Matthew 26 is a rough chapter to read especially when you decide to see if you fit anywhere in the story. Jesus takes his closest disciples through the Last Supper. He tells them that one of them will betray him to the authorities resulting in his arrest and death. He reveals that all of them will abandon him in the hour that he will most need to have his friends close by. Peter discovers that he is no better than anyone else, that he will deny his Master three times in a matter of a few hours. When Jesus needs the prayer support of his friends, they all go to sleep on him! Those were some rough hours and things just got worse.
Failure. Betrayal. Denial. Those first followers of Christ weren't the only ones guilty of these actions however. Every generation of believers in Christ have in some way failed to be there when their Master needed them to be awake and active. We have betrayed our Savior to a world that seeks to destroy him. When questioned about our relationship to Jesus, we all too often deny that we have one, either out of fear or the inconvenience of the situation.
Jesus lived a life of truth. He was loyal to his friends right through a death on a cross, their only hope of spiritual salvation. He promised that as long as we remain faithful to him, he will be faithful to us. If we deny him, he has no choice but to deny that he has a relationship with us. Through our lack of action and failure to speak, we deny him and refuse to stand up for him and the truth he represents.
Individuals are guilty of failing, betraying, and denying their Lord Jesus Christ. So are churches. When churches allow the world to dictate priorities, values, and methods, they are guilty of failing the One whose sacrifice is their foundation. Our churches would do well to read Matthew 26 and apply its lessons to their witness.
Jesus lived out the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Churches must be found faithful to these as well. Jesus lived out the actions of Matthew 25. Churches through their membership and their public actions must also live out these ministries. When churches fail in carrying out their responsibilities as salt and light in their communities, they betray the One who gave his all for them. When churches reject the mandate of Matthew 28, they deny their relationship and their accountability to the Risen Lord.
Judas handed Jesus to those who wanted him dead. The 21st century church must not hand over the Body of Christ to the ones who want it dead. Yet we do it every time we compromise in order to be found acceptable. We do it every time we compromise in order to be kept safe. We do it every time we allow complacency or a rejection of personal responsibility to result in our refusal to offer the gospel to the world.
God's grace is sufficient to bring repentant hearts back into his arms. God's grace is sufficient to bring fearful and complacent churches back into his great plan for the world. Faithful churches are healthy churches. They remember whose they are. They remember what they are supposed to be. They remember their core values and live by them. They remember who is to receive the glory in all things.
The disciples failed. They ran when things got dangerous. Yet they were blessed in their repentance and faithfulness, and they were empowered to bring the message of the gospel, God's redeeming love, to the world. The faithful church will still do that today through its members and the new disciples that it seeks, trains, and sends back into the world.
