Big Idea - No one wants to fail. It is painful and can lead us to feel great disappointment in ourselves, and it is doesn't do much for our reputation either! In this passage, Jesus tells His disciples that they are all going to fail, they will all 'fall away.' But Peter is determined that he will not. He affirms his determination to stick with Jesus, even if it means dying with Jesus. But Jesus knows, and we know, that his determination is not enough. In the end, Peter not only abandons Jesus, but denies he ever even knew Him. This story is a powerful reminder that our determination and willpower are not enough to guarantee that we will be successful. Just because we really want to do something does not mean we can or that we will. Paul wrestles with this same problem in Romans 7 when he says, "15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." But Jesus models something very different. In the face of the most severe testing and temptation, He not only resolves to do the right thing, but He does exactly what He is determined to do, even though it is extremely difficult. How did Jesus succeed where the disciples failed? How can we resist temptation and do the right thing that we want to do?
First we need to see why willpower and even the most determined resolve to do the right thing is insufficient. Jesus knows what the twelve will do when He is arrested and crucified - they will run away and abandon Him. He knows this because it was prophesied in Zechariah 13:7. He warns them not to shame them but to show that this is all part of God's purpose and plan from the beginning of time, and He knows all that He must experience to redeem us from the curse and grip of sin. But Peter is determined that he will not fall away, even if it means dying with Jesus! It is hard not to admire Peter's determination and commitment here! He could be a poster child for the modern mindset that says, "you've got this!" expressed in the Nike slogan "Just do it!" But his determination is not enough. He doesn't just do it. Instead, he just fails. Why doesn't this work? 1) we underestimate what we are really up against. 2) We overestimate our own abilities. 3) We don't believe what God tells us about ourselves. 4) This mentality is all about fighting, not following.
Jesus then does two things at the same time. He puts them to the test to show them their weakness, and He models for them a very different way. He calls Peter, James, and John apart not because they are more privileged but because they are the most confident and, therefore, the most confused. In essence, He says, you three want to follow me to the death, let's start by just following me in prayer for one hour. They cannot do it. Three times, He tells them to watch and pray, three times, they fail, showing they are powerless to follow Jesus in the most simple things where their life is not being threatened. How can they possibly stand firm when their life is on the line? Determination is not enough because no matter how willing the spirit is, the flesh is weak. At the same time, Jesus models the way to succeed. We may think Jesus had an advantage over them because He was the Son of God, and in a sense, He did. But the advantage was not in some special power that made Him automatically resistant to temptations. We see that Jesus was severely tested and tempted in the garden. It was not easy for Him to go to the cross, and everything in His human life resisted the path He was on. But, He overcame where the disciples failed because 1) He did not underestimate what He was up against, 2) He was very much in touch with His own weakness and feelings of despair, 3) He knows that He cannot do it alone, so He goes to the Father in prayer, 4) He doesn't just pray, but He repeatedly prays that God's will would be done, not His own. This kind of prayer requires absolute trust in the power and goodness of God. Jesus prays until the time is up, the hour of suffering has come, and Jesus faces it head-on.
If we stopped here, we could get the idea that all we need to be successful is a better example. Jesus showed us how to do it, so now we are good to go. So, get out there and just do it! But this would be a huge mistake. His example is still not enough. We need more. A good example cannot overcome the weakness of the flesh! We need something more. But what Jesus did in the garden wasn't just an example to follow. It is also a power to appropriate. Jesus went to the cross not only to show us how to succeed in following God, but by dying on the cross, He reversed the curse of sin. In the first garden, Adam failed because he chose not to follow God but to be his own boss instead. That is the real problem. Sin is not only doing wrong things, it is the stubborn refusal to follow anyone else, but especially God. Peter was willing to die with Jesus by fighting for Him, but he was not willing to follow Jesus to the cross. It is not our nature to be followers, and the disciples prove over and over that they cannot follow Jesus, even when they really want to - even something as simple as praying. In the second garden Jesus succeeds where Adam failed. He followed God, even in the face of the most horrific suffering. He overcame the weakness of the flesh, and that power is now available to those who turn to Him in prayer. But how do we turn to Him in prayer when the disciples demonstrate even that proves to be impossible? Praise God what is impossible for man is possible for God. Jesus' warning ends with an amazing promise - you will be scattered what I am taken away, but after I rise from the dead, I will go before you into Galilee. This doesn't mean Jesus is going to beat them home. It means He will return to them as their Shepherd, He will gather them, and He will lead them by His grace! They will abandon Him, but He will not abandon them! He will shepherd them and that is what guarantees they will succeed in the end. The secret of overcoming sin and very temptation is not so much a battle to fight as it is having the right shepherd to follow!
