Mark 14:27

Mark 14:27 says, And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. After going out after sharing the Passover meal, and instituting the Lord’s Supper, Jesus warned the disciples that they would be offended by Him that night.  He said this was the fulfillment of the prophesy that the Shepherd, which referred to Jesus, would be slain, which was a reference to His coming death on the cross, and that then the sheep, which was a reference to the disciples, would be scattered. Jesus then said that after He was crucified, that this was not the end.  Verse twenty-eight adds, But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.  Jesus said He would go before them to Galilee after His resurrection, where they would once again become His faithful servants.  We as Christians should never be offended by our faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how bad things may become in the world.  Still, if we do fail to remain faithful at all times, Jesus waits with open arms to welcome us back.  Verse twenty-nine continues, But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Peter, bold as always, said that even if everyone else was offended by Jesus, he never would be.  Peter let his self-pride take over.  His faith wasn't really in Jesus, but in himself.  Self-pride can still get us in trouble as followers of Christ today, causing us to believe that we are superior to other Christians in our faithfulness.  Verse thirty declares, And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.  Jesus quickly corrected Peter's prideful statement, telling him that before the night was over that Peter would deny Him three times.  I believe the Holy Spirit will quickly correct us on statements made out of self-pride if we will only listen to Him.  Verse thirty-one adds, But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. Peter, however, was not willing to listen, saying vehemently, or angrily, that Jesus was wrong, and the other disciples joined him in saying this.  We may not like what the Holy Spirit, our guide since the ascension of Jesus, tells us today, but we should never be so filled with self-pride that we say He is wrong.  Also, when one person begins to boast out of self-pride, it is easy for others to join in.  We need to avoid becoming that way.  Of course, until the disciples accepted Jesus Christ for Who He really is, they were simply lost sheep.  This is still true today.