The men closest to Jesus betray Him, deny Him, fall asleep on Him, and abandon Him. One even resorts to violence.
Jesus even pray that Peter’s faith would not fail, yet he gives into the temptation.
We shouldn’t view the disciples so harshly when their faith fails. We also shouldn’t worry about our faith failing because we have access to the Holy Spirit and God is quick to forgive when we confess.
#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #deconstructing #reconstructingfaith #spirituality #postchristian #postchristianworld
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Message Notes:
In Luke 22 the men closest to Jesus betray Him, deny Him, fall asleep on Him, and abandon Him. One even resorts to violence.
Jesus even warns Judas and Peter that they will fail him, and Peter denies he would ever deny him. In that conversation Jesus says that He is praying that Peter’s faith would not fail.
What does that mean?
Satan is mentioned in this passage a couple of times as well. He tempts the men to have more fear than faith, and everyone of them fails the test. They give into this temptation – leaving Jesus alone in his greatest hour of need.
When it comes to interpreting the Bible, it’s important we look at the type of literature, the context, and allow other Scriptures to interpret the Scriptures.
Now this is a specific moment in history and the writers of the Gospels and other historical books in the Scriptures are descriptive. They are writing about what happened. They are not prescriptive like Paul’s letters which were written to help believers know how to live.
This is important to remember because something significant happens after Jesus dies on the cross, rises from the dead, and ascends to the throne at the right hand of God the Father. The Holy Spirit comes to live within all who surrender their lives to follow Jesus!
In other words, the apostles faced temptation without the help that comes from the Spirit of God!
We shouldn’t view the disciples so harshly when their faith fails. We also shouldn’t worry about our faith failing. If we have sincere faith and have fully surrendered to Jesus, He gives us a way out of every temptation. We have the same power that rose Jesus from the dead living within us! We have a faith that can be bigger than our circumstances!
We will fall here and there on this side of eternity. There is still a battle between our flesh and the Spirit, but we can get better. We can find healing for our struggles – sometimes it’s instantaneous and sometimes it is more of a journey like Recovery or counseling. We can even ask God to strengthen our faith, and He is eager to answer that prayer request!
“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”
– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
