Ivan Misner, in his book The World's Best Known Marketing Secrets, tells the story of a San Diego bank, which hired a private investigator to track down a bank robber and retrieve stolen funds. The search led to Mexico. The investigator crossed the border and then, realizing he would need a Spanish interpreter, opened up the telephone book and hired the first interpreter listed in the Yellow Pages.
After many days, he finally captured the bandit and, through the interpreter, asked him, “Where did you hide the money?” In Spanish, the thief replied, “What money? I have no idea what you're talking about.”
With that, the investigator drew his pistol, pointed it at the suspect, and said to the interpreter, “Tell him that if he doesn't tell me where the money is, I will shoot him where he stands.”
Upon receiving this message, the bank robber said to the interpreter, “Señor, I have hidden the money in a coffee can, under the fourth floorboard, in the second-floor men's room of the Palacio Hotel on Via Del Rio in La Paz.”
“What did he say?” the investigator asked the interpreter.
“Señor,” said the interpreter as he thought for a moment, “he says he is prepared to die like a man!” (Ivan R. Misner, The World's Best Known Marketing Secrets, Bard Press, 1994, p.41; www.PreachingToday.com)
Life is like that sometimes. People, who are supposed to help us, betray us. Or our circumstances take an unexpected turn, and we find ourselves in a lot of trouble. It happens even to those of us who are following Christ. We are not exempt from trouble. If anything, we open ourselves up to more trouble because of our commitment to Christ.
This is exactly what the 1st Century Christians in Rome discovered. After they put their faith in Christ, their friends and even some of their family members betrayed them to the Roman authorities. Many of them lost their jobs. Several were arrested, and not a few died horrible deaths as a result.
So how do you respond when you feel betrayed and deserted? How do you respond when life takes a terrible turn? How do you respond when the suffering is more than you can bear?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Mark 14, Mark 14, where the Gospel writer, in addressing those 1st Century Christians in Rome, describes for them and us how Jesus’ original followers responded.
Mark 14:43-45 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. (ESV)
Judas kissed him like a long-lost, close friend. The same word is used of Mary who anointed Jesus’ feet and “kissed” them continually (Luke 7:38,45). It’s also used of the father who saw his prodigal son returning home from a far off. Luke 15 says, he ran to him and “kissed” him (Luke 15:20). This was an expression of extreme devotion and love, which became the sign of treachery and betrayal.
Mark 14:46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. (ESV)
The crowd with the swords and clubs, the crowd, which John’s gospel identifies as “a band of soldiers”, arrested Jesus (John 18:3).
Mark 14:47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. (ESV)
John 18:10 tells us that this disciple was Peter. He was trying to make good on his boast to defend Jesus at all cost. Only, he was a terrible swordsman. He went for the head and missed, cutting off only an ear. I’m sure the other soldiers just snickered under their breath.
Luke 21:51 tells us that Jesus restored the man’s ear, or else Peter would have been arrested, as well, and there might have been four crosses on Calvary. Warren Wiersbe said, “He used the wrong weapon, at the wrong time, for the wrong purpose, with the wrong motive.” Peter was fighting a spiritual battle with a physical weapon. He had failed to pray, so he resorts to the sword in his hand and fails miserably. That’s when Jesus steps in.
Mark 14:48-49 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” (ESV)
These soldiers were cowards, arresting Jesus in a secluded place at night, but all this happened so that God’s Word would be fulfilled. You see, Jesus’ arrest and betrayal were all a part of God’s plan from the very beginning of time.
And that’s important for you and me to realize, especially when life takes an unexpected turn. God is not surprised by what happened. It’s all a part of His plan for our good and His glory. So when you find yourself in a lot of trouble…
TRUST IN GOD’S PLAN.
Depend on the fact that God has it all under control. Rely on God’s good and perfect will for your life.
You see, we too have the Scriptures, which tell us the end of the story. SPOILER ALERT!! We followers of Christ win in the end! We come out on top in a place where all the enemies of Christ are vanquished, and we don’t have to put up with their harassment anymore. On top of that, all suffering, death, and pain are eliminated. We are reunited with our loved ones, and we get to spend eternity with Jesus!
In the grand story of God working out His plan, we know that all will be fulfilled just as God said it would. We just need to trust in His plan along the way. And if we do, we can enjoy the “story” a whole lot more.
The conventional wisdom tells us that you don’t want to ruin a good story by learning about the end before you’ve read the beginning and middle of the story itself. A movie is a whole lot more fun to watch, or so we think, if we don’t know how it ends before we watch it. That’s why many of us go to extraordinary lengths to avoid learning the endings of films we haven't watched or books we haven't read. And we appreciate the movie or book reviewers who give us a “spoiler alert” at the beginning of their reviews.
But a recent study done at the University of California, San Diego, suggests that spoilers don't spoil stories. Instead, contrary to popular wisdom, they might even enhance our enjoyment of a story. The study ran three experiments based on 12 short stories. Each version of the story was read by at least 30 people. Surprisingly, the researchers found that the study participants preferred the “spoiled” versions of suspenseful stories. For example, in one case, participants were told before reading the story that a condemned man's daring escape is all just a fantasy before the noose snaps around his neck. That spoiler alert helped them enjoy the story even more.
One of the researchers had an interesting theory about why people liked getting a spoiler alert. He said, “It could be that once you know how [the story] turns out… you're more comfortable processing the information and you can focus on a deeper understanding of the story.” (ScienceDaily, "Spoiler Alert: Stories Are Not Spoiled by 'Spoilers,'" ScienceDaily.com, 8-11-11; www.PreachingToday.com)
My dear friends, we know how the story of our lives turns out, so along the way, we don’t have to worry or be distressed. Instead, we can focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the story. When life takes an unexpected turn, trust in God’s plan. Believe that God will fulfill His Word. Depend on it! And…
DON’T BE FAITHLESS like Jesus’ contemporaries.
Don’t be unbelieving. Don’t doubt what God is doing in your life.
Don’t be faithless and desert Jesus like His disciples did. Don’t be faithless and abandon Him like His original followers did. They did not trust in God’s plan, so they ran away.
Mark 14:50-52 And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. (ESV)
Mark is the only Gospel which records this account of one of Jesus’ followers, a young man, running away naked. Many Bible scholars believe it was John-Mark himself, the writer of this gospel.
He may have been in bed with only his pajamas on (“a linen cloth”) when he heard about soldiers going after Jesus. So he ran out of the house to warn Jesus, but got there too late. They had already arrested Jesus when he arrived, and were about to arrest him too, but he barely got away, leaving his pajamas in their hands.
Did you ever have a dream in which you find yourself naked in the middle of a crowd of people? How embarrassing! How shameful! Well, that’s exactly the picture that Mark wanted to paint of the disciples running away from Jesus. It was a shameful desertion, because they lacked the faith and courage to follow through with their boastful claim. Just a few hours earlier, they had emphatically declared that they would stay by Jesus no matter what (verse 31). Now, they are running away with their empty boasts fully exposed in shame.
My dear friends, when tragedy strikes, that’s not the time to run away from the Lord in shame like Jesus’ disciples did. that’s not the time to skip out on worship; that’s not the time to abandon the church like so many people do these days.
Instead, that’s the time to get even closer to the Lord! So when life takes an unexpected turn, don’t be faithless and desert Jesus like His disciples did.
And second, don’t be faithless and denounce Jesus like the religious leaders did. In the midst of your pain, don’t accuse Jesus of wrongdoing; don’t condemn Him in your own mind.
Mark 14:53-56 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. 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.
The Mosaic Law required agreement in the independent testimony of at least two witnesses to condemn a man to death, which they couldn’t find. But that wasn’t going to stop them. After all, why let the facts get in the way of your own blind bitterness and hatred? So they kept looking for more witnesses.
Mark 14:57-59 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. (ESV)
Now, Jesus did make such a claim (John 2:19), but he was talking about the “temple” of his body. Only these witnesses twist Jesus’ words to say He was talking about destroying a place of worship, which according to Josephus, was a capital offense in the ancient world (Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 10. 6. 2). But even their testimonies do not agree, so the high priest tries to get Jesus to incriminate Himself.
Mark 14:60-62 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. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 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.” (ESV)
Jesus makes it very clear that He is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, with all power and authority given to Him.
Mark 14:63-64 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. (ESV)
They condemned him to die, because blasphemy was a capital offense. Jesus had claimed rights and powers belonging exclusively to God, which would have made Him a dangerous deceiver if indeed he was not the Son of God.
Jesus did not leave them or us with much choice. He is either who he claimed to be, God in the flesh, or He is the most dangerous deceiver who ever lived. Oh, there might be one other choice. If Jesus was not God, he is the most dangerous deceiver who ever lived or He is the most deluded psychopath in history.
Don’t buy this nonsense that “Jesus was just a great teacher.” He did not leave us with that choice. With his claim to deity, He is either the Lord of all, the greatest liar who ever lived, or the most deluded lunatic in history. The religious leaders in His day decided that Jesus was a dangerous liar, so they condemned Him to die.
Mark 14:65 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. (ESV)
They mock His claims to deity and personally degrade him as a human being. No greater insult can be given to a person than to spit in his face, blindfold him, and then punch him out. Jesus did not deserve such treatment, but they gave it to Him anyway, because they did not believe He was who He said He was.
Sometimes in our pain, we have the same trouble. We strike out at God not believing that He is who He said He is, not believing that He has all power, not believing that He really cares.
Oh, my dear friends, when life takes an unexpected turn, don’t be faithless and desert Jesus like His disciples did; don’t be faithless and denounce Jesus like the religious leaders did.
And third, don’t be faithless and disown Jesus like Peter did. Don’t deny your relationship with Jesus. Don’t disavow your knowledge of Him.
Mark 14:66-68 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. (ESV)
This is the first crow of the rooster. Jesus had told Peter, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times” (vs.30).
Mark 14:69-72 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. (ESV)
Peter broke down and wept for the shame of it all. He had boasted so emphatically that he would die for Jesus and never deny Him (vs.31). Now here, before a “servant girl” and some no-name “bystanders”, he denies ever knowing Jesus just as emphatically.
This was the kind of situation Mark’s original readers faced constantly. The temptation to deny that they were followers of Christ was very real, because they could lose their lives over it.
That’s what Peter feared, but before we judge him too severely, we need to examine ourselves. How many times have we tried to hide the fact that we are Christians for fear of far less repercussions, for fear of losing a friend or for fear of what others might think?
I like what Warren Wiersbe says about this: “How many times have we denied the Lord and lost opportunities to share the Gospel with others? Do we, like Peter, talk when we should listen, argue when we should obey, sleep when we should pray, and fight when we should submit? (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary).
You see, we are ALL open to these things especially when life doesn’t go the way we planned. Instead of trusting in God’s plan, it’s so easy to be faithless and desert our Lord, denounce Him, or even disown Him. The fact is we are ALL sinners even if we don’t like to admit it.
Dan Meyer, a pastor in Oakbrook, Illinois, recalls traveling to Ecuador years ago and meeting the Quechua Indian people living in the mountains there. Dan says they “lived amidst the most mind-numbing squalor. The disease and disfigured bodies were heartbreaking. The bugs and stench were everywhere. People were living in a hole in the ground and calling it a house. They were feeding on rotten food and prizing garbage as possessions. But they didn't know it. Why? Because everyone lived that way.” They had never [seen] a genuinely healthy human being. They did not know what [a good] life truly looked like. (Dan Meyer, in his sermon “Why Remember the Passion?” www.ccobtv.org, 4-9-04; www.PreachingToday.com)
Do you know, that is our problem, too, especially here in white, middle class America. We don't get how sick and undeveloped we are spiritually, so it’s hard to identify with Peter and the disciples who so shamefully failed Jesus.
But God sees us as we might see those Quechua Indians. Psalm 14 says, “The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:2-3). In other words, we are condemned, and we don't even know it.
So what do we do about it? What do we do when we finally realize we have been faithless and deserted, denounced, or disowned Jesus? Well, we do what Peter did. We “break down and weep” (vs.72). Then we throw ourselves on God’s mercy. When we have failed to trust in God’s plan, we…
TRUST IN GOD’S GRACE.
We rely on His unconditional love. We depend on His unmerited favor, which can turn our shameful failures into shining trophies of His glory!
I want to go back to that unusual story of the “young man” running away naked in verses 51 and 52. Verse 52 says, “He left the linen cloth and ran away…” There is only one other place in the Gospel of Mark where a “linen cloth” is mentioned. It’s in Mark 15:46 where it says that Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth and laid in a tomb.
There is also only one other place in the Gospel of Mark where a “young man” is mentioned. It’s in Mark 16:5 where it says a “young man” dressed in “white” was sitting in Christ’s empty tomb.
Do you see what Mark is trying to show us here? When Jesus died on the cross, HE was wrapped in the “young man’s” cloth of shame after which the “young man” was clothed in Christ’s robe of glory! For you see, there is only one other place in the Gospel of Mark where a person is dressed in white. It’s in Mark 9:3 where it describes Jesus revealing Himself in all of His glory before three of His disciples. There it says, “His clothes became radiant, intensely white…”
The “young man” in Mark 14:51-52 represents all of us who have so shamefully failed our Lord, but that is not the end of the story. On the cross, Jesus takes upon Himself our garments of shame and gives us His garment of glory in exchange. Jesus takes the shame of our sinful failures and gives us His own perfect righteousness instead. (Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla, “Who Was that Young Man”, Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/2014, Vol.37, No.3)
All we have to do is acknowledge our failure, like Peter did, and trust in His grace. Here in Mark 14, we see Peter as a miserable failure, disowning the Lord before a servant girl and a handful of people. But in Acts 2, we see Peter boldly proclaiming the good news of Christ before thousands of people right near this very spot – the garment of shame exchanged for a garment of glory!
Chuck Colson is a modern-day example of this very thing. He recently went home to be with the Lord, but years ago he founded a ministry to prisoners called “Prison Fellowships”. He once said, “The great paradox [of my life] is that every time I walk into a prison and see the faces of men or women who have been transformed by the power of the living God, I realize that the thing God has chosen to use in my life… is none of the successes, achievements, degrees, awards, honors, or cases I won before the Supreme Court. That's not what God's using in my life. What God is using in my life to touch the lives of literally thousands of other people is the fact that I was a convict and went to prison. That was my great defeat, the only thing in my life I didn't succeed in.” (Chuck Colson, The Gravy Train Gospel at www.Preaching Today.com)
God used the shame of defeat to glorify Himself. That’s the Gospel, my friend, the good news! God can take your shame and turn it into a thing of great glory!
Tim Keller put it this way: “Here's the gospel: you're more sinful than you ever dared believe; you're more loved than you ever dared hope.” Oh my dear friends, dare to hope in God’s love today! When you have become faithless and have failed to trust in God’s plan, then trust in His grace.
