Betrayed and Abandoned

You may be seated.

Good morning.

My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm a pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you this morning.

A special welcome if you're new or visiting.

We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced that there's no one so good.

They don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.

We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.

You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection.

And as I mentioned earlier this morning and last week, the Gospels are always especially timely,

and they're especially timely because of our constant need to have Christ presented to us in all His beauty.

And Jesus is always beautiful, but He's especially beautiful as we see Him in the days leading up to His death and resurrection.

And so we're going to have the same goal in a sense that we had last week,

which is to see Jesus clearly, to see Him in His beauty, in His glory,

in His love, in His final hours before His death.

And so that's what we're going to see in Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

We're going to be starting at verse 43, and Jesus is going to continue His path to the cross,

and we'll see a progression here, not simply His prayer last week, the foretelling of His denial,

but here we're going to see Him both betrayed and abandoned.

We're going to see Him betrayed and abandoned, and it's with that I invite you to turn with me to God's Word.

You can turn in your Bible. You can turn on your phone. You can turn in your worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word,

and God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold,

and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now Mark chapter 14, starting at verse 43.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

And immediately while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve,

and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying,

The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.

And when he came, he went up to him at once and said,

Rabbi, and he kissed him.

Verse 46.

And they laid hands on him and seized him.

But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest

and cut off his ear.

And Jesus said to them,

Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?

Day after day I was with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not seize me.

But let the scriptures be fulfilled.

Verse 50.

And they all left him and fled.

And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth around his body.

And they seized him.

But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again as we do every week

that you have given us your Word as a gift,

that you don't stand far away from us.

You're not distant.

But instead, you come close and you speak to us.

You tell us the story we need to hear.

The story about ourselves and our sin and the story of Jesus

and his grace and his love and his sacrifice.

And we ask that you would tell us that story again this morning,

that you would show us what's profound in this narrative that's simple,

that you would make it sweet and real to us,

that you would use it as an instrument to grow our understanding

and our vision of Jesus and his beauty,

and that that would cause us to love him, to follow him, and to obey him.

And we thank you that we don't need to worry this morning

about whether we've earned or deserved these things,

that we ask you because we know that we haven't.

And instead, we simply ask them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Last week, we ended with Jesus' session of prayer,

asking that the cup be taken away from him.

And as I mentioned, he had this surprisingly quick answer.

He did not have to wait long to understand

whether he was going to be able to avoid the cross

because we saw at the very end of last week's passage,

verses 41 and 42,

that the soldiers are immediately coming for Jesus.

Now, I told you last week, as I tell you from time to time,

that I don't simply want you to learn things about the Bible,

but I actually want you to learn how to read the Bible.

You know, the old saying that you can give someone a fish

and they'll eat for a day.

You can teach them to fish and they'll be able to eat for a lifetime.

That's my hope for you.

And so I'll remind you of the same thing I told you last week,

that when we're reading the Bible,

we want to look for things that are repeated.

We want to look for patterns and contrasts.

We saw that last week,

and we are not disappointed this week

because the same thing repeats itself.

Now, I'll pull back first to our passage that we looked at before.

Verses 41 and 42 have the repetition that we want.

Verse 41,

the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Verse 42,

see my betrayer is at hand.

That does not stop though.

We see it also in this passage this week.

Verse 43,

we see,

excuse me,

not verse 43,

but verse 44,

the same thing is repeated.

Now the betrayer had given them a sign.

Mark means to underscore for us

over and over again,

in case we miss it,

Jesus is being betrayed.

Okay?

That's why this is over and over

that he was underscoring it for us.

In fact,

he has given us hints

at the very beginning of chapter 14,

which we looked at several weeks ago.

We see the same thing.

Verse 10,

Judas Iscariot went to the chief priest

in order to betray him.

Verse 11,

he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Verse 18,

Jesus says,

truly I say to you,

one of you will betray me.

Verse 21,

woe to that man

by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

Mark is repeating this over and over

because he doesn't want us to miss

the seriousness of what is happening here.

And it is not simply any type of betrayal.

It is not a small betrayal,

but a large one.

That's why we're told in verse 43,

Judas came one of the 12.

Now,

this is not news to us,

right?

We have known Judas

for quite some time now.

We have seen him

over multiple chapters.

We don't need to be told

that Judas is one of the 12.

That's not a surprise.

That's not new information for us.

In fact,

we were told that earlier

in this same chapter.

Mark chapter 14,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

if you have your Bible

and you look at verse 10,

it says this,

then Judas Iscariot,

who was one of the 12.

Why does Mark need to tell us

what we already know?

Mark tells us

what we already know

to help us see

how serious a betrayal this is.

It is not that Jesus

is merely betrayed

by someone

who happened to follow him

and listen to his teaching.

He's not betrayed

by someone

who's on the periphery,

on the outside.

No,

he's betrayed

by someone

in the inner circle.

This is an insider threat.

This is not just any betrayal.

This is one of the worst betrayals.

The principle is simple,

which is this,

the closer the person,

the deeper the wound.

The closer the person,

the deeper the wound.

The only thing

that could make this worse

would be if it was

one of the three,

if it was Peter,

James,

or John.

But one of the 12

is bad enough.

Jesus is not simply

betrayed.

He is betrayed

by one of his closest friends.

Jesus is betrayed,

we're told,

not once,

but twice,

by one of the 12.

We're not just told

about Jesus' betrayal,

though.

It is shown as well.

You'll remember

when Judas comes,

he has a sign

that he's arranged.

Verse 44,

the one I will kiss

is the man.

Verse 45,

and when he came,

he went up to him

at once and said,

Rabbi,

and he kissed him.

What is betrayal

if not someone

who uses your closeness,

your trust in them

to hurt you?

And what shows

closeness and trust

more than a kiss?

One man has said this,

betrayal is a gift

that only a friend

can give.

Betrayal is a gift

that only a friend

can give.

Only a friend kisses you.

only an insider

knows enough

to commit treason.

And so I just want us

to sit in that

for a second

and to feel the pain

and the heartbreak of it.

Mark means for us

to feel the pain

and the heartbreak of it,

which is why he says

betray

over and over again.

He wants us

to feel the pain

and the heartbreak of it,

which is why he tells us

not once but twice

that Judas

was one of the twelve.

What we are looking at

in this week

leading up to Jesus' death

are things

that are simple

and profound

in their simplicity.

I'm not here

this morning

to give you

some sort of new

or penetrating insight.

I'm here to say

simply

look and see

Jesus

as he suffers.

Look and see

Jesus

in his pain.

Look and see

Jesus

in what he was

willing to go through

for you.

Many of you perhaps

have experienced

betrayal.

It's what the psalmist

talks about

in Psalm 88

which Brit

read for us earlier.

My closest friends

have abandoned me.

And what is this

if not

Jesus' closest friends

abandoning him?

There's a neuroscientist

named Matthew Lieberman

who wrote a book

named Social

and he says

that social pain,

social rejection,

we could put a heartbreak

into that category

is physically painful.

He compares it

to a broken leg

and he says,

look,

if you take a brain scan,

physical pain

and social pain

look the same.

Just based on the scan,

you're not going

to be able to tell

if someone is

in physical pain

or in emotional pain

because they feel

the same.

That is what

rejection

is like.

imagine how much

more it hurts

to be betrayed.

Now the point

for us

is not

that we would

feel sorry

for Jesus.

Okay?

There are some

portions of the church

that encourage us

to sort of

whip up

compassion for Jesus

that somehow

we are supposed

to feel bad

for him

but that's not

the direction

that the Bible

points us in.

When Scripture

shows us

Jesus' suffering,

when it highlights it,

it is for two reasons.

First,

to show us

how terrible

our sin is.

The seriousness

of the cure

shows how terrible

the disease is.

And so as we look

at Jesus,

as we meditate

on him,

as we think about him,

as we sit

in his suffering

for a minute,

we are meant

to be reminded

that our sin

is not a small thing

but a great thing.

It's not a little thing

but a big thing.

So great

that it includes

Jesus' betrayal here.

Second,

it shows us

not just

the greatness

of our sin

but even

more than that,

the greatness

of God's love.

And so we sit

in these things

so that we can

understand

how serious

our offense

against God is

and

we can comprehend

his love.

That is why

we pause

for a moment

to look at

Jesus' suffering.

It's in

understanding

his suffering

and seeing

our sin

that we're able

to really savor

and appreciate

and understand

how much

Jesus loves us.

he loves us

so much

that he was

separated from

the Father.

He drank

the cup

of wrath

that we talked

about last week.

This week

is just another

angle on the same

thing.

He loved us

so much

he underwent

betrayal.

That is how much

Jesus suffered.

that's how much

he cares

for you.

Simple

and

profound.

It's not simply

though that Jesus

is betrayed

in this passage.

The passion

narrative also

underscores for us

that Jesus

does this

alone.

It would be

one thing

if Judas

betrayed him,

he gave him

the kiss,

he used this

sign of intimacy

to commit

treason,

but it is

even more

than that.

It is not

just that

Judas betrays

him,

it is that

everyone else

runs.

Jesus is not

just betrayed,

he is

abandoned.

Now it doesn't

start with

abandonment.

We see in

verse 47

before that,

one of those

who stood by

drew his sword

and struck

the servant

of the high

priest and

cut off his

ear.

Now other

gospels go

into more

detail.

They tell us

that it was

Peter,

that the name

of this

high priest

was the

servant,

was Malchus,

and they also

tell us that

Jesus heals

the ear there

on the spot.

Mark shares

none of those

things with

us,

which means

that in

Mark's mind

those details

are unimportant

to the story

he's trying

to tell in

this moment.

And the

story I

believe is

this,

as Jesus

is undergoing

this moment

of betrayal,

as he is

being kissed

as an act

of treason,

his disciples

are still

deeply confused

about what

is going

on.

They are

forgetting

what he

has tried

to tell

them over

and over

again.

Even after

all the time

they've spent

with Jesus,

they do not

understand what

is happening.

And so,

Jesus is going

through this

moment of

betrayal,

and he is

surrounded by

misunderstanding,

violence,

commotion,

and distraction.

those who

are there

to support

him have

no idea

what's

happening,

and they

do not

what is

helpful,

but what

is unhelpful.

Mark then

quickly moves

from confusion

to abandonment.

It's not

just,

verse 47,

the loss

of the ear.

Jesus then

rebukes them,

verses 48,

49,

and then

verse 50

leaves us

with this

simple statement,

and they

all left

him and

fled.

Jesus'

disciples are

not merely

confused.

They also

leave him.

Jesus does

not face

the worst

moments of

his life

on earth

surrounded

by his

buddies

who can

encourage

him.

Jesus

faces

them

completely

alone.

Even

worse than

that,

it's not

just that

the disciples

leave him.

There is

one young

man,

verse 51,

who follows

after Jesus

in this

situation,

but he

is quickly

neutralized

as well.

He has

this linen

cloth,

which

commentators

tell us

means he's

probably

wealthy,

and most

believe this

is actually

Mark himself.

He is

inserting

himself

into his

own

gospel.

He,

as a

young man,

is chasing

after Jesus,

but what

happens to

him?

Verse 52,

he left

the linen

cloth and

ran away

naked.

This is on

page 7 of

your worship

guide.

Some scholars

say that this

is the author

Mark himself,

who would have

been a young

man at the

time.

If so,

he's saying,

I was

there,

and I

was as

bad as

everybody

else.

Everyone

has failed

Jesus.

Everyone

has failed

Jesus.

Even Mark

can't get it

done.

And so

the point

is this.

In a

scene

characterized

by human

failure,

betrayal,

and

abandonment,

Jesus

succeeds.

But he

does it

all alone.

Jesus

does it

by

himself.

were

confronted

with

human

incompetence

and

Jesus'

great

faithfulness.

Jesus

is not

a

quarterback

who's

guarded

and

protected.

Jesus

is not

a musician

who has

backup

singers

to support

him.

Jesus

is not

a politician

surrounded

by aides

and body

guards.

No,

Jesus

is all

alone.

No

king

ever

moved

forward

so

deserted

and so

abandoned.

No

king

except

Jesus.

Mark

tells us

this to

remind us

of a

very

simple

truth.

there is

no

pride.

There is

no

self

congratulation

in following

after Jesus.

Everyone

has

failed

him.

There

is

nothing

for us

to pat

ourselves

on the

back

for

if we're

Christians.

Only

gratitude,

thankfulness,

humility,

repentance.

repentance.

Because

everyone

has

failed

Jesus.

That

includes

you.

It

includes

me.

When

it comes

to our

salvation,

Mark

is making

it crystal

clear for

us that

we do

not

give.

We

only

receive.

God

will

have

mentioned

to you

before

that

we

often

like

to

separate

the

world

into

three

types

of

people.

There

are

amazing

people

like

Mother

Teresa.

There

are

terrible

people

like

Hitler.

And

then

there

are

just

everyday

good

upstanding

citizens.

Good

great

people

like

you

and

me.

Mark

is

telling

us

forget

that.

You

don't

need

to be

a

betrayer

to be

a

bad

person.

You

don't

need

to be

Judas.

Even

the

disciples

abandoned

Jesus.

Even

the

good

people,

even

the

upstanding

law

abiding

citizens

fled.

everyone

failed

Jesus.

Not

even

the

good

people

can

contribute

or

help.

Not

even

the

good

people

are

good.

Everyone

needs

saving.

You

can

reject

Jesus

or you

can

follow

Jesus.

You

cannot

contribute

anything

to

Jesus.

You

can

give

him

nothing.

You

can

only

receive.

When

Jesus

was

here

in

this

garden,

he

was

abandoned

by

everyone.

Page

eight of

your

worship

guide

points

out

that

there

was

another

garden

that

this

garden

echoes.

In

the

garden

of

Eden,

Adam

and

Eve

woefully

failed.

Here

in this

garden,

Jesus

succeeds.

Where

others

dropped

away,

Jesus

continues.

Where

others

disobeyed,

Jesus

remained

faithful.

Jesus

passes

where

we

failed.

Jesus

succeeds

where

we

faltered.

And

he

does

it

all

alone

because

we've

abandoned

him.

And

he

does

it

all

out

of

his

love.

That's

how great

our sin

is,

how much

greater

God's

love.

I've

told you

over and

over in

the gospel

of Mark

that need

is the

price

of

admission.

Mark

reminds us

here,

need is

not just

the price

of

admission,

need

is all

you

have.

You

don't

have to

be a

betrayer

to

abandon

Jesus.

And

so the

question of

this passage

is very,

very

simple.

will you

recognize

your

need?

And

will you

bring

that

need

and

only

that

need

to

Jesus?

Because

in the

end,

all of

us

have

failed

him.

When

Jesus

suffered,

he did

it all

alone.

Need

is the

price

of

admission.

And

so that's

what we're

going to

sing now

in our

closing

hymn.

What

wondrous

love is

this,

O my

soul,

that

caused

the

Lord

of

bliss

to

bear

the

dreadful

curse

for

my

soul,

for

my

soul,

to

bear

the

dreadful

curse

for

my

soul.

Let's

pray.

our

Father

in

heaven,

we

praise

you

and

thank

you

that

Jesus'

success

is

greater

than

our

failure.

That

as we

abandon

him,

he

doesn't

abandon

us.

As

we

are

faithless,

he

is

faithful.

We

ask

that

you

would

use

that

truth

to

strip

us

of

our

pride

and

to

cause

us

to

run

to

you

knowing

that

we

bring

our

need

and

that

need

is

all

we

have.

We

ask

these

things

in

the

mighty

name

of

Jesus

Christ.

Amen.

I

invite you

to stand

for our

closing hymn.