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August 25, 2019
Jason Meyer | Mark 14:17-31
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.”
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.” 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. 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.”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.—Mark 14:17–31
Introduction
In this third sermon on Mark 14, we are beginning to see the abandonment train is picking up steam and picking up passengers. But we are also seeing that Jesus remains in complete control.
We will see both of those themes coming together again in today’s passage. In fact, we have another use of this structural device that sandwiches them together.
The Divine Design in the Rejection of Jesus
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.”
The reference to “eating” shows that they were in the third phase of the traditional Passover meal. The Passover meal was a family meal. Passover was a celebration commemorating how the Jews were delivered from the Egyptians. The Jews put the blood of a Lamb on the door frames, and the angel of death would “pass over” their home and not kill the firstborn (Exodus 12). The eldest male would retell the feast and interpret it with emphasis on remembering the past deliverance and looking forward to the future deliverance the Messiah would bring.
The Mishnah (Jewish writings) said that a Passover celebration would walk through Psalms 113–118. The actual meal consisted of four parts and each part concluded with the drinking of a cup of wine.
In the first part, the family head would pronounce a blessing upon the family. Second, a child would ask what makes this particular night different from other nights. Then the father would recount the deliverance from Egypt by going through Deuteronomy 26:5–9. Third, the father would declare a benediction over the various foods that symbolized the bitter captivity in Egypt and both the hardships and blessings of the Exodus: unleavened bread, bitter herbs, greens, stewed fruit, and roast lamb. Family and guests were then invited to partake of the meal. Fourth, the feast would conclude around midnight with the singing of Psalms 116–118 and the drinking of the fourth cup of wine (James Edwards, Mark, p. 423).
Therefore, the reference to “eating” shows that this scene takes place during the third phase of the Passover celebration—the actual meal. At this point during the meal, Jesus declares that someone there will betray him. The reference to “one of them will betray him,” does not limit the list of suspects very much.
It is quite probable that more people are present for this meal than just the twelve. Mark is being selective in his account. He focuses only on Jesus’ betrayal and his coming death as a sacrifice in fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice. He obviously does not record the entire Passover ceremony. He does not even mention all the aspects of the meal or the presence of other people besides the twelve.
Commentators make a compelling case that women were present here (Edwards, p. 422). First, we are told later that “many women” accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem (Mark 15:41). It is simply not likely that the women who followed Jesus would be excluded from this key ceremony. Second, a “large room” (Mark 14:15) would have been unnecessary for 13 people. Third, why would Jesus have to clarify that the betrayer was “one of the Twelve” (Mark 14:20) if only the twelve disciples were there?
Once Jesus narrows down the reference to the twelve, the suspects are those who had their very hands in Jesus’ bowl.
Notice what Jesus says. The betrayal does not take him by surprise. He predicts it, and he says it was prophesied. All things will happen according to what Scripture says will happen, but he pronounces a prophetic woe upon the person who carries out the betrayal.
“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.”—Mark 14:21
The two parts of verse 21 are an almost perfectly balanced blend of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility:
God’s sovereignty: “For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him” (14:21a).
Human responsibility: “but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed” (14:21b).
Let’s take the first half first. The Son of Man will go as it is written of him. Where does the Bible say that the Son of Man will suffer? Daniel 7 does not speak of the suffering of the Son of Man. Once again Jesus connects two texts that no one seemed to connect: The Daniel 7 Son of Man and the Isaiah 53 Suffering Servant.
The betrayal was a great evil, and Jesus pronounces a prophetic woe upon the betrayer. The betrayal is a great evil under the all-wise rule and reign of God in the fulfillment of God’s predestined plan. Human evil cannot change God’s sovereign plan, and God’s sovereign plan does not remove responsibility for the evil. Many people struggle to reconcile these two truths: God is sovereign, and we are responsible.
Two things help me here. First, I love what C.H. Spurgeon said about these two truths in Scripture. When someone asked him, “How do you reconcile God’s sovereignty and human responsibility?” He replied, “There is no need to reconcile friends.” In other words, these truths are not competing truths at odds with unreconciled enmity. They are friends—complementary truths.
Scripture declares that they belong together and should not be separated. Second, if you ask how, then I would say I would not be so arrogant as to tell you how they perfectly fit together. They are like two ropes that seem to run parallel up into the sky and they come together up there in the clouds of heaven in a way that makes perfect sense to God, even if we do not explain it perfectly. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, the revealed things belong to us. The fact that God is sovereign and we are responsible is part of the revealed things God has said to us. How they go together in perfect harmony is part of the secret things that God has not revealed in Scripture.
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
Notice that Mark says they sang a hymn. This is probably a reference to the singing of Psalms 116–118. That usually happened around midnight with the drinking of the fourth cup of wine. We have reached another time period that chapter 13 told us to watch for with respect to the coming of the Son of Man: midnight (evening, midnight, rooster crowing, morning).
Now Jesus predicts the desertion of the disciples. He tells them that they will all desert him and scatter. Both pieces of the bread of our sandwich talk about Scripture being fulfilled. The Son of Man will go as it is written of him (betrayal). Jesus says that Scripture will be fulfilled when I am struck and you scatter.
Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7. It is a stunning prophesy. Notice the first-person singular: “I” will strike. God will strike Jesus the shepherd. Evil will be used by God to fulfill his saving purpose. It is just like Isaiah 53:10. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.”
But there is a note of hope. I will be struck. You will scatter. But I will be raised from the dead. Then I will go before you to Galilee. In other words, after I rise from the dead, I will gather you again.
There seems to be a blustery spiritual bravado that gets triggered here. Peter (as usual) is the first to voice what the others are feeling. “Even if everyone else falls away, I will not.” But now Jesus (at midnight) tells Peter about where the story will go when the rooster crows. By the time the rooster crows twice, he will have already denied him not once, not twice, but three times.
But Peter emphatically said he would rather die than deny Jesus. (“And they all said the same thing.”) They all respond with a spiritual bravado that says, “We are secure in our commitment and allegiance to you. Nothing could ever come along that could be greater than our commitment and resolve.”
Jesus knew what every single person was going to do. He knew the treachery. He knew the cowardice. He knew the unfaithful, fickleness in the heart of every disciple. And Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with them. Contrast the weak, unreliable disciples with the blood earnest, perfectly patient resolve of Jesus.
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.” 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. 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.”
Mark has a laser focus on what we now call “the words of institution.” In other words, Jesus established the Lord’s Supper with these words. We have the action for the bread (take bread, break it, give it) and the words (take—this is my body). Then we have the action for the cup (took a cup, gave it, they drank of it) and the words of interpretation (this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many).
These words come after the Passover meal is in progress. Most people think it was between the drinking of the second and third cups of wine (Edwards, p. 425). There was a gap between the bread (Mark 14:22) and the cup (v. 23) during which they probably ate the meal.
Now we simply have to address a couple of misconceptions here. Some church traditions have taught that the elements physically become Jesus’ body and blood. There are two observations that make that interpretation extremely unlikely. First, Jesus says “this is my blood,” but he says it after the disciples have already drunk the wine from the cup (v. 23). In other words, the “is” means symbolic representation, not actual physical transformation. What you just drank really represents my blood poured out for you. Second, Greek grammar has a rule that if a word refers back to something it needs to match the form of the word it points back to. The demonstrative pronoun (this is my body/blood, vv. 22, 24) is neuter, but bread or wine would be a masculine gender word. The neuter form of the pronoun “this” points back to the neuter word “body.” In other words, this points to the body of Jesus, not the bread and wine (Edwards, p. 426).
Jesus can predict that Judas will betray him and Peter will deny him and all the disciples will leave him. He can even show that this was prophesied long ago in Scripture. But why? What is the divine design at work in Jesus’ rejection?
Jesus interprets it for the disciples in pictorial form. He puts his death and resurrection into the symbols of the meal: As we look back at the Passover, let it point you forward to what I will do as its ultimate fulfillment. You are used to eating the bread—I can tell you now that the broken bread really represents my body, which will be broken. You are used to drinking the wine in the cup—I can tell you now that the wine that is poured out really represents the shedding of my blood—my blood of the covenant—the new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. That is what is happening here.
The climax of the whole meal comes with Jesus’ words that his work is really a covenant—a bond in blood that will unite God and his people. The blood here is significant. Throughout the Old Testament sacrificial system, we learn that the life of a creature resides in its blood. Therefore, Jesus’ blood is a reference to his very life.
Jesus’ life is the payment that will establish a new covenantal arrangement between God and his people. The reference to the “blood of the covenant” cannot be understood without reference to the old covenant. That covenant was established when Moses threw the blood on the people (Exodus 24:3–8). The covenant was sealed with the life of a sacrificial animal. But the prophets announced that a day would come when God would make a new covenant with his people (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Jesus says that the time the prophets predicted has now come. This new covenant is purchased and sealed with the lifeblood of the Lamb of God, slain for sinners. In fact, this blood is not simply thrown on the people (external picture), but they take it deep inside of themselves (they drink it—internal).
This blood is poured out for “many.” We have already heard these words before in Mark 10:45. Jesus said that the Son of Man had come “to give his life as a ransom for many.” Now it is going to be a reality. Just like in Mark 10:45, the word “many” is a reference back to Isaiah 53. The Suffering Servant “bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).
Main Point: Jesus was despised, rejected, and deserted as part of God’s sovereign plan for Jesus to purchase the new covenant. By his blood, Jesus has paid the price for our sins and brought us to God forever. His sacrifice is the super glue that brings God and his people together forever (I am your God; you are my people).
Application
Isn’t it amazing that none of the disciples had figured out something was off about Judas? When Jesus said, one of you will betray me, none of the disciples said: “It is Judas. I knew something was off about him.” Judas fooled all of them. No one said, “When we did our morning devotions, I noticed that Judas never read his scroll. When we would pray, I noticed that Judas wasn’t praying—he had his eyes open, looking around.”
He fit in with everyone else. He heard all of Jesus’ teaching. Saw all of Jesus’ miracles. He could talk the talk and look like he belonged there. But it was all a sham. If you feel smug and secure, take heed if you think you stand, lest you fall.
The first thing I want to address is our faulty sense of security and spiritual bravado. It keeps us from feeling the true miraculous nature of the grace that saves us and sustains us.
Assurance should never deteriorate into prideful presumption and sinful arrogance that says, “I got this.” That should be the scariest response imaginable because “I got this” is the polar opposite of “I need you.”
I want to do everything in my power to warn you against a false presumption that would cause you to coast in your spiritual life. Never presume. People who start to drift start to slip in their attention to the means of grace. They begin to feel like prayer and Bible reading and a daily walk with Jesus are optional—good, but not necessary. Genuine believers see these things not as optional, but as essential. They are not about arrogant spiritual accomplishments, but about desperate spiritual survival. They believe it even takes God’s grace to put us into a posture where we can receive God’s grace (he gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud).
Consider the difference in Scripture between the fall of Judas and Peter. Both fell, but both were not restored. Why?
Both Judas and Peter felt remorse after their sin. Judas and Peter lamented and wept bitterly with sorrow. Judas returned the money and took his own life. Jesus went to Peter and restored him. Three times Peter denied, and three times Jesus gave him the chance to affirm his love for Jesus (Do you love me? … Do you love me? … Do you love me?).
Luke’s Gospel highlights the work of Satan with respect to Judas and Peter.
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.—Luke 22:3–6
Satan also demanded to have Peter.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”—Luke 22:31–32
Given by God!
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”—John 17:6
Kept by Jesus!
“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”—John 17:12
Believer, how prone to wander you are? Do you feel the extent to which if you were left to yourself, you would not stand a chance? Do you take oaths all day long, swear allegiance, say you would never fall away? Willpower is no match for the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Instead of our response being: “I got this,” we need to hear Jesus say, “I got you.”
None can come to the table and feel smugly self-secure. No one can claim that they made it here because of their merit or willpower or moral might. Apart from his grace, we would not stand. The only people at the Table are those who boast in Christ, not themselves.
I want you to feel how poignant this picture is: Jesus has been trying to tell them again and again and again about his coming death and resurrection, but they have been blind as a bat. He tries again to convey to them what is about to happen. They hold the bread and the cup. They see it, touch it, smell it, taste it. But they still don’t see. They still don’t hear what he is saying.
The Lord’s Supper is a meal for sinners, not achievers. They all drank of it (v. 23). It’s somewhat haunting to follow the use of the word “all” in this section. Even though they “all” swear that they will not fall away, they “all” fell away (v. 27) and they “all” fled (v. 50) from Jesus. Communion is obviously not a meal for those who merit it. The only prerequisite for the meal is need. People who eat and drink have to recognize their need for food and drink. Taking this meal means recognizing your need for Jesus’ body and blood to save you.
We see a picture not only of the cross, but God’s perfect patience expressed in the cross. Paul said ...
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.—1 Timothy 1:15–16
Look at his perfect patience on display. Jesus is eating with Judas. He is also eating with all who will desert him and leave him. He is the only one at the meal who knows exactly what is going to happen. He knows exactly what everyone will do specifically do against him: betray him, deny him, desert him. Yet he continues to move to the cross without lashing out—no berating words, just words of truth spoken in love.
On the cross, Jesus completes the work that will bring the people of God to God forever. To all the people who say: “I got this,” Jesus says, “No, look again. Don’t trust in what you do. Trust in what I do. I have you. I paid for you. I will never let you go.”
Conclusion
Do not miss the announcement of the blessed hope. Two weeks ago was worship; last week was trust; this week, the closing note is hope. Our hope cannot die. Jesus is our living hope, raised from the dead. No one can take our hope because no one can take away his victory. Jesus will drink it anew with us in the kingdom of God. All history is headed toward the time when we will eat and drink with Jesus in a new heavens and a new earth. The Last Supper on this fallen planet will give way to the First Supper in paradise together.
That is why the words of institution say: “For as long as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (death, resurrection, Second Coming). He is coming again. Will we be ready—standing on the promises (safe and secure) or sitting on the premises (smug and complacent)?
Outline
Main Point: Jesus was despised, rejected, and deserted as part of God’s sovereign plan for Jesus to purchase the new covenant. By his blood, Jesus has paid the price for our sins and brought us to God forever.
Discussion Questions
Application Questions
Prayer Focus
Pray for a grace to receive the perfect love and patience of Jesus. Pray for a grace to not take his grace for granted and thus fall into spiritual apathy and presumption.