The Journey to the Cross, Part 14

Mark chapter 14, and we're going to read the first 26 verses.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

Let's hear from God in his word.

Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only 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 riot.

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper,

a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard.

She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

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.

Leave her alone, said Jesus.

Why are you bothering her?

She has done a beautiful thing to me.

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want.

But you will not always have me.

She did what she could.

She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

I tell you the truth.

Wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.

They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money.

So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb,

Jesus' disciples asked him,

Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?

So he sent two of his disciples, telling them,

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

Follow him.

Say to the owner of the house he enters,

The teacher asks,

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

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

Make preparations for us there.

The disciples left, went into the city, and found things just as Jesus had told them.

So they prepared the Passover.

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the twelve.

While they were reclining at the table eating, he said,

I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.

They were saddened, and one by one they said to him,

Surely not I.

It is one of the twelve, he replied, one who dips bread into the bowl with me.

The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,

but woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man.

It would be better for him if he had not been born.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it,

and gave it to his disciples, saying,

Take it, this is my body.

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them,

and they all drank from it.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, he said to them.

I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine

until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Now, we're going to consider together Jesus' story of sacrifice

and our story within that.

I want to begin by recognizing that there are events and stories

that shape our lives.

So this week, on the 6th, is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings,

the Allied invasion of German-occupied France via the Normandy beaches.

And that day is of huge significance,

and it reminds us that our freedom came at a significant and a violent cost.

So as a nation, every year it is right and proper

to have a day of remembrance,

to say we will remember them with gratitude.

And perhaps for some of us, and certainly for us still as a nation,

our stories are shaped by that great sacrifice

made during the Second World War.

And in a sense, that mirrors for us the central message of Christianity,

which tells us of Jesus, the Son of God,

who has come into the world that he created on his own rescue mission.

He is the one who comes to save us from our slavery to sin leading to death.

And again, he frees us through costly sacrifice.

We speak about salvation as a gift of God's grace.

To us, it comes free.

We receive it by faith in the Lord Jesus,

but it comes at great cost to God in the giving of his one and only Son, Jesus.

So here in Mark chapter 14,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

we are being prepared for this, as it were,

decisive battle that's to take place on the cross.

Jesus is once again preparing his disciples for that moment.

So I want us this morning to consider together Jesus' sacrifice.

And to do that, asking whether his cost of the cross,

whether that shapes your life and mine,

whether the significance of that sacrifice impacts our life,

our day-to-day reality.

To ask ourselves, do we remember him?

Do we honor Jesus for his love and his sacrifice with our lives?

So we're going to do that by looking at three stories of sacrifice

that we find here in Mark 14,

beginning with Jesus' story of sacrifice and salvation.

If you look at verses 1 and 2, and then verse 12 as well,

we're reminded of the context where all this takes place.

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

are just a couple of days away,

reminding us that as we think about the journey theme

in the second half of Mark's gospel,

we're coming to the climax.

We're coming close to the cross.

But we need to think about what is this Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread?

Well, in history, as we find it in the Old Testament,

from the time of the Exodus,

it was a celebration of God's redemption of his people who were slaves,

setting them free so they might become the people of God.

And so every year, the people would gather together for a festival

to remember to have a sense of thanksgiving to God.

So at this moment, as we come to Mark 14,

this is a time when the population in Jerusalem expands and explodes

because so many people are coming to worship God for this festival.

We see this in Edinburgh with our own festivals

where the population swells hugely.

It's a time of joy and expectation.

It's also a time of asking the question,

will God deliver us once again?

Maybe this year.

Will this be the day he sets us free from our enemies

so we can become the people of God

and enjoy freedom in our own land?

Now, how does Jesus fit into this story?

And how does Jesus fit into those hopes that the people had?

Well, he makes clear that he comes to fulfill God's rescue.

He is the final act in God's great drama of redemption.

And he comes to reinterpret God's story

to make clear that he is central

in God's plan of salvation and rescue for his people.

So let's look at verse 13 to 15.

So the disciples have just asked,

where do you want us to go and make preparations?

And what becomes clear in that little section

is both that Jesus desires to share the Passover

with his disciples,

and also he's made plans, he's made preparations.

So there's the signal,

look for the man carrying the jar of water,

and the upper room is already ready for them.

Jesus has his timetable.

There is plots going on behind the scenes,

but Jesus is making sure that he can share this Passover

so he can explain the significance of the Passover

in light of the cross.

He's eager to fill in the blanks for the disciples

to see how he fits into God's great plan of salvation.

He is, in a sense, the last chapter.

I borrowed an Agatha Christie audiobook a few weeks ago

from the library.

And if you borrow a book, an audiobook from the library,

you get 21 days to listen and not a second more.

So those 21 days came and went

when I was literally just about to listen

to the last chapter.

So if you imagine, there's been really complex plot.

I also questioned who might have done it,

and all of a sudden,

the story's just got this big gap for me.

So I had to go and find a copy for resolution.

Without the last chapter,

it just didn't tie together.

It didn't make sense.

Well, Jesus is going to say to us

that he is God's final chapter

in the great story of rescue and salvation

that began in the Garden of Eden

through the Exodus all the way

to where we are here.

Jesus is how all the different threads,

all the different promises

that we find in the Old Testament come together.

He is the hero in this story

of God's story of sacrificial love.

How does he make that clear to his disciples

here two days before the cross?

He makes it clear by reinterpreting for them

the Passover meal.

So while families used to eat the Passover

and it would be a chance for them

to retell the story of the Exodus

and they would use the symbols of bread

and wine as a way to tell the story,

Jesus now uses that meal

to speak about the cross.

Those symbols that used to tell

of God's past saving grace

are now used to talk about

God's future saving act of grace

as Jesus will shortly die on the cross.

So let's read together

in verse 22 and following

where we read,

while they were eating,

Jesus took bread,

gave thanks and broke it

and gave it to his disciples saying,

take it,

this is my body.

Then he took the cup,

gave thanks and offered it to them

and they all drank from it.

This is my blood of the covenant

which is poured out for many,

he said to them.

I tell you the truth,

I will not drink again

of the fruit of the vine

until that day

when I drink it anew

in the kingdom of God.

Now I want to just draw our attention

to three things that Jesus is saying

about the cross in light of the Passover.

First, he's speaking,

looking forward to the costly sacrifice

of the cross.

So the bread and wine of the Passover meal

were a reminder of that first Passover lamb.

That lamb that was killed

and his blood sprinkled

so that the judgment of God

could pass over his people

so that they might be set free

to meet with God in Mount Sinai

to become the people of God.

And then you think about

John the Baptist's words

early in Jesus' ministry

when he said,

Jesus is the lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world.

And Jesus is saying exactly that here.

He's saying,

the costly sacrifice of that lamb

points forward to the costly sacrifice

that I'm about to make

in dying on the cross,

in my body being broken,

and my blood being shed

so that the judgment of God

might pass from you

because it falls on me

so that you might be set free

because of my sacrifice.

Jesus is also reinterpreting

the Passover

to speak of covenant love to us.

So remember,

Israel was set free

to enter into that wonderful covenant

where God said,

I will be your God

and you will be my people.

But for that to happen,

whenever there was covenants made

in the Old Testament,

we'd be thinking about it

on Sunday evenings,

there needed to be sacrifice.

There needed to be sprinkling.

There needed to be washing from sin.

There needed to be cleansing

and forgiveness.

And that's what the cross

also speaks to us about.

Jesus says,

this is my blood of the covenant.

This is the blood of the new covenant.

And the new covenant that's promised

in Jeremiah 31

is again,

that I will be your God.

And it's a promise,

I will forgive your sin

and your wickedness

and remember them no more.

And Jesus is saying,

I'm going to die

so that can be true

for anybody

who puts their faith in me.

And he also uses the Passover

to speak of his complete salvation.

Especially we see that in verse 25.

So he's told them many times

he's about to die

and he said that he's going

to be given as a sacrifice.

But then he says,

I won't drink it again.

I won't drink again

of the fruit of vine

until the day when I drink it

anew in the kingdom of God.

What's he saying?

He's saying,

I'm going to die,

but that's not going to be

the end of the story.

Jesus approaches the cross

confident of victory

and vindication

and resurrection.

And here he is drawing on

this picture

that we find in the Bible

of the kingdom of God

as a great feast.

And Jesus is the one

who is the entry for us

into that feast,

the pathway into true joy.

And Jesus is saying,

just as I am assured

of victory and vindication

and new life beyond death,

so too for anybody

who puts their trust in Jesus,

we have that same confidence

of life beyond death.

This feast in the presence of God

can be ours

and it's secured for us

by the cross of Jesus.

So here is Jesus

and he's contemplating his death.

He knows it is close.

And he's going there

to conquer sin and death

by his death

and his resurrection.

And that reminds us

that in Jesus

we have a Savior

that we can trust.

It reminds us

that we have a Savior

who loves us

and loves us deeply.

It's a reminder

that we have someone

who we can trust

both in our life

and with our death.

Here is Jesus,

the one who's come

as Lord and King.

But notice

that he's never self-serving.

Notice that he's never

about his own interests.

Rather,

he is the servant king.

He is the loving king.

The king who saves

by sacrificing himself.

You know,

we admire,

don't we,

the self-sacrifice

of others.

We admire those soldiers

who gave their lives

for our peace

and for our freedom.

And those are incredible acts.

They're just small expressions

of Jesus

and his life

and his blood

poured out for many.

And what we need

today

is

to see

that loving sacrifice

and to receive it

and to let

that sacrifice

work itself

into our hearts

so that it would

transform

the story

of our lives.

So we've seen

Jesus' story

of salvation

by sacrifice.

Let's now look

at Judas' story

in this.

Judas' story

of tragic

sacrifice.

So in light

of what Jesus

is saying

he's about to do,

in light of his

supreme sacrifice,

the story of Judas

stands for us

as a tragic one,

doesn't it?

He wanted

treasure

but the treasure

that he pursued

turned out

to be fool's gold.

Let's think

about what Judas

had

at this point

in the story.

Verse 10,

we're told

Judas Iscariot

was one of the

twelve.

He was in

Jesus'

inner circle.

He had

friendship

with the

Son of God.

He had been

with Jesus

hearing his

teaching,

witnessing

his miracles,

being part

of

serving

alongside

Jesus.

Jesus.

He heard

Jesus

predict

that he

would

go to

the

cross

to give

his life

as a

ransom

for many.

And then

look at

verses

18 and

19.

So here

they are

at the

Passover

and while

they're

reclining

at the

table

eating,

Jesus

said,

I tell

you the

truth,

one of

you will

betray

me,

one who

is eating

with me.

They were

saddened and

one by

one they

said to

him,

surely

not I.

Now here's

the remarkable

thing.

There is no

sense in

which Judas

stands out

as the

black sheep

among the

disciples.

There is no

sense that he

is the odd

one out,

treated

differently.

So when

Jesus said

someone's

going to

betray

me,

every eye

turned to

Judas.

No,

he was

treated as

a friend.

He was

invited in

by Jesus.

He even

had his

feet

washed.

That same

evening.

What did

Judas have?

He had the

love and

the friendship

of the

Son of

God.

But what

did he

pursue?

What did

he give

up?

He gave

up friendship

with Jesus

in exchange

for cash.

Verse 10,

Judas,

one of the

twelve,

went to

the chief

priest to

betray

Jesus to

them.

They were

delighted to

hear this

and promised

to give

him money.

you.

So Judas

is going

to get

some money

for betraying

Jesus,

but he's

also

going to

receive

judgment.

Verse 21,

the Son of

Man will

go just

as it is

written about

him,

but woe

to that

man,

the judgment

of God

on the

man who

betrays

Jesus.

What a

tragic

exchange,

what a

tragic

sacrifice.

Judas

has

made.

In the

book of

Romans,

in chapter

one,

Paul takes

us to

the nature

and the

heart of

sin,

where we

choose to

worship

created

things rather

than our

creator,

God.

Here is

Judas

choosing to

live for,

to value

supremely,

money over

love and

friendship of

Jesus,

the Son of

God.

God.

I think

it's a

helpful

question for

us to

reflect on.

What do I

think is

worth sacrificing

everything for?

And we may

have one

answer, but

do our

lives and

that answer

line up?

What do I

think is worth

sacrificing

everything for?

Are we

putting our

job,

leisure and

entertainment,

family,

security,

approval from

others ahead

of Jesus?

How does

the Bible

answer that

question?

What's worth

sacrificing

everything for?

Only the

gospel of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

That's the

priceless

treasure.

That's the

one thing

worth devoting

all our

heart and

life to.

And so

Judas stands

for us as

a warning

of the

consequence of

getting that

answer wrong.

Jesus said,

you can gain

the whole

world and

yet lose

your eternal

soul.

We need to

learn to

think long

term.

I read a

great piece of

parenting advice

a couple of

months ago.

It said in

those moments

where your

kids are

driving you

crazy, to

ask yourself

the question

before you

yourself go

crazy, will

this thing

matter in

five years?

In other

words, try

and take the

long-term

view and deal

with it in

that

perspective.

That's

something we

need to do

with our

own life

decisions and

priorities and

directions.

That thing

that we are

living for,

that thing

that is

driving us

to snow,

will it

matter in

five years,

in 50

years, in

5,000 years

when we are

dead and

we're either

in heaven or

hell?

Will that

thing that

we are

tempted to

put in

front of

Jesus,

will it

matter?

Will it

be worth

it?

you and

I, we

need to

weigh our

gods, as

it were, in

the balance,

to reflect for

ourselves on

the relative

worth of

our idols

versus the

absolute

worth of

the Lord

Jesus.

Because we

see from

Judas that

he gave up

the prospect

of forgiveness

and eternal

life and

friendship with

God and

joy with

God and

the feast

of God

for some

silver coins.

Jesus had

said, and

Judas was

there, greater

love has

no one than

this, that

he lay down

his life for

my friends.

You are my

friends if

you do what

I command.

Judas was

offered this

greatest of

all loves,

but he gave

the tragic

response, I

don't want

your friendship.

I don't

want you.

I choose

another God

to live

for.

We say

don't let

that be

your story

here today.

Ask God

to make the

glory of

Jesus, to

make the

wonder of

Jesus'

salvation shine

so brightly

in your life

that everything

else takes

its proper

place.

sacrifice.

So that

Jesus has

first and

best.

So that we

would never

let Jesus

costly and

loving sacrifice

mean nothing

to us.

So there's

Judas' story

of sacrifice.

But then

we get

ourselves to

the beginning

of Mark

14, we

come to

the woman's

story of

beautiful

sacrifice.

So before

the Passover

meal that

Jesus shares

with the

disciples, there

is this other

meal taking

place at

the home

of Simon

the leper.

And there

at this meal

we see too

a display

of costly

sacrifice.

Verse 3,

while he

was in

Bethany,

reclining at

the table in

the home of

a man known

as Simon

the leper,

a woman

came with

an alabaster

jar of

very expensive

perfume made

of pure

nard.

She broke

the jar

and poured

the perfume

on his

head.

So this

jar was

probably

some kind

of valuable

family heirloom

passed down

through the

generations

of extreme

worth, but

she smashes

it there and

then in

order to

anoint

Jesus with

this sweet

smelling perfume.

Well, some

people are

shocked and

angered.

We see that

in verse 4

and 5.

They think

our actions

are so extreme,

so over the

top to

waste this

perfume on

Jesus.

And so

they rebuke

her.

But what

does Jesus

do?

Jesus

defends her

and he

defends her

because of

the beautiful

thing that

she has

done, the

beautiful

sacrifice that

she has

made.

They accuse

her of not

caring for

the poor.

Jesus in

verse 7 is

in effect

saying, she's

caring for

the poor

when she

cares for

me.

You know,

all through

the Psalms

we have

the picture

of the

poor but

righteous

sufferer.

And that

perfectly

captures who

Jesus is,

particularly

through his

suffering and

death.

Jesus, the

poor, righteous

sufferer of

the Psalms,

is cared

for by

this woman

and her

sacrifice.

And so she

is blessed

for her act

of devotion

to her

vision.

Verse 8,

she did

what she

could.

She poured

perfume on

my body

beforehand to

prepare for

my burial.

She honors

Jesus and

she prepares

his body

for burial.

Whether she

realized it

or not,

it's not

clear from

the text.

But what

is clear

is that her

actions

perfectly line

up with

God's timing

and God's

will.

Unlike that

of Judas,

this woman

has a right

vision of

Jesus, a

right estimation

of his

value.

Jesus will

shortly die

the Passover

to deliver

salvation and

freedom to

the people

and Jesus

is prepared

by this

anointing

for his

burial.

This story

takes place

in between

the plots

of the

teachers of

law and

the chief

priests and

the betrayal

of Judas

in verse

10.

And it

stands as a

really striking

and beautiful

contrast to

their acts.

And Jesus

gives an

amazing approval

to this woman

in verse 9.

I tell you

the truth,

whatever the

gospel is

preached

throughout the

world,

what she

has done

will also

be told

in memory

of her.

That this

act of hers

will become

part of the

gospel storyline.

It will help

to reveal

something of

God's good

news.

And so

Mark and

Matthew both

record this

act and

this setting.

So what

does her

sacrifice

reveal about

the gospel?

Well,

let me

suggest at

least this.

Again,

in Romans,

Paul says

in chapter

12,

verse 1,

I urge

you in

view of

God's mercy

to offer

your bodies

as living

sacrifices,

holy and

pleasing to

God.

This woman's

sacrifice shows

us what

happens when

God's mercy

and grace

works itself

into a

heart and

into a

life, where

a person is

able to

see, to

truly see

the value,

the worth,

the beauty,

the glory

of Jesus.

Because her

perfume is

poured out as

devotion, it's

poured out as

worship, and

it anticipates

the fact that

just a couple

of days later,

Jesus' blood

will be poured

out for

her to

bring her

to God.

So we see

Judas.

Judas was

blind, he

was cold to

Jesus'

sacrifice, but

this woman, in

striking contrast,

has been

captured by

God's great

love in the

sending of

Jesus.

Friends, again,

let me suggest

that what we

need to do is

we need to

look on his

sacrifice.

We need to

look and

keep looking

to the

glory of

our salvation

as we see

it at the

cross, till

it leads us

to love like

this woman,

till it leads

us to

wholehearted

worship like

this woman,

till it leads

us to that

kind of

devotion that

she showed.

It's seeing

God's mercy

at the cross

that fuels

our worship,

that fuels

our sense of

grateful,

loving response.

That's what

motivates the

Christian life.

A sense of

duty won't

do it.

What we need

is to see

God's glory

as revealed

at the

cross.

So we need

to ask the

Spirit to

work it into

our hearts,

because we

need this for

ourselves.

We need this

to sustain

our faith and

our hope and

our joy,

but we also

need it for

our witness,

because this

is what's

going to make

our Christian

community

attractive.

That when

we're so

captured by

Jesus'

sacrifice,

that we

will make

sacrifices

ourselves.

That we

will sacrifice

our honor

to serve

others with

humility.

That we'll

sacrifice our

comfort in

order to

welcome

outsiders in

our communities

and in our

churches.

It's as we

see all that

Jesus has

sacrificed for

us that will

cause us to

be glad to

be able to

sacrifice our

time to

walk with

someone else

through pain

and suffering.

So with

God's help,

our stories will

point to the

great gospel

story.

That our

small sacrifices

will cause

people to

pay attention

to Jesus'

great sacrifice.

Because we're

called to live

in the light of

Jesus'

beautiful,

self-giving

sacrifice to

reflect it in

our worship

and in our

mission.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.