Thursday: Who Are You?
Daily Lesson for Thursday 12th of September 2024
Read Mark 14:60-72. Compare how Jesus responded to events in contrast to how Peter did. What lessons can we learn from the differences?
Mark 14:53-59 describes Jesus being brought to the Sanhedrin and the first part of the trial. It is an exercise in frustration. Again and again, the leaders try to make their accusation against Jesus stick. The Gospel writer notes how the testimony was false and the witnesses never agreed.
Finally, the high priest arises and addresses Jesus directly. At first Jesus does not respond. But then the high priest places Him under oath before God (see Matthew 26:63) and asks the direct question if He is the Messiah.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Jesus frankly and openly admits that He is and then references Daniel 7:13-14, regarding the Son of man as seated at God’s right hand and coming with the clouds of heaven. This is too much for the high priest, who tears his robes and calls for Jesus’ condemnation, which the council immediately gives. The leaders begin to shame Jesus by spitting on Him, covering His face, beating Him, and calling on Him to prophesy.
While Jesus is inside being tried and giving a faithful testimony, Peter is outside giving a lying report. This is the sixth and final sandwich story in Mark, and here the irony is particularly pointed. Here are two parallel characters, Jesus and Peter, doing opposite actions. Jesus gives a faithful testimony, Peter a false one. Three times Peter is accosted by a servant or bystanders, and each time he denies association with Jesus, even cursing and swearing in the process.
It is at this point that a rooster crows a second time, and Peter suddenly remembers Jesus’ prophecy that he would deny his Lord three times that very night. He breaks down and weeps. Here is the striking irony—at the end of His trial, Jesus is blindfolded and struck and commanded to “prophesy!” The idea was to mock Him since He could not see who struck Him. However, at the very time they do this, Peter is denying Jesus in the courtyard below, fulfilling one of Jesus’ prophecies. Consequently, in denying Jesus, Peter demonstrates that Jesus is the Messiah.
|
What words of hope would you give to someone who, though wanting to follow Jesus, fails at times to do so? Who of us has not, at times, failed to follow what we know Jesus wants? |
(12)
In the early 1960s, while a student at Avondale I attended a program where Sir Leslie Herron, Chief Justice for NSW, was the guest speaker. (In those days Avondale's social program was very different to now.) Justice Herron was a Christian, and his topic was the illegality of the trial of Jesus. Sixty years later, I have forgotten most of what Sir Leslie said, except that it was delivered in terms of that good Australian expression of crowd justice - a "kangaroo court". As one may expect, it means a court decision that jumps to conclusions. I found this mention of his address in his biographical notes:
I mention this connection because Sir Leslie was a man of principle in his administration of court justice in NSW. His biographers describe him thus:
I find it compelling that a man in such a position is motivated to provide for the needy based on his understanding of the trial of Jesus.
Interestingly, Mark spends almost as many words describing Peter's denial as he does on the trial of Jesus. Enthusiastic Peter met his match in the downstairs part of the High Priest's palace. He wanted to be there to help Jesus but He did not want anybody to know it. Peter's self-realisation came after the rooster had crowed. (There is some manuscript difference on how many times the rooster crowed). It was a "gotcha" moment for Peter and he realised that for all his enthusiasm, he was nothing without Jesus. That moment prepared him for a renewal in Jesus.
There are two take-aways from today's study:
My thesis is that these two ideas are related and should be at the very basis of our "Sharing the Gospel".
What words of hope would you give to someone who, though wanting to follow Jesus, fails at times to do so?
1. Turn to the One who says forgive many many many times
2. I do believe He forgives many many many times also.
3. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.
4. He knows our every weakness
5. He has sent us the Holy Spirit to give us the power to repent, He is always there for the asking and even there if we forget to ask today, but we asked yesterday. Infact He is so available. He will remind us to ask for His help.
6. We are His lights of the world, don't you think He supplies the power that lights His L.E.D.'s.
7. Abraham was forgiven for telling Pharoah his wife was his sister. An example besure your sins will find you out. I do not believe Pharoah was as forgiving as God. God forgave Abrham instantly. He does the same for us.
8. We need to forgive ourselves. By that, I mean don't harbor guilt. Christ told us to harbor guilt is not healthy.
9. See what I am saying God has a lot of love, and mercy He wants our love, faith, and hope.
10. 1-9 works for me.
The "trial" of Jesus, if you want to call it that, was a farce, a mockery of the justice system. You could call it a hack job. False charges, false witnesses, desperate characters, desperate to find a reason to railroad an innocent man. So many rules were broken in the illegal, sham trial. Sounds vaguely familiar to the injustice system of today, but I digress.
Through it all Jesus kept His composure because He kept His eyes on His Father. Think about the great temptation He is faced with, at any moment Jesus, as Creator of the world, could have had these tormentors vaporized into little piles of ash. The pressure by the evil one was great in trying to break Jesus, yet He refused the bait of Satan.
Meanwhile out in the courtyard Peter is not fairing so well. A servant girl terrifies Peter into denying Jesus. Later when accused of being one of Jesus's disciples he not only denied it a third time but filled the air with obscenities for good measure. Peter has taken his eyes off his Savior and fell into the baited trap of Satan. Then the rooster crowed again, and Peter remembered the words that Jesus said, and he wept bitterly.
What words of hope would I give to someone who, though wanting to follow Jesus, fails at times to do so? Who of us has not, at times, failed to follow what we know Jesus wants? These are the words I would like to share and that have often come to my mind.
"We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God." Steps to Christ, p. 64
Learning to walk with Jesus is like watching a young child learning to walk. They fall down, often, but they keep getting up. Eventually they fall less, and less, until they can walk without falling. It's a beautiful thing to see.
The same goes for us as children of God. We all fall down. When you fall down, keep getting up. Keep reaching for your Savior's outstretched hand.
Mankind always thinks the he knows better than God!! This world as we know it now was was decided in the garden of Eden ,the world to be known not to long from was decided in the garden of Gethsemane .
Look at this kangaroo court "caiaphas the high priest,the scribes and the elders and all the council" sought false witness against against Jesus to put him to death"
BUT FOUND NONE! Peter sat without the palace,then he went out into the porch, lastly "for thy speech bewrayeth thee !!
When I look at the story of both
Adams is see why ,(me)Peter ended up
Cursing !it was in a discussion the our fore parents lost Eden and all
That was associated there in,it was in discussion also that Peter lost his connection with the spirit! As to the trial of Jesus Satan was leading o group of men who were in office by fraud , with only on common thought to kill Christ by any means necessary!!
Peter on the other hand denied his Lord by means necessary to the saving of self ,thanks be to the father he repented !
Adam also repented .question is am I and better the Peter today !!!
It is perplexing that at the time of Christ's crucifixion there is no scriptural evidence of anyone seeking insight from the Scriptures to comprehend how a Man who had demonstrated control over nature and death could be apprehended, beaten, and killed in such a heinous manner.
This should serve as a lesson for us as we may be so fixated on our preconceived ideas that we disregard compelling evidence that contradicts our beliefs. May God open our eyes to the truths in His word for these times.
It certainly is hard to understand except in the context of the "Great Controversy". Satan had so blinded the leading religious rulers that they actually thought they were doing the work of God by cleansing the "church" of a "heretic". Yet, in doing so they broke from scriptural protocol of handling such a case. A travesty of injustice conducted by people who knew better but were blinded by their own sinful ambitions and pride.
As compelling as these bibical accounts are, they could be good stories if we do not ask ourselves the question, what would I have done if I were in Jesus's and in Peter's positions?
The difference between these two situations was that Peter was relying on his human and carnal nature, while Jesus was relying on his spiritual nature. Human nature will recoil from pain. In Peter's case it was the pain of rejection, criticism, mocking, condemnation and possibly being arrested for being associated with Jesus, someone who was hated by the leaders of the church at that time. So the question I must ask myself is, how do I respond when I encounter people who are unpopular with the crowd, the church, society, my friends, my colleagues at work, my family, etc., even when I am convinced that they are wrongfully accused of doing something that they did not do? Or, what if they are hated minorities in my society, or the underclass, or the less educated, etc? What about the flip side of this. What if someone of authority does something wrong, and we are in a position to speak to the issue, do we keep silent because of fear of becoming unpopular with the crowd, the authorities, my friends, the church, etc. How do I know when to speak or when to keep silent? Who am I relying on in such situations to help me make these decisions?
Even though Peter was warned by Jesus that he would deny him, Peter kept insisting that he would die with Jesus if confronted with that decision. However, the one thing that Peter didn't do was to spend time in prayer with Jesus that night. This was the difference. Peter yielded to the human desire to sleep while Jesus was agonizing with his father. Am I too busy getting ready for work, school, my favorite show, ball game, date, bed time, meal time, etc., that I put off praying and reading God's words? Do I need God to guide me even when my day appears to be a simple, normal, regular day? Lord help me.
Melvin, you raise good points and come to the best conclusion. Prayer is where our power lies, to combat the enemy's lies, and to give us discernment on which issues to speak up on or be silent. The Christian "Army" is the only army that advances on it's knees.
On the first question my answer is this: Jesus was and is God in human flesh whereas Peter was "Only Human!" And to the last question: All humans who try to follow Jesus fail at times to be like Jesus whereas Jesus being human "Never failed."
Pete, yes however, remember that Jesus didn't "function" as God in the flesh, but laid aside His Divinity, and lived His human existence in total dependency upon the Father. He could have lived His human existence as God in the flesh, but that would give Him an advantage that ordinary humans don't have, and the Devil could claim as unfair an unfair advantage. I believe that we all have access to the same power that Jesus had access to through a dynamic relationship.
Indeed Peter again took his eyes off the Savior and was sunk. Thank you for sharing your comment. Be blessed! Tim
It appears to me that, though the leadership of the Sanhedrin knew the Torah, the ‘Law of Moses’ as well as the prophets and Psalms, they were unable to know the Son of God - Jesus Christ - standing before them. “By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament was considered a finalized collection of texts, referred to as “The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings” (AI Overview). Luke 24:43-45 speaks to this very fact.
I am not surprised about the High Priest, the Pharisees, and Scribes having a difficult time understanding Jesus. They were used to teaching the letter of the Law, to observe and obey the law and enforce it by their power. They missed the most important aspect of the sacred writings – the Spirit of the Law - learning to apply justice, grace/mercy, and faith.
As Peter was touched by the Spirit and wept, the religious leadership’s response was to harden their heart. This demonstrates a perfect example of the flaws inherent in judging others based solely on the letter of the ‘law’. If we do not love our neighbor, we are in danger to judge him based on our own spiritually and emotionally compromised standards.
I do not think that ‘failing to follow what we know Jesus wants’ to be in the same category as Peter’s denial of Jesus. I see Peter’s hubris crumbling when exposed to danger to his life; facing the cost of spiritual integrity - Mark 14:71-72 - " ... and when he thought about it, he wept.” My prayer is that our faith remains strong and are willing to acknowledge our allegiance to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all times of spiritual struggle.
Amen