Sunday, March 20, 2016 Lesson: Mark 14:26-31, 66-72; Time of Action: 30 A.D.; Place of Action: Jerusalem Golden Text: 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 (Mark 14:30). I. INTRODUCTION. Identifying oneself as a follower of Christ was not extremely difficult years ago. America still had a degree of Christian influence in the culture, and Christians were often highly respected. The situation has changed in recent years. Many Christians are now openly mocked for their moral convictions, and identifying ourselves as Christians may pose some risks. In this week s lesson we will learn of Peter s crisis of faith. As a result of his failed resolutions, Peter was overcome with guilt and shame and wept bitterly. This lesson also teaches us about the importance of a faith that does not struggle.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON. Our lesson takes place on the night before Jesus was crucified beginning with the celebration of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Mark 14:12). Jesus and His twelve disciples ate the Passover meal in an upper room that He had directed two of His disciples to find and prepare the meal there (see Marl 14:13-15). The two disciples followed Jesus instructions on how to find the place and once they did, they prepared it for the Passover (see Mark 14:16). That evening Jesus and the twelve disciples, including Judas came together in that prepared room and sat down to eat the Passover meal (see Mark 14:17). As they ate, Jesus told His disciples that one of them would betray Him causing each of them to ask the same question Is it I? (see Mark 14:18-19). Jesus replied that the one who would betray Him was eating from the same dish that He ate from and that it was better for that person not to have been born (see Mark 14:20-21). At some point during the meal Judas left the room to complete his betrayal of Jesus (see John 13:21-30). While they continued to eat, Mark tells us that Jesus broke bread, blessed it and gave it to each of the disciples. He then gave them a cup of wine to share giving new meaning to what He was doing. He told His disciples that the bread symbolized His body and the wine symbolized His blood both of which would be given for many people (see Mark 14:22-24). This was the institution of the Lord s Supper or Holy Communion. According to Mark, Jesus then told His disciples that He wouldn t share that same
fellowship with them again until they drink it anew in the kingdom of God (see Mark 14:25). This is where our lesson begins with the singing of a Passover hymn. III. JESUS WARNS HIS DISCIPLES OF IMMINENT DISLOYALTY (Mark 14:26-31) A. A hymn of worship (Mark 14:26). Our first verse says And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. As noted, Jesus announced that He would not commune with His disciples again until they do it in God s kingdom. After that when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. The hymn they sang was most likely taken from Psalms 113-118, called the Hallel Psalms. These Psalms are traditionally sung at Passover, Pentecost (Shavout) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Normally, the first two of these Psalms, 113-115 are sung or chanted at the beginning of the Passover meal, and Psalms 116-118 are chanted at the end of the meal. Once they sang the hymn, Jesus and His disciples left for the mount of Olives. As noted in the background above, Judas had left the group before Jesus instituted the Lord s Supper, so he was not with them at this time. The Garden of Gethsemane was located in the mount of Olives (see Matthew 26:30, 36; Mark 14:32).
B. Jesus quotes from Scripture (Mark 14:27-28). 1. (vs. 27). This verse goes on to say 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. On the way to the Mount of Olives, Jesus said to His disciples All ye shall be offended because of me this night. The Greek word translated offended refers to stumbling over something that has been placed in one s way. In other words, the disciples would stumble over, or fall away from Jesus resulting in their abandoning Him. He continued to say for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. Jesus quoted Zechariah 13:7 because the disciples would be fulfilling this prophecy when they abandoned Him. The phrase for it is written indicates that the disciples should ve been aware of this prophecy, but not necessarily that it would be fulfilled by them. In this passage from Zechariah, it was God who said I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. This confirms the fact that God was in charge of everything that happened, even the death of His Son, as God declared I will smite the shepherd which is a reference to Jesus death. It would be easy to think that Satan had the upper hand about Jesus death, but everything that happened occurred just as God had planned. 2. (vs. 28). In this verse Jesus continued to say to His disciples But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. Having told His disciples that they would desert Him, Jesus also told them that He would arise from the dead. He also said that after His resurrection, I will go before you into Galilee. This was to let them know that
they were to meet Him in Galilee after he arose from the dead. Note: All of the disciples except for Judas Iscariot were from the province of Galilee in northern Israel. Palestine, or Israel was divided into three provinces: Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Judas was from Kerioth which was in Judea or southern Israel. The word Iscariot was not part of Judas name. It means man of Kerioth indicating where Judas was from. He was called Judas Iscariot in order to distinguish him from the other disciple named Judas (see Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13). C. Peter s protest of loyalty (Mark 14:29-31). 1. (vs. 29). This verse says But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. It appears that Peter missed the real point that even though Jesus would be killed, He would rise again and meet with them. Instead, Peter focused on Jesus words that the disciples would abandon Him. As far as Peter was concerned, there was no way that he would ever forsake Jesus. Even with the other disciples right there with him, Peter declared boldly to Jesus, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. He considers his allegiance to Jesus to be not only stronger than the others, but so much stronger, that he could face any temptation to forsake Jesus and bear up against it, all alone if he had to. For sure, it s in man s DNA to think well of ourselves, and trust our own hearts. But when we do, the results can be devastating. 2. (vs. 30). This verse says 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. Here Jesus addressed Peter personally. Not only would Peter be disloyal, but Jesus said Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. The word Verily simply means truly indicating that there could be no doubt about what Jesus was about to say to Peter. Jesus declared to Peter that on that very night before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. The word translated deny here means to disown. Peter s denial of Christ actually amounted to him disowning His Saviour. In essence, Jesus tells Peter that he will do worse than any of the disciples, contrary to what Peter stated earlier. They will all desert Him, but Peter will deny him not once, but thrice on This day, even this night before the cock crow twice. Peter will deny that he ever had any knowledge of Jesus, or was ever acquainted with Him, like someone who was ashamed and afraid to own Him. Note: The sign that would remind Peter of his denial of Christ would be when the cock or rooster crowed the second time. This is a reference to cockcrowing which was a period of time between midnight and three o clock in the morning which was the third watch of the night (see Mark 13:35). This reflects the Roman custom of dividing the night into four watches: evening (6pm-9pm), midnight (9pm-12am), cockcrowing (12am to 3am), and morning (3am-6am). In His parable of comparing the Son of Man with a man going to a far country, Jesus said Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning
(see Mark 13:35). In this parable, the cockcrowing of the rooster refers to the third watch of the night (12am -3am). It s interesting that all four Gospels record this incident, but Matthew, Luke and John refer to the cock crowing only once which may appear to contradict Mark s Gospel which says the cock would crow twice (see Matthew 26:34; Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34; John 13:38). However, there really is no contradiction because Mark writes that Peter only became aware of His denial of Jesus after the cock crowed the second time (see Mark 14:68, 72). It s highly likely that Peter didn t hear or notice the first crowing of the rooster. Whether Peter heard the first crowing of the rooster or not doesn t mean that the rooster crowed only once. Matthew, Luke and John only related the important part of this story, that Peter remembered Christ s words after he heard the rooster crow. 3. (vs. 31). This verse goes on to say 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. When Peter heard Jesus confirmation that he would certainly deny Him, Peter spake the more vehemently meaning that he became more adamant about his position. Therefore, Peter replied to Jesus saying If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Peter couldn t imagine anything that could cause him to abandon Jesus. So he declared that even if it meant dying with Jesus, he still wouldn t deny Him. Notice, that the other disciples Likewise also said they all. In other words, the other ten
disciples (remember Judas had left the group earlier) agreed with Peter. Following Peter s lead, they were very confident that they would never desert Jesus! Note: In his eagerness, Peter underestimated the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. He also underestimated his own power to be faithful to Jesus. Likewise, we must realize that the power to overcome any temptation comes by hearing, believing, and relying upon God s Word. Only through prayer and relying on the strength of Christ (see Philippians 4:13) can we overcome our fear and our failures. And when we do fail to be faithful, we have the sure promise that Jesus still remains faithful and is always ready to receive us back with open arms as we repent (see John 21:15-19; I John 1:9). Sometimes the situations we face in life are much more than we expected, and we don t follow through as we thought we could when defending the Lord. It s hard to place blame on others when we, like Peter can be intimidated at times. IV. THE COURSE OF PETER S DENIALS (Mark 14:66-72). Once Jesus and His disciples reached the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, Peter, James and John went a short distance from the other disciples, where Jesus took a moment to pray (see Matthew 26:36-38). After offering His first
prayer, Jesus returned to Peter, James and John and found them asleep. This disappointed Jesus because he had asked them to watch with Him (see Matthew 26:38-41). After His third prayer, Jesus returned to His disciples and found them also asleep. He woke them up and told them that they needed to leave because His betrayer was coming (see Mathew 26:42-46). Judas then showed up with a group to arrest Jesus that included priests, scribes, and elders (see Matthew 26:47). After Judas identified Jesus by kissing Him, they led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest to be questioned (see Matthew 26:48-50, 57). Peter and John followed Jesus. John was allowed to go with Jesus into the palace or courtyard of the high priest because he was acquainted with the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. John asked the girl guarding the door to allow Peter in as well and she did. However, Peter stayed a distance away (see John 18:15-16). This is where the second part of our lesson begins. A. Peter recognized by an outsider (Mark 14:66-67). 1. (vs. 66). This verse says And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest. We are told that Peter was beneath in the palace meaning that he was on a lower level of the courtyard. While he was there, Marks says there cometh one of the maids of the high priest. This young woman was a servant of Caiaphas, the high priest. 2. (vs. 67). This verse goes on to say And when
she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. The word she here refers to the servant girl of the high priest. She may have been the same girl who let Peter into the high priest s courtyard. At any rate, while Peter was warming himself by a fire (see John 18:18), the servant girl looked upon him meaning she thought she recognized Peter and said thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth indicating that he was a follower of Jesus Christ. B. Peter s first denial (Mark 14:68). This verse continues to say But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. Although the servant girl was correct, Peter was too afraid to admit it, so he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. Peter s denial here was simply that he had no idea what she was talking about. Then he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. In order to get farther away from Jesus, Peter moved from the fire to the porch or the entryway into the courtyard. At this point Mark says and the cock crew. It s possible that Peter didn t hear the cock crow this first time since Mark does not say that he did. This would agree with the other gospel writers who indicate that the rooster crowed only once. Note: For sure Peter was afraid, but we have to give him credit for staying close by Jesus instead of running and hiding as it appears the other disciples did. No doubt, this shows that Peter did love Jesus even though his fear overcame his faith as ours does sometimes. We might want to
criticize Peter for allowing his fear to take over, but the question is, how would we have reacted in the same situation? It wasn t like Peter had nothing to fear because he did. There was danger in associating himself with Christ. Peter probably remembered Jesus words when He said to His disciples Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also (see John 15:20). For sure, there are times when all of us struggle with our faith walk. God allows circumstances that at times make us wonder whether He really is who He says He is. The question for us is do we choose to fear the situation, or do we take it before God? In II Timothy Paul wrote For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (see II Timothy 1:7). We need to love God no matter what, because that love is what drives away our fear (see I John 4:18). None of us really knows what God has planned for us, but we can be sure that we will struggle in our walk at some point. Someday life is going to throw us a curveball that will shake us to our core. It will cause us to question God s goodness. However, the great news is that even when we falter, fear does not have to paralyze us or break our faith. We have a loving Saviour who understands, and is willing to forgive and restore. If you don t believe that, just ask Peter (see John 21:15-19). C. Peter s second denial (Mark 14:69-70).
1. (vs. 69). This verse says And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. After Peter moved further away to the courtyard entryway, Mark says And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. Whether this was the same servant girl or another one we are not told. However, both Matthew and Luke s Gospels indicate that there were others who also recognized Peter. What we do know is that this servant girl spoke to others in the vicinity saying This is one of them declaring that Peter was one member of the group that followed Jesus. 2. (vs. 70). This verse says And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. When the second servant girl identified Peter as one of Jesus disciples, Peter denied it again. This was Peter s second denial that he knew Jesus. Things are getting worst for Peter. A little while later, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. This time more than one person identified Peter saying Surely thou art one of them again meaning he was one of Jesus followers. They had no doubt now that Peter was one of Jesus disciples, because they said for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. In other words, Peter being from the province of Galilee had a dialect that distinguished him from others who were not from Galilee. We must remember, this all took place in Jerusalem in Judea, the southern part of Israel. Those in the south probably had a different dialect
than those from the north. This is similar to someone listening to two people from different parts of the United States talking and being able to tell what part of the country they were from by their accent. D. Peter s third denial and his regret (Mark 14:71-72). 1. (vs. 71). This verse continues to say But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. Twice before, Peter either claimed that he had no idea what those who identified him as a follower of Christ were talking about (see Mark 14:68), or he simply denied being a follower altogether (see Mark 14:70). Now, his denials became stronger as he began to curse and to swear. However, Peter s outburst of cursing and swearing was probably different from what we think about when we read this verse. Peter s curse was more than just a common swear word. He was making the strongest denial he could think of by denying with an oath that he knew Jesus. In effect, he was saying may God strike me dead if I m lying. As he avoided using Jesus name, Peter went on to say I know not this man of whom ye speak. Peter was swearing using God as his witness that he didn t even know this Jesus whom they were claiming he was following. Note: It s easy to get angry at the Sanhedrin Council and Pilate, the Roman governor for their injustice in condemning Jesus, but Peter and the rest of the disciples also contributed to the pain Jesus must have felt when they deserted Him (see Mark 14:50). While most of us may not be like the Jewish and Roman
leaders, we are like the disciples because all of us have been guilty of denying Christ as Lord in vital areas of our lives. We may pride ourselves that we have not committed certain sins, but we are guilty of sin. We should never try to excuse ourselves by pointing at others whose sins seem worse than ours. Every sin even lying is exceeding sinful (see Romans 7:13). The Bible is full of prohibitions against lying (see Psalms 119:163; Proverbs 6:16-19; 13:5; Ephesians 4:25). 2. (vs. 72). Our final verse says And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. After Peter denied Jesus the first time, the rooster crowed (see Mark 14:68). Now after his third denial, Mark says And the second time the cock crew. The sentence And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice means that Peter remembered Jesus words that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed twice that night. This caused Peter to come to his senses, realizing what he had done. Peter had fulfilled Jesus prophecy concerning his threefold denial of Him. In Luke s version of this story he wrote that after the rooster crowed the second time the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. Note: Jesus Christ takes more notice of what we say and do than we think he does. When Peter disowned Jesus, He didn t disown Peter, even though he could have rightly cast him off, never looked upon him
again, and denied him before his Father (see Matthew 10:33). It s very good for us that Christ does not deal with us as we deal with him. Yes, Peter was guilty of a very great offence, yet Christ would not call him out, lest he should shame him or expose him. Jesus only gave him a look and no one but Peter would understand the meaning of it. There s no doubt that looking into the face of Jesus whom Peter had denied not once, not twice, but three times would cause any believer to do as Peter did in the last part of this verse which says And when he thought thereon, he wept. Again, when Luke wrote about this same incident in his Gospel, he said Peter went out, and wept bitterly (see Luke 22:62). One look from Christ, along with the sound of a rooster crowing caused Peter to drown in tears of godly sorrow for sin. This was no doubt a sign of his repentance, because not long after this Jesus forgave and restored Peter (see John 21:15-19), who went on to become one of the greatest Christians ever and the author of two epistles of the New Testament. V. Conclusion. It s probably true that most of us at some time or another have made confident admissions that we will follow the Lord. Most, if not all of us have also experienced struggles in our faith, and been fearful of what might happen if we identify ourselves with Christ. We will always face a struggle in our faith to identify openly with Christ. We may face ridicule for taking such a stand, but we must be willing to risk the disapproval of man to gain the approval of God (see Matthew 10:32-34).
***The Bible Expositor and Illuminator, Union Gospel Press***