Fall Guys (Mark 14:27-31)

After 20 years as a college professor at Texas A&M, Irwin Horwitz had enough. He was teaching a Strategic Management class in 2015, but the students that semester were unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Professor Horwitz said he witnessed apathy, entitlement, disrespect, disruptiveness, dishonesty,^[1] backstabbing, and cheating.^[2]

So he sent all 30-plus students enrolled in that class an email to let them know they had all failed. He “chastised them for lacking the competence or desire to do the quality work necessary to pass the course.”^[3] He said they were a disgrace to their school.^[4] But Strategic Management was a capstone course for seniors. This was one of the final classes they needed to graduate. One senior spoke to the media about how this failure would might derail the job he had lined up.

But Professor Horwitz didn’t believe these students were ready to work in the real world of business. He said that not only was their character lacking, but noted they couldn’t accomplish basic business tasks. He said, “More than a handful of them couldn’t run a Kool-Aid stand.”

In his email he wrote, “None of you…given the behavior in this class, deserve to pass, or graduate to become an Aggie.”

In our text, Jesus predicts correctly that the entire group of disciples will fail and scatter before the night was over. But when Jesus warns them, they do not believe. They argue with Him and tell Him He’s wrong. They miss the instruction and hope He gave after the prediction of their failure.

There was no chance that the disciples wouldn’t fail this test. The point of this text is not that the disciples should’ve stuck it out in the Garden of Gethsemane. Their scattering that night had been a foregone conclusion for centuries. The point is that our Shepherd Savior leads us even through failure. He does not quit when we fail. He is faithful when we are faithless. The lesson here is not to think that we’ll get to a point of spiritual strength where we never stumble. The point is to learn to stop arguing our Lord as He leads us, warns us, and reveals the truth to us.

Mark 14:27 – ²⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

One would betray the Lord, but all would fall away. Meaning their loyalty to Jesus would temporarily collapse.^[5]

A lot is happening in this verse. First, Jesus applies the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7 to Himself and to what was about to happen. That prophecy explains that it was God the Father Who would strike the Shepherd. God the Father sent His Son as a willing sacrifice for our sin. Zechariah describes how this act of striking and scattering leads to the formation of a new people of God.^[6] And, of course, this is exactly what the cross accomplished. Not only the atonement of our sin, but made it possible for a new people – the Church, the Bride of Christ – to be formed by the New Covenant.

By quoting this prophecy, Jesus identifies Himself as more than a man. The shepherd in Zechariah 13 is identified by God as His “Companion,” His “Associate,” the “One Who stands next to God.” This figure is also identified as the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53.^[7] The One pierced for our transgressions. Why? Because we all like sheep have gone astray.

You see, it wasn’t only the 12 who went astray. All of humanity has. Therefore we all need the Savior to come and rescue us by laying down His own life, so that by His wounds we might be healed.

The literal scattering would happen at the Mount of Olives, but we go to Zechariah 14 to see that isn’t the end. When Yahweh returns to earth, guess where He arrives? The Mount of Olives. And on that day He will become King of the whole earth.^[8]

So Jesus says, “This is going to happen, and you’re all going to fall away (or stumble) because of Me.” It didn’t mean they would lose faith permanently.^[9] The term is where we get our word scandalized. It’s first used in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus describes the rocky soil in the parable of the sower.^[10] How when distress or persecution comes to that soil, the seed falls away.

We’re not facing active persecution right now. But if we want to be able to withstand distress or difficulty when it comes, we need strong roots. Healthy roots. Roots that go down deep into the Word of God which anchors us in grace and hope and the peace that only Christ can give.

Mark 14:28 – ²⁸ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

After sending his controversial email to his students, Professor Hurwitz wrote to Texas A&M’s administration to let them know that he had no plans to respond to any of the students’ complaints about his decision. He told admin that the students were “[their] problem now.”

Jesus is about to be betrayed, denied, abandoned to beatings, scourging, and crucifixion. But He will not abandon His disciples. Christ always has compassion for sheep without a shepherd.

And the Lord doesn’t only predict their failure, but more importantly, His resurrection. Because of the resurrection, our failures, our shortcomings, our sins are not the end of the story. Christ has not only changed the ending, but the entire path of our lives. He is a Savior and a Shepherd. His plan did not end at Golgotha. His plan for His people, for His people, for you and I continues.

The hope of the Gospel shines through the darkest, bleakest situation. This was going to be the worst night of their lives. Yet the Gospel was a message of hope, of forgiveness, of restoration.

None of it is possible without the resurrection. If Jesus didn’t literally rise from the dead, there is no point to Christianity. In fact, Paul said if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then Christians should be pitied more than anyone.^[11] But Christ did rise. And that changes everything about life. About your life. It means He is the Suffering Servant. He is the Good Shepherd Who desires to lead you.

He tells them to follow Him to Galilee. Not Jerusalem? Not Rome? No. Galilee. Why? For one thing, Jesus wasn’t going to establish His literal Kingdom yet. So they didn’t need to go to the capital.

It’s possible that all 11 of these guys were from Galilee. Judas, it seems, was from a Judean town called Karioth.^[12] We can’t be sure that all the rest were definitely from Galilee, but it’s interesting – when the angels speak to the disciples after Jesus ascends to heaven, they say, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky?”^[13] And then, at Pentecost, the crowds see the disciples baptized by the Holy Spirit and they say, “Aren’t all those who are speaking Galileans?”^[14]

So Jesus sends them home first. There they would be restored to discipleship. There they would be instructed by the risen Christ. From that starting point they would start again, then go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and all the world.

It was Galilee where Jesus performed His first and last miracles. Galilee where He gave the Sermon on the Mount, His Bread of Life discourse, where He walked on water. Where He interrupted a funeral to bring a widow’s son back to life and where He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

But there’s another important aspect to Galilee. Galilee was not a strictly Jewish place. Both Isaiah and Matthew identify it as Galilee of the Gentiles.^[15] That the Light of the world would shine in Galilee, as it did when Jesus walked the earth and as it would after He ascended through His Body, the Church, shining the light of the Gospel.

And so Jesus said, “Follow Me to Galilee.” Because the work He had been doing for three and a half years would continue through the disciples. He would be waiting for them there. The Lord is so patient. He waits for us. He doesn’t have to. He’s a Good Shepherd, though we’re prone to wander.

Mark 14:29 – ²⁹ Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.”

Peter speaks so boldly, so confidently. He’s so assured of himself. But let’s consider a couple of things: First of all, a few minutes ago he was asking Jesus, “Lord am I the one who is going to betray You?” But now he’s absolutely sure of his spiritual invulnerability.

Second, he believes Jesus’ prophecy for the other guys, but not himself. “Jesus, You’re wrong about this.” That would make Jesus a false prophet. But Peter sees no issue with his reaction.

In other words, he’s already stumbling over Jesus. The Lord has just definitively said what was true, what was going to happen, and Peter says, “I don’t accept it. I don’t believe that, not for me.” He’s already ignoring the Shepherd’s voice. He does so because he’s convinced of his own spiritual strength. But we know that Peter was not only not that strong, he is much weaker than he thinks. Of all the remaining disciples, Peter is going to stumble the most of all.

1 Corinthians 10:12 – ¹² So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.

We’re going to face difficulty in life. Discouragement, temptation, distress, trials. We are not as strong as we think we are. Not in our own strength. Spiritual strength is found in anchoring ourselves on the Rock, not on our own determination or grit or experience.

Any one of us is capable of stumbling. That shouldn’t make us afraid. It’s just reality. It should make us cling to the Lord and go to His Word and find His strength for life. David wrote in Psalm 18, “I love You, Lord, my Strength.” The Rock of refuge. Our Horn. Our Salvation. Our Fortress. Our Shield.

The Lord tells us in His word that we are spiritually weak apart from Him. That we, like sheep, go astray. We need to believe what He says about us. About the human heart. And then seek Him for the direction and transformation necessary to be made strong. And one way we remain strong in the Lord is when His word remains in us.

Mark 14:30 – ³⁰ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

Jesus tells Peter, “You’re not going to outlast the others. You’re going to do worse than the others!” Jesus uses an emphatic set of words here. He says, “Peter, you yourself are going to disown me.”^[16]

Now Mark is the only Gospel that says the rooster would crow twice. Some people are bothered by that or suggest it is a contradiction.

The “cock-crow” was a proverbial expression for early morning. It’s what they called the sound of the bugle that the Romans would blow to signal the change from the third watch to the fourth watch of the night.^[17] 3am.^[18] So, it’s likely that’s what the other Gospels are referring to.

But Mark’s Gospel comes from Peter’s testimony. And he remembers. He remembers the moment. He remembers the sounds. He remembers there wasn’t just a bugle, but also a literal rooster crowing and he heard it twice as he cursed and swore oaths and disowned his Lord.

Any human leader would’ve been done with Peter. One of the things Professor Hurwitz said was that he failed those students because once they were out in the workforce he didn’t want to be associated in any way with them.^[19] He said he was completely disgusted with them.

And yet we know the Lord forgave Peter. The Lord restored him. The Lord did not deny His servant. Because that’s Christ’s heart for us. For Peter. For you. An unfailing, merciful compassion.

Mark 14:31 – ³¹ But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.

All 11 of them have fixated on the falling away. They ignore the part about the resurrection. They ignore the instructions to go to Galilee. Instead they argue with Jesus and tell Him He’s wrong.

We do this, don’t we? We argue with the Lord that He doesn’t know what He’s doing in our lives. It’s wrong when we do that. We need to believe what God says to us. How can we be led if we won’t accept the validity of His directions?

You know, the Gospel of Luke fills out a few more details of this situation. The disciples had – once again – just been in an argument with each other about which of them was the greatest. Of course in that sort of selfish mindset they weren’t ready to hear this from Jesus.

This was a hard situation. But let’s recognize that even though we’re not going to the Garden of Gethsemane tonight, we’re also called to die for Christ. To die to self. To take up a cross and follow Jesus wherever He leads. That’s what it means to be a Christian.

We will fail along the way. We will stray from what we should do – from what Christ empowers us to do and commands us to do. But do not stay stumbled. Our Shepherd still calls. Still loves. Still does His gracious work for us. Our part is to remember who we are and whose are. That we are the sheep of His pasture and our Shepherd leads us gently. That our part is to know His voice and follow Him. To recognize that we are weak apart from Him. And strength is found not in our strategies or our own religiosity, but it’s found in God’s grace, in His word, in His vast strength.^[20]