside his Lord, even to the death. He was that committed.
I have said before that it is easier to die for Jesus than it is to live for Him. Dying for Jesus was not Peter’s problem; living for Jesus was. Even though Peter claimed that he would never fall away, Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed twice, Peter would deny Him three times. And that is exactly what happened. In many ways, Peter was strong. But he was also weak. And in the face of fear, he denied Jesus before the world. After Jesus had been taken, all of the disciples fled in fear. Peter made his way to the courtyard outside of where Jesus was being tried. He was recognized by a servant girl, but he denied he knew Jesus. He moved away. Again, the servant girl, speaking to others, claimed that Peter was one of the disciples. He denied it. A third time, he was approached about his allegiance to Jesus. With curses, he swore he did not know the man. He heard the rooster crow a second time, and he realized what he did.
When Peter realized what he did, he was also remorseful. Like Judas, he was pierced through the heart with his own failure. But Peter handled it differently. He wept, and he was truly repentant. Eventually, Peter would be restored.
Judas took things into his own hands. And in some ways, so did Peter. But when they both failed, they handled that failure differently. Judas condemned himself. Peter threw himself on the Lord’s mercy. What would you have done had you been there?
What Are You Doing Now?
What you would have done then is probably what you are doing today. You see, Jesus is still opposed. And those who follow Jesus are opposed as well. Just as the pressure began to mount in Jesus’ day, so it mounts today, against those who would follow Jesus instead of the philosophy of this age.
When I look at Peter’s denial of the Lord, I see myself all too clearly. Today, we still have the opportunity to confess Jesus before men, or to deny that we know Him. I must admit to you that I feel my heart pierce with the daggers of my denials of the Lord in my relationships with others, by my speech, and by my actions. Do I confess Jesus as my Lord or do I deny that I know Him? The choice is still the same: either deny self or deny Jesus. The reality is that we all do deny Him.
The real question is: What do we do then? How do we respond? Do we respond like Judas, by becoming depressed to the point of giving up on life? That is indeed one option, but it is the wrong one. It is simply what the devil would like us to do. The devil would like to paint us as unredeemable failures. He whispers in our ears, "You have failed the Lord. You are good for nothing. Why try? Give up. Curse God and die."
Or do we respond like Peter, with sincere remorse and repentance? When we fail to confess Christ, we must respond by humble repentance. We all deny Christ. But we can all find forgiveness and restoration in Him. Repentance always leads to restoration.
Jesus knew Peter had failed. He also knew how Peter felt. It is beautiful to notice, in the Gospels, how Jesus deals with Peter’s failure. Peter dealt with it by experiencing a godly sorrow. He felt his failure and sought to quietly resign his position in the group. He said in one place, "I am going fishing." Fishing was his occupation. What he was saying was, "I have failed the Lord. I guess I’ll just do back to what I was doing before Jesus called me. He called me to follow Him. I have failed Him. I guess I’ll go back to doing what I was doing before. But Jesus never leaves us to wallow in our own sorrow. He comes to us.
When Jesus had risen from the dead, the angel instructed the women to go and tell Jesus’ disciples "and Peter." Peter was singled out by name. The angel was saying, "Make sure you tell Peter." Later, at the end of John’s Gospel, we find the story of Jesus’ special encounter with Peter by the seaside. Peter had failed Jesus, and now Jesus was dealing with the failure.
I’m sure Peter felt his failure keenly. He was hurt and confused. He was embarrassed and humiliated. He was unworthy to sit and eat with His Lord. Yet Jesus sought him out and dealt with his failure. What happened was beautiful. We have the story in John 21:15-17.
After they had finished breakfast, Jesus spoke first: "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" The word Jesus used for love is a strong word. It is a form of the word agape. It is characteristic of the love of God. In Peter’s response, he did not use the same word Jesus used. He used a form of the word phileo, which has to do with affection or friendship. Jesus said, "Peter, do you love Me." Peter replied, "You know I am Your friend." Jesus said, "Tend My lambs." But the encounter was not over. A second time, Jesus asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Again the strong word, agape was used. Peter replied, "Yes Lord, You know I am Your friend." Jesus said, "Shepherd My sheep." Jesus pressed him a third time. Only this time, Jesus used Peter’s word. In essence saying, "Simon, son of John, are you really My friend." The Scripture says, "Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me.’" Peter was really grieved because Jesus used this word. The depth of Peter’s failure was still like a fresh wound. Peter replied, "Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You." Peter was saying, "Lord, You know my failure. You know how I denied You three times. You know I can’t bring myself to use Your word. I am unworthy of it. But You know my heart. You know that I am Your friend." Jesus replied, "Tend My sheep." What Jesus was saying was, "Your denial is not greater than My love. You denied Me three times. Three times I have forgiven you. Tend My sheep." Jesus dealt with each failure. And each time, His redemptive love prevailed.
Jesus loved both Judas and Peter. Judas gave up. Peter did not. In humble repentance, Peter found forgiveness and restoration. We all fail. In many ways, we all deny Jesus. What we do then is what counts. Jesus loved and forgave Peter. He loves you, too.
________________________________________
