Me meeting in Mark chapter 14, please, as we begin together,
beginning in verse 10 of this chapter.
It's always a joy to hear your voices in song and now it's a
time to hear God's voice in his Word.
As you're aware, on more than one occasion the Lord Jesus told
his disciples that there was a time coming where he would die,
that he would be buried, that he would be resurrected.
But there's an important detail in those predictions, which
total number of three in the Gospel of Mark that he would be
handed over, He'd be delivered to the chief priests and the
scribes, and they would be the agents that would judge him and
condemn him to death. And what you and I have before
us in this text is the entry point of the realization of that
prediction. This is going to serve as the
beginning of the drama of Christ's atoning death and
resurrection. We are now going to unfold the
anticipated sacrifice that will serve as the provision for
humanity's redemption. And as we journey on this path
of discovering, rediscovering, reinforcing the story of our
salvation, there are wonderful inspirations and insights and
instructions that await to be harvested.
And that is the case with this particular portrait of Jesus's
life, where he is now ready to celebrate a unique Passover with
the 12. And there are indeed spiritual
pearls that await to be stringed together so that these truths
can be bound on our hearts and that they can be tied around our
necks like Proverbs speaks about.
And the way we're going to see these things is by considering
three important observations about this particular Passover
feast. The first thing is the
preparation for this Passover. The second thing will be the
proclamation during this Passover.
And lastly, we will look at the prophecies about this Passover.
And so I want us to read from verse 10.
Down to verse 21 in one sitting to get an idea of what we're
going to examine more carefully. Then Judas Iscariot, who was one
of the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray him
to them. And when they heard it, they
were glad and promised to give him money, and he sought an
opportunity to betray him. And on the first Day of
Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
his disciples said to him. Where will you have us go and
prepare for you to eat the Passover?
And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the
city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the
house. The teacher says, Where's my
guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?
And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready.
There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out and
went to the city, and found it just as he had told them, And
they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening he came
with the 12th. And as they were reclining a
table and eating, Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, One of you
will betray me, one who is eating with me.
They began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one after
another, Is it I? He said to them, it is one of
the 12 one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.
For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him.
But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would have been better for that man if he had not been
born. Father, I admit my weakness.
We all admit our frailty. We ask that the word would work
in. US and Lord, as this word is
shared, that you would work through it.
We desperately need you to change us and it cannot happen
unless we depend on you in prayer.
So Lord, we do not assume that just because we have this room
that we sang some songs and that we have Bibles before us that
things will occur. We ask Lord, that you would
bless this time and that we would sense your blessing.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. If you and I meditate on verse
12 alone, there are two sparks that will surely kindle our
hearts toward Christ. Let us consider firstly the
preparation for this Passover. We see here that Jesus is
approached by his disciples. Jesus is approached by this
whole group, and they are the ones who inquired about
preparing for this feast. It wasn't Jesus who initiated
it, it was in Jesus who brought them in and commanded them.
It was the 12 who are mindful and vocal about their
willingness to volunteer to meet this requirement.
And this already is truly admirable.
It's something that is worth seeing as inspiration.
You know, it's one thing as disciples of Jesus Christ to be
willing to serve the Lord. It's another thing to look for
opportunities to serve. As these men did, there's an
interesting place in one of the the short epistles.
It's it's a book of Titus and you don't have to turn there.
But Titus speaks about good works, good works, good works.
And they're in Titus three. He actually tells Titus to tell
his people to be careful to devote themselves to good works.
Later he actually says to learn to devote themselves to good
works. But before in Titus 214, he says
that Jesus Christ died for a peculiar people.
That they might be. Zealous for good works, zealous
for good works. So not just to devote yourself
to good works, but to be passionate about it.
If you're if you're zealous about anything, you're going to
pursue it with conviction, with excitement, with discipline.
And this is what the Spirit is saying to his people, be zealous
for good works. And that's modeled here, I
believe it with these disciples. There's a lot of things about
the disciples that disappoint us, But right here in this
snapshot, we should be moved that they approach the Lord and
they say, Lord, what do you want us to do now?
What is it that what? What's the next?
Mission. What's the next task?
You know, somebody made a very humbling observation about the
church at large. The church, he said, is often
like a soccer stadium. Where you have 11 people on the
field who are in desperate need of rest and thousands of people
in the stands who are in desperate need of exercise.
How true it is that that is the tempo.
That is kind of the environment of many local churches.
Maybe a handful of people who are excited to serve God, not
just attend, but serve God. And they're doing a lot, they're
caring a lot. And a lot of people are like at
a game watching. Who are in desperate need of
spiritual exercise may not be so of Maranatha Bible church in
Jesus name but at the same time though these.
Disciples came to the Lord and they volunteered their hearts
and their hands. You see Christ responding by
commissioning only two of them. Isn't that what we see in verse
13? And he sent two of his
disciples. Now the two are actually named
when you look at Luke's account, which you don't have to turn to.
But in Luke 22, verse eight, it was Peter and John.
He sent Peter and John to prepare this feast.
And there's application even in this.
You see, although we might all want to be willing and even
eager and seek opportunity to serve, at the same time we have
to accept that the Lord will delegate and distribute
different opportunities to serve.
And we have to trust in His wisdom.
So as much as you might be excited, also know that you must
be trusting in his leading. Because I know that there are
other people who want to serve, who are looking for
opportunities to serve, but are also frustrated.
Frustrated perhaps because they want to serve in a particular
way. They want to exercise certain
gifts that they may not even have.
But I see also the submission of these disciples who though they
came collectively to the Lord Christ says, OK, I'm going to
select two of you now you go. And so be willing to serve and
be willing to even wait at times for the Lord to call you when he
needs to call you and providentially open the door for
you when He wants to. All you have to do is be like a
servant on your feet ready to be commissioned when the master
commissions. And that's one simple truth, but
the second truth from verse 12 alone.
Again, we are warming ourselves at the fire of meditation.
It's not from the disciples necessarily, but from Jesus
himself. When the disciples approach
Christ and asking to do what is necessary to prepare for the
feast, they're implying, and obviously it's implying to us
that they're going to eat this feast with who Jesus, that
they're going to observe and commemorate this Passover
together. Now you might miss this unless
you have an understanding of the Old Testament, because in the
Old Testament where this Passover was instituted, we're
not only told there when the Passover is supposed to be
observed. We're not only told how the
Passover is supposed to be recognized, we're also even
instructed with whom you're supposed to celebrate this feast
with. I want you to see it with your
own eyes in Exodus chapter 12 beginning in verse one, and see
how this reflects upon the heart of Jesus for His followers.
Exodus 12 beginning in verse one.
Remember that this was a feast created by the Lord Himself in
order to remember the. Exodus, and at the very time of
the original exodus out of. Egypt into the promised land.
This is what the Lord says in verse one of this text.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt.
This month shall be for you the beginning of months.
It shall be the first month of the year for you.
Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th day of
this month every man shall take a lamb according to their
father's houses, a lamb for a household.
And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and
his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of
persons, according to what each can eat.
You shall make your count for the lamb.
So you see here that the institution calls for the feast
to be honored by each household. And that's confirmed by verse
four that if that household was too small, then they can extend
the invitation to the nearest neighbor to eat of the lamb
together. And there are.
Awesome practical truths. Even in this, though, this feast
is not binding on us as Christians in the New Covenant.
There are principles here, surely, about family worship,
how to honor the Lord as a unit that share the same blood.
But more than that, I want us just to see how this points to
what Jesus is saying about his own. 12 Did Jesus have an
earthly family? He did have an earthly family.
But is there any indication at this point in Mark that Jesus
celebrated the the Passover with his earthly family?
No, Who is he celebrating it with the 12th?
What does that mean? I believe the explanation is
given to us in a different part of the Gospel of Matthew.
In Matthew we read here in chapter 12 verse 15.
You don't have to turn there, but listen to the words of Jesus
in Matthew 1250. For whoever does the will of my
Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Do you see this? What is Christ saying about his
own, even in the way he's celebrating the Passover?
These 12 are my family because they're doing the will of the
Father. See, when you give your life to
Christ, you are not becoming a subject to His Kingdom.
Merely Jesus Christ goes a step further than that and He adopts
you into his family. He makes you one of his own.
He brings you to himself and I wonder how many people in this
room view their relationship with Christ in such a way.
It's very easy and understanding the sovereignty of God, yes,
even God and his sovereignty coming as a Savior,
understanding his love, but it's very.
Easy to see how the appropriate response would be to say I'm
your servant, you're my Lord. Whatever you asked me to do, I
will do. My life belongs to you.
That's, that's quite simple. What's more difficult to grasp
is that he calls you his son, his daughter, his friend.
That's what people wrestle with. That's what people find
hesitation to leap into and to enjoy and experience in their
Christian journey. And yet Christ in direct ways
and indirect ways, wants us to believe that, that you have that
kind of relationship with the living God.
And we have to understand it. And I'll tell you why I believe
that this is so important to the heart of Christ because he he
dispels something. In one of the first statements
he makes after his resurrection, Christ says something so
profound that is applicable to you and I and understanding, OK,
I'm studying who Jesus is, but who's Jesus now?
He's resurrected, he's ascended. Is there any indication of what
he's like now? And the Bible gives us plenty of
evidence. Mary.
Mary who went to the tomb and wanting to find Christ, bumps
into what she perceives to be the gardener, and it's in fact
Jesus. And she realizes that, and Jesus
says something to her. Jesus commissions her to go to
the disciples and to reveal that he is in fact alive.
And what does Jesus say to Mary? And John?
Chapter 20, verse 17, Let me read the words of Jesus to you.
He said here, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have
not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my who brothers, Not
my servants, not my subjects, not my ministers, not my
apostles. Go to my brothers, go to my
brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father, and your
father to my God and your God. Now it's moving enough to see
that Christ would use such familial language to mere
creatures. But what's more?
Moving is when you. Consider the timing of him
identifying the disciples as such.
Where? Were the disciples when he sent
Mary to fetch for them where? They were cowering in fear.
They denied him not too long ago, they distanced themselves.
They were in doubt, they were in unbelief.
And yet Jesus and understanding their current condition still.
Calls them my brothers. You know what that means for you
and I failing, stumbling Christian, listen to this.
Christ is committed to you. He's committed to you.
I know that might be hard to believe, but that's why you need
to get to the word and see the heart of Jesus.
He calls them my brothers, even though they have failed him
after 24/7 attendance before Christ, they they come to this
point we're even on the night of his betrayal, they boasted we're
willing to die with you. Oh really?
And so he sends a woman as a witness.
She's going to tell him, Jesus said, tell my brothers that.
That's the grace of Christ. That's what you have to put your
hope and day in and day out, not just when you you feel good in
your walk with the Lord, but even like these disciples, when
your head is down and your heart is sinking and you're wondering,
where did I go wrong? Tell my brothers.
And the Lord gives Peter and John back in Mark 14 somewhat
strange instructions. Let's go back to our text and
read it again in verse 13 down. And he sent two of his disciples
and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar
of water will meet you. Follow him and wherever he
enters, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, where's
my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?
This seems to be intentionally vague.
So he recruits these two, He launches them out and he gives
them a set of instructions. And it seems to be like this
undercover mission. And one of the first things that
he tells them to do is, is to go and look for this man with a jar
of water. And he's going to lead you and
you're going to find this place, and that's the place where it's
going to be. But why is Christ being so
cryptic? Like many of Jesus's
instructions, he does not provide much explanation, right?
Because he wants faith from you and I.
But if you want to know answers to what seems to be a mysterious
thing in one of your readings of the text, always do this.
This is what you always have to do, and you always come to a
closer place of finding an answer.
Look at the context. Look at the context.
That's the key. What happened right before Jesus
was approached by the disciples and Jesus sent two of them in
this way? Go back to verse 10.
What do we read? Judas Iscariot, who was one of
the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray them,
to betray him to them. So what we see here is that
Judas, we learn now Judas is ready to at any moment report
where Christ is at the right opportunity and have the
authorities arrest the Lord. And you know who was aware?
Of that the Lord. Jesus knew what Judas was up to.
And, and Jesus here at this time and giving these instructions in
this way was to conceal the details of his next location in
order to blind Judas and to prevent him from doing this evil
thing. It wasn't time.
Do you understand that Jesus was not only in control of His
passion, He was absolutely sovereign over every single
second of it? He would be betrayed later that
night, but not at that time of the night.
Why? Because Christ had to do a few
things, share a few things, teach a few things to his own
before he would be betrayed. Christ, as we're going to learn
in the weeks to come, is going to institute the Lord's Supper
at this Passover feast. Christ, according to John 13 to
John 17, is going to pour out precious and powerful truths for
the 12 and for disciples to come.
And so when he gives these instructions, surely Judas was
in attendance and was listening very carefully.
But what Christ did was leave out the necessary details, to
leave him in the dark, all the wisdom of Jesus.
All the brilliance of the mind of Christ, you and I just a
moment ago didn't understand why he only sent two and not all of
them. Now you know.
We didn't understand, perhaps at first why he's, he's giving
these mysterious plans. Now we know.
Can I tell you something, please?
Would you trust Christ? Always, Always.
If you're in the dark at any point, don't you dare fall into
the temptation of criticizing his wisdom or doubting his
heart. He knows.
He always knows. Cling to him, obey him, worship
him and watch him lead you perfectly, perfectly.
And so he says, go enter into the city and you're going to
find a man with a jar of water. You have to remember that this
was what, during the Passover, hundreds of thousands of people.
Were cramming the streets. The hustle and the bustle, the
noise, the purchasing, the planning, the last second
arrangements. You can imagine how crazy it
was. How is identifying a man with a
jar of water going to be significant evidence to identify
the person who's supposed to lead them?
Unless you understand that it was not common for a man in the
public to carry a jar of water. Because that's what the
Scriptures tell us, that this task was designated exclusively
generally for woman. And you get hints of that in the
scriptures. You see it in Genesis 2411 with
Rebecca, that when Abraham's servant is looking for a wife
for his son, he goes to the well at the time where the woman come
out and draw water. You see it in the New Testament
with the woman at the well in John chapter four.
It was a custom for a woman to go fetch, deliver water.
Men did not do that chore. And so now it makes a little bit
more sense. This man will stand out surely
to the disciples. But before we move on too
quickly, what does that say about this man?
Because evidently Christ and giving this plan to these two
disciples pre arranged these things.
He pre arranged them the, the man with the the room had it
ready. So whether he did so naturally
or supernaturally, we're not told.
But he did pre arrange these things.
And so here's what I learned about this man with a jar of
water. He was willing to obey Christ no
matter how it made him look in public, that he was willing to
play even a small part in this greater drama of redemption.
And what was his part? To carry A jar of water so that
two of the 12 disciples can say. That's the guy.
Let's follow him. And so I see something about
humility. I see something about
inspiration from this unnamed soul who loved Christ enough to
do his bidding, as small as it may have been.
But the inspiration doesn't stop there.
Never mind the man with the jar, that's one thing.
What about the man who owned the house?
No name given. And again, this is intentional.
Judas didn't need to hear names. He didn't need to hear addresses
or street names. He didn't need any of that.
But this man who owned the house, this man with the jar
would lead him to this specific abode.
Now if this man had a family. And I'd like to think he did.
Then he obviously in wanting to honor the law had to what,
prepare for his own Passover feast.
And you know what it's like in festive days, right?
In festive seasons, they're running around the last second
things and Christ selected his home and he says I would like to
have my disciples and myself celebrate in one of your guest
rooms. And what does the man do?
He. Complies, he complies.
Was it convenient timing wise? Probably not.
But you know what this man teaches me?
Nah. He wasn't too busy to serve
Jesus. He wasn't too preoccupied with
other things, even good things, to serve the Lord.
Are you too busy to serve Jesus? Are you too dizzy by everything
around you? I see a man here who says, come
yes, Lord, come to my home. And timing wasn't the only
potential excuse for this man to step away from accepting Christ
inviting himself into his home. Do you remember what happened
right before John chapter 12 where Mary of Bethany anoints
Jesus? I want to remind you what
happened in John Chapter 11, verse 57.
Listen to these words. Now the chief priest in John
1157 and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where
he was being Jesus, He should let them know so they they might
arrest him. So there was this public call.
If anybody knows where this Jesus of Nazareth is, let us
know, because we're looking for Him.
So timing wasn't the only issue here.
Trouble was, it's not just inconvenience for the master of
this house, but serious danger hosting Jesus at this time where
the most powerful people apart from Rome were looking for him.
And yet this anonymous individual says, you're having
it in my home. Christ is worthy.
Christ is worthy of our time. Christ is worthy of any risk.
And what do you read? Look at verse 16.
And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it,
just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
Don't you love that phrase? They had found it just as he had
told them. When you obey the Lord.
Even if His instructions may seem to be difficult to grasp or
understand, or even dangerous to pursue, you will, if you honor
His wishes, walk into a fascinating realization of His
faithfulness. Exactly the way Christ said it
would happen, happen exactly what He said would would come to
transfer it to transpire exactly what He said.
It is a greater risk not to obey the Lord than to obey the Lord.
Remember that no matter what fears you face as you stand at
the threshold of trusting Jesus Christ, always remember that it
is a greater risk to step away and disobey than to thrust
yourself and to obey Him always. They found it exactly as He said
they would find it. But we come now from the
preparation to the proclamation, the proclamation at this
Passover. And what do we discover?
Verse 17 And when it was evening, he came with the 12 and
as they were reclining a table and eating, Jesus said, truly, I
say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating
with me. They began to be sorrowful and
say to him one after another, is it I So at some point in the
celebration, they're all reclining.
They're honoring the feasts and the traditions surrounding it.
And the Lord uttered this heart sinking statement.
You can just imagine how tension filled that room in that very
moment. You can imagine the silence.
You can imagine the heartbeats of these disciples that were
pounding against their chest when Jesus, who has never been
wrong about anything that he had said, made this claim.
One of you is going to betray me.
And you have to recall that Christ on more than one occasion
told the very same 12 I'm going to die, I'm going to be buried,
I am going to raise from the dead.
And two out of those three times he said I will be delivered up.
And at this point, now he is closing in on the culprit, the
one who is actually going to commit this inconceivable crime
of giving the Son of God over to vicious, evil, wicked men.
And as Jesus says this, you might be wondering why.
Why is the Lord sharing this publicly?
Why is he telling the disciples? And I believe the main reason is
so that he can reveal his omniscience yet again.
He's done it on different occasions, and he's doing it
once more here, providing further evidence that Jesus.
Christ did not get surprised at any point of him surrendering
his life. Not once.
What is Christ showing here? I know exactly the horrific
plans that are made against me, and I willfully am walking into
them. I'm not.
I'm not here unwilling to be apprehended.
I'm here laying down my life and I'm telling you now I know which
one of you is actually going to betray me.
Now think about this. If for whatever reason, you've
been given divine inspiration that one person in your friend
group is going to betray you to people who want to murder you,
what would you do with that knowledge?
Run, escape, not have dinner with the guy And what, what does
Christ do? He is conveying to the I know
which one of you are going to do and I'm still here because this
is this is a part of a greater thing.
And so that the disciples would know and that the disciples like
us would know for generations to come that Christ came into this
world and embraced his mission. He didn't cower from it.
He didn't flee from it. He didn't second guess it.
He would joy chest out, walked into it.
But what I find amazing here is how this announcement disturbed
the consciousness of all these disciples.
Did you catch? It it says here that they were
sorrowful. In verse 19 they began to be.
So this is talking about deep grief, significant pain.
They began to be sorrowful and one after the next began to say
is it I, is it me, is it me? Notice I didn't say I think it's
him, not once. And it makes you wonder also, is
this self examination something to be praised or concerned
about? And I think the self examination
taking place at this moment is honorable.
It's honorable because hearing the words of Christ concerning
the capability of our sin should always encourage reflection.
And no matter how strong you think you perceive yourself to
be, it is a dangerous thing to be in a place where you feel
like you will never fall. Paul warns about that in First
Corinthians 10. And So what you see with these
disciples is that they're doing some soul searching, not to the
point of condemnation, and that should never be the case for
you, but this soul searching when you hear a strong word,
when you come to the word of God for yourself, when you begin to
feel conviction in your conscience, or when you hear of
a failure of another. And it causes you in a holy way
to be like Lord. May it never be of me.
That's exactly what it should produce, not condemnation, but
clinging to the Lord with a greater grip.
Lord, I don't want to fail you. Lord, I don't want to deny you.
I, I pray that it would never be true of me.
So you can applaud the fact that these disciples are asking about
themselves and they're not scrutinizing one another.
But I'm also convinced here because what's so interesting is
that they didn't suspect Judas. In fact, I, I believe that the
disciples, if they had to make a list of who is most likely to
betray Christ, Judas would be on the bottom, at least the lower
tier. Do you know why?
Because he was trusted enough to be made the manager of the, the
ministry finances. That's John chapter 12, verse
six. You have to trust somebody to
deal with the ministry finances and funds.
And, and Judas was selected and he held that position for that
three-year tenure. So there was something about him
that was winsome disarming. There was no suspicion about him
necessarily, but I'm convinced that if the disciples paid a
little bit more attention as each one began to ask the Lord,
is it I, they might have suspected something of Judas.
I don't want to prove that to you because you don't see it
here in Mark, but you do see it in Matthew.
So go to Matthew with me in chapter 26 and I want you to
look at how Matthew depicts this very same scene in Matthew 26
and verse 22. And they were very sorrowful and
began to say to him, one after another, Is it I, Lord?
What does Matthew add? Lord?
They said, Lord, each of these disciples said, Is it I, Lord?
He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me
will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is
written of him. But woe to that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for
that man if he had not been born.
Now look at verse 25. Judas, who would betray him,
answered, Is it I Rabbi? Is it I Rabbi?
He said to him, You have said so.
Ha, so the 11 said, Is it I Lord?
When it came down to Judas, he didn't call him Lord.
Judas was making an attempt, right?
Because Christ here is being ambiguous on purpose.
And like the past three years, Judas is trying to camouflage
himself at this critical moment. And so as these disciples are
saying, one after the other, is it I Lord?
Is it I Lord comes down to Judas turn?
He wants to try to blend in, but even in his attempt to try to
blend in, he can't help but cough up the word rabbi, which
means teacher. Why didn't he echo the
disciples? Why didn't he say, Is it I,
Lord, I'm persuaded because he could not.
He could not. His heart had determined to
betray him, and to even. Use the word Lord was too heavy
on his lips. It was a weighty thing.
And so he says, Rabbi, you know what's interesting?
In the Gospel of Matthew, you have two instances where you
have the recorded words of Judas.
You have it here, and then you have it in the same chapter in
verse 45. Look at verse 45, when Judas
finally brings the band of murderers behind him to find
Christ in the garden. Notice what Judas says here in
verse 49. And he came up to Jesus at once
and said, greetings. What rabbi?
Greetings, Rabbi. And he kissed him.
Never called him Lord. At least at this point, he
couldn't listen very carefully. Judas serves as a sobering
reminder for those who think that they can live successfully
in compromise. No matter how clever you think
you are, no matter how successful you've been over the
years, Judas proofs to us that exposure is bound to come.
You might reveal it yourself, others might discover it about
you, or the Lord of Glory himself will unmask it.
Judas did pretty good up to this point, but upon close and
careful investigation, he wasn't who he said he was and he even
stood out from the true disciples.
Why? Why did Judas betray Jesus?
The general answer that people tend to give is because he loved
money. He did love money.
He stole from the ministry funds.
He did love money, but he loved money all along.
Why at this point did he betray Christ?
Again, when you look at the context, you have the best key
of unlocking Revelation. What happened right before Judas
chose to collaborate with the Pharisees and the chief priest?
What took place that triggered that moment?
Go back to Mark 14 and you'll see it for yourself.
We read it in verse three of Mark 14, that while he was at
Bethany in the House of Simon the Leper, as he was reclining a
table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of
pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it
over his head. Who was in attendance?
Judas. In fact, he was the one who
began the criticism and the disciples followed.
You could have sold this for 300 denari.
We could have given this to the poor.
He was offended by this ultimately because he thought I
could have stuffed my pockets. More if we we sold this, this
was a donation I would have I would have made more money for
myself. But something happens.
Jesus in defending Mary says she did this for what?
My burial. She's paying tribute to my
death. And I am convinced that at that
moment it dawned on Judas, he, he's not here to establish a
Kingdom. He's, he's going to die.
He's he's saying it. And I wonder if all the past
times where Jesus said I'm going to die, I'm going to be buried,
I'm going to raise, I wonder if that crashed into his thinking
right there and then as well. Whether it did or not doesn't
matter at this moment. Judas understood that this Jesus
of Nazareth is not going to be establishing a government.
He's talking about his death. I didn't sign up for this.
I signed up when I realized that I was chosen, among others, a
band of men who are going to have the most prominent
positions in this Kingdom. And now he's talking about
dying. And now this woman's anointing
him because he's going to be dying, evidently very soon.
I'm jumping this ship because it's the sinking one.
But you know what? I'm not going to leave here
without something in my hands. So I'll sell him.
If he's going to die, let me make something out of it.
Do you see what Judas is thinking?
So he goes to the chief priest and he says, what's the price?
I'll give him over to you. I realized that this man has a
tendency to whatever he says about himself or events or
people is always right. 100% he's talking about dying.
I'm abandoning this cause, but I'm not leaving here empty
handed. So what's the price?
30 pieces of silver. Perfect.
So it's the timing. It dawned on him that things are
going to change. Things are not what I thought
they would be. And so he's going to betray the
Master. But this isn't catch Christ by
surprise because now we come to the prophecies about this
Passover. We talked about the preparation
for it, the proclamation during it.
But now we come to the prophecies about this Passover.
What does Jesus say in verse 20 of Mark 14?
He said to them, It is one of the 12, one who is dipping bread
into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is
written of him. But woe to that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for
that man if he had not been born.
Notice again in verse 21. For the Son of Man goes as it is
written. Christ didn't know about Judas
merely because of His omniscience.
Christ also knew about Judas because it was declared hundreds
of years ago, thousands of years ago, Not just about Christ's
death, burial, and resurrection, but even his betrayal has been
foretold by the prophets. And one of the clearest passages
as we come to a close in this message is found from the lips,
or the pen rather, of the psalmist of Israel.
David, look at this with your own eyes in Psalm 41.
And I want you to see how even this moment has been told, and
we've been prepared for it by the Spirit of God.
Psalm 41 beginning in verse 9, Jesus alludes to the words of
David in his own experience of treachery, and it's found here
in this verse of Psalm 41, verse 9, David writes, Even my close
friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread has lifted his heel
against me. You know what it means to lift
your heel against someone? It's to lift up your foot and to
deliver a crushing blow. And David says, a friend of mine
whom I trusted, who ate with me. You know, that's it's even more
painful when you've had some meals with a person and you
enjoy that experience with someone and yet that person
turns around to kick you in the face.
Where did David had that experience with his own son
Absalom, with one of his most trusted advisors, a heathful
this was fulfilled in David's experience with the Holy Spirit
uses this to show a greater fulfillment in the greater son
of David with Judas and Christ. But the prophecy doesn't end
there. We continue in verse 11:50 and
we realize that there's more to it.
But you, David says. But you, O Lord, be gracious to
me and raise me up that I may repay them.
By this I know that you delighted me.
My enemy will not shout in triumph over me, but you have
upheld me because of my integrity and set me in your
presence forever. That's David speaking.
Yes, that's David. By the Spirit disclosing to us
the reality of eternity and resurrection, I'm going to be in
your presence forever. But what is David speaking about
here? Vindication.
Yes, my closest friend would betray me, but I'm asking you, O
Lord, to not let him have the triumph over me.
Vindicate me, O God. And God did vindicate David.
But again, we have to connect us to Christ and the unthinkable
loyal disloyalty of Judas that God vindicate the Son of God
absolutely. It did not end with Judas's
betrayal. He was brought forth and raised
up into the presence of the Almighty.
Forever and ever and he sits at his right hand to this day.
So if there is anyone to be pitied in this, in this scene,
this sombering scene here, it wasn't the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's Judas. Because Judas is not coming out
victorious. He's not even to come out
prosperous, even temporarily. He's going to end his own life,
unfortunately. And that's why Jesus pronounces
a woe against them. He says, what?
Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
And this is how he ends. It would have been better for
that man if he had not been born.
Can I tell you what that means? Here's what it means.
Judas's non existence would have been better than his eternal
existence in torment. Judas so horrific will the
punishment and the divine wrath be against Judas for what he did
against the Son of God. That would have been better if
he was not born. This might be a little bit of an
awkward way to end a message like this, but maybe somebody
needs to hear it. Hell is a real place.
You don't hear the word often unless it's used as a cuss word
or derogatory in a derogatory way.
And I think that's Satan's tactic of making hell seem like
a joke. It's not a joke, it's real, and
there will be people going there and they're not going to have a
second chance. The only chance you have of
making sure that you have eternal life is if with the
breath you still have in your lungs, you admit that you've
sinned against a holy God, but you also receive this holy God's
love in the person of Jesus Christ who wants to rescue you
from the wrath of God. So what is it in your mind
that's causing you to delay and accepting that?
Is it money? There will be many people in
hell because they served money in their 7080 years of life.
Many people, you know, some people, it's a disappointment, a
misunderstanding of who God is, like Judas.
And that was enough to deter them and to cause them to live
in rebellion against him. You know, Judas would realize he
would experience a deep sorrow. He never experienced true
repentance. And I am among those who believe
that if Judas repented, God would have forgiven him.
He didn't repent. He was, he was broken, but he
didn't confess. He didn't flee to Christ.
He killed himself in the shadow of despair.
Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you have the guarantee that
you have eternal life is Christ Lord, was there a moment that
you remember where you said save me Lord Jesus, save me, forgive
me for my foolishness, forgive me for my waywardness.
I now stop and realize that you've done all that you could.
The unimaginable you came and you died in my place so that I
would have a place with you forever.
Has that has that thought ever dawned on you to the degree that
it caused you to bend your knee and to say, I want to live for
this Christ? I want to let you know that your
woe can turn into a win. And all that is required of you
is to realize that He is the Lord and He is your Savior.
So why delay a moment? Why delay another second?
Why not at this very second you forget everything around you.
You realize that in this past 50 minutes you have tasted
something of the beauty of Jesus and He can become your Savior.
And here's here's where I'm ending.
This will result more than just you going from hell to heaven.
That's wonderful, that's glorious.
I love that. But I'll tell you why it's
better than that. He takes you from enemy to a
son, from a rebel to a daughter, from a foe to a companion.
And you don't experience that only way when you pass on from
this life, the moment you are justified, you are brought into
his heart and you walk with him day by day by day, and he does
things in you and he just does things through you.
And you accumulate these testimonies until it it climaxes
where you meet him face to face. That's what the Christian life
looks like. Do you want that?
What do you have that's that's better than that?
Please meet me at the door and tell me.
I'm very curious. Oh, your business.
Oh, your properties. Oh, you chasing one girl that's
satisfying you. That's why you keep running
around. You know down deep inside that
what you're doing in your own efforts, in your own
imagination, with your own lust is only temporary and it always
fails you. So why'd you keep going back to
it? Why don't you just bring your
sin to the foot of the cross, let Christ deal with the record
of debt, and then give you a new heart so that you can live out
the way you were created to live.
And that's for Him. So I, I end this message about
Jesus celebrating the Passover with an invitation for you to be
saved. Believe you if you're saved,
just praise him more today. Give him thanks that you belong
to him and that he has a purpose for you.
Can we pray? Let's pray.
I want you to think about maybe one or more than one thing that
touched your heart and then translate that into prayer.
Respond to the word of God with your own words and and commune
with the Lord. And if you're a person here who
doesn't know the Lord, the Bible tells us that if you confess
with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be
saved. Confess with your mouth and
believe in your heart not just that Christ died, but that he
rose and that he's living and he beckons you to come to him.
And as you're praying there silently, I'll ask the priest
team to come and join us and prepare for us to respond in
song. But just there's so much noise
today just in, in a. Brief moment of silence.
Let each of us just seek the Lord and then we will sing to
him together, shall we? Well, we ask that these words
would in fact live in us. We want to be changed.
We want to know you, live for you, glorify you for the rest of
our days. We thank you for what you've
said to us. Now we respond to you with these
words of love in Jesus name, Amen.
I had an interesting time studying the Word yesterday, as
I usually do for Sunday, as you know, studying about the Last
Supper. And I'm sure most of us in here
received a text or stumbled upon a clip on the Internet of how
the opening ceremony of the Olympics in France included a
blasphemous display of drag Queens who were mocking that
very scene that we uphold and Revere and adore Christ for.
And as obscene as devilish as that was, late last night, I
pulled out my phone and had trouble sleeping.
But I watched Living Waters Ray Conference Ministry because
they're out there in Paris now doing some evangelism work.
And they responded quickly to that, that whole ordeal.
And they began to interview people about what they thought,
did anybody see this, what they thought about what happened at
the opening ceremony? And I don't know what broke my
heart more, what that thing was or how the people responded to
it. Things along the line of, yeah,
it's art or why, you know, And I mean, any other religion, Paris
would be on fire, right? I don't remember the last time.
A lot of things that made me feel different ways in the past
few years, but this this one made me emotional after seeing
that that interview with different people and though it
made me broken and grieved. I felt something I don't know if
you sense that to this holy boldness, this boldness in what
sense if the world is only intensifying in their blasphemy.
My prayers since last night was, Lord, amplify my life to be
unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Unashamed. No crack in your voice, no
hesitation to say it. No, no, no set back on calling
sin sin. If there was a time to be bold,
it's today. It was.
If there's a time to be vocal and to to share the good news of
Jesus Christ, it's now. It's now.
We don't respond to wickedness and even blasphemy by protesting
or threatening. Or rampaging or looting.
We don't do that. But the way we do it is we go
out and we give more light. More truth in the power of the
Holy Spirit. And so I just thought it was
interesting timing, at least for me, studying about the Last
Supper, and this blasphemous thing shows up on my phone.
So don't allow your righteous indignation to just remain as a
motion or to cause you to act carnal.
Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom to protest with the truth
of Jesus Christ. And if they're going to shove
this in people's faces, they may we, by the wisdom of God, give
this gospel to as many people as possible.
To allow these things every event it just seems like the
birth pains are getting more intense so let's be more intense
by the spirit as he energizes us and I just if anything, I.
Want to see the church explode in revival in these days?
That's been my prayer and I hope it's your prayers.
Well, why don't we pray together?
But we thank you. You told us, Lord, that if they
call the master of the House Belzebul, how much more that
servants, so that we are not completely shocked at the evil
around us and the evil that will come our way, not just for your
name, but even for those who bear your name.
Make us bold, Lord. Fill us with faith, Lord.
Fill us with the knowledge of your words, that we can give an
appropriate defense for the hope that we have.
We pray, Lord, that what we're seeing around us would only
cause the Church to be more alive than ever.
May the Holy Spirit not be grieved among his people.
May He be pleased. May you be pleased by what you
see here with every ministry represented here.
Lord, we, we want to walk out of this place with a strategic
mindset, a missional mindset that the gates of hell will not
prevail. We will succeed, we will win in
the end. And we want to be part of that
plan to see people come to the Kingdom of God.
So we do ask that you go before us.
Keep your hand on our minds and our hearts and may we Lord be
your vessels for your glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen and
Amen.