Mark 14:12-21 - Substance, Sovereign, Scandal

We’re diving into Mark 14:12-21, stepping into the weighty moment of the Last Supper, where Jesus shares His final meal with His apostles. In this passage, we see the Passover’s shadow meet its true substance in Christ, the Lamb of God, whose blood redeems us. We’ll unpack how Jesus sovereignly directs every detail, even amidst betrayal, and confront the scandal of Judas’ actions—a sobering reminder to examine our own hearts. Join me as we explore God’s Word, marvel at His plan, and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

98 - Mark 14:12-21 - Substance, Sovereign, Scandal

Intro 

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 14 and find verse 12.
  • As you turn there today I want you to know that we will be doing a bit more turning than we typically do on Sunday mornings.
  • So I would encourage you from the start to not get too comfortable in Mark 14 but be ready to turn with me as we work through the text before us.  
• Today we continue walking through the final week of Jesus’ life and earthly ministry as we inch nearer to the cross.
  • In our text today we step into the final meal that Jesus shared with His closest companions, His 12 apostles.
    • It has come to be known as the Last Supper.
  • We will not get all the way through this final meal today but what we will see will demonstrate how God set forth a plan that He accomplished and though some stood against Him they had no power over Him.
    • And in that church we will be challenged and encouraged by what our God has accomplished.  
• In our time together we will break our verses into three parts and see how…
  • The Shadow meets the Substance… how…
  • The Sovereign directs His Surroundings… and lastly, how…
  • The Savior testifies of the Scandal… 
• With that let us jump into our verses and begin working through them today…

Mark 14:12-21

• As we step into these verses let me remind you of the context surrounding them…
  • We learn at the start of this chapter that the chief priests and the scribes were both seeking an opportunity to arrest and murder Jesus.
  • That opportunity presented itself when one of Jesus’ 12 came forward and offered to betray Him.
• In fact just before our verses that we just read we find in verses 10 and 11 Judas taking the initiative and promising to hand over Jesus to these religious leaders.  
  • Right on the heels of this betrayal, that was unknown by everyone except Christ, we find Jesus directing a situation that will enable He and His apostles to share what would be a final meal in a concealed place.  
  • Our attention though will start on the importance not just of this meal at this moment but the importance of the feast that was celebrated itself.
  • They were preparing, as we just read, for the Passover, this first of the feast days that were commanded all the way back in Exodus.
• Considering the great importance of this meal and what it represents, let us now turn our attention to our first point…

The Shadow meets the Substance - Vs. 12

• To start let us read again the main verse that drives this passage, it is verse 12 and verse 16, read them again with me…
  • Vs. 12
    • Now jump down to verse 16 and we find the result…
  • Vs. 16
• The Passover was the celebration of the people of God being brought out of Egypt during that final plague that God brought upon the Egyptians.
  • This was a feast that was intended to be celebrated year after year although for much of Israel’s history we see a lapse in this feast even being celebrated.
  • However, at the time of Christ it was practiced and we can clearly see three distinct Passovers celebrated by Christ throughout His ministry.
    • In fact, that is why we know that His public ministry lasted three years, we can track these feasts that He set time aside to celebrate.  
  • The reason we see the people of Israel commanded to uphold the feast days is for the sake of remembering how God worked and to keep in mind God’s promises.
• So let’s consider together the Passover as a feast and what it was meant to cause the people to remember because in that we will also see a shadow of what was to come…
  • If you would turn with me to Exodus 6 and find verse 6…
    • When you turn there I would tell you to keep in mind that this is early on in the Exodus story and that at this point there has not been one plague upon the Egyptians.
    • What we find in this chapter is God making clear His Promises and reminding Moses all that He will do through him.
  • This passage becomes one of great importance because throughout the Passover meal there were traditionally four cups that are referenced that represent these four promises of God found in Exodus 6.
    • Let’s read these verses and make note of these promises…
      • Exodus 6:6-7
      • If you mark in your Bibles I would encourage you to underline these four promises and make a note of how they relate to the Passover celebration.
    • They are…
      • “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians…”
      • “I will deliver you from slavery…”
      • “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment…”
      • “I will take you to be my people…”
    • As I already stated the Passover had four cups of wine that were referenced throughout the meal that caused the people to reflect upon these four promises.
• So we can imagine this happening this particular night in Mark 14… 
  • Christ would have taken the first cup and He and the apostles would have been reminded that God brought the people out from under the burden of the Egyptians..
    • They would reflect back on how God did that and how He showed Himself faithful throughout the time of the Exodus.
  • Similarly, Jesus would have taken the second cup and they would have reflected upon how God brought them out of the house of slavery.
    • Not only were they not burdened anymore with the daily work required of them but they were no longer slaves, they had been set free.
  • Then, He would have taken up the third cup, this cup, most scholars agree, was the cup that Jesus raised as He set forth the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.
    • We did not get into this in our text today, but it would have been this cup for which He raised and said…
      • “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
      • So not only did this cause them to reflect upon God’s third promise in Exodus 6…
        • Where he promised to “redeem them” with “outstretched arms and great acts of judgments”
      • But it also now connected the Passover to the celebration of the life and death of Christ.
• We are going to dive deeper into this next week as we look at this ordinance and what it means for us specifically as a body of believers…
  • However, please pause with me right now and consider that as the people of Israel celebrated the Passover year after year…
    • They not only looked back and remembered at how God worked but they, unknowingly, looked forward to the Messiah that was to come.
  • Even in the practice of the first Passover we find the story of the Gospel and the Messiah that was to suffer…
    • Turn forward to Exodus 12 and find verse 23…
      • As you turn there let me share with you of the first Passover.
      • It is connected to the final plague that God brought upon the Egyptians.
        • Set in motion because Pharaoh would not allow the people of Israel to go…
        • Therefore, God brought upon him and the region the death of the firstborn in one night.  
    • What we find in this story is that it was also a danger to the people of Israel, for they were commanded to take a lamb and to kill it, roast it, and eat it, while also applying the blood of the lamb to the doorpost of their house.  
      • So in this the lamb died and the blood was applied so that the judgment of God would pass over the people of Israel.
        • Verse 23 captures this reality very well in one verse…
      • Exodus 12:23
    • What is interesting about that verse and what I love about this verse is that we see the actions of the Lord on two fronts…
      • First, we see that He is the One passing through and executing judgment upon the people.
      • Second, we see that He is the One guarding the door that is covered by the blood.
    • He is both the Judge and the Protector in this moment, this all is meant to foreshadow the life and death of Christ.
  • We see this clearly and early in the Gospel of John where John the Baptist sees Christ and decarles…
    • John 1:29b - “... “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
      • This declaration was shown to be true in the ultimate sacrifice as Christ laid down His life for the sake of those He loved.
      • He is the Lamb that was slain and year after year as they partook of the Passover feast they looked ahead to Lamb that was yet to come.
    • This is why Jesus died at the Passover, it was so there was no doubt that He was indeed the Lamb to come to take away the sins of the world.
      • So much in the same way that the blood had to be applied in the time of the Exodus so also must the blood of Christ be applied today.
      • Not over our doorposts but over our lives as we by faith trust in His atoning death and Glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
  • What I want you to see at this moment is that what was established in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant was but a shadow of what was to come in Christ.
    • Colossians 2:16-17 - “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
    • To that end I urge you to consider the Old Testament and how it points forward to the substance found in Christ.
• Therefore, read it, learn it, know it, and see how Christ is the full fulfillment of what was promised.
  • Now, let us turn back to Mark 14, focusing on the first half of our verses and see how…

The Sovereign directs His Surroundings - Vs. 12-16

• What I mean by that is that our Lord shows supernatural control and foreknowledge over His situation.
  • Even though Judas worked and operated in secret and no one else knew of his actions, Jesus did.
  • Even though the apostles did not know how close to danger they really were, Jesus did.
  • What we find in these verses is not just simply foreknowledge but we also see Jesus directing this moment in order to share this final meal, this final night, with the 12.
• Church, we have talked about this much before as we have stepped into this final week of Jesus life but it is important we observe it again…
  • Jesus was not forced to go to the cross, but He went willingly and joyfully to stand in the place of man.
  • Passages like this just simply lead up to that important reality…
    • These verses serve as a reminder that it was not just the cross but every detail surrounding it.
      • In this case it has to do with this final meal that Jesus desired to eat with His apostles.
      • The parallel account of this is found in Luke 22 and we are told that Jesus said to His apostles…
        • Luke 22:15b - “…“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
      • This night was to be a night of great significance, of great importance, and there was not anything that anyone could have done to stand in the way of it.
    • Just to share with you how important this night was let us hold our place in Mark 14 and flip over to the Gospel of John and find chapter 13.
      • John 13 opens up with Jesus and His apostles in the upper room and John shares the first thing that happened that night, something only recorded in John’s Gospel…
        • Jesus laid aside his outer garment and began to wash the feet of His apostles.
          • This final night of Jesus' life began with the work of a servant.
          • The passage quickly turns to the Passover meal they shared and Jesus begins telling them that one would betray Him.
        • Then, just like the other accounts, Judas leaves but instead of the narrative continuing, like in the other Gospels, John pulls back the curtain on the teaching of Christ in these final hours.
      • So what we have is from John 13:31 all the way through the end of John 17 we have this rich moment that Christ set aside for the faithful 11.
        • Nearly three full chapters of teaching and one chapter of Jesus’ recorded prayer that all took place between the Passover meal and the garden before His arrest.
      • Some of the most important teachings of Christ are found across these chapters…
        • Let me share just a few verses that stand out that Jesus spoke in these final hours…
          • John 13:34
          • John 14:6
          • John 14:26
          • John 15:5
          • John 15:13
          • John 16:33
          • John 17:17
      • We are just skimming the surface, but how meaningful were these final hours that Jesus shared with these 11 men. 
    • Though it is not recorded in the other Gospels…
      • When we consider this final night we should not just see a meal, and we should not just see the initiation of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper…
      • We should also see this final teaching moment that Jesus shares with His faithful 11.
    • Let’s turn back to Mark 14…
  • What we must remember is that this night, this teaching, this meal was all possible because Christ set it into motion.
    • There is speculation on whether Christ secretly set up ahead of time or if this was a situation that was brought about divinely.
    • Either way the apostles who set forth to set up the meal found things just as Jesus had said.
    • So they set out to do as they had been commanded…
      • We learn in Luke that it was Peter and John that the Lord had given this task to.
      • Luke 22:8 - “So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”
    • These two trusted apostles did as they were commanded, and found all things just as the Lord had told them.
  • The setup of this final night of the life our Lord should remind us and demonstrate to us that…
• As the world seems to be out of control our Lord demonstrates that even the smallest of details are found to be in His control.
• I assure you, church, this is no less true today than it was 2000 years ago.
  • Furthermore, just as Christ directed His apostles then so also does He direct us today.
  • We have a task before us and there is work to be done, let us remember as we go about His business that He is ordering and will see it through.
• Now let us turn our attention back to our verses and the second half of our text where…

The Savior testifies of the Scandal - Vs. 17-21

• Let us read these verses again…
  • Vs. 17-21
• Here we find the moment that Jesus shares that one will betray Him into the hands of men.
  • Since we are familiar with the story and we know, even from the start of the narrative, that Judas will turn against Him…
    • I think it is sometimes hard for us to remember just how shocking this was for the rest of the apostles.
  • Keep in mind that these men had walked together, served together, lived together, for the last three years.
    • They shared meals, they shared private moments with Jesus, they knew one another or they thought they did.
      • Judas was no less a part of the ministry of the apostles during this time than any of the others.
      • We see just how in the dark they all were with what happened across our text.  
    • As they sat around hearing from Christ that one would betray Him and as they looked around the table they all thought, “it must be me…”
      • We find them all turning to Christ and asking…
        • “Is it I?”
    • Can you imagine being a part of a tight knit group and learning that one will be the weakest link and then looking around the table and wondering, is it me?
      • That is what is happening in our verses, the weakness in themselves seemed to be a greater explanation than thinking ill of their brothers.
      • For these men it made more sense for the weakness to be in themselves rather than it being in one of the others.
    • Which means that when Judas sold out the Lord he also turned his back on his closest companions.
      • It is no wonder his life found the end that it did, for he did not just betray one but he betrayed the closest 12 people in his life.
      • Selling out not only Jesus but also turning his back upon those who treated him as a brother.
      • I imagine that he could not bear facing these men after the death of Jesus.
  • In all of this conversation and questioning let us keep in mind that Jesus not only knew of the betrayal but he knew who the betrayer was.
    • This also is made more clear in other Gospel accounts…
      • Matthew records more clearly the words of Jesus toward Judas…
        • When all of the apostles are going around asking, “Is it I, Lord”, Matthew records Judas' words and our Lord’s response.
        • Matthew 26:25 - “Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
  • Jesus knew who was to betray Him, He knew what was to come, He knew that in mere hours Judas would approach Him with a mob and hand Him over with a kiss.  
• Yet in all of that knowledge let us marvel together how the Son of Man treated the one who betrayed Him into the hands of men…
  • Judas was among them as Jesus knelt and washed his feet…
  • Judas was among them as they went through the Passover celebration…
  • Even here as Jesus speaks of His betrayer He seems to do so with sorrow…
    • Mark 14:21
  • In that verse Jesus is basically saying…
    • “What was coming upon me was coming upon me regardless…”
      • That is why he said that the Son of Man goes as written, the cross was in the plan from the very start.
      • Nothing and no one was going to overthrow that plan or thwart that purpose.
    • Yet Judas out of greed and out of the love of money betrayed the perfect Son of God.
      • Jesus rightly says that it would have been better if He had not been born.
      • This was not because Judas could not have repented but because He knew that He would not.
      • Judas' story was not to be one of redemption but one of destruction which exists as a warning for us today.
    • Please let me share with you the words of J.C. Ryle regarding Judas…
      • “It is impossible to conceive a more striking proof of this painful truth, than the history of Judas Iscariot. If ever there was a man who at one time looked like a true disciple of Christ, and bade fair to reach heaven, that man was Judas. He was chosen by the Lord Jesus Himself to be an apostle. He was privileged to be a companion of the Messiah, and an eye-witness of His mighty works, throughout His earthly ministry. He was an associate of Peter, James, and John. He was sent forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to work miracles in Christ’s name. He was regarded by all the eleven apostles as one of themselves. He was so like his fellow disciples, that they did not suspect him of being a traitor. And yet this very man turns out at last a false-hearted child of the devil,—departs entirely from the faith,—assists our Lord’s deadliest enemies, and leaves the world with a worse reputation than any one since the days of Cain. Never was there such a fall, such an apostacy, such a miserable end to a fair beginning,—such a total eclipse of a soul!”
    • Harsh words but true nonetheless…
  • As we consider these verses…
• There are two important truths to examine today…
  • First, let us be reminded that Christ sees the heart…
    • There is nothing we could conceal from our Lord…
      • He sees our motives, He sees our desires, He knows our actions of yesterday and He knows our faults of tomorrow.
      • Though Judas fooled all those around him including those closest to him he could not fool the Savior.
    • Nor could we today, so the challenge is anytime that we examine Judas that we are certain we are not playing the part that he did.
      • This leads us into the second truth to consider in light of these verses… 
  • Second, let us realize that if Judas can be so near and so lost so also can that be true of us…
    • Judas’ story is hard because of this very reality, he is the example that someone can be so close to the Savior yet still completely lost.
    • So let me remind you of the Gospel today, and remind you that it is not by the works of your hands, not by the purity of your actions, but simply by the blood of the savior.
      • That is why we say with confidence that Judas could have repented because his potential forgiveness was not about him but about the blood of the Son of God.
      • Jesus’ blood is able to forgive the chief sinner among us, because it is not about us but about Him.
    • In this I have full confidence that our salvation is not a mystery and that God is able, even as we talk about this, to make it known to you whether or not you are in the faith.
      • It matters not if you have fooled those around you…
      • Your salvation is not dependent upon your membership, your baptism, or even if you identify with Christ…
      • Your salvation is found in where you have trusted, where your faith is found.
        • You say, Jesus is my Lord and my God for I know that nothing good dwells within me but it is only by the blood of the Savior that I am saved.
      • Praise God then, for your redemption is not found in you but found in Him.
    • The last thing I would want to do is cause a person to doubt their genuine salvation, but I also likewise know that among the people of God there will always exist those…
      • Who, like Judas, are close and nothing more…
      • Who, like Judas, attend and minister, but who are driven by their own desires.
      • J.C. Ryle also said of these…
        • “Knowledge, gifts, profession, privileges, church-member-ship, power of preaching, praying, and talking about religion, are all useless things, if our hearts are not converted.”
    • If that is you today then I want to remind you of something that you already know…
      • Christ died and took upon Himself your sins and paid for them in full so that salvation can be offered to you.
      • If you have not fully trusted in Him, then I urge you to place your faith in this savior who died.
  • It is here that we will close out our time together today…

Closing

• Friends, God sat in motion the cross before the foundations of the earth were laid…
  • Redemption was always in the plan of God even before the fall of man.
  • We see this all over scripture at it testified to the Perfect One who was to come and die in the place of sinful man.
• However, the Gospel is of no use if the blood of the Savior is not applied…
  • So I ask, as I do often, have you placed your faith in the Lamb that died in your place?
  • I urge you to consider it, to dwell upon it, and to respond accordingly.
• Let us pray.