Welcome to SuccessfulSavior.org, the ministry of Harmony Primitive Baptist Church in Donaldson, Arkansas. This is Elder Dan Salmons preaching in our regular Sunday morning service. It's wonderful to see all of you. I said before, you've been away a couple of weeks, feels like a month, so it's wonderful to be back in the saddle, so to speak, and appreciate Brother Randy's words related to firstfruits. It's an interesting topic, and I know he's been digging in it for a while. There are many different kinda ways that you can think about firstfruits. God's people are considered to be firstfruits in some respects. Christ is said to be a firstfruit, What we bring and what we offer is often described as first fruits or if it's given properly. It's a pretty deep topic and one that I've enjoyed hearing him share scriptures and thoughts on. I want to turn us back to our journey through the Gospel of Mark, where we're trying to build our high-resolution image of Jesus Christ. And we're gonna be in Mark chapter 14 today, and there's a few topics that come to mind, but this sermon is really kind of focused on prayer, betrayal, and denial. Before I get into that, however, I'm mindful of a verse that kind of maybe helps us think about some of the things we'll find in Mark 14. And it's Proverbs 18.24, a man that hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Now, I found the first half of that verse to be very true. I find that people who are of a friendly disposition and are kind-hearted towards other people, they tend to accumulate friends more easily than those with a nasty disposition. And that's certainly a lesson that will serve you well if you put it into practice. If you find yourself being sort of a sourpuss, that may drive people away from you. You may be a sourpuss that says, well, I don't really have any friends. Well, maybe you need to work on your attitude a little bit. You know, it's kind of difficult for people to be around. People have enough trouble of their own for you to be importing more into their lives. And so you can kind of understand why they might not want to be your friend if you're pretty difficult in that respect, but it's really the second half of this verse that I'm thinking of as it relates to Mark chapter 14. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Now, I believe this is speaking primarily of the relationships we have in the Christian faith. Obviously, Jesus Christ is the best friend any of us could ever have. What a friend we have in Jesus, right? We sing that, and that's certainly true. When you think about the friendships you have and the bonds you have with other Christian people that are, in some respects, you could say they're closer than my familial ties. A lot of times it's said that blood is thicker than water, and that's kind of a reference to the idea of family ties are tighter than religious ties. I think the water often has reference to baptismal ties, so to speak. But this verse is gonna challenge that idea. And while it may play out a lot of times that people line up along family lines on a whole host of different matters, you can have friends in the Christian faith that are closer than your blood kin. And that's a very precious thing. Those of you with whom I'm very close, that is an incredibly precious aspect of my life. And that closeness is not something you would want to play fast and loose with. But I think we'll find that even that in the face of adversity can be very strained and very challenged. When you think about who's the person you're maybe closest with spiritually speaking, say when you consider someone a friend who is closer than a brother, maybe each of you have someone or maybe multiple people in mind that fall into that category, how painful then would it be for one of those people to end up betraying you? It would have to be, in my thought, the most painful thing that you can endure in terms of your personal relationships with people. You know, if there's someone that you don't have a relationship with, or you don't have much, you know, closeness with, and maybe they betray you, they do you dirty in some respect, probably not gonna be happy about that, but it's not gonna have the devastating consequence It wouldn't just crush your soul in the way that this person that you thought is closer than a family member or closer than a brother, if they have betrayed you. See that? Mark chapter 14 deals with the Lord praying and it deals with the matter of betrayal and denials. So let's get into that. We ended up last time somewhere around verse 26, and when they had sung and hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives and Jesus saith unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. Now he's talking to, He's talking to those who were as close to Jesus as anybody was at that time. And he's literally prophesying that in a very short time, all you people are gonna leave me. These are the people that in Jesus' life as a man walking the face of the earth, this would be the collection of men who would fall into the category of friends closer than brothers. You see what I'm saying? These would have been his closest confidants, and he's telling them directly here in a prophecy that would shortly thereafter be fulfilled. Ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. There's an important lesson lurking in this passage, and it is that God's people can be offended by their association with Jesus Christ. Now, we know how this plays out and we'll look at it a little bit later, but. It's a frightful thing to think about. Those of us who have professions of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should think, man, I never wanna be in that category. I don't ever wanna fall into a situation where I am offended because of Jesus. And there's a lot of different ways you could be offended. Some people are offended by Jesus based on what he teaches. And what he teaches may rub against your personal preference about how you think things should be or how you think you should behave. But it is what it is, and Jesus teaches it, and you may be offended by it, and you may need to be corrected in some things. That may create some offense, but it may also create some offense in the sense that, hey, you're kind of associated with this fellow Jesus, you claim to be a Christian, and that may destroy some of the things you would want to pursue in this life because the people looking at you may not want Christian people around for whatever reason. They may see your association with Jesus Christ as a negative thing. Generally speaking, I would say people who have a sincere, I would say this of all people who have a sincere profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I regard that as a positive thing, but a wicked world may look at that and say, no, that's a tremendous negative. I don't want you coming along on the picnic because you're gonna be giving me a hard time about what I'm eating and what I'm drinking. I don't want you placing strictures upon my life in any way, and I know that the Christian faith and the Lord Jesus Christ has certain strictures that he places upon you. So I don't really want to be around Christian people. That thing does exist. And you might, in the context of a social setting, find, well, you know, this Christianity thing that I'm involved with, this savior that I'm associated with, kind of brings with it some negative social consequences when you're in an audience of people who are like that. Well, in this instance, the situation is they're going to smite the shepherd. and they're gonna be scattered. They're running off. When things get serious, they run off. It keeps going. Verse 28, but after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Now Peter does this more than once in the Bible, where Jesus tells him something, and Peter just completely opposes it. Nope, you're wrong, Jesus. And when you see it written out in the Bible, it's very stark, but it is intended for your admonition. Because you do it as well in many respects, it's just not published in Holy Scripture. You do it between your ears. God, I know God wants me to do this. The conscience, the mind of Christ, if you will, that you have within a regenerate person is saying, I know I need to do this, But you say, no, I'm not gonna do that. Don't be too quick to give Peter a hard time because we should learn from this. We can and we do oppose the influence of the Lord's spirit in our lives from time to time. It is a very foolish thing to do, right? But we do it. And however much you might be offended by the notion that Peter would take issue with what Jesus said, maybe we should redirect that towards the times past, perhaps times present, where we may be doing precisely the same thing, and rather focused our attention on correcting ourselves. Jesus saith unto him, verily I say unto thee that this day even in this night before the cock crowed twice thou shalt deny me thrice. Now this is, I would say Peter would kind of fall into the category in terms of spiritual closeness with the Lord. He'd kind of be one of those people you'd say he's a friend that's closer than a brother. But look what's about to happen. He's about to be offended by the Lord Jesus Christ and end up denying him. And Peter doubles down on it, but he spake them more vehemently. If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. Well, Peter's very foolishly confident in his own ability and his spiritual strength. That's a very dangerous place to be. We're saying poor, weak, and worthless. That's probably a closer attitude that we should have towards self rather than thinking, I am this high and exalted, very strong spiritual person that can withstand the great temptations of this world. That's a foolish thing to say. You have absolutely no idea the level of temptation that could be brought into your life. And we should rather say, Lord, deliver me from evil, even as he taught us to pray. Deliver us from evil Your life is not some sort of Marvel superhero movie where you're some spiritual giant and you just say I want to I want to go into the octagon Against all manner of evil and I'm just gonna prove how spiritually strong I am that's a ridiculous way to be and We should rather say Lord deliver us from evil All right Now God can and does in many instances give you the strength and you find the will to endure spiritual battles in your life, but you shouldn't go looking for a fight. How about that? We should rather ask to be delivered from evil and not be so impressed with our spiritual strength and capabilities as we see Peter being. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy, and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here, and watch. You'll see he goes away three times here. And he went forth a little and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And many over the years have been puzzled by this. You know what? Is there some conflict in the Godhead? Jesus doesn't want to go to the cross and he's kind of praying, you know, I don't want to go to the cross and so can I get out of this? And God's saying, no, you got to go through it. But a close reader of the text will see that no such thing is said here. He says, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. What Jesus is saying in this prayer, the statement that's made here, I would say twofold. First of all, he claimed elsewhere to be always about his father's business, right? It's about what God's will is and not about what his will would be as a man, so to speak. So we see, first of all, the alignment of his will with God's will. But we see a second affirmation here that's incredibly important, which is there's literally no other way that this work, the work of saving God's people, could ever possibly be accomplished. This is an affirmation of the absolute necessity of the death of Jesus Christ and his substitutionary atonement on the cross to save his people from their sins. He says this, he's saying, if it were possible, the hour might pass from me. What is God the Father's answer? Well, we know it's borne out in history. It's literally, it's not possible. You came to do this work to save the people I gave you from their sins. And this is literally the only way that this could ever happen. This is such an important point that is affirmed multiple times. He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt. You see that? He's showing his subservience to the covenantal arrangement, which was, you gotta do this thing. He's saying, if it's possible, could we make this matter of salvation transpire without doing this thing? And the answer is no, that is not possible. It is impossible. And he cometh and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. Very interesting to me in this passage that you see Jesus Christ is praying to God about the matter of the salvation of his people. There's got to be like this is the most serious prayer that's ever been uttered. This is a moment prior to the crucifixion where Jesus Christ is praying to his father. It's a prayer taking place within the Godhead. That's an incredibly powerful scene, and I don't think any of us would call into question, well, I wonder if Jesus' prayers were very powerful. I mean, you'd have to say Jesus' prayers would have to be the very pinnacle of prayer ever uttered on planet Earth. And yet, finding them sleeping, he tells them they ought to pray. When you consider that Jesus Christ is praying about the salvation of his people and then he comes and admonishes them to pray, I'm gonna suggest that we probably don't put as much into the matter of prayer as we ought to. Jesus Christ is telling them to pray. Even in the context where he's basically interceding for them in the matter of their eternal salvation, he still says it's needful that you pray. Prayer has a lot of benefits, and I won't go into it all that much, but I would say this. There is the thing you're praying about, and that's always the matter that's in play, and that's important. You don't know how God might answer you in one manner or another, but there's another importance to prayer, which is just the fact that you are bowing your head and recognizing God is in control. I am dust, you are God, I'm setting this before you. There's a lot of things in this world that we might be able to fix or improve given the capacities that God has given us. He may have given us ample capacity to go help a neighbor out, fix their fence, repair their lawnmower, whatever. He's given you the capacity and you can offer that up. But there's a whole lot of things in this world that you can look at and you can say, I don't have any levers to pull here. I don't know how to fix this problem. This problem is beyond my capacity for doing anything about it. I don't even know how to think right about it. The Bible talks about these things, we don't even know how to pray about it. Well, one of the aspects of prayer is recognizing who you're talking to, recognizing there's a God in heaven and admitting, Lord, I don't see anything that I could do. If I could do something, if you'd given me the ability to intercede in this matter somehow that seemed to be in accordance with wisdom, I would certainly do it, but I don't see any way that I can do this. You're praying to a God who can solve the issue. He's the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. So irrespective of our weakness, there's something about bowing our heads and praying to God that is needful, and Jesus Christ encourages his disciples to do it, even in this incredible scene here. Verse 39, and again he went away and prayed and spake the same words. That's as if to say, I sort of affirmed in this first section, it is not possible for God's people to be saved in any other way than the death of Jesus Christ on their behalf. If there's some other way, Lord, can we come up with plan B? And the answer is there is no other way. He went and prayed it again. The answer again is there is no other way. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Neither wist they what to answer him. They didn't even know what to say this time around. And he cometh a third time and saith to them, sleep on now and take your rest. It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. There's a betrayal in the works at this very moment. Jesus went away the third time, and in this passage, it doesn't say what he prayed about. But in Matthew, we find that he prayed the same thing a third time. So there's really a triple affirmation that God's people should take notice of. There's literally no other way that men will ever be right with God except the death of Jesus Christ on their behalf. Apart from the death of Christ on the cross, no one would ever be right with God. There is no other way. That's what that passage is affirming three times. And then he tells them, rise up, let us go, lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. Well, he told them just a short time before this is going to happen, and he knew it was going to happen. They're arguing with him about it, but here it happens. Now, here's the betrayal. And immediately while he spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him and saith, Master, Master, and kissed him. That's got to be the most cold-blooded act of deceit in human history. There's indications in the Bible that Judas was among the more trusted of the disciples. And here he comes in and he's even got a scheme to where he can betray Jesus and make it look like he's just saying hello to him. That is a cold-blooded moment in the Bible. And I think in some respects it takes the form of here was someone who at least by appearance would have looked to be someone who was closer than a brother. Here's a friend that is closer than a brother. And now he's coming in to betray me. And they laid their hands on him and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword and smote a servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, are you come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple, teaching, and you took me not. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him and fled." There's the prophecy fulfilled. He told them just a short time before. Peter argued with him about it. And yet, a short time later, they all fled when things got rough. Now, it doesn't say it in this text, but Peter is the one who took the sword. Don't be too hard on Peter, at least in this moment. And I'm not saying what he did was right, but he had some sort of thought of maybe we ought to stand up for Jesus here, at least momentarily. But he fled after the situation was said and done. Jesus was surrounded by friends who we would most certainly look at and say, those friends are closer than brothers. Those have got to be the closest spiritual confidants of Jesus Christ. And yet, in this moment, they fled. They came out to get him with swords and with staves. And Jesus mentions this in how they approached him. I was daily with you in the temple teaching and you took me not, but the scriptures must be fulfilled. For the most part, things had been more or less verbal with Jesus Christ, although at one point in his ministry where they were so offended by his assertion that he was God, essentially, that they took up stones to stone him, but it wasn't the right time yet. It didn't really get physical until this part of the ministry. And you see here how the world comes against the Lord Jesus Christ. It's kind of over the top. And Jesus makes this point. Look, he's like, I am literally teaching. I'm walking around Jerusalem. and I'm teaching, you could have come and got me at any time. I'm out in public. I'm not trying to hide myself. I'm not a fugitive. I'm not hanging out in some safe house. I'm literally a public character. There's no need for this level of fanfare and show of force to come and get me. But when the world comes against you, when it comes against us, standing for the Lord Jesus Christ, it's gonna come with a show of force. And that's what it did to the Lord Jesus Christ. And they all forsook him and fled. Verse 51, And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body, and the young men laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. That's one of the strangest little anecdotes in the Bible. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but it's in the Bible nevertheless. He left too, by the way. You see that? And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even unto the place of the high priest, and he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death and found none. Well, this initially sounds like it's going pretty good, but we don't really have any witnesses against him. Maybe he's gonna get out of this. But the wicked motions of the world are not gonna be constrained by mere legal technicalities. For many bear false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. And there arose certain and bear false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. Well, that sounds familiar based on the song service this morning. But neither so did their witness agree together. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? Well, that's the core matter right there. And it's the one that they knew would be as undoing, at least in a religious society such as Jerusalem at that time. And Jesus said, I am, and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Now, what he's telling them is the truth. Then the high priest rent his clothes and saith, what need we any further witness? So this is the establishment religion of the day, and the moment you have the affirmation of who Jesus Christ actually is, they want nothing to do with it. This is a direct opposition to the truth, and it's being raised by establishment religion. You have heard the blasphemy, what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, prophesy. And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands." The world is utterly hostile to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, Christian people love that affirmation, but don't lose sight of the fact that much of the world that tries to play nice with Christianity at times literally hates that profession. And where societal constraints not what they are, you would see the teeth and the hostility behind some of those groups that might align themselves with Christianity in a way that you maybe haven't over the course of your life. You hear it all the time until people talk about American society and they talk about our Judeo-Christian heritage. And I understand what they mean by that. They mean something like generally a morality that says there is a God and what he's taught us is somehow resident in the scriptures and we get some moral precepts out of that. That's about as far as it goes though. The whole thing of Judeo-Christian, beyond some sort of social commentary like that, is really very misleading. It is very misleading. You might say, these Jewish people, they have the Old Testament, and we agree on so many things. You know, there was Moses, and we know about Abraham, and we can read all these stories, we can draw lessons out of them. But the crux of the matter is the person of Jesus Christ. The crux, by the way, means the cross. It's literally about the cross. It's affirmed three times in this text. There's no other way that anyone's ever gonna be saved. When you talk about Judeo-Christian stuff, what you're trying to do is you're trying to smash together the law and sort of give it equal footing with grace. The Jews had the law and they try to follow these moral precepts. And over here, the Christians, you know, they still have a lot of respect for that and Christ fulfilled the law. But the fact of the matter is, Jesus Christ and His death is the only way anyone's ever going to be made right with God. So the Judeo portion of that is totally inadequate. And by the way, when you get into the matter of Jesus Christ, it starts getting hostile. The moment Jesus Christ affirms this truth of the Christian faith in the face of the Judeo world, their response was, let's kill him. Let's spit on him, let's beat him, let's nail him to a cross. Now that's an unpleasant observation, but it is very true. The whole thing revolves around the person and work of Jesus Christ. There's literally no other way anyone's ever gonna be saved. I don't care how much. You love the law in the Old Testament. Apart from the work of Jesus Christ, there's literally no matter of salvation. Now we get into the matter of this denial, and we all know it well, so I'll try to finish this quickly. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest, and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him and said, and thou also was with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied saying, I know not, neither understand what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch and the cock crew. Just a straight up denial. Just across the page, you have Peter arguing with Jesus about, I'll go to the death with you. And now, just for simple fear of being recognized as one of his followers, he's like, no, not me. Wasn't me. You can be put in a situation You might not ever want to admit this, but you could be put in a situation where you would find yourself saying, you know what, I think it might be better for me to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter was put in that situation. Verse 69, and a maid saw him again and began to say to them that stood by, this is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, surely thou art one of them. Thou art a Galilean. and thy speech agreeth thereto." They're saying, yeah, you're one of them. We recognize your accent. In Galilean, I think in Israel, it's kind of like being a southerner. They're kind of country boys, but it's in the north, so don't hold that against them. But they had a distinctive accent, so you could kind of say, you're not from around here, boy. And so they recognized him. But he began to curse and swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak. Why did he curse and swear? He's trying to distance himself from the Lord Jesus Christ. He's trying to say, you know, Jesus would never say anything like this. Let me identify myself as someone who's just out there, part of the world, just like the rest of you. I'm just as carnal as anybody else. Let me demonstrate it to you. You may at times, when you feel pressured by society, want to somehow demonstrate that you're a little closer to the world than you would allow people to see when you show up at church on Sunday morning. That's how the pressures of the world bear down on us. And it certainly bore down on Peter. But I think Peter, once again, is an example that we're to take notice of and to recognize we can be just like Peter. Don't think of yourself as some spiritual giant. Everybody wants to be David slaying Goliath in the world. That can happen by God's grace and capacity, but you shouldn't go looking for a fight, and we should rather see ourselves as poor, weak, and worthless, and look to God to give us the strength we need, and to deliver us from evil. And the second time the cock crowed, and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him. Before the cock crowed twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. What's more important here, Is it Peter's attitude about how he thought he was, or is it what God told him about who he is? Jesus literally told him, you're gonna betray me. Sure, you're a friend that's closer than a brother. You're one of the closest human associates I've ever had on planet Earth. You followed me for my three and a half year ministry, and now when the going gets tough, you're gonna turn on me. But you know what? Peter's eternal salvation is not based on whether or not he passed that test. He denied Christ, Peter is in glory nevertheless. You know why that is? It's because of that three-part affirmation that we saw in the Lord's Prayer. There's literally no way that could ever possibly be devised to save God's people other than the death of Jesus Christ on behalf of his people. Peter denied Christ. We've all denied Christ in many ways. It's a terrible thing to do. I would encourage you not to do it. However, we don't have to look to our personal performance in righteousness to have any assurance of where we're going to spend eternity, because there's only one thing that could ever deliver any of us to eternity, and it's not how well you did. Did you always stand up for Jesus in every instance? I pray that you would, but you know what? The only one who ever did a perfect work was the Lord Jesus Christ, and there was literally no other way. for God's people to be eternally saved. At Harmony, we don't have many things you'll find in the popular churches of our day, but we do have a successful Savior. We invite you to come and see.