This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to day five of our look together through Mark chapter 14. It's a
powerful chapter, isn't it? The chapter that reminds us of how deeply God loves
us and the extent that He was willing to go through for us.

The chapter ends in a very interesting way, very human way, reminding us of how
we respond to this goodness, this greatness of God. It ends with the denial of
Peter, verses 66 to 72. Let me read those verses for you.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high
priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
"You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said, "but he denied it.

I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out
into the entryway. When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those
standing around, "This fellow is one of them. " Again he denied it.

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of
them, for you are a Galilean. " He began to call down curses on himself, and he
swore to them, "I don't know this man that you're talking about. " Immediately,
the rooster crowed the second time, and Peter remembered the word that Jesus had
spoken to him.

"Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times," and he broke
down and he wept. As I read these verses, it is so easy to relate to Peter.
Doing what I said I wouldn't do, not doing what I fully intended to do.

It's so easy to relate to Peter. Thank you Jesus that you meet us with our human
failings, our human weaknesses, but thank you also that you grow and direct and
use us. I pray as we look through these verses together today for a heart of
humble trust in each of our lives.

It's good to remember that it was Peter's human boldness, his human strength
that put him in this place of denial. Remember Peter was the one that cut off
the ear of one of the mob that came to arrest Jesus. He's faced with this whole
Roman garrison and he pulls out a sword like he's going to beat them all.

And remember that while everyone else had fled, only he and John, we're not told
that here but in another gospel, John also came to this trial. He's there while
everybody else is hiding out somewhere in fear of their lives. The reason that
he denies him three times in this courtyard is that he's in this courtyard.

He's in this place where he is not safe at all. He's been very bold to come
there. But also in his boldness, he couldn't depend on that alone.

And he finds himself doing exactly what Jesus said he would do. He denies the
Lord three times. I want you to remember something.

Mark got the story of his gospel much from Peter. So Peter had to honestly tell
Mark about his failure, about his denial on that night. Now it's interesting to
me that when talking about cutting off the servant's ear with this act of
bravery, Peter has Mark just write one of the disciples.

We know it's Peter from one of the other gospels. But when talking about his
failures, Peter allows his name to be front and center. And he goes out and he
weeps.

Now that's not the end of the story for Peter. Jesus is going to meet with him.
He's going to comfort him.

But as we come to the end of this week, the end of this chapter looking at Jesus
preparing to go to the cross, these holy moments amidst these human failings,
the question I want to ask you, I want to ask me is, what would I have done in
this week? Would I have been the woman pouring out the perfume or would I have
been the one counting how much it cost? Would I have been the one taking the
time to prepare an upper room for Jesus or would I have been the one leaving it
for somebody else to do on this busy Passover week?

Would I be the one bragging about how I would never fail him, only to deny him
three times? Would I be the one like John Mark watching from the edges and then
escaping in embarrassment? Would I be invited to sit with Jesus, only to be
overwhelmed with my need to sleep?

I have to admit, I've been looking through these verses, these chapters, that I
would have done all of those things, that I could see myself being the one that
fell asleep. I could see myself being the one counting how much it would have
cost calculating that. I could see myself being the one who, on this holy week,
had only human reactions.

And maybe you've seen yourself doing that as well. I don't know if one of us
can't look back in our lives at times when God has been doing something great
and I've been caught up in myself. It happens far too often.

As we come to the end of this week, we see Peter breaking down and weeping, "I
don't want to leave him there and I don't want to leave you there. " I have to
admit that I could have done any of these things. But Jesus loved these first
disciples, even amidst all these choices that they were making.

And he also loves you. He also loves me. And I want you to not forget that the
one who denied him three times followed him the rest of his life.

But the ones who fell asleep in that garden became the leaders of the new
church. And that one who watched from the edges is the writer of this gospel
that we're studying. You know what that says?

God has not given up on you. You may have given up on you, but God has not given
up on you. You may have failed him in incredible ways.

And you might think, if only you knew, you would not say God has not given up on
me. Look at the ways that his disciples failed him in these verses. At the most
important moments, the most crucial moments, they failed him.

And they failed him in ways that we still know about thousands of years later.
But instead of those failures being simply a source of embarrassment, a fall,
and then they disappear. These failures are a part of the story of how God works
in the lives of his followers.

I have failings. You have failings. But I also have a savior.

And that savior will never give up on you. Your life is not defined by your
failures. It can be.

You can choose for it to be. But God does not intend for it to be. He knows
you're going to have them.

He knows you're going to have failures. But your life is not meant to be defined
by your failures. Your life is meant to be defined by your faith in Jesus
Christ.

So I'd like to spend together a few moments talking with him. Would you pray
with me? And in prayer, just ask yourself that question.

What would I have done? What would I have done this week as the disciples went
to the upper room, as they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, as a few of them
watched in the courtyard during Jesus' trial? How would I have responded?

Fear, doubt, loneliness, faith? Lord, how would I have responded? How have I
responded in those moments when you've given me a great opportunity to be with
you, to serve you?

Just be honest and say, "Jesus Christ, there are times when I've had faith, but
there are far too many times when I failed in that moment. When I've chosen my
selfishness rather than your plan and your will. But Jesus, I want in this
moment to see myself in a new way.

I don't want to be defined by my failures any more than these first followers
were defined by their failures. They had them, but that didn't mean they stopped
serving you. I want my life to be defined by my faith in you.

So I pray that instead of being embarrassed by my failures and thinking I have
to hide out the rest of my life, instead of being devastated by my failures and
thinking you have no use for me any longer, that Jesus Christ, I would be
humbled, humbled by my failures to recognize in my human strength, I don't have
much to offer you. But in your strength, in your power, through your spirit, I
have so much to offer you. I have the kind of life to offer you that you can use
to make a difference in this world.

And so I look at this week that Jesus spent with his disciples, and I look at my
life, and I ask that you help me to see myself in a new way. To see myself as
someone sitting in that upper room, hearing you say, "Love one another. " To see
myself as someone sitting in that garden, hearing you say, "Jesus Christ.

" Not my will, not my selfish will, but God's will be done. And to see myself as
someone sitting in that courtyard, watching you go through this trial, and
recognizing that even though I don't understand sometimes, you have a plan. Help
me to see me, to see you in new and fresh ways.

I pray this, Jesus, in your name, amen. I'll see you next week. Next week, we're
going to look at Mark chapter 15.

We're going to see Jesus making the ultimate sacrifice, giving the greatest gift
of love.