Mark 14:53-72 - We should love when Jesus is right.
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Big Idea:
Big Idea:
Jesus is always right (we hate that).
Intro:
Intro:
Hey everyone! Welcome!
For almost the entire year, we’ve been traveling verse-by-verse thru the Book of Mark. In fact, after today, we only have 4 more Sundays in Mark! But last week, we ended with all the disciples abandoning Jesus after He was arrested, following the Last Supper.
At that final meal, they all pinky-promised they wouldn’t… Peter said...
But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
… but they did deny Him. Jesus was right. Jesus is always right.
I wonder if there’s a cringe in your heart when I say that? An old hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” We don’t speak King James English anymore, so let me translate that a bit…there’s something desperately wicked inside of us - something that naturally rebels against the Lord Jesus. The Bible calls it sin.
Sin hates surrendering to the Savior. It hates when He’s right. In today’s passage, we see that by Mark’s telling of two parallel stories...
And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.
Exegesis:
Exegesis:
Mark’s first story is Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish supreme court - 70 religious leaders led by the high priest. The second story follows Peter, the one who pledged to die for Jesus ...
And Mark strategically places these two stories side-by-side to let his readers know these events are happening at the same time...
Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.
When the trial begins, it’s clear the intention isn’t to find not truth or pursue justice. There was one objective: To put Jesus to death. The religious leaders had been plotting and waiting for this opportunity. Now that it was finally here… time to capitalize on it! But there was a huge problem… the prosecution’s witnesses couldn’t get their lies straight.
So, the high priest decides to step in. Sometimes, “If you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself.” Verse 60 says...
And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But He remained silent and made no answer… (Mk 14:60-61a)
Remember, one of the things the false witnesses brought up was Jesus saying He would destroy the temple and rebuild it. That actually was a serious charge in the first century. And… Jesus DID say...
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Now, in proper context, He was referring to His own body as the temple, and the resurrection as the rebuilding, nevertheless, the high priest suddenly got an idea. The rebuilding of the temple fit the theological understanding of the future messiah’s responsibilities. This future savior would one day come and restore the glory to Israel, which could likely include a temple renovation.
And the high priest likely heard about Jesus saying other messianic things about himself; therefore, it’s quite possible he strategically thought, “If I can get Him to say He’s the Messiah - in court - it’ll be case closed. That’ll do the trick!”
And so, “…the high priest (directly) asked Him, ‘Are you the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Blessed?’” (v. 61b) Verse 62...
And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
For the first time in the Book of Mark, Jesus publicly declares He’s the Messiah… something He previously was private about.
And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Now, some believe the high priest tears his robe and condemns Jesus because He’s claiming to be God. After all, the charge of the high priest is blasphemy - blasphemy as in, “How dare this man standing before me claim to be God!” And while this interpretation makes sense, it also forces our modern, hindsight understanding on the story.
What I mean is… we can make this interpretation (with accuracy) because we are post-resurrection. We already know Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, God in the flesh. But the high priest had NO CLUE. To him - and most Jews at the time - their understanding was the messiah is to be a great man, but not God. That being the case, why does the high priest charge Jesus with blasphemy?
Well, check this out...
The actually use of the Hebrew word, “blasphemy,” means “to dishonor God by diminishing his majesty or depriving him of rights to which He is entitled” …and NOT just using God’s name in vain (like we think today) or claiming to be God when you’re not...
...But again, in their minds, the messiah wasn’t God, so even when Jesus claims to be the messiah, why charge Him with blasphemy?
The charge of blasphemy came from that expanded use and definition. As they looked at ordinary-Jesus, humble, with no physical might or majesty, claiming to be God’s promised Savior... the Messiah… The high priest thought, “How dare you claim your raggedy-self as God’s messiah. Your appearance alone mocks God’s majesty. Plus, God alone has the right to say who sits at God’s right hand - You’re not allowed to say that!”
…to the high priest, Jesus making decisions that belonged to God alone was blasphemy.
And before we move on, I want us to hold onto that more historic definition of blasphemy, because I think it’ll be helpful to us. In our day, we tend to limit blasphemy to using God’s name in vain. When we say God’s name to express frustration or disgust, or attach it to a four-lettered word. But I think there’s spiritually healthy to considering the historic and expanded definition, even if the high priest incorrectly applied it to Jesus (who is God). Once more...
Blasphemy is any time we dishonor him by diminishing His majesty or depriving Him of rights to which He is entitled.
I wonder how many of us are truly guilty of blasphemy?
How often do we diminish His majesty by our words or actions?
How often do we dishonor Him by taking things into our own hands when it rightly belongs to Him alone?
Food for thought… Verse 65...
And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
The response of the Sanhedrin is connected to Jesus’ Messianic confession. Speaking of the Messiah, the prophet Isaiah said...
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
Based on this prophecy, Jewish leaders believed the messiah didn’t need to SEE to discern things. So, in covering Jesus’ face, they were mockingly saying, “Okay, Mr. Messiah, prove it. [BAM!] Who hit you?”
But I believe the violence also reveals something greater at work - SIN.
This whole passage reveals two things:
1) Jesus is always right. Remember, He predicted this trial and outcome. He had told the disciples...
saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
He was right. Jesus is always right.
2) This passage reveals we hate when Jesus is right. Why? Because of our SIN...
It’s crazy because technically it should’ve worked out differently. Think about this spiritual equation. Jesus said...
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
The apostle Paul told the Romans...
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Technically, what should’ve happened when Jesus declared Himself as the Savior of the world (the Messiah), when He spoke TRUTH, it’s supposed to incite saving faith in their hearts and make them holy.
But it doesn’t. It stirred up hate. Why? Because of SIN. Sin hates surrendering to the Savior. It hates when Jesus is right. I believe the violent response of the religious leaders is REALLY SIN HATING the Savior.
But, hate isn’t always aggressive...
While the story of Jesus’ trial happens, Peter’s story moves forward in the background...
And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Like our first story, this story speaks the same truth: First, Jesus is always right. Peter passionately promisee faithfulness, but Jesus said…
And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
Jesus is always right.
And just like the Pharisees, Peter hates it too. Not with the same kind of hate. According to Webster’s dictionary, hate can also mean...
To have a strong aversion to something; or to find very distasteful.
The religious leaders violently hated Jesus. I hate tomatoes. That’s NOT the same. I don’t go walk into Whole Foods (well, I can’t afford Whole Foods, so I don’t go in there)… I don’t go into Walmart and start smashing tomatoes in the Produce section saying, “Prophesy!” because I hate tomatoes. My hate is more of an aversion, a turning away from, a disgust of tomatoes.
As Peter experiences the reality that Jesus is right, he hated that feeling. He was disgusted by it. It was distasteful to his soul. He felt shame as he wept. We all hate that feeling.
But we also must realize, though Peter’s hate is different, it’s still the byproduct of SIN.
SIN caused Peter to pridefully reject the truth Jesus spoke about his future denial.
SIN caused Peter to deny Jesus - the truth of God.
Therefore, in both stories, the same truth is presented:
Jesus is always right.
But because of SIN, they hate it.
And as begin to wrap up, let’s ask why this matter? It matters because the same SIN that dwelled in the Pharisees and Peter, dwells in us. And if you think about it... this matters to us because we are all truly guilty of blasphemy.
Remember...
Blasphemy is any time we dishonor God by diminishing His majesty or depriving Him of rights to which He is entitled.
Think about this:
Jesus is God.
Jesus is always right.
And He speaks to us just like He spoke to the Pharisees and Peter.
But we don’t always listen to Him.
And when that happens, realize this... we dishonor Him and diminish His majesty.
That’s a form of blasphemy.
That sounds extreme, but let’s press into this idea a little deeper...
Jesus is our Creator. He has the RIGHT to INSTRUCT His creation. Additionally, He is our Lord. He is ENTITLED to be our Master. Therefore, when we refuse to obey Him and make decisions on our own (be lord of our own life), we deprive Him of His rights.
My friends, that’s blasphemy! That’s bad news for us. It’s bad news because if nothing changes, we’re going to hate discovering Jesus is right, especially when we “see [Him] seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
When Jesus said that, He’s describing part of the future eternal judgment. One day, this event will happen. Once again, He will be right. And if finds us living a blasphemous life, we’re gonna hate the future consequences of that day of judgment...
And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
That’s the bad news, but here’s the good news (gospel): Jesus died for the blasphemers.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
You know what “whoever” means? It means “whoever,” including the blasphemers. Again, the prophet Isaiah, speaking about the Messiah, speaking about Jesus...
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
The reason Jesus allowed the Sanhedrin to condemn Him is not because they were right - Jesus is right. He’s not committing blasphemy. He’s sacrificing His perfect life for our sins, even the sin of blasphemy. We have hated Jesus. - our sin is proof of that. And on the cross, all that sinful hate laid on Him, so we could be forgiven.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
These two stories matter to us because all of us need to understand three things:
Jesus is always right.
Our sin hates that.
Jesus saves us from our sin.
And this good news isn’t just for the unbeliever who has never put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. In this passage...
Peter already trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Mark is writing this story for the CHURCH...
This is GOOD NEWS for Christians too! Because right now, as followers of Jesus, we’re not listening to Jesus, even though He’s always right.
Let’s look at this in a very practical way:
When you don’t drink water, what happens? You get dehydrated. How do you fix that? Drink water - practical.
When you only eat junk food, what happens? You become unhealthy because your body lacks nutrition. How do you fix that? Make better food choices - practical.
Youth - when you don’t study or turn in your homework, what happens? You get a bad grade. How do you fix that? Do your school work - practical.
If Jesus is always right, but you never listen to Him, what happens? Your life falls apart. You continue in brokenness and defeat. How do you fix that? You obey the One who is always right - practical.
For some reason, we are surprised they remain in brokenness when they don’t obey Jesus.
If you lack peace, what should you do? What does Jesus say?
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
If you struggle with consistently making sinful choices, what should you do? What does Jesus say?
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
If you are overwhelmed with anxiety, what does Jesus say to do?
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Husbands, if you want a good marriage, what should you do?
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
My church family, if you want to experience life the way God intended it to be - abundantly fruitful - what should you do? What does Jesus say?
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
This is very practical stuff:
It’s understanding that Jesus is always right.
And responding, not with hate, but with obedience.
But what about the sin that continues to hang our in my flesh that wants me to hate Jesus?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
In a few weeks, some people in our church will be running marathons. Pastor Jon will be running his first! I remember my first marathon. I knew the weather was supposed to be cold early on, but heat up later; therefore, I wore a throw-away sweater on.
Around mile 3, when it began to heat up, you know what I did with that sweater? I took it off and threw it aside. And I never looked back. As a Christian, what do you with the sin that tries to trip you up? Choose to throw it aside and never look back. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep running towards His voice.
Response/Altar Call:
Response/Altar Call:
[As the worship team comes up] I’m gonna close with this: Today is a good day to come to Jesus. It’s time to stop playing with sin. It’s time to stop rejecting what Jesus says. You know He’s right - He’s always right. And today, listen to His word...
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
If you need Jesus to refresh your life today, even if you have rejected him time and time again, He invites you to, “Come. Come to the altar.” He suffered so you could be saved. He was condemned so you could live.
Today is a good day to come to Jesus.
How do I come to Jesus? Look once more at verse 53...
And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.
Notice two things:
Peter followed from a distance. Don’t live out your faith like that. Following Jesus from a distance will eventually result in denying Jesus. When we don’t believe Jesus is always right, we follow from a distance.
Peter was alone in a world that hated Jesus. That a recipe for failure. But look at what happens after the resurrection...
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Peter is not alone anymore. Then, as they are on the water, Jesus calls out to them.
That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
Peter closed the distance between himself and Jesus, and found restoration.
Today, some of you need to close the distance between you and Jesus. And in a moment, I’m gonna give you an opportunity to do today.
But before I do, know this truth… once you come, you’re called into freedom but not independence. You’re called into a family - an interdependent community known as the church.
One way we live in community at The River Church is through Life Groups:
In Life Groups, you learn to love the Bible (what Jesus says) so you can obey Him.
In Life Groups, you won’t have to be alone. You’ll find the joy as you build community by living in relationship with God and His people.
Find out Jesus is right about our need for community by joining a Life Group… [If you’re ready, there’s a way to do that after service…]
Let’s pray...
[As we pray, I’d like to ask for every head to be bowed and every eye closed…]
[Baptism]
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