It shows us that God has not just arrived, but has personally entered into the sorrow
and brokenness of our world.
Tonight we're looking at Mark 14, starting in verse 32, where Jesus, after eating the
Passover with his disciples, comes with them to the Garden of Gethsemane.
So let's pick up there in verse 32.
Mark writes, and they went to a place called Gethsemane, and he, that is Jesus, said to his
disciples, sit here while I pray.
And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
And he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and watch.
And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour
might pass from him.
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.
Remove this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will.
And he came and found them sleeping.
And he said to Peter, Simon, are you asleep?
Could you not watch one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not
know what to answer him.
And he came the third time and said to them, are you still sleeping?
And taking your rest, it is enough.
The hour has come.
The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Jesus' prayer in the garden is the prelude to everything that's about to happen.
Jesus is about to enter into the hour, as he calls it, of his passion.
And he fully knows what he's headed into.
Three times in chapter 8, and then again in chapter 9, and chapter 10, he told his disciples
what was going to happen.
He even said that this was the very reason why he had come, to give his life as a ransom
for many.
But as we look at this scene, you know, it's shocking that Jesus, he isn't facing his death
like so many other heroes.
Think of, if you remember the story of Socrates, how does Socrates meet death?
Conversing with his friends, sort of gladly taking the hemlock, ready to pass on to the
other world.
Or think of all the war stories of great men charging into battle fearlessly.
And yet here is Jesus, distressed, troubled, Mark says, sorrowful, even to death, we're
told.
Now on the one hand, isn't it a mark of the reliability of the Gospels that they describe
Jesus this way?
Who would want to remember their great leader trembling in fear before meeting his great
hour?
And yet that is exactly what Jesus in his humanity faced, and the Gospel writers tell
it faithfully.
But on the other hand, isn't this trembling of Jesus also a mark, not just of the reliability
of the Gospel account, but also of the dreadful path that lay before Jesus?
In his prayer, Jesus speaks of the cup, which throughout the Old Testament was a symbol, a symbol not of celebration, a symbol not of merrymaking, but a symbol actually
of God's just judgment, that it's something that those who had rejected him would have to drink to the dregs.
Jesus trembles in the garden, not just because physical death lay before him, but that in death, he would be bearing the cup, drinking the cup of God's awful and right wrath against sin.
And Jesus, in his human will, we see here, pours out his heart to the Father.
If possible, remove this cup from me.
He trembles before its prospect.
But then he prays, yet, not what I will, but what you will.
Even though what lies ahead causes Jesus to tremble, still he submits his will to the Father's will in love and in trust.
And if you think about it, isn't this exactly what our first parents, isn't this exactly what Adam failed to do in the story of the Garden of Eden?
Isn't it Adam who essentially says, not your will, God, but my will be done?
And isn't that exactly the way in which humanity has played itself out ever since?
But now here in another garden, Jesus has come to reverse humanity's fate.
To say, not what I will, but what you will, God.
And while all this is going on, Jesus' closest disciples and friends,
the inner three, Peter and James and John,
as Jesus is in the grips of his hour,
when he needs their comfort the most,
what are they doing?
Falling asleep.
They're drifting off,
leaving him alone with his sorrow.
Which is all an omen of what's about to happen.
Jesus comes to the sleeping disciples a third time and says in verse 42,
let's pick up the story there,
rise, he says, let us be going.
See, my betrayer is at hand.
And immediately while he was 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.
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.
And they all left him and fled.
And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body
and they seized him.
But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
So it begins with Jesus being betrayed.
By one of his own disciples,
one of the twelve,
a friend that he had spent three years with.
But then lest we think too good of ourselves,
we're shown that he's abandoned by all the rest.
In this telling, Mark uses the word seize again and again.
Did you notice that?
As the crowd has come to lay their hands on Jesus,
to seize him,
ironically and tragically,
in their act of taking hold of him,
Jesus becomes more and more and more alone,
betrayed and abandoned.
And after all he had done throughout his ministry,
in broad daylight,
that they might truly grasp who he is,
they come instead in the middle of the night
to seize him and drag him away to the authorities.
Now Mark is the only gospel to include the detail of the young man
who runs away naked.
And I wonder if he includes it because it represents
the shame of the scene so well.
And Mark actually leaves this young man anonymous,
nameless,
as if to say that what was true of this young man
was true of all of them.
They all ran away in shame.
And indeed I wonder if Mark leaves this young man nameless
to provoke us to search our own hearts.
Do you see yourself in this young man?
Given the option of identifying with Jesus,
how often have we abandoned him instead?
How often have we made our shameless
and shameful flight away?
The prophet Amos wrote,
hundreds of years before Jesus came,
even the bravest of warriors
will flee naked on that day.
And the apostle Paul wrote,
there's no one righteous,
not even one.
All have turned away.
And yet,
as we look at Jesus in the midst of the garden,
as his friends all turn faithless and run,
he remains faithful.
Let the scriptures be fulfilled,
he says.
You see,
God
had planned it this way.
This was why he had come.
As his betrayer sees him
and the rest flee,
Jesus himself keeps a firm grip
on the will of his father.
even as they lead him
to be condemned.
Look again at verse 53.
Let's pick it up from here.
And they led Jesus
to the high priest.
And all the chief priests
and the elders
and the scribes
came together.
And Peter had followed him
at a distance
right into the courtyard
of the high priest.
And as he was sitting with the guards
and warming himself
at the fire.
Now the chief priests
and the whole council
were seeking testimony
against Jesus
to put him to death,
but they found none.
For many bore false witness
against him,
but their testimony
did not agree.
And some stood up
and bore false witness
against him,
saying,
We heard him say,
I will destroy this temple
that is made with hands,
and in three days
I will build another
not made with hands.
Yet even about this
their testimony
did not agree.
And the high priest
stood up in the midst
and asked Jesus,
Have you no answer to make?
What is it that these men
testify against you?
But he remained silent
and made no answer.
Again the high priest
asked him,
Are you the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed?
And Jesus said,
I am.
And you will see
the Son of Man
seated at the right hand
of power
and coming with
the clouds of heaven.
And the high priest
tore his garments
and said,
What further witnesses
do we need?
You have heard
his blasphemy.
What is your decision?
And they all condemned him
as deserving death.
And some began
to spit on him
and to cover his face
and to strike him,
saying to him,
Prophesy.
And the guards
received him
with blows.
The scene now shifts
from the Garden of Gethsemane
to the house
to the high priest.
And under the cover of night
in a gross
miscarriage of justice,
Jesus is condemned.
And again,
in Mark's telling
of the event,
he brings out
another theme
and this theme
is the theme
of testimony
or witness.
Again and again,
Mark points out
the false testimony
and the conflicting testimony.
And at first,
Jesus is silent
knowing that anything
he says
is just going to be
thrown back in his face
and used against him.
Until the high priest
asks him point blank,
Are you the Christ?
The Son of the Blessed?
The Son of God?
And in that moment,
when his accusers
are bearing down
with their fangs
ready to sink in,
with their swords
sharpened to strike,
when they're ready
to cast their verdict
over his life,
Jesus gives
his own testimony,
his own witness.
And you see,
friends,
Jesus is,
Jesus is
the faithful witness.
When everyone else
has spun the truth
and uttered lies,
he says,
I am.
And you will see
the Son of Man
seated at the right hand
of power
coming with the clouds
of heaven.
And in saying that,
Jesus is taking
two of the most
potent texts
about the Messiah
in the Old Testament,
the long-awaited
coming King,
the one who was supposed
to bring the hope
of Israel,
Jesus is taking
two of the most
potent texts,
the two that make
some of the most
boldest claims
about the Messiah's
relationship to the
one true God
and says,
that's who I am.
And of course,
the irony here
is thick
indeed.
Jesus,
the one who is
the world's
rightful judge,
being judged.
How quick
we are
to cast
our verdict
over God
when we ought
to be more concerned
about God's verdict
over us.
how often
we sit
in judgment
when really
it's we
who are on trial
before our
living
and holy God.
But the deep
irony of the scene
quickly turns
to tragedy
as Mark
turns back
to Peter
who had followed
at a distance
right into the
high priest's
courtyard.
Verse 66,
and as Peter
was below
in the courtyard,
one of the
servant girls
of the high
priest came
and seeing
Peter warming
himself,
she looked at
him and said,
you also
were with
the Nazarene,
Jesus.
But he denied
it,
saying,
I neither know
nor understand
what you mean.
And he went
out into the
gateway
and the rooster
crowed.
And the servant
girl saw him
and began again
to say to the
bystanders,
this man is
one of them.
But again,
he denied it.
And after a
little while,
the bystanders
again said to
Peter,
certainly you
are one of
them,
for you're
a Galilean.
But he began
to invoke
a curse on
himself and
to swear,
I do not
know this
man of whom
you speak.
And immediately
the rooster
crowed a
second time.
And Peter
remembered how
Jesus had
said to him,
before the
rooster crows
twice,
you will deny
me three
times.
And he
broke down
and wept.
It's hard to
imagine a
more poignant
scene in the
Gospels.
And again,
isn't it another
mark of the
authenticity of
the reliability
of these texts
that we have?
Certainly no
follower of Jesus
would have made
up such a
humiliating story
about one of
their key
followers and
published it for
all the world
to read unless
it actually
happened.
But you see,
more than just
that,
isn't Peter's
denial the
final wound?
Jesus has been
betrayed,
abandoned,
condemned,
and now
denied.
God.
While Jesus is
bearing true
witness to his
identity,
witness that
will lead to a
certain execution,
Peter,
perhaps one of
Jesus' closest
friends on
earth,
is denying him
in the courtyard.
So what are we
to make of
this passage?
We often sing a
hymn here at
Trinity about
Jesus that
begins like this,
Man of
sorrows,
what a name
for the Son
of God
who came.
In our passage
tonight, we begin
to see the
depth of this
sorrow.
This text
shows us that
in his passion,
Jesus experiences
not just the
physical pain
of the cross
and the beating
and the spitting,
but even the
full depths of
relational and
emotional pain
and sorrow.
I wonder
tonight,
as we've come
here for
worship,
have you been
betrayed?
Have you been
abandoned ever?
Have you ever
been falsely
condemned?
Have you ever
been denied?
Friends,
what this text
is telling us
is that Jesus
knows exactly
what you are
going through.
That he drank
that cup
to the full
for you
so that he
might know
you
and so that
you might be
fully known.
God.
Now,
take what we
see of Jesus
in this passage
and hold it up
to your
understanding of
who God is.
Is your God
distant?
Is he
uninvolved?
Is he
unconcerned?
Is he
unaware?
anywhere?
And then
consider the
God that we
know in
Jesus,
who enters
into the most
horrible of
earthly exclusion
and sorrow
out of love
for his lost
creation.
And though it's
shocking,
though it's
hard to wrap
our minds
around a
suffering God,
consider it.
what other
God is
worthy of
worship?
In a world
of brokenness
and pain
and sorrow
and exclusion
and abandonment
and betrayal
and denial,
what other
God would
you worship
other than
the one
who knows
exactly
what that
means?
And friends,
Christianity
is the only
game in town
when it
comes to
that.
There is
no pain
that you
have felt
or will
feel
that God
himself
does not
know
from the
inside
in a
personal way.
There is
no tearing
of the
heart
that Jesus
himself
has not
felt.
So when
you draw
near to
him,
when you
go to
him in
prayer,
don't think
that he
can't
understand
you.
Don't
think that
you're
knocking
on a
brick wall
of heaven
and the
doors never
open.
Don't
think that
this God
can't
comfort
you.
In the
Psalms,
we read
some just
amazing
verses,
like this
one from
Psalm 34,
the Lord
is near
to the
brokenhearted
and saves
the crushed
in spirit.
And again,
in Psalm 147,
the psalmist
writes,
he heals
the brokenhearted
and binds
up their
wounds.
And we
see now,
in light
of the
cross,
in light
of Jesus'
passion,
in light
of the
garden,
how this
can be
true.
In Jesus,
God has
truly come
near to
the brokenhearted
and he's
come near
to heal
because he
too was
broken and
betrayed
and abandoned
and condemned
and denied.
Man of
sorrows,
what a
name
for the
Son of
God who
came.
But the
verse continues,
doesn't it?
Ruined
sinners
to
reclaim.
Hallelujah.
Praise God.
What a
Savior.
You see,
friends,
Jesus drank
this cup,
not just
to sympathize
with sufferers,
glorious as that
is,
but also to
save the
sinful
and to
reclaim
the ruined.
After all,
don't you see,
as you read this
text,
Christ,
it's we
who have
betrayed
God
when
something
more
immediately
pleasurable
presents
itself.
It's we
who have
abandoned
him
when the
following
gets costly.
It's we
who have
sought to
condemn him
when we
decided he
ought to
have done
things
differently
in my
life.
It's even
we who
have denied
him
when the
pressure of
the world
of friends
and co-workers
and colleagues
presses in.
And wouldn't
it be right,
wouldn't it be
justice that
would say,
let the
betrayers be
betrayed,
let the
abandoners be
abandoned,
let the
condemners be
condemned,
let the
deniers be
denied.
Isn't that
how your
heart works?
I know that's
how my
heart works.
It's easy
to forgive
someone who
breaks your
things,
right?
But not
so when
someone breaks
your heart.
They get
what they
deserve.
But instead
Jesus comes
and is
betrayed
and is
abandoned
and is
condemned
and is
even
denied
so that
those
who deserve
those things
never
ultimately
have to
be.
He's
betrayed
so that
all who
believe in
him
can be
accepted.
He takes
our curse
so we
can receive
his blessing.
Don't you
see from
the garden
of Gethsemane
and from
the house
of the
high priest
rings out
the good
news of
the gospel.
Christ is
taking the
cup of
sorrow so
that you
and I
can take
the cup
of his
joy so
that abandoners
can be
counted as
faithful friends
in the eyes
of God
so that
those who
have denied
him can
be counted
in Christ
as those
who are
faithful and
true.
Friends,
this is what
Holy Week is
all about.
This is what
Easter is all
about.
This is what
Christianity is
all about.
This is what
the world
is about.
This is what
God is about.
That he
bears our
cross so
that we can
share in his
resurrection
and so
that God's
glorious grace
will be
demonstrated
for all
eternity.
Man of
sorrows,
what a name
for the
Son of
God who
came,
ruined
sinners
to reclaim.
Hallelujah.
Praise
God.
What a
Savior.
Let's
pray.
Amen.
word messault,
Amen.
Buddy,
give me a good
news for us. And may we be willing, Lord, seeing your great mercy to stand for you.
In your name we pray. Amen.
We're going to sing a song of meditation and response. Use this time to pray. Use this time
to connect with the Lord. Use the words of this song. 20 minutes after the sermon, just doing some
Q&A, trying to interact with this text together. So this is a time for us to ask questions on some
things we might not have been able to get to or any questions you might have had about the text.
So we'll take questions. If I don't know the answer to your question or if it seems kind of
far afield from where we were tonight, I will confess my ignorance or maybe we can talk about
it afterwards. But yeah, we'll do our best. So why don't we begin? Who has a question?
Andrew, yeah.
Can you expand perhaps on why all the gospel writers, Mark includes the story of this young
guy, like you would think Luke would have done that given the length of Luke's gospel?
Yeah, yeah. That's a great question. So the question is, why do we think Mark is the only
one who included the story of this young man who runs away naked, especially when some of
the other gospels are a lot longer and it seems like they've got more space to include stuff
like that? You know, ultimately we don't know. Some people think that the young man is actually
Mark himself. Total speculation, but I guess it's possible. It's a bit of an odd detail,
isn't it? It's very strange. It's striking too. It's an arresting detail. So one wonders if,
you know, some of the other gospel writers just choose not to include it because of the other things
that they felt like they wanted to emphasize in their accounts of Jesus. I mean, remember that
the gospel accounts are not exhaustive. We don't have in the gospel accounts every single thing
that Jesus ever said and did. All of the gospel accounts are engineered to present in a compelling
way the truth about Jesus Christ. So they're all selective and they're all strategic and they're all
carefully crafted. So yeah, it's a good question.
Any other questions? Jonathan?
Yeah.
Good question. So when Jesus says, not my will, but your will be done, is the implication that Jesus has
a separate will from the Father. We actually talked about this in Sunday school this morning,
actually. So there's a really neat conversation throughout the early church about the relationship
of Jesus's will to the will of the Father. And it seems, and especially as we look at this passage,
we know that Jesus is fully human and we know that Jesus is fully divine. Two natures in one person.
That is sort of the biblical teaching and the teaching that the church affirmed throughout the
ages about who Jesus is. So this question of wills, as you read a passage like this, it seems as if
Jesus has a fully human will, in addition to a fully divine will. Not just one, but he's got two,
and that he submits that fully human will to the will of the Father. And that's the real beauty of it,
that in Jesus's earthly ministry, he's doing everything that we failed to do.
So all those times, I mean, isn't that our great spiritual battle? That our wills are rebellious?
That they're disordered? That our passions don't go in the way that God created them to go because
we've fallen? And Jesus comes and takes on our flesh, and even takes on our will, and says,
no, I'm going to do it in the right way. So it becomes this great message of hope.
And as Malcolm pointed out this morning as he was teaching his class, it becomes this awesome
picture of the future where Jesus is taking us in the new heavens and the new earth as a place
where our wills, our still totally human wills, are utterly conformed to God, such it will never sin,
that we'll always love God above all else and do whatever he says, and in that find perfect freedom
and joy. So this battle that's happening here in the garden has massive significance for our salvation.
So yeah, so what the church has said is that there are two wills in Jesus, a human will and a divine will.
Yeah.
Any other questions? Yes, Kevin.
Yeah.
Oh, good question.
Yeah.
Okay, so, yeah, it's kind of, kind of, it makes sense of that.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah, right.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Yeah, good, good observations, Kevin.
So the question is, you know, how do these details work out in this scene when the mob comes and the,
and Judas comes to betray Jesus and hand him over?
It seems like, right, it seems like at first, uh, so John tells us that the disciple who strikes
the ear is actually Peter, sort of impetuous Peter, kind of lashing out.
Uh, and, you know, and we, it, doesn't that fit with the arc of the gospel's narrative, right?
That the disciples were always sort of trying to figure out, like, okay, Jesus, when are we going
to start to do the military sort of project that we were expecting you to do?
Uh, so Peter's like, okay, let's do this.
Game on.
Um, but obviously it's, it's immediately futile.
And in the other gospel accounts, Jesus actually rebukes them for trying to do it and then says,
no, this is, this is where it's going to go.
Um, and then I think, I think you're right, Kevin.
And it's after that point, once, once they see that the die is cast, they all run.
Um, and of course we know that, that Mark's speaking generally there, because Peter then
does sort of follow behind at a distance.
And John's gospel tells us that, that John himself actually fought.
There was, there were actually two of them in the courtyard.
Um, so.
Tyrone, yeah.
Yeah.
Good.
Is that, did Mark?
Yep.
So if you look a little earlier in Mark 14, in verse 27, they had just finished up, uh,
the Passover meal and Jesus had just instituted the Lord's supper communion.
And then Jesus says to them, you'll all fall away for it's written, I'll strike the shepherd
and the sheep will be scattered.
Yeah.
That's right.
So that's, I mean, that's probably one of the scriptures that Jesus has in mind that's
being fulfilled in that very moment.
Um, yeah.
Which is ironic, right?
Because later when, after the Sanhedrin, the council sort of condemns him, they start mocking
him and spitting him, saying, prophesy, you know, tell us who hit you.
And the, the sad irony of that is that everything that's happening is happening exactly like Jesus
said it would.
That, that, that Jesus's status as the true prophet of God is held up throughout this whole
narrative, even while they mock him for it.
Um, Michael, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
That's a neat connection, yeah.
Yeah, so Michael's question is,
why is Jesus so disappointed with him for falling asleep?
What's he wanting from them in that moment?
What's he expecting and what's he hoping happens
in that time?
Yeah, that's a good question, Michael.
I think on the surface what he wants is for them
to just be near to him and pray with him
just one last time before the events happen,
before the machinations start turning
that lead to the cross.
So, I mean, you see here both sort of
Jesus' consternation but also his mercy, don't you,
at the end of verse 38 where he says,
this spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.
So even in that moment,
Jesus is merciful towards these guys
and yet,
and yet it's heartbreaking, right?
That in his hour of need,
they're sleeping.
There's one Puritan who's written like a 400-page book
on the phrase watch and pray.
Just those three words, John Owen.
It's a whole book on watch and pray,
so I can recommend that to you.
I've not read it, but you know,
if you want something to do over, you know,
dead week, Michael, you can take up some John Owen.
So, watch and pray.
Yeah.
Kelly.
I think you said that when Jesus says his statement
when he's being condemned,
the Old Testament references.
Mm-hmm.
Can you cite that?
Yeah, so you'll see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of power.
That's an allusion to Psalm 110.1,
which Jesus actually brought up earlier
in the temple disputes, if you remember that.
The Lord says to my Lord,
sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
your footstool.
And Jesus says,
if the Messiah is David's son,
how does he call him Lord?
Sort of provoking them
to start to get a little deeper
about the identity of the Messiah.
And then the second reference
is the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.
That's Daniel 7.
I think 7.14.
Is that right, Craig?
7.14?
Yeah.
Which is part of Daniel's sort of visions,
his prophetic visions,
of how God was going to bring
his redemptive plans to completion.
And he has this sort of powerful,
heavily symbolic vision of the ancient of days,
sort of the Lord in splendor.
And then one like the Son of Man
approaching the throne,
coming with the clouds of heaven,
ascending to him.
So tradition then picked that up
as a messianic reference.
So that would be that one.
It's Daniel 7.
That's also the one that Jesus has quoted
in Mark 13, too,
when he's giving his discourse
about the destruction of the temple
and the return of the Son of Man
and those kinds of things.
He's referencing Daniel there, too.
Maybe one or two more questions
before we close.
Noelle.
Yeah.
I wish you had a question.
When you speak about it,
I should probably get a good idea
of myself into Jesus' death.
But you talk about how...
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Wow, that's a really good question, Noelle.
So Noelle's question is,
on the cross,
Jesus is drinking the cup
of God's wrath against sin.
Does that...
Sort of living post-cross now,
does that change
God's sort of general relationship
with the world?
Because we see in the Old Testament
there are moments
where it seems like God's wrath comes
in maybe natural ways
or in specific historical events.
Maybe a general point
on that question.
As Christians,
we should be incredibly
reticent
to identify
things in nature
or in history
as sort of direct,
wrathful acts of God
against sin
without any kind of
biblical precedent.
sin.
I think in a general way,
yes,
the world is broken
and the world is sinful
and the evil
and corruption
and destruction
that we see
is a product of that.
But I think we should be
very careful to say
that event happened
because those people
did this
and God was judging them.
I just don't think
we have biblical warrant
to do that.
And I think the reason
why the Old Testament
does that
is because
it's God himself
giving the interpretation
of the events
to his people.
So,
without that kind of
God's sort of
stamped interpretation
of events,
I think we should be
very reticent to do that.
Your other question,
though,
is God's sort of
fundamental posture
towards the world
now changed,
though,
because of what
Jesus has done?
And I think
the answer
where we can be
on safe ground
is to say that
it's very different
towards those
who are in Christ.
And in and through
the church now,
that sort of,
that new covenant
community
is now salt
and light
in the world
such that that joy
and peace
is now spreading
as that leaven
kind of goes out.
Jesus is very clear
that just as God
is king,
he is also judge.
So just as he rules
all things,
he will judge
all things.
But the distinction
in God's judgment
is between those
who have repented
of sin
and placed their
trust in Christ
and those who
continue to sort of
rely on self-righteousness
for their standing
with him
who continue in sin.
Is that helpful,
Noelle?
Is that maybe
a start to that?
Yeah.
One more question.
Yes?
It's a little strange.
I know.
Yes,
it seems very arcane,
doesn't it?
It seems very sort of
abstract or confusing.
Maybe one way
of saying it
is to say
we know that Jesus
has a fully human nature,
right,
and a fully divine nature,
but he's one person,
right,
that there's one person,
Jesus Christ,
but it's both
of these natures
together.
And those natures
never are separated
in his person,
but they're never
confused.
And what that means
is they never sort of
collapse into one another.
So Jesus has
a fully human will,
but he also has
a fully divine will.
In his human nature,
he has a fully human will.
In his divine nature,
he has a fully divine will.
And they interact
in his person.
I'd encourage you
to talk to Malcolm
after the service
about that
because he is
our resident expert
on Christology,
which is sort of
our understanding
of who Jesus is
theologically.
And he can help you
more with that afterwards
if that's not clear enough.
When I read the Bible,
I've always seen
my Father say to me.
Yeah.
And also,
why the Father
said to Jesus Christ
is because
the will of the prophets
before
who have only
Jesus Christ
is the same.
That's right.
That's the way
of understanding.
Yeah.
That's right.
I would,
yes and amen.
That's completely true.
That Jesus has come
to accomplish
the will of his Father
and to do what
no one else could do.
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah.
That's right.
Good.
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah.
Oh,
I think that's right.
I think Jesus is making
a not so veiled reference
to himself there
and saying that
I'm the one,
I'm the son
who's finally come.
And he doesn't,
he prophesy there
that the people
will reject him.
And yet,
even in being rejected,
God makes him
the cornerstone
of a whole new,
of the whole new
renewed people of God.
That even in his rejection,
God accomplishes his plan
for our salvation.
Which,
that's the beauty
of the gospel.
Yeah.
Let's end there.
It's already 10 of 8.
Let's end there.