Peace on Earth

Luke 2:8-14.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 20, 2020.

I pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas this year because you have put your faith in Jesus.  If we thought we lacked peace in this world before now, 2020 has become a year to highlight that fact.  The turmoil of a pandemic that has spread worldwide has many in a panic.  The turmoil within the United States of America due to this, plus: the impeachment hearings, pandemic, race riots, and now questionable and corrupt elections, seems to be building.

If it weren’t for Jesus, there would not be a lot of hope in this world. Yet, there are many who are still doubling down on man’s ability to create Utopia without Jesus and God.  Mankind as a whole has rejected the path of peace that God the Father has offered it.  However, for all of those who embrace Jesus, we have peace with God, and we can have a peace that passes all understanding within our hearts because of it.

Let’s look at the story of the shepherds and hear the message that the angels brought that wonderful night.

When angels show up

Our story begins with shepherds doing normal shepherd things.  It is night and they are sleeping in the fields with their sheep.  Perhaps, they have a small fire to ward off the evening chill.  Suddenly an angel appears to them.  Now, the appearance of angels in the Bible is often accompanied by fright, which is often due to the unexpected suddenness of their appearance.  It is not generally what they look like that gives them away, but rather what they say and do.  Otherwise, we are often told that they look like men.

Hebrews 1:14 makes it clear that part of the job of angels is to serve those who will inherit salvation.  On this evening, God chose to send angels to these lowly shepherds in order to give them a message that is good.  However, it is not always a good thing when angels show up. 

These interdimensional beings are quite powerful.  God sometimes sends them to mete out judgment.  God sent two angels to Sodom in order to test their wickedness and to save Lot and his family.  In Genesis 19:13, the angel says that “the Lord has sent us to destroy it [Sodom and the surrounding cities].”  Yes, God gave the decree, but it is carried out by two angels. 

In 2 Kings 19, the Angel of the Lord slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night who were camped outside of Jerusalem in siege of it.  Also, the book of Revelation has the angels working hand in hand with Jesus in order to carry out his Trumpet Judgments, and the Bowls of Wrath.  Lastly, Jesus tells us that, at the end of the age, angels will gather out of the kingdom all those who practice lawlessness (Matthew 13:41).  Thus, when angels show up for judgment, it is a bad thing for those being judged.

Of course, that evening with the shepherd, God was giving grace to Israel and to the whole world.  When God sends angels for grace, it is good for those who are receiving it.  The angels were there to testify to a gracious message.  In fact, that is what the word angel means, “messenger.”  At first, there is one angel with the whole area lit up with what is described as the Lord’s glory.  Later, as if to emphasize the point, a multitude of the heavenly host, or army, join in at the end before all of them going back to heaven. 

It seems quite clear that the Old Testament prophets make the case that Israel did not merit the gift of the Messiah by their great loyalty and good works.  In case this seems uncharitable towards Israel, we can say that the other nations of the world had not merited it either.  These angels came bearing the news that the Messiah was now here to save mankind!  The statement is, “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”  Now, that was a glorious day!

When the Savior shows up

The incarnation is an amazing message in itself.  God does not send a servant, an angel, to do the great work of salvation.  Rather, He sends His Son who takes on the nature of a man in order to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.  Finally, after so many centuries of waiting for Messiah, he was there!

There is a certain parallel between how God is working with the Church today and what He was doing with Israel in those days.  Just as Israel waited centuries for the coming of Messiah, so the Church of Jesus is waiting for him to return.  And, just as it happened then, it will happen again.  Some will not be ready for his return.  We are in jeopardy of losing hope and surrendering to faithlessness and compromise.  Strengthen yourselves this morning because good things happen for those who are prepared for the arrival of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.

The message of the angel states that a savior has been born that day in the city of David, which was Bethlehem.  The word for Savior and the verb, saving, that goes along with it are used throughout the Bible.  It is a general term that is understood best by the context.  For a person who is wounded or sick, a savior is one who heals and cures.  For a nation that is oppressed by an enemy, it a military deliverer who brings victory and freedom.  For a person who is in bondage spiritually, it is freedom and cleansing from that sin. 

Jesus is a savior in every way that the word can be used.  His emphasis in those days was to provide for our spiritual malady, and to weaken the power of our spiritual enemy.  One day he will return to set the world free from those who love wickedness, and the tyranny that results.  Though Jesus came as a Jew who was born within the kingdom of Judea, he had come to save Israel and anyone from the nations who would believe upon him, that is put their faith upon him.  So, each time you think that something needs fixing, either in your life or around you, rejoice that we have a mighty savior who has come and given us the greatest gift of God that we could desire, himself.  And, where the Lord is, there is freedom.

The angel also calls the Savior, Christ the Lord.  Christ is Greek and Messiah is Hebrew.  They both mean “anointed one.”  Jesus is anointed by God to be the perfect Voice of God, the perfect High Priest, and the perfect King.  Each of these roles were commenced with an anointing.  The outward ritual of anointing was to symbolize the spiritual anointing that God did Himself by His Holy Spirit.  The Spirit would be supplied to enable the person to fulfill the role that God had given them.  With Jesus, the Spirit of God was without measure.  He was not just a prophet, a high priest, and a king.  Rather, he was the final word, the final sacrifice, and the final coronation!

God had anointed him to be the Saving Lord for mankind.  He has the power to deliver us from ourselves and from the spiritual enemy that holds us captive.  One day, he will be Lord over all the earth.  The question today is this.  Is he lord of your life right now?  In Jesus, God has set the question before all people.  Here is your Savior.  Will you embrace him?  Let us fully embrace the Anointed One who is even now interceding on our behalf before the throne of God.

At this point, we have all of the angels showing up and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!”  Glory involves the opinion, or estimation that is held by others.  This can be congruent to the nature of the person or incongruent.  A person who is truly worthy of glory should receive glory from others and those who are not worthy, should receive none.  Yet, people often receive glory when they do not deserve it.

Our Father in Heaven is the most glorious being, and the incarnation of His Son on earth to save us is its ultimate proof.  However, not all beings in heaven or on earth glorify him as they should.  Here, the angels give glory to God who dwells in the highest place.  In the Old Testament, this is typically stated as “the Most High God.”  This statement is in contrast to the next statement.  God in the Highest place should receive glory because men who are on earth are receiving peace and goodwill.

At that point in history, both the Gentiles and Israel had proven that they do not deserve God’s goodness.  Yet here, we are told that peace and goodwill are now “among men.”  Jesus represents the peace of God, and is described in Isaiah 9 as the Prince of Peace.  He also represents the goodwill of God.  We should have received His wrath, but instead we get His favor and the most valuable thing that was dear to Him.  The word for “goodwill,” or “favor,” is related to the word for glory.  There is a poetic connection intended.  God thinks good things about us, or at least makes it possible.  And, therein lies the rub.  We must put our faith in Him and keep it there to have that peace and favor.

Today, the temptation is to view the message of the birth of Jesus as rubbish and no longer helpful.  It doesn’t look peaceful down here!  However, that is because multitudes are refusing to take hold of it.  Let me leave us with this.  Through Jesus, God has made peace available to you.  First, you have peace with Him.  You are no longer His enemy and under His judgment.  Instead, you are now under His favor because of your faith in Jesus, the Savior that He sent.  Second, this can give you peace in your heart in the midst of turmoil because God’s favor gives you a solid future, hope.  Do you have this hope today?  May God bring us all to the place where we see our sin, and yet also see His love giving us grace despite it.  Merry Christmas!

Peace on Earth audio

Arresting of Jesus

Mark 14:43-52.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 13, 2020.

We continue our walk through the Gospel according to Mark, and today we arrive at the point of the arrest of Jesus.  It is still the middle of the night, though we are not given the exact time.  Jesus and his disciples are at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus has been praying.  At some point, Jesus tells Peter, James, and John upon waking them up that the betrayer is here.

Judas leads an arresting force to take Jesus

As Jesus is speaking, the arresting force comes on the scene.  It is led by Judas and Mark particularly notes that he is one of The Twelve.  To be betrayed requires someone who has been close to you.  We never speak of being betrayed by an enemy.  We expect them to try and harm us.  Judas had been chosen by Jesus, participated in all that the disciples did, and was loved by Christ until the end.  The Bible tells us that, even when Jesus chose Judas, he already knew what he was and what he would do.  John 6:70 states, “Did I not choose you, and one of you is a devil?”  John places this immediately after a statement from Peter that The Twelve had come to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Later in John 18:9, Jesus prays, “Of those whom you gave me, I have lost none.”  This implies that Judas was never one that God had given Jesus.  Jesus chose him on purpose.  There needed to be a betrayer.  Still, few things sting quite so badly as being betrayed by those you treated well.

To add insult to injury, the group coming to get Jesus is armed to the gills with swords, clubs, and a lot of man-power.  Just from the situation alone, we could expect at least 2 to 3 men per Jesus and his disciples, without Judas.  This would be a force of over 20 to 30 men.  It is interesting that the word used in John 18:3 and translated as a “detachment of troops,” is a technical term for at least 200 men.  We cannot be completely sure John was using it technically, but we will leave it at that.  John also tells us that they carried torches and lamps, which would make sense since it is the middle of the dark and not inside the city.  Jesus will emphasize the ludicrous nature of this huge arrest party later, so I will leave it here.

Judas has worked out a signal for the group that would identify which of the men is Jesus.  It is dark and there are at least eleven of them who have a vested interest in protecting Jesus.  So, this does make some sense.  However, Judas chooses a kiss of greeting as his signal.  Thus, Judas comes up to Jesus and addresses him as Rabbi, which means teacher, and gives him a customary kiss.  The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give a few lines from Jesus to Judas that Mark does not record.  It is unclear whether Jesus asks this as a question or a statement, but it doesn’t change it in the end.  “Friend, do what you have come to do.”  The second is this.  “Judas, are you betraying me with a kiss?”

For his part, Jesus had treated Judas as a friend, and given him a friend’s place near him.  Yet, Judas uses something that should be a good thing, an intimate thing, to portend something that is bad.  O friend, beware the kisses of this world.  Many pretend closeness, but they are all about their own gain and advancement.  Politics may make strange bed-fellows, but they generally will stab each other in the back in the end.  We can choose to obsess over who may betray us, but Jesus shows us that this need not be our concern.  Betrayals will occur, and it is not my job to determine ahead of time in order to stop them.  If God is our guide then He will also be our guard.  And, if anything gets through His guard then He is working it for our good.  Part of the problem that Judas has is that he cannot see how Jesus is working things for the good of Judas.  He takes matters into his own hands and betrays Jesus for his own personal ends.  To follow Jesus in this matter requires us to have faith in God over the top of our hurt feelings.

A confrontation occurs

As the men move to seize Jesus, a confrontation occurs.  Before we follow this account, let me remind us of the added detail that is given in John 18:4-8.  There, Jesus asks the men who they are seeking and then answers, “I am.”  We are then told that the men drew back and fell to the ground.  By the way, I would not assume that this means ever single person in the arresting party, especially if there are 200 of them.  Regardless, when they get up, Jesus asks them again and then tells them again, “I have told you that I am.  Now, most translations will have Jesus saying “I am he.”  However, the pronoun he is not actually in the Greek.  It simply says I am.  Of course, many languages allow and employ assumed words within discourse.  Yet, the forceful falling backwards of the men (at least those directly around Jesus) gives a strange emphasis to his words.  The Hebrew name of God given to Moses at the burning bush was in Hebrew Yahweh, I am.  Two things are accomplished by this.  Jesus signals to us just who he really is, and how easily he could get out of this predicament.  Second, it focuses the men on him so that they will be more likely to let the disciples go.

But, let’s get back to Mark.  As the men begin to lay hold of Jesus, Peter uses a sword to strike at one of the men.  He ends up cutting off the ear of Malchus the High Priest’s servant.  No doubt, Malchus was there to represent the High Priest, and make sure all went well.  Though Mark leaves it at that, Luke tells us that Jesus healed the man’s ear.  This would be similar to a police officer being knifed by a guy when arresting his friend.  However, the friend then comes over and heals the knife wound.  Wow, what would you do with that as a police officer?  Here we see that Jesus had no ill-will towards these men.  They are only the blind following blind guides.  It is the authorities who sent them that have the true guilt.  We should also remember that when Jesus talked to them about having a sword earlier that night, he did not mean to protect him from being arrested.  Even when Jesus was suffering injustice, he was gracious.  How can this be?  For the one who is in God’s hand, injustice is never permanent because God oversee it all.  The day of setting all things right may be in the future, but God has guaranteed it to mankind.

Jesus actually gives two rebukes here, although Mark only records a rebuke of the arresting force.  In Matthew 26:52, Jesus rebukes Peter.  “Put your sword away.  All who live by the sword will die by it.”  Peter was a man of action and wanted to stop this injustice from occurring, but this is not God’s way.  Jesus also states, “I can pray and receive 12 legions of angels.”  Note: 1 legion was typically 6,000 foot-soldiers and 700 as cavalry.  That would be nearly 84,000 angels.  An extremely large force to say the least.  Jesus was probably not emphasizing the exact number, but rather the overwhelming force.  We should also keep in mind that one angel slew 185,000 Syrians in one night in 2 Kings 19:35.  No earthly forces, nor any fallen spiritual forces can actually do anything to Jesus save he allow it.  Lastly, Jesus says to his disciples, “Shall I not drink the cup that my Father has given me?”  He can come all this way for this purpose, and now he would balk?  No.  Jesus would press on.

Jesus also rebukes those leading the arresting party, as Mark records.  They could have arrested him any time during the day at the temple.  Why did they wait for now?  Jesus was not known to be an outlaw in any way.  Why a huge force with swords and clubs?  This is most likely projection on their part.  The wicked are always afraid that others are just like them in their hearts.  Thus, they trust no one.  Luke adds the words, “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”  Jesus connects the hour of the arrest with the spiritual darkness with which they were in league.  In these last days, a great darkness called by Paul, “The Lie,” and “A Strong Delusion,” is coming.  It will be a time where the powers of darkness will have their way for a season.  Children of the light never need to be afraid of the powers of darkness, not because it cannot touch us, but because God is our defense and our vindicator.

At this point, Jesus is bound and taken away.  He has told the guards to let the disciples go, and they seem happy to have him alone.  Their arrest order was apparently only for Jesus.  Of course, if they had understood what those eleven men would do later, the leaders would have had them all seized and executed, but this was not in God’s plan.  Let us remember that God is always in control, even when the forces of darkness are having their way.  It is difficult to rest in that belief in chaotic times like they were seeing and that we are seeing today.  However, it is possible, and it is the gift that God gives to us if we will seek it through faith.

The disciples abandon Jesus

At this point, all of the disciples forsake Jesus and flee.  On one hand it was fine for them to leave Jesus because that is what he wanted and what the Father had decreed.  It was not their time to be arrested and die.  On the other hand, they vehemently insisted that they would stand with Jesus just hours ago.  They are doing in the flesh, what was proper to do by the Spirit of God.  What I mean is that we can do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons.  It is a good thing that God loves us, disciplines us, and restores us to him in grace.

In verses 51 to 53, we have a strange part of the story that is unique to Mark.  There is a young man who is obviously not one of the disciples.  The term means a young servant who is typically in the teens.  The fact that he only has a linen covering seems to imply that he had been in bed, and had hurriedly covered himself to see what would happen.  This is not one of The Twelve.  In short, it is believed by many that this is Mark himself, though we cannot be sure.  The arresting party may have stopped by the place of the last supper first.  This would have wakened up the household and made them aware of the desire to arrest Jesus.  Mark may have been following the party to see what would happen and is nearly grabbed as he tries to continue his following after the arrest.  Of course, we are told that he slips away without his linen covering.  Why would Mark record this?  One conjecture is that Mark couldn’t describe the failures of his betters without including his own failure in the moment, though he leaves it anonymous.  Of course, we all fail at times.  Yet, the Lord loves us and promises restoration to those who love him.  And, this is what the world does.  It challenges your love for Jesus.  Will we love him and follow him, or will we run away from him?  And, if we run away from him, will we go to destruction like Judas, or will we be restored like these men were?  The disciples ran away, but in that isolated place, they met the resurrected Lord and that made all the difference.  May God strengthen us and remind us that we serve the Lord of Life who has conquered death.  Amen!

Arresting audio

Could You Not Watch One Hour?

Mark 14:32-42.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 6, 2020.

We are often focused on our needs that we want God to satisfy.  It is not nearly as often that we may be reminded that God needs or desires some things from us. 

Today, we will see the need that Jesus had of companionship during the time leading up to his arrest.  However, this reflects something that is about more than just that day.  In Jesus, we see the difficulty that God has in dealing with the sin of the world and the heavens.  It is not difficult in the sense of power, but as an emotional and heavy weight upon His being.  Jesus represents the heart of the Father to forbear, to forgive, to redeem, and yet ultimately to judge.  We will never be able to explain it perfectly, but it is clear that, though we could say that God doesn’t need humans to a degree, He refuses to go forward without making redemption available to all.  And, He does this at great expense and suffering to Himself.

In these last days, the Spirit of God is looking for people who will stand in the heat with Him, much like the three Hebrew Boys did in the book of Daniel.  When we stand with God, He stands with us. 

In our flesh, we fall short, but let us not stay there.  Let us hear the Spirit calling, “Will you not watch with me?  On that evening so many years ago, the Lord Jesus shows us the key to following him.  Yes, we pick up our cross and follow him, but just as important is this.  Take time to wrestle with God in prayer, until you are yielded to His will, whatever it may be.

Let’s look at our passage.

Jesus prepares to pray

Jesus and his disciples had been inside of Jerusalem and, at some point that night, Judas had left them in order to betray Jesus.  Having said what he needed to say to his disciples, Jesus leads the eleven outside of Jerusalem so that he can spend time praying before his arrest.

They towards the Mt. of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem into a garden in the area of Gethsemane.  Such a garden likely would have had a rock wall around it with some kind of entrance.  Now, Gethsemane means “olive press.”  This is significant since the suffering and death of Jesus would supply the oil of the Holy Spirit to God’s people.  Some homework to do on this would be to read Zechariah 4 and its image of two olive trees supplying oil into a lamp that is lit.  This same image is connected to the two witnesses of Revelation 11.  Their ministry during the Great Tribulation will supply oil for the spiritual lights of those who reject the beast and his kingdom.  Jesus was going into a metaphorical olive press that would supply the oil of the Spirit to the whole world that the light of God might be seen.

Jesus tells them that he is exceedingly sorrowful and he wants to spend time in prayer.  The scene is that he leaves 8 of the disciples in one area- probably at the entrance to the garden.  He then takes Peter, James, and John a little further away from the group.  They had become those who were closest to Jesus from The Twelve.

We should be careful in reading too much into the sorrow of Jesus.  God wants us to understand that He does agonize over all that He does in helping to redeem mankind.  However, God’s agony is not the same as ours, nor for the same purposes.  Think of a Being who suffers the assault of every sin on earth and in the heavenlies that occurs, both external sins and internal ones.  We are only aware of a small amount of the evil and wickedness that occurs, but God experiences and sees it all.  No one knows sorrow like the Creator of the Universe does.  In those moments when we are exceedingly sorrowful, we are only getting a taste of what God feels.  In fact, those times are His invitation for you to join Him in His sorrow.  It is a time of communion with Him where we can know Him at a deeper level, to bond with Him.  Thus, Jesus asks The Three to stay near him and watch.

In the New Testament, watching is often connected to praying.  It involves a vigilance over one’s spiritual condition and external circumstances through prayer.  If we are not a praying people then we are not a vigilant people, and the enemy will trip us up in many ways.

The prayer of Jesus

In verses 35-36, we get an intimate glimpse into the heart of Jesus.  However, at the same time, he is letting us know that he can see into our hearts.  We are not alone.  God knows just how difficult it is to do what He asks of us because He has already gone on before us. 

It may seem unlikely that Jesus would agree to take on a human nature, and then balk at the cross.  However, we must understand that he truly had a human nature, additional though it was.  He completely understands the sorrow over injustice, and the fear of futility in doing the right thing (as God defines it).  Sometimes, we can be resistant to God’s will, thinking that what He asks is impossible.  However, the truth is that we must crucify ourselves internally before we can do the difficult things that He has called us to do.

Jesus describes what lies ahead as “an hour.”  It is the hour of trial and testing, and it is the hour of saving mankind.  It is also described as a “cup.”  We can see it as a cup of suffering that the Father is asking Jesus to drink, but this falls short.  It is a cup of the wrath of God for the sins of mankind.  To drink that cup, is to experience and suffer the wrath of God.

The greatest horror of the cross for Jesus is not so much the physical suffering, but the experiencing of wrath from the One whom he has eternally existed in a bond of supreme love.  So, Jesus asks that the hour, or the cup, might pass from him.

He then says that all things are possible for the Father.  Yes, the Father could change the plan at the last moment.  By the way, this does not mean that God can do illogical things (like make a round square, or create a rock so big that He can’t lift it, etc.)  Neither does it mean that he can do things that are contrary to His nature.  He cannot lie or do evil.  Rather, “all things are possible” means that, in matters of power and authority, there are none that He answers to.  He is the supreme authority and has the power to back up His decisions.

In the end, Jesus yields to the will of the Father.  “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”  I do not believe that Jesus is merely play acting for our sakes.  I believe that Jesus truly agonized over going through with the cross.  However, we see his yielding to what He knew the Father desired.  Can I get to a point in prayer where I know that God has heard my heart, that I know He loves me, and yet this difficult thing before me is necessary? 

Too often, we see difficulty as proof that God does not love us.  The reality is that it is often proof that He does.  We shield little children from the difficulties of life, but as they mature, we teach them to face and shoulder more and more of the duties and responsibilities of life, out of love for God and others.  Some believers have almost ridiculed such a yielding prayer, as if it lacks faith.  There is no greater prayer than the prayer of surrender.  This is what I want, Father, but nevertheless, Your will be done and not mine!

The sleepiness of The Three

Jesus did not need the disciples to watch in order to keep him from being arrested.  He needed them to watch in order to keep themselves from being spiritually taken out by the enemy.  O, how our flesh fights against the needs of our spirit.  You will never be sleepier than when you decide to try and pray.

Jesus comes back from praying to find The Three sleeping.  “Could you not watch one hour?”  Notice that Jesus connects watching to praying in verse 38.  Here, Jesus gives a command and a statement.

The command is to watch and pray so that they don’t fall to the temptations ahead.  If we are having trouble fighting sin and experiencing spiritual failure in our life, it can usually be traced back to prayerlessness, which itself is a symptom of weak faith and reliance upon Jesus.

The statement is this.  “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  This is exactly what we need to understand today.  It is not enough to have great spiritual desires and to love God with all of your heart.  Peter vehemently declared his devotion to Jesus.  His spirit wanted to do what was right, and even excel at it above all of the other disciples.  However, he is headed into a trial for which he is not yet spiritually ready.  His flesh was weak, and not just in falling asleep.  Their physical sleep is an external symptom of an internal problem.  The good news is what we talked about last week.  If it wasn’t for Jesus praying for us, none of us would make it.   Jesus makes all the difference. 

In prayer, we wrestle with our flesh before the Lord, and come to a place of surrender ahead of the trial so that we can do the will of God in the difficult hour.  The problem is not only that your flesh is weak, but also that you haven’t done anything to strengthen yourself against the weakness of the flesh.

We are told that Jesus comes back and finds them sleeping three different times.  Their inability to stay awake is connected to their perception of safety.  Of course, they don’t know that Judas is even now headed out of the city with a detachment of soldiers having betrayed Jesus.  Yet, this is all of life.  We think we are safe, physically or even spiritually, but our greatest trial may be just around the corner.

Can you imagine them complaining in their hearts, “But Lord, we have been up so long and we are tired… can’t we pray tomorrow after breakfast?”  It seems too hard.  Yet, even this is a lie from our flesh.  What if they had woken up to find a large spider on their chest, or perhaps, a coiled serpent?  How quickly would they have come alive in that moment (and so would we).  We are lulled to sleep by the spirit of this world through entertainments and gadgets so that the spiritual serpent can slip up and capture our souls.  Yet, Jesus is faithful to come along from time to time and shake us awake.  Wake up and watch over your soul before it is too late!

And so, the moment of betrayal had come.  There was no more time for praying alone with God.  Now, there will only be praying in the midst of a pack of jackals.  More than likely, Jesus leads the three back to where the eight are no doubt sleeping as well.  Here, they will be met by Judas, but we leave that for next week. 

Let me close with this.  I do not know what things you will face in the future.  There are trials in our personal life, trials among our family and friends, trials in business, nations, and even global trials.  However, we can be rest assured that those trials will come.  Hear the Spirit calling you to prepare yourself and come into communion with the Lord of Glory, who was a suffering servant.  Perhaps our hour of betrayal has come in this nation, or perhaps it will tarry a few more years.  Ultimately, this world has rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will double down on the path of self-will.  Yet, there are many poor souls out there who do not know their right hand from their left.  They are lost and wounded.  May God wake us up spiritually so that we can help those who sleep, and some who are even spiritually dead.  Even now, the Lord tells us that the fields are white for harvest!

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The Sheep Will Scatter

Mark 14:27-31.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 29, 2020.

Although our passage is immediately about the events leading up to the crucifixion, it also points to all those places along the path of our walk of faith where our faith will be tested.  We can call this the crucible.  The crucible is a place where we are melted down and the impurities float to the surface.  The purpose is to remove the impurities identified in that event.  The crucible experience always asks the question, “Will you continue to follow Jesus, or will you stumble?”  Or, in the words of John 6:67, “Do you also want to go away?”

The truth is that we all stumble at times in this walk of faith.  The real point is whether or not we will stumble to the point of falling away completely.  I pray that you will remain loyal to the Lord Jesus in the days ahead regardless of any stumblings.

We are living in a time where no people on earth are going to be able to escape the trap that the whole world is heading into.  You can escape its destruction, but the trap will be there nonetheless.  The wonderful news is that in Jesus there is a way through the trap.  You can’t avoid it, but you can be saved through it by putting your trust in Jesus completely, by letting your fears and idols be purged from your life in the refiner’s fire of these times, and by clinging to him, no matter what.

Let’s look at our passage.

Jesus tells the disciples that they will be made to stumble

This discussion seems to take place on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mt. of Olives, east of Jerusalem.  Jesus tells his disciples that they will all stumble because of him this very night.  This word for stumble is the same word that Jesus used when John the Baptist was in prison.  John was having second thoughts on whether he was right about Jesus.  Thus, he sends his disciples to Jesus with the question, “Are you the Coming One, or do we wait for another?”  Jesus tells them to tell John the miraculous stuff that he is doing, but then ends with this statement.  “Blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”  This gives the wrong impression to us today, one of a person’s feelings being hurt.  It would be better translated as this, “Blessed is he who is not made to stumble because of me.”  Jesus is using the Old Testament stumbling block imagery we find throughout the prophets (see Isaiah 8:14-15 and its context).

The stumbling that is being referred to is a spiritual stumbling, and is tied into the Greek term for a stumbling block, skandalon.  This actually points to a whole series of things.  To stumble is to waver in our faith in such a way that we lose our balance on the path of following the Lord.  This can lead to a person falling to the side of the path, even landing on the ground, injured.  If the problem is not rectified at each point of the situation then it can lead not only to falling off the path, but a person may continue on an alternate path that does not follow the Lord, that is either deception, or apostasy (leaving the faith completely). 

Stumbling and falling away are spiritual terms that Paul uses in Romans 11 when he explains what God is doing with national Israel.  As a nation, Israel had stumbled and fallen away from the path of God.  To some of the early Christians, it appeared that God was replacing Israel with the Church and that Israel would be no more.  Paul explains that the fall of Israel was not for nothing.  It had opened the door for the Gospel to be sent to all the nations, and, when this time of the Gentiles was completed, God would open the eyes of natural Israel that they may believe in Jesus the Messiah.  Of course, through the centuries, anyone of natural Israel could believe on Jesus and be recovered, but they would not be recovered to the faith as a nation until the end times.  This is what Isaiah is talking about in chapter 8 and is what Jesus means.

Before they can protest this statement, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7.  This is an interesting passage.  In chapter 12 of Zechariah, he talks about Israel, “they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son.”  This is in the context of a great salvation from many, if not all, of the nations of the earth marshalled against her.  Zechariah 14 actually describes the second coming of Jesus, which also spares Jerusalem from total destruction.  However, in Zechariah 13, nestled in between those other chapters, God calls upon one who is “My Shepherd, and My Companion (or Associate).”  It pictures the shepherd (the good shepherd) that God sent to teach and to lead Israel (this shepherd who was a close companion to God, being struck and the people of Israel (his sheep) being scattered.

It is interesting that Zechariah doesn’t mention stumbling in the verse Jesus quotes, only “scattering.”  The prophets not only spoke of stumbling, but also of falling, broken, snared, and taken.  It speaks of such a bad stumbling that Israel is removed from the land and scattered throughout the nations.  A scattering that only Messiah could recover.  This the verse in Isaiah 8:14-15.

“He will be a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.”

Yet, in Luke 21:35, Jesus says, “[The Day of the Lord] will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”  It is not just the disciples of the days of Jesus that need to beware spiritual traps that lead to us being snared.  Jesus promises that the trap is not done.  There is a great end times trap that has been set by the Lord.  This world is quickly rushing headlong into it.  The only ones that will survive are those who put their full faith in Jesus and do not stumble to the point of not recovering.  God help us to keep our bearings, not to be deceived, nor to lose faith in Jesus.

Jesus then tells them that he will go ahead of them to Galilee after he is resurrected.  This helps us to understand why Jesus was telling them that they would stumble.  His purpose was not to rub their nose in their coming failure, nor to tell them what a bunch of losers they are.  Jesus is not vindictive and angry at their weakness.  He had told them many times that he would be killed in Jerusalem, and yet, rise on the third day.  Now, he is adding that he will meet them in Galilee afterwards.  Yes, the sheep will scatter when God’s shepherd is struck, but then the Good Shepherd (who was struck on our behalf) will rise up and seek out his sheep who were scattered “on a dark and cloudy day.”

We have our own dark and cloudy days, not just on the horizon, but even now.  These are times of testing in which all of us have our times of wavering in faith.  The Spirit of Jesus is here today, drawing us to his side, saying, “Stand with me and I will give you rest.”  For those who stumble, we are called to help them to keep their balance, and keep walking in faith.  Even those who fall to the side of the path, we are to warn them of the destruction, bandage their wounds, and help them back into the way of the Lord. 

There is a great falling away from the truth of God and His Messiah that is moving throughout the earth.  We must guard our hearts and prepare for greater storms yet.

It is at this point that Peter protests what Jesus is saying.  True to form, Peter is only saying what he wants to be true.  “Even if everyone else is made to stumble, I will not be made to stumble!”  This sounds like a great statement of faith, similar to Joshua’s, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”  However, Joshua spoke his statement as a battle-hardened warrior who had been fighting the battles of the LORD.  For him, it was not bravado, but a faith that had been tried in the furnace and purified.  Peter and the disciples were still wet behind the ears.  They were only now headed into the first of many furnaces that lay ahead for them.  In fact, in Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that “Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”  Like with Job, Satan had requested to try Peter and his pretentious words.

Jesus prophesies that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows a second time that very evening.  Peter and the other disciples then vehemently protest this statement.  I know that in your heart you may want to be something great for Jesus, but be warned.  We are only now in a time of furnace that is itself what purifies our motives and hearts.  These are not the times to be talking smack, but rather to be removing the impurities that come to the surface. Jesus knows that we are weak and frail in ourselves.  Without him we are fodder for the enemy.  Yet, he loves us.  In Luke, Jesus tells Peter a wonderful thing in this exchange.  He says, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”  How beautiful is that?  When we couple this statement with the events after the resurrection in John chapter 21, they are like bookends of the love and forgiveness of Jesus.  He is not expecting you to be a robotic faith machine.  He loves you; He will not forsake you; He has prayed for you that your faith will not fail!  Yes, the sheep will scatter, but in the Name of Jesus we are empowered and authorized to go out into all the world and draw God’s sheep back into the fold.  Amen!

Sheep Scatter audio