Out of My Distress: How (Not) to be a Disciple
Download MP3Well, good morning, or afternoon. I have no idea. Somewhere in between. Well, it's wonderful to be with you this morning. We are continuing our study of Mark's gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:Mark chapter 14. We're gonna be looking at a short paragraph in Mark 14, beginning with verse 46, and reading through verse 31. It's printed there in your worship guide. And as you make your way, we're gonna be in Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 26. And as we read this together, let us listen carefully, for this is God's word.
Jeffrey Heine:And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, you will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, but after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, Even though they all fall away, I will not. Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me 3 times. But he said emphatically, If I must die with you, I will not deny you.
Jeffrey Heine:And they all said the same. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Holy and almighty God, we come today to this moment when we open your word and desire to meet with you, the living word, to behold your greatness and graciousness, to receive the words of life, to remember that you are sovereign over all, even our restless hearts. Lord, we know that we are not in control.
Jeffrey Heine:So much of life reminds us that we're not, but today, we strain our ears and our hearts and our minds to hear you say again that you are indeed lord over all. No spirit meet with us, and speak what only you can speak. We speak to the deepest needs of our hearts, the unending grace of Jesus, that today we might trust you anew and surrender all that we have and all that we are to the glory of Christ our lord. So would you speak, lord, for your servants are listening? We pray this in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen. If you had talked with Peter when he was a young fisherman, casting his nets on the sea of Galilee, he never would have believed that his life would end as a martyr in Rome, nor would he have believed that we would still speak of him 2000 years later. Fishermen don't usually leave behind a legacy like that. They live by what the tide brings in. They catch and they clean and they go home tired.
Jeffrey Heine:Legacy was not on Peter's mind, especially not the day that that strange rabbi walked up to him and his brother, Andrew, and called them both to follow him. It was nearly 40 years later that Peter's young associate, Mark, would put pen to parchment or ink to papyri and write down the story, this gospel of what Peter had seen firsthand following Jesus. Mark wrote his gospel around the time of Peter's death in Rome, which likely motivated Mark to collect and put these world changing stories in one place, but Mark's deep affection and paternal honor of Peter did not sway his commitment to write an honest account, to write what really happened, because telling it as it was, honestly describing Peter's account of what he saw and experienced following Jesus, it meant displaying Peter who had become that rock upon which the church was built, telling an honest story meant presenting him, showing him as a spectacularly imperfect disciple. Throughout our study of Mark's gospel, we have seen time and again, Peter's weaknesses on display. His perpetual confusion, his outright failures, and our passage today begins the account of the night of Peter's great unraveling and his greatest failure.
Jeffrey Heine:But what have we seen thus far? What has, what has been leading up to this night? Well, not long after the other disciples and Peter started following Jesus, Peter is repeatedly shown as being confused, confounded by what Jesus is saying, prompting Jesus even to ask, are you still without understanding? Peter also acted as crowd control for Jesus, ultimately keeping little children away from him. We also see Peter boldly going out to walk on water only to grow fearful and begin to sink.
Jeffrey Heine:And even after he was the 1st disciple to correctly answer Mark's big question of who is Jesus, when he confesses that he is the Messiah, Peter's next words are a rebuke to Jesus because Jesus had just announced to his disciples that he must suffer and die. And Peter says, no. He tells the Messiah, that's not what the Messiah is supposed to do. Peter arrogantly argues with the other disciples about which one is the greatest in Mark 9, and when Jesus carries a basin of water and takes the posture of a servant to wash the other disciples' feet, once again, Peter rebukes Jesus to his face, saying, this is not what the Messiah is supposed to do. And here in our passage today, we see that Peter, once again, is refusing to listen to what Jesus is saying, rebuking the very idea that the disciples would fall away and abandon Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:And from the rest of Mark's gospel, we will learn that within hours of this latest rebuke, Peter will fall asleep when he's supposed to be keeping watch and praying in Gethsemane. He impulsively attacks a soldier with a sword. He will deny Jesus 3 times, and ultimately he will run away into the streets of Jerusalem, weeping bitterly, and all of that before sunrise. From Mark's gospel, we can surmise a lot about Peter's character. If nothing else, we can plainly see that Peter was bold.
Jeffrey Heine:He was confident and outspoken, even when what he was speaking out is complete heresy. No one in all 4 gospels more confidently speaks heresy than Peter. He was so good at being so wrong, and I don't think he would mind me saying that, because I don't think Mark would have written all of these stories down if Peter himself hadn't retold these stories of failure for decades. Peter was a pastor. He preached the gospel and he cared for new disciples of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:And as he was tending the flock of real people, he told them real stories of following the real Jesus. As I said, some months back in a sermon on Mark 8, Peter wasn't a disciple of Jesus because he was good at it. Peter wasn't a follower because he was wise, or because he was strong in faith or righteousness. Peter was a follower of Jesus because Jesus called him to follow. And from that morning on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to this night of Jesus's betrayal and arrest, Peter kept following Jesus, imperfectly for sure, but Peter kept following Jesus because Jesus called him to follow.
Jeffrey Heine:As Joel explained last week, as we were looking at the Lord's supper, there's an order to that Passover meal. And that's how it got that Hebrew name Seder, meaning order. There's a sequence of prayers, of stories, of Psalms, and Mark records that when the meal was completed, the disciples sang a hymn together. Think about that. At that very moment, Judas was meeting with the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, he's coordinating the betrayal and the arrest of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:Everything was set in motion. The hour of Christ's great suffering was at hand, and before leading his disciples to that garden where he would be arrested, Jesus leads his disciples in singing. Throughout the Passover order, there are specific Psalms that are sung, and typically, especially in the 1st century, the meal would have included the Hillel Psalms, Hillel being Hebrew for praise. And during the order of the Passover, throughout that meal, these Psalms, what we know is Psalm 113 through 118, would have been sung. And so the meal would have concluded with that last of the Hallel Psalms, Psalm 118.
Jeffrey Heine:Our opening scripture this morning. Jesus would have led his disciples to sing together. Let Israel say, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say, his steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say, his steadfast love endures forever.
Jeffrey Heine:Out of my distress, I called on the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. Mark records that after they sang these words, Jesus led his disciples to the Mount of Olives. It's a large mountain Ridge outside the city walls of Jerusalem. And in the Mount of Olives, there was an area called the Garden of Gethsemane. And that's where Jesus and his followers often visited and hung out and likely camped there on occasion.
Jeffrey Heine:Along the way to the garden, Jesus has some important things that he needs to share with his disciples. In fact, he has some distressing news that he has to share with them. He also has words of reassurance and comfort, and in an economy of words, Jesus shares this distressing and comforting information in just 2 packed sentences. So let's look together. First, the distressing news in Mark 14 27.
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus said to them, you will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. So the first sentence is the distressing news. Jesus tells his disciples, you will all fall away. Your translation in your Bible might be differently worded. Some English translations say, all of you will reject me, all of you will lose faith in me, you will all falter in your faithfulness to me, or all of you will abandon me.
Jeffrey Heine:Lots of different ways to say the same thing, none of them good. Jesus is saying that all of his disciples will fall away. Jesus grounds this painful truth in the prophetic writing of Zechariah, the prophet Zechariah, who speaks the words of the Lord to the people of God. He said in Zechariah chapter 13 verse 7, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Zechariah's prophesying, speaking the words of the Lord, that the Lord would strike down a shepherd of God's people and the people would scatter.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus relates to his disciples that what they're about to experience is connected to this old Testament prophecy of striking the shepherd and the scattering of the sheep. That's the first sentence, it's the distressing news that every one of these beloved disciples will falter, will lose faith, will abandon Jesus, and it's immediately addressed as Jesus offers words of comfort to these men in verse 28, where Jesus says, but after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Jesus says, yes. You will all abandon me. You will all scatter in my time of unspeakable suffering, but, but, but after I am raised up, I will gather you up and meet you in Galilee.
Jeffrey Heine:At the same time that Jesus is letting them know this harsh truth about what must happen, he is also offering clarity and comfort for what he will do on the other side of their distress. He will rise from the dead and gather them back up. Notice that Jesus is not warning them, trying to persuade them not to fall away. No, he's just letting them know what he's going to do about them falling away. But all the disciples are able to hear is that first sentence, the distressing news.
Jeffrey Heine:They are solely focused on the startling news that each one of them will fall away. This isn't like the earlier prophetic word that Jesus gave them during the meal when he said, 1 of you will betray me. He says, 1 of you will betray me, and they all start to panic. Is it me? Is it me?
Jeffrey Heine:Is it me? This is an inescapable prophetic word. Every one of them will fall away. This distressing news, it's all they hear, especially Peter. And as we've come to expect in Mark's gospel, Peter has something to say back to Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:With all the unfounded unsupported confidence that he can muster, Peter boldly responds to Jesus saying in verse 29, even though they all fall away, I will not. Peter blows past Jesus's comforting words about the resurrection and the gracious promise that Jesus will gather the disciples back together in Galilee. And instead, Peter explains, he disciples explains to Jesus, I can definitely see how all these other disciples are gonna fall away. That's not a surprise. But you should know, Jesus, that I'm not going to.
Jeffrey Heine:And so Jesus looks at Peter, in his unmatched hubris, and he addresses him specifically. Verse 30, and Jesus said to him, truly, also translated verily, it's where we get amen. There's a confidence in what he is about to say. Truly, I tell you this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me 3 times. Jesus knows that Peter's falling away will be more distinct, more profound than the other disciples.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter will not simply falter, he will explicitly deny Jesus. Not only will he deny Jesus, but he will do it 3 times. And in Galilee, Jesus will reunite with his other disciples, but Peter must be restored. Jesus' knowledge of Peter, knowing that he will fall away, knowing down to the moment of the roosters crowing, reminds us that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Saint Augustine put it this way, God knows in us, even what we ourselves do not know in ourselves.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus knows Peter better than Peter does, and yet Peter is still refusing to listen to Jesus. Peter rejects all that Jesus is saying to him. Verse 31, but Peter said emphatically, if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said the same. It appears that Peter's confidence is contagious.
Jeffrey Heine:The other disciples join him in this emphatic rejection that they will fall away. And in their rejection of Jesus's words, they all neglect the comforting promise that Jesus will rise and gather the scattered disciples back to himself. They continue their walk to the garden of Gethsemane. As I was thinking through these various scenes of Peter's spectacular failures that Mark offers us, I kept returning to the decisive moment of the transfiguration when the glory of God began to radiate from Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, and how Peter heard with his own ears the very voice of God, the father, when he said in Mark 9 verse 7, this is my beloved son. Listen to him.
Jeffrey Heine:If there is a theme to Peter's failures, a running through line that that seems to be at the root of all of his mistakes. It can be traced back to his failure to listen to Jesus. And here is where we realize that Mark didn't include these numerous stories of failure so we could mock Peter, but so we would realize that we are just like him. Because if there is a theme to our failures, yours and mine, a running through line that seems to be at the root of all of our mistakes, it can be traced back to our failure to listen to Jesus. That was the singular straightforward instruction from God the Father.
Jeffrey Heine:Listen to Jesus. So there's only one point to our sermon today. You might not even need to write it down though I think we might all need to, because it seems so hard to remember. Listen to Jesus. If Peter had listened to Jesus, he would've known that Jesus' Jesus' suffering was the only way for him to be rescued from sin and death and hell.
Jeffrey Heine:If Peter had listened to Jesus, he would've known that Jesus was the only one able to take away the sins of the world, and that it would come through his own sacrifice. If Peter had listened to Jesus, he would've known that even though he and the other disciples would abandon Jesus, Jesus would rise from the grave victorious and gather his beloved disciples together on the other side of their distress. If Peter had listened to Jesus. So what does that mean for us? What does it mean to listen to Jesus?
Jeffrey Heine:I think one of the first things that we can take from the story of Peter is that you might not like everything Jesus has to say. Peter sure didn't. You might not like what Jesus has to say about your life, about righteousness, sin, suffering, salvation. You might not like what he has to say to you about you. Peter is an example of a follower of Jesus, not liking what Jesus has to say, particularly things that have to do with failure and sin.
Jeffrey Heine:And that makes sense, because most of us don't want any more bad news. And we wanna think of ourselves as better than we actually are, but Jesus has things to say to us that we won't like. And while we might not like what he says, we can always trust what he says. It's through trusting the distressing bad news that we make our way to the comforting good news. The news of his perfect life and his perfect sacrifice and his victory over death.
Jeffrey Heine:Peter couldn't hear the second sentence of comfort because he was focused on that first sentence of bad news. He couldn't hear the good news because he refused to believe that bad news first. What Jesus has to say about you is true, both the comforting and the distressing. Jesus is the only voice that will always tell you the truth. And if you are a follower of Jesus, then you are called to listen to him.
Jeffrey Heine:So what has he said about you? He said, anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. He said, The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He said, Whoever believes in me will live even if they die. And he said, If anyone loves me, they will keep my word.
Jeffrey Heine:My father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Listen to what he says about himself and about you, because what he says is trustworthy and true. As for Peter, the night will turn to morning and the rooster crowing will be the exclamation point indicating that everything Jesus said about him was true, and everything that Peter thought about himself was false. Through the harshest means possible, Peter will learn the words of Psalm 118 that he sang only hours before with Jesus. They will become the deepest cry of his heart as he runs through those Jerusalem streets by himself, weeping bitterly.
Jeffrey Heine:Out of my distress, I called on the Lord. The Lord answered me and set me free. Peter's sin brought him to his lowest point, his great distress, and it will be Jesus who will answer him and set him free. These years of Peter following Jesus, chronicled for us by Mark, more often than not, Peter shows us how not to be a disciple. More often than not, and the primary way that he shows us how not to be a disciple is by not listening to Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:But Peter also shows me at the very least that I am not the 1st disciple of Jesus who fails. In fact, I have in my scriptures, a record of Jesus sticking with failures, gathering up those who are scattered, disciples who test the truthfulness of steadfast love, who see if it truly does endure forever. And it does. And with that steadfast love, with that rescue from great distress, we as the followers of Jesus have all the more reason to obey, to obey all that Jesus commands of us. We have all the more reason to respond to the steadfast love by listening to him, to believe what he says about us and to trust that his every command is for our ultimate good.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus's unwavering love is the basis for our total obedience to him. Nothing else will do. So the question comes to us, and it's not a hypothetical. It's as expected as the tide coming in each day. Will you listen to Him today?
Jeffrey Heine:Will you listen to His words today? And will you respond with your trust and your love and your obedience? Learning to listen is not an easy journey, but it is the path of discipleship. That's what discipleship is, learning to listen to Jesus. And as with Peter, Jesus will use many situations to teach you how to listen to him.
Jeffrey Heine:And no matter what distressing news he might need to share with you, even refining and calling out sin in us that we don't want to hear or even believe, it will always be grounded in the promise of his resurrection and in his steadfast love, as his love endures forever. Let's go to him now in prayer. Oh, spirit, would you ready our hearts to listen, to receive what has been said, to believe what Jesus says about Himself and about us, and to respond, to respond to that truth, to respond to what he says with trust and with love and with obedience. Oh, Lord, it is so hard to listen, so many things that we don't want to hear, but as you meet us with your grace and your comfort, we receive the truth of your words. And, Lord, would you draw us near to you as you draw near to us that we might listen and believe.
Jeffrey Heine:We pray this in the name of Christ, our king. Amen.
