“”But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.””
Luke 21:34-36 NKJV
Jesus was eating the Passover meal immediately preceding His betrayal and crucifixion. It was at this meal that Jesus instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper.
Indeed, it was also at this very meal, Jesus would reveal that He would be betrayed by one of them. That one would be Judas.
“Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.””
Matthew 26:21-25 NKJV
Jesus not only indicated what Judas would do, but that ALL of them would forsake Him.
“Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.””
Matthew 26:31-32 NKJV
Now, Peter would have none of this, vehemently objecting to the thought of him ever denying the Lord.
“Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.“
Matthew 26:33-35 NKJV
Again, in the garden, as Jesus was praying before His betrayal, He repeatedly warned His disciples to be alert, to be on guard, even warning Peter by name.
“Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.“
Matthew 26:38, 40-41, 45 NKJV
But even with all the warnings, Peter did deny Jesus.
“Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.“
Matthew 26:69-75 NKJV
It would appear that because Peter did not take seriously the warnings, he walked right into the trap of the enemy.
In our opening scripture, we see another time Jesus had warned the disciples concerning their need to be paying attention lest they fall into a trap.
The context of the opening scripture is that it was part of Jesus’ answer to the disciples when they asked Him about the timing of the things He had predicted.
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?””
Matthew 24:3 NKJV
Friend, we do well to heed this warning from Jesus in terms of staying on guard. We know that we are living in the Last Days before the return of Jesus Christ. As such, as discussed yesterday, we know that there will be a Great Apostasy. Tragically, many Christians will fall from faith and deny the Lord.
Now, our knee-jerk reaction may be that we would never do that. But, no one who has truly come to faith in Jesus would plan to deny Him. Peter didn’t “plan” to deny Him either. Something happened, causing Peter to be caught off guard.
We must not take our steadfastness for granted, assuming we would never fall into the category of those who fall away. Rather, we must heed the warnings provided in God’s word, so that we are not caught offguard.
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
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