One of the most heart wrenching sections of scripture
is here. Our Lord, being omniscient, knows exactly how bad what is going to
happen will be, both by man and by His Father. Man's wrath would be motivated
by sinful hatred, His Father's wrath would be righteous judgment of sin - no
mercy, full payment would be extracted. This was what Jesus had willingly
volunteered to do in eternity past; now the time had come. The temptations in
the wilderness did not measure up to what the Lord must have been dealing with
here. Why should He go through this? He never sinned! Even when it is all over
most humans will not receive the forgiveness purchased, so He will pay the debt
of sins that go uncollected! Surely there must be another way? Maybe there is a
loophole. Jesus does not have to do this, He owes no one, they all owe Him, He is
God! Maybe He can at least only pay the debt of the sins of those that will
receive the forgiveness, the Father knows who they are, so why the sins of the
whole world? But that was not the deal…Father, Son and Holy Spirit agreed
before the foundation of the world – all sin will be paid for. Everyone will
have the opportunity to receive forgiveness and salvation. Everyone will be
accountable for that choice.
Our Lord was a real man, an honest man. Here He
wrestles with His commitment to follow through. How did he do it? Why couldn’t
Peter stick to his decision?
Matthew 26:33-46, 74-75 But
Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never
fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before
a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I
have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same
thing too. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to
His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then
He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here
and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face
and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;
yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found
them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for
one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation;
the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time
and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it,
Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were
heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying
the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are
you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man
is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. “Get up, let us be going; behold,
the one who betrays Me is at hand!…Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not
know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word
which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter had made a very strong commitment
to follow Christ will matter the cost. Jesus had made a commitment to drink the
cup his father would serve him. Peter, failed to follow through on his
commitment, Jesus, praise be to God, did follow through. Interestingly, a statement made about Christ
immediately after He had informed His men “Let
these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered
into the hands of men.” Lk 9:44 gives us insight to the Lord’s follow through, here
we see the seeds that are planted in our Lord for follow-through of His
commitment. Notice the words that are used to describe His frame of mind; I
share from several translations:
Luke
9:51
When the
days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem
(NASB)
When the
days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem (ESV)
Now when
the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to
Jerusalem (NET)
And it
came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his
face to go to Jerusalem (KJV)
In each version the intensity of purpose is clear.
Perhaps this is the difference between Peter and our Lord. We cannot be too
critical on Peter, remember it was he that pulled a sword out and tried to
protect the Lord. Peter clearly was willing to die in the heat of an emotional
moment. After emotion subsided though, when Peter would be forced to count the
cost of his commitment – his will failed. Jesus on the other hand had made a
commitment not based on emotion, but upon a willful and purposed decision. This
is the secret we all need to embrace if we are to follow through on our commitments.
In marriage, a couple that tries to stay together based on emotion will find
themselves separated. When their bond is based on a committed covenant that
they made willfully, they will remain together no matter the emotional terrain
at the moment. In the book of Acts this is clearly what happened to Peter after
his failure. On the beach in John 21, in a discussion with his Lord about love
Peter arrived at a willful commitment to follow Christ, not based on emotion,
and this is what makes Peter so bold to those that are threatening to kill him
in Acts chapters 4 and 5.
Issues to ponder:
* When I am emotionally high is that when I follow
the Lord easily?
* When I am emotionally low do I find it easier to
disobey?
* Do I make commitments based on how I feel only to
regret them later?
* How much time do I give in counting the cost of the
commitments I make?
* When my commitment is put to the test, do I find
myself trying to push my way through, or do I go to the Lord and remind myself
of the commitment I made to Him and seek Him for the strength to follow through
will?
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