Foretold Denial

Our text this morning comes at a providential time for us as a church and culture. I feel like I’ve been asked at least ten times this week how I would respond, as a pastor, if a mob of protesters were to take over our church service as they did in St. Paul, MN. Of course, most of the people who asked me that recognized immediately that I wouldn’t have to respond. Pastoring a country church in South Alabama means that there are, no doubt, plenty of armed members in attendance. But, I’ve been asked that question so much this week that it has wormed its way into my mind. It’s not just the protest in St. Paul, but this is an issue that I have pondered for some time. Since the church shooting in Sutheron Springs, TX, back in 2017, churches have debated the need for tighter security measures, with some even adopting “safety” teams to patrol the church grounds during service. Churches have hardened their physical security, buying video surveillance systems and locking the doors during worship. I have watched these developments with unease. That unease is not caused by an anxiety for the next attack, but an unease over how quickly Christians can abandon the explicit commands of our Lord. So, it is time to address that unease, and the Lord has brought me to it by putting this passage, from Mark 14:26-31, before us. Let’s read that. From this text, see two points: The Certainty of Persecution and the Challenges of Responding to Persecution.

First, from verses 26-28, see the certainty of persecution. Mark tells us that the disciples finish their Passover meal with Jesus, sing a hymn, and then head out to their favorite campsite on the Mount of Olives. As they go, Jesus tells them, “You will all fall away”, and then, he quotes Zech. 13:7, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Once again, Jesus foretells of his disciples’ actions. He’s already predicted that Judas would betray him, and at this point, Judas is gathering the soldiers to make his arrest. Now, he warns that the rest of the disciples will abandon him. I know this is a point that I’ve made repeatedly throughout this study, but it bears repeating – Jesus is in full control of the circumstances leading up to and even throughout his crucifixion. None of it takes him by surprise. None of it is outside of his will. Even the OT prophets foretold of it. Zechariah’s prophecy sees a shepherd who would be killed, and as a result, his sheep would scatter. Zechariah goes further, in verses 8-9 (which we read earlier), to say that even the sheep will face persecution, with a third of them facing death. It is important to remember, before I get into the heart of my point, that Jesus is sovereign, even over our persecution. If we ever face persecution, we can do so knowing that our Lord faced it before we did. But, we can also face it knowing that he as purposed it, and he has a plan for it. 1 Pet. 4:19 says, “Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.”

Persecution was not just the predestined path for the twelve apostles, though. Persecution is the reality of the Christian and the church in this fallen world. Wherever the church comes into conflict with the world, the predictable result will be persecution. In Matt. 10:22, Jesus says, “They will hate you for my name’s sake.” In John 15:18, he says, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” The final beatitude is the blessing of persecution: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake… rejoice and be glad.”

Now, certainly, the Bible never says that we should actively pursue persecution. The conservative social media influencer who throws himself into the midst of an angry mob, shouts profanities and slurs, is beaten and stabbed, and then cries persecution is a fool, not a faithful witness. But, the faithful believer who sits in a public place and invites anyone to the conversation and is then shot in the neck for speaking Biblical truth in a clear way – he is martyr. Scripture encourages us to be bold in our faith, but to live peaceably with all men. It tells us to preach the Word in season and out of season, but that our words should be seasoned with salt. It tells us to always be ready to give a reason for the hope in us, but to do so with charity. Yet, even when we are peaceable and we speak kindly and show charity, the world will still hate us. In fact, it will even hate us for being peaceable, kind, and charitable. So, Paul tells Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:12, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

This certainty of persecution raises an important question: how should we respond? For that, consider my second point, The challenges in responding to persecution, from verses 29-31. In response to Jesus’s prediction of betrayal by his disciples, Peter speaks up, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” Then, Jesus throws a gut punch directly to Peter’s soul – “Truly, I tell you, this very night… you will deny me three times.” Spoiler alert: Peter does, in fact, deny Jesus, just as he’d foretold. Yet, that is not the only way Peter responded to persecution, and the responses of Peter serve to illustrate the challenges in our response to persecution. There are three ways that we find Peter responding to persecution. First, there is the response of force. When the crowd comes to arrest Jesus, Matthew records that Peter pulls out his sword and swings for one of the servants, chopping off his ear. Jesus stays Peter’s hand, heals the servant, and then, in Matt. 26:52, says, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Peter’s response here is what I find to be the typical American response to persecution. As Rep. Lauren Bolbert once said, “If Jesus had had a gun, he’d still be alive” (exposing her stupidity and lack of real faith in failing to recognize that Jesus is, in fact, still alive). Churches have taken a similar posture in assembling security teams. I know of one church with visibly armed deacons patrolling the parking lot. Another church has a security team that locks all the doors after the service started, and in one case, a visitor who was running late could not gain entry because of it. While away on business, I visited a church and was met by a security team member. He was nice enough, but he also made it clear that he was scoping me out because I was new and a potential threat (though he didn’t say it in so many words). He even followed me to the balcony and sat behind me during the service. Is this what Jesus would have of the church? Can we find a call for security and defense in Jesus’s teachings on persecution? No, we cannot. In fact, we find quite the opposite. I know this is antithetical to our American way, but as Christians, we do not win through overpowering force. We win by dying, just as our savior did.

This is not to say that we should avoid all precaution, or that we should stand in the pew and take it, should we be invaded. In Mark 13, when Jesus prophesies of the coming destruction of the temple, he warns his followers to “flee to the mountains.” So, avoidance and evacuation are both right responses. If we want to ensure safety in the face of persecution, clearly marked exits and clear paths to them are wise and biblically condoned. But, the use of force in the face of persecution is explicitly condemned by our Lord Jesus. Having said that, some have made the point that not all incidents of violence against Christians are motivated by hatred of Christ. Many times, it has been a mentally unstable person who shoots up a church. In light of that, some argue that armed security teams and lethal force are prudent and allowed. I will say, this is a topic for wisdom and deliberation within the church. And, in the heat of the moment, responding to defend innocent life is understandable. I certainly would have the instinct to defend my family and all of you. But, on the other hand, I also think it is unwise for the church’s official posture to be one of defensiveness and force. At some point, our defensiveness betrays a lack of faith in God’s protection.

Second, Peter responded to persecution with fear. As Jesus foretold, Peter would go on that same night to deny his Lord three times. Peter was such a conundrum. In one moment of passion, he defends Jesus with violence, and within an hour or two, he is cursing his name and denying him. This is another response we might have to persecution – to respond with faithlessness. Because we cannot respond with force, it might seem that the only other response is to save our skin. The early Christian church faced waves of persecution. During the reign of Diocletian in the early 300s AD, a great spate of persecution broke out. Believers who were caught with copies of the Scriptures could be executed unless they handed them over to be burned. The church came to label these recanters as “traditores” (traitors), and a great debate arose in the church, once the persecution subsided, as to whether they should be accepted back into the fold. It led to the first split of the church, known as the Donatist controversy.

Denial of Christ is not a right response to persecution. Jesus warns, in Matt. 10:33, “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” So, what Peter did, in denying Christ, is a grave sin. But, on the other side of the cross, there was grace for Peter. John tells us that, after his resurrection, Jesus met Peter on the shores of the sea of Galilee and asked him, three times, if he loved him. With each question, Peter responded emphatically, “Yes, Lord, I love you.” Jesus called Peter to repentance, and Peter responded in faith. Are there times when we act cowardly in the face of persecution? I know I have. Is there forgiveness on the other side? Yes, there is. But, there is also the responsibility to grow in faith and willingness to face it with boldness in the future.

That leads me to the last response of Peter. Peter also responded to persecution with a faithful witness. In Acts 2-4, we read of the apostles going boldly out into the streets on the day of Pentecost and preaching the Gospel to the people of Jerusalem. This event jumpstarts the church, but it also draws the attention of the Sanhedrin (the court that authorized the crucifixion of Jesus). The next day, Peter and John go to the temple, and at the entrance is a man begging for money. Peter calls him to stand and he does, and then he begins to preach about Jesus. This leads to their arrest and trial before the Sanhedrin. Facing down these men, Peter says, in Acts 4:10-12, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” What boldness! Can this be the same man? What made the difference for Peter, from the man who responded with force to the man who responded with fear to the man who responded with faith? The difference is not found in Peter. It is found in the Holy Spirit that empowered him. This is how we stand and face persecution as well. We do not face it with the power of a gun or a security team or a video surveillance system. We do not face it with cowardice, hoping to bide our time. We face it by resting in the power of the Spirit. We face it resting in the assurance that Jesus knows our plight, he sees it all, and he has even purposed it for our good. So, may we leave this place in the boldness of his Spirit and be the witnesses he has called us to be.