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

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

A Last Meal Together

We will have the audio uploaded shortly.

Mark 14:12-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 01, 2020.

You do not always know when you are having your last meal with someone that you love.  Whether it is they who will pass on or you, the meaning of the moment becomes so much more important than normal.  Meals with loved ones can be simultaneously an intimate event and yet also an everyday occurrence to which we often fail to give a second thought.

Jesus knew that this was to be his last meal with his disciples.  However, it is more than just a normal meal; it is a Passover meal celebrating that night in Egypt when the Death Angel passed over those who had the blood of the lamb on the door-post of their dwelling.

On top of this, it was a troubling time for Jesus and would become so for his disciples too.  There was a betrayer among The Twelve, and Jesus would soon be put to death in an agonizing, excruciating way.  It is tough to have grace under pressure, but it is even harder when you know that someone plans to stab you in the back.

Let us not forget that we live in a time of testing.  We will stand with Jesus, or we will sell him out for 30 pieces of silver.  As we approach closer and closer to the end times, we will find that the spirit of Judas, the spirit of this age, is not done testing and seducing those who follow Christ.  I pray that you and I will be found as those who trust the Lord regardless of who abandons ship, and regardless of how difficult the path ahead may become.

Let’s look at our passage.

The last Passover with Jesus

The Passover meal commemorated the 10^th and last plague that had come upon Egypt over 1,400 years earlier than this.  God had sent the death angel throughout the land to kill all who were a firstborn of their families.  Israel was not to be exempted from this unless they had sacrificed a lamb, applied its blood to the door-posts of their house, and had eaten it in a meal cooked in fire.

Passover was one of the feasts of the Lord.  However, another word is used of them in Scripture.  They are also called moed (mow-‘ade) and the plural being moedim.  It refers to an appointed time of the Lord, but also has connotations of an appointed signal or sign.  Thus, it became clear to the early Church that the feasts or appointed times of the Lord had been enactments of prophetic things that pertained to the coming of Messiah, his great harvest in the Church, and his return.  The celebrations are themselves prophetic in nature.

It was fitting that this last Passover meal would be on the eve of the death of Jesus because, as John the Baptist said, he was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world and spare us from eternal death.  Israel’s deliverance from Egypt had been a prophetic enactment of the salvation that Jesus the Messiah would accomplish for the whole world, delivering us from slavery to our sins and to Satan who is the Pharaoh of this world.

We are told that this is happening on the first day of Unleavened Bread “when the Passover Lamb was slain.”  This may appear to be a mistake by Mark at first glance.  Passover was to happen on the 14^th day of Israel’s month Aviv (later called Nisan).  Unleavened Bread was a seven-day celebration that started on the 15^th of Aviv and went until the 21^st.  I want to walk through some issues concerning the timing of these feasts because some think that there are contradictions in these accounts.

How can Jesus eat the Passover with his disciples one night and then the next day we are told that the religious leaders would not enter the Praetorium of Pilate, lest they be defiled and not able to eat the Passover?  Shouldn’t they have eaten it the night before like Jesus did?  Several issues are involved that add to the complexities of unwinding the timeline of what exactly happened: the way terms were used, the timing of the calendar year, and the timing of the Passover meal.  Let’s look at them separately, but quickly.

Passover would be on the 14^th of Aviv and Unleavened Bread would be another seven days (15^th-21^st).  This would be a total of eight days.  Over time, it became common to use the term Unleavened Bread to refer to all eight days.  Sometimes, even the term Passover was used for all eight days.  Though the events were clear to the original disciples and those to whom they related the events, the descriptions beg a greater context that we do not know.  By definition, it is clear that the first day of Unleavened Bread mentioned in verse 12 must be actually referring to Aviv 14, Passover.  So, though it may look like an error to say that the Passover lamb is killed on the first day of Unleavened Bread, it really isn’t because of the way the phrase was used in first century Judea.

The Essenes were a group that had separated from Jerusalem into the desert place we call Qumran around the 160’s BC.  Israel was dominated by the Greeks during this time and several High Priests had begun to adopt the Greek calendar.  By changing the way that the new year was calculated, the Essenes believed that Israel was no longer celebrating the feasts on the proper days.  Though the successful uprising of Judah Maccabee gave Judah a semblance of freedom, the priests continued to follow this Greek calendar.  We do not know what Jesus thought about these issues.  At least one group disagreed with the official date of the Passover and would perform their meals on a different day.

Another issue rose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  The Sadducees held to an older way of keeping the feast.  It is important to note that the Hebrew date switches when the sun goes below the horizon.  Let’s use the time of 6 PM to serve as a chronological way to speak of the beginning of twilight.  The old way would wait until the end of the day of Aviv 13 when it began to be dark.  During this twilight, they would sacrifice the Passover lamb, which would now be Aviv 14.  The lamb or goat would then be cooked over a fire and eaten that night.  Nothing could be left over to the morning, which would still be Aviv 14.

This is different than the Pharisees.  The Pharisees had slowly taken control of the majority of Israel.  It was their system that was the official system at the crucifixion of Jesus.  They believed that the lamb should be killed after noon (usually 3 PM) on Aviv 14.  They would also eat the Passover meal after dark, but for them it would be Aviv 15 now.  Though they officially observed the Passover meal on the 15^th of Aviv, there were some who would keep the feast the night before, Aviv 14.  Again, we do not know what Jesus thought about this.  It is possible that he is following the older model rather than the Pharisee-model, but we are not exactly told this in the Bible.

The point in going through this is to show that the issues are far more complex than we realize, and we are not given enough information in the Bible to clear this up.  Sure, the early disciples perfectly understood these issues, but it was not important enough to them to detail.  Was Jesus doing the Passover the night before, or was John talking about other meals that would happen on the High Holy Days of Unleavened Bread and simply using the term Passover meal to refer to any meal that happened during these feasts?  We may never know at this point.  However, we do know that these are not contradictions.

Jesus is asked where they are going to celebrate the Passover meal.  The answer that Jesus gives is reminiscent of his instruction to the disciples to get the donkey that he rode during the Triumphal Entry.  It may be that Jesus is being cryptic on purpose so that Judas cannot tell the religious leaders where they can ambush Jesus.  Regardless, Jesus tells them to go into the city and that they would eventually see a man carrying a water pitcher.  We are told by those who know the culture of this time that this would be an oddity.  This would be considered women’s work, and men carried water in animal skins.  So, this would stick out in the middle of a busy Jerusalem.  They were to follow this man to the place that he enters and then ask the master of the place to let them use a large room that he had already for the feast.  From the other Gospels, we are told that two of the disciples follow these instructions and prepare the Passover meal.  They would then go get Jesus and the other disciples in order to bring them to the place after dark.  It was very common for people in Jerusalem to rent out rooms during the feasts for those who were not from Jerusalem.  This owner appears to donate it to the Lord and his disciples, most likely as a follower of Jesus, or at least, a sympathizer.

From the other Gospels, it seems that Jesus references a betrayer several times throughout the night.  It isn’t entirely clear that there aren’t other disciples besides The Twelve, perhaps serving etc.  Passover was not a time that was about the temple compound.  It was a family or multiple family affair that happened at home.  It was to be prepared by the family, eaten quickly during the dark, as if ready to leave Egypt at a moments notice.  This represents how we should not take our duty to apply the True Passover, Jesus, to our lives by faith in him.  We are to live our lives trusting in his salvation, trusting in his commands, and ready to leave this world at a moments notice, whether through our death or the rapture.  This would be the ultimate rescue from the Egypt of this world.  This is an intimate affair, and Jesus is revealing that one of his closest disciples would betray him, one who was dipping in the dish with him, as if they were family.

This sets up a scene of being both flabbergasted and asking who it will be.  “Is it I,” they all say.  Jesus then teaches them a valuable lesson.  The death of Jesus would be a fulfillment of prophecy and therefore had to happen.  However, it is not the job of believers to try and fulfill prophecy unless the Lord has commanded it.  The horrendous betrayal of Judas cannot be excused or moralized by stating that he was doing God’s will.  It was God’s will that Jesus die on the cross, but it cannot be said that God wanted anyone in particular to be the one to do it.  In His wisdom, He knows that there will be wicked men that is why Jesus is there in the first place.  It is going to happen, but the question is will it be through you?  Judas would have no excuse.  He was doing what he was doing, not for righteous reasons, but for personal and selfish reasons.  Later in the Garden of Gethsemane, we are given another phrase from our Lord.  “You betray me with a kiss?”  True to life, those who are closest to the Lord outwardly are most able to betray him.  They do so first inwardly, but eventually it will also be outwardly.  Woe to the person who betrays the Son of Man.  It would be better for that person if he had never been born.  Friend, I warn you now that there are betrayals happening in the Church of Jesus every day.  Some of the betrayers are lay people, others are pastors, presbyters, superintendents, and even popes.  Woe to such people, and woe to anyone who will follow them.  God help us to cling to Jesus regardless of how bad the road ahead becomes because he has shown us once and for all that the way of the cross is the way of eternal life!

Last Meal audio

Jesus Prophesies about the Future V

Mark 13:32-37.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 18, 2020.

This morning, we will finish this section in which Jesus tells us about what is in the future.  His prophecy breaks up into three sections: a time of birth pains, also called the times of the Gentiles, that follows his ascension, the Great Tribulation, which is the climax of the end times, and the Second Coming of Jesus.  These three sections start out slow and long, 2,000 years, but then become a quick succession of blows (7 years and then 1 moment/day).

After those prophecies, each of the three synoptic Gospels take time to emphasize that you will not want to be caught off guard by the Second Coming, and that is what we will look at today.  The Christian is not oblivious to the judgment that hangs over this world.  God has a contention with all of the nations of this world and has judged them all to be unworthy of ruling the earth.  Because of this, Christians are to live a life that is focused on God’s work, and being ready for the return of Jesus at all times.

Only the Father knows when the Son is coming back

By way of refresher, we have talked about how the Second Coming of Jesus is like a Galilean wedding.  John 14 tells us that Jesus went back to his Father’s house to make a home for his bride, the church.  He will no doubt come back for his bride at some point in which they all go back to his Father’s place to have a wedding party.  Eventually, Christ and his bride come in judgment to take up the rule of the earth.

One thing that was unique about the Galilean wedding is that the son could have a place prepared and want to go get his bride, but he had to wait until his father said it was time.  This may help us understand a bit more why Jesus would emphasize that he doesn’t know the time (even though he clearly knows that it will be longer than his followers will want to wait).  Let’s not jump ahead on this point yet.

Jesus first points out that “no one knows”, which is a reference to all humans.  Through the years, many people have predicted when Jesus was coming back, whether they spoke of it as the Rapture or as the Second Coming.  They typically justified their predictions by some slight of hand.  Some would emphasize that you couldn’t know the day or hour, but you can know the 2-day window, or week, or month, or year.  Some would emphasize that they have received a vision from the Father or Son and God now wants us to know.  However, this seems odd since Jesus warns that the end times will come as a trap and at a time that the disciples do not think.  His point is not, wait until God reveals it.  Rather, it is always be watching and ready!  No, there will not be a time when God changes His mind and begins telling believers when the Son will return.

Jesus follows this by saying that not even the angels of heaven know when it will occur.  Incidentally, this would rule out the devil and his angels.  If they angels of heaven don’t know then those who had earlier fallen would not know either.  Satan is chomping at the bit and always ready for his chance to dominate the world and have it worship him.  Are you ready?

The next point, however, is the true puzzler.  Not even the Son knows the day or hour.  Now, it is one thing for Jesus to say that the Father has not given him permission to share that knowledge, but it is quite another to say that the Son of God does not know.  It begs this question.  How can Jesus be both divine and not know this?  Isn’t he supposed to be omniscient?

I do not want to get bogged down in the weeds of answering this question, but let’s spend a few moments exploring it.  Many biblical teachers have talked through various aspects of its implications.  Let me just make a couple of points so that we can be clear that this is not a true contradiction to the divinity of Jesus.  First of all, it is unclear whether Jesus means that he didn’t know in his human nature, and that his divine nature was just keeping it from his human side through wisdom.  Of course, this gets into the quagmire of how the mechanics and internal operation of the incarnation of Jesus worked.  We should fear to tread too far into that territory since the Bible says precious little on that topic.

Second of all, it is also unclear whether Jesus meant that he didn’t know then, but that he would know when he ascended to the right hand of the Father.

Perhaps, it is best to understand this in the same way that we understand the subservient role that the Son fulfills.  Though the Son is equal to the Father in the sense of his being or substance (that is, divine) he can perform a subservient role without diminishing his essence or being.  Think of one human being serving another human being.  The lesser role does not somehow render the servant as less human than the one served.  Thus, in eternity past, when the plan of salvation was created, it was agreed upon that only the Father would know and that the Son would voluntarily restrict his omniscience to the time of his Second Coming.  We could say that omniscience is to know all things that one chooses to know.  Just as omnipotence does not mean that God has to do whatever we tell him to do, in order to prove it- He can exercise restraint in accordance with His own wisdom- so the Son can choose to restrict or restrain the exercise of his omniscience in any particular area he so chooses.  This is not a true contradiction, but rather a point that is totally unexpected.

There are some practical implications to the reality that no one knows when Jesus is coming back.  We should stop listening to people who set dates and invite us to sell all of our stuff and join them in a rural compound.  We should even be careful of those who do not prophesy particular dates, but only say that certain dates are somehow more possible than others.  Of course, no one can live without conjecturing about the future.  However, pumping up particular dates every year or more has the opposite effect upon people’s readiness.  They tend to have a flurry of activity leading up to the time, and then a relaxing when it doesn’t happen.  This is not what Jesus has called us to do.

It is not our job to predict when Jesus will come back, and thus we shouldn’t listen to those people.  However, it is good to recognize the signs of the times that we live in, and the signs of the times that are next on the docket.  They can encourage our faith to keep focused on Christ and being ready.  We live in a time where the prophesied events of the book of Revelation are not only possible, but becoming more and more likely every day.  The world is clamoring for a global governance that can control, or harness, the power of mankind.  Like a Neo-Nimrod building a modern tower of Babel, our world is rushing forward into the Great Tribulation.  However, it is still being restrained by God until that point that He says enough.

This means that we should live in a way that we are always prepared.  The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, or Semper Par as they say; “Always ready!”  Those who remember the Royal Rangers youth program of the Assemblies of God will know that the motto taught to young Christian boys was “Ready!”  It meant to be ready for anything.  If you are trying to predict a date then you will have a series of relaxing and stressing, being ready, and then not being ready.  Over time, such a build up and let down can wear out our faith in its truth.  However, if you are always living prepared and Jesus doesn’t come back during your life time then you will also be ready for that next moment after death.  In that moment, you either go into the grave awaiting judgment, or you go into the presence of the Lord.  Friend, don’t put off your preparation for that day a day longer.  Make sure that you have turned from your sin and this world, and that you have turned toward Jesus and following him.  Though the Christian is to live always prepared for our Lord’s return, notice in verse 33 and 34 that our Lord has work for us to do.

You need to focus on the work that Jesus commands

Verse 33 gives us a series of commands to believers from the Lord.  We are first told to “take heed.”  It means to see and discern the world around us and our own spiritual condition.  Luke 21 warns, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”  Wow!  Believers are not to live a life of carousing, drunkenness, and worried about the cares of this world and our flesh.  Such a life is not only unprepared for the Second Coming, it is also unprepared for its own death as well.  This world is used by the devil to tempt Christians into all manner of sinful activities.  They become an exit ramp from remaining vigilant and discerning about the condition of our soul.

The second command is “Watch.”  The point is not so much sitting and looking at the sky, but rather at its root means sleeplessness.  A man who was on watch dared not fall asleep.  It meant disaster for the camp or village if he did.  It speaks to a wakeful frame of mind in the midst of a world designed to put you to sleep spiritually.  Matthew 24 adds the warning that before the flood of Noah’s day came, people who had been warned were going about life as if nothing bad was on the horizon.  They were asleep spiritually.

The New Testament often ties the word “watch” together with the word “pray.”  The third command from our Lord is to “Pray.”  As we pray to God, we are watching over our souls and maintaining our faith so that it is not diminished in any way.

When we put all of this together, we find that, through prayerful vigilance, we can live a life for God’s purposes.  We can live a life following the Spirit of God and not our flesh, a life of the love of God for others, a life of strengthening fellow believers, and a life of sharing the Gospel with those who do not believe.  We are to be a light in this generation.  When they see our lives, they will get a glimpse of who Jesus was and is, the very righteousness of God.  When they hear the Gospel, some of them will believe and be brought into the family of God.  We must focus on the work that he has given us in our families, jobs, Church, and community, being a light because the night is coming when no man can work!

Jesus gives another analogy

Jesus ends with a parable or analogy that is very clear and simple.  There is a man who leaves his house and goes into a far country.  He puts his servants in charge of his affairs.  There are two aspects regarding his servants.  First, they have been given authority to run his affairs.  If we think of this as a group of believers then we see how we are to be working together and yet certain ones may have a higher authority than I do.  Whatever gift and role God has given to us, and at whatever level of authority, we need to use it for the building up of the faith and the life of one another as brothers and sisters before God.  This starts as a faithful companion in worshiping, and living for Jesus, whether in or outside of church.  We are to encourage one another as a family.  It may specialize beyond this, such as those who lead in music, teach in various ways, preach, watch over the affairs of the property, oversee a food pantry ministry, etc. 

In this scenario, those who are the doorkeepers and are watching for the Lord’s return would represent the prophetic role that warns God’s people of external enemies, internal laxity, and the Lord’s return.  God calls watchmen who are to be vigilant in this sense.  This doesn’t absolve all believers of personal responsibility, but becomes an added layer of protection, especially for new believers.

However, we should also see this at an individual level.  We all have a duty to be diligent in the things that the Lord has given to us to do.  We can fall into the trap of wanting something bigger, greater, or more like another servant.  This only diminishes our gusto for the tasks that we have been given.  Give yourself to the people, relationships, and godly duties that you have right now.  Meanwhile watch over your spiritual life, and the temptations of the enemy so that you will be ready at his return, or your death.  Like Nehemiah and the exiles who had returned to a devastated Jerusalem and were rebuilding the wall, we live this life with a trowel for building in one hand and a sword for defending in the other.  We are to live in this world focused on the mission of Jesus, vigilant against our spiritual enemies, and not losing faith that our Lord is returning one day.

Let me say this again; you do not want to be caught sleeping or abusing your authority when Jesus returns.   In verses 35-37, he reminds us that we don’t know if he is coming in the night, or midnight, morning, or noon.  In fact, globally it will be all of these at once.  For some it will be each of these times depending on your time zone.  The problem would not be sleeping physically, but sleeping spiritually.

In Mark, we are only warned that we don’t want to be caught sleeping.  Yet, in Matthew 24, Jesus follows this up with a greater explanation.  The faithful and wise servants will be found doing exactly what their master told them to be doing, making sure his house is running well, and increasing.  However, there will be some evil servants who say in their heart that he is delaying his coming, or even that he will never come.  Jesus warns that such evil servants will abuse their power in his Church and abuse their fellow servants, even eating and drinking with the drunkards.  The warning is severe.

“The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Matthew 24:50-51 (NKJV)

It is not enough to join God’s people and even receive a high position of authority within it.  If we use God’s things for our own pleasure then we are following the spirit of this world rather than the Spirit of God.  Such people will receive judgment from the Lord.  You do not want to be caught spiritually sleeping, or drunk on the pleasures of this life.  So, Watch!