You may be seated.
Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.
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 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 returning now to our series in the Gospel of Mark,
and you'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and his life and his death and his resurrection.
And when we left off in Mark a few weeks ago, we were in Mark chapter 14,
we got hit from both sides in the passage that we looked at.
You'll remember we were looking at this passage where Jesus was anointed at Bethany,
but before and after he was anointed, we sort of had this bookend,
there's a plot that's going on to take his life.
And at the same time, he's being anointed for his burial.
So there's an anointing for burial, and there's a betrayer that's at work.
We've already seen that Judas is getting to work to hand Jesus over.
That's where we left off.
And so it's with that in mind that we then proceed to this next section.
That's what sets the stage for us.
And we're just going to see a couple of simple reminders in this passage of things that the Bible tells us over and over again,
which is Jesus' control and Judas' warning,
which is a way of saying we're going to talk about the beauty of Jesus,
and then we're going to talk about the danger of sin.
We're going to talk about the beauty of Jesus.
We're going to talk about the danger of sin.
And so without any delay, then I invite you to turn with me to this passage.
You can turn with me in your Bible.
You can turn in your worship guide.
You can turn on your phone, 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 14, starting at verse 12.
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 is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?
Verse 15.
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.
Verse 17.
And when it was evening, He came with the twelve.
And as they were reclining at 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?
He said to them,
It is one of the twelve,
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.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in Heaven,
we thank You for the riches and the treasure that You have given us.
In Your Word,
we thank You for the pictures and stories You present to us of Jesus over and over again.
And we ask that You would help us this morning,
that You do that again,
that You would put a spotlight on Jesus and His love,
His care,
His control.
You'd help us to see Him more clearly
than when we came in to worship this morning.
So we ask that You'd encourage us.
And we also ask that You'd challenge us
with the example and the warning of Judas.
Most of all,
You'd remind us of Your grace
and how You provide for us
and our needs in the Gospel.
We thank You
that we can come with boldness
to ask You for these things
because we're not afraid of whether we've earned them or deserve them.
We know quite simply that we haven't.
But instead,
we simply ask them
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
You'll remember that
we are now in the midst of the week
leading up to Jesus' death
and His resurrection.
And Jesus has come,
as many of the Jews have come,
for the celebration of the Passover.
And so there are thousands,
tens of thousands of more people in Jerusalem
than there would normally be.
This city is packed,
like you might expect,
for an incredibly large conference
or sporting event
because people have gathered
from all over the Jewish world
to celebrate this festival together.
And that's what we see in verse 12.
On the first day of unleavened bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.
It's important then for us
to be reminded of what exactly it is
that they're celebrating
when we talk about the Passover.
If you're familiar with the story
of God's people in the Old Testament,
you'll remember in Exodus chapter 12,
they need to leave Egypt
where they've been kept as slaves.
And God has performed a variety of miracles
on judgments on the people of Egypt.
And the last one he performs
is to kill the firstborn of every family in Egypt
because they will not let his people go.
But he sets up a practice for God's people,
for the Jewish people,
to protect their own firstborns.
What they're supposed to do,
what God instructs them to do
is to have this meal
where they have a lamb that's sacrificed.
And they take the blood of this lamb
and they paint it on the doorframes of their house.
And so as the spirit of the Lord goes through Egypt,
it passes through Egypt,
taking the lives of the firstborn
of the Egyptian families,
but it passes over God's people,
the ones who have marked their doors
with the blood of the lamb.
And so that's quite simply why it's called Passover.
It's when God passed over his people.
And he gives this to them
as something they celebrate every year
as a remembrance of his faithfulness and goodness.
and deliverance,
that they are covered by the blood of the lamb.
That helps us to understand the incredible symbolism
of what's occurring here
because Jesus is going to be the final
and ultimate lamb whose blood is shed.
We don't celebrate Passover anymore as Christians
because we are covered by Jesus' blood.
He's the ultimate Passover sacrifice.
We'll talk about that even more next week,
but that helps us understand how powerful this is
that Jesus is going to celebrate Passover
with his disciples.
They're going to slaughter this lamb
as he is going forward to be the final lamb.
He's gonna provide an even greater blood,
an even greater covering,
that not just the people of God in Egypt,
but we are passed over by God's judgment
because of Jesus' blood.
With all that in mind,
this text doesn't just remind us of that.
It raises some questions.
Verse 12, again, there's this great feast that's at hand.
And what's important to know
is that you can't just celebrate Passover anywhere.
It has to be celebrated within the walls of Jerusalem.
You may remember I've told you over and over
that Jesus and his disciples are commuting in from Bethany.
That's where he's staying during this time.
And so he's constantly traveling from the east
towards the west into Jerusalem.
Jesus has a commute every day,
in other words, during this week.
But now it's come time for something
that cannot be celebrated at Bethany.
And you can imagine it just would be true today
if there was a major conference or sporting event,
something where lots of people are gathering
into another city,
accommodations are gonna get snapped up just like that.
The best Airbnbs in Jerusalem
are not gonna be available for Jesus
and his disciples forever.
It is important for them
to have made preparations in advance.
And so we can understand this question
that the disciples have in verse 12,
where will you have us go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?
It's a little late, by the way, to be making plans.
You don't book a room the day of the conference.
You book it months in advance.
We have a conference that happens
for pastors and elders in our denomination,
and there's like a flurry when the rooms open up.
And if you don't book it the day they open up,
at this point, you don't get a room.
And so there's all this drama, right,
of trying to stay on top of when they're let out.
It's surprising in a sense
that Jesus' disciples don't know what the plan is.
How is it that they can't be aware of it
until this point?
It is too late for them to make new arrangements
to be in Jerusalem.
There are tens of thousands of out-of-towners here.
And so it's good news that we find out
that Jesus has, in fact, made a plan.
But why has Jesus not told them about his plan?
Why has he kept this a secret from them?
And why, when they ask him,
does he continue to keep it a secret?
Watch this with me.
He doesn't tell them the answer.
So verse 12, they ask.
Verse 13, he has this whole code set up.
So he sends out two of his disciples.
He doesn't send them all.
He says, you're gonna go prepare,
but I'm not gonna tell you where you're going to end up.
You have to go and identify this man
who's carrying a jar of water,
and he's gonna meet you.
Now, this might seem like a strange sign,
but you have to understand that in the ancient times,
a man would not have carried a jar of water.
He would have carried a skin of water.
Women carried the pots or the jars.
Men carried the skins.
Why that is, don't ask me.
But one person's explained it this way.
It would be like Jesus said,
go and find the man who has the pink purse.
That's the man you're supposed to meet.
And so this isn't as confusing as we might think,
but Jesus has set up this kind of coded system.
So they're gonna meet the man.
He's got the pink purse,
but he's not gonna tell them where they're going.
He's going to lead them to the spot, right?
And then they're going to get to the house.
Verse 14, and wherever he enters,
then say to the master of the house,
the teacher says, where is my guest room?
In other words, Jesus has not forgotten
about arrangements for the Passover.
Jesus has actually arranged a very complicated strategy
far in advance.
He set up a messenger with a special signal.
This messenger is gonna take them to the safe house
where he's gonna celebrate Passover.
They're not gonna know what's going on until they get there.
And then Jesus himself is gonna make sure
none of the other disciples know what's going on
until they get there.
Verse 16, the disciples set out and went to the city
and found it just as he has told them.
And they prepared the Passover.
Why all the secrecy?
Well, remember what I reminded you of the beginning.
There's two things from the previous passage,
and I'm gonna add a third.
Chapter 14, verse one, we found out the chief priests
and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him
by stealth and kill him.
Jesus has people who are out for his life.
And we learned that they were cautious
about doing it with the crowds.
They kind of need to do it secretly,
but that problem's solved by Judas.
Judas is going to help them out.
Verses 10 and 11, the chief priests and Judas
have this gathering and there's money that's offered.
And so we're told, and he sought an opportunity
to betray him.
So Jesus has people who are out for his life.
He has someone who's an insider,
who's going to give up the goods.
On top of that, we learn in the gospel of John,
chapter 11, the chief priests and the Pharisees
had given orders that if anyone knew where he was,
he should let them know so that they might arrest him.
The point is this.
Jesus is a master of operational security.
Okay?
Jesus knows that this plan could be easily sabotaged.
He knows that Judas is seeking for an opportunity
to betray him.
And so none of the other disciples can even know
where the meeting is happening.
It is not an exaggeration, an overstatement to say,
Jesus has set up a safe house
so he can celebrate Passover without being killed.
That's why all these steps have been taken.
Somehow, without consulting any of the disciples,
Jesus has set all this up.
Jesus is going to allow himself to be arrested, right?
We know that if you're familiar with the story,
but his time has not yet come.
Why?
Jesus needs to instruct his disciples.
Jesus has more than he needs to share
with those who love him and follow him.
Jesus still needs to establish their celebration
of the Lord's Supper.
He still has his time of prayer
that he's going to invite them into
that we'll see in a few weeks.
In other words,
Jesus is in control of everything
at this very point of his arrest
for the sake of those he loves.
He's arranging detail after detail.
He is meticulous and careful in every step
so that he can care for them.
I'm going to call your attention
to this quote on page seven,
which says,
a God who is in control
when the foundations of his own earthly existence
are crumbling
is a God who can be trusted to sustain us
when it appears our life is tumbling in.
Remember I told you at the beginning,
we're going to do two things.
We're going to look at the beauty of Jesus
and we're going to be warned
about the dangers of sin.
And so just pause with me for a minute
and let's look,
meditate on the beauty of Jesus.
Jesus is in the most painful week of his life.
And in the midst of that painful week,
his thoughts are not with himself,
but with his disciples who follow him.
Jesus in the midst of this painful week
controls every detail.
He's planned out every detail in advance
so that he can be with them.
Jesus continues to arrange the world
so that his people are cared for.
What he is most concerned about
is making sure his disciples receive
the shepherding they need.
He's concerned that they receive
the care that they need.
Brothers and sisters,
the same is true for us.
God arranges and controls
the tiniest details of this world
for the sake of his people.
That is his heart and his concern.
Jesus cares for you
at great cost,
arranging all things.
Jesus arranges all things
when you're diagnosed with cancer.
Jesus arranges all things
when your child is ill.
Jesus arranges all things
when the culture and the world around you
appear to become more evil every day.
And when you PCS and move
from one station to another,
Jesus arranges all things.
So just look with me at Jesus.
His plans are never foiled.
He already has it all figured out.
That's true here
as he's on his way to his death
and he's caring for his disciples.
And it's true for you
this week and last week
and next month and next year
for the rest of your life.
That is the glory
and the beauty of Jesus.
Remember the famous words
of Gandalf to Frodo
when he said,
a wizard is never late
nor is he early.
He arrives precisely
when he means to.
Brothers and sisters,
the same is true of our God
as he works in our lives.
That is the beauty
and glory
of Jesus Christ.
We don't just see
Jesus' control here though.
We also have a sobering
warning
from Judas.
Notice what happens
at this meal.
Jesus is eating.
He's here
with the twelve
and he drops
this truth bomb on them.
Verse 18,
Truly I say to you,
one of you will betray me,
one who is eating with me.
Did you notice
how the disciples
responded to that?
They didn't respond
with indignation.
In fact,
we see in verse 19,
they began
to be sorrowful
and to say to him
one after another,
is it I?
The disciples
grieve
at the very thought
that they might
hurt Jesus.
Just to think
about such a thing,
just to imagine
such a thing
is enough
to make them sad.
There's a
sweetness,
there's an innocence
to the disciples'
posture here
that I don't want
you to miss.
They don't say
I would never
do that.
Peter is going
to say that later.
But they don't say
that here.
They don't say
I would never
do that.
No,
they say,
I hope it's not me.
I hope I'm not
the one
who betrays
our beautiful Lord.
And so we have
this example
from the disciples
of what a
tender heart,
a godly heart
looks like.
someone who's
close to God
and moved
by his things
is sorrowful
even at the
thought
of betraying
Jesus.
Christian,
is that
your heart?
Are you sad
even at the
thought
of hurting
our Father God?
are you sorrowful
even at the
thought
of damaging
the community
that you love
through your words?
Are you sorrowful
even at the
thought
that you might
be at risk
of giving in
to materialism
rather than
generosity?
Are you sorrowful
even to think
about wallowing
around in
sexual sin?
Do those
things grieve
you?
Because they
grieve the
disciples here.
Yes,
the disciples
are mistaken
at many points
and they
love Jesus.
And so
even the
thought
of hurting
him in this
way makes
them sorrowful.
I'm going
to call
your attention
to page
eight of
your worship
guide where
there's this
beautiful quote
from the
Puritan
Richard Sibbes
who I've been
quoting for a
while now.
He says,
true humility
quakes at the
threats as the
very frowns of a
father will
distress a
dutiful child.
Carnal
people,
he means
fleshly people,
people who
don't walk in
the Holy Spirit,
are like men
that hearing
thunderclaps
afar off are
never a whit
moved.
But when it
is present
over their
heads,
then they
tremble.
So hypocrites
care not for
judgments that
are afar off.
In other words,
hypocrites don't
care about sin
until they have
to face its
consequences.
God's people
hate sin even
when they see
the clouds
on the distance.
That's what is
true of the
disciples.
Does that
describe you?
do you have
a tender
heart?
A heart
that is
moved even
at the
thought of
sin.
We certainly
want to have
tender hearts,
especially because
Judas provides
us with a
very sobering
warning.
He gives us
an example of
what a hard
heart looks
like, and he
shows us how
we get
there.
Judas is
already in
the midst of
finding time to
betray Jesus.
Remember,
verse 11,
he sought an
opportunity to
betray him.
And then Jesus
just says it
outright.
Truly I say
to you, one
of you will
betray me, one
who is eating
with me.
Eleven
disciples have a
tender heart.
Sad at even
the thought of
betraying Jesus.
One disciple
is not.
Which reminds
us of this,
it is possible
to physically
be close to
Jesus and
spiritually be
far, far
away.
It is
possible to
be deeply
embedded in
the church
and in a
spiritual community
and to be
far away
from Christ.
Christ.
It is
possible to
come week
after week
and join
with God's
people and
to have a
hardened heart.
Jesus
reminds us of
this not just
once but
twice.
Verse 17,
he says that
this person
who's going
to betray
him,
eating
with him.
Truly I
say to you,
one of you
will betray
me, one
who is eating
with me.
Even worse
than that,
verse 20,
one who is
dipping bread
into the dish
with me.
The gospel
of John
indicates that
Judas was
not just at
the table
with Jesus,
he was sitting
next to
Jesus.
He was as
close as
one could
get and
yet far
away.
And then
Jesus outlines
for us the
most painful
truth of
all in
verse 21.
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.
And Jesus
is making
the point
that being
separated
from God
is worse
than if
you never
existed.
Being
separated
from God
fully,
finally,
eternally
is worse
of fate
than never
having
existed.
That is
how bad
it is.
it is
better not
to have
been born
than to
reject
Jesus
Christ.
And yet
as one
of his
twelve,
that is
exactly
what
Judas
does.
It is
not hard
for us
either to
figure out
how Judas
got there
because Judas
is someone
who refused
to struggle
with his
own sin.
If you've
been here
before,
when I
serve the
Lord's
Supper,
I say,
hey,
this table
is not
for you
if you're
refusing to
repent of
sin.
And then I
follow that
by saying,
but if you're
struggling with
sin,
this table
is for you.
Which is to
say that we
know that the
Christian life
is not one
in which we
are finally
free from
the presence
of sin in
our lives,
but it is
one in which
we're fighting
against the
presence of
sin.
And if we
are not
fighting against
it,
then the
battle is
in a sense
already over.
In John
chapter 12,
we're told that
Judas had been
stealing from
the money
bags.
This was
not just a
split decision
where Judas
woke up one
day and
decided,
you know
what,
I'm going
to betray
Christ.
No,
day after
day,
week after
week,
Judas had
chosen to
no longer
struggle with
sin.
Judas had
chosen not
to take it
seriously,
not to
repent.
And so
beware.
Beware of
where you
will end
up if you
refuse to
fight the
sin in
your life.
Jesus tells
us and
Judas shows
us that it
leads to
death.
That is
what happens
when we
play with
sin rather
than
fighting with
it.
It is
better that
we had
not been
born.
Jesus'
words here
are deep
and painful
and sobering.
And so
the call
for us
is to
examine
our hearts.
Are you
struggling
with sin?
Are you
fighting
against it?
We just
prayed the
Lord's Prayer
a little bit
ago.
It said,
we forgive
our trespasses
as we
forgive those
who trespass
against us.
are you
refusing to
struggle
with sin
by refusing
to forgive
those in
your life?
Are you
refusing
to share
your addiction
with anyone
so that you
don't have to
walk in the
light?
Are you
letting money
and comfort
convince your
heart that you
really, at the
end of the
day, don't
need Jesus
because you're
powerful enough
and secure
enough?
Are there
hard truths
and small
failures that
you know
about but
you just
aren't going
to face?
Maybe hard
truths and
big failures.
Judah shows
us where
that path
leads.
That it's a
slow hardening
of a heart
until that
heart becomes
stone.
There's
different ways
to think
about what
happens when
we rub up
against something
over and
over again.
Sometimes people
think of sin
as sort of
like a
blister.
You know
what happens
when you
get a
blister?
You're
hiking.
Maybe you
have bad
shoes or
bad socks
and your
foot rubs
on that
same place
over and
over again.
What happens?
It becomes
painful.
You can
feel it.
It creates
distress in
you so that
you want to
deal with it.
You want to
address it as
quickly as
possible.
Maybe you
have some
kind of mole
skin that you're
going to put on
it to protect
that portion of
your foot.
Maybe you spend
extra money on
socks so it
doesn't happen to
begin with.
It's tempting at
times for people to
think that's what
sin is like.
I'm going to sin and
it's going to be more
and more painful and
I'm just going to be
forced to deal with
it.
In fact, what the
Bible tells us about
sin is very different
than that.
It is not like a
blister.
It's actually a little
bit more like this.
If you play a
stringed instrument,
if you play a
violin or a
viola or a
guitar and you
play it over and
over, you know
what happens to
your fingers over
time.
You're going to
develop calluses,
right?
Your fingers get
thicker and thicker,
the skin does, so
that you can handle
pressing onto the
string.
In a sense, your
fingers become
desensitized to the
string.
We might even say
your fingers become
hardened.
That's actually what
sin is like.
Sin is not like a
blister.
Sin is like the
calluses on your
finger from playing
an instrument.
The more and more
you come into
contact with it,
the less and less
seriously you take
it, the more and
more you refuse to
struggle with it,
the less you're able
to feel it.
The more hardened
your heart becomes,
the easier it is
to sin.
That's what happened
to Judas here.
Judas played the
guitar of sin long
enough that his
heart became
completely hard.
It was not a
blister.
Judas' heart was a
callous.
Don't let your
heart become
calloused by sin.
Don't go back and
touch it over and
over again thinking
it won't have any
consequences.
Thankfully, though,
there's a greater
hope for us than
that.
There's a sobering
principle here that
points us to a great
truth.
Sobering principle,
I've told you,
verse 21, it's
better that you
wouldn't be born
than be separated
from God.
And yet, what is it
that Jesus is about
to do?
Jesus is about to be
separated from his
heavenly father on
the cross.
Jesus is choosing
something that is
worse than never
having existed.
That's how bad,
that's how painful,
that's how serious
Jesus' sacrifice on
the cross was.
He chose, in a
sense, Judas' fate for
a time so that he
could save you.
Jesus chose
Judas' fate for a
time.
He was separated
from the father.
In fact, not only is
he separated from the
father, he's
carefully arranging
everything towards
that end.
He will be arrested
when he is ready.
Brothers and
sisters, that is
how much our
Lord Jesus loves
us.
In fact, that's
how much he loves
you.
That's how much
pain he was
willing to
endure.
How could we
not have
tender hearts?
How could we
not be
sorrowful even
at the thought
of sin when
we see the
clear picture
of our Lord
and of his
love for
us?
It is not
hard at that
point, but
easy.
I have
told you
before as
we have
worked through
the gospel of
Mark that
there is an
observation that
has been made
that as you go
through the
gospel, the
third category of
people disappear.
At the beginning
there are three
categories.
You have got
people who are
on team Jesus,
people who are
against Jesus,
and people who are
just in the
crowd.
They are looking
on.
As we go through
the gospels, that
middle category
recedes into the
background.
There are those
who are for
Jesus and those
who are against
him.
And what the
gospel writer is
saying is that
as you see this
story of Jesus, as
you walk along
this road, ultimately
you are in one of
those two camps.
You have to choose
are you going to be
for him or against
him?
Are you going to
embrace the
Savior or will
you reject him?
Either you follow
the path of the
disciples, the path
of a tender heart,
or you follow the
path of Judas, the
path of a heart of
stone?
Brothers and
sisters, which
one will it be?
Let's pray.
Our Father in
heaven, we thank
you so much that
you sent your
son to choose
something that was
so painful that it
was worse than
never having
existed, to be
separated from
you.
We thank you that
he did it for
our sake,
controlling and
arranging everything
at every point and
every moment to
care for us, your
people.
We ask that you
would show us that
in great clarity and
beauty, that we
would see Jesus and
his love and his
glory and his
sacrifice, and it
would melt our
hearts, that we
would have not
hearts of stone, but
hearts of flesh, not
hearts that are hard,
but hearts that are
tender.
We ask these things
in the mighty name of
Jesus Christ.
Amen.