Confident in Jesus, not in me!

Reflecting on Mark 14:27-31

"You will all fall away,” Jesus told them." (Mark 14:27)

Jesus knows that His followers are weak, and will fall away.
He also knows what will happen to Him, that He will be struck down.
This is a quote from Zechariah, which is a complicated book of prophecies.
(Watch The Bible Project: Zechariah to get a sense of it).
Zechariah offers both promises and warnings to the people of Israel.
He also knows that the people are weak, and will fall away.
Though the servant king/shepherd will come, they will betray him.

“See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

“I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.” (Zechariah 13:12-13)

These last verses anticipate Judas’s betrayal of Jesus.
(See Matthew 27:3-8, where Matthew attributes the quote to Jeremiah).
The point is, the people will betray their shepherd-king.
Humans are weak, even the very best of them.
Which is why we need God’s mercy and help… why we need Jesus.

The disciples, especially Peter, cannot admit their weakness.
Peter boasts that of them all, he will stay true to Jesus to death.
The irony is thick here, and we know how things turn out.

Yet notice also that Jesus still encourages them, despite their falling away.
“But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Mark 14:28)
Even though the shepherd is betrayed and struck down, they will meet again.
The shepherd will rise, and the sheep with be gathered again.
Human weakness will not prevail against the human messiah.

I find this very encouraging as I reflect on my own weakness.
Unlike Peter, I am not convinced that I will stand firm to the end.
If the pressure gets strong enough, I am certain I will buckle.
As I reflect on my own spiritual growth, that weakness is evident.
This is also true for the church as a whole.
History bears witness to the weakness and failure of the church.
As both Zechariah and Jesus recognize, humans are fickle, unreliable.

My confidence is not in my faith or my faithfulness.
My confidence is not in the church’s faith or faithfulness.
I and the church “will all fall away.” (Mark 14:27)
Even so, “after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Mark 14:28)
Our failure is not the last word, or the last of our seeing Jesus.
Jesus meets us in our failure and weakness, and we will rise again too.
Peter’s restoration in John 21 highlights this amazing grace.

This is not an excuse to fail.
But it is an encouragement to us when we do fail, which we do.
Our salvation is not based on our faithfulness, but on Jesus.
He is the faithful human messiah that defeats evil for us.
He stands firm to the very end, and perseveres even through death.
He knows we are dust, that we are weak.
Still He assures us that He will rise up, and lift us up with Him.

We should always aim to think and act in a Jesus-honouring way.
But we should not become so certain and confident that we become blind.
Arrogant faith will be humbled; humble faith will be lifted up.
I can make no bold declarations about being faithful or right.
But I know Who is faithful and right, and my confidence is in Him.

Jesus knows I am weak, yet He is still walking behind, with and ahead of me.
His strength and victory is my only hope… and it is a certain hope!
Jesus says what Peter says, but when Jesus says it, it is true:
“Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Mark 14:31)

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, my confidence is not in my faith or faithfulness, but in Your faith and faithfulness. Thank You for going through death for me, and for assuring me of life beyond my weakness and failure. You are my certain hope!