Mark 14:27-31 "And Jesus saith unto
them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I
will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. (28) But
after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. (29) But
Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
(30) And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this
day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
(31) But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I
will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all."
How many times have you had good intentions, but they just weren't followed? I'm afraid I am so guilty of not following the intentions that come into my mind.
Jesus made a statement and Peter, with good intention, tried to refute the statement. Jesus said, "Everyone of you will be offended this night and will be scattered." Peter, with strength in his voice, said, "I will not be offended. I will die with thee. I will not deny you in any way." Jesus said, "Before the cock crows two times, you will have denied me three times." Peter continued to contend that he would die before he would deny Jesus. Notice the last sentence of verse 31: "Likewise also said they all."
We already know the outcome. We know that, yes Peter denied Jesus three times - just as Jesus had said. But have you stopped to think that they all said they would never be scattered? I'm going to jump down a few verses to the time when Jesus is being led away by the Roman soldiers. "And they all forsook him, and fled." (Mark 14:50)
As I read these verses this morning, I have to stop and look within myself. I want to think I would never deny Jesus. We could very well be facing a time when we will have to either stand boldly on our profession of faith or deny that we know Him. But what about those times when we hear people taking the name of our Lord in vain? What about those times when we have an opportunity to share the love and grace of our Lord with someone else? Do I speak out? Or do I remain quiet, as though I do not even know Him? I'm doing some soul searching this morning. Thank you Simon Peter for spurring me to the place of questioning my own intentions.
How many times have you had good intentions, but they just weren't followed? I'm afraid I am so guilty of not following the intentions that come into my mind.
Jesus made a statement and Peter, with good intention, tried to refute the statement. Jesus said, "Everyone of you will be offended this night and will be scattered." Peter, with strength in his voice, said, "I will not be offended. I will die with thee. I will not deny you in any way." Jesus said, "Before the cock crows two times, you will have denied me three times." Peter continued to contend that he would die before he would deny Jesus. Notice the last sentence of verse 31: "Likewise also said they all."
We already know the outcome. We know that, yes Peter denied Jesus three times - just as Jesus had said. But have you stopped to think that they all said they would never be scattered? I'm going to jump down a few verses to the time when Jesus is being led away by the Roman soldiers. "And they all forsook him, and fled." (Mark 14:50)
As I read these verses this morning, I have to stop and look within myself. I want to think I would never deny Jesus. We could very well be facing a time when we will have to either stand boldly on our profession of faith or deny that we know Him. But what about those times when we hear people taking the name of our Lord in vain? What about those times when we have an opportunity to share the love and grace of our Lord with someone else? Do I speak out? Or do I remain quiet, as though I do not even know Him? I'm doing some soul searching this morning. Thank you Simon Peter for spurring me to the place of questioning my own intentions.