You may be seated.
Good morning.
My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm a pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you this morning.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting.
We're glad that you're here.
And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced that there's no one so good.
They don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,
which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.
We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.
You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection.
And as I mentioned earlier this morning and last week, the Gospels are always especially timely,
and they're especially timely because of our constant need to have Christ presented to us in all His beauty.
And Jesus is always beautiful, but He's especially beautiful as we see Him in the days leading up to His death and resurrection.
And so we're going to have the same goal in a sense that we had last week,
which is to see Jesus clearly, to see Him in His beauty, in His glory,
in His love, in His final hours before His death.
And so that's what we're going to see in Mark chapter 14.
We're going to be starting at verse 43, and Jesus is going to continue His path to the cross,
and we'll see a progression here, not simply His prayer last week, the foretelling of His denial,
but here we're going to see Him both betrayed and abandoned.
We're going to see Him betrayed and abandoned, and it's with that I invite you to turn with me to God's Word.
You can turn in your Bible. You can turn on your phone. You can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word,
and God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold,
and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.
And so that's why we read now Mark chapter 14, starting at verse 43.
And immediately while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve,
and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.
And when he came, he went up to him at once and said,
Rabbi, and he kissed him.
Verse 46.
And they laid hands on him and seized him.
But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest
and cut off his ear.
And Jesus said to them,
Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?
Day after day I was with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not seize me.
But let the scriptures be fulfilled.
Verse 50.
And they all left him and fled.
And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth around his body.
And they seized him.
But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in heaven, we thank you again as we do every week
that you have given us your Word as a gift,
that you don't stand far away from us.
You're not distant.
But instead, you come close and you speak to us.
You tell us the story we need to hear.
The story about ourselves and our sin and the story of Jesus
and his grace and his love and his sacrifice.
And we ask that you would tell us that story again this morning,
that you would show us what's profound in this narrative that's simple,
that you would make it sweet and real to us,
that you would use it as an instrument to grow our understanding
and our vision of Jesus and his beauty,
and that that would cause us to love him, to follow him, and to obey him.
And we thank you that we don't need to worry this morning
about whether we've earned or deserved these things,
that we ask you because we know that we haven't.
And instead, we simply ask them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Last week, we ended with Jesus' session of prayer,
asking that the cup be taken away from him.
And as I mentioned, he had this surprisingly quick answer.
He did not have to wait long to understand
whether he was going to be able to avoid the cross
because we saw at the very end of last week's passage,
verses 41 and 42,
that the soldiers are immediately coming for Jesus.
Now, I told you last week, as I tell you from time to time,
that I don't simply want you to learn things about the Bible,
but I actually want you to learn how to read the Bible.
You know, the old saying that you can give someone a fish
and they'll eat for a day.
You can teach them to fish and they'll be able to eat for a lifetime.
That's my hope for you.
And so I'll remind you of the same thing I told you last week,
that when we're reading the Bible,
we want to look for things that are repeated.
We want to look for patterns and contrasts.
We saw that last week,
and we are not disappointed this week
because the same thing repeats itself.
Now, I'll pull back first to our passage that we looked at before.
Verses 41 and 42 have the repetition that we want.
Verse 41,
the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Verse 42,
see my betrayer is at hand.
That does not stop though.
We see it also in this passage this week.
Verse 43,
we see,
excuse me,
not verse 43,
but verse 44,
the same thing is repeated.
Now the betrayer had given them a sign.
Mark means to underscore for us
over and over again,
in case we miss it,
Jesus is being betrayed.
Okay?
That's why this is over and over
that he was underscoring it for us.
In fact,
he has given us hints
at the very beginning of chapter 14,
which we looked at several weeks ago.
We see the same thing.
Verse 10,
Judas Iscariot went to the chief priest
in order to betray him.
Verse 11,
he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Verse 18,
Jesus says,
truly I say to you,
one of you will betray me.
Verse 21,
woe to that man
by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
Mark is repeating this over and over
because he doesn't want us to miss
the seriousness of what is happening here.
And it is not simply any type of betrayal.
It is not a small betrayal,
but a large one.
That's why we're told in verse 43,
Judas came one of the 12.
Now,
this is not news to us,
right?
We have known Judas
for quite some time now.
We have seen him
over multiple chapters.
We don't need to be told
that Judas is one of the 12.
That's not a surprise.
That's not new information for us.
In fact,
we were told that earlier
in this same chapter.
Mark chapter 14,
if you have your Bible
and you look at verse 10,
it says this,
then Judas Iscariot,
who was one of the 12.
Why does Mark need to tell us
what we already know?
Mark tells us
what we already know
to help us see
how serious a betrayal this is.
It is not that Jesus
is merely betrayed
by someone
who happened to follow him
and listen to his teaching.
He's not betrayed
by someone
who's on the periphery,
on the outside.
No,
he's betrayed
by someone
in the inner circle.
This is an insider threat.
This is not just any betrayal.
This is one of the worst betrayals.
The principle is simple,
which is this,
the closer the person,
the deeper the wound.
The closer the person,
the deeper the wound.
The only thing
that could make this worse
would be if it was
one of the three,
if it was Peter,
James,
or John.
But one of the 12
is bad enough.
Jesus is not simply
betrayed.
He is betrayed
by one of his closest friends.
Jesus is betrayed,
we're told,
not once,
but twice,
by one of the 12.
We're not just told
about Jesus' betrayal,
though.
It is shown as well.
You'll remember
when Judas comes,
he has a sign
that he's arranged.
Verse 44,
the one I will kiss
is the man.
Verse 45,
and when he came,
he went up to him
at once and said,
Rabbi,
and he kissed him.
What is betrayal
if not someone
who uses your closeness,
your trust in them
to hurt you?
And what shows
closeness and trust
more than a kiss?
One man has said this,
betrayal is a gift
that only a friend
can give.
Betrayal is a gift
that only a friend
can give.
Only a friend kisses you.
only an insider
knows enough
to commit treason.
And so I just want us
to sit in that
for a second
and to feel the pain
and the heartbreak of it.
Mark means for us
to feel the pain
and the heartbreak of it,
which is why he says
betray
over and over again.
He wants us
to feel the pain
and the heartbreak of it,
which is why he tells us
not once but twice
that Judas
was one of the twelve.
What we are looking at
in this week
leading up to Jesus' death
are things
that are simple
and profound
in their simplicity.
I'm not here
this morning
to give you
some sort of new
or penetrating insight.
I'm here to say
simply
look and see
Jesus
as he suffers.
Look and see
Jesus
in his pain.
Look and see
Jesus
in what he was
willing to go through
for you.
Many of you perhaps
have experienced
betrayal.
It's what the psalmist
talks about
in Psalm 88
which Brit
read for us earlier.
My closest friends
have abandoned me.
And what is this
if not
Jesus' closest friends
abandoning him?
There's a neuroscientist
named Matthew Lieberman
who wrote a book
named Social
and he says
that social pain,
social rejection,
we could put a heartbreak
into that category
is physically painful.
He compares it
to a broken leg
and he says,
look,
if you take a brain scan,
physical pain
and social pain
look the same.
Just based on the scan,
you're not going
to be able to tell
if someone is
in physical pain
or in emotional pain
because they feel
the same.
That is what
rejection
is like.
imagine how much
more it hurts
to be betrayed.
Now the point
for us
is not
that we would
feel sorry
for Jesus.
Okay?
There are some
portions of the church
that encourage us
to sort of
whip up
compassion for Jesus
that somehow
we are supposed
to feel bad
for him
but that's not
the direction
that the Bible
points us in.
When Scripture
shows us
Jesus' suffering,
when it highlights it,
it is for two reasons.
First,
to show us
how terrible
our sin is.
The seriousness
of the cure
shows how terrible
the disease is.
And so as we look
at Jesus,
as we meditate
on him,
as we think about him,
as we sit
in his suffering
for a minute,
we are meant
to be reminded
that our sin
is not a small thing
but a great thing.
It's not a little thing
but a big thing.
So great
that it includes
Jesus' betrayal here.
Second,
it shows us
not just
the greatness
of our sin
but even
more than that,
the greatness
of God's love.
And so we sit
in these things
so that we can
understand
how serious
our offense
against God is
and
we can comprehend
his love.
That is why
we pause
for a moment
to look at
Jesus' suffering.
It's in
understanding
his suffering
and seeing
our sin
that we're able
to really savor
and appreciate
and understand
how much
Jesus loves us.
he loves us
so much
that he was
separated from
the Father.
He drank
the cup
of wrath
that we talked
about last week.
This week
is just another
angle on the same
thing.
He loved us
so much
he underwent
betrayal.
That is how much
Jesus suffered.
that's how much
he cares
for you.
Simple
and
profound.
It's not simply
though that Jesus
is betrayed
in this passage.
The passion
narrative also
underscores for us
that Jesus
does this
alone.
It would be
one thing
if Judas
betrayed him,
he gave him
the kiss,
he used this
sign of intimacy
to commit
treason,
but it is
even more
than that.
It is not
just that
Judas betrays
him,
it is that
everyone else
runs.
Jesus is not
just betrayed,
he is
abandoned.
Now it doesn't
start with
abandonment.
We see in
verse 47
before that,
one of those
who stood by
drew his sword
and struck
the servant
of the high
priest and
cut off his
ear.
Now other
gospels go
into more
detail.
They tell us
that it was
Peter,
that the name
of this
high priest
was the
servant,
was Malchus,
and they also
tell us that
Jesus heals
the ear there
on the spot.
Mark shares
none of those
things with
us,
which means
that in
Mark's mind
those details
are unimportant
to the story
he's trying
to tell in
this moment.
And the
story I
believe is
this,
as Jesus
is undergoing
this moment
of betrayal,
as he is
being kissed
as an act
of treason,
his disciples
are still
deeply confused
about what
is going
on.
They are
forgetting
what he
has tried
to tell
them over
and over
again.
Even after
all the time
they've spent
with Jesus,
they do not
understand what
is happening.
And so,
Jesus is going
through this
moment of
betrayal,
and he is
surrounded by
misunderstanding,
violence,
commotion,
and distraction.
those who
are there
to support
him have
no idea
what's
happening,
and they
do not
what is
helpful,
but what
is unhelpful.
Mark then
quickly moves
from confusion
to abandonment.
It's not
just,
verse 47,
the loss
of the ear.
Jesus then
rebukes them,
verses 48,
49,
and then
verse 50
leaves us
with this
simple statement,
and they
all left
him and
fled.
Jesus'
disciples are
not merely
confused.
They also
leave him.
Jesus does
not face
the worst
moments of
his life
on earth
surrounded
by his
buddies
who can
encourage
him.
Jesus
faces
them
completely
alone.
Even
worse than
that,
it's not
just that
the disciples
leave him.
There is
one young
man,
verse 51,
who follows
after Jesus
in this
situation,
but he
is quickly
neutralized
as well.
He has
this linen
cloth,
which
commentators
tell us
means he's
probably
wealthy,
and most
believe this
is actually
Mark himself.
He is
inserting
himself
into his
own
gospel.
He,
as a
young man,
is chasing
after Jesus,
but what
happens to
him?
Verse 52,
he left
the linen
cloth and
ran away
naked.
This is on
page 7 of
your worship
guide.
Some scholars
say that this
is the author
Mark himself,
who would have
been a young
man at the
time.
If so,
he's saying,
I was
there,
and I
was as
bad as
everybody
else.
Everyone
has failed
Jesus.
Everyone
has failed
Jesus.
Even Mark
can't get it
done.
And so
the point
is this.
In a
scene
characterized
by human
failure,
betrayal,
and
abandonment,
Jesus
succeeds.
But he
does it
all alone.
Jesus
does it
by
himself.
were
confronted
with
human
incompetence
and
Jesus'
great
faithfulness.
Jesus
is not
a
quarterback
who's
guarded
and
protected.
Jesus
is not
a musician
who has
backup
singers
to support
him.
Jesus
is not
a politician
surrounded
by aides
and body
guards.
No,
Jesus
is all
alone.
No
king
ever
moved
forward
so
deserted
and so
abandoned.
No
king
except
Jesus.
Mark
tells us
this to
remind us
of a
very
simple
truth.
there is
no
pride.
There is
no
self
congratulation
in following
after Jesus.
Everyone
has
failed
him.
There
is
nothing
for us
to pat
ourselves
on the
back
for
if we're
Christians.
Only
gratitude,
thankfulness,
humility,
repentance.
Because
everyone
has
failed
Jesus.
That
includes
you.
It
includes
me.
When
it comes
to our
salvation,
Mark
is making
it crystal
clear for
us that
we do
not
give.
We
only
receive.
God
will
have
mentioned
to you
before
that
we
often
like
to
separate
the
world
into
three
types
of
people.
There
are
amazing
people
like
Mother
Teresa.
There
are
terrible
people
like
Hitler.
And
then
there
are
just
everyday
good
upstanding
citizens.
Good
great
people
like
you
and
me.
Mark
is
telling
us
forget
that.
You
don't
need
to be
a
betrayer
to be
a
bad
person.
You
don't
need
to be
Judas.
Even
the
disciples
abandoned
Jesus.
Even
the
good
people,
even
the
upstanding
law
abiding
citizens
fled.
everyone
failed
Jesus.
Not
even
the
good
people
can
contribute
or
help.
Not
even
the
good
people
are
good.
Everyone
needs
saving.
You
can
reject
Jesus
or you
can
follow
Jesus.
You
cannot
contribute
anything
to
Jesus.
You
can
give
him
nothing.
You
can
only
receive.
When
Jesus
was
here
in
this
garden,
he
was
abandoned
by
everyone.
Page
eight of
your
worship
guide
points
out
that
there
was
another
garden
that
this
garden
echoes.
In
the
garden
of
Eden,
Adam
and
Eve
woefully
failed.
Here
in this
garden,
Jesus
succeeds.
Where
others
dropped
away,
Jesus
continues.
Where
others
disobeyed,
Jesus
remained
faithful.
Jesus
passes
where
we
failed.
Jesus
succeeds
where
we
faltered.
And
he
does
it
all
alone
because
we've
abandoned
him.
And
he
does
it
all
out
of
his
love.
That's
how great
our sin
is,
how much
greater
God's
love.
I've
told you
over and
over in
the gospel
of Mark
that need
is the
price
of
admission.
Mark
reminds us
here,
need is
not just
the price
of
admission,
need
is all
you
have.
You
don't
have to
be a
betrayer
to
abandon
Jesus.
And
so the
question of
this passage
is very,
very
simple.
will you
recognize
your
need?
And
will you
bring
that
need
and
only
that
need
to
Jesus?
Because
in the
end,
all of
us
have
failed
him.
When
Jesus
suffered,
he did
it all
alone.
Need
is the
price
of
admission.
And
so that's
what we're
going to
sing now
in our
closing
hymn.
What
wondrous
love is
this,
O my
soul,
that
caused
the
Lord
of
bliss
to
bear
the
dreadful
curse
for
my
soul,
for
my
soul,
to
bear
the
dreadful
curse
for
my
soul.
Let's
pray.
our
Father
in
heaven,
we
praise
you
and
thank
you
that
Jesus'
success
is
greater
than
our
failure.
That
as we
abandon
him,
he
doesn't
abandon
us.
As
we
are
faithless,
he
is
faithful.
We
ask
that
you
would
use
that
truth
to
strip
us
of
our
pride
and
to
cause
us
to
run
to
you
knowing
that
we
bring
our
need
and
that
need
is
all
we
have.
We
ask
these
things
in
the
mighty
name
of
Jesus
Christ.
Amen.
I
invite you
to stand
for our
closing hymn.