Please turn to Mark chapter 14 this evening. Mark chapter 14. Looking tonight at King Jesus suffers alone. King Jesus suffers alone, Mark 14. We will be looking at verses 26 through 52, and we'll read those verses as they come in the outline tonight. Let's ask God's help. Let's ask his direction as we begin. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your blessing here tonight. Thank you for these wonderful hymns that we have sung together tonight, testimonies. And Father, we thank you for your greatness and your power and your might. Now we ask, Lord, that your might, power, love, and mercy and grace will definitely be shown to our brethren there in Texas. We ask you, Lord, to do great and mighty things through what is a seeming tragedy. There is a lot of sorrow. There's a lot of loss and totally unexpected. And so, Father, we pray for your help, your comfort, and everything that our brethren are going to need there. And we know that you're going to take care of it. And we also look to you to do some great money things in our country as a result. We ask that you'll turn the whole thing around for the good of the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ in our land. So we're going to trust and depend on you to do that. And right now I trust and depend on you, Holy Spirit, to fill me. I ask you to do that. To bring the message tonight, I ask you to direct it yourself, to come across the way you want it to, and I just commit that to you, and I know you're gonna do that. And so we thank you for how you're gonna handle it, and we give you praise, in Jesus' name, amen. Here in Mark chapter 14, we have the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, And he is beginning now the suffering that is going to take place in his personal life as he is anticipating now the cross of Calvary. He's going to endure betrayal, and he's going to endure shame for the sake of the sinners, and we being included in that. He will drink the cup of wrath, the wrath of his father, and he's going to drink it all alone. There will be no one there to help. Psalm 116, verse 13 says, I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. We have our Savior here humbling himself and submitting himself in Gethsemane. the Garden of Gethsemane, that he might save sinners. And he gets there to that cross of Calvary. Jesus is the King who suffers alone for you and for me and for all the sinners of the world. We're going to see the Lord Jesus betrayed by a close friend, by a disciple, by an associate of three years. Just a horrible situation. And he is going to sell out the Lord Jesus to enemies who have been plotting his death now for some time. And Jesus will suffer torture at the hands of these enemies. His other friends, his other disciples are also going to fail Jesus in his hour of greatest need. That's something hard to believe. We need to take that to heart. The disciples failed the Lord Jesus. at his greatest hour of need. We want to make sure we don't do that to anybody that we know in the household of faith. We do not want to go there. They're going to sell him out. They're going to run away. They're going to abandon him, and they're going to deny him. And he will suffer at the hands of his own Heavenly Father and drink the cup of divine wrath that should have been ours, yours and mine. But this is the father's will. It is the father's will to crush his son so that he would not have to crush you and me and send us to a hellfire forever and ever and ever. Jesus went through what he went through to stop that from happening. if we will believe. The Lord Jesus suffered in many ways. He suffered personally, He suffered physically, He suffered mentally, and worst of all, He suffered spiritually. Jesus understood His loving Father and His will. He understood that was part of His will. And His loving Father has a hand in all of this. And so Jesus will trust the Heavenly Father all the way to the cross. And He will trust His Heavenly Father in a way that we cannot understand. We're going to look at the suffering king tonight. in three ways. Number one, the king would be abandoned and left alone. The king would be abandoned and left alone. We're gonna read Mark 14, verses 26 through 31. And when they had sung and hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. He spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Now notice, likewise also said they all. Now we always emphasize Peter. They all did it. They all said it. They all promised. They all said there's no way, that's not gonna happen. We know it did. So the king would be abandoned and left alone. The Passover and the newly instituted Lord's Supper have already just now taken place. That is now history, that is over. They sing a hymn, probably a psalm, and then they head out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus predicts that not just Judas, but that all of them are going to fall away. A fulfillment of Zechariah 13, seven. The father will strike his own son. It has been in the master plan from eternity past. God is going to use those evil men and their sinful actions to accomplish his will. It's going to get done. This is going to provide salvation for every single soul who will believe. The disciples are going to go haywire on this night. They have no clue what is coming. They don't have any idea what is ahead in their life, but they're not going to handle this well. It is not going to be done very well at all. They're going to have fear. They're going to be scared to death. They're going to run. They're going to hide. But you know what? Jesus is gonna rise again, and Jesus is gonna restore them, and Jesus is going to recommission them, and they will go turn the world upside down for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Peter and all of them say, no way. I will never forsake you. It's not going to happen. But we know that it did. put ourselves in their unknowing sandals. We know all this. We know what's going to happen. They had no idea. They're in for the scariest time of their life. They think they're all going to die. They're going to be very, very scared. And they did not handle this very well. Now, what we need to do is take this and apply this to ourself and our lives. How do we and how are we going to and how have we handled these very difficult situations? On this episode, they failed. They will be victorious in the future. We need to think about ourselves tonight. How well are we handling the tough things of life How are we going to, in light of this message tonight, their foundation at this point in their lives is not very strong. They do not have a strong foundation. They just do not. And their feelings and their selves get in the way of what they really ought to do, and they're going to go down in defeat. And so as we discussed this morning from the Reformation, we have a way here that just those five little phrases can help us to attain victory if we will pursue them. If we will go after the five solas in our own life, scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, that's gonna help us Those disciples did not have that on that night. They were not there yet. They'll get there, but they're not there yet. And I like what somebody said about prayer. It went like this. Pray in faith, believing, so that if Jesus says no, to your prayer, it's not because you didn't believe. I like that. Let me say that again. I'm seeing deer in the headlights. If you pray in faith-believing, And God answers you, no, I'm not going to do that. At least it's not because you did not pray in faith, believing. One of the solas, faith alone. Believe, have confidence in our Savior. Perhaps you're here tonight, and maybe you are right now in the midst of battling a tough situation in your life. We're looking at a tough situation for these disciples in this passage tonight. and maybe you're there right now. And so what we need to concentrate on and focus on right now is that we need to hit this thing head on with Christ, do it right, don't look to self, don't look to somebody else, get in the scriptures, get to prayer, follow the plan, and win it. We do not want Satan to get the victory. We do not want to go down in flames. We want to make sure that we're going to be on the victory side. And it's very unfortunate in the days in which we are living, that there's so much defeat in Christian lives. And I really believe it's because they do not have a strong foundation on the Word of God, and they're not praying. They're not going to war in prayer. Prayer is a wartime. It is a war. And we go back, I don't know how long, a year ago or so, and we had 50 folks that signed the card to pray for an hour a day for three weeks. You know, that hour a day is a war time, because it's going to be a fight. And if you're still doing it, you know exactly what I'm talking about, because the devil's going to meet you there, and he's going to try and get you off the course. He's going to get you trying to get thinking about something else. Well, no, I'm not going to do that today. It's a war. It's a battle. And so we have to fight it. We have to fight the war. It is a huge battle. And the fellow I saw interviewed this afternoon down in Texas, a very good Christian man, I am sure, and talked about the spiritual war that we're fighting. And this episode is part of that war. It's a spiritual war. It is not flesh and blood, the Bible says. It's against principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And so we want to win. And so we can do that if we get focused on the right things. The disciples here did not consider the future. They were not thinking down the road at all. They were only thinking about right now. They have heard the Lord Jesus say what's going to happen, but it's like it went right over. They didn't listen. They weren't focused on what Jesus was saying. And we can't be like that. The disciples failed. You folks here tonight, you don't go there. Don't go there. Don't fail. Win it. The king was abandoned and he was left alone. Point number two, the king would agonize over his passion alone. the king would agonize over his passion alone. Mark 14, verses 32 to 42. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore, amazed, and to be very heavy. Now that wording there means pressed upon, depressed. This was agonizing Lord Jesus there in the garden. And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. You see, they didn't know. They didn't know what was coming. They had no idea. And he cometh a third time and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is enough. The hour is come. Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go. Lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. The king would agonize over his passion alone. Again, let us go to the Garden of Gethsemane. Let us stand there with the Lord Jesus Christ. What happened there, that was sacred, holy ground in that Garden of Gethsemane. And for us today, you know, we cannot wrap our hearts around the depths of agony that our Savior went through, the pain that he suffered alone. It was for you and it was for me. And here in the Garden of Gethsemane, right now in this passage, this is Jesus praying alone for the final time. The disciples are going to fail again. The Lord Jesus was deeply distressed and horrified at the prospects of bearing the sins of the world. That was worse than the beatings that he's going to endure. No one else on this planet has ever suffered like Jesus did on that night and the following day. But you know what? Jesus is gonna win. Jesus is going to win. Where is His trust? His trust is in His Heavenly Father. He is totally committed to do His Father's will, no matter what. That's where we need to be tonight. We need to be totally committed to the Father. We need to be totally committed to do His will. in our lives. It was the spiritual suffering that's going to be and is the worst. The pain of the torture and the cross is not what is concerning to his soul. What is, is the fact that he's going to bear the sins of the world as his father turns his back and looks away. He's going to be abandoned This is what moved the Lord Jesus to pray like he did in the Garden of Gethsemane. You know, Gethsemane was, quote, hell for the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it was. This was not a sweet hour of prayer at all. No, no, no, it was not. It was a horrifying time, and we need to recognize that. And you know what? We need to be so, so thankful that Jesus went through with this. He went through with this, and He won the battle. Gethsemane was a must. The cross was a must. The resurrection was a must. They had to happen. And because Jesus won the battle, there doesn't have to be a hell for anybody. Do you realize that? Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, there does not have to be a hell for anybody. Everybody can believe. The sad truth is most will reject him. Number three, the king would be arrested and forsaken alone. The king would be arrested and forsaken alone, verses 43 to 52. And immediately while he yet spake, so they're just getting up. Jesus said, rise up, let us go, he that betrayeth me is at hand. And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him and saith, Master, Master, and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they forsook him and fled. And there followed him a certain young man having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. And the young men laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. The king would be arrested and forsaken alone. So here we are in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus or with the disciples, and while he is yet speaking, here comes an army to arrest one rabbi. There's no question why Jesus said what he said a little bit later on in the passage. Judas gives the pre-planned sign of betrayal. And they arrested the Lord Jesus. There were no Miranda rights. There were no charges made. But of course, these people are not interested in the law at all. That's not what's on their mind. And Peter pulls out his sword. And he takes a swing and he gets this ear cut off of a man named Malchus. Of course, we know Jesus put that ear right back on. And then, as we read, he rebukes this mob. He rebukes them for this outrageous method of arrest. In other words, you didn't need to bring all these people here. I'm one man, and I've never swung a sword in my life. What does he tell them? Look, I taught you daily in the temple. I was in the temple teaching. He didn't say this, but I'm gonna say this. Don't they remember the tens of thousands of healings Jesus did? Don't they remember all the devils that were cast out of so many people? My dad used to tell me a lot when I was a kid growing up. You know, he said, he said, people have short memories. It's true here. They didn't remember. They remember all the great things that the Lord had done. They could have arrested him any time. But no, they do it in this very cowardly way. This, of course, was also another prophetic fulfillment, and Isaiah 53 is where it is. The saddest thing here is the defection of not just Peter, but all of them. All of them ran. Now, just jumping down to Texas for just a moment, what happened today, this morning. One thing they say, that I was in a police seminar in a congregation, that what we should do is if somebody comes in here, of course, you want to have people who are armed themselves, but the police officer said, start throwing your hymn books at them. Start throwing stuff. Detract him so that you can do something about this guy. Now, let's remember that, all right? The Lord just put that in here while I was preaching. That's why I just went, all right? So let's remember, you know, if that ever does, but we're gonna pray ahead that that never ever happens here. You just start throwing stuff. All right, so they all forsake the Lord. And then they go to, now some of the commentators think this was literally Mark that they tried to grab, and he slipped away, left his cloak and escaped. Jesus is arrested, he's forsaken by everybody. Now here he is in Gethsemane all alone. And now he's going to face the wickedness of these religious leaders, and on till finally he will be nailed to the cross. And Jesus will take upon himself all that we deserve, that we might receive all that he deserves. That's giving it all you got. So Gethsemane is the prelude to Calvary. Jesus had to surrender to do God's will, and that's what he did in the garden. It was nailed down in prayer, not my will, but thine be done. That had to happen. And that happens before all of the beatings. before the cat of nine tails, before the cross. Gethsemane literally was the beginning of new life for you and me. We think that it was the cross, but it started in the garden. It started in the garden. You know, when we think tonight of how Jesus drank the cup for us, and all that that means, you know, we freely, I believe all of us here tonight, have freely accepted the gift of eternal life. But you know, as we contemplate the Lord Jesus and Him being left alone there, and all of the horrible things that he went through. It causes me to want to take stock of my own life and to see where am I at. Am I with Jesus in Gethsemane? Am I surrendered to do the will of God? Am I willing to do that? We all have to answer that question. Are we willing to do the will of God in our life? Are we willing to keep a short sin account with God? Are we willing to get right with Him? Are we willing to get right with others? Our flesh and its wickedness has to be put down. and being sold out lock, stock, and barrel to the Lord Jesus Christ is what needs to take place. We have to say no to this me, me, me society in which we live. And it really concerns me that that's rubbing off on so many believers and has rubbed off. And so as believers, we need to run in the opposite direction. No, it's not me, me, me. It's him, him, him. It's all about Jesus. It's all about him in our lives. We must not forget what Jesus went through to secure our salvation. And so, as believers here, let me encourage you. Let's live in a constant state of revival. Let us live in a constant state of submission to the Heavenly Father to do His will in our life every day that we live. Father, we thank you tonight for this passage of Scripture, the Gospel of Mark. We see a lot of movement here in the passage tonight as we're considering the Go Gospel. Jesus is on the move. And right now, he's on the move to the cross of Calvary. We have seen him in the Garden of Gethsemane. We thank you for his willingness and his love for us and his determination to accomplish the will of God in his life. Lord, may we follow him all the way in the same idea, the same vein. Lord, help us to do the will of God. Help us do it from the heart. Let us be determined. Father, we ask that you would bless this congregation and use every single person mightily in the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you for what you will do as we surrender our lives totally to you. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.