When We Abandon Jesus - Mark 14:42-52

When We Abandon Jesus - Mark 14:42-52
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 13, 2011 AM

It was a warm spring day and my parents had met some friends as we walked downtown. My father had picked me up and sat me on the hood of a car parked nearby. As they stood around talking, I fell fast asleep. I remember waking up and realizing that I was all alone. My parents and siblings were nowhere to be seen. I did the natural thing any four-year-old would do, I began to cry. A policeman was nearby and came over just as my father came running around the corner. They had thought I was still with them, forgetting that they had placed me on the hood of the car to keep me safe. Being abandoned as a preschooler is a frightening thing.

Can you imagine being abandoned by your closest friends during a time of your greatest trial? Here, in Mark’s gospel Jesus finds himself in just such a situation. He is abandoned by his disciples. Let’s take a look at what occurs so that we can learn what happens when we abandon Jesus…

READ: Mark 14:42-52

The term, “fair-weather friends” means that our friendship lasts only as long as there are no storm clouds in our lives. We find the very same thing occurring in our relationship with Jesus. In fact, we find that his own disciples abandon him when he needed them most. We abandon Jesus when…

I. We kiss him on Sunday, but betray him on Monday! (Vv. 42-46)

1. “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39 NIV) We can kiss Jesus on one cheek and slap him on the other! Betrayal takes many forms: A whispered word, a bribe, turned confidence, or even a kiss. Can you imagine giving a kiss to someone and using it to pinpoint the one you want to betray? Judas does. We wonder why because many of the Jewish leadership had seen Jesus and they had sent others to debate and spy on him. There were many who knew him by sight. Yet we find that the prearranged signal would be Judas’ kiss. A kiss was used to signify difference to a leader or, in this case, a rabbi teacher whom one respected. Judas uses a kiss to try and force the hand of Jesus but to also betray him into the hands of Jesus’ enemies. “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Recently, there was a TV program that related they thought Judas has received unfair treatment by New Testament authors. They believe that Judas was in reality just trying to fight for the freedom of his people. It is an old excuse for Judas’ actions. The program completely neglected the words of Jesus himself, historical facts recorded in all the gospel narratives and some of the epistles. Judas may not have wanted the death of Jesus, but Judas was blinded by what he wanted from Jesus. We find that “Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him.” And here is a truth we should not ignore: We do the very same thing when we “kiss” Jesus on one cheek and yet strike him on another. Jesus told his disciples to “turn the other cheek” when they were wronged, but here he is kissed by his betrayer on the cheek he turns to him. We are so willing to kiss Jesus and say we ‘believe” in him and yet we are so quick to betray him with our attitudes and actions. We desire Jesus to be what we want him to be just as Judas did. We kiss him with songs of praise yet our hearts are far from him. We make noises of following him wherever he leads but when we are led to share our faith, give, or serve – we simply turn away. Like Judas the betrayer, we would rather have a Jesus genie in a bottle than a Savior who desires all of us. We abandon Jesus when we kiss him on Sunday, but betray him on Monday.

EXAMPLE: National Geographic in a display of deliberate animosity toward Christianity did a bias program concerning the Gnostic gospel of Judas. They incorrectly translated it as referring to Judas as a self-sacrificing hero, the real disciple Jesus loved, and was betrayed by the jealous disciples. Yet, when major Greek translators, biblical scholars, and other academics got a closer look at the rediscovered manuscript it became evident that this is not what it said at all. National Geographic was showing their bigotry. Why would a major organization do such a thing? I believe it was another misguided attempt to chip away at Christianity’s integrity. Sadly, National Geographic and other biased organizations do not have to chip away at Christianity’s integrity; Christians do that all by themselves! Every time Christians treat one another just as the world treats its own, we betray Jesus. Every time we live for the world instead of for the Lord, we betray Jesus. We abandon Jesus when we kiss him on Sunday, but betray him on Monday!

The Bible warns us to, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:12 NIV) It teaches us to be aware of what Scripture teaches. We abandon Jesus when…

II. We live by the wrong kind of sword! (Vv. 47-49)

1. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV) A real revolution begins in the human heart! There are people in our day who say Jesus was a revolutionary in the strictest sense of the word. He was not. This is nothing new. We discover his own disciples may have thought he was as well, hence we find Peter, who was the brash person “standing near” who “drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.” Peter brandished a weapon to take up arms in Jesus' rebellion. Jesus rebukes Peter by telling him, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52 NIV) Curiously, Jesus earlier teaches about himself, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34 NIV) Jesus did not mean it as a form of armed revolution. If one reads the verse in context, you discover very quickly Jesus meant that he came to bring the sword of truth, the gospel message, which would turn family members against one another and such. (Matthew 10:32-38) We see him bluntly asking his captors, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?” Of course he was not leading any such thing. He tells them, “Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.” Yet, there are still those who desire Jesus to be a revolutionary to bring freedom for the oppressed masses, but Jesus did not come for that purpose. He came to seek and save the lost. He did so by dying on a cross as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Those who long for social justice through Jesus are mistaken. They love to quote him saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,” but leave out the final part that is so important: “to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV) The sword Jesus brought was the gospel of peace. Now, dear child of God let me ask you: "Do you live by the sword?" The sword Jesus wants his followers to wield has always been the gospel. We abandon Jesus when we live by the wrong kind of sword!

EXAMPLE: There is just one problem with the scenario of Jesus being a bandolier-wielding guerilla camouflaged revolutionary -- he did not advocate living or dying by use of force or terrorism. No one can be forced in to believing in Jesus and Jesus will not force himself on anyone who does not want to believe in him. Oh sure Jesus can and will open the eyes of those who are in sin through the power of the Holy Spirit, but he does not pry open your eyes, duck tape them, and then drag you down the aisle kicking and screaming to accept him. Jesus stood before Pilate and told him, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36 NIV) Jesus went around telling folks about the kingdom of God and how to enter into it. Jesus was not leading a political social economic rebellion; rather his army was to be about leading people to faith in him. We abandon Jesus when we live by the wrong kind of sword!

God promised his people that, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV) What a wonderful truth and promise from God! We may abandon Jesus, however, when…

III. We flee, Jesus always remains! (Vv. 50-52)

1. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b) Jesus was never alone! I believe this is why he remains unshakable. While “everyone deserted him and fled,” again, we hear Jesus calmly asking his captors, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?” Jesus faces his armed opponents completely unarmed. The only weapon he has is his Heavenly Father, who was right there with him. They come to arrest him by the cover of darkness, while “every day” Jesus had been right there out in the open, “teaching in the temple courts.” However, Jesus knew why this was happening: “the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Jesus’ chosen compatriots fled into the darkness. They were fishermen, a tax collector and one zealot, and were ill prepared to thwart a cadre of armed guards. I read once that perhaps this is the way God protected the early church. That if they had stayed, the church would have been captured and killed along with its founder. Some say this is why Jesus had Peter put away his sword. Rather, I think it follows human nature. None of the disciples were yet saved by faith. The sacrificial act had not yet occurred. We would like to think, as Peter proudly proclaimed, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” Yet, we are more like Peter in action rather than in word. We would do well to listen for the sound of a rooster crowing in the background. While the Light of the world is led away, the disciples flee into the darkness. And this is where many of us find ourselves – fleeing Jesus when confronted by the world. We throw off our white linen robes and run “naked” to the darkness rather than stay with the Light. The wonderful truth is that Jesus knew they would run just as he knows we will. However, this is why his grace is sufficient for us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV) When we flee, Jesus remains. Isn’t that great? He remained so that “the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” When we flee, Jesus always remains!

EXAMPLE: There is an old joke I first heard when I was in grade school, so this should tell you how old it is, about the Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto. They are slowly creeping over a ridge, looking for a band of Indians in order to warn the US 7th Cavalry. They discover that the Indians have caught up to the troops and are engaging them in a fierce battle at the Little Big Horn. The Lone Ranger turns to Tonto and says, “We have to get down there and help!” Tonto looks blandly back at the Lone Ranger and says, “What do you mean ‘we’ white man?” Yes, I know it is kind of corny but it depicts quite well what happens when you think you have help but are all of a sudden left alone, facing insurmountable odds. Jesus would understand completely. Yet, in his last moments we discover a wonderful truth: We may abandon Jesus, however, when we flee, Jesus always remains!

Conclusion:

We abandon Jesus when we kiss him on Sunday, but betray him on Monday. We abandon Jesus when we live by the wrong kind of sword! We may abandon Jesus, however, when we flee, Jesus always remains!
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Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

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