1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,240 Some of my favorite articles of clothing are slightly ironic. 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:08,400 When I was writing up this sermon manuscript earlier in 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,720 this week, I was wearing bright green socks that had mooses on 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,520 them. My mooses? 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,920 I don't know, it's funny. It's a little note of joy and 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,000 levity for the four inches between my shoes and my cuffed 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,280 up pant leg. Don't take it seriously. 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:30,080 The mooses don't mean anything. Another ironic article of 9 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,680 clothing that I enjoy will be a knit tie. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,680 My favorite little knit tie. You know it's, it's cut off at 11 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,360 the at the bottom. It's straight, not pointed. 12 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,280 Might wear it a little bit shorter than a more formal time. 13 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,800 A mutual friend of mine and Joe Birds, who's about 35 years 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,240 older than me, once heard me preach at a pastor's conference 15 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,520 just a few years ago. Afterward, he reported to 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,680 someone else. That young man is a very fine 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,320 preacher. Where'd the rest of his tie run 18 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:05,920 off to? Some ironies are light, slightly 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:11,560 funny, just a little misfit between expectation and reality. 20 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Something playful lightens the mood. 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,200 But some ironies are much darker and heavier. 22 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,280 You say something and someone takes it in the exact opposite 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,680 sense of how you meant it. You try to help solve a problem, 24 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,520 and you only make it worse. There's a fire burning. 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,280 You pick up water. You pour it on, and it turned 26 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:39,400 out it was gasoline, not water. That feels ironic, but bitterly 27 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,680 so, dangerously so. There's a misfit. 28 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,200 There's an incongruity between what you expect, what you hope, 29 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:52,960 and what actually happens. That irony leads to some pain or 30 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,040 suffering, depending how you look at it. 31 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,960 You could say that the whole Christian faith is built on a 32 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:08,600 central irony. God the Son Incarnate came to 33 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,600 earth to suffer and die for sinners in order to save us. 34 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,880 Now, many of us in this room are Christians. 35 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,280 Many people who aren't have been exposed to Christianity their 36 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,040 whole life. The western world is known of 37 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,040 Christianity for 2000 years. We're used to this. 38 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,440 It sounds familiar, but it is a bizarre statement. 39 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,760 It doesn't follow. It's not what you'd expect. 40 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,280 You can't. You can't predict it based on 41 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,480 the first part of the sentence, how the rest of the sentence is 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:41,440 going to end God, the sun comes to earth as a human being and 43 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,200 then he's killed. It doesn't make sense. 44 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:55,960 If Jesus is God Incarnate, why would he come to die? 45 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:01,080 If Jesus is the perfect, sinless one, why would he be handed over 46 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,960 into the hands of sinful men and killed? 47 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,560 What sense could that possibly make? 48 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:12,120 This morning we continue our series in Mark's gospel, and we 49 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,160 make big strides toward its conclusion. 50 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,680 We'll be studying chapter 14, verses 43 to 72. 51 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,280 So all the way to the end of the chapter, if you don't have a 52 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,080 Bible, you can raise your hand and someone will bring you one. 53 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:24,760 Feel free to keep that and take it home with you. 54 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:31,120 Here in our passage, Jesus's passion, his suffering in order 55 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,880 to save his people, begins to kick into gear. 56 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:40,480 And the ironies of that passion are the key to its meaning, the 57 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,200 incongruities between what we would expect to happen, in a 58 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,560 sense between what should happen and then what actually does 59 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,360 happen. Those reveal the hidden depths 60 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,440 of what Jesus came to do in saving us. 61 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,840 Please follow along as I read the whole passage. 62 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:11,840 Mark 1443 to 72. And immediately while he was 63 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:16,160 still speaking, Judas came one of the 12, and with him a crowd 64 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,160 with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes 65 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,480 and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them 66 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:28,560 a sign saying, The one I will kiss is the man, seize him, and 67 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,240 lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to 68 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,480 him at once and said, Rabbi, And he kissed him, and they laid 69 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,040 hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by 70 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:47,120 drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and 71 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,920 cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you 72 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,240 come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture 73 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,000 me? Day after day I was with you in 74 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,200 the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 75 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,880 But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. 76 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:13,320 And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him 77 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,880 with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. 78 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,320 And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away 79 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,280 naked. And they led Jesus to the high 80 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:27,760 priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the 81 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,840 scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a 82 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,760 distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, 83 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,640 and he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at 84 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,360 the fire. Now the chief priests and the 85 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,280 whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put 86 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,800 him to death, but they found none. 87 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,800 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony 88 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,080 did not agree. And some stood up and bore false 89 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,560 witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy 90 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,360 this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will 91 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,160 build another not made with hands. 92 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,840 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 93 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:13,160 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked, Jesus, have 94 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,360 you no answer to make? What is it that these men 95 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,520 testify against you? But he remained silent and made 96 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,120 no answer. Again the high priest asked him, 97 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,760 Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed? 98 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:36,080 And Jesus said, I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated 99 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,320 at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of 100 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,520 heaven. And the high priest tore his 101 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,520 garments and said, What further witness do we need? 102 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,560 You've heard his blasphemy, what is your decision? 103 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,520 And they all condemned him as deserving death. 104 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,000 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to 105 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,000 strike him, saying to him prophecy. 106 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,120 And the guards received him with blows. 107 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,040 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant 108 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,840 girls of the high priest came. And seeing Peter warming 109 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,400 himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with the 110 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:20,400 Nazarene Jesus. But he denied it, saying, I 111 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,040 neither know nor understand what you mean. 112 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,880 And he went out into the gateway, and the rooster crowed, 113 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,480 and the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the 114 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,480 bystanders, This man is one of them. 115 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,800 But again he denied it. And after a little while the 116 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,800 bystanders again said to Peter, certainly you're one of them, 117 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:45,080 for you are a Galilean. But he began to invoke a curse 118 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:50,440 on himself and to swear, I do not know this man of whom you 119 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,080 speak. And immediately the rooster 120 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,720 crowed a second time, and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to 121 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,000 him before. The rooster crows twice. 122 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:08,840 You will deny me three times. And he broke down and wept. 123 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:18,840 Our passage has three sections, 3 movements and verses 43 to 52. 124 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,040 Jesus is arrested and his disciples abandoned him. 125 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:29,280 In verses 53 to 65, Jesus is arraigned at a hearing before 126 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:34,919 the Jewish Council. He bears witness to who he is, 127 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,640 and he's condemned to death for it. 128 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:44,640 Then in verses 66 to 72, just as he prophesied, Jesus is denied 129 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:50,240 by his disciple. Peter. 3 * 3 sections of our 130 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:54,160 passage. Each one reveals an irony of 131 00:08:54,280 --> 00:09:02,400 Jesus Passion. 3 Ironies of Jesus Passion .1. 132 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:10,680 The peaceful shepherd is seized. The peaceful shepherd is seized. 133 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,840 We see this in verses 43 to 52. Please look again at verses 43 134 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,360 to 46. And immediately while he was 135 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,600 still speaking, Judas came one of the 12 and with him a crowd 136 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,760 with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes 137 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,760 and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them 138 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,880 a sign saying, The one I will kiss is the man sees him and 139 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,840 lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to 140 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,720 him at once and said, rabbi. And he kissed him, and they laid 141 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:46,600 hands on him and seized him. Here Judas, one of Jesus 12 142 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:51,560 disciples, leads an armed band to Jesus so that they can 143 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:54,880 capture him and lead him away under guard. 144 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,560 Judas had pre arranged the kiss as the sign, the means by which 145 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,400 he would identify Jesus to the chief priests. 146 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,520 Now in ancient Judea a kiss was a common greeting, but it wasn't 147 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,480 universal or routine, maybe a little bit extra affectionate. 148 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,160 So it would have been a natural way for him to single out one 149 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,000 person to identify. And of course, the kiss 150 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:23,800 heightens the cruelty and the treachery of Jesus, of Judas's 151 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,200 betrayal. This is someone who he's showing 152 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:32,680 extra affection to, but he's actually treating with the 153 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:39,080 vilest hatred. Verses 47 to 49 But one of those 154 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,960 who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high 155 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,000 priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you 156 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,840 come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture 157 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,960 me day after day? I was with you in the temple 158 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,400 teaching, and you did not seize me. 159 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,720 But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. 160 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,240 John 1810 identifies the disciple who cut off the 161 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,480 servant's ear as Peter. I'm not sure why Mark doesn't 162 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,480 make that identification since Mark is Peter's testimony. 163 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,560 Not sure. In any case, that's not Jesus's 164 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,280 endorsed response. This is not how he's going to 165 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:19,240 respond to this trial. It is not how he wants his 166 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:23,440 disciples to respond. Jesus is going to go with them 167 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,520 peaceably. Jesus is going to meet his fate 168 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,160 not with violent resistance, but humble submission. 169 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:40,160 Jesus points out to his captors how unfitting their actions are. 170 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:44,920 He's not armed, he's not dangerous, he's not violent. 171 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,600 What's he been doing all in the the lead up to the Passover? 172 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:52,880 He's been teaching publicly in the temple, out in the open 173 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:58,760 where anyone can access him. They couldn't seize him in 174 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,200 public or the people would revolt. 175 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,040 They couldn't seize him during the day, or they'd risk people 176 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,720 rising up and resisting. And so Jesus is pushing his 177 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:15,960 captors to try to see how dark and devious their actions are, 178 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,120 how unfitting with the person he is and who he has been to them 179 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,360 in public this whole time. They're treating him as if he's 180 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,640 a a rebel, a robber, an insurrectionist, but he's given 181 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:28,560 them no reason to suspect him of violence. 182 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:32,520 He has always humbly submitted to his Father, and he's going to 183 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:37,040 continue to do so. Now, what are Jesus reasons for 184 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,360 that humble submission? 1 is that he trusts the will of 185 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,240 the Father. Another is that he embraces his 186 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,760 role as Savior, even knowing it is going to cost him a violent 187 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,520 death and that he will suffer God's wrath. 188 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:59,360 Another angle on this is to say what Jesus says in verse 49. 189 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:03,600 But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. 190 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,720 God has ordained all of this. None of it is by chance. 191 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,280 None of it is by action. None of it is against God's 192 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,560 plan. This is the very unfolding of 193 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:17,000 God's plan. God, through His Spirit, 194 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,600 speaking by the prophets, has announced all this in advance. 195 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,120 What scriptures does Jesus have in mind? 196 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,440 I think 2 of the leading ones are the two passages we read 197 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,480 earlier in our service from Zechariah 13, especially verse 7 198 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,600 and all of Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 5312. 199 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,800 In the Greek version it says the suffering servant will be 200 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,960 delivered over to death. That's exactly what's happening 201 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,160 here. Why was Jesus delivered over to 202 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,880 death? Not because he deserved it, but 203 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,120 because you and I do. That's the central irony here. 204 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,360 That's the central paradox. That's the thing that doesn't 205 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,120 make sense, but only make sense if this is God's plan. 206 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,800 This is God's work. This is God's way to reconcile 207 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,520 people to himself. God has created each one of us. 208 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,200 God has given us all that we have, every moment of our lives. 209 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,040 What we owe to Him is wholehearted love, wholehearted 210 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,360 obedience, wholehearted gratitude and affection to 211 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,800 Orient our lives back to Him. Since he's given us all that we 212 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,200 have and all that we are. And yet we've rebelled. 213 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,120 We've turned against him. We've gone astray from Him. 214 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:33,360 As Isaiah 53 says, each of us has turned to his own way. 215 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,240 In our culture, we celebrate that. 216 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,440 We make a virtue of it, a value out of it. 217 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:42,560 But to Scripture, going your own way is the way of sin, of death, 218 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,040 of folly, because there's sin bound up in your heart. 219 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,640 By nature, we are all born slaves of sin. 220 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,680 To go our own way is to go deeper and deeper into sin, and 221 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,640 it's to reject God's way by definition. 222 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,600 So God has every right to reject us. 223 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,480 God has every right to judge us. God has every right to condemn 224 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,560 us and deliver us over to death, not only a physical death, but 225 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,920 an eternal, everlasting death in hell. 226 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:13,280 That's what we deserve. That's what we've earned. 227 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:19,000 And so the good news of the gospel is that Jesus takes what 228 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,960 we deserve so that we would get what he deserves. 229 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:29,120 Jesus suffers what we've earned so that we get what he earned. 230 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,800 That's the exchange. That's the only way to make 231 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,920 sense out of this. Jesus is already suffering this. 232 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,880 We're already seeing it play out, and it will play out fully 233 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,240 on the cross. Not only that, three days later 234 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,040 God will raise him from the dead, reversing humanity's 235 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,960 verdict against Him, installing him in indestructible life, and 236 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,280 holding him out to everyone as the only and all sufficient 237 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,080 Savior. If you've never turned from sin 238 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,320 and trusted in Jesus, do so today. 239 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,800 This great exchange, this great reversal, this great swap of 240 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:07,080 what you deserve for what He deserves is the only way to get 241 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,080 right with God. And the only way you can receive 242 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,760 that is by turning from sin and trusting in Him. 243 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,960 As I mentioned, in addition to Isaiah 53, Jesus also probably 244 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,560 has in mind another passage that he's already mentioned early 245 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,920 earlier in the same chapter. We read it in Zechariah 13, 246 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,960 verse seven. I will strike the shepherd, and 247 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:32,640 the sheep will be scattered. Jesus is going to be struck by 248 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,040 being killed. The shepherd did nothing to 249 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,080 deserve being struck. He was struck for the sins of 250 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,520 His people. The shepherd did nothing to 251 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:46,320 deserve being seized. Instead, he preached peace and 252 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,080 lived peaceably and ultimately came to make peace. 253 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,120 What would happen when this peaceable shepherd is seized? 254 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,120 What will happen when the shepherd is struck? 255 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:03,760 The sheep will be scattered. That's what we see in verses 50 256 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:09,040 to 52. And they all left him and fled. 257 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,400 And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth 258 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:20,800 about his body, and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth 259 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,040 and ran away naked. Verse 50, They all left him and 260 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,640 fled. This is exactly what Jesus 261 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,240 predicted would happen back in verse 27. 262 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:31,760 Jesus said to them, You will all fall away. 263 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,960 Fruit is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will 264 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,160 be scattered. So when Jesus is arrested, the 265 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,640 disciples abandoned him. They don't want to be seized 266 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,280 along with him. As Jesus begins to suffer for 267 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,720 them, they run away from suffering with him. 268 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,880 In so doing, they act like undisciples, anti disciples. 269 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,760 The Christian life is founded on Christ's suffering for us. 270 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:07,160 That's what saves us. And then a key dynamic 271 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,800 throughout the whole Christian life is our suffering with Him. 272 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,680 We are God's adopted children, and just as his natural eternal 273 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:21,320 Son suffered for us, so we adopted sons must suffer too. 274 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,280 As Paul confesses in Romans 816 and 17, The Spirit himself bears 275 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,840 witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 276 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:36,440 And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs 277 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:41,200 with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may 278 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,840 also be glorified with him. But here, when Jesus is 279 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:50,040 captured, all his disciples fail to suffer with him. 280 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,240 They run away instead, just as Jesus predicted. 281 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:59,280 And as we saw last week, they flee because they failed to 282 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,200 depend on God in prayer. The only way to suffer 283 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:08,080 faithfully with Christ is to depend on God in prayer 284 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:09,760 throughout all of that suffering. 285 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,760 So we learned in verse 50 that all the disciples fled. 286 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,640 But then what's the story of someone running away naked in 287 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,600 verses 51 and 52? Seems funny, odd, out of place. 288 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,160 What's going on there? People often suggest that this 289 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,720 might be an indirect or even ironic way for Mark, the author 290 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,440 of the gospel, to identify himself. 291 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:30,600 But I don't think there's any firm evidence for that. 292 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,440 I don't think there's any strong reasons for that. 293 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,800 Instead, I think this incident is simply showing the lengths 294 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,400 the disciples would go to to run away from Jesus. 295 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,840 It's kind of an exclamation mark on they're all abandoning him. 296 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:53,040 This anonymous disciple was so set on fleeing from Jesus that 297 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,560 when they grabbed his outer garment, he let him have it and 298 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,640 ran away naked. Whether that's literally naked, 299 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,480 like no clothes, whether it's undergarments, we don't know. 300 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:02,600 But it's not a normal thing you did, right? 301 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:08,160 They grabbed his coat. Rather than risking it, he keeps 302 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,520 running. It's a little bit like Joseph in 303 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,680 Genesis fleeing from Potiphar's wife. 304 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:22,720 Only Joseph was fleeing sin. This disciple is fleeing, 305 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,640 suffering, flee sinning against Christ. 306 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,000 Don't flee suffering with and for Christ. 307 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,080 The peaceful Shepherd was seized, and so will be his 308 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,280 peaceful followers. Why? 309 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:43,040 Why was he seized? To fulfill the Scriptures in His 310 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:48,080 Word, God laid out a detailed script that Christ's sufferings 311 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:49,920 would follow. If you want to see that, you 312 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,040 could also especially look at Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. 313 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,600 In those Psalms, David is describing his own sufferings, 314 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,440 but in ways where certain details go beyond what he 315 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,680 possibly could have experienced. There were specific, there's 316 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,200 certain details that kind of stick out. 317 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,080 There's certain things that happen. 318 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,240 That's because they're being announced prophetically. 319 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:13,560 It's based on David, but it goes beyond David we see in Psalms 320 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:18,000 like Psalm 22. Psalm 69 is a detailed script 321 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,320 for what the sufferings of Christ would look like. 322 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:27,240 Now God doesn't lay out as detailed of a script for the 323 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,600 sufferings that each of us will endure for His sake, but He does 324 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,240 lay out a general pattern in His word. 325 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,640 Just as Jesus suffered, then entered glory, so will we. 326 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:43,440 Just as Jesus was humiliated and then was exalted, so will we be 327 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,840 as Peter exhorts us in first Peter 5-6 and seven. 328 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,120 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so 329 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:56,080 that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your 330 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,320 anxieties on Him because He cares for you. 331 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,560 Brother or sister, what anxieties do you need to cast on 332 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:09,040 the Lord this morning? What frustrated expectations do 333 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:14,080 you need to entrust to Him? What sufferings do you need His 334 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:21,240 help to faithfully endure? He has promised that you will 335 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,600 suffer, and He's promised to be with you in your suffering. 336 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,520 He has promised you'll suffer, and He's promised that your 337 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,080 suffering will end in glory. He has promised that you'll 338 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,840 suffer, and He's promised that your sufferings will fit you for 339 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:43,200 heaven. Why doesn't so much of what God 340 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:48,680 does in our lives make sense? It's as if you stopped Jesus 341 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,240 story right here. What, huh. 342 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,760 He's seized, he's arrested. How could this possibly work 343 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,440 out? Why doesn't so much of what God 344 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,720 is doing in our lives make sense to us right now? 345 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:08,120 Because he isn't reading from our script, but his own, and 346 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:15,320 because he isn't operating from our timeline, but from his, one 347 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,560 of the most profound Christian reflections on that point I've 348 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,040 ever heard. It's a man named Ian Murray. 349 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,320 Ian Murray is a British pastor. He was a pastor for a long time, 350 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,200 a long time ago. He's lived very long. 351 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,320 He's 94 now. He's he's mainly been a writer 352 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,640 and the publisher of the Banner of Truth Trust, and he's 353 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,960 published dozens of really spiritually enriching, edifying 354 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,200 books. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland 355 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,160 now and a couple of times over the years I've been part of 356 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,640 group phone calls with him. Most recent time, it's about two 357 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:52,400 or three years ago and he was reflecting at what must be near 358 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,800 the end of his very long and fruitful life. 359 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,040 He was reflecting on a biography he just finished writing of 360 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,560 another Christian leader who whom he knew for decades and 361 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:04,280 who'd recently passed away. And he was kind of considering 362 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,480 the whole legacy of this brother's life. 363 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,480 His ministry is teaching. And Ian Murray and the subject 364 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,400 of his biography had had some real sharp disagreements over 365 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,520 the years and decades, some real challenging debates, disputes. 366 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,520 And Murray said over the phone about what he was learning from 367 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,840 reflecting back over all those decades and the differences 368 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:32,200 they'd had, he said one thing became clear to him. 369 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:43,320 God is preparing men more for eternity than for time. 370 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:49,840 God is preparing men, men, women, all His adopted children 371 00:24:50,880 --> 00:25:00,360 more for eternity than for time. The irony of the cross resolved 372 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:03,960 in the glory of the resurrection, the irony of your 373 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:08,400 sufferings will resolve in the glory of the new creation. 374 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,560 Why? Because if you trust in Christ, 375 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,880 Jesus bore the wrath you deserve, so that you'll receive 376 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:17,880 the life and joy that only He deserves. 377 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:22,640 That brings us to .2. The Son of Man is judged. 378 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:29,440 The Son of Man is judged. We see this in Jesus hearing 379 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,600 before the Sanhedrin in verses 40. 380 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:39,240 Excuse me, 53 to 65. Start with verse 53. 381 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,200 And they led Jesus to the high priest and all the chief priests 382 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,240 and the elders and the scribes came together. 383 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,440 This is the middle of the night. It's an it's essentially an 384 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,440 emergency session of the Sanhedrin. 385 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,840 That's the ruling body of Jerusalem. 386 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:59,240 It says they all assembled, which could mean literally every 387 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,600 single one of them came together, about 70 people. 388 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,240 Or it just means that everyone who is available came together. 389 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,160 So it constituted A quorum. They met the minimum requirement 390 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:10,120 to have an assembly of the whole. 391 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,480 Then the camera pans to Peter verse 54. 392 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:19,040 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the 393 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,040 courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the 394 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,360 guards and warming himself at the fire. 395 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,320 So we know that Peter is nearby, but we don't yet know what he's 396 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,240 doing while Jesus is on trial. That'll come soon. 397 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:37,600 Look at verses 55 and 56. Now the chief priests and the 398 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,280 whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put 399 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:44,520 him to death, but they found none. 400 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,840 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony 401 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,560 did not agree. Verse 55 tells us they were 402 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:58,840 seeking testimony against him, meaning they're already 403 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,160 convinced he's guilty. They've already made-up their 404 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,440 minds against him. They're already dead set on 405 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,480 finding a way to condemn him to death. 406 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,240 Now it's just a matter in this hearing of finding a charge 407 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:19,920 that'll stick. They looked for witnesses who 408 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,160 could testify against him, but that didn't turn up any 409 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:27,360 credible, confirmed charges. Verse 56 tells us that many 410 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:31,280 witnesses spoke against him, but their testimony did not agree. 411 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,800 So the Sanhedrin's faithfulness to the procedures they were 412 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,400 required to follow, even some from God's own Word, was a mixed 413 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,600 bag. On the one hand, they had 414 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,720 already made-up their minds against Jesus. 415 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,040 There's no sense in which this hearing was part of a kind of 416 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,760 Fair and free trial. But on the other hand, they were 417 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,800 abiding by the Mosaic Laws requirement that every legal 418 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,920 matter be established by two or three witnesses. 419 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,560 They hear these conflicting testimonies. 420 00:27:57,560 --> 00:27:59,520 They don't have two or three witnesses who agree. 421 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:01,960 So that's inadmissible. They're not going to go forward 422 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:07,840 on that basis. Verses 57 to 59 tell us what 423 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:11,040 these false witnesses were testifying against him. 424 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:12,640 Here's the content of their testimony. 425 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,640 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, we 426 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,080 heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with 427 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,680 hands, and in three days I will build another not made with 428 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,280 hands. Yet even about this, their 429 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:30,920 testimony did not agree. Now this false testimony 430 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,160 contains multiple grains of truth. 431 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:40,760 Jesus did predict that the temple would be destroyed, but 432 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:45,560 he did not say that he would be the one to destroy it. 433 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:53,360 Instead, God would just 40 years later in 70 AD when the Romans 434 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,840 overthrew Jerusalem. And what's that thing about 3 435 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,520 days later? Jesus did predict that something 436 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,920 dramatic would reverse three days later several times in the 437 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:08,000 Gospel, but it wasn't the temple being literally rebuilt, it was 438 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,280 his body being raised from the dead. 439 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,160 Now I think the truth behind these witnesses statement which 440 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,680 we see more fully in the Gospel of John, is that Jesus's 441 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,760 resurrection is the beginning of God's new end time temple. 442 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:24,720 He does refer to his body as the temple. 443 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,960 It will be destroyed. It will be rebuilt. 444 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,640 When Jesus was raised from the dead, his resurrection body 445 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,440 became the place where people are united to God. 446 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,640 It became the means of our union with God. 447 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,920 His resurrection body was created by God's power, not by 448 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,840 any human action. That's why it's contrasted with 449 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:49,000 the earth earthly temple. It is not made with hands. 450 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,680 And Jesus resurrection body guarantees that all who trust in 451 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,240 Him will one day dwell with him in a building not made by hand. 452 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,200 So even though this testimony against him contained elements 453 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,880 of truth, it was. It was garbled. 454 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,320 It was fundamentally false. It didn't get him right. 455 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,160 It didn't get his teaching right. 456 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,240 If you're not a believer in Jesus, maybe you're considering 457 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,840 whether to become a Christian. You should understand that 458 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,760 people have been getting Jesus wrong for 2000 years. 459 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:23,920 Not every witness to Jesus is true. 460 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:27,920 Not every witness to Jesus is reliable. 461 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,880 If you're not a believer in Jesus, whose testimony about 462 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:36,640 Jesus are you going to believe? Who do you trust to tell you who 463 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,320 Jesus is? And just under score, the 464 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:44,200 testimony in the four gospels is from eyewitnesses. 465 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,960 It's from those who were with Jesus. 466 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,920 Not only that, it's guaranteed by the inspiration of the Holy 467 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:56,200 Spirit. So after this conflicting 468 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,920 testimony is given, the high priest asks Jesus to respond 469 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,720 verse 60 into verse 61. And the high priest stood up in 470 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,560 the midst and asked Jesus, have you no answer to make? 471 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,960 What is it that these men testify against you? 472 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,640 But he remained silent and made no answer. 473 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,760 Why was Jesus silent? One reason is to fulfill the 474 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,960 Scripture Isaiah 53, seven we which we read earlier. 475 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,920 The suffering servant will be silent before his accusers, like 476 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:34,080 a lamb being sheared. But Jesus was also trusting that 477 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:39,320 the truth will out the truth and their false accusations would be 478 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,160 shown in his resurrection. It would be shown in God's 479 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,040 judgement against the temple. In the mere 40 years. 480 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,080 Jesus didn't need to defend himself by his words. 481 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,160 Why? Because he trusted that God 482 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,000 would vindicate him by his actions. 483 00:31:55,840 --> 00:32:00,080 First, Peter 223 turns this into an example for us as believers. 484 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,920 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. 485 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,920 When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued 486 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,440 entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 487 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,880 So Jesus doesn't respond to their false charges, but he does 488 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:23,040 respond next to the high priests direct question, verses 61 and 489 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:27,680 62. Again, the high priest asked 490 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:31,960 him, are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed? 491 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:37,480 And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of man 492 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:42,240 is seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds 493 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,640 of heaven. So the high priest asks Jesus 494 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,520 outright whether he's the Messiah. 495 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,360 And his question might also imply even more. 496 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,520 When he asks Jesus whether he's the son of the blessed, he might 497 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,440 be asking Jesus about his claim to be the Son in a divine sense. 498 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,720 In other words, the high priest is asking Jesus about the source 499 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:05,880 of his authority. Jesus has been doing all kinds 500 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,600 of things that demonstrate A remarkable authority. 501 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:13,560 He he interrupted the whole exchange of, you know, animals 502 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:18,440 and money in the temple. He taught a parable about God 503 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,920 handing over his Kingdom to other leadership because of how 504 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,000 those leaders treated his beloved son. 505 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,240 He's been forgiving sins, raising the dead, teaching about 506 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,000 himself in high and exalted terms. 507 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,320 It all kind of adds up, and especially his actions in the 508 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:34,840 temple. To who are you? 509 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,280 Who do you think you are? Where do you get this authority? 510 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:39,160 That's what some of his opponents asked him a few 511 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,760 chapters ago. By what authority do you do 512 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,320 these things? And now the question that's been 513 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,120 driving all of Mark, who is Jesus, gets its fullest, 514 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,800 richest, most public answer. What Jesus has taught his 515 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,000 disciples, what he's had them keep quiet, What's been revealed 516 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,440 in his actions? What's been revealed in his 517 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,520 miracles? Now he's going to utter fully 518 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,000 himself before everyone. This is really the kind of 519 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,639 theological climax of the whole Gospel of Mark. 520 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:13,639 I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand 521 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:16,120 of power and coming at the clouds of heaven. 522 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:19,480 In his answer he quotes 2 passages of Scripture. 523 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,679 These are passages we've seen alluded to throughout Mark's 524 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:27,600 Gospel, Psalm 110 verse one and Daniel 713 which opened our 525 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,320 service. In Psalm 110 verse one, the Lord 526 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:35,159 says to David's Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your 527 00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:36,760 enemies a footstool for your feet. 528 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:41,080 And in Daniel 713 one, like a son of man, that is a human 529 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:46,239 being comes to God on his throne and receives divine authority 530 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:51,880 and worship. So here at last, Jesus is fully, 531 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,400 publicly unveiling the secret of his identity. 532 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,440 He is God's divine Son Incarnate. 533 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:02,200 He is the Messiah. And by proclaiming these two 534 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,360 passages of Scripture before the High Priest and the whole 535 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:10,680 council, Jesus is also teaching them that the Old Testament 536 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:16,840 proclaims that the Messiah will be God's divine Son Incarnate. 537 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:20,760 If they understood the Scriptures, they would 538 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,480 understand him. If they rightly understood the 539 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:27,280 prophecies, they would recognize not only that he's the Messiah, 540 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:32,120 but that he's divine. Jesus is not claiming anything 541 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:39,240 for himself that Scripture doesn't already claim for him. 542 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:45,520 But notice that Jesus says you will see. 543 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:51,160 When will they see this? What exactly will they see? 544 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,800 I think the most immediate answer is at his resurrection 545 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:59,000 and then his ascension. 3 days after he dies, Jesus will rise 546 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,520 from the dead. Shortly after that, he will 547 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:04,040 ascend to heaven and take his seat at the right hand of God. 548 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,320 That will show God's verdict on Jesus. 549 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,440 The high priest rejects him. God endorses him. 550 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:16,520 The high priest condemns him. God the Father vindicates him. 551 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,560 Jesus is about to receive the sentence of death. 552 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,120 God is going to give him indestructible life. 553 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,200 But when will they see Jesus coming with the clouds of 554 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,280 heaven? In Daniel's prophecy, the Son of 555 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:35,560 Man comes with the clouds to God on his throne. 556 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,440 Coming with the clouds is approaching God in heaven. 557 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,440 And when Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts One, we learn 558 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:48,920 that a cloud took him up, fulfilling Daniel 713, coming to 559 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:50,720 God's throne in heaven in a cloud. 560 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,480 But I think there's likely a double meaning here. 561 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:59,360 Jesus entered heaven with a cloud, and he will return from 562 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:03,400 heaven to earth, coming with the clouds in glory. 563 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:08,240 That's exactly what He said he'd do in Mark 13, verse 26 and 564 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:13,280 again declaring what people will see and then they will see the 565 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:17,280 Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 566 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,560 So the high priests, though they though most of them wouldn't 567 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,720 have eyes to see it and believe it, they would have been able to 568 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:28,480 witness his resurrection. It really happened in space and 569 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:30,600 time. They could have believed it. 570 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,360 They could have seen Jesus face to face. 571 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,400 They could have been there to see him lift up into heaven. 572 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:38,240 They could have been eyewitnesses of the ascension. 573 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:43,480 It really happened. They could have seen what 574 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:48,200 they've not yet seen, but one day will see is Jesus returning 575 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:54,680 in power and glory. And when he does, every eye will 576 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:58,560 see him. Jesus will return. 577 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:02,760 The ruling authorities are about to remove him from the earthly 578 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:06,680 scene, but he'll come back. They will not have gotten rid of 579 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:08,840 him. They're about to crucify him in 580 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:11,560 weakness, but he'll return in power. 581 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,280 Their rejection of Him won't be the end of the story. 582 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:19,400 He's being judged by them now, but He will return as their 583 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:22,200 judge. For all of us who believe in 584 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:29,960 Jesus, knowing the rest of the story ground our hope because 585 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,280 their verdict against him will be overturned. 586 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:35,800 Every verdict the world renders against believers will be 587 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,920 overturned. Jesus will return victorious and 588 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,840 all believers will share in his victory. 589 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,160 But the high priest refuses to believe it. 590 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:51,720 Look at verses 63 to 65. And the high priest tore his 591 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:54,520 garments and said, what further witnesses do we need? 592 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:57,000 You've heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? 593 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,280 And they all condemned him as deserving death. 594 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,680 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to 595 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:06,040 strike him, saying to him prophecy. 596 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:10,680 And the guards received him with blows. 597 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:15,800 An ancient Judaism, blasphemy was a capital offense. 598 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:22,240 Blasphemy consists of claiming for yourself what only belongs 599 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:26,040 to God. It's infringing on territory 600 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:30,240 that only God can occupy. One common source of blasphemy 601 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:33,760 in the ancient world around ancient Judea was the kind of 602 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:36,800 worship that emperors claimed for themselves. 603 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,720 They were happy to have their people worship them as gods. 604 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:42,480 Maybe when the emperor dies, he ascends to the status of a God, 605 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,120 and then you offer him sacrifices and all this kind of 606 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,240 thing. Jews are very sensitive. 607 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:48,640 This is this is, this is worship. 608 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,280 You can't give a human being worship. 609 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:54,560 Dead or alive, doesn't matter. That's the kind of thing that 610 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,120 the high priest is accusing Jesus of. 611 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:02,800 And if Jesus is only a human being, the high priest is right. 612 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:07,320 If he's a mere man, he can't say that he can't talk like that. 613 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,320 He can't talk about coming back to judge the whole world. 614 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:18,720 So the high priest rightly heard Jesus claiming divine power and 615 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:24,560 authority, but he wrongly. Rejected Jesus testimony about 616 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:29,040 himself. The question is, is it true? 617 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:34,640 There are only two options. Either Jesus is God Incarnate or 618 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:37,920 he's a blasphemer. Either the truth he's telling 619 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,840 his world shattering, or he's an evil liar. 620 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:46,160 Either you repent and believe in him, or you reject him as a 621 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:50,160 blasphemer and he ultimately will reject you. 622 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:56,880 It's this charge of blasphemy that becomes decisive in Jesus 623 00:40:56,880 --> 00:40:59,760 condemnation and ultimately his death. 624 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:02,920 In the high priest view, they no longer needed two or three 625 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:04,520 witnesses. They heard it from Jesus 626 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,880 himself. They condemn him to death. 627 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,240 They pass an official sentence against him. 628 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:13,880 People will often say about Mark's Gospel. 629 00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:16,640 Oh, and Mark's gospel. Jesus doesn't really claim to be 630 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:18,640 divine. He's more of a human miracle 631 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:20,120 worker. This is only stuff that happens 632 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:24,080 later, you know, 50 years, 60 years, 100 years after the 633 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:27,280 events, blah, blah, blah. Most scholars would recognize 634 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,080 Mark's Gospel as the earliest and right here. 635 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:34,480 The very reason why he's condemned to death is the charge 636 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,720 of blasphemy for claiming to be divine. 637 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:43,200 Nothing else can account for what got Jesus killed. 638 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:44,920 They didn't have a sufficient reason. 639 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,720 His disruptions in the temple, he's kind of stirring things up. 640 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:50,840 He's leading away the crowds. None of that was good enough in 641 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:57,440 their sight to get him killed. What did it was his claim of 642 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,320 unity and equality with the Father. 643 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:08,480 His very life and death turned on that claim to be God the Son. 644 00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:12,480 Now, under Roman rule, the Jewish people didn't have the 645 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:15,960 right to put someone to death. That's why they're going to take 646 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:18,280 Jesus to the Roman governor next. 647 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,000 But they've heard all they need to They condemn him to die. 648 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:23,840 And so they begin to treat him as someone who has no dignity, 649 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:27,120 no rights, no life worth anything. 650 00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:30,320 They insult him by spitting on him. 651 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:34,040 They remove his agency by covering his face. 652 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,240 They abuse him physically by striking him. 653 00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:41,400 They mock him as a false prophet, saying prophecy. 654 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:48,320 Our Savior knows what it is to be verbally and physically 655 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:53,440 abused. The Son of Man was judged for 656 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,800 us. The one to whom all authority 657 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,600 rightly belongs was stripped of all authority and condemned to 658 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:01,640 death. The judge was judged in our 659 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:06,000 place, and he will return to judge and save. 660 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:08,040 So we should live our whole lives for him. 661 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,840 We should testify boldly to Him. We should love Him more than we 662 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,840 love ourselves. We should fear Him more than we 663 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,000 fear what any human being can do to us. 664 00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:24,360 But that's not at all what Jesus first disciples did. 665 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:30,280 It's not at all what Peter did. As we see in the last part of 666 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:35,800 our passage .3. The true prophet is denied. 667 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:47,760 The true prophet is denied Verses 66 to 72 After giving us 668 00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:50,280 that little glimpse of where Peter was during Jesus trial, 669 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:52,680 verse 66 returns the focus to Peter. 670 00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,800 Look at verses 66 to 68. And as Peter was below in the 671 00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:01,360 courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 672 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:05,320 And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and 673 00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:09,880 said, you also were with the Nazarene Jesus. 674 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:14,600 But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what 675 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,000 you mean. And he went out into the 676 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,880 gateway, and the rooster crowed. This servant girl, somebody of 677 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:26,120 low status, low power, not a physical threat, saw Peter 678 00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:32,240 coming along with Jesus. She witnessed his actions and he 679 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:34,080 lied. He denied it. 680 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:37,600 He denied it as emphatically as he could, claiming to have no 681 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:43,680 idea what she was talking about. When confronted by lies, Jesus 682 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:47,640 bore true witness. When confronted with the truth, 683 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:53,680 Peter bore false witness. Why does it mention a rooster 684 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,680 crowing? Because Jesus predicted Peter's 685 00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:00,440 denial earlier in this chapter. Back in verse 30, Jesus said to 686 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:02,840 Peter, truly, I tell you this very night before the rooster 687 00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:05,520 crows twice, you'll deny me three times. 688 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:10,160 Jesus prophecy is in the process of coming true. 689 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:16,760 Peter is bearing false witness against the true prophet. 690 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:21,840 He's denying the true prophet, and he'll do so again twice 691 00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:24,840 more. Look at verse 69 through the 692 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:30,200 first part of verse 72. And the servant girl saw him and 693 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,840 began again to say to the bystanders, this man is one of 694 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:36,200 them. But again he denied it. 695 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:40,240 And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, 696 00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:43,280 certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean. 697 00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:48,760 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do 698 00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:50,560 not know this man of whom you speak. 699 00:45:51,560 --> 00:45:53,640 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. 700 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:59,560 The bystanders would have known that Peter was a Galilean by his 701 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:02,560 regional accent. Jesus and all his disciples, His 702 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:05,720 12 disciples were from Galilee, up in the north and standing 703 00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:08,680 outside in a courtyard in the middle of the night. 704 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:10,600 There wouldn't have been a ton of people. 705 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:13,920 So if you're a Galilean, you must be with Jesus. 706 00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:17,680 Peter denied the servant girl again, and he denied it to the 707 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:20,480 whole crowd of bystanders. Not only that, but he began to 708 00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:25,840 swear it, to solemnize it. He began to invoke a curse 709 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,720 against himself, something probably along the lines of May 710 00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:34,480 God do so to me, and more. Also if, why did Peter do it? 711 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:39,080 Fear. He feared them rather than God. 712 00:46:40,240 --> 00:46:43,200 He feared personal harm more than he feared displeasing God. 713 00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:48,040 He sought to preserve himself at the cost of his obedience rather 714 00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:50,680 than preserving his obedience even at the cost of his life. 715 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:55,760 Jesus bore true witness under the greatest imaginable 716 00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:58,160 pressure. When Peter was put under 717 00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:01,720 pressure, he crumbled and as soon as he did, the rooster 718 00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:04,760 crowed. The second time Jesus prophecy 719 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:10,080 was fulfilled to the T Thankfully for Peter and for us, 720 00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:16,880 that's not the end of the story. The rest of verse 72 gives us a 721 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:22,240 little glimpse of hope. And he broke down and wept. 722 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:26,280 Now the text is not explicit here. 723 00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:32,920 Not all remorse is repentance. You can be sorry for something 724 00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:36,360 without actually turning away from it as sin in your heart 725 00:47:36,360 --> 00:47:39,640 that you're rejecting and resolving not to do again. 726 00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:44,360 But I think we're meant to see this as the beginning of Peter's 727 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,640 repentance. For one thing, it's immediate. 728 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:49,080 It happens as soon as the rooster crows. 729 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:52,680 For another, it's a response to Jesus's word. 730 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:58,320 The rooster reminds him what Jesus said and that that's clear 731 00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:02,280 in our passage. Peter remembered it as we saw 732 00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:04,120 two weeks ago. One more detail. 733 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,360 This is not the end of Peter's story. 734 00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:12,400 When Jesus rises from the dead in Mark 16/7, he commissions an 735 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:17,400 Angel to tell the disciples. But go tell his disciples and 736 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,520 Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. 737 00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:26,000 Peter singled himself out by his failure. 738 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:32,200 Jesus singles him out. By grace, Jesus will restore 739 00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:37,080 Peter to himself. Peter's story doesn't end here, 740 00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:42,600 but it is instructive to note where this portion of the story 741 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:46,960 ends before they move on to the Roman trial. 742 00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:51,560 Jesus will now head to his death alone. 743 00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,560 Why? In part because he bore true 744 00:48:56,560 --> 00:49:00,280 witness to himself and his disciples didn't. 745 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:05,880 The truth out of his own lips about himself sealed his fate. 746 00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:09,240 Peter will escape, but at the cost of his faithfulness to 747 00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:12,600 Jesus. Under the greatest pressure, 748 00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:14,720 Jesus bore true witness to himself. 749 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:19,840 He did it to save you. He did it alone. 750 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:30,120 Jesus is going to save us by Himself, and then he'll rise 751 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:34,960 from the dead victorious, ascend to heaven, and one day return. 752 00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:39,680 Why? So that all who believe will not 753 00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:45,160 be alone, but will be with Him in glory forever. 754 00:49:45,920 --> 00:49:51,560 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise You 755 00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:58,440 for this plan of salvation in which so many things that seem 756 00:49:58,440 --> 00:50:05,200 exactly wrong were exactly what we needed in order to be saved. 757 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:09,960 Father, we pray that we would trust in your wisdom, trust in 758 00:50:09,960 --> 00:50:14,920 your Providence, hold fast to Christ and boldly confess him 759 00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:18,720 before others. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.