Mark 14:26-28
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."
This is the day that the Lord has made. Jesus and the rest sang these words from the psalms. Jesus was singing about himself. And he's proclaiming the promises of himself. And then he lets all the air out of that moment by telling them ALL that they will fall away from him.
Peter vehemently denied this. In fact, he argued with Jesus about it. And I bet he wasn't lying. I think he was very sincere. He just failed miserably when the flesh was pushed to its limits. He failed Jesus when he lost his sight of the promises they had just sang about. Just like when he sank beneath the waves when he took his eyes off of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.
So, I believe him when he said...
"Even though they all fall away, I will not." (v.29)
And he wasn't alone in this emphatic statement.
"If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. (v.31)
So, here we are on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. The name of that place is derived from the Aramaic, and it means "oil press". This is where they press out the olive oil. And interestingly this is where our Lord is pressed by his circumstances to the point of sweating blood.
This was a truly vulnerable moment for Jesus. Among one of his most human moments that we are given in the gospels. In this garden our Lord surrendered his life for the grace of God. Everything alive in him was surrendered in his prayers and in his body. He struggled with that surrender while his friends were sleeping. He begged them to stay awake with him. Three times he begged them. And finally, he watched them sleep.
And I think that's our reality today. Our Lord is watching us sleep through our faith. Asleep in our prayer times. Ready to run and fall away from him as soon as things get tough. And he's probably praying for us. He who is alive that was dead, he prays for us. He's there drawing us to himself. Calling our names in a whisper on the wind.
I can see him there after three times trying to wake them. Just settling down and watching over them as his betrayer is coming up the mountain with the temple authorities. He's listening to the night sounds. He's listening as they breathe in sleepy breaths in troubled dreams. And he's listening to the footfall of the coming soldiers who are awake and ready to do what God has given them to do. They don't know what they're doing, Jesus says as much later on, but rest assured they are doing The Lord’s will by grace alone.
How long did Jesus watch them?
We don't know, we only know he was agonizing with them, and he was feeling so alone.
Think about this.
This is grace alone, literally. Jesus is alone. The source of all grace is alone. Grace is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Grace is about to be revealed to his captors by a kiss.
Mark 14:45-46
"And when he [Judas] came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him."
I want you to notice something. Judas called him Rabbi, which means teacher. Judas is never recorded in the gospels as having called Jesus "Lord". To me that says it all. It reveals to me that Judas never held Jesus in that regard. And it's an important distinction. For we know the Word of God is Jesus. And the source of all grace is Jesus. And we know that he is Lord of Lords. And know that he is a teacher as well. And we know he taught...
Matthew 16:24
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
Matthew 10:32
"So, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven"
And we know the disciples later understood that...
Romans 10:9
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Judas never expressed this sentiment or conviction. He betrayed him with a passionate kiss. It's strange really. But Judas was strange in many ways. A very troubled person. And at any rate he also did not know what he was doing. This whole matter is a matter of grace alone.
Jesus says as much...
Mark 14:49-50
"Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they [the disciples] all left him and fled.
Grace was betrayed and denied, and it had to be this way because the scriptures must be fulfilled. The prophecies must come to pass.
And then something really strange happens here in Mark's gospel.
Mark 14:51-52
"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."
Scholars believe that this is Mark's personal account as he was likely about twelve years old at this point and was a follower of Jesus along with the others in "the crowds".
Mark 14:54
"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."
As Peter warms himself and denies his Lord before the people that were also there, Jesus is condemned to death by a corrupt religious regime. Many people were brought in and bore false witness against him. And Mark makes a point of saying that these false testimonies didn't agree with each other, but that didn't seem to matter in the High Court's decision.
Jesus is taken away and beaten horribly, again according to the scriptures.
Isaiah 52:14
"His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness"
And Peter, staying far off, is warming himself at the fire of Christ's enemies.
Mark 14:67-69
"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."
Grace was terribly alone. Left alone by his friends. And it's as it should be. Because grace alone is the source of all forgiveness and mercy. Grace alone is worthy of praise and glory. Grace alone needs no friends to do the will of God. And Grace alone owes no explanation or apology for His wrath and judgment.
Grace alone is the work of Jesus Christ alone. Our standing in his righteousness is by his grace alone. And this is not limited to the forgiveness of our sins and our justification. This spans all of our sanctification as well. There are no works of our flesh that have anything to do with this grace, other than being a byproduct of that grace. It's a product of his predetermined love.
Ephesians 1:4
"Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love..."
Not according to the will of our flesh which is weak as Jesus says. This grace is from God. It's his mercy. His choice is not contingent upon our ability to make things right. Thank God for that because no one would ever be saved. Grace alone gives us faith. Grace alone sends his Spirit to bring us into remembrance. Grace alone died on his cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And Grace alone sits in authority over the living and the dead.
Just like that night in the Garden he sits in authority and watches over his friends.