WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.580 We're going to read Mark chapter 14 from verse 27 to verse number 52 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:10.759 in the journey of Jesus towards the cross. 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:16.080 This takes us to the night of his arrest. 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:21.199 So let's hear God's word being read. 00:00:22.080 --> 00:00:24.199 Mark chapter 14 at verse 27. 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:28.460 You will all fall away, Jesus told them, for it is written, 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:33.439 I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. 00:00:34.480 --> 00:00:38.579 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:44.039 Peter declared, even if all fall away, I will not. 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:49.880 I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, today, yes, tonight, 00:00:50.540 --> 00:00:56.260 before the cock crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times. 00:00:56.259 --> 00:01:02.420 But Peter insisted emphatically, even if I have to die with you, 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:04.659 I will never disown you. 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:07.359 And all the others said the same. 00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:12.539 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:14.359 sit here while I pray. 00:01:15.039 --> 00:01:18.640 He took Peter, James, and John along with him, 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.280 and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:29.040 My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:32.340 Stay here and keep watch. 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:37.579 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.980 the hour might pass from him. 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:46.020 Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.700 Take this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will. 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:56.200 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. 00:01:56.659 --> 00:01:58.920 Simon, he said to Peter, are you asleep? 00:01:59.460 --> 00:02:01.960 Could you not keep watch for one hour? 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:07.140 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:12.379 The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.500 Once more, he went away and prayed the same thing. 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:19.620 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:21.500 because their eyes were heavy. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:24.240 They did not know what to say to him. 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.000 Returning the third time, he said to them, 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.900 are you still sleeping and resting? 00:02:29.420 --> 00:02:29.819 Enough. 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:31.819 The hour has come. 00:02:32.259 --> 00:02:36.240 Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.140 Rise, let us go. 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:41.580 Here comes my betrayer. 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:46.920 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, appeared. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:51.240 With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:56.219 sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 00:02:57.480 --> 00:03:00.100 Now, the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. 00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:02.160 The one I kiss is the man. 00:03:02.600 --> 00:03:05.620 Arrest him and lead him away under guard. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:11.640 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Rabbi, and kissed him. 00:03:12.260 --> 00:03:14.980 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 00:03:15.640 --> 00:03:20.800 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:22.620 cutting off his ear. 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:29.659 Am I leading a rebellion, said Jesus, that you've come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:35.379 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:38.539 But the scriptures must be fulfilled. 00:03:39.099 --> 00:03:42.740 Then everyone deserted him and fled. 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:43.740 Amen. 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:44.740 Amen. 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:57.360 This is God's word. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:08.540 Now, some of us will know of, think together about verses 27 to 31 and 43 to 52, 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:14.360 and then we'll come back next week and think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:23.199 And what we will see today very clearly is Jesus being abandoned by his friends. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:31.080 But we'll consider the fact that Jesus is being abandoned so that we might be reconciled to God. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:39.280 Dave Eggers, the American author, wrote a book called What is the What? 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:47.539 And it was a story of a 10-year-old boy originally from Sudan by the name of Achak Deng. 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:54.659 So he was a 10-year-old who was forced to flee from his tribal village 00:04:54.659 --> 00:04:58.559 because rebels came and burned that village to the ground. 00:04:59.419 --> 00:05:04.659 And Achak, along with others, ran first of all to a refugee camp in Ethiopia 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:14.860 and then further on to Kenya before eventually being able to emigrate to the states 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:18.880 courtesy of an initiative called the Lost Boys Program. 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:26.440 And so what follows the story of Achak Deng along with those who he flees with 00:05:26.440 --> 00:05:30.900 who came to be known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. 00:05:31.940 --> 00:05:33.680 I don't know if any of you have read that book. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:35.000 It's a very powerful book. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:37.939 Two things stood out to me in reading it. 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:46.840 First of all, it presented those kind of grim stories of fleeing migrants in such a way 00:05:46.840 --> 00:05:48.540 that you were drawn in. 00:05:49.460 --> 00:05:53.819 You know, it's fairly easy sometimes on the television to hear about migrants on boats 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:57.759 or crossing countries, and it feels far removed from us. 00:05:57.840 --> 00:06:02.879 But this story, and if you've read migrant stories, they draw us in to feel, 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:07.500 to gain an insight into the kind of suffering that people endure. 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:09.620 So it's difficult for us to keep it at a distance. 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.000 But the other thing that stands out when you read that book, 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:14.300 if you have a chance to read it, 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:19.439 is how important those friends were to Achak and to his survival. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:24.199 He would not have made it without his fellow lost boys. 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:28.860 Having someone to walk the road with him was crucial. 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:32.259 We come back to Mark chapter 14. 00:06:32.840 --> 00:06:37.540 We come back to Jesus' journey towards the cross. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:39.259 And what's Mark doing for us? 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:45.740 Mark is deliberately seeking to draw us in to the story of Jesus' suffering. 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:49.860 He's beginning to show to us some of the sorrow, 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:56.319 some of the unimaginable sorrow that Jesus experienced in order to be our Savior. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:01.139 He wants to draw us in to feel that, to see that. 00:07:02.339 --> 00:07:07.339 And making the agony of facing the cross still worse is that unlike Achak, 00:07:07.599 --> 00:07:09.719 he had no lost boys with him. 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:14.439 The disciples, on the contrary, ran and left him. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.459 And so Jesus walks his path of suffering alone. 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:28.180 Yet even here, in this dark time, we'll see that there's gospel hope that Jesus offers, 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:33.199 first of all to the disciples, but also to ourselves. 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:38.759 So let's begin to think about Jesus being abandoned. 00:07:38.979 --> 00:07:42.599 Let's think about his prediction of that. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:45.580 And just to keep us up to date with where we are, 00:07:45.900 --> 00:07:49.540 the last time in an earlier part of chapter 14, 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:53.540 Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper with his friends. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.560 So he broke bread and he took a cup of wine and he said, 00:07:56.820 --> 00:08:02.280 this represents the fact that I'm going to go to the cross in order to suffer and die, 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:04.280 to redeem, to establish a covenant, 00:08:04.280 --> 00:08:08.220 to bring people into the family of God. 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:13.980 And he's left the upper room with his disciples and now they're on the Mount of Olives. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.760 And we're here on the night of Jesus' arrest. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:20.800 And we come to verse 27. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:22.520 What does Jesus say to his disciples? 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:28.240 He says to them, you will all fall away. 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:33.160 He says to them, you will want to dissociate yourself from me. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:41.419 You will see the suffering that I will have handed out to me and you will want no part of it. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:47.779 Jesus, as we've seen in this journey towards the cross, has been teaching his disciples 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:55.299 that the Old Testament makes plain that the Savior of the world must suffer and must die. 00:08:55.839 --> 00:08:58.399 That was always part of God's plan. 00:08:58.579 --> 00:09:00.759 Jesus understood that. 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:09.019 But before the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples cannot grasp how his suffering and his death 00:09:09.019 --> 00:09:12.179 can ever possibly be good news. 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:17.539 How can it be good that their friend has to die? 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:22.399 But Jesus continues to teach that this is part of God's plan. 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:27.779 So notice in verse 27 that he takes them again to the Old Testament. 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:32.539 He takes them to the prophecy of Zechariah. 00:09:33.079 --> 00:09:36.980 And in chapter 13 and at verse 7, it is written, 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:43.000 I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:49.179 Zechariah 13 is a chapter well worth reading if you have some time today. 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:57.799 In there, the prophet is speaking of God doing something in order to refine and purify his people. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:10:02.679 That he's going to do something that will create a new people of God. 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:10.059 It speaks earlier in the chapter about God opening up a fountain to cleanse people from sin. 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:22.539 And it also speaks about striking of the shepherd who is close to God as being essential to this new thing that God is doing. 00:10:23.599 --> 00:10:26.219 So Jesus says, I will strike the shepherd. 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:31.439 But alongside that, the sheep will be scattered. 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:37.700 Despite Peter's bold claim in verse 29, even if all fall away, I won't. 00:10:39.140 --> 00:10:44.940 Despite the disciples all saying the same, even if I have to die with you, I'll never disown you. 00:10:45.640 --> 00:10:46.600 They do. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:48.380 They will. 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:55.680 A short while later, Jesus will be abandoned and he'll be left alone. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:05.699 In verse 43, we discover there, just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve appeared. 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:14.639 There's a reminder, one of the inner circle, one of Jesus' close friends, will betray him, will become an enemy. 00:11:15.339 --> 00:11:22.639 With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:29.439 So Judas is part of this conspiracy of evil, arranging a convenient time for the Jews to arrest Jesus. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:34.840 They will then hand him over to the Romans, who will then crucify him. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:46.179 And so as Jesus is betrayed and as Jesus is arrested, he reminds the disciples of what he'd just been teaching them. 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:54.279 At the end of verse 49, it says, the scriptures must be fulfilled. 00:11:54.979 --> 00:11:59.339 Zechariah 13 verse 7 must be fulfilled. 00:12:00.199 --> 00:12:05.799 And it happens because everyone deserted him and fled. 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.319 Even the strongest and the bravest. 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:13.980 That's what the young man of verse 59 represents. 00:12:14.180 --> 00:12:19.560 Everybody leaves Jesus to suffer alone. 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:24.200 This Jesus who had described himself as the good shepherd. 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:26.900 The one who said, I know my sheep. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.320 I love my sheep. 00:12:28.400 --> 00:12:32.860 I will lay down my life for these sheep. 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:39.860 His sheep, however, run in fear at the height of Jesus' suffering. 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:46.080 At a time when he needed them most, they deserted and fled. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:13:00.420 The Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson reminds us that the price of our reconciliation was Christ's alienation. 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:02.620 We are brought near. 00:13:02.819 --> 00:13:07.799 We are given peace with God as Jesus is sent far. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.459 And this abandonment by his friends reminds us of this pattern. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:18.419 Jesus suffering and dying with that sense of being alone. 00:13:19.839 --> 00:13:24.279 Jesus goes to the cross representing his people. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:30.120 Carrying our sin and our guilt and our shame. 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:36.479 He is the shepherd who in love is willing to be struck. 00:13:37.479 --> 00:13:43.059 So that scattered sheep can be gathered into God's fold. 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:48.959 Can become part of God's kingdom and God's family. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:57.340 I wonder if here today we have experience of being abandoned or betrayed. 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.300 As we think about our own lives and our stories. 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:06.100 Perhaps you think of times where you were misrepresented. 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:08.440 Slandered about. 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.440 Perhaps you had a confidence broken. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:17.480 A secret told that then is passed around a group. 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:24.460 Perhaps a relationship that was ended because of unfaithfulness of one kind or another. 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:29.360 If we have had that experience. 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:31.360 If we are living with the pain of that. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:37.060 Then recognize that Jesus knows your pain and your tears. 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:41.480 And not just by observation at a distance. 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:45.000 Jesus knows it by personal experience. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.360 He is, as the Bible says, the man of sorrows. 00:14:49.940 --> 00:14:52.840 The one who sympathizes with our grief. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:56.779 And so we have an invitation to come to this Jesus. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.679 To talk to this Jesus. 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:00.320 To bring our tears to him. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.559 And knowing that he will understand. 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:04.820 And that he will care. 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:11.180 And this Jesus, though he was abandoned. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:14.960 He promises never to abandon his own. 00:15:16.180 --> 00:15:20.720 We discover in Jesus the one person we can always count on. 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:27.440 We're so thankful in our own lives when we have friends and family members we can trust. 00:15:27.540 --> 00:15:28.760 And we can share things with. 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:30.440 And they are a rock for us. 00:15:31.020 --> 00:15:34.800 But we also discover there are times when that person is not available. 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:39.120 Or perhaps that person doesn't have the resources in that moment to help. 00:15:39.260 --> 00:15:41.040 Well, Jesus is always available. 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:44.060 And he always has resources for us. 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:47.860 He is the friend who sits closer than any brother. 00:15:48.760 --> 00:15:51.420 And we're invited to come to him. 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:55.740 Mark here is also inviting us. 00:15:55.860 --> 00:15:58.980 Encouraging us to enter into his story. 00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:00.980 Not to stand at a distance. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:07.300 To just see Jesus suffering on the cross as an event in history that's far removed from us. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:10.379 But to enter in. 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:15.840 To see that he's on this road of suffering in order to save us. 00:16:17.420 --> 00:16:22.600 To offer salvation freely to you and to me. 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:25.940 To recognize the cost to Jesus. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.800 Here we find at the point that he says to his friends, 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:32.759 Will you stay with me? 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:34.019 Will you pray for me? 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:35.240 Will you pray with me? 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:36.740 Will you stand alongside me? 00:16:36.800 --> 00:16:39.000 They turn and they run. 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:41.420 There is no one beside him. 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.120 As he goes to his arrest. 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:49.240 Mark is showing us the cost of salvation. 00:16:49.959 --> 00:16:52.899 And when we realize that this is all voluntary. 00:16:54.079 --> 00:16:56.679 Jesus did not have to leave the glory of heaven. 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:01.179 Jesus did not have to endure this kind of suffering. 00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:02.779 But he chose to. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.920 In love for his people. 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:14.900 That we would allow that mix as we look at it of both his agony and his love to move us. 00:17:15.080 --> 00:17:16.420 To come to him. 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.019 Not to keep him at a distance. 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:21.720 But rather to move close to him. 00:17:23.120 --> 00:17:24.980 So we have a prediction there. 00:17:25.800 --> 00:17:28.800 And it's also tied up with that a warning. 00:17:30.300 --> 00:17:32.820 So next week we, as I said, will return to Gethsemane. 00:17:32.819 --> 00:17:40.980 But I want us to notice words that Jesus addresses to his disciples in verse 38. 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:43.200 He's been saying to them all the way along in this journey. 00:17:43.659 --> 00:17:46.519 There is a point of crisis coming. 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:51.419 And he's been warning them ahead of time that the cross was coming. 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:54.039 So that they might be ready. 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.659 Now he's already said to them. 00:17:57.159 --> 00:17:58.700 You will fall away. 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:02.120 You will disown me. 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:08.340 But here he gives them a warning in verse 38 also. 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:13.700 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:15.660 The spirit is willing. 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:18.559 But the body is weak. 00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:22.620 Jesus is saying to them, you're going to be tempted to be untrue to me. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.779 This moment, these days are going to be hard. 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:29.859 You're going to be tempted towards denial. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:35.180 You'll look at the cost of discipleship and be unwilling to pay. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:39.000 Here again we see Jesus is their shepherd. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.359 He doesn't want them to go astray. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.039 He wants to warn them. 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:45.160 He wants to keep them on the right path. 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:47.879 He wants to warn them of danger that lies ahead. 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:55.359 All the while though, he knows at this point that they will fail this test. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:59.939 The disciples' story will be very different after the resurrection. 00:19:00.699 --> 00:19:05.459 And after they've received the Holy Spirit, as they look back, then they can see that the cross makes sense. 00:19:06.719 --> 00:19:10.699 Because Jesus didn't stay dead, but he rose again in victory. 00:19:11.179 --> 00:19:17.479 That God had received his death on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin. 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:21.140 To wash his followers clean. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.339 And so that makes sense. 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:27.559 And so now they understand the cost of discipleship and they're willing to pay. 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:29.940 And they'll give their lives to serve Jesus. 00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:33.079 But not yet. 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:37.579 So Jesus says, watch and pray. 00:19:38.659 --> 00:19:43.119 How should any disciple of Jesus face a spiritual crisis? 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:49.439 How do we deal with that temptation to be untrue to Jesus under pressure? 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.099 And we will face that pressure. 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:56.720 If we're a follower of Jesus, we will inevitably face the pressure to be untrue to him. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.000 But we too are called to watch and to pray. 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:04.720 We're called to spiritual wakefulness. 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:13.779 It has been well said that the Christian life is a battleground and not a playground. 00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:19.599 We are warned to keep our guard up. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:27.039 Just as a boxer in the boxing ring would be encouraged to keep their guard up. 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:30.660 So we too are to watch out. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:37.799 Because there will be this temptation to deny Jesus as Lord in our practical lived out experience. 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:42.399 Situations will come either external or internal. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:46.680 And we will be tempted to deny Jesus as Lord. 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:51.000 That temptation might come from the world around us. 00:20:52.259 --> 00:21:00.000 Let me share with you wise words from a man called Grimbeard the Ghastly. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.060 Some of you might have read How to Train Your Dragon. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.100 Many of you won't. 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.120 That's our bedtime reading at the moment. 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:14.279 Well, Grimbeard the Ghastly is passing on words of wisdom to one of his descendants by the name of Hiccup. 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:18.299 And he says this, profound words I found last night. 00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:26.799 The sagas, those Viking sagas will tell you that the stealing of the treasure was my most magnificent moment. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:37.240 But since then, it has been tearing my once happy band of burglars apart with greed and lust for power. 00:21:37.899 --> 00:21:41.619 We are just not ready to look after this treasure. 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:45.639 So I have decided to get rid of it. 00:21:46.659 --> 00:21:53.460 Pursuing a treasure, finding that treasure to be destructive and be wise enough to want to get rid of it. 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:55.419 There's a pirate worth following. 00:21:55.420 --> 00:22:00.720 There is a danger for all of us of chasing the wrong treasure. 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:07.000 And as we listen to the voices around us, we are told to live for ourselves, to live for now. 00:22:07.600 --> 00:22:13.860 That leisure and pleasure and success and success in the business field, those are the things that matter. 00:22:14.100 --> 00:22:15.720 That's where treasure lies. 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:22.259 And Jesus would say, no, he is the great treasure. 00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:30.779 And we need to be spiritually awake to see how we can be so easily pulled away from loyalty to the Lord Jesus. 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:36.859 But those temptations to deny Jesus as Lord don't just come from outside. 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:39.359 They also come from within. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:44.919 The Bible talks about the world and the flesh and the devil. 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:48.519 They're all waging war against the people of God. 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:59.359 Again, I can't remember which author talked about the Christian life as a life lived in between D-Day and V-E-Day. 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:04.480 Helpful for us this week as we've seen and heard so much about D-Day. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:18.400 That decisive moment in the battle of World War II when the Allies gained that foothold that 11 months later would lead to victory and would lead to peace breaking out. 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:33.299 Well, we live as Christians between D-Day, the point on the cross, where Jesus won a comprehensive victory over sin and the death and the devil at the cross. 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:41.480 But that victory is not complete until either we die and we go to be with him or Jesus comes back. 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:47.159 That's our V-E-Day, ultimately the return of Jesus when sin is gone forever. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:52.799 So we live in between that day and the second coming. 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:59.339 And in between times as Christians, we discover that sin is still fights within us. 00:23:59.339 --> 00:24:05.039 There is still the battle to claim our hearts and our minds. 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:12.959 And Jesus says, watch out, be spiritually wakeful about that reality. 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:19.919 Recognize too there is a devil who wants to destroy the people of God. 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:23.439 Who wants to wreak havoc in God's church. 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:27.480 Who wants to weaken our witness and credibility in the world. 00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:30.839 Who wants to pull us away from our focus on Jesus. 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:34.900 So we'd either look to our sins so we condemn ourselves. 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:40.180 Or we want to look around and see other things as being more desirable than Jesus. 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:47.160 So we need to understand and be on guard because these pressures are relentless. 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:52.840 But in this battle, we're not alone. 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:57.120 We are to watch and we are to pray. 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:02.060 We are to exercise dependent prayer. 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.500 Remembering God is with us. 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.380 That God is our refuge and our strength. 00:25:09.580 --> 00:25:11.360 And prayer helps us to remember that. 00:25:12.300 --> 00:25:14.560 Prayer brings us into the presence of God. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:17.079 It connects us with the power of God. 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:22.839 It's as we pray often that we find our priorities become reset. 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:25.759 Our perspectives change. 00:25:25.899 --> 00:25:28.440 So those things that seem so attractive, 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:32.039 as we bring them to God, 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:34.700 as we find ourselves in God's presence, 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:39.940 all of a sudden we see the God of the gospel is worth much, much more. 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:46.120 But the disciples, they stand as a warning to us here on the Mount of Olives 00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:51.519 to beware of spiritual pride or complacency. 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:57.920 Perhaps thinking, well, I can handle that trial and temptation on my own strength. 00:25:59.420 --> 00:26:01.860 I had success before, 00:26:02.820 --> 00:26:05.019 so I'm sure it will be exactly the same this time. 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:10.720 The Bible says that while we mature in our faith, 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:13.000 our desire is to mature in our faith, 00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:16.079 to become more and more like the Lord Jesus, 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:21.400 in a sense we always remain like spiritual toddlers in God's family. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:25.799 We always need the hand of God our Father. 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:30.619 We always need the prayers of Jesus, our elder brother. 00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:36.799 We always need the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in our lives. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:41.839 And we also too need our brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:26:42.379 --> 00:26:46.879 We need the family of the church in order to strengthen and sustain us. 00:26:47.479 --> 00:26:51.079 We need the family of God to call on when we find ourselves struggling, 00:26:51.219 --> 00:26:53.319 when we find ourselves going through trials. 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:59.859 It's a remarkable thing that Jesus said to his friends, the disciples, 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:01.220 will you pray for me? 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:03.419 Will you pray with me? 00:27:04.519 --> 00:27:07.599 If Jesus does it, why wouldn't we? 00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:12.759 Let's resolve to be that friend for somebody, 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:15.419 to make time to find out how they're doing 00:27:15.419 --> 00:27:17.200 and to pray with them and for them, 00:27:17.419 --> 00:27:19.500 and to find that friend for ourselves, 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:24.220 to be humble enough to recognize that we need others 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.980 in order to keep going in our journey of faith. 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:32.240 So we've seen the prediction, we've seen the warning, 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:34.500 but we also need to see the promise, 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:38.839 the gospel promise that we find even in this dark night. 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:44.579 As we consider the conversations that Jesus has with his disciples, 00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:49.039 they help us to see the wonder of Jesus in so many ways. 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:51.539 So we see him walking towards the cross, 00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:55.599 knowing he's going to die in our place for our sins. 00:27:55.619 --> 00:27:59.960 He's going to do that while being abandoned by his closest friends, 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:04.500 but still he makes the time to love them and to teach them and to warn them, 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:12.720 and also to give them hope beyond awful failure. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:16.160 I wonder, as you look back in your life, 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:20.079 have you had one or maybe more of those moments where you feel, 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:23.279 I've just totally blown it there. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:28.400 Those moments where you feel utterly empty and devastated, 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:32.420 and you feel that the world has come to an end, as it were. 00:28:34.120 --> 00:28:37.640 But when we think about those moments and those feelings in our own lives, 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.320 we need to begin to multiply them, 00:28:40.320 --> 00:28:44.440 and then imagine how the disciple Peter must have felt, 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:49.400 despite his bold proclamation three times, 00:28:49.780 --> 00:28:54.780 denying even knowing his friend, his God, his Savior, the Lord Jesus. 00:28:55.280 --> 00:28:56.920 Same too for the other disciples. 00:28:56.920 --> 00:29:01.660 But Jesus, the good shepherd, the gracious shepherd, 00:29:01.800 --> 00:29:03.420 does something, says something, 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:06.380 so full of grace for them, 00:29:06.560 --> 00:29:11.420 offering them hope, offering them light in their darkness. 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.420 Look at verse 28. 00:29:16.220 --> 00:29:20.320 If we hear what Jesus says about the disciples in verse 27, 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:23.179 you will all fall away. 00:29:25.679 --> 00:29:31.779 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you. 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:34.079 What's the grace that he brings? 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:35.740 What's the hope that he offers? 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:37.359 He says to them, 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:42.839 my resurrection will bring your restoration. 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.579 There is hope for you beyond the cross 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:49.439 because of the resurrection. 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:52.720 The cross and the resurrection together 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:58.079 speak of God's great and costly forgiveness 00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:00.559 for sin and for sinners. 00:30:01.319 --> 00:30:07.439 They speak to us of undeserved love and favor 00:30:07.439 --> 00:30:11.579 poured out on those who sin, 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.079 those who rebel, 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:14.659 those who, like the disciples, 00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:18.580 at times turn their back from Jesus. 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:23.220 The cross and the resurrection speak to us 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:26.200 of God's grace that brings new life, 00:30:26.320 --> 00:30:28.960 brings new creation life. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:32.720 Here is a wonderful promise 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:35.180 that though his friends let Jesus down, 00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:38.300 Jesus never lets his friends down. 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:40.440 The cross and the empty tomb 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.480 stand as our guarantee of that. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:46.559 Here is our assurance that Jesus is that friend, 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:49.160 that savior who will never let us down. 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:51.579 He's gone through death for us. 00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:53.759 He's paid the price for sin for us 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:55.099 and he's come out the other side 00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:57.839 in victory for us. 00:30:58.860 --> 00:31:00.579 And in this little statement, 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:03.259 we find, I think, the promise 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:05.480 of what every heart wants. 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:07.240 We're all different people, 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:08.420 come from different places, 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.380 different backgrounds. 00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:11.760 But all of us at root level 00:31:11.760 --> 00:31:15.040 have certain basic human wants and desires 00:31:15.040 --> 00:31:18.700 and one of them surely is for a love that lasts. 00:31:19.620 --> 00:31:21.560 We want that happily ever after 00:31:21.560 --> 00:31:24.080 to be true for ourselves. 00:31:25.360 --> 00:31:27.580 That love that we hear about in song 00:31:27.580 --> 00:31:28.780 and story and in film, 00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:30.860 we want it for ourselves 00:31:30.860 --> 00:31:32.380 to know a love that is secure, 00:31:33.360 --> 00:31:34.600 whether that comes in a friendship, 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:36.780 whether that comes from a family, 00:31:37.120 --> 00:31:38.760 whether that comes from a marriage. 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:41.799 We want someone to truly know us, 00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:44.279 to allow us to be ourselves 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:46.960 and to still stick with us. 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:51.720 It's why the death of a loved one 00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:52.759 is so crushing. 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:55.240 It's why even the prospect 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:59.379 of losing someone can be so painful 00:31:59.379 --> 00:32:02.660 because we want love that lasts. 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:04.079 And when we find someone to love, 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.379 we want to be able to hold on to them 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:07.380 and we want to be able to do it. 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:09.540 We want to be able to do it. 00:32:09.540 --> 00:32:09.800 We want to be able to do it. 00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:12.380 Well, here is gospel promise from Jesus. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:15.460 Jesus who says to his disciples 00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:16.640 and says to each one of us, 00:32:16.700 --> 00:32:18.260 I know you at your best, 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:19.160 absolutely, 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:21.720 but also I know you at your very work. 00:32:22.620 --> 00:32:24.320 Jesus says he knows us better 00:32:24.320 --> 00:32:25.100 than we know ourselves. 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:27.040 He knows all those dark secrets 00:32:27.040 --> 00:32:28.500 that we'd hate for anybody else 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:30.660 in this room or anywhere else to know about. 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:32.620 And Jesus says, 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:34.759 and still in love, 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:36.880 I chose to die for you. 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:38.779 Not reluctantly, 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:41.920 but willingly going there to the cross 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:44.740 to clean us from sin, 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:47.160 to make us his own, 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.040 and ultimately to bring us to glory. 00:32:51.380 --> 00:32:52.320 He says to us, 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:53.400 when we are faithless, 00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:56.440 I will remain faithful 00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:58.080 to my covenant promise. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:02.179 And what Jesus says to his people today 00:33:02.179 --> 00:33:04.460 is not after this, 00:33:04.879 --> 00:33:06.759 I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:08.059 Jesus said, 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:09.379 after I have risen, 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:10.919 I will go ahead of you 00:33:10.919 --> 00:33:12.059 to the glory of heaven. 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:14.439 In John chapter 14, 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:15.839 Jesus said to his disciples, 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:17.639 don't let your hearts be troubled. 00:33:18.379 --> 00:33:19.240 You believe in God, 00:33:19.339 --> 00:33:19.960 believe in me. 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:22.299 In my father's house are many rooms. 00:33:22.399 --> 00:33:24.500 I go there to prepare a place for you. 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:26.460 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:27.759 I'll certainly come back 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:29.559 and take you to be with me 00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:31.720 that you might be where I am. 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:33.440 That wonderful picture 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:36.880 of life in God's family, 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.980 of enjoying love from God 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:41.340 in the presence of Jesus 00:33:41.340 --> 00:33:43.240 now and forever. 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:45.799 Here is the love that lasts, 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:48.840 the only love that lasts. 00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:53.000 So as Mark has drawn us 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:54.259 into this story 00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:56.059 of Jesus' suffering, 00:33:56.599 --> 00:33:58.039 of Jesus being abandoned, 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:01.419 how will we respond? 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:04.639 Perhaps for some of us, 00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:06.599 we will consider the cost 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.259 of our salvation, 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:10.099 the cost of Jesus' love 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:11.619 for the very first time. 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:12.119 Maybe it's something 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:13.480 that's always been at a distance. 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:16.500 And it's time to think about it. 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:18.800 Perhaps for others, 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:20.320 our desire will be 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:21.360 to develop a greater 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:22.880 spiritual wakefulness, 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:24.440 to watch and pray 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:26.139 that we wouldn't fall into temptation, 00:34:26.860 --> 00:34:28.639 making use of the Bible 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:30.059 and dependent prayer 00:34:30.059 --> 00:34:31.699 and coming to church 00:34:31.699 --> 00:34:33.119 and enjoying fellowship 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:33.860 with God's people 00:34:33.860 --> 00:34:36.039 to keep us persevering 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:36.500 in obedience. 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:39.880 Maybe our response will be 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:40.760 to ask a friend 00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:41.679 to pray for us 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:42.860 about something 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:43.760 that's troubling us. 00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:45.139 Or maybe we'll go to a friend 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:46.699 and ask if we can pray for them. 00:34:48.739 --> 00:34:49.759 Perhaps our response 00:34:49.759 --> 00:34:50.739 will be to thank God 00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:52.179 for his promise of grace 00:34:52.179 --> 00:34:54.179 beyond our failures, 00:34:54.879 --> 00:34:57.239 which we feel so keenly. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:01.000 And all the while, 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:02.239 let's remember that Jesus, 00:35:02.779 --> 00:35:03.859 as he's on this journey 00:35:03.859 --> 00:35:04.699 to the cross, 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:06.379 suffers alone, 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:07.139 faces abandonment, 00:35:08.219 --> 00:35:09.319 so that his friends 00:35:09.319 --> 00:35:11.000 never have to. 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:12.920 or wife doesn't 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:14.559 believe He CA 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:16.099 who's dead 00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:17.059 or God 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:17.239 . 00:35:17.239 --> 00:35:18.739 But we can prove 00:35:18.739 --> 00:35:21.059 that he's on this journey. 00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:21.619 In Jesus' ending, 00:35:21.820 --> 00:35:22.320 for sure, 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:22.519 we can respect 00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:24.980 where He CA 00:35:25.179 --> 00:35:26.059 happens, 00:35:26.059 --> 00:35:27.260 and in Jesus, 00:35:27.300 --> 00:35:27.880 you can tell 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:28.260 that he learned 00:35:28.260 --> 00:35:28.780 from my 있도록 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:29.159 in the past. 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:30.280 So, 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:31.500 He consegu Means 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:31.820 jugnder, 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:33.059 geography did so 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:34.719 in 00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:35.800 when he was 00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:36.699 약간 00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:37.840 here. 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:38.980 He 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:39.599 has back