Peter is scared. This is hard for us men to admit. We should be standing strong, wielding our swords, and protecting the ones we love. Peter tried that in the garden and Jesus ordered him to stand down. Now, he's not sure how to act.
Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!" (Matthew 26:71-72 NIV)
The battle in his mind is raging on because he can't fight physically. All he can do is stand around and wait. He can stay close enough to try to hear how the trial is going, but he can't go inside. Worse than that, he can't fight! What was Jesus thinking? Live by the sword and die by the sword? It would be better to fight and die than to stand here and do nothing.
After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away." Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. (Matthew 26:73-74NIV)
Then it hit him. He was fighting the wrong battle. He wanted to fight physically, but his real battle tonight would be with the prince of darkness. His battle tonight was with the tempter. He had to let Jesus go to the cross. Jesus had already told them this fact. Peter didn't want it to happen, so he had to fight. He lost.
Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75 NIV)
Do you fight the wrong battles? At times, do you want something different than God's plan? Do you try to reason with God, fight God, and even take things into your own hands when God doesn't seem to understand? Perhaps you identify with Peter, then.
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. (Matthew 27:1-2 NIV)
Pilate was the Roman ruler who was given charge of the area. The Jewish High Priest was given responsibility over the Israelite nation, but he wasn't given the authority to put people to death. This was a job for the Roman Empire. So, Jesus would be taken there next.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5 NIV)
Judas, like Peter, also lost the battle. When he realized that he had sinned against God and Jesus, he had another battle to fight. Would he trust God to work out His Plan or not? Would he trust God to be merciful? Would he trust God to forgive? Once again, Judas lost the battle. He didn't trust God. He quit.
What would have happened if Judas had waited just one weekend? What kind of follower would Judas become if he would just hang on? Judas could have been forgiven. He could have become a powerful force in God's Kingdom work. God could have worked through him in powerful ways to go and make disciples. What better person to teach about the Grace of God than someone forgiven for putting Jesus to death? But he didn't.
Do you give up? Do you have difficulty waiting on God's Plan to pan out in front of you? Do you throw in the towel right when you should stop, trust Him, and wait on His timing? Perhaps, then, you relate to Judas.
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me." (Matthew 27:6-10 NIV)
The chief priests knew God's Word. They could have known about the Scriptures about the thirty pieces of silver and the potter's field. Instead, they were focused on the law about blood money in the treasury. They were so focused on the rules that they missed the Savior. They missed the whole point.
Do you get so focused on the rules and/or details that you miss the whole point? Do you miss what God is doing? Do you miss the Savior? Perhaps, then, you identify with the chief priests.
No comments:
Post a Comment