Mark 14:27-52 ESV

We Need God’s Spirit to Follow Christ

Easter is coming…4 weeks from today. What are you doing to prepare? How are you preparing your soul to celebrate? Challenge: From now until Easter read all four gospels from Palm Sunday their end. Various Gospels focus more on certain parts than others, some include this, some include that. Together they give us the BIG PICTURE! We have plenty to learn from Mark’s Gospel which He has ordained for THIS Body at THIS time.

TODAY’S PASSSAGE: We are going to see how we think we can follow Christ with our talent, smarts & will. We are wrong! [Sin Nature / Pride / Self-sufficiency] We need the work of God from start to finish to be His people. He begins the process with His birth, life, death, & resurrection. And He continues the process by placing His Spirit within us. Without the indwelling Holy we cannot & will not follow Jesus the Christ: NO WAY! Without HIS calling, redeeming, & sanctifying us we could go so far as to betray HIM! Our insufficiency VS HIS complete sufficiency Our flesh = zero His Spirit = ALL. THIS Revelation is the foundation of Biblical Salvation in Christ [Spirit Revealed]

We are the disciples, place yourself into the story…Learn by being honest about your need for Christ to provide EVERYTHING!

IT IS THURSDAY NIGHT: A lot has happened in the past day! It began with preparation: preparation for the enactment of Israel’s Deliverance known as the Passover Seder: Foot washing / Judas is outed & leaves. Jesus demonstrates the fulfillment of the Passover with announcement of the New Covenant, Lot’s of crucial teaching on the Holy Spirit, The Vine & Branches teaching as they are headed towards the Mount of Olives.

27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with You, I will not deny You.” And they all said the same.

  • Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 to demonstrate His Sovereignty over events

Sword [Justice], awake against My shepherd. And against a hero [Messiah] — My fellow, [Intimate One] An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts. Smite the shepherd, and scattered is the flock, And I have put back My hand [of protection] on the little ones. ~ Zechariah 13:7 YLT [Italics mine]

  • You sheep / disciples, are going to be in disarray when I am struck [fall away]
  • Trust in My divinity, ‘cuz after My Resurrection, I will go before you [protect you]
  • And Peter is all indignant! NOT ME! They [him pointing] might… but NOT ME!
  • Jesus is clear: ‘truly I tell you’…by the coming morning you will deny Me 3 times
  • Peter responds by saying He will die before he denies Jesus
  • Peter has an unrealistic estimation of his power to obey God
  • He didn’t have God’s Spirit indwelling him yet, enabling him to obey [all saints]
  • They all over estimated their ability to follow Christ in hard circumstances

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 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.”

  • It stands to reason this was a familiar place to Jesus and His disciples
  • Upper room to Garden ½ a Mile / Garden to Bethany 1 ¾ Miles
  • During this week they had been staying in Bethany [Lazarus’ house]
  • He tells the nine to stay put and takes the three off to one side
  • My soul is so troubled I could DIE! STAY HERE AND KEEP WATCH
  • He goes a bit farther and collapses in prayer: Can You not have me do this?
  • But if that is not what you want, I will do what you want! [complete submission]
  • Jesus is agreeing to do all of the ‘dirty’ work to win your salvation

37 And He came and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?”

  • After praying out this affirmation of God’s will he returns to find them asleep
  • He calls him ‘Simon’ not ‘The Rock’
  • You couldn’t stay awake ONE hour? Become aware of your vulnerability…
  • Be on guard and ask for God’s help to keep from being drawn into sin….
  • God wills that we not enter into temptation, but in our flesh, we have no shot
  • What in the world is Jesus going to do about this situation? [Give us His Spirit]
  • This same things happens two more times! The last time He is exasperated!

Three times they fail…is this the beginning of a pattern???

It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, My betrayer is at hand.” 43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 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.”

  • What was enough? The demonstration of the disciples inability to obey God?
  • More likely He had now prayerfully prepared for what was about to begin…
  • He is giving the disciples a run down of what was going to happen and BAM!
  • Judas arrives… how does he know Jesus would be there?
  • He has a small army in tow and a pre-set sign so He can mark they guy & split

45 And when he [Judas] came, he went up to Him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed Him. 46 And they laid hands on Him [Jesus] and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.”

  • Betrayed with a kiss…
  • Without God’s Spirit we are capable of ‘disguised betrayal’
  • Peter [we know from John 18:10] resorts to violence [swinging at head hits ear]
  • Without God’s Spirit we try to do it ourselves instead of trusting God

50 And they all left Him and fled 51 And a young man [who] followed Him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

  • Just as the Scripture Jesus quoted had predicted…They all fled!
  • They left Him, deserted Him in fear for their lives!
  • Fear makes you do desperate things… like fleeing naked!
  • Mark’s flesh was weak… but in 53 days it would begin to start to be ‘Willing’

SUMMARY:

We overrate our own ability to trust and follow Jesus Christ.

We need GOD to animate our flesh by placing HIS Spirit in us. This is Biblical Salvation / Election. This enables us to have a relationship with God. [CHANGE]

Christ invites His disciples to understand the sacrifice it took to save people from the consequences of sin / rebellion. He calls us to struggle with Him for souls.

Jesus prepared for doing God’s will with prayer, we do well to follow His example

God saw fit to be betrayed by someone He had shown grace to… [YOU & ME]

God allowed one of His inner circle to conspire with the religious establishment.

Yet He demonstrated total control of events to fulfill prophecy and give us FAITH!

Encouragement to Disciples:

You can go from being a scared, naked kid to being used by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture! Surrender your life to Christ & HE will place His Spirit in you [CHANGE]

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

To avoid ‘spiritual blindspots’, do you intentionally let people speak into your walk with Christ? If not, how could you start to?

So you can care about people like Jesus, do you come face to face with the consequences of sin in people’s lives? If not, might you consider how that could happen?

Do you believe all the prophetic stuff in the Bible has come true, is coming true and will come true? If not, what are you going to do about that?

Do you recognize that without Christ’s saving power, you are capable of betrayal and rebellion of great magnitude? What is a practice that grows that kind of faith?

WEEKLY PRACTICE OF COMMUNAL REMEMBRANCE: The Lord’s Supper