It seems all wrong.  And it is!  The King of kings is brought before a kangaroo court.  Those who were supposed to teach others about God could not even recognise God when they saw Him.  Peter who promised to be right up in the front row supporting Jesus (Mark 14:31) is cowering behind the back row.  The one who was hot-headed about his ability to endure hostility went cold on his promise, and needed the fire to warm him up.

Peter still had the remnants of the courage of bravado, but as we shall see, he had no courage of conviction about identifying with His Master (Mark 14:66-72).  The fire was a comfort but placed him in greater danger than he anticipated because His love for Jesus was lukewarm – like the Laodicean church.  Revelation 3:16-17 says, "So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 'You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."   Lukewarm Christians think they are warm, but their hearts are cold.  They think they can handle everything, but do not realise how weak they are.  In other words, they are spiritually deluded – like Peter who previously allowed sleep to replace prayer (Mark 14:37).

That is the way that sin affects things.  When prayer stops, the deceived imagination takes over (Mark 14:38).  Once the truth is ignored, lies are credible (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11).  Once the first wrong decision is made, there is a domino cascade of error.  Nothing is right anymore.  A trail of warped values and broken trust litters this story.  But in the middle of it all is the Lord Jesus who has never changed (Hebrews 13:8).  He is the same – since before He first created the people who now are seeking to destroy Him (John 1:11).  Eventually Jesus will be seen as King (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11).  His pledge to be with His people will never be broken (Matthew 28:20); and He will fulfil every promise (2 Corinthians 1:20).  Also, the fire is still reserved for those who refuse to bow to His sovereignty (Matthew 25:41).

In our crazy, topsy-turvy world, where truth is described as bad and evil is celebrated - there is no possibility of righting the capsized lives of millions of people without a powerful external Saviour.  Western culture, originally based on Biblical values, has now degenerated to the same sort of mess which was around Jesus as He was led to the cross.  Religious teachers are making up their own rules of morality, and believers fall at the first hurdles.  But the good news is that Jesus died for this generation as well as His own.  Please don't think that contemporary godlessness stops the gospel having a powerful effect - that is just where the gospel is needed!  That is true in your community and workplace too.  So, do not be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).