36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” 38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
After Jesus told of Judas’ betrayal, He then turned to how one of His true disciples would fail Him.
13:36
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”
Jesus had just mentioned that He was going away (v. 33). Peter was confused about where He was going.
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now,
Peter did not know at this point that Jesus would be crucified in just a few hours. It was impossible for Peter to share in paying for sins on the cross.
but you shall follow Me afterward.”
The point here is that Peter would not die at the same time as Jesus but would die and follow Jesus to heaven later.
13:37
Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now?
Peter did not understand and did not know about the saving work of Christ on the cross that lay just ahead.
I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
Peter declared that he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of death for the Lord. He speculated that Jesus was about to face conflict with religious leaders, not that Jesus was in the plan of God to die on a cross.
13:38
Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you,
Jesus made it clear that Peter did not understand the issues at hand, that Peter did not even know the level of his own commitment.
the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
Peter was not as committed to the Lord as he thought he was. He denied the Lord three times and the rooster did, in fact, crow three times (Jn 21:15-17).
PRINCIPLE:
Any believer can fail the Lord.
APPLICATION:
Many people are blissfully unaware that they are vulnerable to a fall. Every believer is subject to a fall (1 Co 10:13). We need to know the proclivities of our heart. Each Christian will face his or her own peculiar temptation. It is a “common” experience of any who name the name of Christ. It is not extraordinary that we are tempted and sin, so we should not give up in despair. To not understand or accept this fact is to make us vulnerable to a greater fall.
