Waste? Mark 14:4. “And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, ‘Why this waste of the ointment made?’”
What people say often reveals their heart. From within come the thoughts that were there at the beginning. It’s not what looks right that really counts, but what is within is the source of the matter. Mary saved and prepared; she knew what was coming. She had planned ahead, for she heard His warning words and knew His death would come soon, and so she was showing how important the Lord was to her!
The leper was cleansed, but he still didn’t know. The disciples were there, but they didn’t show that the Lord was as important as her gift, which went right to the heart of her Savior. Don’t let me look too hard at what is easy to see. There might be much more to her than to me, so the Lord Himself judges the value of anything I give to be what really is important to Him.
Expressions of emotion are not always bad, nor are they always good. Quite often, they begin in the soul as a result of taking in spiritual food that we have been enjoying, and by meditation, truth has come alive to us. Our thoughts and emotions are born, and through them, our faith thrives. Unchecked emotions that are without spiritual content seem to be unrestrained. The Holy Spirit does not necessarily constrain an out-of-control emotional event. Emotions may manifest themselves from unholy boldness to fear. It is important that what is emotionally expressed has the characteristics of the divine nature God has given the worshiper.
Emotions are like wild horses that have to be guided by rein and bridle. If uncontrolled, they become a laughingstock expressed by one who appears to be foolish. Holy emotions, like reverence and harmony, are something to be desired. Close fellowship, like Mary's, honors God and inspires many others. True faith is never out of control, but it is not afraid of impossibilities. When expressed in actions and words formed within our hearts and souls, we seize the opportunities to praise God. An impulsive act generated by the Holy Spirit has God's glory as its real objective. The emotional expressions one gives to the Lord are by Him truly accepted.
Understanding love when it is either given or received is not a complicated emotion when one has believed in Christ. It may express itself in an act of compassionate help which others have ignored. The emotional response of love is not limited by calculated reasons others may think is acceptable. To many, it is just a service "the church of your choice" promotes. They don't understand the value of a covenant God has sealed with His oath. Eternal life is not an experience; it is a new life planted by God. It is not an extension of the old life we had. That one belonged to the world.
In the narratives of the various Gospel accounts, there are quite several unknown and unnamed people who were available to the Lord Jesus whenever He needed them. The owner of the donkey and her foal had no further questions when he knew the Lord wanted to borrow his animal for a while. The “goodman of the house” did not hesitate to make the large furnished upper room available to the Lord Jesus for the Passover meal.
To be available to the Lord for whatever purpose He has for us is a great privilege. To think of the Almighty God who created heaven and earth, wanting us to be involved in His work and allowing us to share in His sovereign purposes, is almost more than we can comprehend. Yet it is true. He can do anything and everything without anyone assisting Him, but in His desire for meaningful fellowship with those He loves and who love Him, He gives us real service to accomplish for Him. He knows the limits of our ability and doesn’t expect more than we can do or give.
Two men looked carefully for an unusual sight: a man carrying a pitcher of water and following, preparing – having learned to value any word the Lord said to them. Sitting and eating – then watching a new thing, the Lord giving thanks for the bread and the cup soon followed – they received it from Him. New emblems – the Passover was done. A new supper, the “Lord’s Supper,” began.
An unknown man had a large upper room furnished that he was glad to give to the Lord, not just some corner of the kitchen table. That upper room became a significant place for all who entered it. The men who ate the last Passover there would remember that time and place. They would remember for their lifetime that it was in that upper room that they partook of the Lord’s Supper for the first time. It was there that they were gathered together when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection. It was there that the Holy Spirit came upon them on the day of Pentecost. We know nothing of the man who owned that house and had furnished that upper room and made it available to the Lord, but the Lord does, and that is all that counts. He gave it to the Lord for His purposes.
Whatever we might claim for ourselves is really only a stewardship to be used for our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the real Owner. Divine purposes change something that is really nothing in itself to something holy and sanctified when used for our Savior. The common-place becomes very uncommon when He moves into the room, the property, the business, or the home He has entrusted to us. The hospitality of the heart is where showing hospitality begins. The upper room of hospitality in heaven is there for those who have made room for the Lord and His people here on earth.
The Passover meal had been prepared with the roast lamb, the bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and whatever else was a part of that final Passover. Several very important things were done and said in that upper room that night, recorded in other Gospels. Peter and Mark’s simple account was given so that believers in Rome could understand why certain things were done in the newly formed assemblies of God’s people. Those things that particularly pertained to Judaism and Jewish believers are not addressed in Mark’s account of these events.
Betrayal is one thing that all people everywhere know about. What could be a more deceitful betrayal than to eat from the same dish and receive food from the hand of our Lord who blessed people, and at the same time have an incomparable act of betrayal for some money on your own soul and conscience? Judas’ last forever food came from the hand of the One he betrayed. The last word of kindness he ever heard came when Jesus said, “Friend, why have you come? Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” The words are true for anyone who knows who Jesus is to reject Him and has applied to them: "It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
The Passover, and all that it meant of deliverance, was fulfilled in the True Passover Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ when He shed His blood on the cross. We don’t have to recall what has already been fulfilled. The Person of the event has superseded the event of the Passover. The reality of the event, which was a type, concludes the point of the Passover as a memorial. Ceremony has passed, and the real living Sacrifice is our Passover today. Christ is our Passover. The purity that testifies to the Person of Christ is to be maintained in the assemblies of God’s people today. Malice and wickedness are to be purged, and we are to eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth because Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.
Judas was at the Passover meal as one who could remember an event. When the Lord said during the meal, “One of you will betray Me,” how startled they all must have been. They could hardly believe what they were hearing, but by this time in their lives with the Lord Jesus, they knew better than to boast about themselves. They had experienced the deception of their own nature. Rather than look at the other men around that table with condemnation, each wanted to be sure that it wasn’t them. They listened to the words for themselves rather than look around for a traitor.
We need to recognize our own propensity for failure and make every effort to avoid the possibility of evil intent. It is easy to “sell” that which is Christ’s for success, pleasure, and positions of authority. The treachery of every human heart has to be guarded against and brought under the authority of God’s word and divine power. In these last days, there are temptations and pressures that come against us from family, friends, and even the government that we are going to have to face, overcome, and openly reject if we are going to be found faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Several very important things happened in that upper room the night the Lord took the Passover for the last time with His disciples. The Gospel of John devotes five chapters to what Jesus taught and did that evening. The Gospel of Mark concentrates on a few verses that Peter (who was in that upper room with Jesus), through Mark, felt were needed for the believers in Rome. The new churches, composed of Jews and Gentiles, need to be convicted about the necessity of the Lord’s Supper and the fact that it was not a carry-over from Judaism. Of all the things that happened there, the Lord’s Supper was of significant importance for assembly life everywhere. A moral center was established that had the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ as the center purpose and motivating factor of God’s people coming together.
The brief version of what was said and done was to emphasize the simplicity of that which is most important. “My Body… My Blood” are the two things that make everything else real and understandable. On the Lord’s day, in the Lord’s way, the words which He did say are important for every assembly of God’s people to act upon. The disciples who witnessed the resurrected Christ, from the day of Pentecost on, met on the first day of the week to “break bread.” The Lord Jesus was the One who took control of that first Lord’s Supper. Other men had prepared the Passover, but not the Lord’s Supper. He is the One who took the bread, thanked God for it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples. His words are the explanation of the act of eating a piece of that bread. His body was what was sacrificed. “He bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Partaking of the bread in remembrance of the Lord is not some carnivorous act, as some people believe. His body is complete and always will be. He is the Head of the body, and those who partake of Him by faith are part of that body.
There is unity in that body, even though we are all different people. We are members of the body, making us members of one another. The Lord Jesus didn’t designate a time of day, the seating of the participants, or even the form to follow in our remembrance of Him. The significance of the practice is that we are to remember Him! To remember victory through death is unique. To keep fresh in our minds that our Lord is the One who suffered as a victim, the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Substitute for us, is of great importance to Him and us. His death brought deliverance for us.
The agents of the criminal offenses against the Lord (priests, scribes, Pharisees, false witnesses, Pilate) are not excused from the consequences of their guilt, but all of us are involved because “Christ died for us.” The other side of God’s sovereign redemptive plan is that He had to die for us. No one else could do what He did. Even though He was innocent and was crucified by cruel men when He was bearing our awful load of sin in His body, He still held control of the whole event. He did not choose to die until He knew “all things were now accomplished.” Then He “dismissed His spirit.” In a controlled action of divine will, He died in triumph. He accomplished the greatest of all His actions in His life here, and that is what He wants us to remember at the Lord’s Supper.
That action, on the part of our Lord Jesus Christ, makes the redemption of our souls possible. His blood was shed. That was the visible evidence of the fact that the total redemption price had been paid at the highest possible cost. The covenant ratified by His blood is fully sufficient to meet every claim sin has against us. “The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.” We have been “redeemed … by the precious blood of Christ.” All demands by the Most Holy God against us have been met by what our Lord Jesus did when He gave Himself “a ransom for all.” We have been made partakers of His eternal life.
When we remember Him, we worship and praise Him. The Lord is the theme of our thoughts. We proclaim forth His death—we honor His name—while considering redemption’s cost in audible praise or silent worship. Our minds and hearts we employ with the bread and the cup—expressing fellowship and singing hymns too—we our Lord adore.
At the Lord’s Supper, we testify to being linked to Him in communion. Our fellowship is with Him and His people as we consider what He has done for us and where He has brought us and placed us. What we do is “take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” We are asked to again take of the blessings we have received from our Savior. To take the bread that speaks of His body and the cup of the new covenant that is a testimony of His blood is what He wants of us. In this way, we see beyond what we have received from the sacrifice of Christ to the Person who gave His life for us. He is our Life, and the emblems of the bread and the cup remind us of this.
The Lord’s Supper also reminds us that we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son. He has saved us from the penalty and power of sin, and we are able to triumph in Christ. He is our support, our salvation, and He sustains us as we pass through this world. We find our “green pastures and still waters” when we draw near to Him with true hearts and in full assurance of faith. The remembrance of Christ in God's appointed way is a holy convocation.
Two emblems sitting upon the table testify to the body and blood of Christ, which is the basis of our salvation. The Lord did not choose these without careful consideration. Worldwide, these fundamental foods provide for human preservation. Bread is called the "staff of life," but before life comes forth, the seed must die. Through death, the life force brings forth the bread we partake of. In taking the bread, the Lord gave visible evidence of what He passed through. His death, burial, and resurrection bring new life to those who believe and wholeheartedly put their trust in Him.
Nutrients in the fruit of vines are needed for normal and healthy living. We cannot generate the benefits the fruit gives through our own efforts. By being cut off and pressed hard, there comes to us a blessing. Those who partake of that cup of remembrance testify to possessing eternal life. As sacraments of which we partake, these visible emblems of grace move our hearts and emotions to worship the Father and to praise the name and Person of our Lord. At that Supper is the place where with words and thoughts of our blessed Lord we come to Him in faith.
Singing a hymn of testimony and praise seems to be a fitting way for believers to express their unity, faith, and fellowship at the end of the Lord’s Supper. Joining voices in audible expressions makes what we profess as unity an actual fact of practice. We go beyond a statement to a commitment in words of praise and worship. That further strengthens our souls as we go our different ways.
There were those who stumbled that night because of the unexpected pressure of fear. But there was also assurance that the Lord would be raised from the dead and see them in Galilee. Peter’s protestations of commitment overestimated his moral strength. Even though his spirit was willing, his flesh was weak, just like all of us. Power comes after the Holy Spirit comes and does for us what we cannot do in our own strength.
What a wonderful act of God’s grace it was for our Lord to give us the Lord’s Supper so that we could remember Him “until He comes again.” The Passover was for the Jews until He came the first time. The Lord’s Supper is also a temporary reminder of what is all-important to us until He comes again and we are “forever with the Lord.”
Prayer in Gethsemane, and the Arrest, v.32-52 In the darkness of the night, they moved toward the mountain, not fully aware of the importance of that moment. The lofty teaching they had just been given was more than they could contain, and on its impact, they could not comment. Further, as they climbed that rise, He quoted another scripture, which they knew was given as a warning unto them. The Shepherd and His flock were the word picture. He was the Shepherd—the sheep were these very men.
The sorrow of the Savior has always been a cause for us to hesitate to write anything about what the Lord Jesus Christ experienced in the garden of Gethsemane. It is like we are trying to intrude on the privacy of the Father and Son as they interacted as only divine Persons can. This paragraph does not seek to define the undefinable or impose on the holy ground but to be conscious of why His sorrow was beyond the sorrow we have or ever can experience. We have had sorrow almost overwhelming us, but what we have had cannot compare with infinite sorrow. Words that are used like “sore troubled,” “amazed,” “deeply distressed,” “very heavy,” and “exceeding sorrowful” are beyond our description because they were unique to the Lord. Other words like being solitary, such as in homelessness and heartbrokenness, we use, but for the Man of Sorrows, they are far beyond what we are able to grasp, let alone go through.
Why was the Lord so sorrowful? It was not because of a lack of courage or because of fear of death. His sorrow was because he knew the depth of human sin and what that is like in comparison with divine perfection. Sinful people and a sinful world are adapted to each other, so sin doesn’t seem all that bad to unrepentant sinners. A Perfect Man in a sinful world could not adapt to sin but would feel the disorder, the unhappiness, and the shamefulness of all sin around Him in a way that no one else could. The absolute woe of a sin-stricken world was a great horror to the One who was perfect in life, in holiness, in light, in grace, and love.
The absolute purity of the character, soul, nature, and conduct of the Lord Jesus would have to bear the excruciating sensitivity of pain and shame in the presence of sin, let alone being the Sin-Bearer. The more perfect the nature of a person, the more sensitive and painful the fact of sin becomes, let alone the suffering of one’s soul. Sinners who commit shameful sins don’t feel the awfulness of it, but the saint who sees and hears it is shamed by the thought of it and feels it keenly. An adulterous woman was brought in shame by a brutal, shameless crowd of men to the Savior who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. His reaction was to put His head down and write on the ground with His finger. What was a legal matter to them was a pain to the heart of the Savior.
Israel’s ruin, Judas’ treachery, the weakness and failure of the disciples, Satan’s power, and divine justice were all in front of the Lord Jesus Christ when He prayed in the garden. The extent of sin brings shame and ruin to human beings now and forever. This was what was behind the agony of the soul the Lord experienced that night. Such wickedness as all of us had committed, He had to bear. He had to embrace and suffer for such loss as sin deserved forever. Such loss as the consciousness of His Father’s words, His touch, and His face would be bitterness to His soul. There were things the Lord Jesus Christ could not share with His disciples, and united prayer was one of those things. They weren’t spotless in their being, and He was not sinful in His. His prayers to the Father were those of equals, sharing in perfect fellowship about matters only they could commune about.
The loneliness of the Perfect Servant could not be helped by any human being, no matter how devoted they were to the Lord. No one can participate in the same way with the Lord and His Father. We may say to our Gracious Father, “If it be possible, take this cup away from me?” We might be bitter about our souls and exclaim, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Yet that is only a slight shadow compared to what our Lord Jesus went through both in the garden and on the cross. There was a sense in which He was alone when He was home in Nazareth because His family didn’t believe in Him. He was alone in the middle of crowds of people who surrounded Him because they didn’t realize who He was and misunderstood what He was doing. In a sense, He was alone even when He was with His faithful followers because they couldn’t grasp what He meant when He foretold His death, burial, and resurrection. In the garden of Gethsemane, He was at a distance from His disciples because divine Persons experience what mere mortal people can never experience or even comprehend.
The submission of equal persons to each other is always good to see and experience. The submission of Divine Equals in the Godhead to each other in unity and attitude is beyond our capacity to understand. The Lord Jesus expressed the inner emotions of His soul and was physically affected by such deepness of holy agony. Yet, fellowship with His Father was never interrupted. Absolute confidence accompanied absolute submission. There were no impulsive actions or words on the part of the Lord, even though He was in fashion as a man. The Perfect Servant of Jehovah never deviated from the course set before Him.
His trust in the outcome was never in question, but the flames of hell and deep mire where there is no standing were before Him. The cup of divine justice against human sin was full to the brim, and the price of sin had to be paid in full by Him. “Thou hast drained the last dark drop, ‘tis empty now for me.” We can certainly tell our Father in heaven all of our sorrows, anxieties, sufferings, and reasons for joy, knowing that He understands them all and the reasons for them. Our greatest problem in prayer, after we have expressed what is in our heart and made all our supplications and intercessions with “strong crying and tears,” is to be able to honestly say, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done!”
After the third time of earnest praying, the Lord Jesus said, “It is enough!” From the private agony and earnestness of the Servant who had opened His heart to His Father/Master, He walks forth with a calm spirit in dignity and inherent majesty and again wakes Simon (his pre-calling name) and the other disciples and steps forward to meet the betrayer and the large band of armed men. They had come fully armed as a pretense that they were apprehending a person with criminal intent. Perhaps Judas had anticipated the Lord would walk through the enemies without allowing them to touch Him or perform some miracle of deliverance. When one is blind to the moral glory and being of Christ and is absorbed in satisfying their own lust for money, fame, or whatever, that person is a lost soul.
Peter also was not prepared for the Lord Jesus to submit to those who had come to take Him, so he impetuously drew his sword to defend his Lord. His sincerity may have been what he thought would initiate a strong physical defense and victory over the enemies of the Lord Jesus. The infinite perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ was beyond human comprehension and resulted in them all forsaking the Lord and fleeing the scene lest they, too, be taken. They had watched the whole band of soldiers go backward and fall on the ground at two words, “I AM,” the holy name of the Lord, but were not prepared for Him to be bound and led away as a common criminal.
Bravado and boldness may have a place, but they are not to be a reason for pride. It is possible for a person to put on a strong face and, all the while, have inward fears we hide. To be afraid is not a sin, but to act in the flesh is because the flesh can, in no way, please God. Our only recourse when tempted is the strength which is His and by it overcome the flesh, the devil, and the world.
Waiting on the Lord is the way to renew our strength. God can make us equal to the tasks and responsibilities before us when we sense divine strength made perfect in weakness. The rough roads are not necessarily made smooth, but when our strength is renewed, we will walk and not faint. The relationship between suffering and perfection is that maturity, whole-hearted faith, and obedience go together. Duty and inclination may be different, but our assurance is that the Lord knows all about what is happening. He is our Friend, Sympathizer, and High Priest who is touched by the feeling of our infirmities.
Our Lord learned obedience through the things He suffered. He suffered being tempted – not to do wrong, but to not face and go through the struggle and pay the cost. He has “been there, done that.” He has been through all that came against Him and has made it possible for Him to be the perfect friend who sticks closer than a brother. We are enriched by knowing what He went through, and in a sense, perhaps He has been enriched by Himself. “He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” He was made in all things like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest.” “He can aid (succor) those who are tempted.”
To go too far into the Garden of Gethsemane is to walk on the ground too holy for us. The interaction of the Father and Son we can never see. There are times to remember we are but dust, yet we can know something of what prayer can do and the results earnest prayer can bring. God has promised to take us through to His chosen end, and to His promise, we can always safely cling. To a certain extent, we have been allowed to share in what God is doing today. Not that our prayers and work compare with His, but in His flesh, He traveled this same way. Never once did He dishonor or deny the Father or the work He was sent to complete. May we who are disciples, in faith, earnestly apply ourselves to our calling so we may place honors at His feet.
The arrest of our Lord Jesus Christ began with a plot against Him motivated by hatred, envy, and open jealousy. Judas’ betrayal opened the way for the large group of soldiers to carry out the arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus stepped forward and identified Himself and the power of His name - “I AM HE,” and they fell before Him in helplessness. He was a Man of Sorrows because of Judas' treachery. There would have been sorrow knowing the end of the lost man who had been with Him for three years and yet had deceived himself. There was sorrow when people passed by Him, stood in front of Him, shouted against Him, and watched His suffering on the cross for their sins.
Yet, in meekness, the One with “all power in heaven and earth” submitted Himself to cords that bound His hands, the crowd that surrounded Him like He was a criminal, and to the deceitful kiss of Judas. With a calm, serene spirit of courage, the Lord remained collected in spirit and mind. He was probably the only one in the garden who was not agitated or ruffled by the arrest. The disciples at first wanted to fight, and then they fled the scene with their faith shattered. Pressure and compulsion do not advance the kingdom of God. The last miracle of healing the Lord did when He was here was in the garden. He must have asked to have a hand untied so He could put Malchus’ ear back on the side of his head. It was an act of mercy to one who was a servant of the man who wanted to kill Him.
Why is the comment about the young man in expensive clothes in this account not really expressed? Some believe that the young man was Mark, the book's writer. Peter may have been moved by the Holy Spirit to identify himself by his old name in pre-Christian days and to have Mark write it into the account to strengthen the faith of the believers at Rome. It would assure them that a failure does not have to have a lasting effect on any of God’s children. The eyewitness accounts of any event add a strong sense of credibility to anyone who experiences such an event.
In the Christian life, it is important that we sit down quietly, conscious of the presence of God, and carefully review what has happened. Then, we need to take our time and consider where we are at the present time and what steps can be taken to make the necessary changes to make workable and sensible where we are going from here. In my 1mind’s eye, I see Peter as an old man, imprisoned because of his Christian testimony and unashamed faith, and John Mark, now a middle-aged man, reviewing what they had personally experienced. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the words they wrote are still of fundamental importance to us who live in this day with similar issues and similar circumstances.
Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin, v.53-65 Jesus’ trial began with a religious trial before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin as the first phase. Then, it became a civil trial before Pilate, Herod, and Pilate again. The Roman authorities allowed “home rule” to a large extent in conquered territories. Capital crimes were carried out only by the Roman authorities in the various prefectures. The Jewish leaders were determined to have Jesus put to death, but for that to happen, they needed the assent of Pilate. There were three parts in both the religious and civil trials of Jesus.
He was first taken to Annas, who had been the high priest previously and still wielded much power over the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas, his son-in-law, was the present high priest who was the official head of the Sanhedrin, but Annas was the “king-maker” power behind the throne of the Caiaphas. When Jesus stood before Annas, he was questioned about His teaching, to which He replied that His teaching was openly known to everyone who wanted to hear Him. He said to ask those who heard Him teach to find out what He taught. That is what a trial is for. Witnesses are brought before the judge to testify for or against the accused person. Annas just wanted to catch Jesus by getting Him to say something that that deceptive old man could condemn Him for.
The Lord Jesus was then sent while it was still dark to an "informal” and “unofficial” meeting of the Sanhedrin, which was presided over by Caiaphas. Legal business in courts had to be done in the daylight when it could be publicly observed. However, it was in the pretrial setting that the real business was done. The outcome of the public trial would have been more or less settled before it was ever out in the open. Mark’s Gospel account of the trial of Jesus is the second part of the trial that is written about. That was the critical part of the ecclesiastical phase of the trial of Jesus.
The third stage of the trial was merely a formal proceeding. The decision had already been made. When we consider everything that happened that night, we realize how quickly God's plans can fall into place. Many prophecies were fulfilled, beginning with the last Passover and ending at daybreak with an early-morning Sanhedrin condemnation that publicly declared Jesus to death.
We generally watch trends and take tentative steps. After a long time, sometimes even years, a conclusion is reached, and action is taken. With God, “our times are in His hand.” “One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” to God. There were prophecies made hundreds of years before the event took place that night. Those prophecies described what was going to happen and why. Despite what the scriptures say, we can become fearful and agitated by events around us over which we have no control if we only look at them. When we stop and consider and remember what God's word says, we can be content. Everything is under control. Whether things happen fast or slow is up to God. Our rest of spirit and soul comes when we truly believe in Him.
The perversion of a so-called trial by religious leaders made a mockery of justice. The judges were not weighing evidence in the interest of finding the truth. Their minds were already made up as to what the outcome would be. There was no impartiality on the part of the chief priests, scribes, and elders. The judges were the prosecutors, and the few false witnesses they called were not for the purpose of finding a legal cause for condemnation. They never looked for one to speak on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, even though a couple of His disciples were in the courtyard.
“By oppression and judgment, He was taken away,” Isaiah wrote. The judgment was an oppression, a travesty of justice, and a denial of judicial fairness. There was no charge against Jesus except that the leaders were condemned by the truth He spoke, and consequently, their malice and hatred against Him were personal because He exposed their sin. They didn’t even hesitate to perjure themselves in their determination to kill the Lord of Glory. The dark depths of human nature were exposed to the Light of divine holiness.
With inherent integrity, grave, honorable, and silent dignity, the Lord stood in the midst of those howling wolves of darkness in His majesty, undefiled holiness, separate from sinners and as harmless as a lamb being led to the slaughter and a sheep before the shearers. He didn’t need to say a word. His appearance, dignity, and record – even His very bearing as he calmly stood before them, spoke volumes. In a last desperate attempt to get some response from the Lord Jesus Christ that would condemn Him, the high priest put Jesus under oath.
Then he challenged Him to answer the question they had been skirting around all the time because they were afraid of the answer He would give. On this question lay the blessings or curses of future generations of Jews, and they knew it. “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” They would not use the name of God. Jesus answered plainly and authoritatively, using the name of God, the great “I AM.” He went beyond the weak and limited authority of that group of weak and puny men in fancy clothes who thought they were the final authority. “And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power (The Mighty One) and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
What terror must have struck in the souls of some of that august body! Many of them would not forget it and believe in Him at a later time. The dark-souled high priest simulated a frenzy of indignation like a spoiled child, tearing his clothes and pronouncing guilt on the Lord Jesus Christ, who told the truth. Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah and to have authority and majesty that only belongs to God was blasphemy as far as Caiaphas was concerned. That meant the death sentence under Jewish law.
People today still try to make Jesus out to be a mere man, a good teacher with good morals. They speak of Him now as they did when He was here. “Is not this the carpenter of Nazareth?” To most people, He is just the “meek and lowly Jesus,’ who was a self-conscious human being. They do not want to accept the fact that He is God, nor do they understand or accept the impact of His resurrection from among the dead. Even among those who teach our children in school, Jesus is no more than an ancient historical figure with good moral teaching. By Jewish law, He died because He said He was the Messiah, and they condemned Him to death because that would mean Jesus is the Son of God.
Even so, the story of Jesus never grows old, even though “They say that the Babe and the Man of the cross, for the wise of this world will not do.” We turn to the word of God and read in the scriptures what Jesus did and taught. We look at the cross, the empty tomb, and the testimonies of His appearances, ascent into heaven, and take heart and hope. Nothing can avail against our Lord Jesus Christ or hinder the plans of God. The warning words of Jesus to the Sanhedrin also appealed to them, but they didn’t respond to either the warning or the appeal. No matter what others may do, we whom God’s grace has saved must have the courage and grace to confess Him before others, testify to what He has done for us and means to us, live our lives as unto Him, wait for Him in quiet, confident expectation and love His appearing as we look into the future.
Peter’s Denial of the Lord, v.66-72 The account of Peter’s denial begins with him making the confident assurance of his loyalty to the Lord Jesus, no matter what others might do. It was then that the Lord prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times that night before the “cock crows twice.” Peter’s vigorous protest against that was a testimony of his bravery but his unawareness of the treachery of his own soul. We all need to learn from that incident that unless we are conscious of the keeping power of God, we can fall in a very short time.
In the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord woke Peter from sleep and made him aware of his inability to do what Jesus asked, even for an hour when there was no danger. Even then, the weakness of the flesh took over him again, and he went back to sleep. When the large crowd of armed men came into the garden of Gethsemane, Peter came wide awake as he walked forward with the Lord to meet the crowd. In an act of impetuous bravery, when he saw his Lord bound, he pulled his sword to defend the Lord and used it against Malchus, a high priest servant. When He saw Jesus was willing to be bound, he and all of the other disciples fled the scene.
Peter and John, with a measure of courage, stopped running and followed Jesus and those who had arrested Him to the palace of Annas. John must have had an acquaintance with someone there and was admitted into the place, and Peter with him. Perhaps John was allowed to go further than Peter to where the interrogation of Jesus occurred. After waiting a short time, Peter drew near to warm himself at a fire with others who would have been talking there. The light of the fire must have made the female servant/doorkeeper think she knew Peter was a follower of Jesus. In front of others, she identified him as one who was with Jesus. We may think that people don’t know who we are or where we have been and think we are passing ourselves off as “one of the crowd,” but don’t deceive yourself. A child of God doesn’t fit well with the world in word, deed, or thought. How long and how do you think deception can be maintained? Before long, someone will ask, “What are you doing here? You don’t fit with this kind of a crowd?”
When one is caught in some deceitful situation, the usual response is to deny knowing about the deception. “I didn’t know that! They never told me about anything being wrong with doing that!” The fear of man often begins with embarrassment at being pointed out as being different and not belonging to the majority. To be mocked and made the object of derision and scorn is something we may be inclined to lie about to avoid being the object of attention. Being “different” because of being righteous, honest, and honorable is hard for young people particularly. It is a practice of immature people to try to show their independence of parental restraint by going further in what they say and do in order to deflect a charge of being called a “Holy Joe.” There may occasionally be a physical danger involved, and to avoid pain, denial of being a Christian seems like the best way out of the situation. It is one thing to be pointed out and accused of something by a female servant. It is quite another thing when others join in questioning one’s truthfulness.
That was what happened next as Peter’s second denial went further than the first. The first time was merely a response claiming a misunderstanding on the part of the accuser as well as the one being accused. The second denial involved Peter refusing to acknowledge that he was a follower of Jesus. As pressure increases against a believer and antagonism against that person increases, there is greater fear. In Peter’s case, he left the warmth and light of the fire and withdrew to the shadows where he couldn’t be seen well. Once it begins, denial is very hard to retract or deal with. One downward step leads to more, increasing to where there is no repentance or acknowledgment of guilt. Peter became the focus of the servant girl’s suspicion the more he denied her accusation. She followed him and openly vocalized her suspicion as a challenge. Like any lie, the more we lie about a matter, the more lies have to be told.
A person’s face and body language often betray that which is inside of us. An act of guilt can lead to a facial expression that cannot be hidden. When challenged about our faith in Christ, it is best to confess our faith openly at the first opportunity. If a person doesn’t do that and confess Jesus as Lord with their mouth, their credibility as a truth-teller rapidly deteriorates, becoming an object of derision. Confession with our mouth, as those who believe in Jesus, is important in salvation, and it is also important in Christian testimony. The warmth of the world’s fire leaves a child of God cold inside, and they will soon be alone outside the circle of friends. People naturally turn away from known deception.
Peter found he had nowhere to hide, and the whole group of people were alert and focused on him. His initial embarrassment turned to fear, and thirdly to aggressive, open, verbal rejection and denial of the Lord. When oaths and curses started, they must have thought he couldn’t have been a Christian because they knew that wasn’t characteristic of those who followed the Lord Jesus Christ. His initial distress, which began with being baited by a female servant, became more obvious the more he denied it and was picked up on, by a man who knew his Galilean accent. People knew Jesus was from Galilee, so why would a Galilean be in that courtyard in the middle of the night if it wasn’t because of Jesus?
Another servant was there, a relative of Malchus whose ear Peter had cut off. He had been in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested, and as he looked closer at Peter, He recognized him as one he had seen by the light of the torches in the garden. When he recognized Peter, he challenged him as being one of Jesus’ disciples. By this time, Peter had gone so far in his denial that he became frightened. The cursing and swearing may have convinced the people around him that they had been mistaken, but the rooster crowed the second time! As Peter was smitten in his soul at the prophecy of Jesus and got up to leave, Jesus was being led past and looked at Peter!
Conscience convicts us when we deny our faith in Christ for convenience or acceptance. Facing people and knowing we are deceiving them embarrasses us and awakens the soul of a carnal believer. Events around us remind us of who we are, where we are, and what we are doing in the wrong place – and then we become disconcerted. Circumstances, remembered words, and lessons taught by faithful people convict us, and we become agitated, angry, and maybe even aggressive. Then we catch a glimpse of a Christian, remember a verse of scripture we had memorized, or see a look of scorn on the face of an unbeliever who knows us, and remorse sets in.
The look Jesus gave Peter was probably sorrowful, and it would have reminded him of the prophecy Jesus made about what would happen. It happened exactly as Jesus said. The crowing of the rooster that second time reminded him of his sin. The look of Jesus as he passed by melted his heart. In his mind, he remembered the warning the Lord Jesus had given, and he began to weep without stopping. Guilt, remorse, shame, and a broken heart revealed to Peter who he really was in himself. We all need to learn this lesson and keep it fresh in our minds.
Poor Peter, how sad that such a good man could quickly stumble and fail. It reminds me that anyone can weaken and fall under pressure. He walked on water, publicly confessed to His Lord, and was there in the garden to pray. I learned that I can easily get cold when I am alone and try to get warm at the world’s fire.
Peter’s denial of the Lord is not about the breaking of a coward but of the breaking of a brave, stalwart defender of the Lord. This is a warning to the strong, not the weak. None of us are immune to that same act when we get our eyes on the world and off of Christ. Peter’s willingness to die for the Lord was not the empty boast of a braggart. He had drawn his sword to defend his Lord from the soldiers when they came to take Him. It is a warning to all of us who think we are standing strong for the Lord to take heed to ourselves lest we fall. Who would think a few words from a female servant would bring a strong follower of the Lord down in humiliation, grief, sin denial, and inconsolable weeping?
The deception of self-confidence was involved in this downfall. His assurance was that others may fail the Lord, but not me. My faith is strong. I can stand when a traitor may betray the Lord. I don’t need to watch and pray in the darkness of the night when emergencies arise. I can go into the courtyard of the world to see what is going on and not be contaminated. I know the danger zones and won’t collapse and fall there. Overconfidence and self-confidence are inherent dangers to us all.
Compromise is another serious danger. To try to adapt to what is going on around us, fit in with the crowd, and still retain our identity as a Christian is a fatal compromise. Listening to the talk ungodly people make in social settings can lead us to compromise our verbal testimony as believers and say things we should never say. To do things others do by “walking in the counsel of the ungodly,” or associate ourselves by “standing in the way of sinners,” or sitting down with those who are in the “seat of the scornful” is to compromise. To not distance oneself from the position, appearance, actions, and attitudes of those who have no interest in our Lord and His Gospel is to compromise.
We need to stand out in a crowd as a friendly but not a fault-finder. We are identified as Christians, but not arrogant, and we think of ourselves better than others. First impressions are created by how we look in our dress, facial expressions, and body language. The tone of voice we use in speech, the attitude we convey, and the way we say a thing identify us as a person who is not unclean in speech or thought. How we conduct ourselves gives an impression of what is important to us. Integrity, dignity, self-respect, and respect for others don’t take long to show who we are before people in a crowd.
Let us never allow ourselves to be ashamed of being Christians. Don’t deny who you are, and don’t try to deceive people in any way. As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must stand up and be counted as one of Jesus’ disciples. Let us commit ourselves to being strong and very courageous before the world, and at the same time, with grace and love, demonstrate in whatever way we can our love for Christ and other people.
In the glory of His Person, the Son of Man told them He would go to the cross. He told them to watch and pray in the garden, and then there was the betrayal—others took Him away. He testified of the day the Son of Man comes in power; He was abused and rejected by them. We who watch and pray are also watching for the hour when the Son of Man will come again.