I print out the passages of scripture
that we're looking at with a purpose in mind. That purpose is that
you will take these remarkable words of God
and you'll spend time playing with them. I spend time playing
with them and it's just fascinating to to look at the way God the
Holy Spirit has structured His Word. It is a remarkable Word because
it reveals a remarkable Saviour. And that remarkable Saviour saves
us. Father, Son and Holy Spirit save
us in ways which no man or the collective activities of all
the wisest people in the world would never possibly imagine
saving people the way they are saved. It's called a great salvation. John Newton, when he was an old
man, said, I'm an old man and I can't remember as well as I
used to, but two great things I remember. One is, I am a great
sinner. And Jesus Christ is a great Savior. As we saw over this last couple
of weeks, the Lord Jesus finished the Passover. The Passover that
they had was the last legitimate Passover in all of Israel's history. He finished the Passover. He instituted the Lord's Supper. And our great God, our great
Shepherd, He leads his people out. They went out to the Mount
of Olives, out to that garden of Gethsemane. And this conversation
was probably on the way to Gethsemane. When they had sung a hymn, they
went out to the Mount of Olives. 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 will
be scattered. But after I have been raised,
I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, Even if all
are made to stumble, yet I will not be. Jesus said to him, Assuredly,
I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster
crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he spoke more
vehemently, If I have to die with you, I will not deny you. and they all said likewise. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
I pray that you would lead us this morning in your understanding
of your word, that we would see who we are as frail and fickle
sinners, but we would also see who our great shepherd is and
the way he shepherds his sheep. that we might be found, Heavenly
Father, to be people who are at rest in His faithfulness and
at peace in His arms, that we would go out like cars let loose
from the stalls, rejoicing in the wonders of your redeeming
love for us. We pray these things for the
glory of your dear Son, and for your holy name's sake, our Father.
Amen. As we've seen, the Lord Jesus
leads His sheep as a good shepherd. He leads and leads and leads. He has always led His sheep. As we saw earlier, they were
His sheep given to Him by His Father in eternity. And they're His sheep He never
takes His eyes off them. He never loses sight of one of
them. And He's a good shepherd and
a great shepherd. And in this passage before us,
we have this great shepherd going out to deal with the enemies
of our souls. The enemies of our lives in this
world, the enemies of our souls. He's going out to do battle with
Satan. He's going out to do battle with
the world. He's going out to do battle with
sin. He's going out as the Great Shepherd
to meet a holy God in holy justice who must and will punish sin. And when he finds sin on his
son, he must punish his son. But that is the gospel, isn't
it? The sin was never the son's, except as it was laid on him
by the father, and he took it willingly. And he calls it, in
Psalm 69, he calls it his own. And with justice, God punished
him. As a great shepherd, he goes
out alone. As Isaiah 63 says, I have trodden
the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. I looked and there was no one
to help. I wondered and there was no one
to uphold. Therefore, my own arm brought
salvation to me, and my own fury, it sustained me. As we saw last
week, the Lord Jesus, who speaks God's word and is God's word,
takes his apostles, his beloved apostles, his weak and frail apostles. He takes them back to Scripture,
back to that amazing passage in Zechariah chapter 13 that
we looked at last week, where there was a fountain. A fountain
opened as that Roman soldier drove that spear into the Son
of God. A fountain was opened. Turn in your Bibles if you can,
Zechariah. We'll just look there briefly. There's a fountain opened
for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem
for sin and for uncleanness. And that fountain was opened
when that sword, awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against
the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike
the shepherd. God the Father in justice, His
sword of justice struck the shepherd against the man who is my companion,
against the man who is my fellow, who is my equal, who is God. Strike the shepherd and the sheep
will be scattered. And the Lord Jesus, as He always
does, always does, speaks His words, the words of truth, for
the comfort of our souls. Because God's words are true. Whether we understand them or
not, God's word is true. These words that we read according
to God, They are spirit and they are life. Whenever God speaks, the thing
is done. As we've been looking at the
eternal covenant, we have seen that God's word is always perfectly
sure. And what do you now rest your
eternal salvation on? What is your hope, brothers and
sisters on the Day of Judgment? What is your hope? Our hope is in what God has done
and what God has written, how do you know your sins have been
taken away? Because if God finds sin on you,
he will do to you what he did to his son. How do you know that
you are wholly blameless before God? Because God has spoken words
of truth to us, and his word cannot change In fact, as John
1 says, he is the word. But this is what John saw in
heaven in Revelation 19. Now I saw heaven open and behold
a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful. And
true, in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were
like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And
he had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was
clothed in a robe, dipped in blood. And his name is called
the Word of God. His name is called the Word of
God. Heaven and earth shall pass away.
These words will never pass away. God's people, like Abraham, they
live on the basis of promises from God. Abraham did two wonderful
things. Two wonderful things happened
in Abraham's life by grace. He gave glory to God and he was
strengthened in his faith, being fully convinced, fully persuaded
that what God had promised, what he had promised, he was also
able to perform. God's word is sure. The scriptures must be fulfilled. Zechariah was quoted by the Lord
Jesus so that these apostles would know that when the truth
happened, when the shepherd was struck, when they were scattered,
They would read on in Zechariah and realize that they would be
brought through the fire. They would be refined as silver. They would be tested as gold. And then they will say, the Lord
is my God. Because God will say, this is
my people. We live on the basis of the promises
of God. remarkable perseverance in the
faithfulness and love of our God. You see in these verses
before us, you saw them marked on my scriptures there, we have
three great promises from the Lord Jesus and three great promises
from men. Jesus said to them in verse 27,
all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. Then he makes another remarkable
promise. After I have been raised, after
I've been struck by God, after I've trodden that winepress alone,
I will be raised. I will go before you. I will
continue to lead you as I've led you for this last three years.
I will lead you again to Galilee." And then, in response to man's
proud boastings, Peter's, I will, I will, verse 29 and 31. And all of them saying, I will. Jesus says, you will deny me
three times. God's word is sure. What a blessed thing it is for
us to turn to this book and know that it's a sure word. And it reveals the fact that
he knows his sheep. I know my sheep, said the Lord
Jesus. We are so quick to look at Peter
and his failings. Peter and Paul are the two characters
other than the Lord Jesus who are painted most clearly for
us in the New Testament. We actually get to walk in their
shoes a little bit. And we get to feel something
of what they felt. But of course the Lord Jesus
knows them intimately. He knows our frame. He knows the very structure of
us and he remembers that we are but dust. As he says to Peter
a little later on, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So often we are We need to be, and continually
need to be, reminded of our frailty. When I was a little kid, I used
to be teased for saying the word gunner, because I used to say,
I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm gunner. That was Terrera language,
back a long time ago. I'm gunner. And people used to
tease me because I said I'm gunner. And the reason they did is because
most of the time when we say, I'm gonna, we genuinely don't. We don't get to do what we want
to do. Peter is just such a reminder
of who we are and who our God is. But before we move down to
Peter, it's really important that we see what the Word of
God says in verse 27. Because it's a very helpful thing. God at no point in all of the
Scriptures ever excuses one person for their sin. They are 100%
responsible for their sin and we need to own it and not hide
from it. But the remarkable thing is that
the Lord Jesus, as the shepherd of our souls, has taken 100%
responsibility for our sins. But also, he is absolutely sovereign. Just read the words there in
Mark 14, 27. Jesus said to them, all of you,
what is the next word? will be made to stumble. The reality is that given the
nature of our flesh, given our fallen nature, all that is required
for us to stumble is for God to change the circumstances of
our life. We are warned by Paul in 1 Corinthians,
be careful when you think you are strong. Pride comes before
the fall. We are weak, but there's a remarkable
promise from God in this, isn't it? That the stumbling of these
apostles by which men are still often appalled, the stumbling
of these apostles, the stumbling of God's children, does not happen
outside of the perfect, absolute sovereignty of our God. I don't have to explain it. It's
just what God says. that doesn't give us excuse for
sin, but in the midst of sin and in the midst of our fallings,
it's a cause for us to run back to God all the time. It's a cause
for us to say, what is God doing here? Forget about the wiles
of men and the will of man. Run back to God. You will all
be made to stumble because of me this night. The scriptures
must be fulfilled. The great shepherd must go out
to battle on his own. He will not go out to battle
with his people helping him. He must do it on his own, that
God will be glorified, that his people will know that salvation
is entirely by the grace of God and not some cooperative activity
of men plus God. Jesus is all of our salvation
or is none of your salvation. He's all of our righteousness
or He's none of our righteousness. He's all of our sanctification
or He's none of our sanctification. You either have all of Jesus
or you have absolutely nothing. All you have is yourself and
your own will. And part of the reason for this
stumbling of these apostles is we would be caused again to see
how the very best of men, with the very best of intentions,
are but weak and frail, and less sustained by the grace of God. There but for the grace of God
go I. It should be a cause for us to
do as Paul encourages us in Ephesians 4, to be very kind to our brothers
and sisters when they stumble and fall. Because we don't know
what God is doing in the particular circumstances of their life at
that time. We have good reason to be gracious
because we've been treated with such grace. And out of the greatest
failings come some of the most extraordinary witnesses to the
grace of God in the lives of these people. So Peter said to him, even if
all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. See, Peter good intentions. It was a right
and honourable thing for him to wish to defend the Lord Jesus
who had done so much for him for these three years. It came from good motives. It was sincere. He was sincere. People often think of Peter's
weakness. I would love to have a tiny bit of his courage. He took on a multitude, led by
Judas, of soldiers and temple guards. He took on a multitude
on his own with a little knife. And he actually cut off someone's
ear. And having suffered that, embarrassment and that failing
in a sense, he then went to the court where the Lord Jesus was
being tried. He actually put himself in a
place of extraordinary danger. Peter was weak and he was wrong,
but he is a remarkable, remarkable man. In Luke 22 verse 31, the Lord
Jesus says to Peter, Simon, Simon, Peter who had so often boasted
of things that he could do, so often rebuked the Lord, Simon,
Simon, Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you
as wheat. And the word sifty means there,
just like the sieves that we have on the farm, is that they
are round things with a wire grate on the bottom. And you
swirl them around as vigorously as you possibly can without the
grain spilling. And you shake them up and down
as hard and vigorously as you can without the grain spilling
in the hope that you will sort out the rubbish. Satan asked
that he could do that with Peter. But, says the Lord Jesus, he
doesn't stop Satan from sifting God's people, but he does something
remarkable. Just read it there in verse 31
of Luke 22. But I have prayed for you that
your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to
me strengthened strengthen your brethren. Isn't that a remarkable
promise? This great shepherd never ceases
to intercede for his people. He stands in the throne room
of God at this very moment and He pleads before the throne of
God for His people. And He pleads His perfect righteousness,
which is their righteousness. He pleads His perfect sin-bearing
death, which is the atonement for their sins. And God says,
I'm satisfied. God says these weak, frail people
are holy, spotless and blameless. Not because they are good, but
because of the goodness, the wonderful goodness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Strengthen your brethren. How
does Peter go back and strengthen his brethren after so great a
fall? He strengthens his brethren the
way we strengthen each other, with the gospel. He can say to
his brethren when they stumble and fall like all of them did,
the Lord's praying for you. You're being sifted, but you'll
come out refined as gold. You'll be tested by the fire
and you'll just end up like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The only
thing missing is that the cords that bound them are gone. Not
even the smell of the fire is on them. You strengthen your
brethren with the Gospel. It's not about your goodness.
It's not about your will. It's not about your worth. It's
not about your works. It's all about the Lord Jesus.
Our standing before God is secure in who Jesus is, not what you
do, Simon. God is always in the business
of exposing our weakness, isn't it? Peter boasts Even if all
those other ones, I know the other 10 are like Jesus. I've
seen them, I've seen how weak that John can be. I've seen how
proud and boastful that James can be. I know how weak that
Nathaniel is, but I'm not like them. Dear oh dear, he speaks words
that we speak, don't we? So often, look how strong my
faith is, look at that weak faith over there. Dear oh dear, if
only that person would trust and believe. He will show us again and again,
as he does to our friend Peter. When we say, I will, when we
boast about what we will do, what we can do, we will know
the pride comes before the fall. And he who trusts in his own
heart, says the wise man, he who trusts in his own heart is
a fool. For the heart of man is deceitfully
wicked above all things, desperately wicked. and it's beyond cure. Peter's heart's like our hearts. Jesus said to him, assuredly
I say to you today, even this night, before the rooster crows
twice, you will deny me three times. Not just once, but three
times. He who stood up with a sword
before a multitude armed with swords and clubs, when a little
girl says to him, I think you're one of those Galileans, he will
deny him. And if you read Luke's account
of those denials, the last of them was in the very presence
of the Lord Jesus himself. When you have returned to me,
strengthen your brethren. People often think that the Lord
Jesus looked upon Peter in judgment and condemnation. I don't think
anything could be further from the truth. I think that look
was a knowing look of love and compassion and sympathy. He loved him. He didn't have
to rebuke him. Peter was being rebuked by his
own conscience. He went out and he wept bitterly. See, when the Lord Jesus says,
you will, you will. No matter how strong you think
you are, no matter what the circumstances are, when he says you will, you
will. But Peter is prepared to challenge
the Lord Jesus. He spoke more vehemently to him,
if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." See, rather than being softened
by the Word of God and the promises of God, he just became more hardened. There's people who turn away
from God's Word, turn away from God's promises. They just dig
a bigger hole for themselves. And of course, people who speak
like this are always in the business of finding others to join in. And when someone speaks with
boldness like this, even apostles, ten remarkable apostles, John
and James, they all said likewise. And we are no better. We are
no better. In our flesh, we are just weak. See, the Lord Jesus, by his presence,
by his being, makes people to stumble. In fact, the word is
a really easy word for us to get a hold of if we just read
the Greek. The Greek word is, in English,
if you just read the letters out, it's scandalized. You'll be all made, you'll all
be scandalized by me. See, the Lord Jesus, our God,
does things and is a scandal to the men and women of this
world. God always has been a scandal. He scandalised these men because
their expectations of Messiah were still earthy expectations. They couldn't see beyond human
things. They thought their enemy was
Rome, but their enemy was much bigger and far more dangerous
than Rome. Satan was their enemy. The holy
justice of God is the enemy of men. Their sins are their enemy. Men are scandalised by what the
Gospel says about them by what this
book says about man. The Gospel is a scandal to people
because it declares a God who is so very, very different from
any human conception of God. In fact, in Isaiah 51, he says
that you think All of you human beings, especially you religious
people in Israel, you think that I am altogether like you. Ever since we fell in the garden,
we have been wanting to make God less of God and ourselves
more like God. Where did Peter learn I wills
from? He learnt them from Satan in
the garden. I will, I will. Read it in Isaiah
14. I will make myself like the Most
High. I will ascend. I will be the
ruler of my life. I will, I will, I will. God is in the business of making
His people humbled before Him. taking a place like Mary at His
feet, not sitting on a throne of their own dominion and their
own wisdom. Because God's ways of saving
His people are always contrary to human wisdom, always the opposite
to the way men would contrive to get people saved. All of the
campaigns and the mass evangelism of the last 150 years has been
designed to get people saved by getting them to do something,
as if salvation begins in the wills of man. Billy Graham said,
that of all the people that have come forward and prayed the sinner's
prayer and been declared to be Christians by him and others,
something beyond 96% of them, within weeks, are no longer in
churches at all. Do you think he owes God and
those people an apology for saying peace, peace to millions of people
whom God has not given peace? Human wisdom will applaud the
activities of the false gospel. But God's way of saving people
scandalises people. God's revelation of His sovereignty,
His absolute dominion of this world, is a scandal to us. What a shocking statement. You
will be made to stumble because of me. Surely that's not the
God who is loving and kind and wants his people to be happy
and happy all the time. God's election scandalises people. the particular effective redemption
of the Lord Jesus, that He really did die and really did own as
His own all the sins of His people. And when that sword that we looked
at last week struck the Lord Jesus, absolute holy justice
was wielding that sword and not one tiny drop of that precious
blood was wasted. He didn't make a door open and
create a possibility. He really saved his people when
that sword pierced his soul. God says he will not fail. He
had purposes from eternity. He carried the souls of all of
his redeemed as a husband carries the love of his bride to his
heart. He bore her sins and she was
saved. He didn't come and try and do
something and failed. People are scandalised by the
fact that God will save his people eternally and they cannot possibly
be lost because salvation that starts with the I will of man
can be lost by the I won't of man. The gospel is a scandal. The cross offends man's pride. man's will, man's worth, man's
self-esteem. It was good for Peter and these
men to stumble. It was good for their pride to
be put in its right and proper place. It was good for them and
all of us to see that God saves alone, sovereignly and effectively. It's good for us to see that
their self-confident boasting has been reduced to nothing. It's good for us to see and for
them to see that their self-righteousness and their pride in their own
abilities is brought to absolutely nothing before the high wills
of the Lord Jesus. But we must not finish on sad
notes. because this is a gospel, isn't
it? One of the most remarkable things
about Peter's denial of the Lord Jesus' words here is that in
verse 28, he makes a promise. This great shepherd who goes
out is coming back again and he says, but after I have been
raised, I will go before you to Galilee. This dark night that
is coming upon you in the next few hours is going to break into
the most beautiful sunrise in a couple of days' time. I'm going
to go before you, I'm going to lead you in Galilee as I have
for this last three years. See, unbelief, unbelief brings
great pain to God's people. Unbelief robs people of seeing
and experiencing the wonderful providence and provision of God.
It robs people of seeing this Word as containing the most beautiful
pictures of the salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus. Unbelief robs us of peace, robs
us of joy, How many of God's people live in anxiety and tears
and sorrow that might be avoided if we just took God at His word
and trusted Him? We're all like Peter, weak and
stumbling and frail in our flesh. But we will all, as God's children,
agree with Paul that by the grace of God I am what I am. And lest, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians
12, unless I should be exalted above measure, by the abundance
of the revelation, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I pleaded
with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And
he said to me, he says to all of you now, brothers and sisters,
my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect. in weakness. Therefore most gladly
will I rather boast in my infirmities that the power of God may rest
upon me.