Alone (Mark 14:27-31)

“The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick--who can understand it? I, the Lord, examine the mind” (Jeremiah 17:9,19). 

When Peter had first begun to recognize who Jesus was, he responded by saying, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8)! But Jesus didn’t go away; instead He invited Peter to join Him. Peter left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus chose Peter to be part of His inner circle. He changed his name from Simon, which means “reed,” to Peter, which means “rock.”

Peter participated in the miracle of feeding five thousand men when he helped distribute the five loaves and two fish that Jesus had multiplied. He had not only seen Jesus walking on the water, but had gotten out of the boat to join Him. Later when many of Jesus’ disciples had turned back and no longer followed Him, Jesus had asked the twelve if they wanted to leave too. It was Peter who answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68).

For three years Peter listened to Jesus teach about the kingdom of God. Anticipation grew as they began the ascent to Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus had taught His disciples to pray for the kingdom to come. They had prayed, they had believed, and they were ready to take their places in the kingdom that they expected Jesus to establish. But as they neared Jerusalem Jesus had begun to talk again about being handed over to the chief priests and scribes. He spoke of being condemned to death and being turned over to the Gentiles and being killed. He also told them that He would rise in three days, but they couldn’t understand.

Peter considered himself Jesus’ right hand man. He had been the spokesperson for all the disciples in declaring that he believed Jesus to be the Holy One of God. He had rebuked Jesus when He had first spoken about being rejected and killed. Peter again tried to correct Jesus when Jesus told him that he, Peter, would deny Him. Peter knew that he was not only a faithful follower of Jesus, but that even if he was the only one left that he would die for Jesus!

Peter didn’t understand the establishment of the kingdom was not a joint effort. The kingdom would be established when the curse was broken by Jesus dying alone on the cross. Peter didn’t know his own heart any more than any of us do. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).