Mark chapter 14. Our passage is the story of Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. I found it very interesting as I was reading this that Mark leaves out a lot of details that the other gospel writers include. One of the things when you are reading through the Gospels and you are examining and comparing them, one of the things you have to ask yourself when you see the differences between the Gospels is, is there a theological reason? Is there a theological reason why one writer includes something that another writer leaves out? See, the Gospels are not simply biographies. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not merely recording the events of Jesus' life. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have a theological aim in what they write here. They have an aim to bestow or to pass on truth that will save the soul. They're not just telling a story. They aim to bring to people the content of the faith that will save them. Now, these four writers, they have different audiences, right? And so, because they have different audiences, they have different ways, different styles, different things that they include because they want to communicate. And I think that's why there are differences between them. Mark's gospel As I've told you before, I think Mark's gospel is the preaching ministry of the apostle Peter put down in a written record. And so as such, it was probably written in the early 60s. During this time in Rome, you know, go back to church history, world history, Nero is changing. In the early 60s, Nero is losing his mind. He's going insane. He is thinking that everybody is out to get him. He sees everybody as an enemy at this point, even those that were his closest friend. He thinks they're turning against them. And so the atmosphere in Rome is changing as well. On July 27th of AD 64, Rome burns. Remember that? Rome burns to the ground. Do you remember who was blamed? Yeah, it was the Christians. Nero tried to blame the Christians for burning Rome. And do you know what happened because of that? A persecution broke out against the Christians. How do you minister to a people in that situation? How do you minister to a people who, in the near future, will probably be suffering persecution? How do you minister to people who in a few years could feel the wrath of the civil government coming down upon them? I think you emphasize God's sovereignty. You emphasize God's justice. You emphasize God's perfect plan. You emphasize God's grace towards His people. That's what our passage is about this morning. It's about grace. It's about sovereignty. It's about God's justice. Do you remember what Jesus prayed for last week? Jesus goes off by himself. He goes into the Garden of Gethsemane. He brings Peter a little bit closer to him. He takes a few steps away and he begins to pray. And his prayer is not my will. but your will be done." Jesus is praying for God's ordained plan from before the foundation of the world. He is praying, God, bring that about. And so what we have in our passage is that very thing. God is bringing about His perfect plan for the redemption of sinners. Mark 14, beginning in verse 43. And immediately, while Jesus was still speaking to the twelve, Judas came, who was one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer, Judas, had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard. And so when he came, Judas went up to Jesus at once and said, Rabbi, And he kissed him, and they laid hands on him, and they seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and he struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Now day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled. And they, all the disciples, left him. And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and they teased him. But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. This is an interesting passage that we get to consider this morning. Let's pray for grace. Heavenly Father, we do thank you that your word is forever true. We thank you that you recorded this, not merely for information, but you recorded this so that the truth would sanctify us, so that the truth would change us. Lord, we pray that your spirit would be active in us this morning. We pray, Lord, that your spirit might be convicting us where we need conviction, but soothing us, comforting us where we are troubled. Lord, we ask that this passage might bear much fruit in our lives. Be gracious to us, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. DeGarmo and Key, does that name ring a bell? To some of you, I know it does. DeGarmo and Key, you can say they were pioneers in the music, in the Christian music industry. They gave Amy Grant a platform. When she was just starting out, they were pretty well known. They were beginning to tour. She went and toured with them. And as a result, it was part of that tour that helped shape her and enable her to become the performer that she is. But Degarmo and Key, over their 20-year career, they put out 17 albums. They are most notable, I think, for having the first Christian rock album nominated for a Grammy Award. They are also the first Christian group to have a video played on MTV. Now, that didn't happen Well, the lady that was in charge of MTV at the time did not think that Degarmo & Key was a Christian band. She watched this video and thought they were attacking Christianity. That's why she played it. She later learned the truth. But what did this group do, Degarmo & Key? I think they were the group that kind of brought the, say, maybe the Jesus Street culture out in California. They brought it mainstream. They made it popular in the church. They kind of opened the way for other groups to bring popular music into the church. As I was studying this passage, one of their songs came to my mind. See, there was a time in my life when I listened to all sorts of, all the Christian music that was out there, and I knew all the popular stuff. And one of their songs has stuck with me. Casual Christian Some of you probably know that song. Here's verse one It's more than a wish more than a daydream more than just a passing whim Yes, I've said this all before a thousand times or more. I don't want to waste my life in chains of sin Then you get to the chorus Says I don't want to be I don't want to be a casual Christian. I don't want to live a life I don't want to live a lukewarm life But I want to light up the night with an everlasting light. I don't want to live the casual Christian life. See, what they were recognizing as they were looking over the Christian culture there in the mid to late 80s, they're seeing a lot of fakers. They're seeing a lot of people whose Christian life didn't amount to much. And they're saying, we don't want to be like that. We want to be authentic. We want to be real. As I read this passage, I saw three people in this passage, and I said, I don't want to be like them. Three different people saying the same thing in three different ways. In my responses, I read, Lord, I don't want to be like them. Lord, be merciful to me. Keep me from being who they were in the passage. Now, who are they? What were they doing? Well, I have listed for you in your bulletin Judas, Peter, and then the third one, Mark, with a question mark. It might not actually be Mark, but I'll get into that. What were they doing? All three of them. I think are exerting their will, they are exerting energy to carry out their own ideas of what God should be doing in that time and place. None of them are in submission to God's revealed will. But you remember Jesus' prayer, not my will, but yours be done. Right after Jesus prays that prayer, Jesus says to his disciples, right there in the couple of verse right above, he says to them, it's time. He's been praying that God's will would be done, and now Jesus says it's time that God's will gets carried out. And as Jesus is saying these very words, Judas strolls up. Alright, strolls up might not be the right idea. He bursts onto the scene. He enters into the darkness of the night and all these men that are behind him, these soldiers, these crowds, these thugs that are carrying torches, carrying weapons. What do you think Judas's intentions were in this moment? I think we kind of all know, don't we? The testimony of Scripture helps us understand what Judas was doing there that night. It was greed. It was worldliness. Judas' heart was set on the things of the world, and by betraying Jesus, by handing over Jesus, he could get those things, or he could get some money so that he could get those things. Here's what Matthew 26, 15 says, Judas went to the chief priest and he said, what will you give me if I deliver him over to you? And so they paid him 30 pieces of silver. And from that moment, Judas sought an opportunity to betray him. John chapter 12 tells us that right before Judas went to the authorities to ask him that, He objected to Mary. Remember what she did? She bought this expensive bottle of perfume. It can only be used once. You break it open and then you have to use it. She used it on Jesus. And Judas saw her do that. He said, why didn't you sell that? That bottle of perfume is worth a year's wages. $30,000, $40,000, $50,000. Why didn't you sell that and give it? to the ministry. And John 12, 6 tells us that he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. One of the Jamaican players on my soccer team yesterday asked me, there's a tournament going on now, and they asked me if I was going to be playing with them this morning. And I told him, I don't play soccer on Sundays, it's the Lord's Day. And then I told him, I have to preach. And he looked at me and said, well, good for you. God's going to give you a good paycheck. I told him, well, I don't do it for the money. He couldn't believe it. He had this dumbfounded expression on his face. What do you mean you don't preach for the money? Evidently it had never crossed his mind that true preachers don't do it for the money. In his experience, preaching was a job that would land you the big bucks if you were good at it. So that's what he thought I was about. I think this was Judas's mother who said, King Jesus would be his paycheck. If I follow and serve King Jesus, then when He sets up His kingdom, I'm going to be rewarded. But when it became clear that Jesus would not be Judas' paycheck, what did he do? He sold him out. If you are following Christ, Because of what you are going to get from Jesus or because of what you expect from him When you realize you're not going to get it What's going to happen to your faith There's only one right way to follow Christ The only what right way to follow Christ is to follow Christ because of what he has done because of what He did for you in your place. If your motivation to follow Christ is because of something else that you might get, be it a paycheck, be it an easy life, be it free from some terrible tragedy, well, if that doesn't materialize, what's going to happen? If your intention to follow Jesus is for any other reason than His mercy and grace towards you, you'll forsake Jesus when your desires are not realized. Jesus once told a parable about the four soils. Actually, there's only two kinds of soil, right? There's the good soil and the bad soil. Justin, the bad soil has a variety of different characteristics about it. The bad soil, Jesus described as the hard soil, right, where the seed can't penetrate it. And then there's the rocky soil, where the seed does penetrate it and it starts to grow, but when the heat of the day hits that soil, it begins to bake it and it kills. Then there's the weedy, or the thorny soil. Jesus says this in Mark 4 18 and others are the ones Sown among the thorns and the weeds they are those who hear the word But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things Enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful You know Judas heard the word. Over and over for three years Judas listened to the preaching of Christ. He listened to the gospel being proclaimed. Judas even went out on those short-term mission trips casting out demons, perhaps healing people. Judas did not always intend to do Jesus harm. but his intentions were always evil." Have you ever wondered why so many people, especially over the last two generations, why they've just left the church, given up on the church, stopped going? 1 John 2 19 says, "...they went out from us, but they were not of us." For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they are all not of us. See, Judas's don't stay in the church. At least they don't stay in the true church. They may be a part of the visible church for a little while. But eventually, Judas's leave. Or they kick out the true church. Judas's are along for the ride. They're tagging along so far as Jesus is leading them towards the thing that they want. But the moment Jesus turns them or directs them in some direction other than that which they have their heart set on, they leave. Or at least their heart separates from Christ. And when your heart separates from Christ, it's not long before your behavior and pattern of living separates as well. How do you know that won't happen to you? How do you know that at some point in your life, tragedy won't strike you and you are going to turn away from Christ? How do you know? What's your assurance? That your faith is genuine, that your faith is real, and that you're not a Judas? Think one of the ways you can evaluate your faith is to look at your desires. Look at your wants. Fill in the blank in this sentence. If only I had blank, then my life would be satisfying to me. Fill in that blank. What is it? Drives you what is it that you want above all else? If it's a worldly thing money fame fortune peace ease of living Those are the things when pursued won't be found They won't they won't be found to lead you to Christ Here's what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter 3. He said, indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. There's nothing more valuable to Paul than knowing Christ. Says, for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Paul says, I count it all as loss. Paul says, I don't need it to have a satisfying life. All he needs to be satisfied in life is to have Christ Jesus. Lord, be merciful to me. I don't want to be like Judas. I don't want to be someone who tries to use Jesus to get what he wants. Make me a new creature. Give me a new heart. Give me a heart that will be satisfied only with Christ. I think that's the attitude in prayer that God rewards, that God sustains. So Judas opposes Jesus. for a paycheck. He leads the temple guard, he leads the slaves of the high priest there to the Garden of Eden. Judas gives Jesus that traditional greeting, a kiss on the cheek. And then the guards move in to arrest him. And what happens next? Verse 47. One of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Oh, Peter's intentions at this moment. By the way, we know this is Peter because of what John says. John 18.10 tells us that it was Peter wielding that sword and cutting off his ear. And if you ask, well, why didn't Matthew, Mark, or Luke tell us that it was Peter who cut off the ear? I think there's a very simple explanation for this. And the answer is Peter was still alive. Peter was still alive, but Matthew, Mark, and Luke were writing their Gospels. By the time John writes his Gospel, Peter's been killed. What would have happened if, especially Mark, had included Peter's name in this? Now they would have had a document. Remember what happened to Peter? Peter, too, was arrested. Peter was probably in Rome under house arrest, too, by the time Mark is writing his gospel. So if Mark writes his gospel and says, it's Peter that wielded that sword that tried to kill, that wouldn't go well for Peter, would it? So what's Peter doing, though? What's Peter doing in this as he draws his sword? By the way, The fact that he cut off his ear left me wondering, was Peter a good swordsman or a bad one? Right? I don't know. But what he is attempting to do, what his intentions are, he's trying to defend Jesus, isn't he? His intention here is to defend Jesus. Peter knows that Jesus is being arrested unfairly. Jesus even implies as much in verses 48 and 49. You come out to arrest me at night. Why at night? Because there's no other crowd. The public isn't here. Right? Does God need us to defend Him? Think about that for a moment. Does God need us to defend Him? Many people have wandered into heresy believing that. We don't have to defend God. We don't have to defend His revelation. I think Rob Bell is one of the guys that comes to my mind quickest. He had a problem with the doctrine of hell, and so he sought to defend God, and defend the loving God, which meant he had to throw out the doctrine of hell. God doesn't need us to defend him. In fact, in Matthew 26, 53, Matthew tells us that Jesus, I don't know if he picked the ear off the ground or how he did it, but Jesus healed the guy's ear. And then Jesus rebuked Peter and said to Peter, do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? Jesus did not need Peter to defend him. This is why I have trouble saying that Peter had good intentions here. I can't say Peter had good intentions because what Peter intended to do was something he could never accomplish. What Peter was trying to do was actually something that was against God's plan. Jesus had already told the disciples on three different occasions that he would be handed over. And so if Peter had his way, he would have defended Jesus from being handed over. And then Peter would have interrupted God's plan. I can't see how that's good in any way, shape, or form. So what was Peter and the other ten, what were they supposed to be doing? Here comes this mob to arrest. What should they have been doing? Just stand there and watch Jesus get arrested? There was another occasion. In fact, there's two other occasions when the mob tried to arrest Jesus. One is found there in Luke chapter 4. Jesus goes back to the hometown of Nazareth. He preaches in the synagogue, and they grab him after hearing the gospel. And they tried to carry him outside the town and throw him over the cliff. You know what Jesus does? Evidently he gets outside the town and he says, okay guys, that's enough. And he walks right between and he walks right through the cliff and he leaves. They couldn't touch him. Same thing happens evidently in John chapter 10. Jesus is in the temple and all the high priests, they try to arrest him at that point. And Jesus escapes. He's not having anything to do with that. This wasn't the first time the mob have been out to get Jesus The mob didn't stop him in luke chapter 4 didn't stop him in john chapter 10. So why would peter? Think that the mob was going to somehow hogs plan now Again god doesn't need us to defend him. Jesus did not need peter to defend And Peter, by trying to defend him, he's actually setting himself up against God's plan. You know, it's never good to go against God's revealed will, is it? I think this is why Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, and verses like this, ought to be guiding our thinking processes. Right? Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean to your own understanding. But in all your ways, not most of your ways, not what I feel like, in all your ways, do what? In all your ways, acknowledge Him. Look to Him. And then He will guide your paths. Again, I think this is something that gets Christians in trouble in their walk, in their spiritual life, when they feel like they have to defend God. Are there some hard teachings in Scripture? Yes. Hell is a hard teaching to the rest of the world. They don't like it. Understandably so, because the Bible says that's where they're going. The doctrine of reprobation. It's another example of a hard teaching. What's reprobation? Well, I think you could say reprobation is the twin sister of the doctrine of election. Right? The doctrine of election. God has chosen before the foundation of the world all those He is going to save. Ephesians 1, verses 4 and 5. The doctrine of reprobation is simply the doctrine explaining what's going to happen to the rest of the world, what's going to happen to the non-elect. And that doctrine just simply says God's going to leave them alone. God's going to leave them in their sinfulness. He's going to pass over them, or He's going to pass by them with His saving grace. Is that a hard doctrine? Yes! The world hates that doctrine. But do we need to defend God because He chooses to save some and not others? The answer is no. God is more than capable of defending Himself. In fact, God has given us His Word, hasn't He? His perfect, infallible Word. So that we don't need to defend God, do we? All we have to do is say, here, this is what He says. If you don't like it, well then you don't like what God says. It's not me that you have a problem with, it's God. You don't need to defend God, but what do you need to do? What should Peter have been doing? Well, I'll tell you what Peter should have been doing before this conflict arose. Instead of sleeping, what should he have been doing? He should have been praying. In times of peace, those are the times we need to be making preparation for conflict. In times of peace, when our life is at ease, those are the moments we need to make the most of them. In order to get to know who God is, we need to get to know how God works. Those are the times we need to be studying theology so that when catastrophe or disaster comes upon us, we have a basis of knowledge from which we can act. And then during the times of conflict, right, when we have a knowledge of who God is and what He has done, in those times of conflict, we'll know how to obey. Peter needed to trust what Christ had said. He needed to believe and use God's Word in that moment. Jesus was in control the whole time, wasn't He? In fact, one of the other Gospels even says, when Jesus says, I am, everybody falls down. Jesus was always in control this whole time, even when they're coming to arrest Him. Hebrews 1, verse 3 says, Jesus upholds the universe by the power of His word. That has never not been true. As an infant child, He was upholding. the universe by the power of His Word. As He's being arrested, as He's hanging on the cross, as His body is in the tomb, He's upholding the universe by the power of His Word. You know, I look out over this room, and I see people who are following Christ. You've made a public profession that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. And the idea that you would be standing in opposition to God, you find that reprehensible. None of you would ever want to be found to be standing in opposition to God. Yet, if your intention is not guided by God's revealed will, you could find yourself in such a place. And what's God's revealed will? That's a huge topic, isn't it? There are scripture upon scripture upon scripture that tells us about God's will. So let me just give you four of them. Four. Let me give you four quick scriptures about what God's will is for you. This is a starting place. Number one, 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances because, or for, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, right? No exceptions to that. No exceptions. Number two, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 3 and 4. For this is God's will, or this is the will of God, your sanctification. That you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. Again, no exceptions to that. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31, that's number three. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. God's will is that everything that you engage in, every thought that crosses your mind, every word that you speak is done so to the glory of God. No exceptions. That's God's will. And number four, Ephesians 5, 17. 17 through 21. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that's debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. What is God's will? God's will is for you to be filled with the Spirit. What does Paul mean by being filled with the Spirit? Here it is, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another for Christ. That's what it means to be filled with the Spirit. And that's four verses. That's a good starting place regarding what God's will is. for you. Micah 6.8, He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love, kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. God has revealed everything that we need to know about His will. If we need to know it, God has revealed Everything. But the question is, will we seek out what He has revealed in Scripture? Or will we simply do what we think is right? Will we lean to our understanding? And if you want an example of people in Scripture that did what they thought was right, go to the book of Judges. They did what was right in their own eyes. Peter here did what he thought was right in his own eyes. So what happens next? Peter has chopped off the slave's ear and Jesus has miraculously healed it. And then verse 50 says they've all fled. All the disciples, they take off and run. And then we have these very interesting verses. And I was scratching my head, why are these two verses here? How do these two verses fit into the plan of redemption in any way, shape, or form? Why are they recorded? Now, some people have tried to argue that this is Mark. And I think it fits Mark's MO. He was on a mission trip with Paul, and when the going got tough, what did Mark do? He bailed. He jumped ship. He said, this is too much for me, Paul, and he left. So there seems to be some possibility and even some tradition that this was Mark. that Mark was putting himself in here. And again, like he couldn't name Peter because of persecution and the trial that Peter was in, I think the same thing would apply here if it was Mark. He couldn't use his own name without providing evidence to the Yemeni. But another option that's been put forward is that this was someone who was in charge of keeping the grounds. And since this was late at night, when the arrest takes place, it's argued that this young man, late teens, hears the commotion. He doesn't know what's going on, and so rather than take the time to get properly dressed, he simply throws on a garment and he rushes out into the garden to see what's going on. Now, I don't know which of these two it is, or if it's even another one. I don't know that it really makes much difference who it is either. Because whether it was Mark going to see what Jesus was doing, or whether it was the groundskeeper going to see what was happening, I think the story ends with this young man fleeing. And as he flees, he leaves two things behind. Notice this. The first thing he leaves behind is his garment. The Greek word here indicates this was not your basic Hanes boxers that you might buy at Target. The idea here, this garment, this was an expensive garment. It was fine clothing. It was something that you don't leave behind. Remember back then how many sets of clothing people had? They didn't have whole closets full of clothing. One, two, three sets of clothing. Here this guy is wearing an expensive, perhaps maybe the only thing he even owns, who knows? But he leaves that behind. He left behind something which the owner would be sorry to lose. But the second thing this young man leaves behind is his dignity. Because when they grabbed him, evidently they thought he was somehow connected to Jesus. He might have been, we don't know. But they grab him and they arrest him thinking that he's connected to Jesus. And so he fights and he struggles and he does whatever is necessary to get away. I can almost imagine Jackie Chan playing this part, right? To get out of all his clothes and to get away. But in so doing, how does he leave? He leaves naked. That would have been very shameful. So How do we take into account this story? How do we make sense of it? You know whose words I think best explain what happened here in these two verses? I think Satan's words actually explain this pretty well. In Job chapter 2, God says to Job, Job, have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him on all the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears and turns away from evil. And then Job chapter 2 verse 4 is Satan's response. Satan says, skin for skin, all that a man has he will give for his life. It's one of the truest words spoken, right? By the way, just because somebody says something is true, because they say something that is truthful, doesn't mean they are truthful. In fact, one of the primary tools in the toolbox of those who wish to manipulate and control is the truth. Just enough truth to get you to do what they want you to do. Satan spoke the truth about Job. All that a man has, he will give for his life. I think it was some sort of curiosity that gets this man to the garden. He's going to see what Jesus is up to. Or he's going to see what the commotion is. So he throws on some expensive clothing. But why does he flee? I think his actions reveal his intentions. This is why I believe Mark recorded this for us. He is showing us that in the chaos of the moment, Our training is what comes out. Why do people in the military, when they're going into battle, spend so much time training over and over and over and over again? Why? So that in the chaos of the moment, their training kicks in and they do what they've been trained to do. The church in Rome is about to experience what this man experienced. The church in Rome is about to have the civil government put their hands on them to arrest them and to persecute them. And the world is in chaos. What are they going to do? Paul wrote to the church in Colossae about this great thing. Colossians chapter 3. Verses 1-3, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. What is that? That's a description of the training of our minds that we are to engage in. We're to be training our minds, thinking God's thoughts after Him. Then we have this verse. You have died. Life is hidden with God. If we belong to Christ, where is our life? It's secure. It's with Him. To those who are trusting in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20 says this. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body. How do we do that? We prepare. We prepare in prayer and we train by setting our minds on things that are above. Now, we don't have enough information about this event or about this young man to say more about what he should have done or should not have done. As I was reading this, though, I said, I don't want to be like him. If there ever came a time in my life where the civil authorities arrested me for following Jesus, I don't want to be like this man. I don't want to be drawn to Jesus because He's some sort of curiosity. And I don't want to be fleeing from Jesus because He is too costly to follow. This young man was given an opportunity here that the other 11 disciples passed on, right? The other 11 disciples had the opportunity to stand with Jesus, to support him, say, Jesus, we're going to follow you. They failed. This young man had that same opportunity. He too failed. So we have three people per passage. I don't want to be like Judas. I don't want to be like Peter here in this passage. I don't want to be like this young man. Are there things about each of them that I can see in myself? Sad realities, yes. But here's the good news. In spite of Jesus' evil intentions, in spite of Peter's misplaced intentions, in spite of this young man's curious intentions, God's plan wasn't hindered in the least, was it? Nothing stops God from carrying out his plan. Nothing in this story was contrary to God's will, was contrary to what God had ordained before the beginning of time. In John chapter 6, Jesus addresses God's will. Here's what Jesus says in the beginning of verse 38. He says, "...for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that has been given to me, but raise it up on that last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." What was God's will? What was God the Father's will for His Son? That Jesus Christ should live the perfect life and that Jesus Christ should die the perfect death. And there was nothing in time or space that was going to keep that from happening. Not Judas' intentions, not Peter's intentions, not this young man's intentions could stop that from happening. Now, that's not to say that God doesn't hold us accountable for our sins. He does. But as Joseph said to his brothers, as Ron read earlier, what they intended for evil, God meant it for good. Indeed, all things work together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose. God is an awesome God. Even the wickedness, even the evil we see in our society today, even that is a part of God's perfect plan. Even that is being used for the good of His people. And while I don't like the three men in this passage, I have assurance from what Jesus said. Jesus said, all that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. Jesus stands with open arms, welcoming anyone and everyone who will come to Him. It could have been very ugly when Peter drew that sword, right? It could have turned into a massive tragedy. That mob could have killed them all. Do you know why that didn't happen? Because that wasn't God's will. That wasn't God's plan. Even in the chaos of that night, Jesus was watching over his people. Even in that chaos, Christ was offering himself and directing all the evil into himself so that the evil would not be poured out on his people. Paul brings Romans chapter 8 to a close with these words, and I will too this morning. Paul says, for I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I am sure, says Paul, I have no doubt whatsoever, says Paul, that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Paul, how can you be so sure? How can we be sure? Because God is truthful in what He says. God says in Psalm 115, verse 3, our God is in the heavens. He does all He pleases. There is no stray molecule, as Paul once said. There is nothing outside of God's plan. His plan is perfect, and it accounts for everything. And it is good for His people, and it is for His glory. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank You that the events that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, even as you were arrested, those were according to your plan. Those were part of your plan of redemption for your people. That you were bringing Christ to stand before the world, where the world would even declare that there is no fault found in Him. Lord, your ways are often mysterious to us. Your ways, Lord, are often beyond our ability to comprehend. We just simply ask, Lord, that we would have a heart and a mind to trust you, to follow you where you lead. Help us, Lord, not to lean to our own understanding, but to acknowledge you, knowing that you will guide us where you'd have us to be. We thank you for the mercy, for the grace. We thank you for our salvation, which is found in Jesus Christ. It's in His name we pray. Amen.