"Confident" 4-14-22

Overview

Two Kinds of Confidence

On the night of the Passover, after washing His disciples' feet and instituting the Supper, Jesus led them to the Mount of Olives and spoke with sober confidence: "You will all become deserters. For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered'" Mark 14:27. With that same confidence, He gave them a promise: "After I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee" Mark 14:28. The word that foretold their failure was joined to the word that promised His resurrection.

Peter answered with a different kind of confidence—confidence in himself. "Even though all become deserters, I will not." Jesus cut him to the quick: "This very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times" Mark 14:30. Peter doubled down, and the others agreed. Yet within hours he slept while Jesus sweat drops of blood Luke 22:44, and in the high priest's courtyard his denials escalated until he cursed and swore he did not know "this man" Mark 14:66-72. Then the cock crowed, and Peter broke down and wept. As Hilary observed, Peter's zeal blinded him to the weakness of his flesh and to the truth of his Master's word.

We are no different. Every sin—known and unknown, of word and silence, of deed done and left undone—is a denial of Christ. We cannot sweet-talk our way before God, for "before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" Hebrews 4:13. Self-confidence collapses there. But that is not the end of confidence—it is the beginning of a better one.

We have a great High Priest who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin Hebrews 4:14-15. Jesus endured the trials we know, did not fall, and bore the penalty of a law He never broke. So "let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16. At His Table, week after week, Jesus gives His body and blood as tangible grace, declaring again: you are forgiven; I am the covenant of your righteousness. As baptized children of God, we lift our eyes—not in pride, but in gratitude—and say with confidence: thank You, Jesus, for redeeming a sinner and making me a child of the Most High.

Transcript

Get up, shoulders back, look me square in the eye and tell me the truth. 2s

Have you ever denied Christ? 11s

It was Passover. 17s

Jesus and His disciples had gathered together to share this celebration, this feast of Passover, 20s

of freedom. 28s

They were all there, John, Peter, James, Andrew, Thomas, Judas, who would later betray him. 28s

And in the middle of that Passover meal, we read in the gospel of John that Jesus, 38s

knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God 44s

and was going to God. 50s

God up from the table. 52s

Look off His outer robe and tied a towel around Himself, then He poured water into a basin 53s

and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around 61s

Him. 67s

Wouldn't it odd action for their beloved rabbi to do? 69s

And yet it was so right, so fitting. 75s

The meal proceeded and a prayer was said of Thanksgiving over the bread which He held 82s

up and told them that this was His body broken for them. 88s

Another prayer over the wine which He said was a new covenant in His blood poured out for many. 94s

And here is where we pick up in our gospel text for this evening. 105s

In Mark 14, beginning in the 26th verse, if you're using one of the pure additions of the Bible, 111s

it is on page 45 in the New Testament. 118s

When they had sung the Him, they went out to the Mount of Olives and Jesus said to them, 123s

you will all become deserters. 128s

For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. 132s

He spoke with such confidence knowing that His disciples who had walked with Him, learned 140s

with Him, done ministry with Him. 150s

He knew they would scatter and He said it with such confidence. 153s

But He could speak with confidence because it had been written and all prophecy is fulfilled. 157s

But, but, he says in verse 28, after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. 171s

He tells them here plainly. 183s

He tells them of their desertion, discerption. 185s

And then with complete confidence, the same confidence He told them He would die, the same confidence. 188s

He told them that they would abandon Him. 195s

He says, with complete confidence, the confidence, the word of a promise that He will be back. 197s

He will return. 206s

After I am raised, I will go before you to Galilee. 209s

Verse 29, Peter said to Him, even though all become deserters, I will not. 216s

Oh, such confidence, this Peter, everyone else may abandon you, but I will not. 223s

And what does Jesus say to Him? 235s

Verse 30, Jesus said to Him, truly, I tell you, this day, this very night, before the 238s

Cotch rose twice, you will deny me three times. 247s

Peter had declared His allegiance to His rabbi, to His master. 254s

And here Jesus turns it right back and cuts Him to the quick, such a gross and specific accusation 260s

that not only would He deny him, but that it would be today. 270s

This very night, before the Cotch rose twice, you will deny me. 274s

And Peter returns in verse 31. 281s

But He said, vehemently, even though I must die with you, I will not deny you. 285s

And all of them said the same. 292s

He returns doubling down on His loyalty. 295s

Chine up, shoulders back, looking Jesus square in the eye, and Peter says, I will never deny you. 298s

He could not have been more emphatic, more clear with Jesus. 313s

He would rather die than abandon His Lord. 320s

And the others, they all agreed with this sentiment. 328s

They were so confident, so ready, so they think. 331s

How quick we are to trust in our own ability. 338s

In our sinfulness, we think that we can approach the throne of God in our own right, in our own doing. 344s

We are so confident in ourselves that we fail to see the sin of our confidence. 357s

Sir Hillary had said, Peter was so carried away by the fervor of His zeal and love for Christ, that he regarded neither the weakness of His own flesh nor the truth of His master's word. 368s

In our own zeal and love, whether for ourselves or for Christ, we don't understand the weakness of our flesh. 382s

Jesus took three disciples with him into the garden to pray, and he prayed with such fervor in the gospel of Luke, it says that in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling on the ground. 396s

And where was Peter? Where was Peter as his Lord? 416s

Was just a few yards away praying so deeply, so heartily, so earnestly that he was sweating blood. 421s

Peter was sleeping. 431s

Peter was a sleeper who would never, never abandon Jesus. 434s

He couldn't remain awake as he had been asked. 443s

Jesus was betrayed. He was arrested, and he was brought before the council. 450s

And Peter followed. He followed Jesus, and he followed the crowd that had arrested him, and we turn to verse 66. 457s

While Peter was below in the courtyard one of the servant girls of the high priest came by, when she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him, and said, 466s

You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth, but he denied it, saying, 477s

I do not know or understand what you were talking about, and he went out into the forecourt, then the cock growed. 484s

And the servant girl on seeing him began again to say to the bystanders, 492s

This man is one of them, but again he denied it. 496s

Then after a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter, certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, 502s

but he began to curse and he swore an oath, I do not know this man you are talking about. 513s

Do you hear the escalation? Do you hear the escalation in Peter's denial? First, he doesn't understand what the mate is talking about. 520s

Then he is adamant that he is not one of those among with Jesus. 531s

And finally that third accusation, he curses and he swears, he does not know this man. 537s

He can't even utter the name Jesus. 546s

Chin up, shoulders back, looking at all the crowd around him, denying that he knows this man. 554s

What a stark contrast to just a few chapters ago in chapter eight when Peter confidently tells Jesus you are the Messiah. 571s

But again he began to curse and he swore an oath. 589s

I do not know this man you are talking about. At that moment, the cock crowed for the second time. 594s

Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, before the cock crowed twice, you will deny me three times. 604s

And he broke down and wept. Chin no longer held high, shoulders heaving with his sobbs. 615s

Peter was laid to waste. 634s

When we are honest with ourselves honest with God, we are faced with the shameful reality of our sin. 638s

Every sin in which we partake, those known and unknown deeds done and left undone thoughts and words that are spoken or unspoken. 651s

With each sin we deny Christ. 668s

When we face this reality we like Peter are laid to waste. 676s

I remember when I was a child probably about nine or ten years old. 684s

I remember contemplating judgment. 689s

And I remember thinking to myself, if when I meet God, I say very, very nicely, how sorry I am. 693s

And I point out all the good things I've done. 706s

I bet I can go to heaven. 711s

I thought I was going to burn the good graces of God by sweet talking my way into heaven. 715s

It doesn't work like that. 725s

In Hebrews the fourth chapter, it says before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render and account. 730s

None of our sin is hidden from the Lord. 742s

None of our fanciful ideas that we can sweet talk our way out of our sin, or that we can just point to everything we've done and that should take care of everything. 748s

None of that. 764s

None of that holds water when we are laid bare. 766s

Before the Lord, we're unable to even hide our inner most thoughts from the Lord. 770s

Who? 780s

Who can confidently stand before the throne of God? 781s

Chin out, shoulders back, and declare I am forgiven. 785s

Each and every one of you can do such a thing. 796s

Each and every one of you. 803s

Because you see in Hebrews it continues, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus, the Son of God. 806s

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 816s

You see Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the holy Trinity, he entered into humanity to be tested, to be tempted, to endure, 830s

trials just as we experience here in this life. 846s

He came and entered into that, but didn't fall. 854s

Did not fall to temptation, did not fall under the pressure. 861s

Jesus did not fall under the weakness of the flesh. 867s

He remained sinless, blameless, and spotless. 873s

He suffered under the penalty of the law, which he did not break for you and for me. 880s

When you approached the throne of God, even today in prayer, we do so with confidence because we are not approaching the throne of the most holy kingdom. 890s

God, on our own, we approach the throne of God through the sacrificial blood of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ. 903s

You, as a baptized child of the most holy God, can turn to the Lord with confidence, knowing that He sees you as righteous, 918s

because you have Jesus who has gone before you. 931s

In Hebrews chapter 4, it says, let us, therefore, approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 939s

This side of heaven, we forget the confidence with which we can approach the throne of God. 954s

We forget the boldness that has been given to us by God himself. 964s

On this holy day, Monday, Thursday, we celebrate the time when Jesus instituted His supper. 973s

The Lord's supper. 981s

In grace and mercy, week after week, Jesus gives Himself as tangible grace to us, His body and His blood to sustain us this side of heaven, 985s

telling us over and over and over again, you are forgiven. 1002s

I am the covenant of your righteousness. 1010s

So, as a baptized people, as called and redeemed children of the Lord, we stand chin up, shoulders back, and confidently say, thank you. 1022s

Thank you, Jesus, for redeeming me, a poor, poor sinner, and making me a glorified, wonderful child of the most high, holy God. 1042s