The Saviour and His disciples were on the move. They were going to a place they had apparently visited on previous evenings – the Mount of Olives. Judas was aware that this has been the Lord’s practice for most of this week. There was a private and peaceful garden on the western slope of Olivet called “Gethsemane.” If there will ever be a moment when the soldiers of the High Priest will be able to take Him peacefully, it will come during the few minutes that He is there, so those arrangements were being made.
As they walked along, the heavily burdened heart of the Son of Man, continued to return to the betrayal and crucifixion. I have a hard time imagining the disciples saying much of anything, because their minds were filled with all that the Saviour had just told them. There certainly wasn’t any joking, and probably not much talking. Without Jesus leading them, they weren’t singing any of the songs of Zion. Psalm 137 was ruling in their hearts. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Eventually, filling the void as they walked along, perhaps outside the city walls by this time, Jesus said, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night.” Peter, in his typical Peter-fashion, denied the possibility, at least in himself – “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Little did the poor man know what pressures were to be put upon him that night.
In studying this scripture consider briefly the Smitten Shepherd.
“Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” The Lord refers to a complicated prophecy from the Book of Zechariah – please turn to Zechariah. Chapter 11 talks about the destruction of Jerusalem – not by the Babylonians, not by the Roman Titus, but by the other Roman – the Antichrist. Chapter 12 goes on speaking about the trouble Jerusalem shall cause and receive during the Tribulation. And then Zechariah moves toward the close of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennium. Zechariah 13:1 – “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.” Verse 6 – “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” The restoration of Israel and Jerusalem is predicated upon the death of the Shepherd. The Millennium requires, not only a King, but a redeemed people – saved by the grace of God.
When the Lord Jesus paraphrases Zechariah 13:6, He uses the pronoun “I” – “I will smite the shepherd.” Who is that “I”? It can’t be anyone else but God the Father – Jehovah – the Sovereign God. Time and time again, the Saviour is depicted as the “Shepherd” – He is ” the Good Shepherd,” At the core of the eternal decrees of God, the Son of God, the Good Shepherd would give His life to save His sheep. We can study that in Psalms, in Isaiah, in the Synoptic Gospels, in the Book of John. I won’t take you to those verses again, because I trust that you are familiar with them. Just remember that Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.” By this time in Matthew 26, Christ is only a few hours away from giving His life “a ransom for the many.”
And as that happens the Lord’s sheep will be scattered.
Do we need to read the scriptures which detail these few hours of Christian shame? “And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him, and fled… And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.” When our Bibles tell us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome were on the outskirts of the mob watching the crucifixion, it sounds as if they are the only Christians present. Indeed, the sheep had been scattered, just as Zechariah, Christ, and even the High Priest will say.
Jesus said, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night.” Do any of you remember the Greek word which is translated “offended?” “All ye shall be offended because of me this night.” Paraphrasing and transliterating Jesus’ words, he said, “Ye all shall be scandalized by my crucifixion.” The word used here is “skandalizo” (skan-dal-id’-zo).
I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a really serious earthquake. My experience has been in relatively small seismic events, but even they can begin to shake a person to his core – in more ways than one. An earthquake takes from us the foundation upon which stand. When we first learn to swim; when we first jump off the bridge with that bungie strapped to us; when we first jump out of a perfectly good airplane, we loose the things which anchor our physical lives. We trust the earth beneath our feet to hold us up, and when that is dancing around like a trampoline on meth, where can we stand with any confidence?
These disciples had learned, as I hope that you have learned, that Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Christ is the Jehovah of the Old Testament – the Creator, the one who maintains and sustains all that we call life. And here He is being ripped away from these disciples, being sent to the cross. The living God will soon being dying, almost before their eyes, and because their faith hadn’t matured as much as yours, they will have no place to stand – no hope. They will have no future, because their past will be destroyed. They will be scandalized. The omniscient Christ sees what will happen, and of course that is actually what did happen.
But then we have Peter’s swaggering pride.
“Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Nothing in the Bible more clearly demonstrates the effect of changing circumstances on human hearts. Was Peter being honest with himself? As far as he was aware, yes, he was. He firmly believed that it would be impossible for him to deny or be scandalized by anything which might happen to the Lord. Did he believe that Christ would be arrested? That He would be crucified? That He would die? Probably not. And based on that improbability, Peter boldly declared what he considered to be impossible.
The Apostle Paul dealt with a situation in Corinth much like the Lord and His disciples here. Paul reminded the church about some of the problems that Israel had, and urged those Christians not to repeat the sins of the Exodus. He said, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Now ask yourself, “What is the worst sin, or the most unlikely temptation to ever come my way?” Wasn’t that what was confronting Peter that evening? – something utterly impossible to his imagination. Peter, in the weakness of his Christian pride, declared that such a sin was impossible to him. To others, not as strong, not as well-grounded, not as stable, yes, they might be offended in Christ. But not Peter.
Learn the lesson of pride which is illustrated in these words. Learn the lesson that none of us have any strength in ourselves. If the Lord is not there to uphold us and protect us, any sin is possible.
And with that being true, when Andrew is scandalized, or when you are offended by something which John does, consider thyself. Be slow to condemn that person, because – there but for the grace of God goes you. Reach around and uplift that brother – brace yourself to help him and in the process perhaps help yourself. Peter doubted his weakness, when he should have held his strength in doubt.
My last point in this short message tonight is the Lord’s saving leadership.
“Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” How would you characterize the sin of being offended because of Christ? What are some of the things which Christ might do which could scandalize some other person? In a car crash, the drunken driver may walk away with a bruise on his forehead, but three of your grandchildren might have died. Someone might say that God was being unjust in letting that murderer walk away unscathed. How many people are offended at the doctrines of sovereign grace – election and predestination? They won’t admit it, but their offense is in God. Why is it – that ungodly sports star is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, while that nice widow down the street is about to loose her house to a greedy bank? Some professing disciples are easily scandalized, even by Christ Jesus Himself. But for Peter, to be scandalized by His Lord was inconceivable – at least to Peter.
The fact remained, Peter, Andrew, John and all the rest WERE offended by the Saviour that night. And whether inconceivable or not, the Lord Jesus had already forgiven them, and had plans to meet them in Galilee. “After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” The Lord willing we will spend a couple weeks looking at that revival meeting in Galilee, so there is no reason to go into it this evening. Suffice it to say, that the failure of those disciples was not going to deter the future work of the gospel. The sin of those men, may offend you, but the Lord is well aware of the sins of all men – even yours. I am not justifying the scandalized disciples – their sin stinks and makes no sense, at least from my ivory towered, past-tense perspective. But their sin was even more odious to the Saviour than it is to me. And yet, “after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”
Praise God for His patience towards us all. Thank God for forgiveness. Praise the Lord for the offensive cross where our forgiveness was purchased by Jesus’ holy blood.