Grace Means

1 Peter 1:1-2

This short book is a letter written by the Apostle Peter to the Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor. I want to start by giving some of Peter’s personal history. When I began to do this, I liked what Jamieson-Fausset-Brown had already done. So, I want to clarify that I am indebted to their commentary for the outline of Peter’s life.

Peter’s given name was Simon. The name Peter was a nickname given to Him by Jesus, and we will cover the meaning of that name as we go. 

Peter was born and raised in a town called Bethsaida on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. His father’s name was “Jonas,” “Jonah,” or “John.” Jonas was a fisherman, and Peter and his brother Andrew helped their father in the family fishing business. The business seems to have been in Capernaum.

Peter was married and lived in Capernaum. Tradition says that his wife’s name was “Concordia” or “Perpetua.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that Peter’s wife’s mother, his mother-in-law, was healed of a fever by Jesus when Jesus and His disciples went to Peter’s house.

Peter met Jesus because of his brother Andrew. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and started following Jesus when John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. (John 1:35) Andrew went and brought Peter to Jesus, saying, “We have found the Messiah!” (John 1:41) When Jesus looked at Peter, He said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas.” Peter is the English version of the Greek for “Cephas,” which was the Aramaic. Once again, Cephas is the Aramaic word for Peter. Both words mean “stone.” 

For many centuries, a misunderstanding of this name that Jesus gave Peter has plagued the Church. This misunderstanding divides the Church between Catholic and Protestant. The misconception is this. “Petros,” the name given to Peter, means stone, a stone that you can throw or use in a slingshot. In Matthew 16, when Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, 

Matthew 16:17–18 (NKJV) ¹⁷Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

The misunderstanding occurs in what Jesus said to Peter. When Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my Church,” He used a different word than Peter’s name. He said, “You are ‘Petros,’ and upon this ‘petra,’ I will build my Church. “Petros” is a small stone, but “petra” is a huge boulder or cliff. The massive boulder that the Church is built on is the thing that was revealed to Peter, i.e., the confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. Nobody builds anything on a small stone.

Peter was a remarkable man. He made his confession of Christ and was the only one who got out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. However, Peter was overconfident in His own commitment to Jesus, showing this when He said, “Even though all the rest should desert You, I never will.” He drew his sword in the garden and was ready to fight. But, in the face of a servant girl, he denied he knew Jesus. Peter showed a tendency to worry about what others thought of Him so that in Galatians, Paul mentions Peter acting like a hypocrite and separating himself from the Gentiles for the sake of visiting Jews. (Galatians 2:11-14)

Whatever his faults, Peter was a solid and courageous leader. The power of the Holy Spirit transformed him, and God used him in the establishing of the Church. 

His love and zeal for the Lord showed itself in a willingness to suffer for the Lord. (Acts 5:40) When he was arrested for preaching the gospel, he expressed his readiness to suffer if necessary. King Herod Agrippa had him arrested. The king planned on executing Peter, but an angel came and led Peter out of jail. (Acts 12)

Although Paul is called the Apostle to the Gentiles, Peter was the first to preach the gospel to the pagan world when he was sent to the house of the Roman centurion, Cornelius.  (Acts 10)

As prominent as Peter was, he never claimed to be the chief of the Apostles. In Acts 15, when the Church leaders met in Jerusalem to determine the issue of Gentile circumcision, James was the president of the council, not Peter. Jesus had an inner circle made up of Peter, James, and John. Paul recognizes these three as pillars of the Church, and having been closest to the Lord; these three were a foundation from which the Church grew. 

In 1 Peter 5:12-13, Peter gives greetings from “Babylon” and names some companions, all of which tell us that he was in Rome when he wrote the letter. And, tradition has it that Peter died in Rome under the persecution of Christians carried out under Nero.

Because Peter denied Him on the night He was betrayed, Jesus restored Peter when He met with the disciples after the resurrection. This was why Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15-19)

The Peter we meet in the gospels is a man like us. He was a working man and had strengths and weaknesses, failures and successes. Because of this, his letter to the Church is practical and helpful. Grace is the core of Peter’s letter. He explains how grace affects our lives and what it means to us as Christians. Peter’s life is an example of what grace does, and because of this, he is the right person to tell us what grace means. He is eminently qualified to tell us about grace because he experienced it in full measure in his life.

In his opening, the NKJV translates Peter as saying he is writing to the “pilgrims of the Dispersion.” I prefer the interpretation given to his words by the Amplified Bible.

1 Peter 1:1 (AMP) Peter, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ, to those [elect—both Jewish and Gentile believers] who live as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia [Minor], and Bithynia, who are chosen…

Peter uses two identifiers to describe us Christians: 1) sojourners or pilgrims and 2) chosen or elect

Sojourners means travelers or temporary residents, and elect designates us as the chosen people of God.

Many, and at one time I, have taught that Peter wrote to the Jewish Dispersion. However, several passages in the letter make it clear that he is writing to all believers. For example, in 1 Peter 2:10, he says:

1 Peter 2:10 (NKJV) who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Saying that we were once not a people echoes Paul’s words:

Ephesians 2:12 (NKJV) that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

The New Testament calls Christians by several names, i.e., saints, believers, disciples, and elect (chosen).  In 1 Peter, believers are called chosen in the introduction and in chapter 2 verse 9.

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Jesus said:

John 3:16 (NKJV)  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Eternal life comes by believing in the One and only Son of God, and attached to eternal life are many blessings. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

One of the blessings we enjoy is our election or being chosen. The blessings of being God’s chosen people are more than we can tell or count. So, we will limit ourselves to just a couple that Peter points out in 1 Peter 1:2.

1 Peter 1:2 (ESV) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

We are talking about the blessings of being God’s chosen people, blessings that accompany the eternal life that is ours by believing in Jesus. However, we cannot ignore that Peter tells us that we are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. The word “according” is a translation of the Greek word “kata.” The root meaning of the word “kata” is “down from.” God’s choice comes down from His foreknowledge.

Think about this. Did God get it wrong when He chose David to be king of Israel? After all, David was an adulterer and a murderer. Did God make a mistake when He chose Peter? After all, three times Peter denied he knew Jesus.

No, God was not wrong, and He knew all these things would happen. This is what grace means. Grace means giving us kindness and blessings that we do not deserve. God loves us despite our failures.

Peter says that in addition to the foreknowledge of God, the Holy Spirit is sanctifying us. Sanctifying means that He is conforming us to the image of Jesus. (Romans 8:29) He is setting us apart for Himself. God’s choice does not depend on our goodness, and if it did, no one would be saved.

Peter says we are chosen for two blessings: 1) obedience to Christ and 2) sprinkling with His blood.

The first blessing is obedience. Until we learn obedience to Christ, we are slaves to sin. We Americans think we are free, but we are one of the most enslaved generations ever. We are working ourselves to death, addicted, and overrun with vices of every kind. Even many in the Church are slaves of sin. This week I read of yet another very famous Christian leader who was enslaved to sexual sin. If our leaders are so sick, how can we sheep be healthy? The only way to be free is to be obedient to Jesus. We are all familiar with the phrase, “the Truth will set you free,” but here is the whole of what Jesus said:

John 8:31–32 (NKJV) ³¹Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Abiding in His words is the condition set for knowing the truth. Abiding means obedience. We were chosen for obedience so that we can be free. Obedience is the way of blessing. The obedience that brings blessing is obedience to Jesus Christ, not to men or the principles of men.

However, we all were slaves to sin before we met Jesus. This is why Peter says we were chosen “for sprinkling with His blood.” Without the shedding of Jesus' blood, there would be no forgiveness of sin. But since Jesus died on the cross, we know that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). We all need this cleansing. We all need to be sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Peter experienced both the blessings of obedience to Christ and of sprinkling with His blood and could speak firsthand of this grace. He ends his greeting with the words:

1 Peter 1:2 (ESV) May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

The letter that follows these words is about God's grace, how it is multiplied to us and what that means in practical terms.

Ascended to Heaven

Mark 16:19-20

Mark 16:19 starts out with the words “So then.” Some translations say “Then” or “Therefore.” The term used in Greek is “men,” which is an untranslatable particle. In other words, it is a part of speech that the Greeks used that we do not have a word for. The significance of this word is that it indicates that two things are going to be contrasted. Usually, it is accompanied by the word “de,” which is often translated “and” or “but.” In Mark 16, verse 19 begins with “men,” and verse 20 begins with “de.” This means that these two verses are intended to be contrasted with each other.

Verse 19 tells us what Jesus did (and is doing) after the resurrection. Verse 20 tells us what His disciples did (and are doing) after the resurrection. These two verses define the Church age, which started on that day and continues to this.

First, verse 19 tells us what Jesus did after the resurrection.

Mark 16:19 says, “After the Lord had spoken to them.” The Lord Jesus gave them instructions following His resurrection. 

First, He taught them about faith.

Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and she went and told those who had been with Him. They were mourning and weeping because of His death. They did not believe her. After all, they had watched Him die.

Next, He appeared to two of them as they walked through the countryside. They returned to Jerusalem and told the others. However, the others would not believe. Finally, He appeared to the eleven. At this point, He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. John gives us some insight into this unbelief when He tells the story of Thomas.

John 20:27–29 (NKJV) ²⁷Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

²⁸And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The eleven saw Jesus die and would not believe until they saw the resurrected Lord. Thomas heard the testimony as more eyewitnesses spoke, but he was no different than the rest. Even when they saw Him, Jesus needed to demonstrate to them He was not a ghost by eating in their presence and by letting them touch Him. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus expressed frustration with their unbelief when He said:

Mark 9:19 (NKJV) O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?

We all believe based on the testimony of eyewitnesses. Around 500 people saw the Lord Jesus after the resurrection. Since that time, the world relies on the testimony of those eyewitnesses. As Hebrews tells us, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Before and after the resurrection, Jesus taught faith.

The next thing Jesus spoke about after the resurrection was what we are to be doing. 

He did not leave instructions for buildings. This was a change from the Old Testament when God gave detailed instructions on how and what to build. He did not leave instructions for religious practice. This also was a change from the Old Testament, where God gave detailed instructions on how He was to be approached.

After the resurrection, Jesus told the disciples, in several locations and different ways:

Mark 16:15 (NKJV) Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

He made it abundantly clear that this is what He wants.

Having spoken concerning these things, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

That is where He is today. He will return. The angels announced it, and Jesus promised it. Although we disagree on the details, every Christian denomination teaches that Jesus will return. This is essential to our faith, so much so that if a sect or group does not believe that Jesus will return, we do not call them Christian.

While He is seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus is interceding for us. Romans 8:34 tells us:

Romans 8:34 (NKJV) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Jesus prays for us. He pleads our case before God. He is uniquely qualified to do this in that He has been tempted in all ways that we are. He is the only one who can do this, as 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us.

1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV) For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

Mark 16:19 tells us that having spoken to His disciples, Jesus ascended into heaven. This is set in contrast to His disciples who remained on the earth. They watched Him leave, and then Mark 16:20 tells us:

Mark 16:20 (NKJV) And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

They went out and preached everywhere. 

Most scholars agree that Mark wrote his gospel in Roman under Peter’s direction somewhere around 65 A.D. By that time, 35 years after the resurrection, the gospel was being preached all over the Roman empire, in Africa and (if tradition is correct) in Asia. 

The spread of the gospel followed the pattern Jesus gave in Acts 1:8.

Acts 1:8 (NKJV) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

The gospel started in Jerusalem with the resurrection and then quickly spread throughout Judea and Samaria. By the time Mark wrote, it had spread to the end of the earth as far as Mark knew.

However, the gospel did not spread by human ingenuity or cleverness. Mark 16:20 tells us that the Lord worked with them.

We can refer back to Acts 1:8 again as we consider the words of Jesus to His disciples. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

The Holy Spirit empowers the Christian for holy living and for witness. The Holy Spirit works within us to form Christ in us. Here is the tricky part. We can grieve the Spirit by not yielding to Him. Many of us choose this path, as can be seen in the disfunction and sin within the Church. But God has promised that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

In the book of Genesis, we read about the people of the earth soon after the flood. Everybody on the planet was descended from Noah, and they all spoke the same language. So they got together and decided that they would build a tower to keep themselves from being scattered over the entire earth. At that point, God came down and divided them up by giving them different languages. The critical point here was that God had commanded them to spread throughout the whole earth.

Jesus gave His disciples the command to go to the far corners of the world. But they all liked Jerusalem, spoke the same language, and grew up in the same culture. They naturally stayed in Jerusalem. Therefore, God spread them by letting persecution drive them from Jerusalem.

God working with them did not always mean smooth sailing. James must have learned this lesson well because he wrote:

James 1:2 (NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

There is a saying that goes:

What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Except for bears...bears will kill you!

Pardon my levity, but Jesus told us that in this world, we will suffer. Suffering does not mean that God is not working with us. If God had not allowed persecution in Jerusalem, the infant Church might have died right there in the cradle.

The book of Acts tells the incredible story of God’s working through the Apostles to establish the Church. The account starts in Jerusalem and recounts events up to the founding of the Church in Rome. However, the book does not end. The last two verses of the book of Acts say:

Acts 28:30–31 (NKJV) ³⁰Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, ³¹preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Some may consider this the end, but the story continues to this day. 

Have you heard of Hudson Taylor, the English man who took the gospel to China? Have you read the account of Jim Elliot and the men who gave their lives to get the gospel to the Huaorani people of Ecuador?

What about the story of Tom and Marcy Dorsch, who spent many years telling people in Africa about the Lord Jesus?

What about Kirk and Becca Tjaden’s story, who are working to spread the gospel in Africa, or Johnny and Sarah Reeves, who are working to help get the gospel to the people of Papua New Guinea?

The story of Acts will continue until Jesus comes.

Mark 16:20 mentions the accompanying signs.

Some of the signs are listed in Mark 16:17-18. These signs include casting out demons, speaking in new languages, and taking up serpents. We know the account of the snake that bit Paul, but we are not aware of how many have been preserved as they’ve served the Lord in the wilds. We know a number that have spoken new languages, including Kirk and Becca, Johnny and Sarah, Tom & Marcy, and Joe and Jeretta.

Many signs accompany the work of the Lord.

When Jeretta and I were raising support to go to the mission field, we were still considerably short as the time for our departure drew near. We had no idea where the funds would come from. Then we received a call from our home church. The board had decided to give toward our ministry in Japan. If you want to know how much, it was enough. We bought our tickets and started packing. 

Jesus is alive. He ascended to heaven. In contrast to this, we are on earth. But He has not deserted us. He is active. He works with us and confirms the work in many ways. 

His instructions have not changed. We are to preach the gospel to every creature. And we are to believe. The one rebuke that He had for His disciples was because they would not believe He was alive. The one judgment He has against the world is their unbelief. John 3 explains it like this:

John 3:18–19 (NKJV) ¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Make sure that you are numbered among those who believe!

Trembling and Bewildered

 Read Mark 16:10

Mark 16:2 says:

Mark 16:2 (NLT) Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb.

To get to the tomb before sunrise, Mary, Mary, and Salome left their houses while it was still dark. The time of year was Passover. Since the Jewish calendar is a Lunar calendar, Passover always occurs on a full moon. If we assume it was a cloudless night, the moon would have lit the way for them. 

The women had two burdens. They carried a load of spices. Mark does not tell us how heavy their load was, only that they were carrying them. The second burden was an emotional one. They were loaded down with grief and sorrow.

Most of us are familiar with these two burdens. 

These three women were brave. They were facing their grief and loss and were doing what they could. However, they knew they faced an obstacle in the form of a large rock. Their plan was to ask someone to move the stone because they knew they could not. They were discussing this problem on the way because they did not have anyone to ask.

How often do we find ourselves not knowing who to ask for help? The challenge many of us face is that we do not know we need help. For example, if you look at pornography, you need help. Forgive me for bringing up such an awful topic on Easter Sunday morning, but this is the kind of darkness that Jesus died to overcome.

And, overcome it He did! The ladies arrived at the tomb and found the stone already rolled away. They entered the tomb and saw a young man sitting on the right side wearing a long white robe. Mark 16:8 says:

Mark 16:8 (NLT) The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

Our language does not capture how shocked these women were. They were so bewildered and shocked that they physically trembled. They fled from the tomb. They were running, trying to escape what they had seen.

If you read the rest of Mark 16, you will find that all Jesus’ followers did not believe at first. You will also notice that the ladies did not obey the angel’s instructions. He said, “Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

Seeing the empty tomb and hearing the angel was not enough, but consider verse 9.

Mark 16:9 (NLT) After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

When Mary saw Jesus, then she believed and did as instructed, going and telling the others. The same was true of all the disciples. An encounter with the risen Lord transformed them.

This sunrise service is not about watching the sunrise. This sunrise service is about an encounter with the risen Lord. We are here to take our eyes off of our sorrows. We are here to stop discussing the obstacles. We are here to remember an empty tomb and encounter our risen Lord. For indeed, He is risen from the dead, and He lives with us today.

The King of the Jews (Good Friday)

Mark 15:26-34

The final week of Jesus’ ministry among us came to a close with his arrest and trial.

While Jesus prayed, His closest friends fell asleep. He confronted them with these words:

Mark 14:41–42 (NKJV) ⁴¹Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.

As He was still speaking, Judas approached with an armed crowd and made sure they found Jesus. His signal was the one he kissed.

Why a kiss?

Judas does not tell us, but Jeremiah 17:9 says:

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 

The examination and trial that followed continued to demonstrate the truth of this Scripture. However, an underlying truth also comes to light. Jeremiah 17:10 says:

Jeremiah 17:10 (NKJV) I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

Earlier in the night, Jesus said that one of those at the Passover meal with Him would betray Him, and then He said it would have better for that person if he had never been born. This is true of many of the people who participated in the trial that night.

After a night-time examination of Jesus at the High Priest’s house, All the Chief Priests and counsel members gathered for consultation early in the morning. Then they took Him to the Roman governor to ask for the death penalty. Pilate listened to the accusations against Jesus and found that He had done nothing worthy of death. But at the insistence of the Jews, he sent Jesus to be crucified. The crowd who had witnessed the miracles of Jesus also were shouting, “Crucify Him!” The soldiers mocked and made sport of the process of execution.

It would have been better for these people if they had never been born.

Mark tells us that after the trial, Jesus was hung on a cross. Mark 15:26 tells us:

Mark 15:26 (NKJV) And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS

Pilate put his accusation on the cross to provoke the Jews who had insisted that an innocent man be crucified. They tried to get Pilate to change it, but Pilate insisted, “What I have written, I have written.” (John 19:22)

Jesus was alone on the cross, but He was not the only one being crucified. Two more were crucified on the same day. One hung on Jesus’ left and one on His right. Mark tells us:

Mark 15:27–28 (NKJV) ²⁷With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. ²⁸So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

Some of your translations will not have verse 28, which says, “So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’” Most likely, your Bible will have a note explaining that some manuscripts do not have this phrase. Either way, this saying is consistent with the rest of Scripture, and it is a quote from Isaiah 53:12.

He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

According to Isaiah 53:12, not only was He numbered with the transgressor, but He also made intercession for the transgressors.

The criminals on either side of Jesus remind us that Jesus was treated like a criminal. By their own admission, they deserved what they were getting, but Jesus was the sinless lamb of God. These circumstances show us the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:21.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The enemy was not content with the death of Jesus but was intent on heaping all the abuse, torture, and agony on Him that he possibly could.

Those who passed by insulted Him. Their words reveal that they knew of His ministry, but this did not keep them from blasphemy. Mark 15:29-30 tells us:

Mark 15:29–30 (NKJV) ²⁹And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

Even the leaders of the people, the ones who put Him on trial, hurled abuse at Him.

Mark 15:31-32 tell us:

Mark 15:31–32 (NKJV): ³¹Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”

Mark 15:32 tells us that even those who were crucified with Him joined in criticizing and insulting Him.

Jesus endured these insults. In Isaiah 50, it was prophesied of Jesus:

Isaiah 50:6 (ESV) I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

Two essential questions were asked of Jesus during His trial. The first was by those who examined Him by night. In Mark 14:61-62, it says:

Mark 14:61–62 (NKJV) ⁶¹Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶²Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

This was the first crucial question. Who was Jesus? Who is Jesus? The truth is that He is the Son of God, and so, Jesus answered, “I am.” For this, the leaders condemned Him.

The majority of humanity rejects Him on these grounds. We would rather serve our gods of pleasure, money, and power. So, we reject His right to rule over us.

The second crucial claim was asked by Pilate. He asked Him,

Mark 15:2 (NKJV) Are You the King of the Jews?

Jesus answered plainly,

Mark 15:2 (NKJV) It is as you say.

Pilate used this as an opportunity to goad the leaders of the nation. Listen to what he asked them.

Mark 15:12 (NKJV) What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?

Pilate said, “...whom you call King of the Jews.” John says that Pilate asked them,

John 19:15 (NKJV) Shall I crucify your King?

“King of the Jews” was written above Jesus for everyone to see. This was meant to provoke the leaders who had insisted upon the crucifixion, but ironically it was the truth. At His birth, the angel told Mary:

Luke 1:32–33 (NKJV) ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

We are waiting for this to happen. He is king, but He is waiting.

Hebrews 10:12–13 (NKJV) ¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

As the Son of God, Jesus paid the price for our sins and bought our salvation. As the King of the Jews, He will return again and establish righteousness on earth. A day is coming when every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. 

People still insult and hurl abuse at Him, and if they do not repent, it would be better for them if they had not been born. However, Jesus invites whoever will to come to Him and be saved from sin and its consequences. Be sure you are not one of those who reject Him and insult the grace of God.

I Will Strike the Shepherd

Mark 14:27-52

Over 2,000 years ago, on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts of praise the crowd. This bolstered the disciples’ confidence and perhaps gave rise to pride in being a follower of Jesus.

This confidence continued building-up as Jesus spent the next few days teaching and showing His integrity in a striking difference from the nation’s leaders.

But at the Passover meal, He had made a troubling pronouncement. He said:

Mark 14:18 (NKJV) Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.

The disciples were shocked and troubled by this statement. They were sure Jesus was going to set up His kingdom and claim the throne over the nation. He would put the Romans and the Gentiles who trampled their nation in their place.

However, for some time, he had been telling them that He was going to die at the hands of the nation’s leaders and the Romans.

A short while after Jesus shocked them by saying one of them would betray Him, they finished the Passover meal, and Mark says they sang a hymn and went out.

To this day, the Passover meal concludes with a hymn. Jesus was following tradition.

On the way to where they were going (the garden of Gethsemane), Jesus said to them:

Mark 14:27-28 (NKJV) ²⁷All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.

Once again, Jesus’ words upset the disciples, mainly the twelve (eleven since Judas was not with them at this point). As usual, Peter voiced the thoughts of all. He responded:

Mark 14:29 (NKJV) Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.

We all have thoughts like this. We all are tempted to think, “Surely not me!”

Many have expressed the thought that if they had lived in those days and seen the miracles that Jesus performed, they would have believed. We need to remember that many people (perhaps in the millions) witnessed the miracles of Jesus and did not believe. A Biblical principle standouts to me.

Consider 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13 (NKJV) ¹²Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man

Learn 1 Corinthians 10:13. In it, God promises that He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can endure and that He always provides a way of escape. However, I stopped halfway through the verse to make the connection with verse 12 obvious. When we think we can stand, we are most vulnerable. Notice that verse 13 says that it can be said of any temptation that is common to humanity. That means you and I are capable of doing what the disciples did. I would say that since all of them stumbled, it is likely you and I would have done the same. The Proverbs warn us that pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). One more verse on this subject is Galatians 6:1

Galatians 6:1 (ESV) Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Even when we are helping another person to overcome a sin, we are vulnerable to the same temptation.

Jesus knows that we are weak. He made a way for the disciples to keep from stumbling and showed them the way. He did this by taking them with Him into the garden to pray. When He had prayed for a while, He came and found His disciples sleeping. Then He said:

Mark 14:37–38 (ESV) ³⁷Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ³⁸Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Simon was the one who boasted though everyone else stumbled, he would not. And here he was — sleeping! Jesus told Simon and those with him that they must watch and pray to avoid falling into temptation. The reason he gives is: even though in our spirits we are willing, our flesh is weak.

Two more times, Jesus went away and prayed by Himself, and each time He came back, He found them praying — oops! I meant sleeping. The third time Jesus said.

Mark 14:41–42 (NKJV) ⁴¹Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.

Notice, Jesus says, “It is enough!” The word translated enough is defined: “to hold back, keep off, to be away, be distant.” These three words in English, “It is enough!” represent one word in the original. This word has been challenging to understand and translate. Some think that Jesus was pointing out the irony of their previous boasting compared to their present sleeping. 

This would not be the first time God used irony. He used irony when He answered Job. Look at Job 38:

Job 38:4–5 (NKJV) ⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵Who determined its measurements?

Surely you know!

And then:

Job 38:21 (NKJV) Do you know it, because you were born then,

Or because the number of your days is great?

God was angry with Job because of His arrogance in the face of God. He started His answer to Job with:

Job 38:2 (NKJV) Who is this who darkens counsel

By words without knowledge?

The original temptation and the source of sin was pride — the desire to be like God. Pride was also the downfall of angels. Because of pride, one-third of the angels became demons.

Jesus warned His disciples to watch and pray lest they stumble. He rebuked them the first two times He found them sleeping when He said:

Mark 14:37 (NKJV) Are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

The third time He says:

Mark 14:41 “Enough!” 

“The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

Some think that the verb (ἀπέχει) (a difficult word to translate) should be translated, “he is at a distance;” as though Jesus meant, “There is still time for you to sleep. My betrayer is still some distance off.”

However we understand this exclamation on the part of Jesus, it is clear that pride is a deadly temptation. We must do as Jesus instructed — watch and pray.

Many things were happening at the same time.

Isn’t this always true?! Life has a lot of moving parts.

As Jesus taught His disciples, He struggled with His own grief and sorrow. He told His disciples about this struggle and then prayed, telling His Father about His suffering.

In Mark 13:33-34, it says:

Mark 14:33–34 (NKJV) ³³And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. ³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

The text tells us that He was troubled and deeply distressed, and then, in His own words, Jesus said, “My soul is exccedingly sorrowful, even to death.” 

Jesus was not sorrowful for Himself. He was sorrowful for the pride and failures of His disciples. He was sorrowful for the sin and shame of all of humanity for all time. And, He was sorrowful for what was about to happen. Verses 43 through 52 of Mark 14 tell one of the saddest stories of all time. These verses are a snapshot of what sin has brought to our world. It is a story of greed, betrayal, duplicity, and murder.

We will not go into it because the story is hard enough to stomach, but I wish to point something out. Isaiah 53:3 prophesied of Jesus:

Isaiah 53:3 (NKJV) He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept. He did not weep because He was helpless. He wept at the terrible price humanity is paying for our choice to rebel against God. It was the same sentiment He expressed toward Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37–38 (NKJV) ³⁷“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸See! Your house is left to you desolate.

How true of humanity! Our house is left to us desolate. All because we will not humble ourselves before God, our Maker.

The final scene of today’s passage says it all.

Mark 14:50 (NKJV) Then they all forsook Him and fled.

We have all had our moments of stumbling. All the disciples stumbled. 

But, Jesus forgave them all.

I want to pay special attention to verses 51 and 52.

Mark 14:51–52 (NKJV) ⁵¹Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, ⁵²and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

Can you imagine the shame of this young man? If you have ever felt the hot pang of shame (and I am sure you have), then you have an idea of how miserable this young man must have been. The author understood because Mark wrote of himself.

This was not the only time Mark stumbled. Paul and Barnabas took him with them on their first ministry voyage, but we learn:

Acts 13:13 (NLT) Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.

Mark failed Paul and Barnabas. So much so that Paul was not willing to take Him on the next journey. Barnabas disagreed, and Paul and Barnabas split over the decision. However, as strongly as Paul opposed giving Mark another chance, at the end of his life, Paul asked for Mark’s help.

2 Timothy 4:11 (ESV) Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

God will always give you another chance -- until you die. Once God has taken you from this life, decision time is over. Do not think that God does not understand what you have gone through. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He redeemed a young man named Mark and made Him “very useful.” 

One closing note: in an invitation to turn to Jesus for help, the Bible says:

Hebrews 4:15–16 (ESV) ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

No matter where you come from, no matter what the failure if Jesus could save those that stumbled that night in the garden, He can save you also. Draw near to Him to receive mercy and find grace.