Hope Has a Name: With Bible Study FellowshipНамуна

Unfaithfulness Foretold

The other Gospels reveal that Jesus and His remaining disciples lingered in this Upper Room after their meal. There, Jesus offered substantial teaching, preparation, and prayer. Because Matthew wanted to prove from Scripture that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and King, his Gospel focuses on one conversation that shows how Jesus’s prophetic teachings highlight God’s faithfulness to His unfaithful people.

In verses 31 and 32, Matthew draws us into Jesus’s compassionate care. Picture yourself among Jesus’s disciples. Hear Jesus apply Zechariah 13:7, predicting no one will stand with Him through the dark moments ahead that night. Instead of helping Jesus in His time of need, all will temporarily fall away.

But hope is alive! Jesus also assures them that their temporary failure will never change His love or plans for them. He will rise again. After His Resurrection, He will go ahead of them into Galilee.

Foolish Boast

Does Peter’s bold interruption in verse 33 take you by surprise? “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” Peter’s passionate reply shows fierce loyalty to Jesus, but it also reveals a foolish overestimation of his own strength.

In response, Jesus exposes the folly of contradicting God: “Truly I tell you ... this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” Nevertheless, Peter again declares he will never disown Jesus. He boasts that he will hold firm to the death. But Jesus knows Peter will depend on his own strength and courage. He will fail.

Luke 22:31-32 reports these additional words Jesus said to Peter (also called Simon), “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

We know from church history that God’s faithfulness proved to be greater than Peter’s devastating failure. Peter would falter in a moment of human weakness. But God-given genuine faith in Christ always holds fast. After Jesus’s Resurrection and Ascension, Peter became truly bold through depending on God’s indwelling Holy Spirit. (1)

Faithful God

Do you relate to Peter? Maybe you have made bold promises, only to find out that you are weaker than you first imagined. As frail, weak humans, we often fail to follow through on our most passionate declarations of commitment to God, to other people, and even promises we make to ourselves. Will you humbly admit this truth?

When we humbly confess our boasting and failings, we express a God-given need for someone greater than ourselves– someone who is forever true. There is good news! Jesus is Truth. He knows the truth about your sins and failings and offers freedom from condemnation and shame. Have you experienced His deliverance? If not, turn to Jesus right now in faith. His arms are ready to receive you.

Jesus’s faithfulness eclipses His people’s unfaithfulness. He compassionately calls us forward to deeper love and unhindered obedience. The believer’s focus is not on trying harder to love Jesus better. Instead, becoming consumed with the Lord causes everything else to fade in value. Do you love the transforming security of God’s redeeming, faithful love for you?

Questions

9. What stands out about Jesus’s prediction and His disciples’ reactions in verses 31 to 35?

INSIGHTS: Jesus– told His disciples that all of them would fall away and scatter that very night (31); He quoted an Old Testament prophecy, teaching that Zechariah 13:7 was being fulfilled: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”(31); He also predicts His Resurrection and their reunion (32); The disciples – contradicted Jesus and declared their loyalty to Him, even if following Him required death (33, 35); Peter – boasted that even if everyone else fell away, he would not. He declared he would be loyal unto death (35).

10. How are the disciples’ reactions like those believers have at times today?

INSIGHTS: Samples include: even with genuine love for Jesus and professed loyalty to Him, believers still: contradict Jesus’s words of warning; underestimate our vulnerability to temptation; think of ourselves as stronger than we are; trust our feelings or plans instead of Jesus’s Word; boast or consider ourselves to be stronger than other believers instead of humbly recognizing our weaknesses; develop unrealistic assessments of our limited human resources; fail to recognize our need for complete dependence on God

11. When are you most tempted to rely on your own strength, and what do these verses prompt you to do differently?

Related Verses

1 Peter’s transformation: John 1:42; Acts 2-4; 10-11; 15; 1-2 Peter