Big Idea - Jesus has just told the disciples that one of them will betray Him. Now He tells them that they will all desert Him and the Peter will deny he even knows Him. But, Peter and the others are convinced that their devotion and loyalty to Jesus are so strong that nothing, not even death, could move them from their commitment to follow Him. We know that Jesus was right and they were wrong. Confidence and determination to follow Jesus and honor Him are not enough to prevent them from falling away. Are we all like the disciples, destined to failure? Is there nothing we can do about it? Is there nothing we can do to overcome the temptation to give up or to fall into sin?

While Jesus is certain about their imminent failure, He gives encouragement on how it could have ended differently. We can overcome and what is more, we are expected, not to fail, but to live a holy and blameless life! We do this by first acknowledging that no matter how great our desire and commitment to do right, we are helpless in our own flesh to do it. Without Him, we will fail. Therefore, we need to draw close to the Shepherd who will lead us on the right path. Sometimes we will fail, but Jesus, the gracious Shepherd will not desert us. Instead, meets us on the other side of our failure to restore us to life with Him. Earnest and watchful prayer, is the means by which we keep close to Him and obtain the power to walk by His spirit and not in the weakness of the flesh.