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Turn with me in your scriptures
to the gospel according to Mark. We are in Mark chapter 14 at verse 53. We have before us
this morning, verses 53 through 65. If you are able, I invite
you to stand in honor of God's word, and I'll read this portion
in your hearing. Mark 14 at verse 53. This is God's very word, let
us hear with reverence and heed. Mark 14 at verse 53, and they
led Jesus away to the high priest, and with him were assembled all
the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. But Peter followed
him at a distance. right into the courtyard of the
high priest, and sat with the servants and warmed himself at
the fire. Now the chief priests and all
the council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death,
but found none. For many bore false witness against
him, but their testimonies did not agree. Then some rose up
and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him say,
I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three
days I will build another made without hands. But not even then
did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up
in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do you answer nothing?
What is it these men testify against you? But he kept silent
and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked
him, saying to him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man
sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the
clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his
clothes and said, what further need do we have of witnesses?
You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? And they all
condemned him to be deserving of death. Then some began to
spit on him and to blindfold him and to beat him and to say
to him, prophesy. And the officers struck him with
the palms of their hands. Thus ends the reading of God's
holy word. Let us ask his blessing on the preaching of it. Most
holy father, we pray that this record of our savior's affliction
should be worked into our hearts that we may have an increased
understanding and love and devotion to our savior. And as you increase
our understanding, increase our obedience, in love for him. We ask that the light that you
shine should cast out all darkness in us. Bless the word preached
to that end. We ask it in the name of our
savior. Amen. You may be seated. Mark has brought us in this chapter from the agony of Gethsemane,
where Christ's suffering was already beginning as the loathsomeness
of judgment for sin was set before him. There, Christ was strengthened
and resolved in the firm grasp of the Father's will. You remember, if you recall his
agony in Gethsemane, that he was not fearful of his mission. He was dreading and sorrowful
at the prospect of sin, of guilt, of cursedness. He, who was the
altogether blessed one, perfect and righteous, full of that richness that was his in the experience
of bliss as God the Son made flesh. This in his human nature
would be shattered. He would know an agony in cursedness
for sin for those who trust in him that was beyond measure and
comprehension. This dreadful agony caused him such dread that he pleaded with
the Father that if there could be any other way that he should
make it so. And we were reminded in examining
that that our Savior not only wrought a salvation taking upon
Himself our suffering and agony, which we deserve by reason of
sinfulness, all our sorrows, all our suffering. These things
would not be upon us were it not for sin. So our Savior took
a full cup of sorrow and suffering in every measure that He might
remove that cursedness from us. He not only did that as a saving
work to remove the curse from us, but He also did that as a
Savior to transform our suffering and sorrow so that it is no longer
a cursedness to us. It's transformed unto His glory
that we may follow Him as He sets a perfect example for us
as well. He sets the course of obedience
for us in that time of agony in Gethsemane. We, like our Savior
did, must go to the Father in prayer in times of sorrow and
agony. And as our Savior, we must be strengthened in finding
the Father's will. Being in the grip of that will,
may we then have what our Savior had, strength and courage. Christ also pressed his disciples
at that time to watch and pray. You remember he had drawn the
three closest with him, and urged them to that service, to pray
while he was praying, to be diligent in that time when he was sorrowing. We know how they failed. They
should have been praying. And our Savior used that time
to instruct them. This was a time when they should
be watching and praying, not only present with their beloved
Messiah, but also recognizing as he had warned them over and
again that they needed strength. They should be watching and praying
now so that they not enter into sin in the coming trials. Then
Mark took us from the agony of Gethsemane where Christ was finally
strengthened in the will of the Father unto the description of his arrest. and that by the hand of a breathtaking
treachery by Judas. What a stark contrast was set
before us there between the calm faithfulness of Jesus and that
wicked duplicity, that hypocrisy and treachery of Judas. But we
also saw the complete failure of the disciples continuing.
They reacted in completely inappropriate ways. Oh, that they had watched
and prayed. When the heat of the moment was
upon them, the traitor was there, and that with an abundance of
armed men. The disciples reacted with physical
violence on the part of one, cutting off the ear of the high
priest's servant. And as the moments raced by,
they all fled, even as Jesus had predicted. They all abandoned
him. These who had assured him of
their courage, strength, and diligence to stand with him, that very night, all abandoned
him. Now, in this portion, Mark brings
us from that arrest where they bind Jesus and they take him
to the high priest's palace. And we have set before us Jesus
judged by the Jewish authorities. We'll consider three key points
from this passage, a failed disciple, a false trial, and a fierce judgment. First, a failed disciple. verses 53 and 54, and they led
Jesus away to the high priest. And with him were assembled all
the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. But Peter followed
him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.
And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. Mark sets the scene for us here.
Remember that group of three describes the makeup of the Sanhedrin,
that high council. It was made up of the chief priests,
the scribes, and the elders. And so this is a gathering of
the Sanhedrin, the high council. And yet they're not gathering
at their normal place of judgment at the temple complex. No, they're
at the high priest's palace. This is the middle of the night.
Understand what this means. They had prepared for this. Remember,
they were really concerned about Jesus. He was far too influential
and obviously undermining their authority and the people liked
it. So they were earnest and urgent to get rid of him. But
because the people liked it, and because this was the time
of the Passover, and there were so many pilgrims in the area,
they couldn't just take him by force and kill him, though they
wanted to. They needed a way to do it discreetly. And in God's ordering of events,
the traitor, Judas, gave them what they needed. He would let
them know where he would be in the middle of the night. They
frequented the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas knew this gave them all
that they needed. They put together their plan.
They gathered the Sanhedrin for a preliminary trial, for a hearing
by which they could find a way to trump up charges and put Jesus
to death. And they could do it in the dead
of night when nobody would be around to see it. that could
raise a ruckus. So they had been preparing for
this, and they're doing so with a sense of urgency. They want
that cover of darkness to hide their actions, certainly because
their actions are wicked, but also because, as we mentioned,
the crowds had taken some delight in Jesus. They didn't want to
stir them up. Now, there was also the urgency of the fact
that the Sabbath was coming. So they had a deadline, because
they couldn't do any of this on a Sabbath day. So again, Mark,
as he has been throughout this chapter, is highlighting a contrast. We'll continue to see Christ
patiently walking with calm resolve in obedience to the Father's
will. Christ is not shaking. He is not trembling with fear.
They're outraged. They're overwhelming in numbers. They are clearly out to get him. And yet in love for his people,
Jesus walks in devotion to his mission of redemption. And with
that confidence displayed in Christ, we see a contrast in
the high priest and the Sanhedrin as they make a mockery of truth,
justice, and God's word throughout these proceedings. Jesus walking
faithfully, they diligently pursuing unfaithfulness. That peacefulness in Christ is
contrasted with their urgency of action. Now, there are times
when urgent action is warranted. when we ought not to delay, when
we ought to act quickly. But when the cause is sinful,
urgency simply becomes an accelerant to ever-increasing sin, and we
see that happen in the portion of Scripture before us here.
And it's in this setting, as they take Jesus to the high priest's
palace, that we find Peter. He's been following at a distance,
right into the courtyard, warming himself at the fire of the enemy. Consider what must have happened
here. He fled with all the other disciples, but then doubled back
at a distance. At first, this seems like a moment
of bravery on his part, but J.C. Ryle points out, Peter is just
setting himself up for further failure. See, when he fled with
the others, it was fulfilling exactly what Jesus had prophesied,
that they would all abandon him. This should have grabbed Peter's
heart and he should have repented. That's not what we see here.
What we see here is Peter continuing in some measure of pride and
self-confidence. Yes, he has a tinge of conscience. He's beginning to feel the cowardly
abandonment and it smarts, but you don't see here a full heart
repentance. You see him following at a distance,
sneaking into the courtyard, sitting at the enemy's fire to
warm himself. He's not operating out of a reproved
and repentant spirit. He's continuing in that grip
of his pride and self-reliance, and we'll see that fully in the
passages in coming weeks. He reminds us in this failed
response of the kind of response of the Israelites after they
refused to enter the promised land. You remember what they
did? It's a lot like what Peter did here. Back in Numbers 14,
the Israelites have made their way all the way to the edge of
the promised land. They don't like the report, and so they
refuse to enter, even though God had promised and commanded. And so judgment comes. And once
they realize what has happened, that they have judgment, then
they decide, oh, no, we'll do it now. God said, no, it's too
late. There's a judgment now. Now you
must walk in this way. They said, no, no, no, we'll
do it. We'll do the thing we were supposed to do. And so they
try to enter and they're defeated. That's exactly what happens to
Peter here. Peter feels the reproof as he witnesses himself behaving
exactly as Christ had said, but is he repentant? Does he say,
okay, now I realize I should have watched him prayed. I need
to repent. That's not what we see him doing.
We see him acting like the Israelites did in Numbers 14. I'm gonna
try again. Jesus has already said where things are. And we'll
see his failure increase. But we should be reminded and
warned. We should ask ourselves, are
we this kind of disciple? Are we following Christ at a
distance to avoid being too closely associated with him? You see,
what seemed like bravery is still cowardliness in Peter. Is our
pride holding us back so that we appear to be more aligned
with the enemies of Christ than with our Lord? Such it was for Peter. Our calling is to follow our
Savior and bear shame in His name. The writer of Hebrews,
chapter 13, verse 13, speaks of that. Is that how we walk
or are we more like Peter? No, I am his disciple. I want
to be sort of associated with him, but not so much that I end
up getting in trouble for it. That's where Peter is right now.
That's not bravery. That's continued failure. And then we consider the second
point, a false trial. We've seen a failed disciple.
We have lessons to learn from Peter's failure there. Consider
the false trial set before us. Look at verses 55 and 56. Now
the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against
Jesus to put him to death, but found none. For many bore false
witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree. Now
Mark is setting before us what a scam this trial is. There's not even a shadow of
truth, justice, or good order in these proceedings. The verdict
is already determined. And now they're just looking
for witnesses to help them get there. Notice how much diligent
preparation has gone into this scam trial. The Sanhedrin had
to have been gathered at this late hour to do this wicked work. And they had to have willing
false witnesses lined up. They're all waiting in the wings. These first witnesses are simply
making things up and their testimony is inconsistent. These members
of the council, this anhedron, are trying to keep up appearances.
They think they have a righteous cause, and in their self-righteousness,
they're looking for ways to achieve what they're up to. But all the
ways that they're doing it are ungodly. And so they need witnesses who
can corroborate this false testimony. And because they're making things
up, they can't get corroboration. So those won't do. Next, they
try some others who take Christ's words and twist them. Verses
57 through 59, then some rose up and bore false witness against
him, saying, we heard him say, I will destroy this temple made
with hands. And within three days, I will
build another made without hands. But not even then did their testimony
agree. What they were doing was mixing
up and misrepresenting Christ's words. He had not actually said
the things that they testified. They had bits and parts of what
he had said, but they were misrepresenting him. They were twisting his words.
And again, that testimony was inconsistent and it failed to
meet the standard they needed to be able to condemn Jesus. getting impatient, the high priest
now stands up in the middle of the assembly and he begins to
interrogate Jesus. So we have heaped one thing after
another, the malfeasance, the overthrow of justice here amongst
the Sanhedrin. The high priest suddenly involves
himself in the interrogation rather than sitting to judge
the witnesses. verses 60 through the first part
of verse 61. And the high priest stood up
in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, do you answer nothing?
What is it these men testify against you? But he kept silent
and answered nothing. First, the high priest asked
Jesus to answer the conflicting testimony. You've heard these
men. What do you have to say for yourself? He challenges Jesus. Certainly
there is wisdom in Christ's silence here. The high priest is really
asking Jesus to provide them more material for twisting his
words and making false accusations. Anything that he might say at
this point was fodder for them to find another way to condemn
it. So there's a practical wisdom
in not answering at that time, but there's more than this. Jesus
is walking the path appointed for him in Isaiah 53 verse seven. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his
mouth. Such was the prophesied calling
of our Savior, and he walked that path faithfully. And consider this mistreatment,
this injustice, this is how Jesus and his followers are treated
even today. False accusations and twisted words. There are
many examples abundant in the world around us Indeed, this
has always been the case in the early church. The people of God
were accused of cannibalism because they spoke of what the Lord's
Supper means, representing the body and blood of Jesus. And
so they were accused of cannibalism, twisting the words, misrepresenting. They were accused of incest because
they referred to one another as, most importantly, brothers
and sisters, and yet they married. So the pagans round about them
said, ah, you're foul. You do things that are inappropriate.
You're marrying a brother and a sister. Twisting the words,
misrepresenting them. They were accused of being anti-social,
enemies of humanity because they would not participate in the
pagan rituals, the festivals of their day. In our day, we're
accused of promoting death because we oppose the murder of unborn
children. You hate women. You hate healthcare. All sorts
of twisted and horrible misrepresentations. We're accused of child abuse
for teaching Bible truth to our children and opposing indoctrination
and sexual perversion. We're accused of hatred because
we oppose public immorality. We're accused of being enemies
of mankind because we refuse to participate in the latest
degradation of humanity in the rejection of God's law. The Lord was silent in fulfillment
of prophecy in keeping with his calling and in keeping with good
wisdom at this point, but he does not forbid us to answer
in every case. Certainly we should seek wisdom
in how we respond as we desire the honor of our Savior, Peter, in 1 Peter 3, verse 15,
urges us to have an answer when we are challenged with regard
to the hope that is within us. But we also have that guidance
from Proverbs 26, verses four and five, not to answer a fool
according to his folly. There was some of that here in
the wisdom of Jesus, not answering their folly. But we're also charged
in that pair of Proverbs, to answer a fool according to his
folly so that he doesn't seem wise in his own eyes. There is
a time to answer. We should seek wisdom from our
Savior that we can face the twisting of the Scriptures with the right
kind of response in our day, that we will be strong and courageous
walking in the steps of our Savior when we receive unjust treatment. Are there not many in our day
who have received such unjust treatment? And we've seen many
give a good testimony. So may it be for us. When Christ
didn't answer, the high priest finally demands a testimony that
brings forth a response. Jesus finally speaks. The last
part of verse 61, again, the high priest asked him, saying
to him, are you the Christ, the Son, of the blessed. The question
puts the sharpest focus on the clearest truth of our Savior's
mission and authority. It's remarkable that that question
states so sharply exactly who Jesus is. Remember how diligently
that truth was controlled throughout Christ's earthly ministry. Mark
is known for what's called the messianic secret. When demons
were cast out and they called Him the Son of the Most High,
He silenced them. When the disciples witnessed
His power and they marveled and described Him in messianic terms,
when those were healed and declared this high title of Christ in
any way, Christ was always careful to control that message. He told
him, now don't speak that to anyone. But now, that secret is unveiled. The time has come for the answer
to be stated plainly and publicly without hesitation. And it comes
with a forceful declaration from Jesus. Verse 62, Jesus said,
I am. And you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with clouds
of heaven, with the clouds of heaven. Here, Christ in his answer
gives, our third point, a fierce judgment. First, Christ simply
says in response to the high priest's question, are you the
Messiah? Are you the son of the blessed
one? I am, Jesus says. The high priest uses a way of
referring to God without naming him, calling him the blessed.
But in Jesus' answer, we immediately recognize the I am that is the
name of God. The high priest won't speak the
name of God out of a pretended respect, even as he's blaspheming
God by working injustice. We hear Jesus respond, I am. And we know that the blessed
one is Jesus himself, Jehovah God in the flesh. That came forth
like the name of God in Exodus 3, verse 14, as Moses stood before
the burning bush. Who should I say that you are?
And God says, I am that I am. But then Christ declares the
majesty, power, and judgment that will be revealed in him
and that they will experience after his ascension and exaltation. Here Christ combines the truths
of Psalm 110, verse one, being at the right hand of the Almighty,
and Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14, where the Son of Man is before
the Ancient of Days and exalted And as he described in the Olivet
Discourse, coming on clouds of glory in judgment. First, Psalm
110, verse one, Christ mentioned that when he was confronting
the scribes and teaching in the temple in chapter 12, verses
35 through 37. There, he pressed that the Messiah
is not just the son of David, That would make him a descendant
and lesser than David. No, this son of David is also
David's Lord, which pointed to Christ's divinity. And of course,
Christ spoke of Daniel 7 in that Olivet Discourse in chapter 13,
verse 26, when he described the judgment he would bring against
the temple in Jerusalem. Here, he presses that truth of
judgment upon these false judges. They will see that judgment. Now, what has changed here? We
think of all the times that he quieted the truth of the messianic
revelation. See that you tell no one, he
often said earlier in Mark's gospel. Well, before, he controlled
the message because the revelation was not at the right time or
in the right context. You see, they were expecting
in Judea, amongst the Jews, a Messiah who having power would use that
power to overthrow Rome, to cast off their hated pagan overlords,
to ascend to a throne by which he would rule with power and
might and spread that physical, political dominion throughout
all the world. And so as Christ revealed that
he is indeed this altogether powerful one, he was not going
to feed into that misperception of what his messianic mission
would be like. Now though, as he is suffering
the injustice of false judgment at the hands of wicked accusers,
he's ready to reveal the truth of his messianic fullness. How
opposite this seems to what one would expect. Well, it's because
here he's ready to reveal the fullness of the powerful Messiah. It's not revealed now at this
stage as a political overlord. No, no, it's now ready to be
revealed. This altogether powerful one
is revealed as the Messiah of Isaiah 53, the suffering servant,
now surrounded by enemies who are supposed to be looking for
him, ready for him, identifying him. This is the Messiah, the
long-awaited one. These are the very ones condemning
him, crushing him, as it were, because he's not approved by
them, not what they expect, no Messiah at all. When the high
priest asks and Jesus answers, the declaration outrages the
high priest and all the Sanhedrin, and they begin their own fierce
judgment. Verses 63 through 65, then the
high priest tore his clothes and said, what further need do
we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think? And they all condemned him to
be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on him
and to blindfold him and to beat him and to say to him, prophesy. And the officers struck him with
the palms of their hands. Now they believe they have grounds
to judge Jesus guilty of blasphemy, a capital offense, something
by which they can put him to death. And there are multiple
ways that they would have found him guilty at this point. He was assuming to himself divine
prerogatives, to be full of glory before the Almighty at the right
hand of the Most High, exercising judgment. Well, this is a prerogative
of only God. Of course, Jesus is God in the
flesh, but they deny that and so consider him worthy of death
for blasphemy. And he's declaring condemnation
and judgment on the high priest and on the Sanhedrin. This also
would have been considered blasphemy in that time. Remember, the third
commandment is not just using the holy name of God in an inappropriate
way, It's any abuse of those things which are appointed by
God. And so they would have extended
the understanding of blasphemy to condemning that which God
has blessed, has anointed. The high priest would stand as
a representative of God for the people. And Jesus had just said
that he would see judgment coming from God upon him. So they would have considered
this blasphemous as well. They all agreed together that
Jesus deserves death. That penalty for blasphemy would
be, ordinarily, death by stoning. But under the Roman rule, this
anhedron no longer had the authority to put somebody to death. They could not exercise the death
penalty. Thus, they were seeking a way to feel justified in bringing
Jesus to the Roman authorities and demanding that they put him
to death. And to their condemnation of
Jesus, they now add abuse and mockery. The ironies in this
passage are abundant. The righteous judge is being
judged by wicked men. The Messiah Revealed is the Messiah
the Jewish rulers reject. Remember, they wanted a great
liberator, and as they looked at this one now bound before
them, and he claims to be Messiah? What a fool, they thought. And
yet, yes, this is Messiah. They wanted a liberator. And
the one standing before them condemned was the only one who
could liberate them from what they actually had binding them. And they rejected him. Their pretense of righteous judgment
is a horrible overthrow of justice at every step. Accusing Jesus
of blasphemy, they are actually blaspheming the most high God
in the flesh. the living Son of God. Even their
final abuse is ironic. They blindfold Him, spitting
on Him, hitting Him. They demand that He prophesy,
who hit you? Jesus prophesied that this very
thing would happen to Him. In chapter 10, verses 33 and
following, they were fulfilling the great prophet's prophecy. Well, we have much that we should
take away from this and work into our soul by the grace of
the Holy Spirit. Remember the presence of Peter
at the beginning of this passage and how that reminds us that
we are ready to fail in the very same way. as Christ's disciples. Let's not distance ourselves
from Peter and shake our heads at him. We're guilty of these
same things. We're in need of watching and
praying that we enter not into temptation. We need to empty
ourselves of pride, empty ourselves of self-reliance. Repenting,
let us plead for Christ's power for service to him. Do we not
easily remain at a distance from Jesus, as it were, as his disciples? Let us repent of that distancing
ourselves. Let us banish that sin and gladly
own Christ, pleading with him for power to serve him, even
when that brings us shame. We ought gladly to bear the reproach of his name
if he appoints that, yet are we not like Peter, hanging back
so that we won't get that sting of all those false accusations,
the twisted and perverted misrepresentations. We don't want that, it's painful,
but Christ leads us. Even as we see the example of
Peter failing, it should move us to plead for grace, not to
fail in that way. And secondly, consider the motives
and behavior of the high priest in the Sanhedrin. Let us be aware
of how tempting those sins are. Remember their hypocrisy. Because
they thought their cause was just, They committed every sort
of injustice. That's an easy temptation to
fall into. We are so ready to excuse ourselves of sins that
we can overlook because our cause is just. Would we follow the
pattern of the Sanhedrin and the high priest? We do if that's
how we think. We must never think that the
end is so holy that it will justify sinful means. That's to behave
as these wicked men behaved. Let us banish such sins. When Messiah was most clearly
revealed to them, they rejected and condemned him because he
wasn't acceptable in their sight according to their standards. So we have to ask ourselves,
do we receive the Messiah as he's revealed in scripture, or
are we guilty of this sin as well? It's very tempting to adjust
the revelation of Jesus to fit our ideas, our expectations. It happens constantly in our
day. Well, what would Jesus do? And the answer is, whatever's
popular in our day. This is to behave with the same
spirit of the Sanhedrin. We know what Messiah should be
like. He's like what we think he should be like. No, he's like
what Isaiah said he would be like under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 53, the one now bound
before them, suffering for us. Not what they expected. Do we
yield our expectations to what scripture reveals? Or are we
like this anhedron, oh, Let us repent and own Christ as he truly
reveals himself in scripture. Only that Messiah brings genuine
liberty and true salvation. Finally, Christ sets out for
us in his saving suffering, a calling for us to follow him. Just as we mentioned by way of
the introduction. Christ is working salvation,
but he's also saying, now, I've sanctified my steps for you to
follow in them. As I redeem you, now follow me. Suffer where I call you to suffer,
faithfully according to the will of the Father. Peter speaks of
this beautifully in his inspired testimony in 1 Peter 2, verses
20 and following. For what credit is it if, when
you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when
you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable
before God, for to this you were called, because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps.
who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who,
when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously,
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose
stripes you were healed For you were like sheep going astray,
but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your
souls. You see, there are those who
teach a lie about salvation. They say that Jesus in taking
our suffering means that we never suffer now anymore. In being poor, we get to be rich
with the material of this world. and wealth. No, Peter right here
says, as you see Jesus suffering, he sanctifies now suffering no
longer as a curse for you. He took that curse. He sanctifies
it that your soul may be beautified with the loveliness of Christ's
character in you. Not the Messiah we'd expect,
but definitely the Messiah we so desperately need. Peter's
guidance puts again in sharp focus the true Messiah, our Savior. Will we follow him? Will we walk
the path he sets before us in affliction, in suffering, in
sorrow, He has set the path before us, even as He saves us for His
glory. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
this is a hard calling. And while we easily look at Peter
and think, how could he? Oh, if we examine our own hearts,
We see that we need the grace that he was not praying for,
that he was not watchful to pursue. Grant us grace upon grace, that
we'll humble ourselves to the calling of following our Savior,
even as Peter described. And oh, what a glorious Savior.
Not what the world would expect, not what the Sanhedrin expected,
but the one that was prophesied. The one that would indeed accomplish
that which we so desperately need, a true redemption, a true
liberation from sin, an empowerment for service, the provision of
a true communion with the triune God, and how easily we hang back and
distance ourselves from the one that should be our all. So challenge us, we pray. Give
us eyes to see these things and transform us by these truths.
We ask it in the name of our glorious Savior. Amen.
Jesus Judged by the Jewish Authorities
Series The Gospel According to Mark
In His trial before the Sanhedrin, Christ remains faithful, true, resolute, and obedient in His mission to suffer for our salvation. In His suffering He reveals Himself as the prophesied Divine Messiah.
| Sermon ID | 3825555371305 |
| Duration | 47:10 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | Mark 14:53-65 |
| Language | English |
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