WEBVTT 00:00:00.261 --> 00:00:12.960 Okay, so first off I just for those who are new to TCC I just want to let you know that we're in the middle of a series actually in the tail end of a series on the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:26.705 It's one of the synoptic Gospels and what's interesting about this one, of course, is it has a very unique and powerful narrative about the identity of Jesus Christ, and that's why we chose it. 00:00:26.705 --> 00:00:28.350 I mean, we could choose any of the Gospels. 00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:32.328 There'd be a lot of great, wonderful truths that we can pull out of, but that's why we chose this one. 00:00:32.328 --> 00:00:37.750 And we've come now to chapters 14 and 15. 00:00:37.750 --> 00:00:43.932 You might say, say again, scott, you're going to cover chapters 14 and 15 in one sermon. 00:00:43.932 --> 00:00:53.000 No, but yes, obviously there's a lot to go through, but we're going to focus on a certain part of this. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:01:02.988 But chapters 14 and 15 are really and they bear your reading, by the way because there's a lot of fast-paced narrative that goes through during these two chapters. 00:01:02.988 --> 00:01:10.914 And I'll just kind of hit some of the highlights here, because if I read the whole two chapters, we'd be here for 10, 15 minutes. 00:01:12.084 --> 00:01:22.531 It starts with Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus and where he anointed Jesus' feet in Bethany, judas meets with a chief priest where he agrees to betray Jesus. 00:01:22.531 --> 00:01:28.980 There's the institution of the Lord supper during the Passover service that Jesus holds with his disciples. 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:33.959 Here's that Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and he prays. 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:38.004 We're going to be talking more about that The betrayal of Jesus. 00:01:38.004 --> 00:01:43.774 When he gets arrested, jesus being brought before the high priest, the elders and the scribes. 00:01:43.774 --> 00:01:47.027 Then, of course, peter denying Jesus. 00:01:47.027 --> 00:01:49.331 I can't forget that part That's inside there. 00:01:49.331 --> 00:01:52.424 And then Jesus delivered to Pilate, condemned to death. 00:01:52.424 --> 00:01:58.325 He's flogged, he's crucified And he dies and he's buried. 00:01:58.325 --> 00:02:02.894 All of this is in two short chapters of Mark. 00:02:02.894 --> 00:02:26.412 Now, as I said, there are thousands of sermons that can be preached on these two chapters, and so when we're given as the elders, when we're given an assignment like this, the first thing we do is read, we read and we read and we reread the text And then we prayerfully read it And we ask the Lord if there's anything specific for TCC that he wants to deliver. 00:02:26.412 --> 00:02:30.790 And that's a little intimidating, by the way, because you don't want to miss that. 00:02:31.663 --> 00:02:34.775 But as I read this, the theme just kept jumping out at me. 00:02:34.775 --> 00:02:47.361 Just kept jumping out at me, and it was the theme of how Jesus perfectly submitted to the will of the Father through all of this narrative, and it was a beautiful thing. 00:02:47.361 --> 00:02:58.912 And so when you think about Jesus and you think about his life, one thing you'll notice is he submits perfectly all through his life. 00:02:58.912 --> 00:02:59.923 He had to. 00:02:59.923 --> 00:03:01.848 He's the perfect Lamb of God, right? 00:03:01.848 --> 00:03:07.652 Think about when he stayed back in Jerusalem and his parents went nuts like where's my child? 00:03:07.652 --> 00:03:09.243 And they finally get him. 00:03:09.243 --> 00:03:10.086 And what does he say? 00:03:10.086 --> 00:03:13.325 I had to be about my father's business. 00:03:13.325 --> 00:03:15.711 He was submitting to the Lord, his God. 00:03:15.711 --> 00:03:20.792 He was submitting to God, the Father, even at a tender age of 11 or 12. 00:03:20.792 --> 00:03:22.687 It was pretty amazing. 00:03:22.687 --> 00:03:30.770 And then, of course, all through his ministry, he says these things, me and the Father at one, or I don't do anything unless the Father tells me. 00:03:32.480 --> 00:03:38.012 And up until this time, Jesus was always depicted of being in control of his environment. 00:03:38.012 --> 00:03:40.164 I mean, we love that, right. 00:03:40.164 --> 00:03:46.008 We love watching how he put the Pharisees in their place, right, it's like Jesus is the champion. 00:03:46.008 --> 00:03:49.000 Nobody can out-argue him, nobody can get him. 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:58.186 He's always putting people in their place, but he's doing it in love And sometimes with the Pharisees, he's doing it in some sarcasm. 00:03:58.186 --> 00:04:03.000 He was this great teacher, taught these wonderful things. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:06.048 People, thousands of people came to listen to him preach. 00:04:06.048 --> 00:04:07.671 He healed people. 00:04:07.671 --> 00:04:12.550 He even avoided death a couple of times because he said it wasn't his time. 00:04:13.901 --> 00:04:28.834 However, in Mark 14 and 15, things are changing, because there's a time that's come now where he is going to be placing himself in the control of those that were going to be killing him. 00:04:28.834 --> 00:04:42.204 And these final hours of Jesus' submission to the Father was going to cost him dearly in the form of mental, emotional agony and, of course, physical torture. 00:04:42.204 --> 00:04:53.911 And, of course, on top of that, the most difficult part of the whole thing, when God, the Father, had to turn his back on him as he took the sins of the world on his shoulders. 00:04:53.911 --> 00:05:01.000 And within these two chapters we see beautiful examples of Jesus submitting his will to the Father. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:21.312 So there's too much text to fully read both chapters in their entirety, but this morning we're going to be looking at chapters 14 and 15, and I'm going to identify four clear examples of Jesus making a conscious decision to submit to the will of the Father, and then we're going to discuss how we, as Christians, can learn from those moments. 00:05:21.312 --> 00:05:22.762 So let's start. 00:05:23.303 --> 00:05:30.463 But before we jump into the chapter, we really have to define something that's really important to define and that is the word submit. 00:05:30.463 --> 00:05:35.430 Submit, it is a negative term. 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:45.273 In our world today, many people look at the word submit in a negative term, but in the Bible it is not necessarily a negative term. 00:05:45.273 --> 00:05:48.605 So what do we learn about this word submission? 00:05:48.605 --> 00:05:51.509 Well, the Greek word for submit is houpotosso. 00:05:51.509 --> 00:05:56.266 Everybody say houpotosso, there will be a test at the end. 00:05:56.266 --> 00:06:01.026 Houpotosso is really it's kind of a combination of words. 00:06:01.026 --> 00:06:10.552 The word torso, that part of it means to put, and houpo means to put, means under, so it's literally to place something under. 00:06:10.552 --> 00:06:19.394 Now, the application in Scripture is most commonly when one person places themselves under another person. 00:06:19.394 --> 00:06:30.435 Okay, And a couple of key characteristics about biblical submission is that it's almost always referred to as a willing action. 00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:40.033 A willing action meaning, it's true, submission is never something that's forced on somebody. 00:06:40.033 --> 00:07:06.887 You think about our society and you think about the word submission and I won't ask if there's any MMA fans in here, but a submission in mixed martial arts is where the first opponent or one opponent gets the other opponent in a situation, in a lock of some kind, where that person that's locked and can't get out submits, and they usually do it by tapping on another person's body. 00:07:06.887 --> 00:07:10.365 They're like let me go, don't break my arm, type thing. 00:07:10.365 --> 00:07:12.029 Right, that's submission. 00:07:12.029 --> 00:07:23.110 And when we look at how our society looks at submission, especially our American society, we're like we don't want to submit to anybody. 00:07:23.110 --> 00:07:34.663 So the word submit has a real negative connotation And you guys have heard many sermons from this stage alone on that concept, especially when it comes to marriages and things. 00:07:34.663 --> 00:07:40.394 But the reality is, godly, submission is not a forced submission. 00:07:40.394 --> 00:07:42.884 It's not a forced submission. 00:07:44.146 --> 00:07:46.992 I want to read Philippians 2, verses 5 through 9. 00:07:46.992 --> 00:07:57.413 This is a beautiful passage of Scripture and it so perfectly describes how Jesus submitted to God. 00:07:57.413 --> 00:08:02.000 It starts by saying have this mind among you, which is yours in Jesus Christ. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:09.000 We're not going to read that too fast, because Paul is saying have this mind in you that was in Jesus Christ. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.005 So that tells us something. 00:08:11.005 --> 00:08:12.730 This is what we should have inside of us. 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:20.000 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped? 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.204 Who did that, by the way? 00:08:22.204 --> 00:08:50.835 Satan, remember, we're going to talk a little bit more about that But emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men Remember, it was Jesus that created us And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:08:50.835 --> 00:09:01.000 What a beautiful Scripture about the willingness that Jesus placed himself under God the Father, under the will of God the Father. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:06.308 And the most memorized Scripture of all kind, john 3.16,. 00:09:06.308 --> 00:09:09.514 For God so loved the world that he gave his son. 00:09:09.514 --> 00:09:21.014 But part of that giving was the son willingly going, willingly placing himself in that position to be the sacrifice for the entire world. 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:27.812 Authentic submission, by the way, requires authentic humility. 00:09:27.812 --> 00:09:31.989 That's another thing we don't like to talk about anymore. 00:09:31.989 --> 00:09:42.000 One cannot have authentic submission to another without humbly presenting themselves to that other person, willing to place yourself under that person. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.226 And, by the way, some people can fake that. 00:09:44.226 --> 00:09:48.509 In a lot of churches you see that a lot of times, people faking that. 00:09:48.509 --> 00:10:02.807 But I can tell you there's a point in time that if you're faking it, it's going to come out And it's going to be lovingly, hopefully, revealed to you that wait a second, that humility that you're exhibiting is not true humility. 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:10.312 And, by the way, it was Jesus who introduced the concept of humility as a virtue to the world. 00:10:10.312 --> 00:10:20.447 It was never looked upon that way before And we know Jesus was totally submitted to the will of the Father And in fact in John 5, verse 30, this is what he says. 00:10:20.447 --> 00:10:23.363 I can do nothing on my own. 00:10:23.363 --> 00:10:33.696 As I hear, i judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 00:10:33.696 --> 00:10:45.000 Jesus was fully submitted to God And I want you to understand that he willingly did that, because if you understand that then you're going to understand the rest of what we're going to talk about today. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:46.743 So you have to understand. 00:10:46.743 --> 00:10:56.605 Don't get that worldly, 21st century definition of submission, don't get that stuck in your head. 00:10:56.605 --> 00:11:01.138 So let's look at the four submissions of Jesus. 00:11:01.138 --> 00:11:10.037 Submission number one is knowing of yet allowing Judas' betrayal, and I say proclaiming yet allowing Judas' betrayal. 00:11:11.950 --> 00:11:14.820 Let's read Mark 14 and verses 17 through 21. 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:15.692 This is the first section. 00:11:15.692 --> 00:11:28.441 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve And as they were reclining at the table and eating, jesus said Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. 00:11:28.441 --> 00:11:34.118 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one after another is it I? 00:11:34.118 --> 00:11:35.320 Isn't that interesting? 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:37.683 They said, is it I? 00:11:37.683 --> 00:11:39.913 They didn't say who is it. 00:11:39.913 --> 00:11:42.275 But they looked inward and said is it I? 00:11:42.275 --> 00:11:44.658 I think that's a right response. 00:11:44.658 --> 00:11:57.414 He said to them verse 20, it is one of the twelve one who is dipping bread into the dish with me, for the Son of Man goes as it is written. 00:11:57.414 --> 00:12:01.291 But woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. 00:12:01.291 --> 00:12:05.861 It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. 00:12:05.861 --> 00:12:08.215 Guess who heard those words? 00:12:08.215 --> 00:12:10.836 Judas a scarlet. 00:12:10.836 --> 00:12:14.297 And guess what he had just finished doing? 00:12:14.297 --> 00:12:17.958 Talking to the priests above betraying Jesus. 00:12:17.958 --> 00:12:20.600 Wow. 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:22.866 And yet he still went through. 00:12:22.866 --> 00:12:24.743 It Isn't that interesting. 00:12:27.455 --> 00:12:32.149 You see, looking at this from Jesus' perspective, jesus knew the magnitude of this night. 00:12:32.149 --> 00:12:34.509 He knew the magnitude of it. 00:12:34.509 --> 00:12:44.549 He understand that this betrayal had to happen in order for the plan of God that was put in place from the foundations of the earth, for this plan of God to be fulfilled. 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:45.357 This had to happen. 00:12:45.357 --> 00:12:53.600 You know, in the passages that we will read this morning, jesus often refers to the fact that this event was happening to fulfill Scripture. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:13:03.149 In fact, if you read John Mark 14 and 15, just look at how many times Jesus mentions Scripture. 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:16.529 And in Zechariah, 11, 12 through 13, there's a prophecy that Zechariah had about the shepherd being basically betrayed for guess how much money? 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:23.096 30 pieces of silver, see. 00:13:23.096 --> 00:13:28.677 I can't understand, by the way, how people think Jesus and the whole story of Jesus was all fabricated. 00:13:28.677 --> 00:13:32.886 How can you do that? 00:13:32.886 --> 00:13:37.426 The Dead Sea Scrolls the significance of that. 00:13:37.426 --> 00:13:38.549 they found a scroll of the entire book of Isaiah. 00:13:38.549 --> 00:13:47.840 They found a scroll of the entire book of Isaiah, pre-jesus right, and it has those chapters that talk so clearly about what happened to Jesus. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:54.541 You can't manufacture this, but he knew that this was supposed to happen. 00:13:54.541 --> 00:13:55.452 It had to happen. 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:01.419 If Judas doesn't betray Jesus, he can't be arrested. 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:14.365 Taken before Pilate, sentenced to death, hung on a cross, died, put in a tomb and raised on the third day. 00:14:14.365 --> 00:14:16.235 That can't happen. 00:14:16.235 --> 00:14:34.655 If this doesn't happen And it's interesting in the account of this, the time in the room during the Passover, in the account in John 13, 27, it states that Jesus said to Judas directly what you are going to do, do quickly, Whoa. 00:14:34.655 --> 00:14:40.880 He actually sends Judas to betray him. 00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:44.216 I never really thought about that until I started going through this. 00:14:44.216 --> 00:14:53.057 He actually sent him And, by the way it said, the other disciples kind of thought well, maybe he was telling him to go get more food or to give money to the poor. 00:14:53.057 --> 00:14:58.099 But no, he was literally sending his betrayer. 00:14:58.099 --> 00:15:13.285 You know, at this time it was theoretically in Jesus' control to stop Judas. 00:15:13.285 --> 00:15:14.493 You ever thought about that? 00:15:14.493 --> 00:15:21.320 We got Peter over here with a sword and he likes to use it. 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:38.541 Can you imagine if Jesus said one of you will betray me, and it's the third one on the left And Judas stands up and Peter goes not on my watch And listen 11 guys would have been on him like smack on rice. 00:15:38.541 --> 00:15:40.635 He had been done right. 00:15:40.635 --> 00:15:46.460 It was in Jesus' hands to save himself. 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:49.898 And I know you might say well, scott, that wasn't going to happen. 00:15:49.898 --> 00:15:51.154 I know it wasn't going to happen. 00:15:51.154 --> 00:15:52.735 You want to know why it wasn't going to happen? 00:15:52.735 --> 00:15:56.418 Because Jesus Christ was perfectly submitted to the Father. 00:15:56.418 --> 00:16:04.203 But he had that decision to make and he literally didn't sit there and wait for Judas to leave. 00:16:04.203 --> 00:16:05.573 He literally sent him. 00:16:05.573 --> 00:16:10.619 That's the first submission of Jesus to the Father. 00:16:10.619 --> 00:16:15.120 Second one is yielding to the Father's will in the garden. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:20.880 We're going to pick it up in verse 32 of Mark 14. 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:26.991 And they went to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples sit here while I pray. 00:16:26.991 --> 00:16:33.202 And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 00:16:33.202 --> 00:16:38.240 And he said to them my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:39.993 Remain here and watch. 00:16:39.993 --> 00:16:47.015 And going a little further, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 00:16:47.015 --> 00:16:51.299 And he said Abba, father, all things are possible for you. 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:57.519 Love this cup for me, not what I will, but what you will. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.976 And he came and found them sleeping. 00:17:00.976 --> 00:17:03.957 He said to Peter Simon, are you asleep? 00:17:03.957 --> 00:17:07.836 Could you not watch for one hour? 00:17:07.836 --> 00:17:11.718 Watch and pray that you will not enter into temptation. 00:17:11.718 --> 00:17:15.157 The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak. 00:17:15.157 --> 00:17:18.916 And again he went away and he prayed, saying the same words. 00:17:21.150 --> 00:17:26.457 You know, matthew's account is similar, but he carries a couple of details not recorded in Mark that I really want to bring out. 00:17:26.457 --> 00:17:27.472 And this is important. 00:17:27.472 --> 00:17:40.597 In Matthew 26, 39, it says and going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 00:17:40.597 --> 00:17:43.659 And then he comes back to the disciples, finds them sleeping. 00:17:43.659 --> 00:17:48.300 He says to Peter so could you not watch with me for one hour? 00:17:48.300 --> 00:17:51.617 Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. 00:17:51.617 --> 00:17:54.557 The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak. 00:17:54.557 --> 00:18:03.936 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed my Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:14.839 Now let me just say that there's no other section of scripture that gives us a more intimate view into Jesus than this account in the Gospels. 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:22.041 In these few verses, we're given a brief but clear glimpse into Jesus as fully God and fully man. 00:18:22.041 --> 00:18:22.912 Just think about it. 00:18:22.912 --> 00:18:24.972 Fully God and fully man. 00:18:24.972 --> 00:18:26.911 Fully God. 00:18:26.911 --> 00:18:31.420 Well, he was about to take the cup of wrath that was due us. 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:37.499 He was about to walk directly into his death. 00:18:37.499 --> 00:18:45.119 Fully man, he was acutely aware of what he was going to suffer. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.694 He knew what was ahead of him. 00:18:48.694 --> 00:19:03.915 He had seen people crucified, he knew the power of those that hated him and he knew what they could do to him, and it brought upon him great distress and agony. 00:19:07.390 --> 00:19:11.317 There are some that believe Jesus was experiencing a moment of weakness and doubt. 00:19:11.317 --> 00:19:22.180 These people claim that his appeal to God, the Father, to have this cup passed was a clear example that there was a chance that maybe he wasn't going to do it. 00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:24.776 I mean, look at how he was struggling here. 00:19:24.776 --> 00:19:32.771 I tell you with all the authority of scripture there's no evidence of that whatsoever, no evidence. 00:19:32.771 --> 00:19:35.994 You see, jesus never sinned, did he? 00:19:35.994 --> 00:19:47.972 If he had sinned because you could make a case that doubt is sin then he wouldn't have been the perfect lamb. 00:19:47.972 --> 00:19:51.452 He didn't sin. 00:19:51.452 --> 00:19:55.778 The reality is the planet's salvation was never in jeopardy. 00:19:56.410 --> 00:20:01.856 Jesus clearly knew what was ahead of him long before the garden, in fact even in his ministry. 00:20:01.856 --> 00:20:10.342 If you go back a few chapters in the Mark 8, he actually tells the disciples what's going to happen to him, clearly in Mark 8, 31. 00:20:10.342 --> 00:20:20.313 And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days raised again. 00:20:20.313 --> 00:20:27.056 If he knew that was going to happen, then does it really make sense that he was trying to circumvent God's plan? 00:20:27.056 --> 00:20:29.255 That's not what he was doing, brethren. 00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:43.631 I believe what these scriptures are showing is the very transparent view into the emotional and mental suffering that Jesus had to go through in order to pay that price for our sins. 00:20:43.631 --> 00:20:52.246 He first went through tremendous emotional and mental suffering before he endured the physical suffering of the cross and everything leading up to it. 00:20:52.246 --> 00:20:56.897 You know, in Isaiah we read that he's called a man of sorrow. 00:20:56.897 --> 00:21:03.058 A man of sorrow, our victorious Savior, is called a man of sorrow. 00:21:03.058 --> 00:21:11.270 He experienced that sorrow And when we read in Hebrews that we have a high priest that empathizes with us, that can relate to us. 00:21:11.270 --> 00:21:21.039 He went through stuff that we've never gone through And I love what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 5, 7 through 9. 00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:31.538 In the days of his flesh, jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him, who was able to save him from death. 00:21:31.538 --> 00:21:36.539 And he was heard because of his reverence. 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:43.051 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered And being made perfect. 00:21:43.051 --> 00:21:53.097 He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 00:21:53.097 --> 00:21:59.280 He learned obedience by placing himself under, by submitting to the will of God. 00:21:59.280 --> 00:22:04.215 That's what he did And, by the way, god heard his prayer. 00:22:04.215 --> 00:22:05.432 You want to know why? 00:22:05.432 --> 00:22:06.895 Why did he? 00:22:06.895 --> 00:22:07.778 How do you even know that? 00:22:07.778 --> 00:22:09.453 Well, in Luke 22,. 00:22:09.513 --> 00:22:16.482 In that same account, in verse 43, and there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him and being in agony. 00:22:16.482 --> 00:22:22.660 He prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.113 See, god heard his son. 00:22:25.113 --> 00:22:35.323 If you've ever seen your child in pain, it's the most difficult thing to endure. 00:22:35.323 --> 00:22:39.337 Some of you have endured that way more than a lot of us have. 00:22:39.337 --> 00:22:42.836 But as parents, we've all seen our children in pain before. 00:22:42.836 --> 00:22:55.971 Can you imagine God the Father sending his son, knowing and hearing his cries and his pain? 00:22:55.971 --> 00:23:06.698 Imagine what God the Father thought, because their relationship is astronomically closer than anything we can even have in our life today. 00:23:06.698 --> 00:23:10.932 He sent a ministering angel to strengthen Jesus. 00:23:10.932 --> 00:23:14.740 That's how much you love to son. 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:27.885 But what's amazing about this is in every gospel account of this prayer in the garden, we read these words in a little bit different format, but all saying the same thing. 00:23:27.885 --> 00:23:36.297 Yet not what I will, but what you will, what you will. 00:23:36.297 --> 00:23:52.144 This amazing prayer in the garden is the second example of Jesus willingly submitting to the Lord and giving us the most intimate view into what that must have been like. 00:23:54.815 --> 00:23:59.577 Submission number three was allowing himself to be arrested, and we're going to pick up in Mark 14, 43. 00:23:59.577 --> 00:24:10.467 And immediately, while he was still speaking, judas came, one of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 00:24:10.467 --> 00:24:15.484 Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying the one I will kiss is the man. 00:24:15.484 --> 00:24:18.141 Sees him and lead him away under guard. 00:24:18.141 --> 00:24:19.460 I'm just going to stop right here. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:25.125 What, in the wide world of sports, was Judas telling the chief priests what to do? 00:24:25.125 --> 00:24:27.482 You ever thought about that? 00:24:27.482 --> 00:24:28.519 I never really thought about that. 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:33.830 He's literally saying and, by the way, when I kiss him, make sure you arrest him and take him away. 00:24:33.830 --> 00:24:37.623 What a coward, what a cowardly thing to do. 00:24:37.623 --> 00:24:38.477 Think about it. 00:24:38.477 --> 00:24:44.280 It's like he was literally saying make sure you arrest him because I don't want to hang around, because I've seen him do some things. 00:24:44.280 --> 00:24:48.182 I just thought it was such a cowardly thing. 00:24:48.182 --> 00:24:53.707 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said rabbi, and he kissed him. 00:24:53.707 --> 00:24:55.279 So he gave them even another thing. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:56.284 I'm going to kiss the guy now. 00:24:56.284 --> 00:24:57.798 I'm going to identify him as rabbi. 00:24:57.798 --> 00:25:06.897 And they laid hands on him and seized him, but one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 00:25:06.897 --> 00:25:08.102 Thank you, peter. 00:25:08.102 --> 00:25:17.557 Jesus said to them have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me Day after day. 00:25:17.557 --> 00:25:20.242 I was with you in the temple teaching and you did not cease me. 00:25:20.242 --> 00:25:24.240 But let the scriptures be fulfilled. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.598 And they all left him and fled. 00:25:27.598 --> 00:25:31.318 Even one guy didn't have any clothes on. 00:25:36.555 --> 00:25:41.618 I want to read Matthew's account of the rest, because Matthew also had something in there that I think is interesting. 00:25:41.618 --> 00:25:46.204 So Jesus is arrested Matthew 26, 51 through 54. 00:25:46.204 --> 00:25:52.484 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. 00:25:52.484 --> 00:25:58.545 And Jesus said to him put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 00:25:58.545 --> 00:26:01.039 And listen what it says on verse 53. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:09.896 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? 00:26:09.896 --> 00:26:13.721 But how then, should the scriptures be fulfilled? 00:26:13.721 --> 00:26:14.782 that it must be so. 00:26:14.782 --> 00:26:20.886 You know, one of the accounts says that they all fell down in front of Jesus. 00:26:20.886 --> 00:26:22.179 They were knocked down right. 00:26:23.835 --> 00:26:26.501 That was a perfect time for Jesus just to book it on out of there. 00:26:26.501 --> 00:26:28.656 They could have left. 00:26:28.656 --> 00:26:39.669 He says clearly if I wanted to, i could request God, send me down 12 legions of angels. 00:26:39.669 --> 00:26:42.181 Now, i don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to mess with one. 00:26:42.181 --> 00:26:49.278 I wouldn't want to mess with the smallest of the angels, but he's going to send 12 of these angels. 00:26:49.278 --> 00:26:55.220 If he called 12 legions of these angels, he said all I have to do is say the word. 00:26:55.220 --> 00:27:01.445 Now, i'm just telling you Jesus wasn't a liar, because he was a perfect Lamb of God. 00:27:01.445 --> 00:27:05.825 So that must mean, if he said it, he could have done it right. 00:27:05.825 --> 00:27:07.156 He could have done that. 00:27:11.214 --> 00:27:15.403 However, as with his entire life, he submitted to the plan of God. 00:27:15.403 --> 00:27:27.044 He had a moment, another moment, another decision moment, another moment of submitting to God, because he could have at that point in time, said this is my chance. 00:27:27.044 --> 00:27:34.680 But you know what's more, really more interesting than all that is God, the Father, knew that that request was never going to come to him. 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:52.346 You see, if you understand the sovereignty of God and the sovereignty of his plan and the assuredness of your salvation and my salvation and the plan that God put together, then you know that Jesus was never going to ask that request of the Father. 00:27:52.346 --> 00:27:54.960 He just said if I wanted to, he would. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:59.178 That's a powerful brethren. 00:27:59.178 --> 00:28:02.083 You know what that is, what that tells me. 00:28:02.083 --> 00:28:08.265 That tells me that God so loved the world that he sent his son. 00:28:08.265 --> 00:28:16.185 And, by the way, that plan was never in jeopardy, even for one iota of a second. 00:28:16.185 --> 00:28:18.977 Never was in jeopardy. 00:28:18.977 --> 00:28:24.781 Jesus submitted beautifully in the arrest. 00:28:26.615 --> 00:28:29.502 Submission four is refusing to defend himself in front of Pilate. 00:28:29.502 --> 00:28:35.185 The fourth example is found in Matthew or, excuse me, mark 15. 00:28:35.185 --> 00:28:37.863 We're going to read the first five verses of this account. 00:28:37.863 --> 00:28:48.116 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 00:28:48.116 --> 00:28:51.382 And Pilate asked him are you the king of the Jews? 00:28:51.382 --> 00:28:54.421 And he answered him you have said so. 00:28:54.421 --> 00:28:58.482 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 00:28:58.482 --> 00:29:02.183 And Pilate again asked him have you no answer to make? 00:29:02.183 --> 00:29:04.961 See how many charges they bring against you. 00:29:04.961 --> 00:29:12.188 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. 00:29:12.188 --> 00:29:14.363 This is some cool stuff here. 00:29:14.363 --> 00:29:17.637 I don't want us to miss Guys. 00:29:17.637 --> 00:29:20.984 First off, this was Jesus's last chance. 00:29:20.984 --> 00:29:24.180 You realize this is his last chance. 00:29:25.575 --> 00:29:26.178 Pilate had a job. 00:29:26.178 --> 00:29:33.566 Pilate's job was to make rulings like this on all kinds of matter. 00:29:33.566 --> 00:29:40.837 His prisons were full of people that he had condemned either to prison or, of course, they were sentenced to death. 00:29:40.837 --> 00:29:48.688 Whatever Pilate's job to rule that whole area was to make these decisions. 00:29:48.688 --> 00:29:52.465 He was the judge, the judge, jury and executioner, as they like to say. 00:29:52.465 --> 00:29:53.759 He was the trio. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:54.000 Right? 00:29:54.000 --> 00:30:00.305 How many Jews must have been brought before him, begging for their lives? 00:30:00.305 --> 00:30:01.207 Think about it. 00:30:01.207 --> 00:30:02.778 That's what he was used to. 00:30:02.778 --> 00:30:07.483 He was used to people being brought in and begging for their lives. 00:30:08.954 --> 00:30:14.366 And then there's Jesus And you've got all these priests and everything. 00:30:14.366 --> 00:30:18.122 And they're just throwing accusation after accusation after accusation. 00:30:18.122 --> 00:30:25.221 And we know from other accounts that they literally paid people to come in and be false witnesses against Jesus. 00:30:25.221 --> 00:30:26.657 Right, we see that. 00:30:26.657 --> 00:30:32.467 And he stands there and he realizes that Pilate, pilate can stop the whole thing. 00:30:32.467 --> 00:30:38.866 He can tell the chief priests and everything nope, not this guy, not this guy, but he doesn't. 00:30:38.866 --> 00:30:46.775 Now, in other accounts, there's more discourse there, but Jesus never tries to manipulate Pilate. 00:30:46.775 --> 00:30:59.623 He never tries to stop the beautiful plan of God, the beautiful and terrible events that were going to happen, that brought you and I salvation. 00:30:59.623 --> 00:31:04.241 He humbly submitted to God in that sovereign plan. 00:31:04.241 --> 00:31:21.247 Yet again, and at this point in time, once Pilate condemned him, it was all out of his hands And he willingly began to follow along the whole pattern of the rest of his walk. 00:31:22.454 --> 00:31:26.525 Now, let's look at this from a pragmatic standpoint. 00:31:26.525 --> 00:31:28.380 What can we learn from this? 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.759 What can you and I learn from this? 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:36.380 Because we were just told in Philippians that we were supposed to have the mind of Christ with regards to this right. 00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:37.978 So what can we learn? 00:31:37.978 --> 00:31:52.864 Well, there are three simple truths that I think we can learn from how Jesus submitted to God, the Father, during these things, and the first one means submitting to Jesus means we deny ourselves. 00:31:52.864 --> 00:31:57.803 And you might be sitting there going okay, scott, here we go. 00:31:57.803 --> 00:32:06.846 You're going to tell me to watch less TV, less movies, and you're going to tell me to tithe more, and you're going to give me a list. 00:32:06.846 --> 00:32:09.198 I'm not going to give you a list. 00:32:12.086 --> 00:32:16.996 You see, denying ourselves is something that's really misunderstood in the church today. 00:32:16.996 --> 00:32:24.714 I believe We never see Jesus doing anything for his self-clarification. 00:32:24.714 --> 00:32:27.479 He truly and perfectly denied himself. 00:32:27.479 --> 00:32:32.275 Now, in Matthew 16, verse 24 through 27,. 00:32:32.275 --> 00:32:39.433 This is the verse we always talk about when it comes to the term deny yourself, because Jesus is telling his disciples to do this. 00:32:39.433 --> 00:32:43.016 So let's look at it Matthew 16, verse 24,. 00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:45.305 And Jesus told his disciples. 00:32:45.305 --> 00:32:54.690 If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it. 00:32:54.690 --> 00:32:58.117 For whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 00:32:58.117 --> 00:33:03.096 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? 00:33:03.096 --> 00:33:06.798 or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 00:33:06.798 --> 00:33:17.875 The answer is nothing, for the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 00:33:19.166 --> 00:33:22.375 Now, what does it mean to deny himself? 00:33:22.375 --> 00:33:27.977 Well, we often think again to deny worldly pleasures or something like that. 00:33:27.977 --> 00:33:33.896 But the Greek word for deny is apartoneo or partoneo mai. 00:33:33.896 --> 00:33:38.194 I even spelled it out apartoneo mai, i'm not going to ask you to say it. 00:33:38.194 --> 00:33:40.147 Apartoneo mai. 00:33:40.147 --> 00:33:54.596 Now it does mean the classic term that we would think to deny right, which encompasses, like denying a statement of truth or intentionally disassociating yourself from a specific relationship with another person. 00:33:54.596 --> 00:33:58.453 Think Peter after the arrest, right? 00:33:58.453 --> 00:34:02.512 Jesus predicted that he would deny him. 00:34:02.512 --> 00:34:06.721 That Peter would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows. 00:34:06.721 --> 00:34:07.285 And he did. 00:34:07.285 --> 00:34:10.875 He denied it, meaning Peter said I don't know him. 00:34:10.875 --> 00:34:14.512 He denied the relationship even existed, right. 00:34:16.525 --> 00:34:23.530 But there's a little bit more, when it comes to denying ourselves, that we have to think about. 00:34:23.530 --> 00:34:33.713 In an article in Christianity Today I found it was the article entitled What Does It Mean to Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross, by a woman named Christy Gamberle. 00:34:33.713 --> 00:34:36.853 She said this and I thought it was really well put. 00:34:36.853 --> 00:34:42.304 She said self-denial, then, and she was speaking in context of this passage that we just read. 00:34:42.304 --> 00:34:51.896 Self-denial, then, is intentional disowning of the self or stepping away from relationship with the self as primary. 00:34:51.896 --> 00:35:00.518 Stepping away from relationship with the self as primary. 00:35:00.518 --> 00:35:09.855 Jesus is not making a statement about whether the self is bad, but about who we are most closely associated with. 00:35:09.855 --> 00:35:14.934 Who is our primary allegiance to him or ourselves? 00:35:14.934 --> 00:35:34.967 And see, when you think about that and I thought it was well put, because what it's basically saying is okay, denying myself is not so much denying certain things that I may want, it's actually denying my whole self, my whole self. 00:35:36.304 --> 00:35:38.891 Can anybody guess how much God wants from us when we become Christians? 00:35:38.891 --> 00:35:40.646 What percentage Am I going to get? 00:35:40.646 --> 00:35:43.257 a percentage, that's right. 00:35:43.257 --> 00:35:44.000 That's 100%. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:45.304 You guys all passed the test. 00:35:45.304 --> 00:35:47.512 It's a very simple answer, isn't it? 00:35:47.512 --> 00:35:49.050 He wants everything. 00:35:49.050 --> 00:35:52.070 He wants everything. 00:35:53.525 --> 00:36:01.351 And it's interesting because when you think about denying yourself, these are your priorities, these are God's priorities, jesus' priorities. 00:36:01.351 --> 00:36:03.630 He wants this to happen. 00:36:03.630 --> 00:36:05.628 He wants you to flip it. 00:36:05.628 --> 00:36:13.974 See, most people in the world, they have their priorities on the top, and even a lot of people who are Christians. 00:36:13.974 --> 00:36:28.835 They will kind of operate down here Any time there's a clash between their principles of priorities I should say priorities and God's, a lot of times, theirs are going to take over them and become at the top. 00:36:28.835 --> 00:36:33.231 And, by the way, what are Jesus' priorities? 00:36:33.231 --> 00:36:38.695 you might say Well, scott, if you're going to tell me that I need to have Jesus' priorities, what are they? 00:36:38.695 --> 00:36:42.304 I bet, if I, just if you thought about it, it would come to you. 00:36:42.304 --> 00:36:52.608 It's pretty simple, because he tells you what the great commandant is right Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. 00:36:52.608 --> 00:36:58.510 That's big, by the way, that's really big, but that's his priorities. 00:36:59.927 --> 00:37:11.652 And it's interesting that when we think about that, if you are more bent towards legalism, your first thought would be well, let's see, how do I need to do that? 00:37:11.652 --> 00:37:14.728 How am I supposed to do that? 00:37:14.728 --> 00:37:23.849 Well, i can tell you, as someone who's tried to do that, you will fail miserably. 00:37:23.849 --> 00:37:35.112 You might succeed for a while, but you will fail Because our actions come from our hearts and it comes from what's in here. 00:37:35.112 --> 00:37:39.275 It all starts with a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:37:39.275 --> 00:37:42.304 That's where it starts. 00:37:42.304 --> 00:37:48.753 When you have that genuine relationship, it can't help but come out and your priorities start to do this. 00:37:48.753 --> 00:37:55.893 God's priorities come to the top, because as you become subjected to Jesus and as you become more like Jesus guess what? 00:37:55.893 --> 00:37:58.273 You start to look like him, right. 00:37:58.273 --> 00:38:04.076 That's why when people look at the prayer and say, well, it says that anything you pray in my name, you can have. 00:38:04.076 --> 00:38:08.449 No, i don't think that's what it says, at least not what you think it says. 00:38:08.449 --> 00:38:15.003 The reality is, as we become more like Jesus, when we pray, our prayers are the same prayers that Jesus prayed. 00:38:15.003 --> 00:38:21.474 Right, that's the same heart that he has, and that's what it means to flip that upside down. 00:38:21.474 --> 00:38:34.596 When we are experiencing the presence and power that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ, his priorities become ours, and what you will find is forget the whole thing of focusing on the self. 00:38:34.596 --> 00:38:37.210 The self starts to disappear. 00:38:37.210 --> 00:38:41.047 That's brilliant, that's good. 00:38:41.108 --> 00:38:49.994 When you start thinking that way, i had someone tell me one time he said you know I'll get it right eventually, but I just wish my first response was the right response. 00:38:49.994 --> 00:38:58.293 I wish my first response when somebody cuts me off and almost runs me in the dish is Jesus, please help that person to learn to drive. 00:38:58.293 --> 00:39:04.376 Or when my kid we won't go there, it's Father's Day. 00:39:04.376 --> 00:39:15.708 But here's the wonderful thing about it Every once in a while, or as time goes on, if you're submitting to God, suddenly one day you're going to go wait a second. 00:39:15.708 --> 00:39:18.096 My first response was what Jesus would have done. 00:39:18.096 --> 00:39:20.579 Whoa, where'd that come from? 00:39:20.579 --> 00:39:21.304 I tell you where it came from. 00:39:21.304 --> 00:39:26.304 It came from a relationship And it came through the sanctification process that God's taken you through. 00:39:26.304 --> 00:39:28.291 That's the way it's supposed to be. 00:39:28.291 --> 00:39:31.170 So you need to flip that around. 00:39:32.965 --> 00:39:34.048