Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark: The Passover []

Stand for the reading of the word of God.

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In A. W. Tozer’s book, “Knowledge of the Holy”, he gives an excellent example of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will: He says,

In Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer attempts to reconcile the seemingly contradictory beliefs of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will:

An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool.

Its destination has been determined by proper authorities.

Nothing can change it.

This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.

On board the liner are scores of passengers.

These are not in chains; neither are their activities determined for them by decree.

They are completely free to move about as they will.

They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port.

Both freedom and sovereignty are present here, and they do not contradict.

So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God.

The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history.

“An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool.

Its destination has been determined by proper authorities.

Nothing can change it.

This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.

On board the liner are scores of passengers.

These are not in chains; neither are their activities determined for them by decree.

They are completely free to move about as they will.

They eat, sleep, play, lounge about the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please; but all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port.

Both freedom and sovereignty are present here, and they do not contradict.

So it is, I believe, with man’s freedom and the sovereignty of God.

The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history.”

In this next section of Mark we see these two, God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom enter woven throughout.

We see in this that Jesus is the fulfillment of what the Passover meal foreshadowed…freedom from bondage, we see the Lord supper replaced the Passover meal, and that Jesus was not surprised or overcome by his betrayal but that He foresaw everything and all things were going according to God’s plan.

Follow along in your bulletins: as there is an extensive outline.

I want to point out some observations and some practical applications in this section.

The Passover: The preparation of the meal []

1. Jesus observed important holy days [v.12] Jesus observed the prescribed holy days of the Jews given to us in the OT.

Verse 12 implies that the disciples knew Jesus would keep the Passover and their expectation to prepare for the meal made obvious it was a common practice of Jesus.

While the Jews had many feasts, the feast of Pentecost, the feast of Tabernacles, and the feast of Passover were the three main feasts that all Jewish men were required to attend in a year.

You can research those feast in the book of Exodus.

But the point is Jesus did everything the law required in observing holy days unto the Lord.

Jesus fully obeyed the law.

Practical application: while these required feasts no longer pertain to us, under the new covenant, there are practical applications to this for us.

One, there is the obedience to the word of God.

We are not saved by obeying God’s word but as saved people we obey God’s word because we love Him and want to obey Him for what He has done for us.

Two, we attend corporate worship regularly, Hebrews tells us “do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

I know corporate worship is not the only time we should be worshiping, but we should not neglect it either.

We should be in church regularly.

2. Jesus is thorough in His knowledge and preparation of the meal [v.13-15]

We don’t have time to get into the Passover meal in depth, if you’re interested in knowing more look to [; ; ] for more detail.

We see here Jesus thoroughly makes preparation for the meal, not only for the meal itself but for planning on when and where to partake.

Some have argued that this doesn’t necessarily represent Jesus foreknowledge and sovereignty in having the room prepared…some say He just planned ahead of time with the home owner.

To me that’s arguing over spilt milk, either way doesn’t really make much difference the point is the same, the Lord is careful to look ahead and plan.

This has practical application as well: while we do live moment by moment by faith that doesn’t mean we live irresponsible.

We live as though we are not promised tomorrow yet we plan as if tomorrow will come.

There’s a fine line of living to provide for our families and living moment by moment.

if we’re not careful we can take either to far.

The Lord Jesus lived moment by moment by faith yet planned ahead as well.

3. The availability of the room for the use of the Lord [v.16]

This can sometimes be overlooked.

The head of this household set an example for us, by not only making the room available for Jesus to use, but by also having it prepared for His use.

You can see the practical implications in that itself I hope.

We should be available at any moment for the Lord’s use…and also prepared for His use.

The backdrop is the Passover meal, at this time in Jesus day, the Passover meal was celebrated by reclining at a table…over time Jews changed it.

But the original institution of the meal was to be eaten with your clothes and shoes on read to depart…i.e.

you were to be ready to go if God said go.

We should be available and ready to go and do as the Lord wills

4. The obedience of the disciples to Jesus’ instructions [v.16]

This may have been awkward for the disciples to go up to someone and tell them we’re going to use your place for a meal, IDK, it seems awkward to me anyway.

But the disciples obey Jesus instructions without hesitation.

Sometimes obeying God’s word can put us in uncomfortable situations, but often those awkward moments and uncomfortable situations serve to grow us in the Lord.

It’s almost as if the Lord is asking us, “will you trust me in this even if it makes you uncomfortable?”

Speaking of uncomfortable situations…Jesus puts His disciples in an uncomfortable situation to prepare them for one…after they get the meal ready and are in the middle of the meal, Jesus predicts His betrayal.

The Passover: The prediction of betrayal []

1. Jesus attitude toward Judas.

a. His awareness of what Judas would do.

Here’s God’s sovereignty on display.

Jesus is fully aware of what Judas would do.

Jesus says one of you will betray me…not might…will.

Even though Judas has not done it yet, it’s determined in his heart to do so.

We’re quick to judge Judas for what he did, but how often do we determine in mind to do what God would not approve of, all we need is opportunity.

Sinclair Ferguson said, “when temptation, desire, and opportunity come together we are often overwhelmed by it.

Temptation with no desire, opportunity without desire you can escape but when all three come together, we’re often swept up by it.”

By making this statement Jesus is making an...

b.

His effort to call Judas to reconsider.

Judas hasn’t gone through with it yet, Jesus calls Judas to reconsider.

Just stop and think about this for a second.

If you knew someone was going to turn you over to a group of people who would kill you, would you invite them to dinner?

Of course not!

So why did Jesus?

Because that’s His nature, the nature of God is slow to anger, patient, kind and forgiving.

Imploring people to reconsider their actions and turn to Him.

Jesus is doing the same for the man who would betray Him, extending a hand of mercy…Judas would not take it.

But this is not just for Judas, it’s for His disciples as well.

2. Jesus relationship with His disciples reveals.

a.

His prompting of them to examine themselves.

Upon saying one will betray Him they all begin to ‘is it I?’ ‘surely not me?’

Jesus is prompting them to examine themselves.

At this point, Jesus doesn’t give them any indication who it is only that one of them will betray Him.

They’ve all been with Jesus from the beginning, they’ve all heard the same sermons, learned the same lessons, seen the same miracles, yet one of them in the group is not a genuine follower of Christ.

The’re all with Christ but one of them is not in Christ.

This should give us pause, to examine ourselves…are we in Christ?

A person can be in church every week, in bible study regularly, involved in church activities, but not be in Christ.