A sermon from Brent Kercheville.
We have been studying the interactions that Jesus had with Peter through his ministry. We have noted that the one we know as Peter was born with the name Simon. Jesus gave Simon the name Peter which means rock. Throughout the gospel accounts we see Jesus teaching Peter and the apostles so that they could be his ambassadors when Jesus finished his ministry and ascended back to heaven. We are now toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry as we have been looking at Peter’s life. In fact, Jesus has just instituted the Lord’s Supper so that future disciples would remember his body and his blood of the covenant every Lord’s day. After telling his disciples that he was about to be betrayed by one of his disciples and instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and his disciples sing a hymn and then walk from Jerusalem through the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives. Please open your copies of God’s word to Matthew 26 and we are going to look at a very important teaching Jesus has for Peter and the apostles. Jesus is going to teach on and expose in his disciples the problem of spiritual overconfidence.
Not Listening To The Warning (Matthew 26:30-35)
As Jesus is walking to the Mount of Olives with his disciples, Jesus says something that would have been extremely unsettling to hear. Look at Matthew 26:31. Jesus tells his disciples that this very night all of them will fall away because of him. Please let those words resonate in your ears and sink into your hearts. Think about walking with Jesus for years. But now Jesus says something that seems impossible. Tonight, right now, you are going to fall away, all of you. Jesus does not merely say that tonight is going to a difficult time. It will be a difficult time. But Jesus says some really sharp words. You are all going to fall away. You are all going to stumble. You are all about to fail me. Jesus was praying that their faith would not fail (cf. Luke 22:32).
Further, Jesus quotes scripture to show that this is certainly going to happen. Jesus reminds them of the scripture that says that God will strike the shepherd and the result is that the sheep will be scattered. You are all going to fail right now. You are all going to fall away because of me, just like the scripture prophesied. This is a very important setting to the events that are about to unfold in Jesus’ final hours. But I want us to notice that all the disciples disagree with Jesus. You see this at the end of verse 35. They all say the same thing that Peter is saying. We are not going to deny you. We are not going to fail you. We are not going to fall away from you. It does not matter what happens, we would never leave you.
Here is what I want us to think about. Forget what you know about what is going to happen. Just imagine being there at that moment in time as a spectator. Jesus is saying they are going to fall away. The disciples are saying that they are not going to fall away. Who is going to be right? Clearly, Jesus is going to be right because Jesus is always right. Jesus is God and it is foolish to argue with him. When Jesus says that something is going to happen, we are not in the position to tell him otherwise. But this is exactly what the disciples do. They do not listen to this serious warning that Jesus gives them. They dismiss the warning, believing that they would never do something like this.
Friends, the scriptures are filled with warnings that we can easily dismiss because of our spiritual overconfidence. The Proverbs give strong warnings regarding sexual immorality, adultery, and promiscuity. Listen to the illustration the wise father gives to his son:
Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. (Proverbs 6:27-29 ESV)
The apostle Paul gave the very simple and clear warning: flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)! But we think that this will not be true about us. We are given the warning but we think that we know what we are doing. Have you ever done this with your GPS while driving? You put it on but you know where you are going. But strangely the GPS is telling you to go a different way. But you know that is not the most direct route. So you ignore it because you think you know better only to find out that there was an accident and that is what the GPS was trying to tell you. You were given a warning but you thought that the warning did not apply to you because you knew what you were doing. We do the same thing with God’s warnings. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we need to pay very close attention to the gospel message that we have heard or else we will drift away (cf. Hebrews 2:1). But we think that cannot happen to us. But you know of so many people that this is true about who fall on the whole continuum of spiritual maturity. Our overconfidence causes us to fall.
Comparing Spiritual Abilities (Matthew 26:33)
Peter says something that shows the second warning about our spiritual overconfidence. Look at verse 33. “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Notice what Peter is saying. Peter is acknowledging the warning but then says that this could be a problem for others. But it will not be a problem for me. We have a strange way of comparing our spiritual abilities and our spiritual strength with others. It is almost as if because we see others who are weaker than us that this means we will not stumble or fail. Have you ever wondered about how it could be that those who are spiritual leaders end up committing serious sins? It can be jarring to us when we see preachers, teachers, elders, deacons, or other spiritual people fail in their lives. Whether we see them committing adultery or stealing money or harming the flock, we wonder how these things could ever happen. Here is one very important warning about those things. We look at others and hold ourselves in high estimation spiritually. But just because we see others who may be spiritually weaker than us does not mean that we would never also fall into the same condemnation. It is only spiritual arrogance by which we would say that the sin this other person committed we would never commit. It is only pride that says that they might succumb and fail in their faith but we would never succumb and fail in our faith. Friends, everyone’s faith will be tested by fire (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 1 Peter 1:6-7). The Proverbs remind us and warn us.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)
Comparing the strength of your faith with others and then being pleased with where you are only opens the door to spiritual failure. Peter is just as prone to failure as the other disciples. Peter is just as able to fail as the rest of them. Pride goes before destruction. An arrogant attitude is what leads the way for a fall.
Not Recognizing Our Blind Spots (Matthew 26:34)
The third warning is a reference to our blind spots. Blind spots are frightening. You might have had this happen to you when you were driving that you thought no one is was next to you and you began to change lanes only to be surprised to see a car where you did not expect. The car was in your blind spot. It is such a problem that new cars have blind spot detection. Your car might beep at you or illuminate a light on your mirror to let you know that there is something in your blind spot and you need to pay attention. Peter has a blind spot. Jesus says something that Peter truly thought could never happen. Jesus tells him that it is not just that Peter’s faith will fail. But Peter is going to deny Jesus. Peter is not going to deny Jesus once. Peter is going to deny Jesus three times. Peter is not going to deny Jesus three times over the span of many years. Peter is going to deny Jesus three times tonight. Before the morning sun comes up, three times Peter is going to deny. Now Peter does not listen to this warning. We noted this in our first point. But what I want us to think about is that Peter has a blind spot. Denying Jesus is a weakness that is about to be exposed tonight.
What is your blind spot? What is your area of weakness? I think if we take a moment of honest and time in reflection we can write down areas where we have blind spots. Whether we have blind spots in lust, anger, bitterness, patience, arrogance, or something else, we know that we have areas that are potentially dangerous for us spiritually. The question is if we will address those blind spots or ignore them. When driving, it really dangerous to ignore your blind spots. But those blind spots are less dangerous if you admit you have them and use that knowledge to check yourself so that you can drive safely. Spiritual overconfidence says that we do not have blind spots or that we do not need to be extra careful or extra vigilant about those blind spots. Peter has a blind spot. You are going to deny me three times. Do not argue with it. Do not deny the blind spot. Address the blind spot. So what should we do regarding our blind spots?
Failing To Be Alert (Matthew 26:36-41)
After all that Jesus has said to Peter and his disciples, they come to Gethsemane. Jesus tells his disciples to sit here while he goes a distance away to pray. Now think about everything Jesus has told his disciples. What should his disciples be doing? With all the warnings that have just happened, what needs to happen right now? When Jesus returns from praying, he finds his disciples sleeping (Matthew 26:40). What does Jesus say his disciples should be doing instead of sleeping? Look at verse 41. “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” What is the failure? They are sleeping instead of watching and praying. You have been warned about falling away tonight. You have been warned about denying me three times. You have been warned that Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat (cf. Luke 22:31-34). You need to be alert. You need to be prepared. You need to get ready. You need to be praying. A major sign of spiritual overconfidence is failing to pray. A major sign of spiritual overconfidence is ignoring the warnings and ignoring our blind spots. Think about how different your prayer activity would be if we were watching and praying over the warnings in our lives. Think about how different your words would be in your prayers if we were alert to our blind spots. Watch and pray. Listen to the warning the apostle Paul gave to the Christians in Corinth:
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV)
Overconfidence leads to spiritual disaster and failure. Sadly, we may not only ignore God’s warnings but we will ignore the warnings from those who are spiritual in our lives. We tell them about how they are raising their children, or the choices they are making in their careers, or how they are compromising their worship time to the Lord, or how they are not putting God first instead are choosing worldly things, or how they damaging their marriages, or any other kinds of spiritual advice and we ignore it. But here is how we ignore it. We say something like, “You don’t understand” or “you will see” or “it is only temporary” or “you do not grasp how hard that is.” We hear the words but we dismiss them. People are trying to show us the blind spot but we think we are doing fine when we are not. Overconfidence leads to the fall. Disaster is coming when we ignore the warnings, think we are strong enough, ignore our blind spots, and are not alert to the devil’s present threat in our lives. Will we listen? The one those thinks he stands, watch out lest you fall.