Mark 14:27-31 Do We Betray Jesus?

Mark 14:27-31  “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’  But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”  Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”  “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today — yes, tonight — before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”  But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”  And all the others said the same.

And all the others said the same.  How easy it is for Christians to say that under the threat of physical pain or even facing death, they would never deny Jesus.  As we sit in our comfortable homes, experiencing the warmth and security of our environment, we can express undying allegiance to our Lord, but how many of us would waver if our lives were in duress because of our commitment to Jesus.  In reality, sometimes in far less dire circumstances, such as in a group full of nonbelievers who would reject our witness, we have trouble remaining faithful to Jesus.  Likewise, sickness, family problems, or financial difficulties will sometimes cause us to question our Lord's fidelity to us, and our faith begins to waver.  We grumble, complain about Jesus not coming to our aid to rescue us from our problems.  How quickly we blame Jesus for not eradicating all of the trials in our lives.  Is He really there?  Does He care for me?  Am I believing the right thing?  Maybe I should just go back to my old ways of thinking and living?  Human beings tend to be fickle even when they are not stressed; but under stress, they are even more ready to go back on their words or even lie about their faith while in reality they are full of anger and doubt.  Car accidents or some other sudden vicissitude of life will bring out such a tendency to doubt in some believers.  Normal events such as income tax time tempt many people to skew the truth about their financial situation while they say they are trusting God.  Humans, as in the case of Peter above, tend to lack reliability and trust in their Lord under stress.  Yet many scriptures tell us life will be difficult.  After the cross, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, speaks of the great inheritance we have in Christ, and says, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  (1Peter 1:6-7)  While life is hard at times, we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  (1 Peter 1:3) 

Peter knew the precarious situation that he, Jesus, and the disciples were in when he made his affirmation of loyalty to Jesus: Even if all fall away, I will not.  He knew the authorities wanted to kill Jesus; he knew Jesus' followers might also be put to death; yet even under those realities, he and the disciples all pledged their enduring faithfulness to Jesus.  Their hearts were not false when they made these declarations: they had followed Jesus throughout his earthly ministry, and they had agreed to leave all to be with him.  But as we learn later, they all fled.  None were willing and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jesus as he faced his enemies who would crucify him.  The disciples were just men, strong in their allegiance but weak in their practice when it came to going to the cross.  How many times in our walk with Jesus have we promised him something and then failed to carry it out because of the weakness of the flesh?  How many times have we allowed our flesh to take priority over our promises to the Lord?  Peter and the disciples were facing real persecution and possible death.  This was not one of those times they would be rebuked by the religious leaders: they knew where Jesus was headed.  Can you imagine the scene when Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took charge of him.  Can you imagine Jesus: Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).  We can excuse the disciples for not carrying out their pledge of allegiance to Jesus, but can we excuse ourselves in this day and age, for not reading the word, not praying fervently, not witnessing?  He does not condemn us; neither did He condemn Peter.  He was ready to use Peter to preach to thousands, and He is ready to use each of us and has work for us to do.  As Paul wrote: And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  (Colossians 1:10-12)  

Since this breakfast is read by people all over the world, we know some reading this breakfast are facing persecution if they stand up for Jesus.  We know  some are enduring the real trials that the apostles faced.  How will they remain steadfast?  What can keep them faithful under tremendous duress?  We know that after the day of Pentecost, the disciples went out and gave their lives for Christ.  They were fearless in their pursuit to preach the gospel.  When one city would reject them, they moved to the next to carry the Good News to others.  To do this, they had to have a reality more compelling than just their past experiences with the physical Jesus.  Of course they did!  After Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them in the upper room, they had the indwelling of the Spirit of God.  Every day, no matter their circumstances, they had the Spirit of God comforting them, urging them to understand the nature of their business on Earth.  Daily they needed his words: "SON OR DAUGHTER, I AM WITH YOU.  YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  THE GIFT I HAVE GIVEN YOU IS ETERNAL LIFE.  MY LIFE IS IN YOU.  YOU WILL NEVER DIE."  The Spirit gave them power and authority to carry on, doing the will of God.  Unless we also hear those words, we will fear, we will step back.  But God is in us, and we are IN HIM.  The Spirit has come to give us courage and to comfort and to guide us.  He challenges us to live confidently IN HIM every day: on the easy and the hard days.  For IN HIM, even while we abide now here on Earth, we are always HOME, present with God.  Because we know who we are, we can believe with the disciples what Jesus said to them and act upon his words: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-19)   

Mark 14:17-26 Eat the Bread, Drink the Wine!

Mark 14:17-26  When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.  While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me — one who is eating with me.  They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?”  “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me.  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.  But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”  While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”  Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.  “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.  “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 

"Will you betray me for gain?" Jesus asks  “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me — one who is eating with me.”  Jesus directs his comment at Judas' heart, for He knows Judas will betray him for 30 pieces of silver, money Judas later despises.  How many of us use the gospel of Jesus Christ for gain?   Are we like Judas, trying to get more out of this world because of our acquaintance with Jesus Christ?  For sure, Judas betrayed him, but do we not betray him when we skew his teachings, when we tell people they should believe in Jesus so they might gain more from this world because of their position with God.   Judas betrayed Jesus' whole message when he went to the religious elite for the wealth they promised.  He had heard Jesus' teaching: Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"  (Luke 9:23-25)  Judas obviously did not believe Jesus, for he sought his own wellbeing over dying to this world and its goods.  He was no longer going to deny himself of what the world offered by taking up his cross daily and following Christ.  How tempting it is to use our relationship with Jesus for our self-serving interests.  We like it when the millionaire football player crosses the goal line and points to heaven to acknowledge the supreme being or kneels in a prayerful attitude, but we are not too sure we should cheer the status of a martyr who has given his or her all for the cause of Jesus our Lord.  However, the acclamation for the football hero will be nothing in comparison with the thunderous acclaim the martyrs will receive when they are revealed in the heavenly domain.  These are those we read of in the Word: Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.  They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.  (Hebrews 11:35-38) 

Luke records Jesus saying these words to the crowd that followed him: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.  And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."  (Luke 14:26-27)  Jesus knew people would experience problems totally surrendering to his will, totally committing to serving God.  We can see this problem throughout history as passion for Christ comes and goes in societies.  The church finds itself in a retrograde position when trying to uphold the teachings of Christ.  We are in retreat sometimes to the materialism of this world, finding our position overshadowed by the allurements that tempt people away from their love for Jesus.  Of course, having Christ as Lord and winning the world offers amazing hope and peace and is an attractive doctrine to share with others.  In reality, winning the world and its goods cannot possibly compare to winning Christ as Lord.  He gives life, real life and true freedom.  Outside of him there is nothing but death and captivity to sin.  We who are alive in him have passed from death to life.  If we choose the meagerness of this world as a meaningful existence for ourselves, we will miss out on eternity with God.  The Bible says, But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 6:22-23)   Yes, we all have the goods of this world in our possession, but these goods should not have relevance in or spiritual lives.  If we believe we are blessed because of our beliefs, because of our superior faith, we must be careful about such a doctrine.  It is leaven that will leaven our souls; pretty soon, we will be working for flesh rather than for Christ.  Jesus said He did not have a place to lay his head, and He also said, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.  (Luke 14:33)

Jesus does not ask for our complete allegiance to him without making provision for us.  He does not ask anything of us that He will not empower us to do through the Holy Spirit.  In today's passage, Jesus takes the bread and the cup of wine and tells his disciples to eat the bread, “Take it; this is my body,” and to drink from the cup, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”  He is preparing them for his death and the offering of his own body on the cross.  But He is also telling them there is life in the body that will be broken for them; there is power in the blood that will flow at Calvary.  They do not understand at that moment all that Christ is saying, but they will come to know what He means when the Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost.  When Jesus talked to them after his resurrection, they wanted to know if He would restore the kingdom of Israel.  He said it was not for them to know the times.  Then He said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)  This same power is available to all believers today as we commit fully to Christ and take up the cross and follow him.  We must follow the example of our brother the Apostle Paul, who said, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:14)  As we fall more in love with Jesus, we will be less involved with this world and what it has to offer.  As we serve others, we will care less about the things we once thought so important to our happiness.  To know Jesus as Savior and Lord is truly joy unspeakable and full of glory.  (1 Peter 1:8)  Today, the Lord asks us to break bread with him and to drink from his cup.  He says, "Take up your cross daily and follow me, my child."  In him are the riches of the spirit that we all long to receive.  Bless you dear ones.   

  

Mark 14:10-16 Catch Up With Jesus!

Mark 14:10-16  Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.  They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money.  So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.  On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”  So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.  Follow him.  Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’  He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready.  Make preparations for us there.”  The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them.  So they prepared the Passover. 

In the above passage, we have two men involved with Jesus' life in different ways.  Judas intends to harm Jesus; the owner of the house intends to do good for Jesus.  Sadly, Judas, whom Jesus chose as one of his twelve disciples, betrays the one who loves him more dearly than anyone else on the face of the earth.  But Judas' selfish desires contaminated his love for Jesus.  When Luke describes the incident, he says, before Judas went to the chief priests and officers of the guard, Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.  (22:3)  Therefore, Judas was willing to hand Jesus over to officials who intended to kill him.  The owner of the house was also selected by Jesus.  But he was a man who was ready to serve The Teacher, ready to offer his best.  Even though he did not have the privilege of constantly living in the presence of Jesus, he was willing to serve him by preparing a guest room where Jesus could celebrate the Passover with his disciples.  Both men were chosen: one did evil, the other good.  One served himself, the other served Jesus.  One was focused on his own gain, the other on making Jesus comfortable.  Now, we do not know for certain why the man who greeted the disciples knew Jesus needed a place to celebrate the Passover, but we do know he performed his duty well.  He was ready just as the colt had been ready for Jesus to ride triumphantly into Jerusalem.  (See Mark 11)  Sadly, Judas performed a duty as well by turning Jesus over to his enemies.  We do know of Judas' repentance: When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.  “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”  (Matthew 27:3-4)  We pray that Judas found his Messiah before his demise.  But we know Judas' self-serving life led him to his terrible deed of sin and betrayal.  

Life can be trying and difficult for all of us, full of trials and temptations.  Yet Peter said we have an inheritance that can never perish, kept in heaven for us, and  we should greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  (1 Peter 1:6)  Nonetheless, without fully understanding the effects of our choices, we sometimes betray our Lord or at least let him down.  He has promised to go with us, to be in us; but at times we behave as disheartened children, following Jesus in a negative way for what we can get instead of serving and obeying him.  As Christians we live in an alien land with a dusty and barren landscape.  The trail of our life is much like the one the Children of Israel walked when they journeyed through the wilderness.  The springs of water are rare, the food is rather tasteless, failing to nourish our eternal souls, causing us to feel famished and faint.  Our longing for God remains in our souls.  However, instead of walking uprightly in God by faith, we lag behind what Jesus wants to do in our lives.  We complain about the journey, with our heads down.  We kick up the dust with our battered shoes, allowing the particles of doubt and worry to cover our clothing and to blind our vision.  Of course, Jesus is ahead of us, looking over his shoulder and saying, "Catch up!  I am doing a great work in you.  I am doing marvelous things in your life.  Hurry, catch up and you will see my glory!"  Each of us needs to quicken our steps and catch up to what Jesus is doing, wants to do.  Forget looking around at the barren hills that surround us.  Jesus is leading us through the valleys to a Land of Promise.  Catch up!  He is doing something great in our lives.  He calls us today: each of us is called by name.  

Aleksandr Solhenitsyn, a Russian intellectual and atheist who was imprisoned in the gulags of Siberia where 60 million people died, said this about his prison life, where he found God:  "And that is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me: 'Bless you, prison!'"  He was initially banished there for the rest of his life.  In prison, many were being murdered by fellow inmates; the environment was horribly violent, animalistic.  In prison, he almost died from cancer.  He lived in constant danger of dying, either from the authorities, the inmates, or sickness; yet he says that was the best blessing anyone could have, for in this horrible experience, he found God.  Sometimes, we must stop and consider whether or not we Christians understand the marvelous work God is doing in us right now, the wonderful opportunities He has given to us to prepare a room for him in our hearts and our homes where He can abide forever.  In that Russian prison, God performed a miracle in an atheist's heart and mind, who had killed many people, for he was a decorated officer in the Russian army.  God was working in the midst of great hardships!  It is not a trite religious saying to stand on God's promise that we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  Even in dire experiences in prisons, with sicknesses, heartaches, famines, and in every sort of trouble, we can trust our God.  This world is not our home.  We are following our Lord, wherever He leads.  Jesus is looking back at us as we follow, perhaps reluctantly, kicking up the dirt as we go.  He is still saying, "Catch up my child!  Look what I am doing!  I am changing lives permanently for my glory."  Dear friends, quicken your pace and catch up with what God is doing RIGHT NOW in your lives regardless of the difficult circumstances.  If you want to keep up with Jesus, He has to be about his Father's business.   

Mark 14:1-9 Precious Perfume for Jesus!

Mark 14:1-9  Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.  “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”  While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.  She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.  Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume?  It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.  “Leave her alone,” said Jesus.  “Why are you bothering her?  She has done a beautiful thing to me.  The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me.  She did what she could.  She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.  I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” 

We know the life of Jesus Christ has been breathed on, inspired by, the Holy Spirit.  In today's passage, we see a woman led by the Holy Spirit to anoint Jesus' body before his imminent death and subsequent burial.  Throughout the New Testament, the Holy Spirit used people to help explain the love of God revealed through his Son's mission on Earth.  We see Jesus extending salvation to even the worst of sinners, a cheating tax collector, when He says, Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.  (Luke 19:5)   In another passage we see the owner of a colt fulfilling a prophecy made hundreds of years before by readily giving his animal to the disciples simply because they spoke Jesus' words to the man.  Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”  They replied, “The Lord needs it."  (Luke 19:30-34)  In John 4:7, we see a woman of Samaria placed in the way of Jesus' journey so that the Holy Spirit could expand the message of God's redeeming love to all people of the world, even to the despised people of Samaria: When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?"  He goes on to offer her living water.  In today's passage we see the Spirit use a woman's love and dedication to Jesus as a challenge to all Christians to have the same passion and love for Jesus.  When John tells us this about Mary: Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor.  Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.  Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  (John 12:1-3)  Does the fragrance of our love for Jesus fill the room when we enter.

How easy it is in this world of things and activities to forget to serve Jesus in the same manner as the woman above who sat at the feet of Jesus.  Paul had this zeal to know and to serve Jesus, Lord of his life: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  (Philippians 3:7-11)  In today's passage we see this woman pour expensive nard on Jesus' body.  Some say the cost of this perfume was equal to 300 days of wages.  Yet, Mary considered it loss for the sake of blessing and glorifying Jesus.  Nothing was too good for Jesus.  This spirit of love and devotion to Jesus has to be an integral part of every Christian's life.  Nothing is too costly or too good for Jesus--not our goods, our time, our everything.  We who are 2000 years removed from that time still must have that kind of zeal and devotion for Jesus.  Without such love and commitment we tend to become lukewarm, and we know through scripture that God will not accept a lukewarm dedication, for we read in Revelation that the Spirit spoke harsh words to the church at Laodicea: So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  (Revelation 3:16)

We can easily read or quote the first commandment Jesus spoke to his disciples, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  (Matthew 22:37)  But how often do we stop to think how the "all" translates in our minds and our lives.  Are we so consumed by the concerns of the world and the allurements of the world that we put God on a shelf someplace in our minds until we need him in an emergency or decide to give him some of our time, such as on Sunday morning?  Is He merely a comfortable idea to us, One who might exist, but we are not sure?  Or is He a God we serve for our own benefit?  Do we serve him to give or get?   Are we serving him to live better in some material way or as servants in his kingdom?  Is He our means to get rich or even have a happier life in the present or have we been crucified with Christ to become fishers of men?  Are we serving the Lord for us or for him?  Mary was serving Jesus for his sake, not for hers.  Cultish thinking makes a person seek God for his or her own betterment: for me, myself, and I.  People from cults come to our doors not for our sakes, but for their sake.  By coming to your door they earn a better place in heaven or they even earn heaven itself.  This is not what Mary did.  She served Jesus out of a strong devotion towards him.  SHE LOVED HIM!  PAUL LOVED HIM!  PETER LOVED HIM!  THEY ALL DIED FOR HIM.  Are our minds in today's Christianity in the right place?  Are we serving him to spread the Good News because we have found the true lover of our souls or are we fixated on ourselves: our prosperity, our wellbeing, our peace of mind?  Today, as you read this, at this very moment, people are being killed, persecuted, raped for the cause of Christ.  They are literally experiencing giving their "all."  Are we willing to experience the same?  This is a strong call, but each of us must be ready to give an unequivocal yes to the Master's call, for the enemy will tempt us with many false gods in this materialistic world.  Bless you today as you choose life and love in Christ while you sit at his feet and learn of him!