That must've been the hardest hit for our Savior, but it wasn't the last. In Mark 14 Jesus told His disciples that they would all deny Him before the night was through (Mark 14:27). When Peter insisted he'd never deny Christ, Jesus said,
Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times. — Mark 14:30
Then, as if that wasn't enough, in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus begged Peter, James, and John to "stay here and watch" while He prayed (Mark 14:34). But three times when Jesus came back to see them, He found that every single one of them was sleeping. "Could you not watch one hour?" Jesus said in verse 37. I can imagine Christ's voice was full of sorrow and exasperation when He said it. Jesus knew that, before the rooster crowed, all of them would leave Him again. They'd leave Him before He'd leave them.
All Jesus' closest companions left Him that night, in one way or another. Judas left literally — breaking with the Son of God in an unmistakable way (even if the other disciples were a little confused about it at the time). They slept when Jesus really needed them. They ran away when the going got tough. That happens in our lives too. Sometimes our friends let us down. Our family can turn their backs on us. They walk away. They go to sleep. They deny us.
Jesus hurt, just as we all do when people go. And you know what Jesus did in the middle of it all? He prayed. In Matthew 26:36–46, Jesus prayed three times as His best friends fell asleep. In Luke 23 He prayed alone, on the cross:
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. — Luke 23:34 NIV
Who left Him? Everyone. But He prayed about what was left: the assignment. The sad, frightening, and glorious mission of the cross.
And here's the most amazing thing. Those disciples who fell asleep when Jesus begged them to stay awake? Those men who denied Christ when they promised they wouldn't? God wasn't done with them either.
Peter, who denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed twice, became the leader of the early church — the "rock" that Jesus said he'd become (Matthew 16:18). James was killed by Herod, according to Acts 12 — his passion for God apparently putting a bull's-eye on his back. John? He wrote a good chunk of the New Testament, from his own Gospel account of Jesus' life to three powerful letters to the book of Revelation. Christian tradition tells us that, outside Judas, all of Jesus' disciples made mighty contributions to the Kingdom of God. They might've failed Jesus at a crucial moment. But God wasn't done with them. God used them.
And He can do the same for the people in our lives. The people who walk away. The people who leave us. The people who hurt us. God's not done with them either.
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land, — God said in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
- If people come before God with humility, God just might say to them, "Apology accepted. Now, let's see what you can do."
It's a good lesson for us. For me especially.
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