Mark 14: 43-65

(Mark 14: 43-65) And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.  And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.  And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him, and fled.  And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.  And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.  And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.  But neither so did their witness agree together.  And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.  And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy:

 

Peter knew that God revealed that Jesus was the Son of God. Still, the soul from the body does not change. Many people in the Church, like Peter, may believe and follow in the same way that they cut ears with a sword. The Bible describes this as "the flesh." If you live in the flesh, the spirit must die. Even if many people learn and see the Lord's miracles, they have no faith to follow the death of the cross. This is in Galatians 3:23『But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.』

The state before faith came is such that "Peter sees the miracle of Jesus, experiences the miracle of walking on the windswept, witnesses the amazing view of the Mount of Change, listens to the Word of God, and believes in Jesus." "Before faith comes" means a state in which internal change has not occurred. So, Jesus said, "You can't follow me."

Jesus said to Peter, "After that, you can follow me." After that is "After the inner change." It means that those who have undergone internal change can follow the death of the cross. Before the inner change, we want to avoid the death of the cross. Everyone is run away from the cross. The Bible says this life is "the flesh." The soul that comes from the flesh cannot be saved. Only spirit is saved. In John 6:63『It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 』

The flesh must be removed. This is repentance. What is not repentant is not sanctification, but salvation has not begun. Those who killed Jesus were those who waited for the Messiah and kept the law. "Before faith came, everything was bound under the law." Those who realize this are those who repent. In many churches today, when people pray and receive the Holy Spirit, if they are full of fleshly thoughts, they cannot be considered repentant. There are two types of people of faith. Those who forsake Jesus on the cross and die with Jesus. Those who do not repent are forsaking Jesus.
In Galatians 3:24『Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 』 Those who follow the law cannot be united with Jesus. Those who forsake Jesus. By the way, if you realize through this law, "I am the one who left Jesus," you can also realize, "I am the one under the law." It means that the law becomes an elementary teacher. So you can repent and escape the law and become united with Jesus.

Before faith comes, those who are under the law are living the religious life they want. We must realize that if we are not united with the cross of Jesus, we can be abandoners of Jesus. So, those who forsake Jesus are under the law. The only way to unite with Jesus on the cross is through repentance to deny himself. Peter, who denied Jesus, was also imprisoned under the law (law of wrath). So, he had no choice but to abandon Jesus.

In Galatians 3:25『But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 』 "After the Faith Comes" means "the one who repented and was united on the cross with Jesus," and they are free from the law. Many people think they are saved because they believe in Jesus. That faith is the faith that the law leads to Jesus on the cross. So, those who are under the law have never been associated with Jesus on the cross. They listen to Jesus and follow Jesus, but they worry about salvation. If we do not repent and are not united with the cross of Jesus, we have never been saved. The way to unite with Jesus' cross is to not love the world.