The Moonlight Kiss of Betrayal.
Today Michael is still in Mark (we’re just about done!) and he is going to tell a story, like a story, not just reading. True narrative format and it’s good!
Jesus is talking with His disciples, letting them know, that all ‘will fall away’. Meaning, when the going get’s tough, the disciples won’t be so tough!
And this theme, with Jesus, His disciples and the message is about betrayal.
Back on topic, the disciples hear Him tell them that they will bolt when it get’s tough and they are, of course, agast. What, “US” leave you? Are you kidding????"
Even Peter, a rock if there ever was one, cannot believe He is telling them that. Naturally, Peter claims his undying loyalty to the cause and Jesus reminds him, even he will fall away.
So, twelve of them go to the Mount of Olives (one is missing; wonder where Judas is?) and they come to a lush grove, Gethsemane, and Jesus tells them to rest, sit and pray. Jesus leaves them and prays three times. Each time he comes back, the disciples are asleep. During all of this, the disciples can see Jesus is in extreme anguish and knows something very foreboding, serious is coming His way.
Finally, a crowd appears to take Jesus away. They drag him into the city and a trial will soon begin.
During all of this, Jesus suffers three betrayals:
1. Notably, Judas Iscariot.
2. The religious leaders and the system of the time.
3. HIs disciples.
Our central message this week, concerning betrayal is: "When you experience betrayal, and you will, trust God and choose better over bitter”.
Today’s verses can be found in Mark 14: 27 - 52
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Good morning. Welcome to the gathering of recreate church. It is so nice to see you here on this beautiful warm June Sunday I'm I'm so blessed to see y'all. I've got an announcement here that I got to make before I forget it I thought one of the ladies of the church would be a better fit to make this particular announcement But they told me that they feel confident. I can represent them well. I'm not so sure The heavenly handmade ladies craft group will be meeting again on Friday July 12th It was a good turnout last time and they made a lot of neat stuff. That was a lot of fun July 12th 6 30 p.m. Just remember there's not a charge for this event We do need you to sign up though Because we won't make sure and have enough of the the kits put together so everyone can Can be a part of it. You can sign up at the on the sheet at the guest services desk right there About the door or you can talk to Katie or Diane Diane's traveling this week, so You know, I asked if the men could come to the ladies craft night They said no That we would be a problem so our brother hutch stepped up and Said we can come to his house and have pizza and Play games play board games and all kinds of stuff. So that's gonna be at the same time, right? Right same time. So that's not too far from here It's like 10 minutes from here out out in my neck of the woods where we're kind of neighbors pretty close So the men can do that. I don't know if there needs to be a sign-up sheet for that too, but maybe there does need to be Overshoot and pool that's way more manly than board games sides. I don't want to play them I don't want to play monopoly with anybody and and lose them as a friend So You can't away. I play it No Monopoly look, there's two ways you want to lose a friend You could you're tired of someone being in your life You play monopoly with them or you play Mario Kart with them and that'll fix it right there You know anything about monopoly in Mario Kart so Got that done We've been working our way through the gospel of mark and it's really heating up here in the story It's coming towards the end. We're in the end of mark 14. We're gonna be covering a lot of territory today mark 14 27 through 52 Rather than read this to you verse by verse. I'm going to encourage you to do that as You're able and you can follow along. We'll have the verses on the screen, but I just want to tell it to you like a story I put the title up there someone asked me about the title said are you gonna turn this into a novel? The moonlit kiss of betrayal. That sounds like a romance novel. So thumbs down on that not gonna do that But it did get somebody's attention and hopefully you'll see what it means the moonlit kiss of betrayal So I'm gonna tell it like a story and I'm also gonna pull in some elements from the other three gospel writers that give us kind of flesh out the whole story here The the core idea is this. Here's the central idea of the whole message When you experience betrayal and you will Trust God and choose better over better So let's pray and then I'll tell you the story of the moonlit kiss of betrayal Heavenly Father in Jesus name we pray Asking that you will help us now to understand the principles of your word To know that Jesus knows what betrayal is like He he understands how we feel when someone we believe we could count on isn't there for us so Lord I pray that you will help us to understand from the story of Jesus and Be able to apply it to our lives and trust you in Jesus name. Amen All of you will fall away those somber words of Jesus silence the conversation in the dimly lit upper room as It is written by Zechariah the prophet. He says they will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered He lets those words swirl around the air filling the room like a fog but after I have risen I will go ahead of you into Galilee meet me there The disciples are stunned they they could not believe that Jesus would die and the idea of returning from the dead wasn't something They could wrap their minds around But they understood this much Jesus is saying they would all abandon him when things got tough So they shift around and and they're unsure how to answer the accusation They're looking at one another and Peter who's the boldest among them who's rarely at a loss for words He speaks up and he says master Even if everyone else runs away and who's he talking about? All these others in the room even if everyone else runs away. I Will not I will stay with you The others mumble under their breath looking sideways at Peter Jesus locks eyes with him Simon Peter. I tell you the truth Today even before sunrise you will fall away Before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times Peter's face goes red He's almost shouting now. No Lord. No, not even if I have to die with you I will not deny you the other disciples they jump in and they say no we will never disown you Lord never ever ever they insist Jesus size and sips his cup They finished the meal and leave the city. It's a full moon that night The full moon casts the trees and boulders in a silvery ghostly light the 12 friends make their way down into the Kidron Ravine it's 12 and not 13 because one of their number left halfway through dinner And they have not seen him since and they aren't sure where he has gone As they climb up the slope of the Mount of Olives on the other side of the Kidron Valley Jesus speaks of many things that Mark does not record what the other gospel writers do He speaks of his love for them and their love for one another of The coming of the Holy Spirit as the comforter and of the end of the world At the summit of the Mount of Olives he looks back on the city and contemplates it and then moves along At the Eastern foot of the Mount of Olives. They come to a lush grove of olive trees Gethsemane it is called which means the oil press There olives are squeezed and drained of their precious oil sit here and pray Jesus says to the disciples now when we hear sirens like that here on this corner We pray for our communities. We're gonna stop and pray right there heavenly Father We hear sirens and you know what that means. We're praying for the folks that are involved in and whatever emergency is going on We ask that you'll be with them that you'll protect them. We pray for the first responders Going to the scene and we pray that everything will turn out. Okay in Jesus name Amen Now back to the story sit here and pray He says to the disciples and as they were all settling in he taps Peter James and John and pulls them over to the side away from the rest And they're they're shocked when they see his face in the moonlight. It is Distorted and twisted as though he's in terrible pain and anguish My soul is overwhelmed To the point of death. He says Please stay with me And keep watch They've never seen him like this They have been with him as he is debated religious officials They've been with him as crowds attempted to attack him and and kill him They've been with him as he faced down storms and faced down demons and through all of that He was calm and strong What can it mean that now at this hour? He seems to be afraid Can he even be afraid? He walks a little distance and he collapses to the ground in a trembling heap and Peter is ready to jump up and and go and Minister to him, but John pulls him down and and says listen listen See Jesus isn't hurt. He's praying and His grief rings through the still night Abba father all things are possible for you Take this cup of suffering away from me Nevertheless, not my will be done But yours and he agonizes in prayer like that for an hour when he comes back. He finds the disciples sleeping Simon Peter Couldn't you watch with me for one hour watch and pray? lest you fall into temptation The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. He departs and prays the same tortured prayer Abba father All things are possible for you Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours It's well past midnight when he returns to find them again sleeping They're embarrassed and they have no answer He leaves them and prays for a third time. He's so distraught so full of anxiety that great drops of sweat fall from him as though they were drops of Blood and he prays the same way Abba father all things are possible for you Take this cup of suffering away from me, please Nevertheless Not my will be done But yours he rises and goes to them for a third time and for a third time They are sleeping You've slumbered long enough. He says The hour I warned you of his come behold the son of man is betrayed into the hands of wicked sinful men get up The betrayer is at hand at that moment points of orange light burst into view a line of flickering torches Is coming down the hill towards them the person leading the procession is familiar to all who are there But his eyes are strange this familiar face is now hollow and unblinking in his expression like a man Possessed he walks past the disciples Ignoring their questions about where he's gone for so many hours why he left dinner early and he leans in and he puts his cold lips on The kit on the cheek of Jesus Rabbi Rabbi he says and steps back Jesus Brown's and sorrow and understanding and his voice is strained. Oh, Judas Judas You betray the son of man with a kiss Men with blades and clubs surge forward grabbing Jesus Simon Peter reaches inside his cloak He's prepared for this with his heart pounding like a drum he draws a sword and lashes out His hands are skilled at throwing fishing nets But they do not know how to grip a weapon and he misses the head of the man He's seeking to attack but gets his ear the ear is sliced clean off and falls to the ground The wounded man collapses to his knees and cries out in pain They can see now he wears the insignia of the high priest's garden in the background the chief priests and scribes sneer at Jesus and call for his arrest Peter draws back for another swing when Jesus raises his hand enough Put your sword away He picks up the bloody ear from the dirt and holds it to the side of the head of the wailing man and when his hand comes away the ear stays The man brushes his restored ear with his fingertips staring in wonder and disbelief Jesus turns to the religious elites lurking in the shadows and Says am I a common criminal? To be rounded up in the night I Was with you every day in the temple teaching openly If you have just cause why not arrest me in the daylight But those scriptures regarding my betrayal must be fulfilled as The mob closes in around Jesus the disciples are overcome with fear They flee for their lives forgetting the prediction that Jesus had made only hours ago that this very thing would happen Even Peter drops his sword and runs The ruffians bind Jesus and drag him over the Mount of Olives towards the city the chief priests lead the procession Smuggly satisfied that they've captured the one who threatened their power As they work their way down the western slope of the Mount of Olives There's a crash and a cry from behind them The rear guard turns with swords drawn expecting to see the disciples coming back to defend Jesus to fight for him, but It's just a teenage kid It's a young man in a linen sleeping robe He must have been following them since their rest and tripped and fell They rush at this young man and they take hold of his robe, and he he wriggles free from his clothes and flees through the night Naked The soldiers laugh and stuff the robe into a pack no need to chase some kid through the dark They have the one who they came for They haul Jesus through the gates Into a private courtyard, and they're the high priest stands Arms crossed in triumph the trial of Jesus will soon begin And that's the story of the moonlit kiss of a trail Almost called it the triple moonlit kiss of betrayal, but that's not that's too much, right? That's kind of a heavy story until you get to the end partner some dude run and they get through the night You know if you were making up the Bible to fool people would you throw that in must be real? If we're just if we're just making this stuff up to try to control or persuade you would not throw naked guy in there I'm pretty sure hey, I do a lot of writing and I'm pretty sure if you go in the writing books They would probably say not not a quote. Okay. Don't throw in a random naked guy for no reason That would not be in any of the books but this this smacks of a real account And we'll see why mark included the random guy later could have called it the Triple betrayal because he was betrayed really three times all at once He was betrayed by judas ascariot We know that the man who pledged his life to follow in jesus a man who had stayed by jesus aside For through three and a half years of ups and downs struggles and victories who had seen miracles who had seen people come back from the dead He'd seen all of this and after everything they've been through Judas sold him out I wish it were not so But this will happen to you now and then you will get sold out now and then It probably won't be betrayal unto death But he might feel like it When those We thought cared about us turn on us it feels like a dagger to the heart Jesus was betrayed also by the religious leaders and the whole religious system He was the fulfillment of the prophecies. He was the long-awaited messiah He was a savior sent from god to his people more than anyone else The people who should have seen that truth were these religious leaders But they only viewed him as a threat to their power and prestige and their wealth because they were using their position For themselves and not for the people We know what it's like to feel betrayed by leaders To be promised freedom but to be given chains instead to have our hopes and dreams and frustrations Dangled before us with all sorts of promises about how things are going to get better And the promises aren't kept also the powerful and maintain their power We know what it's like to feel betrayed by a system that says if we put in the work it'll pay off But it's getting harder and harder to climb out of the hole We work our tails off for something better and every little bit we gang gets eaten up by inflation or drives up because of things that we can't control and those who make the decisions Don't have to deal with the consequences, but we do we know what it's like to feel betrayed by the system most painful of all Jesus was betrayed by his disciples Every single one of them said no lord will die with you rather than abandon you Did they believe that when they said it They did did they care about Jesus. Yes, they did But when it came down to it They ran Listen, this is a heavy one right here. Listen to this not everyone Who turns their back on you is evil Or doesn't love you a lot of them are just Scared Doesn't make it okay A lot of them are just scared. It's not that they don't care They're afraid afraid to speak up afraid to step up. They'll feel horrible about it later, but in the moment they're overwhelmed And the more difficult reality is sometimes that's us Yeah, ouch sometimes we're the ones who are too big a coward's to step up to speak up And we care we love people But in the moment we're so overwhelmed That we While we would never betray them outright we betray them by our silence It hurts when people don't support us because they're afraid It hurts when we realize we've done the same Don't hate people Don't hate people who out of fear weren't there for you Not saying it's right But Jesus did not hate the disciples. He loved every single one of them even though every one of them turned away He loved even Judas who betrayed him So when you've experienced a violation of trust you can begin to see betrayal everywhere it can make you cynical and bitter and mistrustful and miserable But is that what Jesus did? Is that how he responded to betrayal? No, he knew all this was coming. He knew it Yet he still chose to love he still chose to trust God He still chose to go through with the plan Jesus knew not only that he would be killed he knew All the specifics of his suffering he foresaw every lash every vicious insult every single drop of blood Jesus wasn't as fully God and fully human His in his divinity he knew all that was coming and was determined to face it But in his humanity he felt overwhelmed I don't think there's any other way To look at what the scriptures say about his experience in the garden of gethsemane crying out to god Asking is there some other way to do this sweating so profusely It's like blood dripping from him and not say that in that moment the human part of him felt overwhelmed So let me say this to you because some of you need to hear it Probably me too It is not a sin to feel overwhelmed It is not a sin to feel overwhelmed If the human side of jesus could even feel overwhelmed It's not a sin for us to feel overwhelmed. Jesus never sin I don't know if we can look at what jesus experienced and labeled it exactly as anxiety But it sure looks like anxiety not that he was afraid not that he stopped trusting for a moment But the human part of him knew what the suffer the suffering that was coming He was an agony and it can only be understood at least from our point of view as as he was suffering through the feeling of being overwhelmed He prayed to get out of the suffering He begged for some other way And yet he submitted to god the father see that's it It's not the feeling of being overwhelmed. That's a sin. It's the refusal to trust god with what is making this feel overwhelmed That's when it becomes a problem jesus wanted to be Set free from this pain But even more he wanted to fulfill his purpose He wanted the will of god more than he wanted to escape But being god does not mean things will be easy We're not promised a smooth road If you hear Some dude or lady with a microphone telling you that if you just trust god you'll never have any problems or anything else They're probably getting ready to pitch their book to you So you can read for yourselves how you don't have to have any problems and you will subsidize Their ability to not have any problems with your money It's working look the health and wealth preaching works really good For the people who are healthy and wealthy But for the most most part the rest of us who are just living our normal lives and trying not to think The promises are empty. Please Don't believe That you are never going to suffer or never going to struggle If you think that the normal quote normal should be No problems. No pain. No suffering. You're setting yourself up for disappointment You're promising yourself something that god did not promise God does not promise a trouble free life anyone who tells you so is trying to sell you something There are times when god will deliver us from our struggles and spares from the pain Sometimes he'll shield us from the fallout of betrayal. Sometimes people will betray you and you come out uninjured not always God promises to be with you and he promises he will guide you he promises He will take the worst things that happen to you and bring good out of them Romans 828, which is not in the in the slides. It says Romans 828 says for all things Work out to the good for those who love god who are called according to his purpose All things what about the bad things? All things All things it's it's unqualified all Not just the stuff that we enjoy not just the stuff that we can see how it's good Because I find myself saying that say okay, lord, especially when i'm doing plumbing or auto mechanic work. I'm like lord Hmm. I feel like you're speaking to me through this and I don't know what's going on I don't see why it is so necessary for everything to be so hard, but I want to trust you with it Thank you for tolerating my frustration right now lord Read the book of Psalms. You'll find out that king david was very often frustrated and he would start to some out saying lord I don't know why this is do you even care are you even paying attention and by the end of it is like, okay? I get it now. I know you're doing this. You're going to work it out. It's going to be okay I don't know where I know Psalms, but you know, I change breaks sometimes and we have those moments We know what it's like to feel betrayed Have you ever Had some really really good Restaurant leftovers like from down here at Rio And you've been thinking about them all day long And you think when I get home When I get home, I'm going to get those that's going to be my pre-dinner dinner My wife's shaking her head Hey, I got mirrors. I know i'm chunky. I know the pre-dinner dinner is a bad idea. I got it I have reflective surfaces in my home. I understand So I'm going to wait till I get home. That's going to be so good And then you open the refrigerator in great anticipation ready to pull out the styrofoam tray that as inside it This wondrous thing that you have saved for this moment and it is gone Some broodice some Benedict Arnold some Judas a scary it has eaten your chicken chimichongas Judas thou betrayest the son of man with a queso I wish that was the only betrayal we experienced I wish it was just like that and that's all it was Because most of the time it hurts a lot more doesn't it In small ways and big By friends and by family By loved ones by co-workers By leaders and systems You will experience betrayal Not because Not because you're being picked on necessarily Sometimes because we've trusted the wrong people that's probably true But most of the time It's the difficult experience of life that we didn't ask for And sometimes Hopefully not intentionally The person who does the betray Will be you With all the betrayal in the world, it's easy. It's easy to get better Jesus didn't get better Jesus trusted God with the betrayal and the suffering of God turned it into good and glory It was not God who put it into the heart of Judas a scary it to betray Jesus that was Satan The scriptures actually say that that Satan entered into Judas at that time That was the devil the devil's plan was the betrayal But God took what the devil meant for evil And turned it into the redemption of all mankind The lord jesus was going to give his life For you and for me so we could be set free and the devil Evidently was trying to stop the plan of jesus the plan of god and Became the facilitator of it Same god Same god We serve the same god There will be people who try to betray you, but god turns it to good Trust him with it refuse to be better. You won't have to choose betrayal It will happen, but you do choose what follows You will choose to be better or you will choose to be better trust god When you experience betrayal and choose better over bitter And he will make you stronger the wiser braver One last part of the story we haven't covered there's that guy right That guy the random guy Who lost his clothes? Who was the young man in the linen robe we run off into the night uh In exposed Most scholars think This was john mark the writer of the gospel of mark I'm not putting that detail in there if i'm mark personally Uh, that's not I don't I don't know, but I guess he was prompted to do so Here's a guy who's just trying to find out what's going to happen to Jesus and it has it leads to a pretty awful experience And it could have made him better But it became a part of his testimony the part of the the story of what god has done in his life That is true for you Even trying to follow god and trust god there will be times Where you will be betrayed or you'll have difficult experiences trust god with it. He will use it Part he will use it and he will bring good things Robin Let's go to the lord in prayer heavenly father in jesus name. Please help us when we experience betrayal to trust you Lord may it may it not make us bitter the world is full of bitter people and we don't we don't want to become another one We want to become better. Thank you lord for jesus Thank you that jesus came to earth As a perfect sinless human being not just human but god in human flesh And he gave his life for us that we might live and that we might have freedom from the things that bind us freedom even from the pain of betrayal God would give you the glory and ask that you will heal our hearts From the ways we've been betrayed And to heal our hearts from the ways we will be betrayed again God would give you the glory in jesus name amen amen So that's it. That's all I got. I'm so glad that you guys are here lord will and we'll be back again next week And we'll finally make it. I think we're going to make it to mark 15 finally It's taking a while taking a long long while but god bless you all. I hope you have a very blessed week And may the lord work in your hearts and heal you from the pain of betrayal. God bless [MUSIC PLAYING]
