Latest / Chapel Talks / The love of Christ | Luke 22 | Mark Meynell

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The love of Christ | Luke 22 | Mark Meynell · Chapel Talks

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Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we bow in your
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presence. May your word be our rule. May your
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spirit be our teacher. May your greater glory
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be our supreme concern. In Jesus' precious name,
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amen. Well, tucked in the middle of this Last
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Supper account, is a conversation that proves
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precisely how much it was necessary for Jesus
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to die, even for those closest to him. They reveal
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themselves in a profoundly incongruous, unfortunate
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way. They want to be, see there in verse 24 of
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the chapter, so just the page before, they want
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to be sort of kind of top dogs in his, you know,
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sort of divine privy council that is to come.
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Because they've got a sense of who Jesus is.
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They've got a sense of what he's going to become.
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They're there at this early stage. They're, you
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know, the sort of people right there at the beginning.
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They've got every potential to be in the inner
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circle from the get -go. And so they want to
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sort of jostle and, you know, bags their seat.
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And we look at that and think, how could they?
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At this time, the night before he's going to
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die, when he's explained to them what's going
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to happen, and that's what they're thinking about?
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Can you imagine the agony? That must have been
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for the Lord himself. He'd been talking about
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his death, and they're talking about... Being
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number one. He explained that the Passover was
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the key to understanding what's going to happen,
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but they're jostling for influence. It always
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happens when there is a new king in town, when
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there's a new administration. People swarm to
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find a foot in the door, a seat at the table,
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to be in the room when it happens. The reality
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is you and I don't think differently. And they're
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fussing about who's going to be more famous or
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influential. But Jesus has to say, he said, look,
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I'm not like that and you shouldn't be like that.
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Look at verse 26. The greatest among you should
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be like the youngest, the one who rules, like
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the one who serves or literally the one who's
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your slave. Jesus is the slave king. Service
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is not the means to greatness. Service is greatness.
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Now that's upside down for you. It's not a means
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to an end. It's the end. You think, oh, if I'm
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a menial slave, I'll work my way up and then
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become master of the house. No. This is what
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being in the house is. And no one who serves
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will be greater than the one who serves them.
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Jesus says this for the 12 who follow him. Verse
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29, and I confer on you a kingdom just as my
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father conferred one on me so that you may eat
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and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on
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thrones judging or literally ruling the 12 tribes.
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So yes, there will be great responsibilities,
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but that's not about status or kudos. That is
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about service. Service and responsibility, not
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rewards. God's kingdom is a gift. It's never
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earned, always conferred, and we are to serve
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it just as Jesus did. That might mean moments
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of limelight and authority, but all the way,
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it is always service. Not for my benefit or my
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own ego. Spurgeon put it brilliantly, didn't
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he? He said once, there are no crown wearers
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in heaven who are not cross bearers here below.
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And if that's true of his followers, it's supremely
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true of the king himself, isn't it? The cross
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is the only way we can be rescued. That's where
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he's going. And as if he needed something to
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prove its necessity, We have it at the very meal
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that he's explaining his service, his gift. Now,
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I say all this because it ratchets up the intensity
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of this very personal, but also humiliatingly
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public agony of what is to happen. It's one thing.
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to betray. It's another thing to have everybody
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you love know about it. Because immediately after
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this, Jesus has these devastating words for Peter
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in verse 31. Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to
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sift all of you as wheat, but I've prayed for
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you, Simon, that your faith may not fail even
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when you've turned back. Strengthen your brothers.
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But Lord, I'm ready to go with you to prison
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and to death. I mean, to be singled out like
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this at this moment is bad enough. Even if others
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didn't get the full significance immediately,
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I think it would have been crystal clear to him.
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Simon. Simon. Not Peter this time. No, Simon.
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The name. He'd been given by Jesus the nickname
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Peter, Rocky, if you like. That's not used here.
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No, this is Simon as you are. Simon, this is
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what's ahead. No wonder he objected. I'm sure
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that just that name by itself was a stab. You've
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been calling me Peter for three years or however
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long. Why Simon? And I believe him, don't you?
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I believe him. He says, I'll go anywhere with
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you. I'll do anything for you, Lord. I love you.
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You know I love you. And he's right. I tell you,
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Peter, before the cock crows today, you will
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deny three times, you know me, today. You see,
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now he's called Peter. The juxtaposition is agony.
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Peter will betray. He's the one on whom the church
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will be built, whatever that means. The prospects
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are not great. In fact, Jesus seems to be saying
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that everything is going to fall apart in the
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next few hours. But we must speed through the
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sort of stomach -lurching agonies of Gethsemane.
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Jesus warns them they need to pray. They're going
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to be beset with many temptations yet again,
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but Jesus is fighting his own cosmic conflict
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on his own. Will he or will he not go to the
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cross? And they can't even stay awake. That's
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bad enough. How different things might have been
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had Peter stayed awake to pray with Jesus, for
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Jesus, and for himself. But the eyelids were
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drooping. No doubt exhausted. Just for the lifestyle
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they had. Just migrants, basically. And you see,
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I think we underestimate Peter's courage. I don't
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know whether you've noticed this, but I think...
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There's a tendency often to give the people in
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the Bible a hard time for things that actually
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we ourselves would be much more forgiving of.
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Is that a sentence? Probably is. Let's give Peter
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credit where it's due, because look what he's
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doing. You see, he's going to deliver. He's going
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to prove Jesus wrong. He goes with Jesus. Now
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imagine it. Imagine being in Putin's Russia.
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I don't know whether you've seen the Navalny
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film. I think it's still on BBC iPlayer. And
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it doesn't bring out at all the sort of faith
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element that did come out in the parts of the
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diary that got published. It's interesting, isn't
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it, that the Times cut the faith bits out, but
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the New Yorker, of all people, kept the faith
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bits in. Fascinating. Anyway, that's a whole
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other seminar. But what an extraordinarily courageous
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man Navalny was. He went back to Russia knowing
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precisely what was going to happen. It was extraordinary.
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Watching the documentary, they had a cameraman
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on the plane. And on the plane, as they were
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coming into Moscow, there was a standing ovation
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for him. Because everybody knew what was ahead.
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And sure enough, the moment he arrives, he's
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arrested. And we know what happens. He goes straight
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into the lion's den. He knows what is ahead.
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Imagine being his PA and saying, you can do so
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much good by not doing this. Stay in Germany.
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Stay in the West. Keep banging the drum. No,
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I must go back. That's kind of what Jesus is
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doing. And what Peter is doing is saying, I'm
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going to come with you. He's there right in the,
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you know, these perpetrators. Of course, he's
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there. I wouldn't be, would you? I'd be far too
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much of a chicken to do that. And in fact, it's
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notable, isn't it, that he's the only one. The
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others are keeping well away. Of course, they've
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got a brain. They're sensible. I mean, you can
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process and rationalize it. You can think, well,
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what good am I going to be able to do if I'm
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there? I can lobby for his release from outside.
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I can't do that in there. We can rationalize
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all these things very easily, but Peter goes
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into the lion's den and says, I am going with
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you, Lord, to prison or to death. I have no idea
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what was going through Peter's mind, but I admire
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him for this. I think we should. So we've seen
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Peter's courage, but we also see Peter's fear.
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Luke is a great storyteller. He's very good at
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just the little incidental detail in the narrative
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that actually says so much about what's going
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on, even psychologically, in the story. So here
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we are. It's dark. It's cold. It's hostile. This
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is not a comfortable place. And in verse 55,
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we see him sitting down. Not exactly. idly passing
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the time. But, you know, he's just sort of there
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with a bunch of people, all kinds of different
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reasons, no doubt. People wanting to sort of
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lobby or press a patron for some favor or something
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in the morning. You know, people would queue
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through the night to see the people that were
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powerful. That's how the ancient world works,
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how the modern world works to a large degree.
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But Peter's there. Verse 56. servant girl, a
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slave, the lowest of the low. And you can see
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the sort of flickering flames on the faces of
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this strange group. They've hardly got anything
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in common. They're certainly not friendly. Perhaps
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Peter has his cloak tighter and tighter, his
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face obscured with his hoodie or whatever. I
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don't know. But we read, she looked closely at
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him. She made a point of, yeah, no, yeah, this
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man was with him. You know that guy we've just
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seen arrested walking past into the main atrium
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or whatever? He was there. That's why he's here.
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There's no doubt in her mind. It's fascinating.
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She checks, because we all double take, don't
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we? But she's not a threat. That's the crazy
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thing. She's insignificant. She's a slave. She's
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a woman. She's a nobody. Verse 58, someone completely
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anonymous. He's pretty sure as well. Verse 59,
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another picks up his accent. Oh, he's Galilean.
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We don't get many Northerners around here. Stand
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out a mile. Know exactly where you're from. Isn't
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that a coincidence? They just arrested a Galilean.
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Oh, he must be one of them. Peter is under threat.
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He's surrounded. It is chilling in every sense.
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And the mere fact of people talking about it
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is dangerous enough. And so he reacts with increasing
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vehemence, doesn't he? Miss, I don't know him.
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Sir, I am not. Sir, I have no idea what you're
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talking about. And it's like he protests too
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much. What's the big deal? What can they do to
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him? And this is where we get the heart of everything
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I want to focus on. Let me reread this devastating
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couple of verses. Verse 60. Peter replied, man,
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I don't know what you're talking about. Just
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as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord
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turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter
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remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him
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before. The cock crows today, you'll disown me
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three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.
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But here's the thing. This has haunted me for
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years. The Lord turns and looks straight at him.
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Luke is the only gospel writer that includes
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that little incidental detail. And I guess it
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was something like maybe Jesus at that split
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-second moment was being transferred from one
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interrogation to another or just being moved
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to a holding cell. Who knows what the logistics
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of it were, but it was... Just at that moment,
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and you think, oh, that's a coincidence. Not.
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Just at that moment, he happens to be walking
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past in the courtyard again, and he looks straight
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at him as the cock crows. They can hear it. Both
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of them can hear it. And he looks straight at
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him in the face. And here's the question. What
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do you think is Jesus' expression? What is on
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his face? What is the body language here? And
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whatever it was, look at the impact it had on
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Peter. It was devastating. This, in the end,
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I think, is what breaks him. The look on Jesus'
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face. I think this must have haunted him for
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the rest of his life, don't you? This is a defining
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moment of shame. I can imagine that every time
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he was staying somewhere and, you know, heard
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the cock crowing in the village or wherever it
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is, every morning, you know, talk about trauma
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and triggers. No wonder he weeps bitterly. He
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would never be the same again. So what is Jesus'
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expression? Well, I'm going to indulge in something
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that expository preachers don't often do. I've
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been training expository preachers for 22 years
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now, so I hope I've got some cred here. Otherwise,
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well, it doesn't matter because I'm leaving and
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I don't work here, so that's fine. But I'm going
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to speculate, but I'm giving you a heads up,
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okay? It's not in the text. Or is it? Anyway,
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ponder that. One option, maybe Jesus is disappointed
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in him. It's entirely plausible. And you can
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sense that in Gethsemane. I mean, Jesus was very
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disappointed in the disciples earlier, wasn't
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he? Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so
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you won't fall into temptation. That's disappointment.
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Come on, men, come on, sort it out. Or look how
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earlier Jesus was teaching about worry. He does
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seem quite disappointed with people who are listening
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back there in chapter 12. If that is how God
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clothes the grass of the field, which is here
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today, tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how
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much more will he clothe you, you of little faith?
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If that's not a degree of disappointment, I don't
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know what it is. So yes, Jesus does disappointment
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sometimes. Is that what he sees in Jesus' face?
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Disappointment? I mean, that's gutting if it
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is, isn't it? It's very hard to come back from
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disappointing someone. You know, I'm not angry,
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I'm disappointed. Yikes. Was he too confident
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in his own resilience? I mean, Peter was just
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being Peter from all we know and love him for.
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I mean, what did Jesus expect was going to happen?
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Might be disappointing. I don't think so, though.
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So secondly, perhaps it's anger. And we know
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that Jesus was angry righteously. I mean, it's
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not the kind of sort of flippant, spontaneous
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anger that we get for stubbing a toe or tripping
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over the cat or whatever it is, you stupid cat
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or whatever. No, in Luke 19, his anger is premeditated
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in the temple courts. He plans on expressing
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this anger and throwing people out. My house
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will be a house of prayer. You've made it a den
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of robbers. That is anger. It is righteous anger,
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but it is anger nonetheless. We don't quite get
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the impact that John gives us in John 2, do we?
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But there we see Jesus calmly but resolutely
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making a whip that he's going to use. That is
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a cold, settled anger and is all the more scary
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for that. So is that what Jesus expresses to
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Peter? I warned you. And what did you do about
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it? I mean, after all, there was every reason
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for Jesus. to be angry and hurt by this. This
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is the man who just hours earlier had sworn to
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go to the ends of the world for him, and now
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he can't even admit meeting him. If that was
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me, done to me, I'd be angry. But I don't think
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that fits either. So maybe thirdly, it's a kind
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of sort of resignation, a sort of shrug. You
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know, the parent's sadness at the child who's
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got themselves into precisely the kind of trouble
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you said would happen if they did X. Sure enough,
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they did X and Y happened. Well, I told you so.
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Is that the look on Jesus' face? I told you so.
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They're rather acerbic. Not very pleasant, but
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sharp -tongued writer Gore Vidal once put it,
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the four most beautiful words in our common language,
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I told you so. Smug self -righteousness, that.
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Well, no, Jesus is not smug or self -righteous.
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He's certainly not malicious, although malice
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can lie behind those words. But maybe it's just
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a resignation, the sense of the inevitable. I
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knew this was going to happen. I warned you this
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was going to happen. I didn't want this to happen.
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I told you so. But that doesn't fit either, really.
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So what is it? Well, come back to this question.
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Why do you think Jesus predicted such a spectacular
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fall? Why did he tell him in advance? I mean,
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that's something we don't sort of chew on much,
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but it's really quite crucial, I think. Why did
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he tell him? Wouldn't it have been kinder just
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to sort of take it when it came and just deal
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with the aftermath rather than telling everybody
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that this is about to happen? Wouldn't that have
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been better? But Jesus warning him is like rubbing
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his nose in it in advance and after the event.
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I can't think it's because he wants to shame
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Peter in the midst of all this. No, actually,
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I think he's doing something very, very different,
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but it is profoundly consistent with who Jesus
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is and what he's like. He does it out of love.
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I think it's the only thing it could possibly
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be from everything we know of him and this scenario.
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You see, I realize that the text doesn't say
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that. But I think this speculation is legitimate.
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I mean, just consider the long -term disaster
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that this would have been for Peter. This supposed
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reliable foundation -like leader who was going
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to be the first to really pioneer this brand
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new global experiment called the kingdom of God.
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And he... was felled before the first hurdle.
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I mean, you know, the church doesn't even exist
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yet. Hasn't even had Pentecost, let alone Jesus'
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death and resurrection. No, that's all in the
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future, and he's completely blown it already.
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Nobody would ever trust him again. Peter's sin
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was great, but Jesus' love was much, much greater.
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Because, precisely because, he knows about his
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sin already. He knows in advance. I don't know
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about you, but I was, and still am, rubbish at
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sport. I have two left feet, and I think all
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sport is wrong and shouldn't be allowed. And
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you won't be able to convince me otherwise. Don't
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even bother. But basically, it was the archetypal
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thing. When I was at school, I was always on
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the bench last to be chosen for the teams. It's
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just miserable. I've been in therapy ever since.
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I'm still very traumatized, and I don't really
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like to talk about it. Nobody wanted me on their
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team, and quite right, because I was rubbish.
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I really was. Still am. It was a revolution for
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me to recognize that actually Jesus is not like
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that. He knows about my left feet. He knows about
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my frailties, my weaknesses, my sins, my temptations.
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He knows about those temptations and sins that
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I've been a Christian for, what is it, I don't
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know, 35 years now or something. And I still
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fall into. He knows about them. Do you remember
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when some of the Tory MPs were talking about
25:24
getting Boris into number 10 in the run up to
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him becoming prime minister? And, you know, journalists
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were saying, oh, so so, you know, what about
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his sort of being economical with the truth and
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all this sort of stuff and all the rumors and
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stuff about Boris that we all knew? And and there
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was one of his sort of campaigners in the Commons
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who said, oh, yes, it's all right. We've priced
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it in, which is a sort of. city finance would,
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you know, we factored in the flaws and the problems,
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but we still, on balance, think he's going to
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be great for Britain and the world. They didn't
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really price it in. But here's the thing. Jesus,
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well, he doesn't price it in. He's factored it
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in, though, when he asked us to be on his team.
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He knew in advance. He knew exactly what we are.
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And he knows where we screw up and where we will.
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He says, no, I still want you on my team. Remember
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what he said to Peter when he predicted it. Satan
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has asked to sift you all as wheat, but I've
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prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not
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fail. And... When you have turned back, strengthen
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your brothers. Isn't that weird? Here's a prayer
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that Jesus prays that seems not to come about
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because his faith does fail. Go figure. I'm not
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going to figure that one out. But isn't it just
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fascinating? It's so subtle you miss it. But
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the implication is that he is going to screw
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up and he's going to have to turn back. But Jesus
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is saying, when you turn back. Not if. When you
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turn back, strengthen your brothers. In other
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words, that's when your ministry truly begins.
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I've priced it in, Peter. I know what you're
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like. Isn't it amazing that throughout the Gospels,
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the people who loved Jesus the most, without
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exception, Were those who realized that that
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love was entirely undeserved. And the more they
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realized it was undeserved, the more they were
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just bowled over by that love. It was like, I
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can't believe it. Doesn't he know what I'm like?
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He really does. He's factored that in. And it
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was the religious people who loathed Jesus. So
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much so that they wanted him dead. I mean, to
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want him dead is a significant indication of
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what your heart is thinking, is it not? What
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kind of person wants Jesus, of all people, dead?
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Well, somebody who is profoundly threatened at
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the very least. And that gives me pause because...
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The Church of Britain today, if it has a positive
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reputation at all, and that's completely sort
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of ebbing away, isn't it, as we know, and that's
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maybe a good thing, actually, but that's a whole
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other thing. But if there is a reputation at
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all, it's because it's of a church that's the
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complete opposite. It's a place for religious
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people. And the sinners and tax collectors say,
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oh, that's not for me. I remember a dear brother
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who's same -sex attracted, worked in theatre
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for years. He still does stuff. He's been a choreographer
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on a number of movies. And you will have seen
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his work, I guarantee it. I won't say more. But
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I remember he was in a rep play. It was a pantomime
29:29
in the north of England somewhere, I won't say
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where. One of the other cast members, he got
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to know him quite well. The director of this
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rep company was particularly brutal and controlling.
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And this other cast member, his father died.
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And the director would not allow him to miss
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a performance to go to the funeral, which is
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a pretty low thing anyway. So my friend just
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said, look, OK, we've got a few hours. Can I?
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can I try and do something for you? He was a
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Christian. And they were walking through the
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market square of this northern town, and there
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was a church on the square. He said, look, why
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don't we go in there, and I can pray for you
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and for your family in this horrible time. And
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the friend said, why would we go in there? They
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hate us there, as in gay people. They hate us.
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I guarantee you that when people met Jesus, they
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never thought that. Jesus looked straight at
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him. It's not disappointment. It's not anger.
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It's not even resignation. It's love. Maybe the
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hint of a smile, maybe even some tears. But the
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kind of look that says, it's okay, Peter, I know.
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I know what this means. But I love you, and I
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want you back. So when you're back, then you
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can get to work. And I would suggest that no
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preacher of the gospel, whether they've been
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through the rigors of Oak Hill or not, who has
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not first experienced that look, should not be
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in the job. I want you on my team, he says. Me?
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You. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, you take our breath
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away again and again. You show us our faults.
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You shine a light on our darkness, the evil in
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our hearts, the deception we... we use, even
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on ourselves and even on you, we attempt anyway.
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You know this, Lord. You knew it from the start.
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You knew it when you called us. Renew our wonder
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and joy and indebtedness at this truly amazing
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grace. Because dear Lord Jesus, you loved us
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first. So let us go and love. For your glory's
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sake we pray. Amen.