A sermon delivered in Ipoh Garden Baptist Church on Sunday 1-6-2008
Mark 14: 27-31
cf Matt 26: 31-35, Luke 22: 31-34, John 13:36-38
Outline:
I The Lord was Patient with Their Intentions
- to be great
II The Lord was Patient with Their Ignorance
- about what was ahead
III The Lord was Patient with Their Insufficiency
- they would forsake Him.
Introduction
A quality that all teachers need, and can never have too much, is patience. Teachers are often made to feel that their efforts are futile – when their students don't appear to achieve the learning objectives after weeks of lessons, drills and practice. I've occasionally told my students that there are two topics in my subjects they should beware of: the first is, ""Playing guitar to cows" while the second is, "Teaching cows to climb trees." (These are popular Chinese proverbs used to depict the difficulty faced by teachers in trying to teach inattentive and unintelligent students.)
Indeed a teacher must be patient. In one of his pastoral letters to the young pastor Timothy, the apostle wrote, "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil . . ." (2 Timothy 2:24-26)
Similarly, we see in this morning's lesson that our Lord Jesus was patient with the failures of his disciples. He taught them things which were too hard for them to grasp, and he waited patiently for them to come to their senses.
This account of our Lord's conversation with his disciples is also reported, with some variations, in all the other gospels. The following table gives a comparative overview of this event in all four gospel accounts:
The Lord Jesus predicts Peter's denial.
| Mark 14: 27-31 | Matthew 26:31-35 | Luke 22:31-34 | John 13:36-38 |
| After the Lord's supper, they went to Mt. Olives | (same) | NIL | NIL |
| Jesus told them, "You all will stumble (be offended) because of me this night." | (same) | NIL | NIL |
| Quoted Zechariah 13:7, "I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered" | (same) | NIL | NIL |
| "But after I've been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee". Peter replied the Lord, "Even if all stumble (are offended), yet I will not be." | (same) | The disciples debated about who would among them be the greatest. After supper, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, satan has desired to have you (has asked for you), that he may sift you as wheat [TEV to separate good from bad / wheat from chaff]. But I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail, that when you're returned (KJV converted / TEV turned back), strengthen your brethren. | After supper, Jesus gave them the new commandment. Peter asked Jesus, "Where are you going?" The Lord replied, "Where I go you can't follow now, but afterwards" |
| Jesus told Peter, "Truly, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me thrice" | Jesus told Peter that before the cock crowed, Peter would deny him three times | - | - |
| Peter said (more vehemently),"If I die, I will not deny you!" All the others said likewise | Peter said, "Though I die with you, yet I will not deny you" All the others said likewise | Peter said, "Lord, I am ready to go with you, both to prison and to death" | Peter asked, "Why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake" |
| - | - | Jesus replied, "I tell you Peter, the cock shall not crow this day befoe you shall three times deny that you know me" | Jesus: "Will you lay down your life for my sake? Truly, truly, I say to you. The cock shall not crow till you have denied me thrice" |
| Jesus' conversation with all his disciples. | Jesus' conversation with Peter alone | ||
(1) Jesus was patient with their intentions – "who is the greatest"
The intentions or motives of the disciples were concealed beneath their claims and confidence of dying together with the Lord Jesus – most likely their true intentions were to attain glory and greatness. This is evident from the passage immediately preceding the account in Luke, in verses 24-30, which tells of a strife among the disciples as to who would be greatest (including Peter!).
Jesus had just finished his last supper with them – after giving them the bread and cup of wine, telling them that his body was broken for them, he told them that one of them would betray him to his enemies.
Instead of paying attention to his warnings – v.24-30 tells us that "they began to argue among themselves, who was the greatest. The Lord had to remind them that to be great, they had to be like a servant who serves others. And he promised them that they would eat and drink at his table and sit on thrones to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus was about to give his body and blood as the only unblemished sacrifice for the sins of the whole world – yet the disciples were preoccupied with their intention to be greatest among themselves! Indeed, Jesus had to be patient with their intentions.
(2) Jesus was patient with their ignorance – that he was in great sorrow.
The disciples were oblivious to the fact that their Master, their Teacher whom they had followed for three years was about to face one of the most sorrowful and dreadful moments in his life – a humiliating trial, torturous whipping and a slow death by crucifixion.
They didn't know, at the time of this conversation, that their Lord would soon be praying with great intensity and sadness in the Garden of Gethsemane, that, if possible, God would take this tribulation from him.
They also didn't know that Jesus was to be so sorrowful that his sweat was to become like blood dripping to the ground, and that an angel from heaven had to come and strengthen him.
So when the Lord Jesus quoted to them the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7, when he told them that all of them would stumble, that they would, literally "run away and leave me", he knew that they had no idea, not a clue of how grave the circumstance would turn out to be.
Such was the patience of our Lord Jesus. He was patient with their ignorance.
(3) Jesus was patient with their insufficiency – that they would all stumble and desert him.
Particularly with Peter, who stumbled very badly indeed. He followed Jesus from a distance. He denied three times, the final time with an oath, that he was ever acquainted with Jesus.
Mark 14:71, "I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know the man you are talking about!"
But Luke 22:31,32 tells us that Jesus prayed for him that his strength would not fail, that he would return from this stumbling to strengthen others.
Conclusion
There are many valuable lessons to be learned from the Lord Jesus' private teaching and conversations with his disciples.
The accounts in Mark 15, Matthew 26 and John 13 may appear to portray our Lord as being somewhat stern and blunt with his disciples. For example, when Peter asserted that he would lay down his life for his Master's sake, Jesus told him, "Truly, truly I say to you . . . will you lay down your life for my sake? The cock shall not crow till you have denied me three times."
It is when we look more carefully into the account in Luke 22 that we can see our Lord as a gentle, patient teacher – patiently waiting for Peter to come to his senses.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat [TEV to separate good from bad / wheat from chaff]. But I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail, that when you're returned, strengthen your brethren"
Brothers and Sisters, let us imitate our Lord Jesus in our lives, to be gentle, able to teach patiently and "in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil . . ." 2 Timothy 2: 24-26.
