Message by Pastor Janice Good : August 24, 2008
“Rocky – Part 11”
“Denying or Dying?”
Text – Mark 14:17-20; 26-31
You may, or may not be aware of this, but every candidate for ministry in the Presbyterian Church is required to take a series of psychological tests, to meet with and be interviewed by a psychologist who then evaluates that candidates’ appropriateness for ministry. But this is not unique to the Presbyterian Church. There are a great number of organizations today who require this type of testing of potential employees, for one reason or another. Perhaps we have come to depend on other so-called experts in their field to replace our own common sense and intuition about people. We look to the sciences, depending on tests and outside evaluations that follow sometimes very sterile guidelines.
Just to demonstrate that sometimes these “objective” evaluations are not always accurate, I’d like to read to you from a memo I discovered regarding the appropriateness of several management candidates for a small, yet growing enterprise. This organization is lead by a self-taught, highly driven young man on a mission. It appears from the memo that He has requested the psychological evaluation of the other young men that He has hand picked to help this organization develop and grow. The memo reads as follows:
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafter Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
FROM: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.
We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We highly recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants.
(Found at getfed.com) http://www.ozsermonillustrations.com/frames/discipleship_frameset.htm
Well, I’m sure that the fictional Jordan Management Consultants were well intended in their evaluations of the disciples, of the men that Jesus called to be His closest allies and loyal followers. But we know more. We know how loyal and trustworthy Judas Iscariot really was. We know of the momentary fear and uncertainty felt by the other eleven after Jesus was crucified. We know that it was not the psychological appropriateness of these men, but rather the inner strength that Jesus saw within each of them, the inner strength that He worked for three years to develop within each of these men. We can see that the scientific and logical tests of human character may not be as truly revealing as what occurs when a person is put to the test. We also should see that Jesus’ omniscience gave Him the ability to know the actions of His followers and to try to prepare them for the consequences of those actions.
As we continue our character study of one of these twelve men, Simon Peter, the one whose name literally means “rock” we see that there is so much more than just the “objective” critique of an imaginary consulting firm. We find that Peter is, as are we, a work in progress. He struggles with his curiosity, his disbelief and his strong sense of loyalty, which will all soon be put to the test.
Now what I am about to say, is something that a preacher should never say. But just for a few moments, I want you to forget what you have learned about Jesus and the disciples over the past few years. Well, not all of it! Let’s just pretend that you are hearing the words of Mark’s Gospel for the very first time – Mark’s description of the last meal that Jesus shared with His disciples and the comments he made about betrayal, and specifically the comments He made to Peter about denial.
You see, if we read today’s scripture lesson knowing what happens next, it sort of diminishes the impact of the words that Jesus spoke that evening at the table. Here He is with His disciples, His, perhaps skeptical at first, but now faithful and loyal followers. Jesus has already told this group that He would be facing death. And those statements have generated a number of responses, especially from Peter: Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, to his scolding disbelief that Jesus might die, and now to his claim of complete loyalty, of loyalty to the death.
All four gospels share this moment of Jesus’ all-knowing revelation on the night of His betrayal. The words may be slightly different, and the amount of detail varies, but each evangelist saw the importance of relating how Jesus predicted the betrayal and denial.
It is also notable to consider that when Jesus announced that one of them would betray him, all wondered, either aloud, or to themselves, “Is it I, Lord?” Perhaps they each knew more than they really let on what was to take place and they were questioning their own motives and actions out loud. How often do you ponder that same question? When the circumstances in life get tough, and you face earthly trials and woes, do you ask yourself, “Is it possible that I would be completely faithful, or would I deny my faith in Jesus? Would I betray Jesus?”
When Jesus says that all of them will fall away, will desert Him, Peter boldly proclaims that he is stronger than that; that he would not deny Jesus, even if all the others do he would not! Perhaps he protested too much. Or did he declare what was truly in his heart? When Jesus had first told the disciples of His upcoming suffering and death right after Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi, Peter objected. He did not want to see Jesus die. He didn’t want Jesus to leave him. But now he is ready to die for Jesus. In his heart, there is the faith and the intention to be faithful to Jesus even unto death.
Peter was arguing in defense of himself. He couldn’t believe what Jesus had just said to him. He was highly offended and insulted at the thought that Jesus would even think he, Peter the “rock”, would ever deny Him. Peter’s statement of affirmation, of loyalty to the death was not uttered in singleness. All the others said the same. Peter was telling the truth as he knew it. He was willing to die for Christ, and eventually would. Peter, just like us though, seemed to be unaware of the evil within which needs to be exposed and put through the heat of the furnace to refine and purify the inner being.
In Luke’s Gospel narrative (Luke 22:31-34), Jesus tells Peter that Satan wants to sift the disciples like wheat. But Jesus has prayed specifically for Peter. And knowing full well what would occur, Jesus tells Peter that when he returns, when he repents, not if, but when he repents of that falling away, to strengthen his fellow disciples. Jesus knew the heart of Peter, just as He knows the heart of you and of me, of every believer. And just as He knows what’s in our hearts, He prays for us as well. The times of testing and failure will come in your life and mine, but in the midst of them, take courage in the fact that we have Someone pleading our case, taking our part, praying for us in Heaven.
While all the disciples were in Satan's sights, Peter received the promise of intercession. I am sure that Jesus was praying for all the disciples, but in Luke’s Gospel He spoke especially to Peter, because He knew exactly what Peter was about to do. You see, sin isn't a maybe in our lives, it is a given! But it is also a given that Jesus is there interceding on our behalf, saving us from ourselves!
In just twelve hours of scriptural time, we will see how these accusations and declarations play out. But even when we think of betrayal and denial as despicable actions, Jesus uses each person’s good intentions, yet failed actions, to shape us, to refine us. As God declared to ancient Israel through the prophet Zechariah, the text (that John read and) that Jesus quoted, the sheep will scatter when the Shepherd is struck down. Without a leader, the flock will be at great risk. Two thirds of the people, the flock, will die and the others will be put through the fire, will be refined and increased in value through the heat of the fire, purified as if silver or gold. There is a great amount of pride that must be burnt away, a great amount of over-confidence in ourselves that must be scrapped off, and a huge weight of self-righteousness that must crumble to the bottom of the furnace. And only the heat of the fire can accomplish this, through the trials we face here on earth.
In Mark’s gospel, which we read earlier, Jesus stated that someone would betray Him: “One of the twelve who is dipping bread into the dish with me.”
“Is it I, Lord?” Deep down in each one of the disciples’ hearts, they knew who they were. They read their own heart and were sure that the one who would betray Jesus could not possibly be they and let out a sigh of relief, “It’s not me!” But that would mean they were suggesting, perhaps accusing one of the others. But maybe, just maybe, they truly knew that they had weaknesses and therefore did not, could not accuse any of the others sitting next to them.
Deep down in your own heart, you may feel the same way. If you are honest with yourself, I am sure that you would admit that your loyalty to Christ could very easily be turned into withering fear and denial if you were faced with the sword. How strong and self-assured would you be if you were faced with the fact that you could lose your life if you publicly declared your loyalty, your trust and faith in Jesus Christ?
But, there are so many ways in which we ever so subtly deny Christ in our lives. We deny Christ within us each time we turn away from those who are in need: physically in need of food, clothing, shelter; or, spiritually in need of hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Each time we remain silent to the injustices of this world, we deny the Spirit of the Lord that we profess is within us. No matter how good our intentions, no matter how strong we think we are, no one is strong enough – except in the power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “One who is dipping bread with me will betray me.” Each time we come to the Lord’s Supper, we too are dipping bread with Christ. The one who will betray dips bread with Jesus. There is the potential for anyone of us, any one who professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to betray that trust and loyalty. Yet even in the face of that possibility, we see the overruling hand of God in His goodness, grace and providence.
Over the summer, we have examined the actions of Peter under a rather large magnifying glass. We have seen his impetuousness, his leaps of faith, his crashing falls as his faith falters, and his absolute and positive confession of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. But we cannot be too hard on Peter. We cannot condemn his actions because we are so very much similar in our own faith journeys, in our walks with Christ. We claim to have strong faith, to profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, as our Messiah. Yet, we so easily turn our back on the obligations that are part of that confession.
Perhaps you are familiar with the poem “Footprints in the Sand” whose words share the faithfulness of Christ to us even when we falter. But there is another version, a modified and more eye-opening twist. Listen to this version and see how and if it applies to your life.
“One night, I had a wondrous dream;
One set of footprints there was seen.
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, “What have we here?”
“Those prints are large and round and neat,
But, Lord, they are too big for feet.”
“My child,” He said in somber tones.
“For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.
You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk-of-faith you would not know.
So I got tired and fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt,
Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”
(“Buttprints in the Sand” (http://www.ozsermonillustrations.com/frames/obedience_frameset.htm)
We laugh at this because we know that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us. But don’t you sometimes wonder if He just gets tired of putting up with our whining, our weaknesses and our fears? “Is it I, Lord? Am I the one who will refuse to grow, to trust and to be strong? Am I the one who should be dropped in the sand?”
As we read the Scriptures do we really think about the interpersonal dynamics of those we discover in the Words of scripture? Yes, there is great theological and spiritual insight in God’s Word. There is the joyous promise of eternal life in the Good News. But there is also a whole lot of humanness, of how we sin and fail, but also how we are to grow and strengthen our character, of how we are to trust in the Lord and be faithful to Him. As you read the Bible, you should also be able to see your own struggles in the pages of timeless Scripture. But most importantly, you should be able to see the divine solution to those struggles.
We began our conversation this morning by discussing psychological testing of candidates for employment. How often we foolishly put our trust in the sciences that man has developed to define and explain every detail of our lives. Yet, it is not the human sciences that should be our focus, not human testing that we should trust. Our focus, our trust should be on the One to whom every detail of our lives is laid bare, the One who knows what our human hearts reveal, not the physical attributes… but the attributes of our soul. How will we respond when we are put to the test? What would you have said if it were you instead of Peter that night? Will our own self-interests take priority over the life giving Breath of God? Are you ready to die with Christ, or will you deny Him? Are you truly aware of how strong your faith is? Even though your faith may never be tested by such horrific circumstances as watching your beloved teacher being beaten and crucified, are you able to stand and proclaim, “I will die with you Jesus, before I would deny you!”
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we your children are called to walk by the light of Christ, your Son, and to trust in His wisdom and in His knowledge. May we submit to Him more and more, striving to believe in Him without denying His place within our hearts. May we follow His path to repentance so that in dying to self we might rise to new life in Christ Jesus. Teach us to follow your example. Increase our faith, hope and trust in You so that we would be faithful and true to You always, never denying the mighty name of Christ. Amen.