Gospel of Mark: Jesus, Alone to Death

Mark 14, that's on page 1021 in the Red Bible.

Johnny's told me to give everyone a little bit of time, so I'll pause.

So starting at verse 27,

You will all fall away, Jesus told them, for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.

Peter declared, Even if all fall away, I will not.

I tell you the truth, Jesus answered,

Today, yes, tonight, before the cock crows twice,

you yourself will disown me three times.

But Peter insisted empathetically,

Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.

And all the others said the same.

Verse 43.

Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, appeared.

With him was a crowd of armed, with swords and clubs,

sent from the chief priests, 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.

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Rabbi, and kissed him.

The men seized Jesus and arrested him.

Then one of those standing near drew his sword

and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

Am I leading a rebellion, Jesus 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.

Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man wearing nothing but a linen garment was following Jesus.

When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

They took Jesus to the high priest,

and all the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law came together.

Peter followed him at a distance,

right into the courtyard of the high priest.

There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin

were looking for the evidence against Jesus

so that they could put him to death,

but they did not find any.

Many testified falsely against him,

but their statements did not agree.

Then someone stood up and gave this false testimony against him.

We heard him say,

I will destroy this man-made temple,

and in three days will build another,

not made by man.

Yet even their testimony did not agree.

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus,

Are you not going to answer?

What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?

But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him,

Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?

I am, said Jesus,

and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One

and coming on the clouds of heaven.

The high priest tore his clothes.

Why do we need any more witnesses? he asked.

You have heard the blasphemy.

What do you think?

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

Then some began to spit at him.

They blindfolded him,

struck him with their fists,

and said,

Prophesy.

And the guards took him and beat him.

While Peter was below in the courtyard,

one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.

When she saw Peter warming himself,

she looked closely at him.

You were also with that Nazarene Jesus,

she said,

but he denied it.

I don't know or understand what you're talking about,

he said,

and went out into the entrance.

When the servant girls saw him there,

she said again to those standing around,

This fellow is one of them.

Again he denied it.

After a little while,

those standing near said to Peter,

Surely you are one of them,

for you are a Galilean.

He began to call down curses on himself,

and he swore to them,

I don't know this man you're talking about.

Immediately the cock crows the second time.

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him.

Before the cock crows twice,

you will disown me three times.

And he broke down and wept.

Thanks very much Lucy and Graham.

So if you keep your Bibles open there at Mark 14,

27 to 31,

and then from 43 through to verse 72.

And we're in a section of Mark's Gospel,

which has become known as the Passion,

which is really the last week,

the last few days coming up to the death of Jesus.

So with that in mind,

I want to commend to you a book

with that very same title.

It's called Passion.

So this is something I'm suggesting

to put on your Christmas list

to either buy for yourself,

if you like yourself that much,

or you can give it to somebody else.

Now here's the difference.

Yes, it's looking at the Passion

the last few days of Jesus' life,

but it's not through Mark's Gospel,

it's through Luke's Gospel.

It's just one that I read a little while ago,

found it very helpful.

Kirstie's now reading it

and also enjoying it

and finding it very helpful.

Written by Mike McKinley,

who is somebody who's a part

of the Radstock board

that Ralph serves on as well.

Very easy to read,

very helpful as it goes through

the last week of the life of Jesus

on earth before his death.

So that's the Passion.

You can get the title

and any more details afterwards.

Well, we're going to pray

and ask for God's help.

Amen.

Father, we thank you for Mark's Gospel.

We thank you for this record,

this account,

this true story

of the last few days,

the last hours

of Jesus' life

on earth.

we pray that this event

would not just be

some historical event

in the past,

but that it would be

something that speaks

to us afresh today,

changing our lives,

helping us to see

the wonder and the greatness

of who Jesus is

and how we should live

in response to him.

We pray that we may grasp

something of the Passion

of Jesus

this morning.

We pray it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

His words

were very hurtful

and they cut right

to the heart.

Look at verse 27.

You will all fall away,

Jesus told him.

How could he say that?

I mean,

we've left everything

to follow him.

Verse 31,

Peter insisted emphatically,

even if I have to die

with you,

I will never disown you.

And all the others

said the same.

Even if we have to die

with you,

we will never

disown you.

Well, within just a few hours,

those words would come back

to haunt them.

As those desperate

for Jesus' death

moved in,

look at these

die-hard disciples

now

in verse 50.

Then everyone

deserted him

and fled.

Jesus is left

standing alone,

abandoned

and rejected

by those

who called him

friend.

In fact,

they are so desperate

to get away

from Jesus.

Look at verse 51.

a young man

wearing nothing

but a linen garment

was following Jesus.

when they seized him.

He fled naked,

leaving his garment

behind.

The first streaker

ever recorded.

But it's not meant

to be funny.

This is tragic.

He would rather

suffer the shame

of being found

without his clothes on

than to be associated

as a friend

of Jesus.

You see,

we're like this

young man.

There are times

we will do

anything

to protect

our own

reputation.

We will do

whatever it takes

to avoid

being associated

with Jesus.

What if

somebody knows?

Maybe they won't

be my friend

anymore.

In fact,

we're also like

Peter.

Look at verse 54.

Brave Peter

who followed

at a distance

right into

the courtyard

of the high priest

and there

he sat

with the guards

as if to say

I'm now

one of them.

And he warmed

himself

at the fire

safe

comfortable

and distant

while Jesus

stands vulnerable

rejected

and alone.

What's

going on here?

What's happened?

Well,

through this

encounter

while everybody

else

is

faithless

Jesus

remains

faithful.

faithful.

While Judas

goes to

betray him

and while

the Sanhedrin

gather

to kill

him

and while

Peter curses

and denies

him

Jesus

remains

the loyal

friend

willing

to die

providing

hope

and offering

grace.

first

Jesus

willingly

dies

for those

who

betray

him.

Look at

verse 44

Now the

betrayer

had arranged

a signal

with them

the religious

authorities

the one

that I

kiss

is

the man

arrest

him

and lead

him away

under guard.

Going at

once to

Jesus

Judas

said

Rabbi

a term

of affection

and kissed

him.

Judas

we know

was one

of the

twelve.

He spent

the last

three years

in the

intimate

company

of Jesus

eating

with him

working

with him

going on

trips

with him

learning

from him

enjoying

the

friendship.

But now

Judas

comes

and he

betrays

him

with a

kiss.

It's

like a

husband

who

takes

his

wife

to

the

very

place

that

they

got

engaged

only

to

tell

her

that

he's

leaving

her

for

another

woman.

Only

the

closest

and

intimate

of

friends

can

betray

you.

It's

painful.

It

breaks

you

and it

destroys

you.

I

wonder

how we

respond

or how

we would

respond

if a

friend

were to

do

that

to

us.

Lash

out in

our

words.

Hit

out with

our

fists.

But look

at Jesus.

Look at

him.

There is

no

retaliation.

there is

no

opposition

to

Judas

or to

those

that he

has

brought

along

with

him.

Yes,

there are

others

who are

getting

angry.

Verse 47

Then one

of those

standing

near

drew

his

sword

and

struck

the

servant

of the

high

priest

cutting

off

his

ear.

But

not

Jesus.

Verse

48

Am I

leading a

rebellion?

Said

Jesus,

that you

would

come out

with me

to me

with swords

and clubs

to capture

me.

Look,

every day

I was

with you

teaching

in the

temple

courts

and you

didn't

arrest

me.

But the

scriptures

must be

fulfilled.

Jesus

knew

all along

that this

would happen.

Jesus

has not

been taken

by surprise

at what

Judas

has done.

Remember

back to

the meal

they just

shared

together?

Chapter

14

verse

18

While

they were

reclining

at the

table

eating,

Jesus

said,

I tell

you the

truth,

one of

you

will

betray

me,

one

who is

eating

with

me.

You

see,

it's in

the

knowledge

that

those

closest

to

Jesus

will

betray

him,

that he

willingly

dies

for

them.

Jesus

doesn't

resist,

he

doesn't

fight,

he

doesn't

run

for his

life as

everybody

else

does.

He

gives

up his

life.

You

see,

it's

people

just

like

you

and

me

who

can

betray

Jesus.

Those

of us

who say,

yep,

I'm a

friend of

Jesus,

we read

our

Bibles,

we serve

in church,

we can

be teaching

or preaching,

we seek

to be

faithful year

after year

in our

walk with

him,

but then

something

happens.

Perhaps

like Judas

we become

disappointed

with Jesus.

He doesn't

do what

we expect

him to

do.

And

maybe

Jesus

doesn't

do

what

you

want

him

to

do.

We

ask

him

to

change

a

circumstance

in our

life,

we

ask

him

to

remove

it,

but

he

doesn't

and

there's

no

change.

Or

maybe

Jesus

let

something

happen

into

our

lives

that

we

don't

expect

or

we

don't

want.

We

get

sick,

we

lose

our

job,

something

goes

wrong

in

our

life,

and

we're

disappointed,

and so

we sell

him out.

We

turn our

backs

on

Jesus

in

search

of

something

else

or

someone

else,

and we

betray

him.

But in

the very

act of

betrayal,

look

at the

one who

does

not

retaliate.

Look

at the

one who

does

not

lash

out

in

anger,

who

does

not

oppose

what

the

betrayer

does

to

him.

Instead,

he

willingly

goes

to the

cross

to die

for

those

who

betray

him,

because

Jesus

is

a

faithful,

loyal

friend.

Second,

Jesus

provides

hope

for

those

who

will

kill

him.

Look

at verse

55.

The

chief

priests

and the

whole

Sanhedrin,

that was

the

religious

authorities,

they

were

looking

for

evidence

against

Jesus

so

that

they

could

put

him

to

death,

but they

didn't

find

any.

Many

testified

falsely

against

him,

but their

statements

didn't

agree.

Why

all

these

lies?

Why

is there

such

desperation

to get

rid of

Jesus?

Well,

the answer

is crystal

clear.

It comes

to us

in verse

61.

Jesus

had

remained

silent

and gave

no answer

to all

their

false

accusations.

Again,

the high

priest

asked

Jesus,

are

you

the

Christ,

the

son

of

the

blessed

one?

Jesus,

are

you

claiming

to be

God?

Are

you

claiming

to be

God?

Verse

62,

I

am,

said

Jesus.

I

am

this

one

with

universal

power.

I

am

the

one

with

supreme

authority.

I

am

God.

And

I

am

the

Messiah,

the

Christ,

the

only

one

who

can

provide

hope

for

people

like

you.

At

this

point,

for

Jesus

to

admit

that

he

is

God,

the

son

of

the

blessed

one,

is

basically

to

sign

his

death

sentence.

But

the

proof

that

Jesus

is

God

will

be

seen

by

his

resurrection

from

the

dead.

Look at

the rest

of

verse

62.

And

you

will

see

the

son

of

man,

that's

Jesus

sitting

at

the

right

hand

of

the

mighty

one

and

coming

on

the

clouds

of

heaven.

Jesus

is

saying

to

the

court

that

is

before

him,

I

will

be

killed,

you

will

kill

me,

but

I

will

rise,

I

will

conquer

death,

and

I

will

reign

victoriously,

and

I

will

establish

my

kingdom,

because

I

am

the

one

who

provides

hope

for

this

broken

world.

Of

course,

as Jesus

made clear

his identity,

look at

their response

in verse

64.

You

have heard

the

blasphemy,

what do

you think?

They

all

condemned

him as

worthy

of

death,

and

they

began

to spit

on

him,

and

blindfold

him,

and

struck

him

with

their

fists,

and

said,

prophesy,

and the

guards

took

him,

and

beat

him.

You

see,

we

might

not

be

present

at

the

trial.

We

might

not

be

the

ones

bringing

false

accusations,

but

every

one

of us

in

this

room

have

all

played

our

part,

in

wanting

to

get

rid

of

Jesus.

You

see,

we

don't

like

the

idea

that

Jesus

is

who

he

says

he

is.

We

don't

like

the

idea

that

Jesus

is

God.

Because

if

Jesus

is

God

with

all

power

and

all

authority,

then

that

means

my

life

belongs

to

him.

And

if

Jesus

is

God,

the

one

who

is

going

to

come

on

the

clouds

of

heaven,

then

I

must

listen

to

him

because

one

day

I'm

going

to

stand

before

him.

He

will

be

my

judge

and

I

will

be

answerable

to

him.

And

we

don't

like

that.

And

so

it's

much

easier

for

us

if

we

can

somehow

explain

Jesus

away

as

some

kind

of

fiction.

If

we

can

reason

that

the

gospel

of

Mark

is

not

a

true

historical

account

it's

all

just

been

made

up.

If

we

can

somehow

remove

Jesus'

Godness.

if

we

can

get

rid

of

his

divine

status

and

reduce

Jesus

to

nothing

more

than

just

an

interesting

teacher

who

lived

hundreds

of

years

ago

then

that

means

I

can

live

my

life

however

I

want.

You

see

we've

all

wanted

him

killed

so

that

we

don't

have

to

deal

with

him

and

so

that

we

don't

have

to

answer

to

him.

But

look

again

in

the

act

of

trying

to

kill

Jesus

look

at

the

one

who

dies

for

you

and

for

me

look

at

the

one

who

rises

again

the

one

who

will

conquer

death

who

breaks

free

from

the

grave

and

providing

hope

as he

comes

on

the

clouds

of

heaven

to

establish

his

eternal

kingdom

to

live

with

him

forever

and

ever

providing

hope

to

all

who

will

bow

their

knee

to

him

as

God

why

would

he

do

that

because

Jesus

is the

faithful

loyal

friend

third

Jesus

offers

grace

to

those

who

deny

him

look

at

verse

66

while

Peter

was

below

in

the

courtyard

one

of

the

servant

girls

of

the

high

priest

came

by

when

she

saw

Peter

warming

himself

she

looked

closely

at

him

you

also

were

with

that

Nazarene

Jesus

she

said

remember

Peter

who's

been

so

consistently

portrayed

as the

faithful

loyal

and true

disciple

I'll

die

for

you

Jesus

I

won't

disown

you

verse

68

but

he

denied

it

I

don't

know

or

understand

what

you're

talking

about

he

said

and

he

went

out

into

the

entrance

the

distance

the

physical

distance

between

Jesus

and

Peter

gets

greater

and

greater

signifying

his

own

relationship

with

him

and

with

every

question

and

every

accusation

in the

courtyard

comes

a

greater

denial

look at

verse

70

again

he

denied

it

and

after

a

little

while

those

standing

near

said

to

Peter

surely

you

are

one

of

them

for

you

are

a

Galilean

and

he

began

to

call

down

curses

on

himself

and

he

swore

to

them

and

I

think

Mark

has

carefully

edited

it

here

I

don't

know

this

man

that

you're

talking

about

Peter

the

strong

and

the

brave

is

nothing

but

a

weak

and

a

broken

failure

Peter

you

see

there's

something

that

draws us

into

the

story

here

with

Peter

we

don't

like

to

say

it

do

we

and

we

don't

often

like

to

admit

it

but

we

all

know

that

this

is

me

I'm

Peter

and

you're

Peter

the

promises

that

we

make

the

commitments

that

we

give

and

then

when

we

know

we

should

be

speaking

up

or

we

should

be

saying

something

we

just

keep

quiet

and

we

move

away

it

might

be

at

a

conversation

at

work

it

could

be

as

we're

socializing

with

friends

the

opportunity

arises

for

us

to

say

what

we

think

and

what

we

believe

but

then

inside

we're

thinking

but

what

about

my

reputation

what

will

people

think

of

me

I

might

lose

their

friendship

we

don't

want

to be

the

one

who's

left

standing

alone

and

so

like

Peter

we

pretend

we

don't

hear

or

we

don't

understand

what

they're

talking

about

at

times

we'll

do

anything

to

avoid

association

with

Jesus

and

you know

those

times

maybe

it's

been

through

this

past

week

but

in

the

moment

of

our

denial

look

at

Jesus

look

at

the

one

who

is

loyal

and

faithful

and

true

the

one

who

remains

steadfast

and he

offers

grace

to

sinners

like

you

and

me

jump

forward

to

chapter

16

verse

7

a

minute

this

is

after

Jesus

has

died

and

after

he

has

risen

again

from

the

dead

and

at

the

tomb

the

empty

tomb

the

angels

are

there

and

this

is

the

message

they

give

to

the

women

to

go

and

tell

the

others

just

look

at

the

beginning

of

verse

7

of

chapter

16

but

go

tell

his

disciples

and

who

and

Peter

don't

forget

to

tell

Peter

Jesus

the

risen

Jesus

needed

to

meet

with

Peter

Jesus

knew

his

denial

Jesus

knew

all

about

his

sin

Jesus

saw

his

guilt

and

he

saw

his

shame

and

so

as

the

risen

saviour

he

goes

to

meet

Peter

to

offer

him

the

grace

of

forgiveness

while

everyone

else

is

faithless

Jesus

remains

faithful

as

we

betray

him

as

we

kill

him

and

as

we

deny

him

Jesus

remains

the

loyal

friend

willing

to

die

providing

hope