Mark 14:26-31 * February 20, 2008 *
Midweek Lent 3 * Pastor Leyrer
Dear Friends in Christ,
As the crow flies it’s less than a mile, but, as we will see, it is a path loaded with lessons. It provides us with information about the journey of Christ through Lent, as well as continuing lessons for us on our journey through life.
The theme for our midweek Lenten devotions this year is
“Crossroads, Traveling with Our Savior.”
On Ash Wednesday we followed the footsteps of our Savior from the
FROM THE UPPER ROOM TO
At least half a dozen times in the Gospels Jesus concluded one of His teachings with the statement, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Tonight let us once again listen to what Jesus has to tell us. This is what we hear:
1. We hear a hymn of praise
2. We hear a prophecy of
desertion
3. We hear a promise of
resurrection and reunion
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to
the
It is Thursday night of Holy Week, what we today refer to as Maundy Thursday. It has been an emotional and educational night. Many things have taken place.
Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover together. Like Christmas or Easter is for us, this was
the
Against this historic backdrop and using the unleavened bread and wine that was part of their ceremony, Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion. “Take and eat,” he said, “this is my body given for you.” “Take and drink,” he said, “this is my blood poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And to this day, we do, receiving in this sacrament the very body and blood of Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Each time we take Lord’s Supper we are assured of our spiritual status: we are redeemed, restored, forgiven, and at peace with God.
Other things had also taken place that night. The evening began with Jesus modeling servant
leadership for his disciples by washing their feet. Quietly and carefully he systematically moved
from disciple to disciple and wiped the dirt off 24 feet. It must have taken a long time, but my guess
is you could have heard a pin drop. Then
he breaks the silence. Read John 13:13-17.
Two of the feet Jesus washed belonged to Judas. Jesus knew what Judas had done and what Judas was about to do. In fact Jesus knew everything that would soon take place. And he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. It was necessary, but humanly speaking it would not end well. Because, as Jesus knew, it would end on a cross.
With this as background and with the cross looming in the foreground, we are
told how they concluded their time together in the upper room. We are
told they sang a hymn. Then they
left for the Mount of Olives, where the
This is an amazing and remarkable little piece of information. It is also extremely helpful and instructive
for us. Jesus sang a hymn just before the final stages of his passion.
What hymn do you think they sang?
Actually, we probably have a pretty good idea. Part of the Passover celebration was singing
or reciting certain of the Psalms. One
grouping of Psalms (called the “hallel” Psalms, from which we get our word
“hallelujah”) consists of Psalms 113-118.
If you read them, you’ll find them to be Psalms of praise and confidence
and trust in God. Among the verses there
is one we use quite regularly around here: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us
rejoice and be glad in it.”
Think of it. This may have been the sentiment Jesus had on his lips and in his heart as he marches forward to his betrayal, trials, and ultimate crucifixion. A hymn of praise. A hymn of confidence.
Is there a lesson here for us? Certainly. All of us have our ups and downs through life. But none of us will go through what Jesus went through for us. As he moves into his passion with praise and confidence that God’s will is being done – and it was, because it was God’s will that his Son suffer and die as the substitute sacrifice for all mankind – can we do otherwise?
Jesus reminds us that we can approach every event in life with a song of praise and confidence in our hearts. As Paul Gerhard, the great 17th century theologian and hymn writer (as well as a man who dealt with various difficulties throughout his life) wrote: “Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is here, with his cheer, never will he leave me.” With such hymns of confidence we journey through life. Even – perhaps especially – through the rough stretches.
Back to the text. Jesus and his
disciples arrive at the
We can’t imagine having their friendship and loyalty called into question sat well with any of the disciples, but it struck a particular nerve in Peter. So Peter pledges his allegiance and elevates himself over the others confidently promising Jesus: “Even is all fall away, I will not.”
Peter will soon learn the meaning of the old proverb, “pride goeth before the fall.”
But he doesn’t know that yet, so Jesus lays out for Peter what would
become for him a sad but defining moment in his life: “I
tell you the truth, today – yes, tonight – before the rooster crows twice you
yourself will deny me three times.”
But Peter is undeterred and knows better than Jesus. Besides that, his pride is clearly at stake, so he insists: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And it’s not only Peter who challenged Jesus’ prophecy. All the disciples second his motion.
This whole exchange presents us with another lesson for life. There is a warning here. The Apostle Paul
puts it this way in 1 Corinthians (10:12):
“If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”
The ancient philosopher Socrates said the greatest possession a man can have is to know himself. As Christians, we look beyond ourselves to the Bible for insight on this. This is what we learn: To know ourselves is to know our weakness and frailty and flightiness. To know ourselves is to know our own capability for abandonment.
Have you ever denied or abandoned Christ – or by extension, your Christian values or your Christian principles? Ever found yourself doing or being involved in something you later regretted because, as a Christian, you knew better – even while you were in the middle of doing it? Ever had (or maybe still have) a hard time forgiving yourself for “abandoning Christ” by something you did or said in a moment of weakness or passion or because of peer pressure? We’ve all been there.
The warning of our text is to not overestimate ourselves and the strength of our own personal faith, as if faith is some stand-alone, unattached thing that we can summon up by the sheer power of our own will. That’s what Peter did. Peter had faith that Peter would not fail. So did the rest of the disciples. After all, they undoubtedly reasoned, they had a strong “faith.” They had a personal relationship with Christ.
Yet they failed. Why? We might say they had faith in their faith – that is, the belief that they had the power within themselves to stay strong.
The encouragement is to rely not on faith itself, but on the object of our
faith. And that is Jesus Christ. Stay close to him through active use of the
means of grace and we will remain strong in our faith, because He will provide
us with strength. Rely only on the fact
that we “have faith” or we were confirmed or we belong to
Let us hear Jesus’ prophecy of desertion with the understanding that true strength of faith comes through contact with Christ through Word and sacrament.
Finally, let us hear in this text a promise of a resurrection and a reunion. Sandwiched between the prophecy that the
sheep would be scattered and Peter’s response, Jesus said: “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into
This is a beautiful promise for the disciples and for us. Consider the timing and the circumstances. Jesus knows they are going to fail. Jesus knows that in the weakness of saving their own skins they are going to leave him high and dry.
But Jesus will not treat them in turn. He will not abandon them. It’s as if he presupposes their repentance. And on the basis of that He talks about restoration. They will leave him tonight, Jesus says. But I’m going to rise and then there will be a reunion.
In a broader application this is a wonderful proclamation of Jesus’ forgiving heart. Do we fail? Yes. Do we sin? Yes. Do we sometimes not represent him well before a watching world? Yes. But will he abandon us because of this? No.
Jesus once said “a bruised reed I will not break, a smoldering wick I will not snuff out.” We who at times are bruised and smoldering in our faith will not be abandoned. Instead, through repentance we are daily renewed, encouraged, and embraced by the Risen Christ. That is his promise. And that is our confidence.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Today as we travel with Jesus we heard a hymn of praise, and we are reminded to go forward into life always with a song of confidence and praise in our hearts.
We heard a prophecy of desertion, and we are reminded to look beyond ourselves and only to Christ for strength and steadfastness of faith.
Finally, we heard a promise of resurrection and reunion, and we are reminded that weak and immature of faith as we may be, Jesus will never abandon us.
Glory be to Jesus. Amen.