1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,480 Failure is a taste that's hard to clear from your mouth. 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,920 It can linger long after the fact, sometimes even for years 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:17,640 or decades. Failures can be harder to both 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,880 endure and recover from than other types of suffering. 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,680 If you're suffering from an injury or illness, it's possible 6 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,600 you did nothing at all to contribute to your suffering. 7 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,480 If, say, you have a genetic condition that reduces the 8 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,680 thickness of the discs that separate your backbones, there 9 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:43,840 might be relatively little you could do both to prevent injury. 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,080 There might be only so much you can do to recover from injury, 11 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:57,800 but when it comes to failure, by definition, you and you alone 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,400 are responsible. Failure can hurt more than other 13 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,440 types of suffering. When you fail, guilt and shame 14 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:13,360 and self recrimination layer on top of whatever suffering your 15 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,360 failure has caused yourself and others. 16 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,440 Some failures are not the kind of thing you bounce back from, 17 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:21,840 if you come back from them at all. 18 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:27,240 The speed and movement of your recovery will not be bouncy, 19 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,080 maybe more like clawing or crawling. 20 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:40,640 How have you failed recently? If you had to make a list of 21 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:45,480 your greatest failures, what would come at the very top? 22 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,760 If it's up to you to overcome your greatest failures, how do 23 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,520 you like your chances? What can you do about it? 24 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:06,320 Can you undo them, redo them, fix them? 25 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:11,600 This morning we continue our series in Mark's Gospel with 26 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,840 chapter 14, verses 12 to 31. If you don't have a Bible, you 27 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:17,320 can raise your hand and someone will bring you one. 28 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,920 If you don't have a Bible, like at all, feel free to take it 29 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:23,360 home, keep it, read it, come back to us and talk to us about 30 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,320 it. Our passage brings us to the 31 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,720 last night of Jesus's earthly life. 32 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,440 It's the beginning of the festival of Passover that we 33 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:37,800 read about in Exodus 12. Jesus knows that it's his last 34 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:44,280 night with his disciples, so he's preparing them for what 35 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:49,560 they don't know. But what he knows is immediately 36 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,480 ahead. What is Jesus preparing them for 37 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,520 on his last night with them? Their failure. 38 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:03,280 And it will be a horrible failure, but He's also preparing 39 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:13,040 them by promising them that He alone can overcome there and our 40 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:18,920 greatest failures. Please follow along as I read 41 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:27,600 Mark 1412 to 31. And on the first day of 42 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,040 Unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, 43 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,480 his disciples said to him, Where will you have us? 44 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,160 Go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? 45 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,240 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the 46 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,000 city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. 47 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,600 Follow him. And wherever he enters, say to 48 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:53,440 the master of the house, the teacher says, Where is my guest 49 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,440 room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? 50 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,440 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready 51 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,480 there prepare for us. And the disciples set out and 52 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,840 went to the city, and found it just as he had told them, and 53 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,440 they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came 54 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,000 with the 12. And as they were reclining at 55 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:24,920 table and eating, Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, One of you 56 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:28,240 will betray me, one who is eating with me. 57 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,040 They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him, one after 58 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,320 another, Is it I? He said to them, It is one of 59 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,000 the 12 one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 60 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,120 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him. 61 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,480 But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. 62 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:51,960 It would have been better for that man if he had not been 63 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,520 born. And as they were eating, he took 64 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,240 bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to them, 65 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:05,000 and said, Take, this is my body. And he took a cup. 66 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:09,280 And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all 67 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,600 drank of it. And he said to them, This is my 68 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,200 blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 69 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,080 Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the 70 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,880 vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God. 71 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,680 And when they had sung A hymn, they went out to the Mount of 72 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,720 Olives, and Jesus said to them, You will all fall away. 73 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:38,640 For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will 74 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,320 be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will 75 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:46,960 go before you to Galilee. Peter said to him, Even though 76 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:52,680 they all fall away, I will not. And Jesus said to him, truly, I 77 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,200 tell you this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you 78 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,560 will deny me three times. But he said emphatically, If I 79 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,440 must die with you, I will not deny you. 80 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:13,600 And they all said the same. The passage is 3 parts. 81 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,560 In verses 12 to 16, Jesus sends his disciples into the city of 82 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,200 Jerusalem to prepare for them to eat the Passover meal together. 83 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:30,360 Then verses 17 to 25 tell us what Jesus said and did during 84 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,320 the Passover meal. Within that meal, Mark reports 2 85 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,120 main things. First, Jesus predicts his 86 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:42,120 betrayal by Judas. Then he institutes the Lord's 87 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,320 Supper. He transforms the Passover into 88 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:53,080 a memorial of his coming death. Then the third part, verses 26 89 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,320 to 31. That paragraph reports Jesus 90 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,360 teaching just after the Passover meal, same night, right 91 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,400 afterward. And here he predicts not that 92 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:09,720 one disciple will betray him, but that every disciple will 93 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,640 fail him. Every disciple will desert him, 94 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,840 and Peter in particular will deny him three times. 95 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:20,560 But that's not the end of the story. 96 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:27,200 The disciples will fail Jesus, but Jesus will not fail the 97 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,720 disciples. Since the text has three parts, 98 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,080 our sermon will have three points. 99 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,040 But it's also important to notice that just like the 100 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,200 passage we studied last week, there's a sandwich construction 101 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:40,400 here. So leave aside the preparations 102 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,520 for Passover verses 12 to 16 as a kind of introduction. 103 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,400 The heart of the passage is Jesus's institution of the 104 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,160 Lord's Supper in verses 22 to 25. 105 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,480 This is some of Mark's most explicit teaching about the 106 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,680 significance of Jesus's death. It's one of the most important 107 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,600 passages in the gospel. And what's it surrounded by? 108 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,000 Two predictions of failure on either side. 109 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,680 In verses 17 to 21 and 26 to 31, the institution of the Lord's 110 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:15,400 Supper is sandwiched between predictions of betrayal and 111 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:20,200 desertion. Why is the Lord's Supper framed 112 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,480 by failure? It's to demonstrate the truth of 113 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:31,280 Romans 58. But God shows his love for us in 114 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:37,720 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 115 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:44,280 God loves you despite your worst failures. 116 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:50,680 Jesus died to overcome your worst failures. 117 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,080 Here's the main point of the whole passage. 118 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,680 Only Jesus can overcome all your failures. 119 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:06,920 Only Jesus can overcome all your failures the key question our 120 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:15,640 passage answers is how how can Jesus overcome all your failures 121 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:28,080 .1 he prepares a new family. He prepares a new family. 122 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:37,760 We see this in verses 12 to 16 looking at a verse 12 and on the 123 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,440 first day of Unleavened bread when they sacrificed the 124 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:45,920 Passover lamb, His disciples said to him, where will you have 125 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,000 us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? 126 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:51,760 Passover was a pilgrimage festival. 127 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,560 Lee read for us the institution of the Passover in Exodus 12, 128 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,320 and also the book of Deuteronomy requires every Jew who is able 129 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,440 to come to Jerusalem, the place the Lord would choose to 130 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,040 celebrate the feast. Now, Passover was a meal with, 131 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,920 among other things, roast lamb to symbolize the Passover lamb 132 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,520 who was slain and whose blood was put on the doorpost of every 133 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:17,320 Israelite house in Egypt. The lamb for the meal had to be 134 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,760 slaughtered in the temple, and then the meal itself, if you 135 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:24,000 came for the pilgrimage, had to be consumed within the city 136 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:25,800 limits of Jerusalem. That's why Jesus and his 137 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,240 disciples have to go out from Bethany, where they've been 138 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,400 staying to find a place in the city where they can eat the 139 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,720 meal. So Jesus and his disciples are 140 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,040 from Galilee. They're from about 160 miles to 141 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,200 the north. They don't have a ready made 142 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,560 place to celebrate the Passover. They'll have to rely on somebody 143 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:45,360 else's hospitality to provide a place for them. 144 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,880 But not to worry, Jesus has them covered. 145 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,320 We'll give verses 13 to 16 again. 146 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,200 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the 147 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:59,160 city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. 148 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:02,360 Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the 149 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:07,480 house, the teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may 150 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,880 eat the Passover with my disciples? 151 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,560 And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. 152 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:17,200 There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out and 153 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,040 went to the city, and found it just as he has had told them, 154 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:25,000 and they prepared the Passover. Now, it's possible that Jesus 155 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,200 had made some kind of pre arrangement with a disciple of 156 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:32,080 his who lived in Jerusalem, but if he did, Mark doesn't tell us 157 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,320 anything about it. I think it's far more likely 158 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:40,080 that this demonstrates Jesus's divine omniscience. 159 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,320 He knows all things. He knows that there's someone 160 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:48,000 who has a large furnished empty room that's free for the use. 161 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,200 He knows the owner will let them use it. 162 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,640 He knows where that man is now. He knows what he's carrying. 163 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,760 That man is the master of the house, but Jesus instructs his 164 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,320 disciples to address him. Where is my upper room? 165 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,680 It's as if Jesus is the master of the master of the house, 166 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:15,800 because he is. He's sovereign over all things. 167 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,320 He's making a polite request, but even in the way he does it, 168 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,120 he's indicating his authority. This is a matter of obedience 169 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,520 for this man. What does all this teach us? 170 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,800 While Jesus is relying on this man's hospitality, he's also 171 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,400 sovereign over it. Jesus is providing. 172 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,880 Sorry, this man is providing for Jesus and his disciples, but 173 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,200 Jesus ultimately is the one providing all of it. 174 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,200 Jesus declared what would happen, and it did happen. 175 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:47,040 His word was fulfilled. Jesus is the one who is 176 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:52,600 preparing a place for himself to celebrate with his disciples. 177 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,920 What's your guest room situation look like? 178 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,160 When we lived in DC, the house we were in had two guest rooms 179 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,760 side by side with their own bathrooms. 180 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,600 We called it the guest wing. It made it easy to host people 181 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,240 overnight, even on short notice. We could just lay out some 182 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:10,920 snacks. We had a little laminated sheet 183 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,000 with information. We can set it up in 5 minutes. 184 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,200 Poof. Now here in our house in Chapel 185 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,040 Hill, we actually use all of our bedrooms, so we don't even have 186 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,880 a guest room. So the only way someone can stay 187 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,760 overnight with us is if we put an air mattress on the floor of 188 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,640 my study. Someone has to be a very close 189 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,280 friend of our family for us to offer that to them or for them 190 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,040 try to feel comfortable accepting we don't have the 191 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:42,720 guest room anymore. Why is Jesus securing a guest 192 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,840 room? What is the purpose? 193 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,400 What is he going to do in that room? 194 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:57,320 He's preparing a place where he will form his disciples into a 195 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,800 new family. Here's how we see that in the 196 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,400 text. The Passover was a family meal. 197 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,800 It was celebrated family by family, household by household, 198 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,480 just like the Passover lamb was. The blood was spread over every 199 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:13,960 household. Now the instructions for the 200 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,680 Passover in the Old Testament in Exodus 12 that Lee read to us, 201 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,160 those instructions assume that the head of the household hosts 202 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,280 the meal. There are even explicit 203 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,440 teachings that the head of the household, typically the father 204 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,720 of the family, would lead through at the very end of the 205 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,320 reading. We heard Exodus 12/26/27. 206 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,800 And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this 207 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,160 service? You shall say it is the 208 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,800 sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, For He passed over the 209 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,800 houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when he struck the 210 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,600 Egyptians, but spared our houses. 211 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:50,640 The Passover was a family meal. Who is Jesus going to celebrate 212 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:55,520 with? Not his earthly family, but his 213 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,560 disciples. It's a radical departure from 214 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,160 normal 1st century Jewish practice. 215 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,920 It's making a profound statement. 216 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:14,320 He's showing that these disciples are his family, and 217 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:19,480 he's in the process of forming them into his family. 218 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,000 In his Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus is going to 219 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,800 transform the Passover meal into the Lord's Supper. 220 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,240 In so doing, He's going to make a new family meal for a new 221 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,480 family. The church is not a family of 222 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,960 families. The church is a family. 223 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,120 These disciples will fail him, but Jesus will ensure that they 224 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:50,960 are and remain his family. The church is a family of 225 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,880 failures. The church is a family of people 226 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,720 who trust in Jesus to forgive their failures. 227 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,000 The church is a family of people united by the experience of 228 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,080 knowing that Jesus grace and forgiveness are deeper than all 229 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:11,200 of our worst failures. Just as Jesus prepared a place 230 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:15,720 for his disciples to feast with him then, so he does for us now. 231 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,480 It's the local church. One of the joys of being in a 232 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,800 church plant is you don't even have to remind people that the 233 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:25,960 church is a people, not a place. It's obvious this church is not 234 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,320 the gym of Creekside Elementary. The church is the people who 235 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,800 commit to each other to fulfill the Christian life together. 236 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,720 Jesus has prepared a place for us to feast with him. 237 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,080 We experienced that especially in the Lord's Supper. 238 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:45,760 That's the family meal he's given us, which of course we'll 239 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,520 celebrate right after the sermon. 240 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,760 The same Jesus who hosted his Last Supper with the 12 241 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,720 disciples in that upper room in Jerusalem hosts our family meal 242 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,840 with him here and now. Every time the church celebrates 243 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:06,560 the Lord's Supper, it's as if we all return together to that 244 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,839 Upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus meets with us. 245 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:16,839 Jesus hosts us. Jesus proclaims his dying love 246 00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:22,560 for us yet again. A good friend of mine in 247 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:26,359 Iceland, of all places, pastors a church called Upper Room 248 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,920 Baptist Church. Sweet and fitting name for a 249 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,600 local church. But this isn't the only place 250 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,520 that Jesus prepares for us. He's also gone before us into 251 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,400 his Father's presence to prepare a place for us with Him there 252 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,840 forever. He is right now preparing a 253 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,320 place where we will all celebrate the Messianic banquet 254 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,040 with Him in God's forever Kingdom. 255 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,600 How does Jesus overcome your worst failures? 256 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,520 How can he? It's because He is able and 257 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:06,400 willing to prepare a new family. He forms a new family around a 258 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,520 new family meal. He prepares a place for us, and 259 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:15,320 He prepares us to be His people. Here's another key message from 260 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:17,080 these verses that just couldn't be clearer. 261 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,760 That'll help us transition into the rest of the passage. 262 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,200 Just when it seems like events are going to get the better of 263 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,120 Jesus. Just when it seems like all of 264 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:33,520 His plans and His efforts are going to fail, Jesus's words and 265 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,880 actions show us that he is fully in charge. 266 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,280 He's sovereign. He's in control. 267 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:42,200 He goes willingly and readily to his fate at the cross. 268 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:44,200 None of this will take him by surprise. 269 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,560 His eyes are wide open. He sees and knows more than 270 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,120 anybody else in the whole story. There's no hint of desperation 271 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,840 or futility. He acts with sovereign freedom 272 00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:00,080 and authority. Jesus is not failing. 273 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:05,000 Instead, He's setting in motion a rescue plan that's been 274 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,200 ordained from all eternity to deliver every single one of his 275 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,320 people from all of their worst failures. 276 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:18,680 That brings us to point #2 He promises fulfillment and 277 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:24,000 forgiveness. He promises fulfillment and 278 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,400 forgiveness. We see this in verses 17 to 25. 279 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:34,320 Look at verses 17 and 18. And when it was evening, he came 280 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,880 with the 12. And as they were reclining at 281 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,520 table and eating, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, one of you 282 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,120 will betray me, one who is eating with me. 283 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,880 Jesus and his disciples are now together in the upper room, 284 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,840 eating their Passover meal. It would have lasted for several 285 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,960 hours, with different scripture readings and Psalms being sung 286 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,120 throughout the meal. But Mark doesn't report all 287 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:00,960 those details. That's not what he's interested 288 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,960 in. Instead, he focuses on 2 pieces 289 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,360 of teaching that Jesus gave. The 1st is that one of the 12 290 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,320 disciples, someone who's there in the room with him, is going 291 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,520 to betray him. Now here's another instance of 292 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:19,080 Jesus's divine omniscience, his knowledge of all things. 293 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,160 He knows that he's going to be betrayed. 294 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,360 He knows who's going to do it. But of course his disciples 295 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:26,200 don't know that, and they don't know who. 296 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,760 Now we're not shocked as readers, because in the last 297 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,960 passage we studied, we learned that Judas decided to betray 298 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,480 him. But we have to remember that 299 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,800 it's natural the disciples would be shocked. 300 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,320 He says one of them will betray him and he leaves the identity a 301 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,160 mystery. Look at verses 19 and 20. 302 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,360 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, 303 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:49,760 Is it I? He said to them, it is one of 304 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,280 the 12 one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 305 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,080 Now, some people think that last saying of Jesus is identifying 306 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,320 Judas as the traitor, as if Judas was the one dipping his 307 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,520 bread into the dish at that very moment. 308 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,920 But I don't think that's what Mark means, particularly because 309 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,880 we see in the next verse, verse 21, if the identity is still 310 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:10,800 anonymous. He just talks about the one by 311 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,360 whom he's betrayed. But another reason is that I 312 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,240 think Jesus is simply highlighting the treachery of 313 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,000 the betrayal. It's someone who is sharing such 314 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,240 intimate fellowship with Jesus that they're dipping their bread 315 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:31,880 into the same shared dish. Not only that, but this specific 316 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,920 betrayal fulfills scripture. Psalm 41, Nine. 317 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:42,200 Even my close friend and whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has 318 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:47,920 lifted his heel against me. The disciples reaction is 319 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,040 natural. Their question expects a 320 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,000 negative answer. The Greek grammar indicates the 321 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,160 question is kind of like, it's not me, is it? 322 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,240 Now the fact that they ask the question shows that they 323 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,040 mistrust themselves. They have some self doubt, like 324 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,800 could it be me? But the fact that they ask it in 325 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,760 this way shows that they don't think they're capable of such 326 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,800 treachery. In the end, of course, none of 327 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,280 the other 11 disciples did betray Jesus the way that Judas 328 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,880 did. But each of them would fail 329 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,440 Jesus and fail him spectacularly. 330 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,600 So there's a warning here for us. 331 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,760 Paul puts it pointedly in First Corinthians 10/12. 332 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:32,480 Therefore, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed, lest he 333 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,200 fall. Don't overestimate your 334 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,560 maturity. Don't underestimate how badly 335 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:46,840 you could fail. Instead, examine your heart 336 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:53,120 regularly and rely on God's grace every day to keep you 337 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:58,960 walking faithfully with him. Now even this act of betrayal 338 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,040 was part of God's plan of salvation. 339 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,240 It fulfilled God's eternal plan. It fulfilled the scriptural 340 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,920 promises of how that plan would come about. 341 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:14,120 Verse 21 Jesus says for the Son of man goes as it is written of 342 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,240 him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. 343 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,320 It would have been better for that man if he had not been 344 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,520 born. This is what I mean when I say 345 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,920 that Jesus here promises fulfilment, not that this will 346 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:32,840 be a fulfilling fate for Judas, just the opposite in the most 347 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:37,160 extreme way possible. When Jesus says it would be 348 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,720 better for him if he'd never been born, he's saying that 349 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,040 Judas's punishment will be far worse than death. 350 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,080 He's saying that Judas will be punished everlastingly, and that 351 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,200 will be an aggravated punishment, the heightened 352 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:53,320 punishment for betraying the Son of God Incarnate. 353 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,640 Judas is responsible for his evil. 354 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:01,640 God will hold him to account for his evil. 355 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,680 At the same time, Judas's act of betrayal was part of God's 356 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,400 eternal, divinely ordained plan to save his people. 357 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,280 Jesus says for the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, 358 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,800 written where in the Old Testament scriptures. 359 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,720 Here I think Jesus especially has in mind Isaiah 53. 360 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,400 The suffering servant part of that passage opened our service 361 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,640 in verse 21. Here Jesus uses a Greek verb 362 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,440 that means betrayed that also has nuances of being handed 363 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,560 over, delivered over. That same word is used in the 364 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,400 Greek translation of Isaiah 53, the very last verse where the 365 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:48,640 servants life is handed over, delivered over, betrayed into 366 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,040 death. Verse 8 of Isaiah 53 says by 367 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,200 oppression and judgement he was taken away. 368 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,920 Judas is the one setting that oppression and judgement and 369 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:07,000 taking away into motion. So Judas's betrayal was 370 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,800 prophetically ordained in Scripture. 371 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:15,080 God's Providence over that act neither cancels Judas's freedom 372 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,920 nor removes his responsibility. These two things are true at the 373 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,200 same time. 1 is deeper than the other, but they both hold 374 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,600 together. Judas handed over Jesus to the 375 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:31,360 authorities. God handed Jesus over to death 376 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:36,840 for our sins. Next, Jesus turns his disciples 377 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:42,040 attention and ours to what His coming death means. 378 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,520 Why did Jesus die? What did His death accomplish? 379 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,120 That's the focus of verses 22 to 25. 380 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:57,040 In these verses Jesus selects 2 parts of the Passover meal, 381 00:25:57,360 --> 00:25:59,560 unleavened bread and a cup of wine. 382 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:03,120 And he gives them a whole new meaning as signs of his coming 383 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,240 death. Start with verses 22 to 24. 384 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,160 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it, 385 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,520 broke it and gave it to them, and said, take, this is my body. 386 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,280 And he took a cup. And when he had given thanks, he 387 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,080 gave it to them and they all drank of it. 388 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,560 And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is 389 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:28,040 poured out for many. When Jesus says that the bread 390 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:33,160 is his body and the cup of wine is his blood, he is not speaking 391 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,080 literally or physically. Instead, he's saying that these 392 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:41,080 two elements, bread and wine, are signs of the new covenant 393 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:43,320 that he is inaugurating through his death. 394 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,000 It's like when God says to Abraham in Genesis 1710, This is 395 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,280 my covenant. Every male among you shall be 396 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,080 circumcised. It's not that circumcision, 397 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:55,720 strictly speaking, is the covenant. 398 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,000 Instead, it's a sign of the covenant. 399 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,160 It's not that the bread, strictly speaking, is his body. 400 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,160 It's a covenantal sign of what the giving of his body is going 401 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:10,040 to achieve. So here Jesus identifies the 402 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,800 bread as a sign of his body that's about to be broken on the 403 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:18,160 cross for his disciples. He identifies the wine as a sign 404 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,880 of the blood he's about to shed in death to redeem all his 405 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,880 people. In 1st century Judaism, to talk 406 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:29,040 about blood being poured out was a way of speaking about violent 407 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,440 death. The disciples should have been 408 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,640 able to recognize from Jesus's teaching that he was Speaking of 409 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,360 his coming death as the suffering servants. 410 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,880 Not only that, but Jesus speaks specifically of his blood of the 411 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,280 covenant. That phrase exactly echoes 412 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,880 Exodus 24, eight, where God makes a covenant with his people 413 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,280 on Sinai. There were blood. 414 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,360 There was blood from animal sacrifices that was sprinkled 415 00:27:56,360 --> 00:28:00,760 both on the people and on God's altar, symbolizing His presence. 416 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,720 That act of sprinkling blood on both the people and the symbol 417 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,880 of God's presence showed that God was being united to his 418 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:12,440 people through the blood of a sacrifice. 419 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:18,960 Jesus's death will now be the blood sacrifice that unites God 420 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,920 to His people forever. It's clear that Jesus is 421 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:27,000 inaugurating a new covenant. That's why he gives us new 422 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,040 signs. And what are we meant to do with 423 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,520 those signs? We're meant to take them into 424 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:37,320 ourselves, to take and eat, to take and drink, to show faith in 425 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,120 Christ, to show that you're receiving Christ. 426 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:46,960 How can Jesus overcome all your failures? 427 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,400 Your worst failures are your sins against God. 428 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,800 And the worst part about them is that they are offensive to God. 429 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,920 They're an affront to God. A true self Perception starts 430 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,360 not only with recognizing that you've failed, it then goes 431 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:07,440 deeper to recognize those failures are sins. 432 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,600 They're objectively wrong. They're against God's own 433 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,840 character, His goodness. They're out of accord with Him, 434 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,840 which is what makes them wrong. Then the next step of a true 435 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,920 self knowledge, it comes in realizing my biggest problem is 436 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,000 not the way I've heard this friend. 437 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,240 The way I've made a mess in my family, the way I've failed in 438 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,680 at school or in my job. My biggest problem is that I 439 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:33,960 have made God himself my enemy. My biggest problem, my greatest 440 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,680 failure, is that He deserves everything from me. 441 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:39,200 And I've given Him the opposite. I've spat in his face. 442 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:44,120 I've turned away from Him, I now see and am undone by the 443 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,520 consequences of my sin for my relationship to God. 444 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:54,760 If you know that, if you feel that you are now ready to turn 445 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,040 from sin and trust in Christ, if you understand that's your 446 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:02,000 deepest problem, then what God did in sending His Son into the 447 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,320 world now makes all kinds of sense. 448 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,440 He came to live a perfect life. He came to teach about the life 449 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,760 God requires from us and the life God provides for us through 450 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,200 Himself. He came to heal. 451 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,880 He came to live. He came to die. 452 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,680 He came to die as a sacrifice. He came to die to bear the 453 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:26,800 punishment our sins deserve. He came to die to pay the full 454 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,000 price for all of the failures, including the worst failures of 455 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,080 all those who had turned from sin and trust in Him. 456 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,440 And then he rose from the dead to show that death doesn't get 457 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,440 the last word on Him. Death doesn't get the last word 458 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,640 on anyone who trusts in Him. How can Jesus overcome your 459 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,400 greatest failures? It's through his death on the 460 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:48,560 cross. It's through obtaining 461 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,920 forgiveness is through holding out a now perfectly clean sheet, 462 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,440 a perfect record of righteousness to everyone who 463 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,120 turns from sin and trusts in Him. 464 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:05,800 The only way to overcome your greatest failures is to let 465 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:11,440 Jesus do it for you by turning from sin and trusting in Him. 466 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,800 Matthew makes this point of Jesus teaching explicit in his 467 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,320 recounting of the Last Supper. For this is my blood of the 468 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,920 covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of 469 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,000 sins. That forgiveness is perfect, 470 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,120 that forgiveness is complete, that forgiveness is lacking 471 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,920 nothing. Jesus forgiveness wipes away 472 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,080 every failure and it can't be undone. 473 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,040 Jesus forgiveness is the only way to clear your conscience 474 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,960 from the haunting stain of your worst failures. 475 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:46,760 Jesus forgiveness is the only way to throw off the heavy 476 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,240 burden of your worst failures. Jesus's blood, and only his 477 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,840 blood can do it. What can wash away my sin? 478 00:31:54,040 --> 00:32:00,000 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. So what is the Lord's Supper? 479 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,160 It's the main point of these verses 22 to 25. 480 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,480 What is it? It's a new covenant Passover 481 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:10,640 meal for God's new covenant people. 482 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:15,560 Imagine you were an Israelite. You were there in Exodus 12. 483 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,360 You've just escaped from Egypt on the night of that first 484 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,040 Passover. Imagine someone you know 485 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:23,920 wandering through the wilderness, sees this huge band 486 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,680 of people and says, who are you? What just happened here? 487 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,520 You'd say something like this. I was a slave. 488 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:39,520 I was under a sentence of death. I took shelter under the blood 489 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:42,440 of a slain Lamb and God rescued me. 490 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,960 God delivered me along with all his people. 491 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,040 Now God dwells in our midst. Now God himself is with us to 492 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,320 guide us into his promised land where we will dwell with him 493 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:57,360 forever. If you believe in Jesus, all 494 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:01,720 that is true of you in an even deeper way. 495 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,440 And if you're a believer in Jesus, you've been baptized into 496 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:09,640 the fellowship of his people. All that is what you participate 497 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,000 in every time we take the Lord's Supper together. 498 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,800 That is what the Lord's Supper proclaims and holds out to you. 499 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,520 So as we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we look back to Jesus 500 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,720 death as the true and greater Passover lamb of a true and 501 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,920 greater exodus. But we also look forward. 502 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:30,160 Look at Jesus teaching in verse 25. 503 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,920 Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the 504 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:38,600 vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God. 505 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,720 Here Jesus is telling his disciples that his time with 506 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:49,080 them is up. He's not going to participate in 507 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:53,320 normal earthly eating and drinking anymore. 508 00:33:54,480 --> 00:34:00,520 But even though we call this the Last Supper, it will not 509 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:05,600 actually be his last meal with his disciples. 510 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,639 Instead, Jesus points forward to the meal he will celebrate with 511 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:15,880 them and us when he returns. Just as we have heard before, 512 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:20,440 often in reading from Isaiah chapter 25, on the day when God 513 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:27,120 swallows up death forever, he will hold a feast for all 514 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:29,880 peoples. That's what Jesus is pointing 515 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:34,360 forward to with this promise. On that day when Christ returns 516 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,719 and destroys death forever, he will host a feast greater than 517 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,480 anything we can imagine. So the Lord's Supper looks back 518 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,639 to Jesus death. It also looks forward to his 519 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:45,719 return. In that sense too. 520 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:52,000 Jesus promises fulfillment. The Lord's Supper looks back to 521 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:56,159 the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation and it looks forward 522 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:01,480 to your hearts perfect, everlasting fulfillment in God's 523 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:08,400 presence in the new creation. There are many genuine believers 524 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:14,000 who struggle with guilt and conviction that makes them think 525 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,080 they shouldn't take the Lord's Supper. 526 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,440 Now a little bit of preliminary teaching here and this is what 527 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,360 we confessed in our statement of faith earlier. 528 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,240 If you are not a believer in Jesus, you should not take the 529 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:28,360 Lord's Supper. If you haven't been baptized, 530 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:30,200 you shouldn't take the Lord's Supper, since baptism is the 531 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,800 front door into the church and the Lord's Supper is the family 532 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,720 meal. Baptism is how you commit to 533 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,120 Christ publicly. The Lord's Supper is how you 534 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,640 regularly renew that commitment. And if you're not in committed 535 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,480 fellowship with the local church, you shouldn't take the 536 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:44,280 Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a family 537 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:45,880 meal. It's for those who are committed 538 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,280 to Christ and his people. So like we always say, if you're 539 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,640 a member of this church or another evangelical church where 540 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:55,360 the same gospel is preached. Now, if you are a believer, if 541 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,360 you have been baptized, if you are committed to his people and 542 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:06,600 you still struggle with guilt or conviction or shame, that makes 543 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,280 it hard for you to participate in the Lord's Supper. 544 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:14,680 Here's my counsel for you. The only times you should 545 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:20,720 abstain from the Lord's Supper are if you are prohibited by the 546 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:25,680 local church or you are convinced in your conscience 547 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,200 that you are committing sin that you are not repenting of. 548 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,640 I'll say that again. If you're a baptized believer 549 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,440 who's a member of a church, the only times you should abstain 550 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:40,000 from the Lord's Supper are if you've been removed by that 551 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,480 church as an act of discipline. So actually you're not a member 552 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,400 of that church anymore, not right now. 553 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,640 Or if you're convinced that you're not repenting of sin. 554 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,720 If it's the latter case, you should repent. 555 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,240 And as soon as you repent, partake. 556 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,760 That's one of the reasons we have time for private 557 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,120 confession. There are sins that you might 558 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:06,920 have become aware of and think, have I really repented of this? 559 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:08,920 I don't know. Resolve to repent of it then and 560 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:10,320 there. Resolve to obey God. 561 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,760 Resolve to turn from it. Confess it to the Lord. 562 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:16,080 There could well be sins where the the business you do with God 563 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,920 in that time of self examination flips from being unrepentant to 564 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,520 repentant. If that's the case and you are 565 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:29,040 repentant, partake. Calvin put this point 566 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:32,800 beautifully 500 years ago. He wrote in his treatise on the 567 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:37,400 Lord's Supper. Although some are more and 568 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:42,840 others less imperfect, still there is none who does not fail 569 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,840 in many respects. Hence the supper would be not 570 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:49,760 only useless, but hurtful to all, if it were necessary to 571 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:52,720 bring a faith or integrity that had no faults. 572 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:58,240 No, if we were not weak, subject to unbelief, and an imperfect 573 00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:02,520 life, the sacrament would be of no use to us, and it would have 574 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:10,000 been needless to institute it. For if we offer as an excuse for 575 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,480 not coming to the Supper that we are still weak in faith or 576 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:21,080 integrity of life, it is as if a man were to excuse himself from 577 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:25,080 taking medicine because he was sick. 578 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:35,560 The Lord's Supper is medicine for the sick, not a prize for 579 00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:40,680 the perfect. The Church is a family of 580 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:45,920 forgiving failures. The Lord's Supper is a meal for 581 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:48,960 forgiven failures, and it holds out that promise of forgiveness 582 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,720 to us again and again. Don't let your failures keep you 583 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:57,360 from Christ, whether past failures, present failures, or 584 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,680 failures you fear you will make in the future. 585 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:03,480 Instead, let your failures drive you to Christ. 586 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,720 And don't let your failures keep you from the Lord's Supper. 587 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,480 Instead, make them drive you to the Lord's Supper. 588 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,520 How can Jesus overcome your greatest failures? 589 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:20,080 By His death that fulfilled God's plan of salvation and His 590 00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:24,080 death accomplished perfect forgiveness for all who trusts 591 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:26,640 in Him. One day His death will secure 592 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:30,280 for us perfect fulfillment in God's presence forever. 593 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:35,040 Jesus accomplished the forgiveness and even the 594 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:40,440 restoration of disciples who would deny and forsake Him. 595 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:48,080 Point #3 He predicts failure and restoration. 596 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:55,480 He predicts failure and restoration. 597 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,960 That's what we see in verses 26 to 31. 598 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:03,680 Look at verses 26 and 27. And when they had sung A hymn, 599 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:05,880 they went out to the Mount of Olives, and Jesus said to them, 600 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:07,840 You will all fall away, for it is written. 601 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,600 I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. 602 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:18,040 Here Jesus predicts not betrayal by one, but desertion by all. 603 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:22,480 When Jesus trial and death come, his disciples are going to leave 604 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:24,520 him. They're going to abandon him. 605 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,000 They're going to run and hide so they don't have to suffer with 606 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:32,200 him. This too will fulfill scripture. 607 00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:36,680 Here Jesus quotes Zechariah 13 verse 7. 608 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,360 Similar to Isaiah's suffering servant. 609 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:43,800 This is another prophecy of a suffering Messiah. 610 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:46,840 Now what's the striking strike? The shepherd. 611 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:53,280 It's Jesus being put to death. And when he is, when he needs 612 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:56,440 his disciples the most, they will run for cover. 613 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:03,040 They'll all forsake him. Jesus's trial and death will 614 00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:06,360 create a new trial for his disciples. 615 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:12,280 It will put more pressure on their commitment to Christ than 616 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,280 they've ever had to deal with before. 617 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:20,920 Brother or sister, be on guard against spiritual presumption. 618 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,440 Be on guard against thinking that because you haven't sinned 619 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:27,240 or struggled in a certain way that you never could or never 620 00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:29,920 will. Be careful not to think I would 621 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:35,600 never do that. One reason to guard against that 622 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:41,120 kind of presumption is that new seasons bring new challenges. 623 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:47,360 New trials bring new temptations. 624 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:54,400 Getting married, having a child, losing your job, your health 625 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,640 taking a turn for the worse. Someone close to you suddenly 626 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:03,600 dying. When God ordains new seasons or 627 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:07,520 trials for you, you'll struggle in ways you never even thought 628 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:10,360 about, never given a second thought to. 629 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:17,600 You will fail in ways you never even thought about until a new 630 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:23,200 trial smacked you in the face. The disciples have been 631 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:27,800 remarkably consistent throughout Mark's gospel in failing Jesus. 632 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,840 It's one of the key themes of discipleship throughout Mark's 633 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:37,040 gospel is how regularly they fail to understand, fail to get 634 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,560 it, fail to do what Jesus would have them do. 635 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:46,560 But when Jesus death comes, they will fail him worse than ever. 636 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:52,680 This will be their greatest failure. 637 00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:04,040 But look at verse 28. Just the first word. 638 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:09,160 This is still Jesus talking. This is very next word. 639 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,120 It's just like the glorious phrase in Ephesians 2. 640 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:15,760 Four. But God, we were all dead in 641 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:21,960 sin, children of wrath, but God. Verse 27 The shepherd will be 642 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:24,200 struck, the sheep will be scattered. 643 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,960 Is that it? Will their failure be permanent? 644 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:30,960 Are they just done with Jesus? Will their desertion prove to be 645 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,560 a failure that is final and fatal? 646 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:40,160 No, their failure won't get the last word. 647 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:43,520 Jesus's resurrection will. Verse 28. 648 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:55,520 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. 649 00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:02,520 Jesus will rise from the dead, and he will reunite with his 650 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,320 disciples. They'll come join him in 651 00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:10,320 Galilee. The risen shepherd will regather 652 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:15,680 his scattered sheep. Judas will betray Jesus to 653 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,480 death, but God will raise him from the dead. 654 00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:22,640 The disciples will forsake him, but he won't forsake them. 655 00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:26,840 The disciples will deny him, but Jesus will restore them. 656 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:29,560 The disciples will scatter from him. 657 00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:35,040 Jesus will regather them. The disciples desertion won't 658 00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:38,280 get the last word. Jesus restoration will. 659 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:42,040 The disciples faithlessness won't get the last word, Jesus's 660 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:47,680 faithfulness will. The disciples failure won't get 661 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:52,120 the last word. Jesus is all conquering love. 662 00:44:52,880 --> 00:45:00,600 Will this one verse, verse 28, so short, it's easy to miss how 663 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,520 important it is. I kind of missed it when I was 664 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:05,000 studying the passage early in the week. 665 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,320 It didn't properly jump out of me until part way through my 666 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:08,920 study. And then I went, wait a minute. 667 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,160 This is just as important as their failure. 668 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:14,320 This is reversing the whole thing. 669 00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:17,560 He's not just promising failure, He's promising A glorious 670 00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:21,160 restoration. This verse really sets out the 671 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:25,120 plot for the rest of the gospel after Jesus death and even a 672 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,560 plot that goes beyond what the gospel explicitly tells us. 673 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:31,640 Mark doesn't narrate every single detail of this happening, 674 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,680 but we know it happened because Jesus said it was going to 675 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:38,560 happen. How does Jesus overcome his 676 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:42,160 disciples greatest failures? How can he overcome your 677 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:45,720 greatest failures? He predicts failure and 678 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:51,840 restoration, and he restores by the power of his resurrection. 679 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:57,080 We see one more prediction of failure in verses 29 to 31. 680 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:05,560 Peter says to him, even though they all fall away, I will not. 681 00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:09,320 And Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you this very night before 682 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:11,480 the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. 683 00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:14,360 But he said emphatically, if I must die with you, I will not 684 00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:16,840 deny you. And they all said the same. 685 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:22,720 That's Peter for you. Always confident, sometimes 686 00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:28,240 right. Peter didn't know his own heart 687 00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:31,400 as well as Jesus knew Peter's heart. 688 00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:38,080 In this instance, what Jesus knew of Peter was worse than 689 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:41,640 what Peter knew of Peter. And the other disciples shared 690 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:44,360 in the same error. They all pledged their dying 691 00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:48,440 allegiance to Jesus. They would prove spectacularly 692 00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:51,920 wrong. They wouldn't show loyalty to 693 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:58,240 him in death, instead only he would show loyalty to them in 694 00:46:58,240 --> 00:47:01,440 his death. Brothers and sisters, we should 695 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,760 learn from Peter and the other disciples not to be spiritually 696 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,920 self confident. We should learn to be suspicious 697 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:10,920 of our own hearts. We should beware the treachery 698 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:13,800 of our own hearts. As the Puritan Thomas Manton 699 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:19,680 said, the world and the devil may trouble you, but they cannot 700 00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:24,800 hurt you without yourself. No enemy can hurt us so much as 701 00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:29,080 we hurt ourselves. Therefore, if we would take 702 00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:34,040 revenge on them that hate us most, we should begin with our 703 00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:38,760 own hearts. Jesus always knows you better 704 00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:42,360 than you know yourself. Sometimes what He knows about 705 00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:45,520 you is worse than what you know about yourself. 706 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:49,200 But brothers and sisters, we should take comfort from the 707 00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:53,560 fact that sometimes the opposite is true. 708 00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:59,040 It is possible to be harder on yourself than Jesus is. 709 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:04,680 It is possible to be wrong about yourself by being too severe on 710 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,000 yourself. If that sounds like too good to 711 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,880 be true, let me prove it to you from Scripture first. 712 00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:16,240 John 319 and 20. By this we shall know that we 713 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:19,880 are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him, for 714 00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:24,560 whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart 715 00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:29,960 and He knows everything. What First John is saying is 716 00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:34,920 that sometimes your conscience keeps assaulting you for a sin 717 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:36,920 that really is a sin, but the God is forgiven. 718 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:41,920 Sometimes even your conscience assaults you for something that 719 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,640 you think is worse than it actually is. 720 00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:48,320 You think you're worse off spiritually and morally than you 721 00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:51,280 actually are. First, John is saying that God 722 00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:54,760 knows better than you, and sometimes what he knows is 723 00:48:54,760 --> 00:49:01,080 better than what you know. In every case, no matter what 724 00:49:01,080 --> 00:49:05,440 you know or don't know, God's grace can overcome all your 725 00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:07,880 failures. Jesus's forgiveness is 726 00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:13,240 sufficient to wipe out the record of all your failures. 727 00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:16,360 Peter himself offers us proof of this. 728 00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:20,320 Peter's threefold denial is singled out in the gospel, 729 00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:24,120 probably because Mark is taking down Peter's own testimony. 730 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:27,440 Peter comes out worse than any other disciple. 731 00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:34,040 But just as with all the disciples, Peter's personal 732 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:39,200 failure isn't the end of his story. 733 00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:45,760 Peter is spectacularly wrong about himself, and Peter fails 734 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:51,720 Jesus spectacularly. But Jesus gets the last word. 735 00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:57,200 Mark 16 testifies to Jesus resurrection, which we've just 736 00:49:57,200 --> 00:49:59,760 seen Jesus predicting again in verse 28. 737 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:06,160 Mark 16-7 pairs with verse 28 of our passage. 738 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:08,800 It's the second to last verse of the Gospel. 739 00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:14,840 An Angel tells the women who witnessed the empty tomb a 740 00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:20,760 message from Jesus that they are to pass on to the disciples. 741 00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:31,960 Mark 16/7. But go tell his disciples and 742 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:36,000 Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. 743 00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:40,440 There you will see him just as he told you. 744 00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:50,680 Peter sinned extra, and Peter got an extra word of assurance 745 00:50:51,440 --> 00:51:00,040 and comfort and restoration. To paraphrase the line from a 746 00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:07,280 trip lead track, when have you ever heard a story about a hero 747 00:51:08,240 --> 00:51:12,440 dying for the villain? When have you ever heard a story 748 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:16,360 about the God of the universe dying for a bunch of failures? 749 00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:20,360 When have you ever heard a story about love stronger than death 750 00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:25,840 and grace stronger than the worst things you've ever done? 751 00:51:27,240 --> 00:51:31,480 If you trust in Christ, no failure of yours will ever be 752 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:37,720 final or fatal. No past failure dictates who you 753 00:51:37,720 --> 00:51:42,800 are or what you can become. No failure, past, present, or 754 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:48,360 future determines your future. The same Jesus who restored 755 00:51:48,360 --> 00:51:52,520 Peter holds out his all, conquering forgiveness to you, 756 00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:55,960 the blood of Jesus. That is enough to pay for 757 00:51:55,960 --> 00:52:01,960 Peter's sin of denying Jesus is enough to pay for all your sins. 758 00:52:03,120 --> 00:52:07,520 What can separate you from God's love in Christ? 759 00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:13,360 Not tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or 760 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:18,960 nakedness or danger or sword or failure. 761 00:52:20,240 --> 00:52:29,930 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 762 00:52:29,930 --> 00:52:34,250 for your plan of salvation that is all powerful through the 763 00:52:34,250 --> 00:52:37,720 blood of Christ. To overcome our worst failures, 764 00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:41,160 we pray in Jesus name, Amen.