Sovereign Savior

Steve Turner’s hilarious and incisive satirical poem has a section that goes like this:

Jesus was a good man just like Buddha; Mohammed, and ourselves.

He was a good moral teacher though we think; His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same- at least the one that we read was.

They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation,

sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation. We believe that after death comes the Nothing

Because when you ask the dead what happens…they say nothing.

If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its

compulsory heaven for all…excepting perhaps… Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

This is a poem that playfully mocks the postmodern idea that truth is relative and all religions are basically the same. I wonder if you’ve ever believed that? Or if you believe it now - that Jesus is just a good man, like Buddah and Mohhamed, and yourself.

Well, for those who had the slightest idea what Christianity actually is, they know that it’s a ridiculous statement, to claim that Christianity is basically the same as every other religion, and that Jesus is basically the same as Buddha and Mohammed. They are fundamentally different.

In our teaching through the gospel of Mark, we encounter time and time again why Jesus is utterly unique, and why Christianity is utterly unique. But as we get closer to the part where Jesus dies on the cross, we see even more clearly how Jesus is different from everyone else.

Mk 14:12-26. One of the central ideas this passage teaches is the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.

I wonder what you think of when you think of “sovereignty”? You may think of it in political terms, a sovereign state is one that governs itself. But when we’re talking about sovereignty, we’re talking about supreme authority, total freedom, absolute power of Jesus Christ.

What is it? A.W. Pink puts it this way: “The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of his supremacy…Being elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as he pleases, only as he pleases, always as he pleases. None can thwart him, none can hinder him…Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in name, that he is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things ‘after the counsel of his own will.’”

Now, you may be wondering to yourself: “Okay, we’re in the gospel of Mark. We’re reading about how Jesus has been betrayed. We’re about to study how Jesus will be arrested and crucified. And you’re telling me that Jesus is “subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent? You’re trying to tell me he “does as he pleases,” even as he’s getting backstabbed by a friend and bludgeoned by guards and crucified by Romans?” Some sovereignty!

Ah, but therein lies the beauty of it all. Let’s start by looking at Jesus’ sovereignty over circumstances.

1) Jesus is Sovereign Over Circumstances. 12 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?” 13 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, 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?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 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.

Remember: Thousands of Jews are flooding into Jerusalem. So at this point everyone is trying to find a place to kill their lamb and eat the passover meal. It appears that the disciples are a bit concerned - they ask “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” At about 3 PM, the slaughter of lambs would begin, by the thousands. The animals would be cleaned, the head would remain attached to the carcass, and the legs would remain unbroken. And then they would find a place to eat the passover meal. The disciples are concerned.

Verse 13, Jesus sends two disciples (Peter and John) and gives them clear directions: “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.” This would have been easily identifiable because usually in those days, that was a woman’s task. They were to “follow him” to a house. In the house there would be a master. They were given a specific question to ask the master, and the master of the house would lead them to a completely furnished upper room.

It’s interesting how vague the directions are. Why didn’t he just say, “Go to 1425 Jerusalem Ct, there’s a room there.” Many scholars believe that Jesus spoke in such cryptic language because at this point he knew Judas was seeking to arrest him and didn’t want to let Judas have the information beforehand - because Judas would have told the religious leaders and spoiled the last supper. Jesus wanted to eat the last supper with the disciples.

The disciples might be a little flustered, Jesus isn’t. He knows exactly what to do. He has clear and specific directions. Now, the question arises: did Jesus have supernatural knowledge of the future that enabled him, or did he prearrange this all beforehand? Some scholars claim that Jesus must have made these arrangements on Wednesday. The answer is this: yes, Jesus did arrange these things. He most certainly arranged them in eternity past as the sovereign king of the universe. I’m not sure whether he arranged them physically that week. Jesus is in complete control of his circumstances.

Remember, Jesus knows he’s going to die. In 10:45 he said that the whole reason for his coming was that he wouldn “give his life as a ransom for many.” In fact, since 8:31 he had been making predictions that he would die. And now, we’re within hours of his betrayal and death, and we realize that he’s in complete control. He’s not being suckered into this. He’s not being coerced. He says in John 10:18 “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

In other words, what we see here is Jesus' authority over his circumstances. You look at verse 13 and you might think, “Yes, he has authority. Look at how the disciples obey him.” But no, I’m talking about a bigger authority. A more cosmic authority. Jesus is demonstrating his knowledge of the future. He knew where the man with the jar would be. He knew what the master of the house would do. He knew the room would be adequately furnished for them. He is not playing guessing games. He’s not hoping. He is conducting. He is in absolute control.

Can you see the implication here? Every time Jesus demonstrates a knowledge of the future - whether it’s the distant future or the immediate future - he is demonstrating his authority as God himself. Only God knows the future. Jesus knows the future. Jesus is God.

Consider this. This is a central doctrine of Christianity. The God who made us rules us. He is perfect and righteous and good, and will one day judge us. But one of the core doctrines of Christianity is that God became a man. We call this the incarnation. God, who has always and eternally existed, became a man. We walked among us. But in becoming a man, he did not lay down his divinity. He was still truly God - and we see that here as he sovereignly arranges his own death and betrayal. Jesus is God, and this is why it’s not surprising that he has everything under control as he prepares to lay his life down for sinners.

So in verse 16: Peter and John prepare the passover meal in this furnished upper room, exactly according to plan.

2) Jesus is Sovereign Over Evil. “17 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.”

They begin the passover meal in that upper room. One scholar described these upper rooms that people had in Jerusalem as “a smaller box on top of a bigger box.” Not complex buildings, just a box. And not much space for 12 grown men. Jesus is there with the 12, and they’re reclining. Again this was the normal way to eat a formal meal together. The table would be low, you’d lay on your side, and eat that way. It’s actually not like Leonardo DaVinci’s painting. They weren’t sitting at a table like we do, they recline.

I wonder if it was already a tense night. They had been hearing that Jesus would die in Jerusalem. They had seen the opposition in the temple. It was all coming to a head. And Jesus shocks them all and says, “Truly I say to you” - a way to bring emphasis and grab attention: “one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” He knew.

The disciples are horrified. They knew they had enemies out there. The chief priests and scribes. The Pharisees and Herodians. Even the Romans had their eye on him. But now, Jesus reveals that right there in their midst is a traitor. They all grow sorrowful.

Isn’t it fascinating that the disciples didn’t know it was Judas? We often think that one’s spiritual condition is obvious. You can tell who the traitors are! Nope. They were so stricken by this statement. Each of them, one after another, asked Jesus, “Is it I?” He doesn’t tell them.

But then he makes this statement: “For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him” - pause. Jesus is referring to himself as the Son of Man, he does that a lot in this gospel. And understand what he’s saying: His betrayal, arrest, and death is all according to Scripture - God’s plan.

To really grasp this, let me highlight the tension. Jesus is saying that the worst sin that has ever been committed in the history of the universe, the most despicable crime a human being could ever commit, was part of God’s eternal plan, predicted in Scripture centuries before.

The Old Testament predicted that Jesus would be rejected by evil men in Psalm 118:22.

The Old Testament predicted that Jesus would be hated in Psalm 35:19.

The Old Testament predicted that the disciples would abandon Jesus in Zechariah 13:7.

The Old Testament predicted that Jesus would be pierced, but not a bone broken in Zechariah 12:10.

The Old Testament predicted Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

In other words, it has always been part of God’s eternal plan that his son be killed.

And yet, at the same time, it was real human evil that brought Jesus to the cross.

Are you seeing the tension yet? Was it God, according to his plan, that killed Jesus, or was it Judas, and the schemes of sinful men, who killed Jesus?

If you want to see the tension more sharply, consider Isaiah 53:6 and 10. Verse 6 describes the death of Christ for our sins: “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…” vs. 10, “it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.” The Lord crushed him. Behind the betrayal, the beatings, the spittings, the nails, the cross - is the invisible hand of God.

What this means is that God ordained the death of his own son. And he used the sinful acts of men to accomplish his plan.

This is clearly seen in Acts 2:23, where Peter is preaching. He says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” - he doesn’t say delivered up by Judas. He says delivered up by God’s plan. But at the same time he doesn’t ignore human responsibility: “you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

Friends, evil is real. People do terrible things. They are responsible and accountable for their sins. And God has ordained all of it. And God will use all of it for his ultimate glory and our good.

Think of true evil you’ve experienced. Think of tragic wickedness in the world. There’s enough evil and suffering in the world to make a stone weep. But in this text we see that the worst evil in the world - the betrayal of the innocent Son of God - was ordained by God to produce the greatest blessing in the world - salvation for God’s people. And if that’s true - then all evil in the world is ordained by God for his own glory and for the ultimate good of his people.

There are some truths that comfort you like a feather pillow - God is gentle. God is patient. That comforts us. But some truths comfort us like a steel beam. If I am driving on the bridge when the once-in-a-lifetime earthquake strikes, a steel beam is a comforting thing.

God’s sovereignty is a beam that keeps you sturdy in the face of tragedy, in the face of breath-taking wickedness. By this truth we are braced by knowing that all things - even human wickedness - are governed by his good and sovereign hand.

Spurgeon: “There is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.”

3) Jesus’ Sovereignty in Judgment. Look at that second half of verse 21: “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.” Jesus makes a stunning declarative statement about the one who will betray him. It’s not a guess: He doesn’t say “I think,” or “It’s probable.” He declares the reality: “it would have been better for Judas if Judas had never been born.”

Non-existence would be preferable to existence, in Judas’ case. That is to say, there is a hell, and Judas will be there.

Friends, this little sentence uttered by Jesus is a stab at all man-centered thinking that exists today. He is saying that Judas’ good is not ultimate in our universe. This implies that your good and my good is not ultimate in this universe. The reality of hell suggests that humanity’s good is not the highest good. There is something more important than humans being happy forever.

The greatest good in the universe is God’s glory. God gets glory as he redeems sinners. But have you considered that God always receives glory in his judgments? God condemns Judas to demonstrate the justice of his wrath.

God is the center. God’s glory is the point. We exist for his glory. God does not exist for humanity’s good. God will receive glory by either making you an object of mercy through which he demonstrates the magnitude of his love, or he will receive glory in your condemnation.

Revelation 19 gives us a scene of what’s happening in heaven when the wicked are judged. Are they sad? Weeping? No. They recognize that it is good for God to condemn sin. They recognize it is right for God to punish the wicked. And in verse 1 they cry out “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgements are true and just.”

Now we have no problem believing that it is right for God to judge the wicked. But we have a big problem with believing what the Bible says about who is wicked. We have a harder time admitting that we are the wicked.

Friends, look closely and think clearly about Jesus’ statement again: “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” That statement would be true for everyone of us, were it not for Jesus Christ.

Church, if Jesus did not die on the cross for our sins, God would be right and just to vindicate his holiness by condemning us as sinners. And if you’re not trusting Christ now, and if you refuse Christ now, and if you stubbornly refuse to trust Christ your whole life, my solemn duty this morning is to relay Jesus’ message to you: it would have been better for you if you had never been born. Your eternity will be so miserable you will wish that you never were born, you will wish that you never existed. But you will not be able to unmake yourself.

Jesus’ knows Judas’ coming judgment. Why? Because Jesus is the judge. He holds your eternal destiny in his hand. Humble yourself before him, trust him, and receive mercy.

Oh lost soul, Jesus invites you to escape the coming judgment. In his death, Jesus paid sin’s penalty. Trust him. Look to him. Believe him.

4) Jesus’ sovereignty over salvation. “22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Now you’re familiar with this passage because we read it or a parallel of it every time we take communion. It’s easy to forget that the context is the passover meal. The disciples would have done this all their lives. The blessing mentioned in verse 22 was probably the usual one the Jews said before they ate: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who brings forth bread from the earth.” And everything was quite ordinary up to that point - in terms of the meal.

Verse 22 Jesus throws a curveball. He takes the bread and breaks it and says, “Take, this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

Think with me for a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of these disciples. You’ve done the passover all your life. It’s about Yahweh. It’s about his salvation from Egypt. It’s about his covenant faithfulness. And Jesus takes the bread and cup and starts talking like they’re about him. “This is my body; this is my blood.” And here Jesus makes it about himself.

I heard one great illustration of this: this would be as if you were asked to give a speech at your friend’s wedding, and you get the microphone and say, “Hey, it’s actually my birthday, let me tell you about myself.” It’s not supposed to be about you.

But in Jesus’ case, it was supposed to be about him. Can you see what Jesus was doing? Who told Israel to celebrate the Passover? Yahweh, the one true God. Who has authority over passover? Yahweh, the one true God. And who does Jesus think he is, to step in and change this ancient tradition? Jesus is demonstrating that he is Yahweh, the one true God.

In other words, a stage had been set for hundreds of years, and now Jesus takes the stage, and essentially says, “Everything that passover has been pointing to is here. I am the final passover lamb. I am the broken bread. I am the poured out cup. I am the one who dies for the sins.”

And what he’s saying is that like bread is broken, so his body will be broken - What! The true and eternal God will become a man so that he can die in the place of sinners?

As wine is poured out, so his blood will be shed. And why? Look at the end of verse 24: “poured out for many.” In other words, he is saying that his body will be broken for many, his blood will be shed for many. He will suffer and die so that those who deserve death might be set free. The punishment he requires he takes upon himself?

God requires payment for sin, but God himself will become a man so that he can pay for man’s sin? Can you see it: We are saved from God by God.

You see, you and I are guilty because of sin. And God would be right to punish us eternally for our sins. But God is a God of astounding mercy. He entered his own creation to take our sins upon himself, to pay their penalty, to rise from the dead so that we can trust him.

God could have brought glory to himself by judging all sin in his justice. But he has chosen to magnify the glory of his grace by saving us through the life, death, and resurrection of his son.

Think with me about the cross where Jesus died. Yes, in our text we have seen authority, sovereignty, power. And we might be in danger of thinking of God’s sovereignty as a cold sovereignty. But when we see that at the cross God crushed his own son so that you might be set free from sin, forgiven, and washed clean - we see a love so fierce, so divine, so rich, so compassionate, so majestic - it overwhelms us.

How could we not love a God who would die for us? How could we not trust a savior who would suffer for us? How can we look at Jesus dangling there on that bloody cross and not love him?

Look: You don’t have to pay for your sins! Come to Jesus. You don’t have to live in guilt. Come to Jesus. You don’t have to go to hell - come to Jesus! He is sovereign, and he has suffered that you might live! Rejoice!

In verse 25 Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Can you see what he’s saying? He’s saying that he will die and that he will not have any more wine. For a time. Look at that word, “until.” That until means there will be a future day that he drinks of the fruit of the vine. That means bodily resurrection. When will that be? In the kingdom of God.

And with these words Jesus transformed passover into what the church has called, “The Lord’s Supper.” And just as passover reminded the people of their deliverance from God’s judgment upon Egypt, so the Lord’s Supper reminds us about our deliverance from God’s judgment upon our sin. Communion is a celebration. It’s a time of joy. We can look at each other and think, “We are saved. We are safe. We are loved. Christ is ours. We are Christ’s.

And our thoughts fly forward to that glorious day when we feast with the Lord in the house of Zion.

Do you know Jesus Christ? Have you yet trusted him? Trust him know. Talk to someone today. And if you have - tell someone, tell me, or someone around you, that you’d like to trust in Jesus. We want to help you know what that means.