Most of us don’t think we will ever turn away from the Lord. We love Him, we want to serve Him, and when we hear about someone who has walked away, we wonder how it happened.
But we don’t always know how we will respond when life gets hard. It’s easy to say we will stay faithful before we are tired, afraid, or faced with a choice that could cost us something.
The disciples were about to have a night like that, and Jesus warned them before it happened.
Mark 14:27 “And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”
Being “offended” here means more than having hurt feelings. Jesus was warning that they would stumble in their loyalty to Him, and later that night they left Him and ran.
Before we assume we would have done better, we should consider three things in this chapter.
Pride: “That Would Never Happen to Me”
Mark 14:29 “But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.”
Peter thought he would stand even if everyone else fell. When Jesus told him that he would deny Him, Peter insisted that he would die first.
We can be just as sure of ourselves. Someone warns us about a friendship, a habit, or a choice we are making, and we tell them we can handle it. We may even feel hurt that they think we could fail.
Peter did act boldly when the crowd came. He cut off a servant’s ear, but Jesus told him to put his sword away, and later Peter denied knowing Jesus (John 18:10-11,17,25-27).
Being bold in one moment does not mean we are ready for every test. We need to listen when God warns us, even when we feel strong.
Physical Weakness: “I’m Just Worn Out”
In the garden, Jesus found the disciples asleep when He had told them to watch. Their eyes were heavy, and Luke adds that they were “sleeping for sorrow” (Mark 14:34-40; Luke 22:45).
They were tired and weighed down with grief. That is something most of us can understand!
We work all day, come home to more needs, and feel like we have nothing left at times. Maybe we are caring for someone who is sick or worrying about a child. We still love the Lord, but we are worn out.
Being tired is not a sin, and needing rest does not mean we have failed God. But we should be honest about our weakness instead of assuming we can keep going without His help. We must get help from Him if we want to carry on for Him.
Jesus gave them the instruction they needed:
Mark 14:38 “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Pressure: “What Will Happen to Me?”
Mark 14:50 “And they all forsook him, and fled.”
An armed crowd had taken Jesus, and the danger was real. Even a young man who followed Him was grabbed, and he escaped by leaving his linen cloth behind (Mark 14:43-52).
For us, the pressure may be much smaller. We may worry that our friends will stop inviting us, that someone at work will mock us, or that telling the truth will cost us money.
The point is not that we must stay in every unsafe place. Jesus Himself told those arresting Him to let His disciples go (John 18:8-9).
However, we shouldn’t run from Jesus when things get hard. We should run towards Christ. When we are pressed about how we will live, who we will follow and who we will obey, we should always fall into the hands of Christ and trust Him to take care of us.
Failure Does Not Have to Be the End
Before they scattered, Jesus gave them more than a warning. He also gave them a promise.
Mark 14:28 “But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.”
He knew they would leave Him, yet He spoke of meeting them again after His resurrection. Their failure would not be the end of His care for them.
If we have failed the Lord, we need to admit it and return to Him. We should take His warnings seriously, but we can take comfort in His promise too: He had not finished with the disciples who were about to let Him down.
