My favorite football team has this really amazing thing they do, they outscore their opponent for three quarters and then lose the game in the fourth. I don’t know anyone who would call that success, and Jesus’ disciples would all agree.
Jesus and his disciples have worked incredibly hard to get to the place where they are now. Three years of struggling, some of that time was sleeping on hard ground, eating leftovers and getting sea sick. Sure, there were good times too, and this had the potential to be one of those times. As long as Jesus doesn’t choke because of the pressure.
All bets are on Jesus, because no one has ever seen Him fail. He truly is a miracle walking. The religious leaders have sputtered their discontent at almost every town, and Jesus has silenced them with a parable, a sentence…sometimes just a few words. In fact, some of the religious leaders have begun to soften, and a few have become disciples. This visit to the ruling council could be the time when Jesus puts them down once and for all. Every disciple could be sure of one thing. When Jesus shrugged off this attack, He would be on His way to being the true leader of Israel…maybe even the whole region.
What bitter disappointment they must have felt when they saw Jesus being taken captive. I can almost see their hands over their faces as they sit in stunned disappointment, watching Him be beaten…just like every other self proclaimed “Messiah” that had come before Him. I have seen football players collapse onto the team bench with tears in their eyes, and questions on their lips…and the weight of losing on their shoulders. So close. Oh, so close. But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
However, there is a huge difference between football and discipleship. It’s entirely possible for us to collapse onto the bench and hear Coach Jesus say “Cheer up guys….this is what victory looks like. Here’s why you are sad; you don’t know what it looks like to win!” The disciples perception was so screwed up, that if Jesus had rebelled against the authorities and called on angels to defend Him, they would have cheered. They would cheer…while heaven recoiled in disbelief and went into mourning. I guess it isn’t any surprise that the disciples were crying while every angel in heaven was on their feet pumping their fists into the air.
I wonder how many times we have inverted success and failure? How many times have we mistaken humility for weakness, and arrogance for power? How many “gardens of Gethsemane” have we napped in, only to awaken refreshed and ready to fight the good fight, to discover Jesus was going a different direction? I wonder if Peter was thinking to himself “come on Lord, you can do this, fight back!” As he drew his sword to slice off Malchus’ ear. Who is really dropping the ball here? Someone didn’t get the right play call. Was it Jesus, or Peter. Here’s a clue: which one was sleeping?
Unanswered prayers. Failed attempts. Lost jobs. Lost friends. Lost opportunities. Are you feeling like a failure? Are you worried that you have let others down? Are you afraid of what they will think of you now? Cheer up. Seriously.
Does anyone look at Job and think to themselves “what a failure”? No. Does anyone look at Jesus and think “How weak and vulnerable…I can’t bring myself to follow such a failure”. Of course not. That’s simply because we know the rest of the story. We’ve learned that God turns trials into triumphs. We’ve seen it in Scripture, and we’ve experienced it in our own lives. God can use you in spite of your failures. In fact, you may be more significant because of them. And, (consider this) The very thing you are lamenting might become your biggest success. You may look back on it later and say “that was awesome”.
It reminds me of an upside down cake. You really can’t appreciate what it is until the last minute when the pan is flipped over and you see the finished product. Recently I have seen another example of this in the culinary arts: The pancake artists. They use two squirt bottles and make a design out of pancake batter on a hot griddle. It looks okay..I guess. Until you flip the cake over and see the truly amazing design that was created on the other side. I always leave that experience with a smile on my face, saying “wow. how did he do that?”
I leave Matthew 26 feeling the same way about Jesus.
In perpetual awe of the Nazarene,
PR