Mark
14:48-52
Ash
Wednesday
February
25, 2009
Mark 14:48-52 (New
International Version)
48"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus,
"that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every
day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.
But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." 50Then everyone
deserted him and fled. |
“Father, forgive them,” Jesus prayed from the cross. While His words likely related to those who
were carrying out His death sentence that awful day, there was lots of
forgiveness needed in connection with that event, right down to our time. There was also lots of forgiveness won and
offered to us.
As we begin our Lenten journey tonight, we are in the
FORGIVE OUR FEARFUL LACK OF TRUST
That fearful
lack of trust is (I.) Shown in our desertion in distress. Jesus had warned of it. On the way to the Garden He quoted an Old
Testament prophecy and foretold its fulfillment. “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them,
“for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be
scattered.’” Other times He had rebuked
their lack of trust and had even questioned, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Remember their confidence?
Peter had declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not,” growing even
more definite as he “insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I
will never disown you.’ And all the
others said the same.” We say it,
too. At our confirmation we vow that we
will suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from our Lord. We love to sing, “Stand Up, Stand Up for
Jesus” and “Onward, Christian Soldiers”.
And we mean it, with all our heart.
We have the best of intentions. So
did the disciples.
Desertion happened in distress anyway. Their sure words changed to fear and
flight. The night had been a
downer. They gathered with Jesus to
celebrate the Passover, that high festival which commemorated God’s deliverance
of
Then came the armed mob with
Judas. Shock, maybe fear paralyzed the
men as Judas kissed Jesus and He was arrested.
Peter jumped to defend His Lord with a sword but the Savior scolded
him. So what should they do? Jesus did speak about the improper situation,
pointing out His past open teaching in the temple courts and their lack of
action then. He noted how inappropriate
it was that they came with such an army and all those weapons like He was a
person on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, some dangerous criminal. But He didn’t resist—they bound Him and took
Him away. The disciples were confused
and frightened. “Then everyone deserted
him and fled.”
Would they be next?
Maybe so.
One onlooker who lingered (many think it was Mark, the writer of this
Gospel) was seized by the enemies and fled without the linen covering he had
hastily grabbed. Anything was
possible. They better get away and be safe. You couldn’t
be sure of anyone or anything, not even the help of Jesus. They had thought He was the Promised
One. Here in a time of crisis, He did
nothing. That popped the balloon of their
trust and they ran away in fear.
How about us? Isn’t
courage easier to have when it’s not needed?
We can be sure and confident when we are surrounded by our fellow
believers and safe inside the church walls or as we pray in the comfort of our
home. What happens when we face the
world of sin and temptation? Our life
will not likely be on the line. We
abandon our Lord’s commands just because we might be laughed at or thought of
less highly or miss out on what seems like fun.
We are scared to stand up for Jesus and His ways because we don’t want a
relative turning on us if we point out their sinful lifestyle. We complain about the number of inactive
members in our congregation but do we ever talk to that one down the street who
doesn’t attend?
Isn’t it the same story as the disciples? Our lack of trust leads to fear and
falling. We don’t think Jesus is leading
us to places that are safe and good. We
fear He’s taken a wrong turn instead of trusting our Good Shepherd. The way ahead looks dark, not pleasant. It’s not a place we want to be. It appears Jesus doesn’t know what He is
doing. So we run, driven by fears that
scarcely merit a shiver. Our trust
melts, our heart pounds, our knees shake, our tongue sticks to the roof of our
mouth and gone is our resolve to be obedient followers of the Savior. We desert Him in distress. We have reason to pray, “Forgive our fearful
lack of trust.”
II.
The amazing thing is, He
does. As we pray, “Forgive our fearful
lack of trust,” it is (II.) Overcome by the power of your forgiveness. Christ won that forgiveness on the
cross. That’s what this whole Lenten
season and the events that started in
He assures us repeatedly in His Word. “The blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from
all sin.” “He is the atoning sacrifice
for our sins.” “God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” And the familiar, “God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son.” His
sacraments bring the same message. In
baptism God said, “You are my child, washed clean of your sins.” In the Lord’s
Supper our Savior declares to us, “This is my body which was given into death
for you; this is my blood which was poured out for the forgiveness of all your
sins.” That’s the wonderful news we need
and want to hear again and again because we keep slipping and sinning
daily. What can we say but “Thank you”
and seek to serve and follow Jesus?
God’s Word encourages and guides us in doing so. There is wisdom in the commandments God set
down. Our Creator knows the best paths
to lead us on. He has told us. We follow with faith and confidence. We have nothing to fear as nothing can
separate us from His love. The Bible has examples that show how God fulfilled His
promises. Faith that looks to Him for
guidance is never a mistake. Think of
Moses and the Israelites at the
We are emboldened by His promises. The Bible assures us, “The one who trusts in
him will never be put to shame.” There
is nothing greater than our Lord. That’s
why Jesus could promise, “Take heart! I
have overcome the world.” He will never
leave us or forsake us. We are more than
conquerors through Him.
We live with confidence, but we are not self-confident or
overconfident. We live in a difficult and challenging world. Fears arise.
Looking to the right source increases our faith and decreases our
fears. Remember how He made you His own
in baptism and says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by
name; you are mine.” When your path
seems confusing and uncertain, come to His table. As you eat the bread and drink the wine,
remember the road Jesus traveled alone to purchase forgiveness for you with His
body and blood that He gives you in the sacrament. Pray for guidance and for increased trust as
you receive His Word. The Lord does not
promise a trouble-free life. As a hymn
puts it, “I walk in danger all the way.”
In fact, our Savior predicted added troubles as we are faithful to
Him. His wisdom mapped the route of our
salvation through a path filled with pain and fear. Jesus walked it and won’t lead us through
anything He hasn’t already conquered.
Follow where He leads. Never
think you know better where to go but rely on the Savior to guide and guard
you. The disciples later followed the
Savior again, many of them to death, serving the Lord they once abandoned in
fear and doubt.
We have often followed the bad examples. Now that we have received Christ’s
forgiveness we are strengthened to follow the good examples. Pray for His strength. We will not end with eloquent promises of
lifelong faithfulness. Pride preceded
the events in the