Unswerving Loyalty to the Son of God A third mark of the committed Christian is loyalty. It is more implied than expressed in the context of John 13. Nevertheless it is included with a marvelous illustration of Peter, who faltered often but ultimately proved himself to be a genuinely committed believer and a true disciple. From him we learn a number of intensely practical principles that can make a difference in all our lives. Discipleship is more than a promised loyalty. It must go beyond making a vow to God (which we tend to do glibly and frequently). Discipleship demands a practiced loyalty--an operating, functioning kind of loyalty that holds up under every kind of pressure. All this talk about Jesus going away must have deeply bothered Peter. He couldnt stand the thought of Jesus leaving. Matthew 16:22 vividly shows how intensely Peter hated the thought of Jesus impending death. Jesus had foretold His crucifixion and resurrection, and Peter, always the self-appointed spokesman for the disciples, took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. This was a stubborn, selfish attitude on the part of Peter, who did not want Jesus to be taken from him under any conditions. Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on Gods interests, but mans (v. 23). Jesus was completely aware of Peters attitude, and He took the opportunity in John 13:36-38 to teach Peter a lesson about true loyalty: Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered, Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow later. Peter said to Him, Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times. Peters heart was burning with love for Jesus. But while his love for Jesus was admirable, his boasting was foolish. His refusal to accept Jesus words was merely stubborn pride. In essence, he was saying, If all Youre going to do is die, I will be happy to die with You. But he was speaking rashly, as a braggart. Perhaps he said it for the benefit of all the disciples, but he was saying it in the flesh. Worst of all, the message to Jesus was, I know better than You. You can imagine what a shock it was to Peter when Jesus predicted that he would deny Him that very night. In fact, through the rest of the dialogue, Peter--contrary to his character--never said another word. Nevertheless, we read in Matthew 26 that he repeated his boast again later that evening in the garden. This time all the disciples joined with him in affirming that they would stay with Jesus, even if it meant dying. But just a short time later, when their lives seemed truly to be on the line, All the disciples left Him and fled (Matthew 26:56). There was a huge gap between their promised loyalty and their practiced loyalty. Peter, who had so loudly boasted that he would stand by the Lord, failed miserably. Instead of giving his life for Jesus, he tried to save it by denying Him. And he didnt do it in silence or by implication, he did it loudly with cursing, and before many witnesses. Four things made Peter fail the test of loyalty. He boasted too much. First, Peter was too proud to listen to what Jesus was trying to tell him, and too busy boasting. Luke 22:31-32 records Jesus admonition to Peter: Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Implied in that warning is the prophecy that Peter would fall, and that he would later repent of his failure. But Peter missed the whole point. Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death (v. 33). Reading those words, I think of 1 Kings 20:11: Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off. Peter was boasting in his flesh, but he wasnt in a position to boast about anything. He prayed too little. Peter failed also because his praying was not what it should have been. First he was boasting while he should have been listening; and later that evening, he slept when he should have been praying. Sleep is a good thing, but its not a substitute for prayer. While Jesus was praying in agony in Gethsemane, Peter and the other disciples fell asleep. Luke 22:45-46 tells us that Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation. That rebuke must have made a profound impact on Peter, for many years later he wrote, Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer (1 Peter 4:7, King James Version). Watch means stay alive, stay awake, stay alert. That is not some kind of abstract theological reasoning; Peter is talking out of his own life. He acted too fast. Another reason Peter failed the test of loyalty is that he was impetuous. Acting without thinking was a perennial problem in Peters life. When a group of officers from the priests and Pharisees came into the garden to take Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword and cut off the high priests slaves ear (Luke 22:50). His motive, however, was selfishness or perhaps fear or pride, but not loyalty. Jesus rebuked him for his action and healed the mans ear. Gods will is not always easy to accept, but those who are truly loyal will be sensitive to what it is. Peter might have thought he was helping the cause of God, but he was totally oblivious to all that God was doing in this, and his impetuous actions actually were getting in Gods way and leading to his own downfall. He followed too far away. A final reason to Peters great failure is that he left Jesus side and began to follow him from a distance. Luke 22:54 says, Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. That was perhaps the greatest disaster of all. Here was the logical consequence of all of Peters weaknesses: cowardice. He had foolishly boasted of his willingness to die; now when he had that opportunity, for the first time in their relationship, Peter drifted from a closeness with Jesus. After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them (Luke 22:55). Suddenly he was sitting in the seat of the scornful. Verse 56 tells us that a servant girl recognized him as a follower of Jesus and pointed him out. Peter, who had bragged so forcefully of his loyalty, now began to deny just as forcefully that he had ever known Jesus. There he was, within sight of the Lord, denying Him, even cursing and swearing that he had never known Him, according to Matthew 26:72. When the cock crowed, Jesus turned around and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61), and Peter remembered. He was so ashamed that all he could do was run away and cry his heart out (v. 62). What about your loyalty? What have you promised Jesus? That you would love Him? That you would serve Him? That you would be faithful, not deny Him, forsake sin, live or die for Him, or witness to your neighbor? How have you done? Did you boast too much? Pray too little? Act too fast? Follow too far away? How many promises have you made to God and never kept? It wasnt too late for Peter, and it is not too late for you. Peter finally passed the test of loyalty. He finally preached, suffered, and died for his Lord, just as he had promised. He proved himself to be a genuine disciple. The first part of his story may be sad, but beginning with the book of Acts, we can see a different Peter. Perhaps this is the most significant thing we learn from Peter: God can turn a life around when it is finally yielded to Him. What kind of a Christian are you? Are you everything you promised Jesus Christ you would be when you first believed? Are you everything you promised Christ you would be perhaps more recently, when you re-evaluated your life and recommitted it to Him? Are there visible, distinguishing marks that show you are a deeply committed believer? You may lack the marks of a committed Christian, but God can transform you into a true disciple if you simply surrender and let Him have your will. The life of a committed Christian may be costly, but it is the only kind of life that really counts for eternity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by John MacArthur, excerpted from The Marks of the Committed Christian: gty.org/resources/Positions/P23/The-Marks-of-the-Committed-Christian
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:37:12 +0000
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