Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning we are picking back up in our study of the Gospel of Mark.

If you’re new to our church, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called Expository Preaching, which means we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what they mean in our lives today.

With that said, we are currently doing that through the Gospel of Mark.

A gospel written to tell us who Jesus is, what He came to do, and what it means for you and I to follow Him.

Today as we come back to Mark’s gospel, we come back to chapter 14 where we are just moments away from the arrest of Jesus.

A moment that will soon lead to his trial, execution, and resurrection.

But before we get into our text this morning, I want to begin by setting the stage and giving us a framework for what we are about to read.

So, to do that, I want to begin by asking you what might seem like an odd question.

Maybe even a question you’ve never considered.

So here goes:

Question: To what extent would you go to defend yourself as a Christian?

(repeat 2x)

In other words, if somebody persecuted you, verbally assaulted you, threatened you bodily harm, or even threatened your life because of your faith in Jesus, what would your response be?

Let me give you a couple of examples of what I’m talking about:

Example #1 - How would you respond if an LGBT advocate came up to you and accused you of being a bigot.

What would you do if they got up in your face and ridiculed you for your stance against sexual immorality?

Would you stand there and take it?

Would you just walk away?

Or, would you let them verbally have it?

Example #2 -What would you do if somebody came up to you and said, “Because you’re a Christian, I’m going to beat the tar out of you.”

And then proceeded to attack you, what would you do?

Would you run for your life?

Would you defend yourself against their blows?

Would you throw punches back?

Or would you turn the other cheek and let them beat you up?

Example #3 - Let’s say you have a conceal & carry license and somebody walked into our church this morning, pulled out a firearm, and threatened bodily harm to you or to others?

Would you pull out your gun and threaten them back?

If they attempted to act on their threat would you fire a warning shot?

Or, would you shoot to kill?

What would you do?

Example #4 - Let’s say at some point, being a Christian isn’t just frowned upon in America, it’s illegal.

In other words, to be a Christian would be a violation of the law.

And let’s just say that word got out that you’re a Christian, and the authorities were on their way to your home to arrest you and your family.

What would you do?

Would you go on the run?

Would you get your AR-15 out and put up a fight?

Or would you wait and surrender when they came for you?

What would you do?

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor that’s a really odd question.

Why in the world would you ask us to consider such a question?”

I ask you to consider this question for three reasons:

First, the idea of somebody threatening you because of your faith or your stand for Jesus isn’t as far fetched as you might think.

While there have been few cases in the US where Christians have been physically beaten or imprisoned for their faith, there are a multitude of cases where Christians have been threatened, sued, and even received death threats for their Christian stance.

Leaving us to question, “How do we respond?”

Do we threaten back?

Do we counter sue?

Do we do nothing?

What should our response be when we are persecuted?

Second, unfortunately we live in a world where churches aren’t exempt from gun violence.

In 2017 alone there were 118 violent deaths within the walls of churches in the United States.

The most recent being a church massacre that took place at a rural church in Sutherland Springs, TX where 26 people were killed during a Sunday morning worship service.

The incident sent shock waves across the church world causing many churches to take seriously the need for church security and a plan for dealing with such threats.

And finally I ask this question, because as we come out our passage today, we come to such a situation.

A situation where the faith of a group of believers is being threatened.

A situation where weapons will be carried and drawn in an offensive and defensive manner.

An incident where the followers of Christ are put in a situation where they must respond to personal threats and persecution.

Listen to how the Gospel writer Mark describes this intense situation.

Beginning in verse 43 he writes:

Mark 14:43-

Mark 14:

Mark tells us, as Jesus finishes up his time of prayer in the garden, a group of people with ill intention are approaching.

A group of people who mean Jesus harm.

A group of people who have come armed.

A group of people on a mission to take Jesus and his disciples out.

So, how do Jesus and the disciples respond?

Well, Mark tells us they all responded differently.

Apparently one disciple responds offensively as he pulls out a sword and attacks.

Another disciple responds defensively as he physically overcomes his captors and escapes.

And the rest of the disciples seem to respond cowardly as they turn tail and run.

And finally Jesus responds by allowing himself to be taken into custody.

It goes without saying this would have been a moment of chaos and confusion.

So, what’s going on here?

Why is Mark telling us about this situation and how does this apply to our lives.

Let’s get started by answering the question, “What’s going on here?”

Let’s start with what’s going on here:

First, what’s going on here is exactly what Jesus predicted would happen.

You may recall, on three occasions throughout this gospel, Jesus has warned his disciples that this day would come.

That one day soon he would be arrested and killed.

We saw Him mention it in , , and .

And now, in , the predicted day has come.

Second, in this passage we see the various responses that come when persecution comes.

And in this one passage we saw three responses.

We saw fight, as a sword is drawn.

We saw flee, as some ran for their lives, and we saw surrender, as Jesus gives himself up.

So, that’s what’s going on here.

Next question, “How does this apply to us and why should you pay attention this morning?”

To be honest, it applies in much the same way.

First, in the same way Jesus was persecuted, mistreated, and eventually killed, as Christ followers, you and I at some point will experience varying degrees of the same treatment.

In fact, Jesus promises such treatment.

In Jesus tells his disciples when it comes to following Him, “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.”

(ESV)

Jesus says there is a price for following him.

That because of your faith in him, people will hate you.

And the truth is, we live in a country and a culture where the hatred of Christian faith is on the rise.

Second, it applies in the sense that when persecution comes, when our faith is threatened, there will be varying degrees of response.

Some Christians will fight, some will flee, and some will surrender.

As a result, we are left with an important question, “When persecution comes, what should we do?

When our lives are threatened, how should we respond?

What is the proper response for the Christian when promised persecution comes our way?”

So, to help us answer that question, here’s what I want to do this morning.