Matthew 26:37-46
Peter, James, and John are given the distinct privilege to go and pray with Jesus and for Jesus to prepare themselves for His impending crucifixion. Jesus was anointed with oil in Bethany for His burial and they have the chance to anoint Him with prayer before He saves the world of sin. Instead, they sleep.
Matthew 26:48
Judas with his many flaws and greedy, self-serving nature is still chosen by Jesus to be one of the Twelve. Given the chance to be a pioneer of the Christian faith and to be bestowed the distinction among all Believers as being one of the Twelve; a distinction that would carry on through eternity. He betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver of which he doesn't keep and Jesus says of Judas that it would be better that he was never born.
Matthew 26:56 and Matthew 26:33-35
As Jesus is arrested the disciples abandon both their Savior and their promises to Him.
Matthew 26:58
Peter had said he would never leave Jesus' side, but we find him hiding in the shadows.
Matthew 26:69-75
Peter got too close to be following from afar and vehemently denies any association with Christ. The good news here is that this final act of rejection brakes Peter and he sees who he really is. We all need to be broken.
With the exemption of Judas, does anybody else find a little encouragement from the disciples' weaknesses? It's kinda strange when you just say it aloud and think about that statement, but I do sincerely find encouragement through their weaknesses. Not that I want to emulate their shortcomings, but I find that God's grace, strength, and mercy are communicated the loudest through our weakness. Encouraging because when you read through Acts, you encounter these same men transformed!! Men who do not run from danger of persecution or imprisonment but embrace their calling.
Jesus did not fill his roster with all stars. He chose average men and women. He chose dirty sinners. It took a while, but He cleaned them up. Then, He released them on an unsuspecting world, and they turned it upside down.
He chose you and He chose me. Not because of our greatness, but because of His grace.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I don't think I ever realized how long Matthew 26 was :)
ReplyDeleteWhile this isn't exactly a new thought, it struck me throughout this chapter how Jesus knew exactly what would happen to Him, how it would happen, who would do it, and what the response of both his friends and enemies would be. And even though He both knew what would happen and had the power to prevent it, He embraced the battle and WON it!
It reminds me so much of David fighting Goliath. Here was an army cowering in fear, with no one able to go win the victory. So God sends a champion to win the victory for them. He may not have been what everyone was expected, but He was God's anointed. And when the battle came, he RAN to face the enemy and defeated him!
I am so thankful that Jesus did not run away from the battle, but rather won the battle on my behalf. As He said in verse 28, His blood was "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Now, as Tate pointed out, the disciples would later be transformed by this power and would stand and fight the enemy as well. I'm encouraged to stand in His power today and fight the good fight, embracing it and relying on God's power. The Lord demonstrated this for me and now empowers me to follow His example.