Introduction
A. The Significance of the Lesson on Weakness
As much as we would like to think of ourselves as strong Christians, the fact is we are weak. We would like to think we could never be caught in a situation where we would deny the Lord or His Word. But the truth is there are times we do deny Him. There are times when we desert Christ to avoid embarrassment or shame rather than be identified with Him. So it was with His disciples.
1. Predicting the desertion of the disciples
The lesson Christ taught the disciples in Matthew 26:31-35 is beneficial for us as well. Jesus predicted the disciples would desert Him, and it came to pass exactly as He said it would. This profound and unforgettable lesson changed the course of their lives. Of all that Jesus could have taught them, He revealed their weakness through the prediction of their future desertion. Matthew, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, placed that prediction in the midst of his treatment on Christ’s preparation for the cross. To carry the gospel message to the world, the disciples had to be strong. But the first step to acquiring strength is admitting your weakness. So a lesson on weakness was vital for the disciples.
All the disciples affirmed what we would like to affirm, but they did so on the basis of their own strength and commitment. They thought their love for Christ, spiritual strength, and ability to control Satan was greater than it actually was. They were leaning on their own understanding (cf. Prov. 3:5). When the moment came to take a stand for Christ, as He was taken captive in the garden, Matthew said, “Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled” (Matt. 26:56). The promise Peter and the rest of the disciples made in verse 35 was empty because it was based on human strength. Jesus had to teach them a lesson about the inadequacy of their own strength in the midst of spiritual warfare.
2. Preserving the majesty of Christ
Matthew was not focusing primarily on the disciples, although they are the surface issue. His primary objective was to preserve the majesty of Jesus Christ. Yet how could Christ retain any dignity, respect, and glory amid the desertion and defection of His own followers? Someone is bound to ask, “What kind of leader is he whose troops desert Him during the heat of battle?” Lesser men than the disciples have been in severer circumstances, yet stood their ground. Did Christ pick the wrong men? Such an accusation potentially demeans and weakens Christ’s regal splendor. But Matthew doesn’t allow that to happen. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he exalts Christ by contrasting Him to the defecting disciples. The majestic character of Jesus Christ is presented as clearly in this passage as any other in the New Testament.
B. The Setting of the Lesson on Weakness
Our time frame in Matthew 26:31 is hours before the crucifixion. Christ is approaching the conclusion of His earthly life and the climax of redemptive history. Only four chapters in all four gospels are devoted to the first thirty years of Christ’s life, yet thirteen are devoted to the last day of His life. In preparation for the cross Christ closed out the Old Covenant with His final Passover, instituting the New Covenant of His body and His blood, represented by the bread and cup of the Lord’s supper.
1. Imparting the legacy
Matthew 26:30 says, “When they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.” During the Passover meal Jesus and His disciples consumed four cups of wine. After the main meal– consisting of the Passover lamb, bitter herbs and sauce, and unleavened bread–they drank the third cup and sung the the latter portion of the hallel (Psalm 115-m118). After that they drank the last cup and sang the final song–Psalm 136, the great hallel. Every verse in Psalm 136 ends with: “For his mercy endureth forever.”
But Matthew left something out of his narrative. Before they sung that last hymn, Jesus taught His disciples the things recorded in John 14-m16 and prayed to His Father, as recorded in John 17. In the three chapters of teaching, Jesus promised to pass on His legacy to the disciples–His gifts of peace, joy, contentment, comfort, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and hope for the future. He spoke of the persecution to come, but promised ultimate deliverance from it. Then Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of all His disciples, including those who would come to believe in Him in the days ahead. We know those things happened before they left the upper room because John 18:1 says, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples.”
2. Departing from the upper room
When Jesus and the disciples left the upper room it was nearly midnight. As they went out into the street, they saw the city alive with activity as if it were midday. It was the time of the Passover–the feast of unleavened bread. Some people were eating their Passover meal, such as the Galilians and the Pharisees. Some were still preparing to eat it the next day, such as the Judeans and the Sadducees. Since the Temple gates were opened at midnight for the festival, many people were surging toward it. Visitors to Jerusalem were everywhere, negotiating for a place to hold their Passover the next day. Many people were carrying the animals they would sacrifice the next day.
It was through such activity that Jesus and the disciples passed. Once they were out of the city, they went down the eastern slope of the Temple mount and crossed the Kidron brook, running full with water from the winter rains and with the blood of thousands of animals slain in the Temple. The blood flowed out the back of the Temple, down the slope, and into the brook. After crossing the brook they ascended the Mount of Olives to their familiar resting place–the garden of Gethsemane, Gethsemane probably meaning “olive press.” People didn’t own gardens in the city–there was no room. But they could maintain gardens on the slopes of the hills around the city.
There were only eleven disciples with Jesus now; the Lord had dismissed Judas several hours before. As Jesus and the disciples ascended the Mount of Olives, they needed to stop and rest. While they rested, Jesus confronted the disciples about their weaknesses.
Jesus’ teaching prior to this time had basically been positive–they received nothing but promises in John 13-16. But now it was time for a warning. Out of necessity they needed to learn that strength is born out of a recognition of weakness, not a recognition of strength. Jesus intended to eliminate any illusions. It is as He teaches this lesson that we see a marvelous contrast between Christ and His defecting disciples.
I. A CONTRAST BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE
A. The Ignorance of the Disciples
The disciples were woefully ignorant. Peter said, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt. 26:33). In only a few hours, they all defected, including Peter. In verse 35 Peter says, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” The rest of the verse says that all the disciples affirmed the same thing. They were all ignorant of their own weaknesses and the strength of Satan. They were ignorant of the power of the test they would face in a few hours. They were ignorant of many things, to say nothing of their ignorance of the Old Testament, including the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7 referred to by Christ in verse 31: “I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
