We can bring down these, everything's down, great. You can bring down all these lights on the sides also, please. I don't expect you to be able to see your scriptures tonight. This is going to be taken from Mark 14. I'll read the first 31st, 31 verses, and I just ask that you would walk through this meditation with me on our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the first 31 verses of chapter 14 of Mark. After two days, it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by trickery and put him to death. But they said, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on his head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves and said, why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work or a beautiful thing for me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish, you may do them good, but me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come before to anoint my body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priest to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray him. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover? And he sent out two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared. There make ready for us. So his disciples went out and came into the city and found it just as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. In the evening he came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me. And they began to be sorrowful and say to him one by one, is it I? And another said, is it I? He answered and said to them, it is one of the 12 who dips with me in the dish. The son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him. but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had never been born. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, Take, eat. This is my body. And then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. But he spoke more vehemently, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said likewise. Please pray. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we ask that you would illuminate our minds, that we would see you, Christ, that we would see your work and understand, that you would continue to be faithful to your church. We ask these things in your holy name. Amen. I want you to imagine with me explorers traveling through an isolated wilderness. You could think of the pines of Canada, if you will. They've been traveling all day, and eventually they see the sun setting, and so they begin to make a campfire. As the forest darkens, they hear the cry of a wolf in the distance, and as the night goes on, several more cries. But you can tell through the approximation that the cries are becoming closer and closer and closer to the camp. They fall asleep. The flames of the campfire become soft and dim in the middle of the night. The explorers awake to the cracking of sticks. To the left, they hear it. To the right. They put two and two together, the cries and the sticks. They stoke the fire, and in the dark of the forest, two eyes, then two more, and two more. The pack of wolves have encircled them. This is very much the scene present in the passage of Mark. To be a part of this scene and to recognize it as true is to recognize what you're meditating on tonight. We should be expecting this if you've read the Gospel of Mark. The cry of the wolves of the religious leaders have been heard as early as chapter three. The shadow of the cross has been cast even into chapter one. It is as if ever since the beginning of Mark, the sun has been slowly setting and the pack of wolves have just been waiting, creeping closer and closer. That's the progression of this gospel. By the time we get to this chapter, chapter 14, the howls are much closer and there is a chill. Of course, we're awaiting a slaughter. We know that. You've been to a Maundy Thursday service before. flashes of a lamb sprinkled with blood keep interrupting our consciousness, because in chapter 14 the setting is Passover. In 14.1, it begins by saying that it was two days before the Passover. That's how this whole thing gets started. It's a new section coming out of the judgment, Mount of Olivet. In 14.b, it says that the first set of wolves show up. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. The problem, they said, was that thousands of people were in Jerusalem for the feast, and therefore, verse 2, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people. But the bottom line is this. The teeth of the chief priests and the scribes were sharp. But how could they encircle so as to kill? The answer comes from verses 10 through 11. We go from 1 and 2 to 10 and 11. Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests in order to betray Jesus. The chief priests were glad and promised to give Judas money, and from that time forward Judas crouched, poised, looking for the chance for convenient betrayal. It's interesting that verses one and two, the chief priests and scribes, has to do a hop, skip, and jump to verses 10 and 11 with Judas. And the hop, skip, and jump is over and interrupted with the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, otherwise known as a Markin sandwich, to be crude. An interweaving of a deeper and more profound meaning. Even the literary structure, in other words, of the text places Jesus in the center of circling loves. Even more interestingly, in that center is Jesus, and he, as a good camper and explorer, sees the glowing eyes. He knows his death is imminent. He can smell the wild bloodlust of the circling animals. Jesus' awareness is made apparent in the anointing at Bethany. It's undeniable. Jesus, while reclining at the table in verse 3, sees a woman come in with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and this woman broke the flask and poured it over Jesus' head. Jesus was not the only one at the table. His guests, certainly the disciples, were also present. They chided the woman. They were exasperated with her decision. Why was the ointment wasted like that? They said. This ointment could have been sold for more than a year's salary and given to the poor. And with this statement, the oblivious consciousness of the disciples is exposed, like a camper sleeping through the night with wolves encircling. The concern of the disciples was admirable, I guess. but totally misplaced due to the actual moment. Somehow, even after repeated predictions, the disciples did not know that the hour of Jesus' death was at the doorstep. But Jesus was aware. Leave her alone, Jesus said. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. You will always have the poor with you whenever you go, and you can do good for them, but you will not always have me. She has anointed my body beforehand before burial." They certainly weren't thinking about a burial at the time, or death. But the question is, how could the disciples not see? We just read in 8 that they did see. And that from that point forward, he taught them about his death. And here we are in chapter 14, and they still couldn't see. How could they not hear the howls and the growls? How could they not hear the sticks cracking in the dark woods? How is it that the outsider could? That's the question. The woman, she didn't leave everything to become a fisher of men. She wasn't a part of the inner conversations and explanations of parables. She didn't have private discipleship and mentoring lessons. But as Mark has done ever since the beginning, he is teaching us once again and them and reminding Peter and Mark, I'm sure, as they read and reread this, this is the way of the kingdom. Illumination will not be given to the mighty. Illumination and understanding and foresight will not be given to the religious officials with long robes and prolonged prayers out of pretense. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. And this nobody of a woman, she did what she could," it says in verse 8. Like the widow, she gave her lifelihood. And I would pray that in reading this, we could be more like her and lose our sense of self-importance. Nevertheless, Jesus, as we would suspect, is committed to his slowly perceiving disciples, and that is good news for everyone here. Like the blind man who was healed but who could still not see clearly, men as trees, so too were the disciples. Maybe this woman opened their eyes, maybe just a little bit more, maybe they could name the kind of tree, but the betrayal, The death and significance of Jesus' death was still quite blurry. Here's a second question for us. How will the disciples ever learn? The answer is that Jesus will now stage an entire scene, the Passover, to teach them. Jesus has staged a scene before for them. Do you remember blind Bartimaeus? Just this past Sunday, the beggar, another outsider, another unlikely character, just someone to pass by, but Jesus stops. He had an insight. Jesus capitalized on the insight of the beggar, crying out, Son of David. And Jesus, from that moment, used it to set up the triumphal and the tragic entry into Jerusalem. Jesus prepared all the details. When the time came, he sent them to get the cult, that he would mount the cult and live out Zachariah 9-9 and they would sing out Hosanna. Jesus knew how to set up teaching moments. And I cannot help but to see the anointing at Bethany that we have here in our text as parallel to the staging of the triumphal entry. Both begin with a nobody who has insight. Both begin with Jesus's forethought and preparation. Both result in an ultimate teaching moment about the identity of Jesus. The woman at Bethany was the nobody in this case. Jesus setting aside the room for Passover was the preparation. Listen to this. The disciples asked, where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? Everything is leading to this. Jesus said, go into the city. and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. It could have been him saying, go into the city and there'll be a cult waiting for you. The parallels are overwhelming. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, the teacher says, where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared. There, make ready for us. So his disciples went out and came into the city and found it just as he had said to them. And they prepared the Passover. In the evening, it says, Jesus arrived with the twelve to the guest room. And what that meant was that the stage was set. The teaching moment begins. The teaching will be centered on betrayal, control, and significance. The significance of Jesus' death. Teaching one is the betrayal. This is what it says as he sits with his disciples in chapter 14, verse 18, as he begins his first teaching. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me. Since we have a bird's eye view, we know that this will be Judas Iscariot. We've already seen the scene. It's in suspense in the narrative now. whereas the woman found Jesus of inestimable worth and thus spared no expense on perfume notice that Judas served himself and sold Jesus for a bag of silver. Both sections dealing with money. The woman gave herself to Jesus. Judas used Jesus for selfish greed. And I pray that you disciples here tonight getting ready to take this supper would not sell Jesus for your own selfish agendas. There is a second teaching besides betrayal that we see in 1421 and it's control. This perhaps is the most surprising. The son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him. Tomorrow night we'll get the fuller explanation of just exactly what that means. But here, in other words, Jesus is not a clueless and a helpless victim. That's the surprise. He is voluntarily following the plan of his heavenly Father. Voluntary. This reverses the interpretation of the narrative. Up to this point, we see the chief priests and scribes searching for a way to kill Jesus. How will they encircle? Will evil prevail? That's the question that we have to ask. And we hope not, of course. Maybe they'll be stopped. But then we hear of Judas. No, they're not gonna be stopped. He'll provide the way for the killing. Evil's gonna prevail. And then we know, as we keep reading, and just paragraphs later, it will happen with such quickness within two chapters. Within one chapter, Jesus will be arrested and executed. I want you to look at it this way, when we look at this. Imagine the Washington Post or the Baltimore Sun covering the life of Jesus at this moment. Can you see the headlines? Will Jesus be held accountable for his disruption in the temple? This just in, the chief priests have an informant. Will Jesus go to trial? Eventually, the papers will read, Convicted, eight counts of blasphemy. And then lastly, we'll see on the front page, Jesus is dead. And then the next edition, maybe some interviews with the disciples. And then the next edition, he's out of the news. The chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees have won. Evil has prevailed. This is exactly the kind of coverage that we receive on all of our news stations. Evil is prevailing. The triumph of evil. But here, in teaching number two about control, the son of man will go just as it is written, which is a commentary not just on the evil present here, but evil everywhere. He shows that the media, whether here, or the media being Fox News or whatever, that they are not recording actual history and the actual reality when it looks like evil is prevailing because the Son of Man is laying down His life as a part of His plan of complete and utter and total victory. Evil will not prevail. God is in control. This is reinforced in verse 9. Many people wonder about this verse. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. We can scratch our head about some of that, but it at least teaches this. It's going to look like evil prevails, but there's something called good news that's going to go through the whole world. You can see it in verse 21b. This son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him. But also, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had never been born. There will be repercussions and evil will be dealt with, all betrayal." And then in 25, reinforced once again, assuredly I say to you, I will no longer drink the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Total control. Here's the third teaching, and the most unfolded and deliberate as a part of this section. This is the significance of Jesus' death in Mark 14, 22 through 24. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, take, eat, this is my body. Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Now, I think most of us, if not all, are familiar with this section. It's the last supper, and ever since here, it is the first supper for millions. celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and his reign. Regrettably, throughout the ages, the church has turned the Lord's Supper into a confusing philosophical conundrum. And we want no part of philosophy here. It's not present in Mark's gospel. Let us look at the supper as the teaching it was meant to be as Mark portrays it, unadulterated, And I say, as Mark meant it to be, because Jesus, and Mark has been recording Jesus, is teaching about the lesson of the supper for some time now. In Mark 8, 31, he says, and he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. And then again in Mark 9, 30 and 31, for he taught his disciples and said to them, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men And they will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise the third day. And then again in Mark chapter 10, verse 32 through 34, he takes the 12 aside and teaches them, whispering or speaking to them privately, "'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes. And they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and scourge him and spit on him and kill him. And the third day he will rise again.'" In one sense, the Lord's Supper is simply a reiteration of that same teaching. This is my body, this is my blood are quite equivalent to, I will be killed, but victorious. However, if we notice from Mark 8 through Mark 10, the teaching has been escalating. More information, more detail, more intensity, and the Passover, the scene, the stage that he has set, is the next step in the escalation. His death itself will be the final consummation. To illuminate his teaching, Jesus gives instructions not just during the Passover, but he redefines the Passover in relationship to himself. The Passover was first celebrated by the Jews thousands of years ago. It was a memorial of how Yahweh delivered them from Egypt. And if you remember the story, the Hebrews did not just pack their bags and leave. They had to be ransomed. Remember the 10th plague, Exodus 11, four and five. Then Moses said, thus says the Lord, about midnight, I will go out into the midst of Egypt and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. Interestingly, the firstborn of the Hebrews would also die if they were not ransomed. Very different than the other plagues. They therefore must kill a lamb and smear its blood above their doors. And thus the firstborn lamb became the ransom for the firstborn sons of the Hebrews. Jesus is taking all of those meanings They're all rushing into the moment and the stage being set, and he reinterprets them in relationship to himself. Since it is his body broken and blood spilt, he is saying that he has become the Passover lamb. Jesus, the firstborn and only begotten, has become the ransom for God's new Israel to be exodused, delivered. Mark already said this in 1045. For even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The Apostle Peter, intimately tied with the Gospel of Mark because it is a recording of his sermons and life and experiences, he reflects on this experience here in this supper, and on the death of Christ as a ransom, and he writes this, You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. The stage was set. The teaching came in a betrayal of control. and particularly of the significance of who Jesus is and his work. Can you see that? Everything rushing into that moment. Here's the question for you as we come to a close. Do the disciples understand at this point? And the answer is no. They confess that he was the Messiah, that he was a king, but they didn't know what kind of king he really was. No one really did. Some said Elijah. Some said one of the prophets. They said the Christ, but they still don't get it. They don't really get the betrayal. They don't understand the control, and they're not getting the significance. If you scan down the biblical page, the answer is an overwhelming no, because the next teaching is that when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will scattered. In two paragraphs, Jesus will be deserted by everyone, which we'll learn about tomorrow. For now, if you remember from the beginning, and as we go to the supper, and we don't jump ahead to Good Friday, the campfire is low, it's barely burning, and the wolves are getting closer. Please pray with me. Lord Jesus Christ, the solemnity of this moment and of your teaching, the weight that you must have felt of the cup that you were getting ready to drink and looking out at clueless faces, no sympathy, no real communion yet. Lord Jesus Christ, you have, in your ascension, in the giving of your spirit, giving us so much, and we pray that you would bring us now to your table and that we would sup with you, that through your spirit, by faith, we would see your body broken and that you would offer your corpse to us. We pray that we would see the blood of the covenant, the sprinkling of hyssop and the consecration of your people, confirmed by an oath of the newness and the sure arrival of your kingdom. But we must have your spirit to see these things by faith that we would not just glory intangibles, chewing on bread and drinking wine. We pray that we would see you in these things, that these would become significant of things that are greater. by your Spirit, of course. We ask these things in your holy name. Amen.