“While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he
gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.” Then Jesus took a
cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. I tell
you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine again until that day when I drink it new with you in
my Father’s kingdom.” After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus told his
followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on account of me, because it is written in the
Scriptures: ‘I will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.’ But after I rise from the dead, I will
go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of
you, but I will not.” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say
three times that you don’t know me.” But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will
even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.”
Matthew 26:26-27, 29-35 NCV
I think some of the most difficult moments in life are where we discover that we are not as strong
as we think we are.
Rich Mullins wrote:
“With these, our hells and our heavens so few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are“
In this most wonderful passage, Jesus is at the moment of descent into hours of the greatest trial,
where His strength would be plunged into the fire and tested, and tested, and tested.
He will face every kind of stress in these next few hours – physical, mental, emotional, relational;
be tortured, tempted, let down, abandoned… and yet His strength will be proved. He will come
through the fire, he will ultimately say ‘It is finished’ in the knowledge that the storm had not
destroyed him, the flood had not drowned Him, the fire had not burned him.
Yet here we see that he is aware that we will never be able to say the same.
Peter is adamant that his strength will prevail, that his love is strong enough to bear any trial, that
his zeal and fervour will prove sufficient – just as perhaps they had always been for him in the past
– but they have never before been tested like this, and he is about to discover that all of his
resources are not enough.
It is so wonderful that Jesus knows. He knows Peter will not come through unscathed. He knows
their strength will fail, he knows their best intentions will prove insufficient.
And yet His strength will be enough for them too. His victory will become theirs, His faithfulness
will bring them all through the fire.
Sometimes when we feel most strong, most capable and most zealous, it is as though we hear a
gentle reminder that our strength is not enough, our capacity is too small, our zeal alone cannot
carry us through.
I find this a most comforting thought; He knows our weakness. He knows our grip at times will not
hold, the trial will seem too much – and it is then we realise what He won for us through His
suffering – a great reservoir of grace, forgiveness and the reminder that it was always, is always
and will always be about Him – His strength, faithfulness, righteousness, and love.
His grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Andrew Jewell