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Turn with me in your scriptures
to the gospel according to Mark. Mark's gospel, we are in chapter
14, and we have before us this morning, verses 43 through 52. If you are able, I invite you
to stand in honor of God's word as I read and you're hearing
these verses. Mark 14. Verses 43 through 52. And immediately, while he was
still speaking, Judas, one of the 12, with a great multitude
with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes
and the elders. Now his betrayer had given them
a signal, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him and
lead him away safely. As soon as he had come, Immediately
he went up to him and said to him, Rabbi, Rabbi, and kissed
him. Then they laid their hands on
him and took him. And one of those who stood by
drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and
cut off his ear. Then Jesus answered and said
to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords
and clubs to take me? I was daily with you in the temple,
teaching, and you did not seize me, but the scriptures must be
fulfilled. Then they all forsook him and
fled. Now a certain young man followed
him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body, and the
young man laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled
from them naked. Thus ends the reading of God's
holy word. Let us pray for his blessing upon it, preached. Heavenly Father, as we see this
display of our Savior, as we feed upon this his word, we pray
that you'd bless the preaching of it, nourish and strengthen
our hearts, cause us in beholding our Savior more clearly to love
him more dearly. We ask these things in his name.
Amen. You may be seated. In the immediately preceding
passage, we saw our Lord's agony as He
struggled with the horror of the cursedness and loathsomeness
of sin that He would take upon Him that would crush Him on our
behalf. He was not in any way diminished
in His love for us or His resolution to save us, He cried out to the
Father seeking any other way to accomplish his mission of
salvation, any other method by which to accomplish redemption. As he stared in the face of the
cursedness, the horror of sin that would crush him for us,
this horror he asked that the Heavenly Father remove, if there
were any other way, to work the work of redemption, to complete
His mission. In this agony, our Savior was
already taking upon Himself the pain of our sorrows and griefs. We're told He bore such agony
on our behalf. He tasted all the miseries of
sinfulness, of cursedness, including our own sorrows our own despair
only far more intensely than any of us have ever experienced
grief, sorrow, horror. The sinless substitute there
in the Garden of Gethsemane was suffering turmoil of soul for
us. There in the garden, his closest
companions failed to support him in prayer. He asked them
to wait, to watch, to pray, as his soul was crushed with sorrow
and agony of every sort. There, in the garden, they rather
slept. Those closest to him failed him
in their calling to pray. But our Savior, reminding them,
reproving them, encouraging them, persevered in prayer The result
of that perseverance was that he was settled in his father's
will. He moved forward without hesitation from agony to affirmation
to certainty. Now, without hesitation, he pursued
the cursedness of death that was set before him to work salvation
for us. Here in the passage before us,
Mark, who has been drawing our attention ever more sharply to
the faithfulness of our Savior in the face of ever-increasing
unfaithfulness all around him, brings that to a terrible climax. Abandonment and betrayal are
drawn into sharp focus here. But in the darkness of all this,
the light of our Savior continues to shine ever more brightly.
We'll consider this revelation of the brightness of our Savior
in the face of the darkness all around him in five points as
we move through this sacred record. We'll consider arrival, arrest,
assault, admonishment, and abandonment. Arrival, arrest, assault, admonishment,
and abandonment. First, that arrival, verse 43,
and immediately while he was still speaking, Judas, one of
the 12, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. You'll remember
what he was speaking in the immediately preceding portion, having prayed
to the Father, having fixed his heart upon the will of the Heavenly
Father, he was now resolute. And his disciples who had repeatedly
failed him, he woke them, he rallied them, and said to them,
rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. We see that he moved from that
agony to certainty. He was fearless and unsurprised. He was expecting them. He knew
the will of his father. He knew what was coming. This
was exactly why he was so horrified, but now, resting in the purpose
of God, as he had fixed his soul upon the only way that that salvation
could be wrought, he was without fear. He'd been strengthened
in prayer to his father. And in this, he set an example
for us to settle our agonies and anxieties at the throne of
grace. As our savior diligently, repeatedly
went before that throne of his heavenly father, there he was
strengthened for his calling in the face of something far
beyond what we can imagine. He was strengthened for that calling
and now was without any trace of that agony he had been experiencing.
So, our calling is to walk in the footsteps of our Savior.
He was calm and resolute, with clarity of the Father's will,
this was sufficient. Is that what we do? He was doing
a saving work, but he set a perfect example for us as we follow him,
our Savior. We are daily beset with trials,
with anxieties, with agonies of heart, with the failures of
loved ones when we most desperately need them, with the lack of a
clear voice, as it were, from heaven. You remember so many
times our Savior would hear the voice of the Heavenly Father
affirming and assuring. In this occasion, we're not told
of a voice that comes from heaven yet. Our Savior persevered in
prayer and was met with what He needed. Is it enough for us to know that
God has revealed by His promises that Certainty of His provision. Is it enough for us that we know
His word and can walk in obedience to it as He strengthens us? Does
that vanish from us? The fear that shakes us, that
sidelines us, that prevents us from moving forward. How often
we shrink back as our minds are clouded with the slightest difficulties.
Not so, our Savior. and He calls us to look to Him
for strength to walk as He did. We're reminded of what our Savior
Christ said to His disciples as we saw Him here in the garden
settle Himself upon the will of His Father. He said to His
disciples in John 4, verse 34, my food is to do the will of Him who
sent me and to finish His work. This was enough for Him. Is it
enough for us to know and do His will, no matter how high
the cost, no matter how deeply it shakes us? We need His grace. We need what He said to His disciples. We need to watch and pray. This
power is not in us naturally. It's a supernatural work. Our
Savior says, follow me. I will provide what you need.
I've walked that path, and I will do it. Now as Judas approaches
with armed forces, Jesus is calm. He has gathered the disciples,
and he's gone out to meet them. Mark wants us to feel the weight
of what is happening, the darkness of it. so much the more to witness
to the brightness of our Savior's faithfulness. Judas is described
as one of the 12, reminding us of the brutal betrayal by one
of Christ's closest companions. He had many disciples. Here,
the 12, as they're called, only 11 with him at the time, and
the three of the most dear disciples, failing him. Now one of the 12,
one of those closest companions, comes in the dark of night with
armed soldiers. The brutality of the betrayal
is drawn into sharp focus as we move forward. See, Judas knew
the place. He didn't go there with them
on this occasion. He left separately before they went to the garden,
but he knew well the pattern. You see, he had walked with those
closest to Jesus. He was one of the 12, one of
those that was dear, one of those that was most trusted. And he takes all of that and
turns it in every way as an instrument of betraying the Savior. He uses these good gifts for
treachery, Have we been treated this way? How have we responded? We know in the gospel testimony,
the Savior has warned, he's spoken the truth with regard to the
horrifying future of the one who betrays him, but he himself
never complains against him in a harsh way. He continues to
treat him in a kind manner. Again, Mark draws this into focus
so that we will see the beauty of our Savior's grace towards
us. Because we don't measure any
higher than those disciples that were not treacherous like Judas. They were rather weak and failing
in every other way they could. Are we not like they? And yet our Savior marches forward
lovingly to forgive them for their treachery. While we know
the doom of Judas, this is still a clarifying reminder of the
purpose of our Savior to work a salvation. In the face of that
betrayal, that betrayal becomes a means by which he saves weak
and failing servants, the 11, us, And we see he comes with the
servants listed out there in those three groups. Remember,
those are the ruling body, the Sanhedrin. Judas was their ticket to what
they wanted to accomplish. He empowers the hypocritical
enemies of Jesus to accomplish their ends. They couldn't figure
out a way. Jerusalem was surrounded and filled up with tens of thousands,
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. And remember, this was a time
of increased national fervor for the Jews. The Sanhedrin knew
that. They wanted desperately to get
rid of Jesus, but they knew they couldn't do this in an open way
because he was seen as a prophet, even a popular prophet at that
time. Judas gave them the way. He knew where they would be in
the dark of night on that evening. So the Sanhedrin give him a bunch
of armed soldiers so that they can come in the cover of darkness,
avoiding the stirring up of crowds. Armed well, they're ready to
make a swift capture through overwhelming strength. All this
orchestrated by Judas. One who had been at the very
table of fellowship with Jesus. And so we see the arrival of
that crowd of soldiers led by Judas. Now we see the arrest. Verses 44 through 46. Now his
betrayer had given them a signal saying, whomever I kiss, he is
the one. Seize him and lead him away safely. As soon as he had come, immediately,
he went up to him and said to him, Rabbi, Rabbi, and kissed
him. Then they laid their hands on
him and took him. Now, the details of Judah's plan, his plot, are
described. He would betray Jesus with a
kiss. The kiss was a common greeting
of hospitality and friendship in the ancient Near East. It's
not the way we give a warm and cordial greeting We're more familiar
with something like a hug or a hug and a handshake, but the
custom in the Near East would be a kiss on the cheek or on
the hand, and it was supposed to signal a kind of familiar
affection. Certainly it would be used in
families, but those who are highly regarded and treated as close
as family would also be given this kind of greeting. How painfully treacherous that
this token of familiarity, of warmth, of kindness, of closeness,
was the signal to be used so hatefully. Mark wants us to feel
the sting of this terrible betrayal. He wants you to envision the
closeness, the trust, the warmth, and the effusive display of it
on the part of the one treated as a friend and brother by Jesus. Outwardly, every token of that
manifests in our Savior. and all of it used treacherously,
hatefully by the one who had been treated with such affectionate
friendliness. Note, only two people are named
in this account by Mark. Judas was named in verse 43,
and Jesus is named, of course, but now Judas' name is even dropped. He's simply called the betrayer,
the one betraying him. Judas' instructions are for the
armed men to watch for this signal and then seize Jesus and take
him away safely. The word there doesn't mean to
take good care. The word means securely, under
guard, without any danger. to those making the seizure,
making the capture. He's not concerned for Christ's
safety. Rather, Judas is planning for
a quick and secure capture without trouble. Overwhelming force,
quick action, secure the prisoner. And as a betrayer puts the plan
into action, he adds insult to injury, greeting Jesus with the
title of honor used by the disciples. for Jesus. Rabbi, Rabbi, every
token of honor, the calling of the Lord as master, as teacher,
which Judas has rejected and is destroying, all this hypocrisy
is so horrifying, so breathtaking. Again, Mark wants this shock
of sin to horrify us. Let us banish every shred of
hypocrisy. Let our expressions of affection
and honor to Christ be an ever deepening death to sin. Let the
vision of this as it were, the record of it, horrify us. and
so cause us to hate anything like it in us? Is it not the
height of disloyalty in us to tolerate and trifle with sin?
For we take on our lips the love of Christ. We claim him as our
beloved rabbi, as our master, our Lord, our teacher. And then
if we walk in sin, are we not hypocrites? Do we not taste of
the things that horrify us here in the display of Judas? If we are not indeed hypocrites
at heart, the horror of this should drive us away from the
sins that smack of anything like this hypocrisy. From the arrest,
we move to the assault. Verse 47, and one of those who
stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest
and cut off his ear. Again, Mark leaves this assailant
unnamed. He has written his account under
the inspiration of the Spirit to draw our attention to the
two in clearest focus, Jesus and Judas. But we know from John's
Gospel that this lashing out was by Peter. And we even have
the name of the high priest's servant, Malchus. We find this
in John 18, verse 10. We also know from Luke's gospel
account of this incident that Christ put an end to the violence
and healed Malchus here. That's Luke 22, verse 51. The assault should be recognizably
opposite of everything Christ has taught about his kingdom
methods. We can imagine that the shock
and desperation of the disciples That's on display here. Mark
is noting their actions. But remember, on full display
is their failure. This action was another evidence
of their lack of watchfulness and prayerfulness. They weren't
prepared for what was happening, even though Christ had given
every opportunity for preparation. This shocked them. They acted
in desperation. And we know who this actor was
in the assault. And it was Peter. Having a sword,
he pulls out and lashes out in the desperate situation, cutting
off the ear of the high priest's servant. This is one more display
of their faltering and failing. They should have been prepared.
Instead, they were blindsided and acted, not in keeping with
Christ's kingdom, as they'd been trained. No, here we see, All
that training's still not taking hold in the heart. They acted
in a worldly fashion. Fight fire with fire. If you
have this kind of worldly opposition, meet it with worldly opposition.
Mark intends us to see it, even as he gives a very succinct account
of it, and he intends for us to be warned, not to fail as
the disciples failed, And as we know, Peter failed here. Let
us be diligent to keep the charge of our Lord even where the disciples
failed. Let us watch and pray. Let us
not take matters into our own hands when we have our Savior's
clear instruction. He set before them his kingdom
methods. And there was nothing in those
kingdom methods of this kind of worldly force for the building
of his kingdom or the defending of it by his ministers. by his church. So let us not
use worldly means in defense of our Savior's purposes. Worldly
methods are never warranted in Christ's kingdom. We're reminded
again from John's account in chapter 18 of John's gospel,
verse 36. Jesus specifically says, my kingdom
is not of this world. That's what he's talking about.
I don't use worldly methods. I use my kingdom methods. And having noted the assault,
Mark then records our Savior's admonishment of those who had
come out against him, verses 48 and 49. Then Jesus answered
and said to them, have you come out as against a robber with
swords and clubs to take me? I was daily with you in the temple
teaching and you did not seize me, but the scriptures must be
fulfilled. They were hiding their hypocrisy
in the darkness of night, but Christ exposes it. He asks them
if they're trying to take him as though he were a robber. The
term had come to be used of those who led rebellions, plots to
overthrow the civil authorities and so on. Jesus says, are you
treating me like that? I was obviously not that. I was
teaching daily in the temple. You heard, I hid nothing. You
saw my means, you saw my methods, you saw my purpose. You heard
the instruction. Why are you doing what you're
doing like this? It's because you're hypocrites.
He exposes it. He was open, transparent, and
truthful. They were covert. duplicitous
hypocrites. And they may have thought and
been assured, we're accomplishing our ends. We're hiding it, we're
keeping the mob from forming, out of control, and we'll remove
this man. See, we've won the victory. We're
able to seize him. Jesus gives them clarity again,
exposing their hypocrisy. He also assures them they're
not the ones ultimately accomplishing the ultimate ends. The scriptures
must be fulfilled, Christ says. God is sovereign. His word is
sovereign. His prophecy is sovereign. His mission, is overruling. His mission is working even through
their wickedness. What scripture? Well, many scriptures
with regard to Messiah. Indeed, everything is coming
to its climax and being fulfilled in what is moving forward at
this time. But remember particularly Zechariah
13, verse 7, where the prophecy was declared that the shepherd
would be dealt a blow and the sheep would be scattered. Remember
too, Isaiah 53, many parts of it coming to fullness here. He was numbered among the transgressors. And so Christ gives admonishment
here. Though they surely did not have
ears to hear, he removed the disguise. In the darkness, he
brought light. And we go from that admonishment
to his abandonment. Verse 50, then they all forsook
him and fled. Now we see the climax of failure
amongst the disciples. Now we remember those very confident
words declared by all the disciples, but especially Peter. Oh, how
hollow they ring at this time. Remember that Peter said, if
everyone were to flee, if everyone were to fail you, I would not
fail you. Verse 29 records Peter's words
and then follows with them all saying these things. How hollow
those words ring now. How stark the contrast in the
beautiful obedience of our Savior and the wretched failure of all
those around him. And Mark closes with an unusual
two verses, 51 and 52. Now a certain young man followed
him. having a linen cloth thrown around
his naked body, and the young men laid hold of him, and he
left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. Most commentators agree that
this is likely Mark being described by himself without naming himself, and he in this way owns that
even he abandoned the Savior. And he sees his own experience,
if indeed it is Mark, highlighting the shamefulness of this abandonment. He flees, he escapes. As they try to seize him, they
grab the garment that's wrapped around him and he flees naked.
Commentators point out that nakedness is a symbol of shame. He bears that shame. It's, as
it were, a capstone on the shamefulness that has come to a climax in
this passage. As we consider this horrifying
display of betrayal, let us see every sin. We're invited by Mark,
through the Holy Spirit, to see every sin as that kind of shameful
betrayal of our perfect and powerful Savior. It should make us mourn as we
consider the faithfulness of the one who died to forgive us
of the very wretchedness of that shameful betrayal that is embedded
in every sin that we commit. So let us flee to Christ in all
the beautiful display of His faithfulness as it alone can
forgive our failure, our sinful betrayal. And in every way, as the exclamation
point is put on the failure of the disciples, let us remember
these are indeed our failures. Do we watch and pray they didn't?
And this was the result. We don't, and we taste of such
sins as they displayed. And as that should move us to
an ever more earnest repentance and longing for faithfulness,
being hidden in Christ alone as the only faithful one who
will strengthen us day by day for his glory to walk faithfully
more and more. We should be moved to a tenderness
of heart. How quick we are to stand back
from an account like this and Shake our head. And do we not
display the spirit of Peter in that? Boy, those fellas, how
miserable their failures. How stupid, why weren't they
listening? And yet every one of these accusations
can be laid at our own feet, can be pressed upon our own heart. J.C. Ryle reminds us, let us
judge with a tender heart the failures of our brethren. For
we know the taste of such failures, and we know our only recourse
for mercy, let us recognize in these disciples the very failings
embedded in us. So let us be gentle in our judgments. And then, finally, at the heart
of this passage briefly touched, let us consider that assault
and ask ourselves, yes, we see the desperate situation and the
action taken, but it's exactly contrary to the methods and means
of Jesus. What does it take for us to abandon
kingdom methods? Again, we are tempted to stand
back and wag a finger, cluck the tongue, and say, well, surely
we don't do this, but we do. when faced with any hurdle, how
quickly we abandon biblical principles and take up earthly, worldly
principles. We're to be warned here, even
as Mark has only briefly touched upon it, we should examine ourselves. Let us follow our Savior's example. When He was troubled beyond anything
that we could ever face, He, was made certain of the Father's
will and walked faithfully in it without variance. As disciples
display their failure in doing the opposite of that, we should
judge ourselves and ask, do we follow the Savior's example or
do we swiftly abandon kingdom methods when they seem ineffective? Yes, the answers we too often
do. The church is full of examples of such things in our day and
in the centuries gone by. Let us hear and heed and be warned
against these multitude of failures. And most of all, let us not be,
as the disciples were, entrusting in themselves, overconfident.
Mark intends for us to see there's no hope in that. All the hope
is in the one who shines brightly in the darkness, our obedient
and beautiful Savior. There we have our only hope of
forgiveness. There we have the only example that we can follow
as he strengthens us for his glory. Let us seek his mercies. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
we are not up to the things set before us. We acknowledge we
are too much in every way like the disciples. faltering and failing at every
step, though guided by word and deed, by the love of the Savior. Like the disciples, our only
hope is that our Savior, unfaltering, unfailing, was crushed to cover even those
sins and even our sins. How great the load. How great
a Savior. Father, as the examples are set
before us by the Spirit through Mark, work in us a tender heart. Let us see with horror the betrayal
and consider our every sin to smack of such betrayal. Father, may we flee to Christ.
May we hate sin all the more. And may that move us to a tenderness
of judgment. and a longing for the glory of
Christ to be realized in every heart that has named the name
of the Savior. Banish from us hypocrisy. May
we not be as those who on the last day say, Lord, Lord, and
are none of His. No, may our appeal to our Lord
be fueled by the Spirit. and cause us to hate sin all
the more. Thank you for this beautiful display of the brightness
of our glorious Redeemer against the darkness of sin that reminds
us of our own desperate need. Give us hope then in this, the
strength, the fortitude, the faithfulness of the one who wrought
so great a salvation for us. We ask these things in his name. Amen.
The Arrest of the Saviour
Series The Gospel According to Mark
Mark has been drawing our attention ever more sharply to the faithfulness of our Saviour in the face of ever increasing unfaithfulness all around Him. Here, the abandonment and betrayal reach a terrible climax. In the darkness of all this, the light of the Saviour continues to shine more brightly.
| Sermon ID | 3525418462109 |
| Duration | 37:46 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | Mark 14:43-52 |
| Language | English |
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