The Prepared King

I've been involved in ministry now for about 25 years.

And one of the things, the overwhelming hurts that happens in ministry

that I don't think, even after 25 years, you don't get over and it hurts every time,

is people who make decisions, who are putting Jesus clearly to one side in their life.

And you see people making decisions for something against Jesus.

Or people who are confronted with real difficulty in their life

and who walk away from Jesus as a result of that real difficulty

because of the assumption that God's not in control or that he's not good in that moment.

Either way, it's someone who once confessed a relationship with Jesus

who would move away from him because of decision or because of difficulty in some way.

As a pastor who wants to see people flourishing in a relationship with Jesus

and putting Jesus at the center of life, that is a pain that just endures.

And it has happened so much over 25 years.

One thing that it's taught me is that presumption is always dangerous for anyone who follows Jesus.

I, as many have done so as they've sat in churches and been Christian for years,

have seen many fall away over that time

because they've ultimately not understood what it is to follow Jesus,

not actually understood what it means to actually be a Christian.

That's partly because in the Western world especially,

there's this dangerous assumption that to follow Jesus or to be Christian

means that you have to work hard at being really good.

And it means that you believe that God exists to serve me

by helping me feel good and feel happy and feel secure and at peace in life.

That's God's goal for me.

That's his job for me.

And also believing that even though God made the world

and he controls everything in the world,

he's only active and involved in the world

whenever I need him to resolve a problem for me.

And the rest of the time, his job is to stay out of my way,

except for a Sunday, for an hour or so on Sunday,

and it may be a Bible study group and stuff like that,

but predominantly stay out of my way except when I need him to help.

Now, the technical term for those three things is moralistic therapeutic deism.

That's the technical term for it,

and it's actually an heresy that has dominated in the Western world.

That view of Christianity is ultimately a rejection of Jesus

and a rejection of the Christian faith.

It's a total misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do.

And so to be clear on what it means to be a follower of Jesus,

we must be clear on who he is,

what he came to do,

and what he requires of me.

You need to be clear on those things.

And we've seen it in 13 weeks now,

or 12 weeks now in Mark's gospel,

we've seen it again and again and again.

The answer to those questions.

And so I'm going to kind of wrap it up

as we bring a closure to this series

and bring clarity on that once again.

So if you've got your Bibles open,

Mark 14,

we're going to begin in chapter 13.

And chapter 13,

verses 32 to 37,

set the scene for 14,

chapter 14.

And what you notice there

is the repetitiveness

of statements like,

be on your guard,

be alert,

keep watch,

don't sleep.

Be ready,

be alert,

because what Jesus is saying here

to his disciples

is it's going to be tough.

Now,

these are the disciples

who have been with Jesus

and they were saying,

we're with you,

Jesus.

And they're with you,

especially Jesus,

when all this powerful stuff

has happened in Mark 1 to 9,

where he's healed dead people

and he's driven out demons

and he's raised the dead

and done miraculous things,

powerful things

and people have gone,

wow,

this is amazing stuff.

And the disciples

have kind of followed Jesus

like,

Jesus is with us,

we're with him kind of thing,

we're just kind of

almost as powerful as he is.

And now he's saying to them,

kind of switching tone

a little bit now

and saying,

keep watch,

be on your guard,

don't be afraid.

Now,

when everyone says,

don't be afraid,

you go,

what do you mean?

We're afraid of what?

You know,

and this is,

don't be afraid

when you're persecuted

and put on trial

for my sake.

It's like,

well,

this is a tone,

change,

shift the gear for Jesus

and then straight away,

what you see

as you come into chapter 14

is that the chief priests

and the teacher of the law

are waiting to do

exactly to that,

to Jesus that.

They're wanting to kill Jesus.

So have a look,

verse one there.

Now,

the Passover

and the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

which are the two major,

or the major collected feasts

for the highlight,

if you like,

of the Jewish religion.

This is the pinnacle for them.

This is their Christmas,

Easter kind of thing.

And they were two days away

and the chief priests

and the teachers of the law

were looking for some sly way

to arrest Jesus

and kill him,

but not during the feast,

they said,

or the people may write.

That's their major concern

is that people may write

during the feast.

Not the fact that

they're going to murder someone,

they're just concerned

that people might write.

Now,

we already know

in Mark 4,

throughout Mark,

that Jesus is on the death list

of the power brokers.

And this became

their particular passion

in Mark 11

when Jesus pronounced

judgment on the temple

and the religious establishment.

And so the time has now come

for them to put their plan

into action,

but because of the feast,

because they've got

this major religious ceremony

they've got to be partaking in,

they've got two days

in order to do their dirty work.

It's kind of like,

come on guys,

quick, quick,

hurry up the plan,

two days to murder Jesus

so that we can get to communion.

Kind of seems like

a bit of a disconnect here

a little bit.

And while they're plotting this,

Jesus and his mates

are in Bethany

for a pleasant evening

or so it would appear.

And as they're reclining

at the table,

they witness a remarkable event.

It says,

a woman came with an alabaster jar

of very expensive perfume,

made a pure nard.

She broke the jar

and she poured the perfume

on his head.

If you flipped over

to John chapter 12,

John 12:3

verse 3,

you will notice

that this woman

is Mary,

the sister of Lazarus.

Mary

unexpectedly

approached her

reclining lord

carrying a priceless jar

of imported perfume,

possibly a family heirloom.

She breaks the neck

of the flask.

She pours a generous portion

on Jesus' head

which is anointing him

as both king

and for burial

and then poured the rest

on his feet

as an act

of cleansing his feet,

acknowledging that

she is his servant.

John 12 tells us

that she then

humbly wiped

his feet clean

with her hair.

She evidently

had enough.

this moment

here

was

an intensely

fervent

expression

of devotion

to Christ.

And in fact,

as strong

as an act

of devotion

as you will find

anywhere

in the Bible.

this woman

takes her

greatest

earthly

treasure

and

with it

she reveals

that in fact

Jesus

is her greatest

treasure.

We can assume

that she gave

no thought

at all

to what others

thought of her actions.

But in verse 4

we find out

some of those

present

were saying

indignantly

to one another

why this

waste of

perfume.

It could have

been sold

for more

than a year's

wages

and the money

given to the

poor

and they

rebuked her

harshly.

Again,

if you go over

to John 12

it helps us

to see

that the first

person to

respond

to this

moment

is Judas

the man

who knew

the price

of everything

but the value

of nothing.

he instantly

calculates

in this

moment

wastage

a year's

wage

possibly

something in

the order

of $35,000

to $40,000

in today's

terms.

What a waste

they rebuked

this woman

harshly

and the

original language

means

that they

snorted

their disgust

like angry

horses.

they saw

something

very different

than fervent

devotion.

Jesus

comes to

her defense

in verse 6

leave her

alone

why are you

bothering her

she has

done a

beautiful

thing to

me.

Jesus

was fully

aware of

her motive

of love

it was

simply done

and to

for Jesus

with no

thought at

all given

to whether

it was

practical

or even

seen as

being

sensible

and in

fact

Jesus

defends

Mary's

action

because

it placed

him

before

everything

else.

In fact

verse 7

have a look

at that

the poor

you will

always have

with you

and you

can help

them

anytime

you want

but you

will not

always

have

me.

Now

Jesus

is not

saying

in any

sense

you're

not to

help

the poor

in fact

that's

far

from

it.

What

he is

commending

this woman

for here

at this

moment

is that

she

put him

first

totally

first

she gave

everything

she surrendered

everything

to Jesus

and her

act of

worship

is insightful

verse 8

says

she did

what

she

could

her

giving

her

everything

is going

to be

different

from the

person

beside her

on either

side

of what

it looks

like for

them to

give

their

everything

she did

what

she

could

and

Jesus

throughout

Mark's

gospel

has

repeatedly

talked

about

his

death

but it

would seem

the disciples

have passed

it off

Mary on

the other

hand

yielded

to that

teaching

accepted

that

teaching

about

what was

about

to happen

to Jesus

and therefore

she did

what she

could

in devotion

to Christ

and in fact

verse 9

tells us

that Jesus

sets her

up as

the model

of devotion

what it

actually

means to

be a

follower

of Jesus

he says

I tell you

the truth

wherever

the gospel

is preached

throughout

the world

wherever

the good

news

is

proclaimed

what

she

has

done

will

also

be

told

in

memory

of

her

see what

Jesus

is saying

there

throughout

the world

the gospel

will be

proclaimed

the good

news

of Christ

and

this

woman

will

be

the

prime

example

of

what

it

means

to

respond

to

that

gospel

what

it

means

to

be

my

disciple

to

put

Jesus

fundamentally

first

now

the stark

opposite of

Mary's

devotion

in this

text

we start

getting a

picture of

this in

verse 10

it says

then

Judas Iscariot

one of the

twelve

went to

the cheap

priests

to

betray

Jesus

to

them

and

they

were

delighted

to

hear

this

and

promised

to

give

him

money

and

so

he

watched

for

an

opportunity

to

hand

him

over

you see

all this

talk about

Jesus

dying

and glory

coming

through

serving

is not

the sort

of kingdom

that

Judas

is looking

for

he goes

to the

chief

priest

makes

a deal

to

betray

Jesus

now

it is

very

very

important

for us

to see

here

in this

text

that

Jesus

is not

a victim

of

circumstance

his

death

is not

a

victim

of

circumstances

Jesus

in this

text

is in

total

control

his

mission

is on

target

it is

being

fulfilled

he

controls

the

environment

of the

Passover

Bill

as you

look into

verses

12

to 16

onwards

especially

note

verse 16

where it

says

the disciples

left

went into

the city

and found

things

just

as

Jesus

had told

them

as I

said

last

week

Jesus

is

leading

his

disciples

to

Jerusalem

his

plan

is

to

die

it's

not

an

accident

of

history

it

is

his

agenda

and

this

meal

that

is

happening

here

with

his

disciples

was

possibly

the

most

important

meal

eaten

in the

history

of the

world

because

it

historically

identified

Jesus

as

the

Passover

Lamb

who

would

deliver

God's

people

this

meal

would

graphically

explain

the

centrality

of

Jesus

to

salvation

this

is

historically

the meal

and the

night

that the

devout

Jew

were filled

with hope

that God's

intervention

for their

salvation

and Jesus

was not a

victim of

bad

circumstances

he was

directing

everything

to reveal

that in

fact

salvation

is in

him

he is

the

Passover

lamb

in fact

the words

of the

last supper

take

it

this is

my

body

this is

my

blood

of the

covenant

which is

poured

out for

many

make

no

sense

at

all

if

Jesus

is

not

the

master

of

his

own

death

his

mission

is

clear

glory

it

is

glory

by way

of the

humiliation

of the

cross

and it's

what

Mary

understood

and it's

what the

rest of

the

disciples

still

are coming

to terms

with

they still

haven't

grappled

with

that

he

breaks

the

bread

gives

a

peace

and says

in

verse

22

this is

going

to be

this is

what's

going to

happen

to

my

body

and he

passes

around

the

wine

and he

says

this is

what's

going to

happen

to my

blood

it's

going to

be poured

the

Lord's

Supper

which we're

going to

participate

in

tonight

is so

familiar

to us

that we

do it

without

being

moved

often

at all

but try

being

sitting

there

in that

table

for the

first

time

this is

the

Jesus

this is

an

eerie

event

this is

frightening

even

to hear

the one

who you

have

pledged

yourself

to

as

your

king

talking

about

his

body

being

broken

and his

blood

being

shed

this is

not

what they

thought

was going

to happen

at all

so they

finish the

meal and

they head

out into

the darkness

to the

Mount of

Olives

Judas

sees this

as the

opportunity

to slip

away

to betray

Jesus

it is

quite literally

the darkness

it's not

just that the

sun has

gone down

but that

spiritual

darkness

has now

descended

on to

Judas

and he's

awaiting

Jesus

now waiting

for darkness

to have

its moment

notice the

conversation

on the way

to the

Mount of

Olives

again

we're

thinking

about

this

issue

of what

it

means

to be

a

disciple

of the

Lord

Jesus

Mary

devotion

and then

you've

got

the

rest

Judas

the

betrayer

and now

you've

got the

rest

of the

disciples

conversation

is this

Judas

is not

the only

one

who's

going

to

run

away

they

all

will

and

Peter

rejects

that

claim

and says

no

not me

Jesus

you know

me

I am

tough

I'm

not

afraid

I

will

die

for

you

I

will

never

disown

you

I

will

die

for

you

and

all

the

others

say

yeah

yeah

yeah

we're

the

same

we're

not

going

to

deny

you

and

then

they

arrive

at

Gethsemane

and

Jesus

takes

Peter

James

and

John

a little

bit

further

on

to

pray

and

it

says

in

verse

34

that

Jesus

is

deeply

distressed

and

troubled

now

we

must

never

minimise

what

Jesus

went

through

in

this

moment

he

knows

what

is

about

to

happen

Jesus

is

in

deep

deep

distress

this

is

greater

distress

than

any

of

us

could

ever

imagine

you

see

he

saw

with

clarity

the

full

full

horror

of

what

lay

ahead

Peter

and

James

and

John

are

standing

a bit

back

and

they

could

see

the

prostate

Jesus

they

could

see

his

body

convulsing

they

could

see

his

tears

and

the

sweat

falling

to the

ground

like

blood

that was

dripping

out of

his

forehead

so

physically

anxious

was he

in that

moment

that

blood

was

coming

out

as

tears

of

sweat

the

terror

he

felt

was

not

just

simply

that

he's

body

is

going

to

go

through

excruciating

pain

being

nailed

to

a

cross

but

because

he

saw

the

cup

he

saw

the

cup

of

human

sin

he

saw

the

brutality

of

a

thousand

holocausts

all

all

all

all

all

the

prostituting

all

the

idolatry

of

human

civilizations

the

blasphemy

the

profanity

it

was a

cup

of

God's

judgment

that

was

filled

to

the

brim

of

jealousy

of

racism

of

hatred

of

discord

bitterness

of

unkindness

of

gossip

of

disobedience

of

greed

of

anger

and

he

knew

that

it

was

his

job

to

drink

it

all

of

God's

judgment

for

the

history

of

the

world

is

going

to

be

focused

on

him

he

doesn't

want

to

do

that

he

falls

to the

ground

and he

prays

he

pleads

father

if it's

possible

take

this

hour

from

me

so

that

I

do

not

have

to

suffer

in

this

way

the

time

has

come

for

him

to

face

the

cup

of

God's

anger

God's

white

hot

anger

for

your

sin

for

my

sin

it's

where

he

takes

the

punishment

that

Israel

should

be

taking

for

all

of

its

centuries

of

rebellion

where

he

soaks

up

the

punishment

for

the

sins

of

the

world

for

your

sin

and

mine

and

he

pleads

this

is

there's

any

other

way

but

there

is

no

other

way

this

hour

and

this

moment

cannot

pass

from

him

and

so

in

the

greatest

display

of

obedience

that

will

ever

be

known

Jesus

took

the

full

cup

of

human

sin

and

God's

wrath

and

he

looked

shudderingly

into

its

depth

and a

stealing

act

of

the

wheel

and in

a

total

dependence

on the

sovereignty

and the

goodness

of his

father

he

drank

it

that's

why

his

body

is

convulsing

in

Gethsemane

because

he knew

this

moment

is

hours

away

and

so

he

says

to

his

disciples

the

same

thing

that

he

says

back

in

chapter

13

dark

times

are

here

be

ready

keep

watch

do

not

slumber

and

verse

37

then

he

returned

to

the

disciples

and

found

them

sleeping

three

times

in

fact

to

verse

41

are

you

still

sleeping

on

the

night

where

you

could

imagine

it

would

be

good

for

these

disciples

to

comfort

and

support

him

he

is

all

alone

it

is

hardly

the

picture

of

worship

and

devotion

we

see

at

the

beginning

of

the

chapter

with

Mary

and

then

the

moment

arrives

verse

41

enough

he

says

the

hour

has

come

look

the

son

of

man

is

betrayed

in

the

hands

of

sinners

rise

let

us

go

here

comes

my

betrayer

and

just

as

he

was

speaking

Judas

one

of

the

twelve

appeared

and

with

him

was

a

crowd

armed

with

swords

and

clubs

sent

from

the

chief

priest

the

teachers

of

the

law

and

the

elders

now

the

betrayer

had

arranged

a

signal

with

them

the

one

I

kiss

is

the

man

arrest

him

and

lead

him

away

under

guard

and

going

at

once

to

Jesus

Judas

said

Rabbi

and

kissed

him

the

kiss

of

death

the

betrayer

has

come

with

a

mob

armed

with

swords

and

clubs

it

is

quite

clear

that

Judas

had

not

learned

a

single

thing

about

the

nature

of

the

kingdom

Jesus

was

leading

but

he

wasn't

the

only

one

have

a

look

at

verse

47

then

one

of

those

standing

near

which

we

know

to

be

Peter

drew

his

sword

and

struck

the

servant

of

the

high

priest

cutting

off

his

ear

moments

ago

these

are

the

guys

who

have

been

sleeping

just

moments

ago

they

were

asleep

and

now

here

they

are

with

Jesus

standing

beside

him

with

their

swords

drawn

ready

to

fight

off

this

crowd

and

protect

Jesus

and

do

what

Peter

said

we

will

do

I

will

die

for

you

Jesus

you

see

the

disciples

had

not

scattered

they

didn't

abandon

Jesus

because

they

were

afraid

they

were

there

with

their

swords

ready

to

die

ready

to

do

battle

for

Jesus

they

hadn't

abandoned

him

if

Jesus

said

they

would

they

were

ready

to

die

until

Jesus

says

this

in

verse

48

am

I

leading

a

rebellion

he

said

that

you

have

come

out

with

swords

and

clubs

to

capture

me

every

day

I

was

with

you

teaching

in

the

temple

courts

and

you

did

not

arrest

me

but

the

scriptures

must

be

fulfilled

that

that's

the

game

changer

for

the