Vs.
30
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the
Mount of Olives.”
Here then is one of the most moving scenes
pre-Crucifixion. Jesus with the disciples singing a hymn at the Table before He
leads them out to the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethsemane. The events
then leading up to His Crucifixion will now move rapidly as there will be no
more delay, the Lord Jesus Christ must fulfill God’s Word and Will during this
Passover Feast.
Vs.
31-32
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All
of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the
Shepherd, And the sheep of the
flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, I will go
before you to Galilee.”
Having done so the Lord Jesus now tells
the disciples that they all will be made to stumble this night because of Him,
though Peter usually bears the brunt of unbelieving people’s criticism for his
later denials, all the disciples according to God’s prophetic Word will
stumble, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the
flock will be scattered.’ Thus, they will all unwittingly be fulfilling Zechariah 13:7 which
foretold this. Now their stumbling here is not to be understood as the
stumbling that Jews and their leaders incur in not believing and receiving the
Lord Jesus Christ for themselves. The disciples stumble here then will be a
cause for their refining by which greater faith and faithfulness will be the
fruit made from it (consider Daniel 12:10). Therefore, the Lord Jesus also
promises them, “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to
Galilee.” vs. 32 Thus assuring them that though they will strike Him
to death (and all the disciples will abandon Him) He will be raised from dead
and He will go before them. Assuring them that though they in their moment of
fear and weakness they will all forsake Him, He will not forsake them. For no
one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will ever be forsaken by Him (2 Tim.
2:13; Heb 13:5).
Vs.
33-35
33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made
to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly,
I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three
times.” 35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I
will not deny You!” And so said all
the disciples.
Having heard the Lord’s declaration that
all of the disciples will be made to stumble because of Him; the Apostle Peter
now vehemently asserts to Him: “Even if all are
made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” vs. 33
To which the Lord Jesus Christ quickly replies to him saying, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster
crows, you will deny Me three times.” vs. 34 Thus, Peter who
gave the strongest assertion that he would never deny Jesus, will be the one
who will in fact deny Jesus three times before this night has ended. Nonetheless
Peter is not convinced, and so he says to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with
You, I will not deny You!” And so,
said all the disciples. vs. 35 For Peter and the disciples could not
fathom a circumstance where they would deny the Lord and Savior whom they had
all come to both trust and love. However, God knows each one of us intimately
and His Word here was not to discourage the disciples, but to make it clear
that it would not be their faithfulness that would save them, but His.
Scripture Quotations:
The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson
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