It's His Passover

Introduction

This morning is our last week in Mark

Wait a minute, last week until the new year

Pause after this week to begin an Advent series looking at how God will shepherd us, his people

But even this morning we will see the start of Judas’ betrayal and Jesus eating the last supper with his disciples

Powerful transition to Advent

Jesus came because we have betrayed God

Jesus came because even still God had a plan to pour out judgment on Jesus that we might be delivered from our sin and death

Scripture Reading (Mark 14:10-21)

Mark 14:10–21 ESV

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Pray

Flow of Chapter 14

Key: Flow in the literary structure where Mark is intentionally bouncing back and forth, setting each part of the narrative in contrast with what comes before and after

Opposed to Jesus to Mission of Jesus

Vs 1-2 – Pharisees seeking to arrest and kill Jesus

Vs 3-9 – Woman anoints Jesus with oil and tears giving something of earthly worth to gain Jesus

Vs 10-11 – Judas agrees to betray Jesus to gain something of earthly value

Vs 12-17 – Jesus prepares his Passover

Vs 18-21 – Jesus predicts the betrayal

Vs 22-25 – Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper

Vs 26-31 – Jesus predicts Peter’s denial

Vs 32-42 – Jesus prays in Gethsemane

Keeps going, but gets outside of our focus for this morning

Significance?

Invites us to examine our own hearts – toward Christ or away - with him or against him

At every point, God is sovereignly in control

The Plan to Betray (vs 10-11 and 18-21)

Mark 14:17–19 “And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?””

Jesus states that one of his disciples is going to betray him

They all respond in sorrow, horror, and shock and ask, “Is it I?”

You can almost envision their eyes bouncing between one another, pointing fingers at themselves, “wait, not me, right?”

Reader’s Advantage

In interpreting the Bible, one of the tools we use is called “the reader’s advantage” where we, the reader, know something the people in the narrative didn’t know

Imagine a horror film and the pretty 20-something girl goes creeping down the stairs to the dark basement

We all know something is going to happen, but the character in the story doesn’t

Mark 14:10–11 “Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.”

You know who didn’t have verses 10-11 in front of them at the last Supper? Anyone!

So we know that Judas is already up to something - but none of the other disciples do

We know that Judas approaches the chief priests about betraying Jesus

We know it is he who initiated the betrayal

And we know, from Matthew 26:14, that is was Judas who brought up the issue of payment

But none of the disciples in the moment know that

Jesus doesn’t really narrow it down either after all ask is it them

Mark 14:20 “He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.”

This is where so many of our cultural depictions of this event cloudy the event for us

So I have a couple of pictures for us

Which one is Judas?

No halo

Shifty eyes

Hand in the bowl

But this more of a family meal - better image is probably all hands in the bowl at the same time

We know it is Judas, none of them do

One of my commentaries sums it up this way: “The most appropriate portrait of his (Mark’s) portrayal of the Last Supper would paint each disciple’s face with a look of horror. They eat and drink in an atmosphere of sorrow and worry. The central question preoccupying their minds is not the fate of Jesus but who might be the one to betray him.” (NIVAC)

Judas’ Motivations

Often left wondering why Judas agreed to betray Jesus

We can learn some things from other texts, particularly the other gospels

But Mark doesn’t really give a reason

Just as, in the passage Pastor Ken preached on last week, not naming the woman was not really about maintaining anonymity for all time and so invite us to examine our own hearts of worship and adoration of Jesus

Aside: Again, look at the contrasts that Mark is drawing jumping directly from the account of that woman to the anticipation of Judas’ betrayal

This woman’s devotion stands in stark contrast to Judas’s disloyalty. Except for a kiss from Judas in Gethsemane, Jesus receives no other expression of love from anyone else during his Passion. Judas is looking for the appropriate opportunity to betray Jesus, and his treachery will never be forgotten. He is willing to sacrifice Jesus to obtain material rewards for himself. The woman, on the other hand, seizes an opportunity to show love to Jesus and sacrifices her precious gift for him. Her act will never be forgotten either." (NIVAC)

So here Mark doesn’t really give us Judas’ motivation

If we knew his precise motivation to betray Jesus, we could avoid looking at ourselves in the mirror

We would be more inclined to say, “I wouldn’t do that”

Rather than the invitation to consider our own heart motives and how we could or do betray Jesus

Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement

To that end, I want to briefly introduce a concept called “moral disengagement”

These are the processes that we use to disengage from our own moral standards

We use these techniques to not only convince ourselves that our proposed action is not only not wrong, but may actually be right and good

Example: “I don’t love her anymore so I’m actually setting her free if I leave her to find someone who will love her.”

No, that is just abandoning your wife

But see how we rationalize our behaviors to make them seem palpable and even good?

Example 2: Euphemistic labeling

It’s not an affair, it’s adultery

We use soft words to make bad things not feel so bad

Share this as an invitation to look in our own hearts and ask how we morally disengage from what we know to be right to do what we wanted and so betray Jesus

God Ever in Control

But God is ever in control both of his opponents and his worshippers

He had a plan to redeem sinners, make new the world, and establish his kingdom to reign forever and ever

And no amount of evil or wrongdoing will thwart those purposes

Even more amazing, God uses those wicked actions to accomplish his good purposes in the world

Judas is going to be accountable for his actions

Mark 14:21 “For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.””

So yeah, there are huge consequences for his betrayal, but they never altar the plan or God or get in the way

He already knew that Judas would betray him and predicted it

It didn’t surprise him

In fact, God used it mightily in his plan of redemption

Jesus is also sovereignly in control of all the events leading to that supper

Mark 14:12–17 “And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve.”

Jesus tells his disciples

Where to go: Into the city

How to identify man: Man carrying jar of water

Even this is unusual as fetching water was usually a woman’s job

So God ordained this one guy - the right guy - to be getting water at that moment

What to do: Follow him to a house

What to say to the master of the house: Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

What the response will be: The master will show you to a room already furnished and ready!

At every point, Jesus was in control so that in verse 16 we read

Mark 14:16 “And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”

“God’s providence is his completely holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action.” (WSC 11)

His Passover

Last thing I want us to see this morning is that this is Jesus’ passover

Mark 14:14 “and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’”

Notice those words:

my guest room

I may eat the Passover

my disciples

This is Jesus’ passover

The Passover meal was a sacrament, a sacred reminder, of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt

But salvation and deliverance come by judgment

Egypt was judged in the Passover that Israel may be delivered from slavery

Our salvation and deliverance are the same - they come by judgment

We, like Israel at the Passover, are delivered by judgment

Jesus was judged on the cross that we may be delivered from sin and death

But there is one big difference

Egypt was guilty and deserving of the judgment they received

Jesus was not

Even more, it is us, who like Judas, betrayed Jesus

We use every tool in the moral disengagement toolbox to justify our actions and make us think we are in the right

And yet, it is still we who betrayed Jesus and are rightfully deserving of the wrath and curse of God

Yet that judgment was poured out on Jesus

And by that judgement we are delivered

This was Jesus’ Passover

Pray