Sunday, May 12, 2024

PT-2 "The Disciples' Ignorance" (Matt. 26:33-35)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/12/2024 7:51 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  PT-2 “The Disciples Ignorance”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 25:33-35

 

            Message of the verses:  33 But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." 34 Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." All the disciples said the same thing too.”

 

            This is the second time that Jesus said "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”  The trouble is that Peter did not believe the Lord any more this time than the second time, and this was only a few hours later that He said this to Peter.  MacArthur writes “With amazing brashness and pride, he obviously thought that, wise as Jesus was, He was mistaken about the dependability and courage of His foremost disciple.”

 

            In the times when Jesus was on the earth the Jews divided the night into four parts:  evening, which was from six to nine; midnight, which from nine to twelve; cock crow, which was from twelve to three; and then morning which was from three to six.  MacArthur adds “The third period gained its name from the fact that roosters began to crow about the end of that period and continued to crow periodically until after daybreak.”

 

            We can speculate that by the time that Jesus and His disciples made it to the Mount of Olives it was about midnight.  So Jesus prediction about Peter would happen within a very few hours, Peter would deny the Lord three times—before three in the morning, when a cock would normally begin to crow.  Peter should have realized that Jesus would not say this was going to happen to Him unless it was certain that it would, and no sooner had this third denial, which was augmented with a curse, come out of Peter’s mouth than “immediately a cock crowed” (v. 74).

 

            I could be said that Peter was a very prideful man and so that pride did not allow him to think such a thing was conceivable, as that is what pride will do to a man.  Peter’s pride on this occasion was manifested in at least three ways, MacArthur writes:  “In the first place he contradicted the Lord, as he had done at other times.  Shortly after Peter confessed that Jesus was ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ he ‘took Him aside and began to rebuke Him’ for predicting His suffering and death, ‘saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You’’ (Matthew 16:16, 22).

 

            “Second, Peter’s pride was manifested in his considering himself better than all the other disciples, claiming that, although they might desert Jesus, he would never do so.  Third, he trusted in his own streingh, foolishly declaring, ‘I will never fall away’ ad a few moments later adding, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.’  Sharing Peter’s misguided self-confidence, through perhaps to less extreme degrees, ‘All the disciples said the same thing too.’”    5/12/2024 8:13 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment