Strengthened by Trusting I Am; Failing by Trusting I Will
David W Palmer
(Matthew 26:31 NKJV) Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
After the Last Supper, as Jesus was about to lead his disciples—one last time under the current arrangements—to the garden where he loved to pray, he warned them of impending spiritual danger. The warning was very clear; it came directly from the mouth of the Master: “All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night.”
Jesus then quoted the Scriptural evidence—the quickened rhema word he had received from his Father. It showed them that this had been prophetically declared in advance. In other words, this was a very real warning.
However, despite just receiving the living word from heaven that he would fall that very night, Peter suddenly burst forth with an “I will” statement:
(Matthew 26:33 NKJV) Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
Peter’s emotional love for Jesus, and his reaction to being told he was too weak to stand by himself, triggered an unwise vow: “I will never be made to stumble.” By putting the emphasis on “I will,” Peter showed that he thought that when it came to walking in union with Jesus, that his own willpower would be enough to keep him from sin or from breaking loyalty and fellowship with Jesus. But, as we will see further on in Scripture, it wasn’t:
(Matthew 26:34 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
Faith is an “assurance” (See: Heb. 11:1 ESV). Because Jesus began his response to Peter with, “Assuredly,” he was actually confessing his faith that what God had showed him was about to happen.
Obviously, this is not the type of word we normally receive from Jesus, but this passage shows clearly that it is possible. If, like Peter, we begin to trust in our own willpower instead of praying trustingly for God’s grace to enable us, we will most certainly fail at some point.
Following Peter’s protestation of self-confidence, Jesus didn’t relent in his confession; but he spelled it out to Peter in greater detail:
(Matthew 26:34 GWT) Jesus replied to Peter, “I can guarantee this truth: Before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don't know me.”
Peter too didn’t relent in the confession of his faith; but instead of faith in God, his confession was based in the belief that his own emotionally charged willpower could subdue his flesh:
(Matthew 26:35 NKJV) Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
We note that “all the disciples” agreed with Peter’s self-faith, and made the same confession. Let’s see if such a self-confident declaration translated into corresponding actions:
(Matthew 26:36, 40–41 NKJV) Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” ... {40} Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? {41} Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Even while praying in his most crucial, life or death decision, Jesus still made time to coach his apprentices. They were competent in tasks now—even the illogical ones—but not yet competent in spiritual disciplines and instructions.
Even Peter, who confessed that he would not fail, didn’t follow Jesus’s instruction to watch and pray—the very means by which he could have received the moral strength to avoid the temptation, to which he so vehemently confessed he wouldn’t succumb. That’s why he failed; he thought he could succeed in spiritual matters by simply using his will power to instruct his flesh. Jesus summed up the
