Matthew 26:31-33 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
The prophecy that was made by Jesus that night was during a Passover Celebration with Jesus and his twelve Apostles, later known as the “Last Supper.” We celebrate this evening with Jesus and His followers when we come to Jesus’ table at Communion. When he said, “as it is written,” He referred to a passage from the Prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 13:7).
The Last Supper was also the
beginning of a night of disloyalty, treachery, delusions, commitments, and
promises made that were not going to come to fruition. It was the start of a
conspiracy between the Jewish leaders and Judas Iscariot to betray our Lord and
Savior for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). However, the most
surprising disloyalty and betrayal came from the most unlikely source, the
Apostle Peter, in light of the boast, that if everyone betrayed Jesus, he never
would. Satan was already working on Peter before that night when he attempted
to put up a roadblock to the Crucifixion (Matthew 16:22). Peter, of course,
went on that night to deny that He even knew Jesus, not once but three times.
Jesus had told him that this would happen, and it would happen three times
before the Rooster crowed in the morning.
God used these betrayals and
broken promises to set the stage for forgiveness, not only for Peter but for
the ones that carried out the Crucifixion as well. This betrayal occurred as an
example for us today. There will be times that we all feel like we have failed
our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Sometimes by commission and frequently by
omission. We do or say something that a few seconds later we are asking
ourselves: “Why did I do that? Why did I
say that?” Then there will be times when God sets up a situation that we fail
to realize comes from God, and we wonder why we didn’t react differently.
Just like God used these
failures of Peter and others to bring about His ultimate purposes, He will use
our failures to carry out His supreme will. First, of course, Christ Jesus
voluntarily and joyfully went to the Cross to atone for our sins (Hebrew 12:2).
Then three days later, the greatest occurrence in human existence took place;
Jesus was resurrected and defeated sin and death for us. That death tomb could
not hold Jesus, and the grave will not hold us.
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