Jesus' Control, Judas' Warning

You may be seated.

Good morning.

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

and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.

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 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 returning now to our series in the Gospel of Mark,

and you'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and his life and his death and his resurrection.

And when we left off in Mark a few weeks ago, we were in Mark chapter 14,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

we got hit from both sides in the passage that we looked at.

You'll remember we were looking at this passage where Jesus was anointed at Bethany,

but before and after he was anointed, we sort of had this bookend,

there's a plot that's going on to take his life.

And at the same time, he's being anointed for his burial.

So there's an anointing for burial, and there's a betrayer that's at work.

We've already seen that Judas is getting to work to hand Jesus over.

That's where we left off.

And so it's with that in mind that we then proceed to this next section.

That's what sets the stage for us.

And we're just going to see a couple of simple reminders in this passage of things that the Bible tells us over and over again,

which is Jesus' control and Judas' warning,

which is a way of saying we're going to talk about the beauty of Jesus,

and then we're going to talk about the danger of sin.

We're going to talk about the beauty of Jesus.

We're going to talk about the danger of sin.

And so without any delay, then I invite you to turn with me to this passage.

You can turn with me in your Bible.

You can turn in your worship guide.

You can turn on your phone, 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 14, starting at verse 12.

And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,

His disciples said to Him,

Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?

And He sent two of His disciples and said to them,

Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.

Follow him.

And wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,

the teacher says,

Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

Verse 15.

And He will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.

There prepare for us.

And the disciples set out and went to the city,

and found it just as He had told them,

and they prepared the Passover.

Verse 17.

And when it was evening, He came with the twelve.

And as they were reclining at table and eating,

Jesus said,

Truly I say to you,

one of you will betray Me,

one who is eating with Me.

They began to be sorrowful and say to Him one after another,

Is it I?

He said to them,

It is one of the twelve,

one who is dipping bread into the dish with Me.

For the Son of Man goes as it is written of Him.

But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.

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

Our Father in Heaven,

we thank You for the riches and the treasure that You have given us.

In Your Word,

we thank You for the pictures and stories You present to us of Jesus over and over again.

And we ask that You would help us this morning,

that You do that again,

that You would put a spotlight on Jesus and His love,

His care,

His control.

You'd help us to see Him more clearly

than when we came in to worship this morning.

So we ask that You'd encourage us.

And we also ask that You'd challenge us

with the example and the warning of Judas.

Most of all,

You'd remind us of Your grace

and how You provide for us

and our needs in the Gospel.

We thank You

that we can come with boldness

to ask You for these things

because we're not afraid of whether we've earned them or deserve them.

We know quite simply that we haven't.

But instead,

we simply ask them

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

You'll remember that

we are now in the midst of the week

leading up to Jesus' death

and His resurrection.

And Jesus has come,

as many of the Jews have come,

for the celebration of the Passover.

And so there are thousands,

tens of thousands of more people in Jerusalem

than there would normally be.

This city is packed,

like you might expect,

for an incredibly large conference

or sporting event

because people have gathered

from all over the Jewish world

to celebrate this festival together.

And that's what we see in verse 12.

On the first day of unleavened bread,

when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.

It's important then for us

to be reminded of what exactly it is

that they're celebrating

when we talk about the Passover.

If you're familiar with the story

of God's people in the Old Testament,

you'll remember in Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

they need to leave Egypt

where they've been kept as slaves.

And God has performed a variety of miracles

on judgments on the people of Egypt.

And the last one he performs

is to kill the firstborn of every family in Egypt

because they will not let his people go.

But he sets up a practice for God's people,

for the Jewish people,

to protect their own firstborns.

What they're supposed to do,

what God instructs them to do

is to have this meal

where they have a lamb that's sacrificed.

And they take the blood of this lamb

and they paint it on the doorframes of their house.

And so as the spirit of the Lord goes through Egypt,

it passes through Egypt,

taking the lives of the firstborn

of the Egyptian families,

but it passes over God's people,

the ones who have marked their doors

with the blood of the lamb.

And so that's quite simply why it's called Passover.

It's when God passed over his people.

And he gives this to them

as something they celebrate every year

as a remembrance of his faithfulness and goodness.

and deliverance,

that they are covered by the blood of the lamb.

That helps us to understand the incredible symbolism

of what's occurring here

because Jesus is going to be the final

and ultimate lamb whose blood is shed.

We don't celebrate Passover anymore as Christians

because we are covered by Jesus' blood.

He's the ultimate Passover sacrifice.

We'll talk about that even more next week,

but that helps us understand how powerful this is

that Jesus is going to celebrate Passover

with his disciples.

They're going to slaughter this lamb

as he is going forward to be the final lamb.

He's gonna provide an even greater blood,

an even greater covering,

that not just the people of God in Egypt,

but we are passed over by God's judgment

because of Jesus' blood.

With all that in mind,

this text doesn't just remind us of that.

It raises some questions.

Verse 12, again, there's this great feast that's at hand.

And what's important to know

is that you can't just celebrate Passover anywhere.

It has to be celebrated within the walls of Jerusalem.

You may remember I've told you over and over

that Jesus and his disciples are commuting in from Bethany.

That's where he's staying during this time.

And so he's constantly traveling from the east

towards the west into Jerusalem.

Jesus has a commute every day,

in other words, during this week.

But now it's come time for something

that cannot be celebrated at Bethany.

And you can imagine it just would be true today

if there was a major conference or sporting event,

something where lots of people are gathering

into another city,

accommodations are gonna get snapped up just like that.

The best Airbnbs in Jerusalem

are not gonna be available for Jesus

and his disciples forever.

It is important for them

to have made preparations in advance.

And so we can understand this question

that the disciples have in verse 12,

where will you have us go

and prepare for you to eat the Passover?

It's a little late, by the way, to be making plans.

You don't book a room the day of the conference.

You book it months in advance.

We have a conference that happens

for pastors and elders in our denomination,

and there's like a flurry when the rooms open up.

And if you don't book it the day they open up,

at this point, you don't get a room.

And so there's all this drama, right,

of trying to stay on top of when they're let out.

It's surprising in a sense

that Jesus' disciples don't know what the plan is.

How is it that they can't be aware of it

until this point?

It is too late for them to make new arrangements

to be in Jerusalem.

There are tens of thousands of out-of-towners here.

And so it's good news that we find out

that Jesus has, in fact, made a plan.

But why has Jesus not told them about his plan?

Why has he kept this a secret from them?

And why, when they ask him,

does he continue to keep it a secret?

Watch this with me.

He doesn't tell them the answer.

So verse 12, they ask.

Verse 13, he has this whole code set up.

So he sends out two of his disciples.

He doesn't send them all.

He says, you're gonna go prepare,

but I'm not gonna tell you where you're going to end up.

You have to go and identify this man

who's carrying a jar of water,

and he's gonna meet you.

Now, this might seem like a strange sign,

but you have to understand that in the ancient times,

a man would not have carried a jar of water.

He would have carried a skin of water.

Women carried the pots or the jars.

Men carried the skins.

Why that is, don't ask me.

But one person's explained it this way.

It would be like Jesus said,

go and find the man who has the pink purse.

That's the man you're supposed to meet.

And so this isn't as confusing as we might think,

but Jesus has set up this kind of coded system.

So they're gonna meet the man.

He's got the pink purse,

but he's not gonna tell them where they're going.

He's going to lead them to the spot, right?

And then they're going to get to the house.

Verse 14, and wherever he enters,

then say to the master of the house,

the teacher says, where is my guest room?

In other words, Jesus has not forgotten

about arrangements for the Passover.

Jesus has actually arranged a very complicated strategy

far in advance.

He set up a messenger with a special signal.

This messenger is gonna take them to the safe house

where he's gonna celebrate Passover.

They're not gonna know what's going on until they get there.

And then Jesus himself is gonna make sure

none of the other disciples know what's going on

until they get there.

Verse 16, the disciples set out and went to the city

and found it just as he has told them.

And they prepared the Passover.

Why all the secrecy?

Well, remember what I reminded you of the beginning.

There's two things from the previous passage,

and I'm gonna add a third.

Chapter 14, verse one, we found out the chief priests

and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him

by stealth and kill him.

Jesus has people who are out for his life.

And we learned that they were cautious

about doing it with the crowds.

They kind of need to do it secretly,

but that problem's solved by Judas.

Judas is going to help them out.

Verses 10 and 11, the chief priests and Judas

have this gathering and there's money that's offered.

And so we're told, and he sought an opportunity

to betray him.

So Jesus has people who are out for his life.

He has someone who's an insider,

who's going to give up the goods.

On top of that, we learn in the gospel of John,

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11, the chief priests and the Pharisees

had given orders that if anyone knew where he was,

he should let them know so that they might arrest him.

The point is this.

Jesus is a master of operational security.

Okay?

Jesus knows that this plan could be easily sabotaged.

He knows that Judas is seeking for an opportunity

to betray him.

And so none of the other disciples can even know

where the meeting is happening.

It is not an exaggeration, an overstatement to say,

Jesus has set up a safe house

so he can celebrate Passover without being killed.

That's why all these steps have been taken.

Somehow, without consulting any of the disciples,

Jesus has set all this up.

Jesus is going to allow himself to be arrested, right?

We know that if you're familiar with the story,

but his time has not yet come.

Why?

Jesus needs to instruct his disciples.

Jesus has more than he needs to share

with those who love him and follow him.

Jesus still needs to establish their celebration

of the Lord's Supper.

He still has his time of prayer

that he's going to invite them into

that we'll see in a few weeks.

In other words,

Jesus is in control of everything

at this very point of his arrest

for the sake of those he loves.

He's arranging detail after detail.

He is meticulous and careful in every step

so that he can care for them.

I'm going to call your attention

to this quote on page seven,

which says,

a God who is in control

when the foundations of his own earthly existence

are crumbling

is a God who can be trusted to sustain us

when it appears our life is tumbling in.

Remember I told you at the beginning,

we're going to do two things.

We're going to look at the beauty of Jesus

and we're going to be warned

about the dangers of sin.

And so just pause with me for a minute

and let's look,

meditate on the beauty of Jesus.

Jesus is in the most painful week of his life.

And in the midst of that painful week,

his thoughts are not with himself,

but with his disciples who follow him.

Jesus in the midst of this painful week

controls every detail.

He's planned out every detail in advance

so that he can be with them.

Jesus continues to arrange the world

so that his people are cared for.

What he is most concerned about

is making sure his disciples receive

the shepherding they need.

He's concerned that they receive

the care that they need.

Brothers and sisters,

the same is true for us.

God arranges and controls

the tiniest details of this world

for the sake of his people.

That is his heart and his concern.

Jesus cares for you

at great cost,

arranging all things.

Jesus arranges all things

when you're diagnosed with cancer.

Jesus arranges all things

when your child is ill.

Jesus arranges all things

when the culture and the world around you

appear to become more evil every day.

And when you PCS and move

from one station to another,

Jesus arranges all things.

Jesus arranges all things.

So just look with me at Jesus.

His plans are never foiled.

He already has it all figured out.

That's true here

as he's on his way to his death

and he's caring for his disciples.

And it's true for you

this week and last week

and next month and next year

for the rest of your life.

That is the glory

and the beauty of Jesus.

Remember the famous words

of Gandalf to Frodo

when he said,

a wizard is never late

nor is he early.

He arrives precisely

when he means to.

Brothers and sisters,

the same is true of our God

as he works in our lives.

That is the beauty

and glory

of Jesus Christ.

We don't just see

Jesus' control here though.

We also have a sobering

warning

from Judas.

Notice what happens

at this meal.

Jesus is eating.

He's here

with the twelve

and he drops

this truth bomb on them.

Verse 18,

Truly I say to you,

one of you will betray me,

one who is eating with me.

Did you notice

how the disciples

responded to that?

They didn't respond

with indignation.

In fact,

we see in verse 19,

they began

to be sorrowful

and to say to him

one after another,

is it I?

The disciples

grieve

at the very thought

that they might

hurt Jesus.

Just to think

about such a thing,

just to imagine

such a thing

is enough

to make them sad.

There's a

sweetness,

there's an innocence

to the disciples'

posture here

that I don't want

you to miss.

They don't say

I would never

do that.

Peter is going

to say that later.

But they don't say

that here.

They don't say

I would never

do that.

No,

they say,

I hope it's not me.

I hope I'm not

the one

who betrays

our beautiful Lord.

And so we have

this example

from the disciples

of what a

tender heart,

a godly heart

looks like.

someone who's

close to God

and moved

by his things

is sorrowful

even at the

thought

of betraying

Jesus.

Christian,

is that

your heart?

Are you sad

even at the

thought

of hurting

our Father God?

are you sorrowful

even at the

thought

of damaging

the community

that you love

through your words?

Are you sorrowful

even at the

thought

that you might

be at risk

of giving in

to materialism

rather than

generosity?

Are you sorrowful

even to think

about wallowing

around in

sexual sin?

Do those

things grieve

you?

Because they

grieve the

disciples here.

Yes,

the disciples

are mistaken

at many points

and they

love Jesus.

And so

even the

thought

of hurting

him in this

way makes

them sorrowful.

I'm going

to call

your attention

to page

eight of

your worship

guide where

there's this

beautiful quote

from the

Puritan

Richard Sibbes

who I've been

quoting for a

while now.

He says,

true humility

quakes at the

threats as the

very frowns of a

father will

distress a

dutiful child.

Carnal

people,

he means

fleshly people,

people who

don't walk in

the Holy Spirit,

are like men

that hearing

thunderclaps

afar off are

never a whit

moved.

But when it

is present

over their

heads,

then they

tremble.

So hypocrites

care not for

judgments that

are afar off.

In other words,

hypocrites don't

care about sin

until they have

to face its

consequences.

God's people

hate sin even

when they see

the clouds

on the distance.

That's what is

true of the

disciples.

Does that

describe you?

do you have

a tender

heart?

A heart

that is

moved even

at the

thought of

sin.

We certainly

want to have

tender hearts,

especially because

Judas provides

us with a

very sobering

warning.

He gives us

an example of

what a hard

heart looks

like, and he

shows us how

we get

there.

Judas is

already in

the midst of

finding time to

betray Jesus.

Remember,

verse 11,

he sought an

opportunity to

betray him.

And then Jesus

just says it

outright.

Truly I say

to you, one

of you will

betray me, one

who is eating

with me.

Eleven

disciples have a

tender heart.

Sad at even

the thought of

betraying Jesus.

One disciple

is not.

Which reminds

us of this,

it is possible

to physically

be close to

Jesus and

spiritually be

far, far

away.

It is

possible to

be deeply

embedded in

the church

and in a

spiritual community

and to be

far away

from Christ.

Christ.

It is

possible to

come week

after week

and join

with God's

people and

to have a

hardened heart.

Jesus

reminds us of

this not just

once but

twice.

Verse 17,

he says that

this person

who's going

to betray

him,

eating

with him.

Truly I

say to you,

one of you

will betray

me, one

who is eating

with me.

Even worse

than that,

verse 20,

one who is

dipping bread

into the dish

with me.

The gospel

of John

indicates that

Judas was

not just at

the table

with Jesus,

he was sitting

next to

Jesus.

He was as

close as

one could

get and

yet far

away.

And then

Jesus outlines

for us the

most painful

truth of

all in

verse 21.

Woe to

that man

by whom

the son

of man

is betrayed.

It would

have been

better for

that man

if he had

not been

born.

And Jesus

is making

the point

that being

separated

from God

is worse

than if

you never

existed.

Being

separated

from God

fully,

finally,

eternally

is worse

of fate

than never

having

existed.

That is

how bad

it is.

it is

better not

to have

been born

than to

reject

Jesus

Christ.

And yet

as one

of his

twelve,

that is

exactly

what

Judas

does.

It is

not hard

for us

either to

figure out

how Judas

got there

because Judas

is someone

who refused

to struggle

with his

own sin.

If you've

been here

before,

when I

serve the

Lord's

Supper,

I say,

hey,

this table

is not

for you

if you're

refusing to

repent of

sin.

And then I

follow that

by saying,

but if you're

struggling with

sin,

this table

is for you.

Which is to

say that we

know that the

Christian life

is not one

in which we

are finally

free from

the presence

of sin in

our lives,

but it is

one in which

we're fighting

against the

presence of

sin.

And if we

are not

fighting against

it,

then the

battle is

in a sense

already over.

In John

John 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

we're told that

Judas had been

stealing from

the money

bags.

This was

not just a

split decision

where Judas

woke up one

day and

decided,

you know

what,

I'm going

to betray

Christ.

No,

day after

day,

week after

week,

Judas had

chosen to

no longer

struggle with

sin.

Judas had

chosen not

to take it

seriously,

not to

repent.

And so

beware.

Beware of

where you

will end

up if you

refuse to

fight the

sin in

your life.

Jesus tells

us and

Judas shows

us that it

leads to

death.

That is

what happens

when we

play with

sin rather

than

fighting with

it.

It is

better that

we had

not been

born.

Jesus'

words here

are deep

and painful

and sobering.

And so

the call

for us

is to

examine

our hearts.

Are you

struggling

with sin?

Are you

fighting

against it?

We just

prayed the

Lord's Prayer

a little bit

ago.

It said,

we forgive

our trespasses

as we

forgive those

who trespass

against us.

are you

refusing to

struggle

with sin

by refusing

to forgive

those in

your life?

Are you

refusing

to share

your addiction

with anyone

so that you

don't have to

walk in the

light?

Are you

letting money

and comfort

convince your

heart that you

really, at the

end of the

day, don't

need Jesus

because you're

powerful enough

and secure

enough?

Are there

hard truths

and small

failures that

you know

about but

you just

aren't going

to face?

Maybe hard

truths and

big failures.

Judah shows

us where

that path

leads.

That it's a

slow hardening

of a heart

until that

heart becomes

stone.

There's

different ways

to think

about what

happens when

we rub up

against something

over and

over again.

Sometimes people

think of sin

as sort of

like a

blister.

You know

what happens

when you

get a

blister?

You're

hiking.

Maybe you

have bad

shoes or

bad socks

and your

foot rubs

on that

same place

over and

over again.

What happens?

It becomes

painful.

You can

feel it.

It creates

distress in

you so that

you want to

deal with it.

You want to

address it as

quickly as

possible.

Maybe you

have some

kind of mole

skin that you're

going to put on

it to protect

that portion of

your foot.

Maybe you spend

extra money on

socks so it

doesn't happen to

begin with.

It's tempting at

times for people to

think that's what

sin is like.

I'm going to sin and

it's going to be more

and more painful and

I'm just going to be

forced to deal with

it.

In fact, what the

Bible tells us about

sin is very different

than that.

It is not like a

blister.

It's actually a little

bit more like this.

If you play a

stringed instrument,

if you play a

violin or a

viola or a

guitar and you

play it over and

over, you know

what happens to

your fingers over

time.

You're going to

develop calluses,

right?

Your fingers get

thicker and thicker,

the skin does, so

that you can handle

pressing onto the

string.

In a sense, your

fingers become

desensitized to the

string.

We might even say

your fingers become

hardened.

That's actually what

sin is like.

Sin is not like a

blister.

Sin is like the

calluses on your

finger from playing

an instrument.

The more and more

you come into

contact with it,

the less and less

seriously you take

it, the more and

more you refuse to

struggle with it,

the less you're able

to feel it.

The more hardened

your heart becomes,

the easier it is

to sin.

That's what happened

to Judas here.

Judas played the

guitar of sin long

enough that his

heart became

completely hard.

It was not a

blister.

Judas' heart was a

callous.

Don't let your

heart become

calloused by sin.

Don't go back and

touch it over and

over again thinking

it won't have any

consequences.

Thankfully, though,

there's a greater

hope for us than

that.

There's a sobering

principle here that

points us to a great

truth.

Sobering principle,

I've told you,

verse 21, it's

better that you

wouldn't be born

than be separated

from God.

And yet, what is it

that Jesus is about

to do?

Jesus is about to be

separated from his

heavenly father on

the cross.

Jesus is choosing

something that is

worse than never

having existed.

That's how bad,

that's how painful,

that's how serious

Jesus' sacrifice on

the cross was.

He chose, in a

sense, Judas' fate for

a time so that he

could save you.

Jesus chose

Judas' fate for a

time.

He was separated

from the father.

In fact, not only is

he separated from the

father, he's

carefully arranging

everything towards

that end.

He will be arrested

when he is ready.

Brothers and

sisters, that is

how much our

Lord Jesus loves

us.

In fact, that's

how much he loves

you.

That's how much

pain he was

willing to

endure.

How could we

not have

tender hearts?

How could we

not be

sorrowful even

at the thought

of sin when

we see the

clear picture

of our Lord

and of his

love for

us?

It is not

hard at that

point, but

easy.

I have

told you

before as

we have

worked through

the gospel of

Mark that

there is an

observation that

has been made

that as you go

through the

gospel, the

third category of

people disappear.

At the beginning

there are three

categories.

You have got

people who are

on team Jesus,

people who are

against Jesus,

and people who are

just in the

crowd.

They are looking

on.

As we go through

the gospels, that

middle category

recedes into the

background.

There are those

who are for

Jesus and those

who are against

him.

And what the

gospel writer is

saying is that

as you see this

story of Jesus, as

you walk along

this road, ultimately

you are in one of

those two camps.

You have to choose

are you going to be

for him or against

him?

Are you going to

embrace the

Savior or will

you reject him?

Either you follow

the path of the

disciples, the path

of a tender heart,

or you follow the

path of Judas, the

path of a heart of

stone?

Brothers and

sisters, which

one will it be?

Let's pray.

Our Father in

heaven, we thank

you so much that

you sent your

son to choose

something that was

so painful that it

was worse than

never having

existed, to be

separated from

you.

We thank you that

he did it for

our sake,

controlling and

arranging everything

at every point and

every moment to

care for us, your

people.

We ask that you

would show us that

in great clarity and

beauty, that we

would see Jesus and

his love and his

glory and his

sacrifice, and it

would melt our

hearts, that we

would have not

hearts of stone, but

hearts of flesh, not

hearts that are hard,

but hearts that are

tender.

We ask these things

in the mighty name of

Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.