Christ Remains Faithful

Mark 14:51-72

Josh Deichmann 

Transcript

And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and
they seized him. But he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. And they led
Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the
scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the
courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming
himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking
testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore
false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up
and bore false witness against him saying, we have heard him say, I will destroy
this temple that is made with hands. And in three days I will build another, not
made with hands. Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high
priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, have you no answer to make? What
is it that these men testify against you? But he remained silent and made no
answer. Again the high priest asked him, are you the Christ, the son of the
blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man seated at the
right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest
tore his garments and said, what further witness do we need? You have heard this
blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death.
And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him saying to
him, I will die. And the guards received him with blows. And as Peter was below
in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came and seeing
Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, you also were with the
Nazarene, Jesus. But he denied it saying, I neither know nor understand what you
mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant
girls saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, this man is one of them.
But again he denied it. And after a little while, the bystanders again said to
Peter, certainly you are one of them for you're a Galilean. But as he began to
invoke on himself a curse and a swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak.
Immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had
said to him, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And
he broke down and wept. These are the words of the Lord. Let's pray. Father God,
thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you that we have your word
and that through your spirit we can understand your word and apply it to our
lives. Thank you for Christ that you sent him to die because we all fail. And we
need you to live in faith. So thank you for today and this morning. And as I go
through your word, I pray that it would be faithful to you. And in Jesus' name I
pray. Amen. So I played trumpet in school. All throughout middle school and high
school. And I was often called on to play Taps during Memorial Day, Flag Day,
and other occasions. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Taps, but it is a
solemn trumpet solo played to honor and remember the fallen. And it's not really
what you would call a team sport. It's usually just you and your trumpet tucked
away behind a tree or a building. If you're lucky, you'll have a partner who
plays the echo responding to your notes, but it also will be tucked behind some
tree or building. Typically, I would start Taps after the 21-gun salute. They
start out easy and slow. But the melody builds to a high, exposed note at the
end. Most times, this would go well. But sometimes, it didn't. The pressure
would get to me and instead of one clear, high, resounding note that would
spread across the cemetery, I'd find myself teetering between that note and
another note. Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and
forth. And let's just say, it didn't fit the solemn mood that we were shooting
for. It sounded more like an injured duck than a refined trumpet. Even though I
knew what to do, even though I had practiced, when the pressure came, I failed.
And as we transition from the cemeteries of Allegheny County to a more solemn
scene in the streets of Jerusalem, we see that our text begins and ends with
pressure and failure, but at a much higher level. Even though Christ followers
knew the risks and even though they had been warned, when the pressure came,
they failed. But as Mark drives us from the outside of our text to the center,
we see that the focus is not their failure or our failure, but the focus is on
Christ's faithfulness. This is where we're going. If there's one line that you
take away today, let it be this. Be encouraged even when we are unfaithful.
Christ remains faithful. We'll begin outside in the courtyard where Christ
followers fail and they stumble in their unfaithfulness. We'll then move inside
where the religious leaders also show themselves to be unfaithful. And finally,
in the center of it all, we'll see Christ remaining faithful. So we'll start
with the unfaithfulness of his followers. Let me set the scene. It's midnight in
Jerusalem. Jesus has been betrayed, he's been arrested, and he's been dragged
away by a mob. Just hours before, Jesus prophesied that all his followers would
fall away and that Peter would deny him three times. And although they all
objected, we see this come true in verse 50. And they all fled him, and they all
left him and fled. To put it in Jesus' words, the shepherd has been struck and
the sheep have scattered. Everything has gone wrong. The hero is captured, the
supporting cast is scattered, and the outlook is grim. But as the scene opens
up, we do see a flicker of hope. Yes, the disciples slept instead of praying.
Yes, Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed him. And yes, all of Jesus' followers
have fled. But as the camera pans out, we see that Christ has not been fully
abandoned because there are in fact two people following him. Verse 51, and a
young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. We also
see in verse 54, and Peter had followed him at a distance right into the
courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards and warming
himself at the fire. After initially fleeing the scene, these two men gather
their courage and they follow Christ. But as readers who know the outcome, we
can't help but pity them. Looking at this young man, he is following Christ in
nothing but a linen cloth. But unfortunately for him, his courage is shortly
lived. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
Verses like this one can really cause us to do a double take. We can be like,
what did I just read here? Why is this here? There's a handful of verses like
this in the Bible. And while we can't know exactly why Mark wanted to include
this detail, we do know that this man would rather face the public shame of
nakedness than to be associated with Christ. He tries to follow, but the
pressure comes and he stumbles and he falls. Out of our two followers, one of
them is down. But all is not lost. We still have Peter. Peter the rock. Peter
the rock on which Christ will build his church. Surely he will have more
success. And in fact, he's infiltrated the enemy ranks and he's sitting next to
the guards in the courtyard of the high priest, warming himself at the fire. To
pick up his story, we're actually going to jump to the end of our text in verse
66. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the
high priest came and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said,
you also were with the Nazarene, Jesus. But he denied it, saying, I neither know
nor understand what you mean. And he went out into the gateway and the rooster
crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders,
this man is one of them. But again, he denied it. And after a little while, the
bystanders again said to Peter, certainly you are one of them, for you are a
Galilean. But he began to a curse on himself and swear. I do not know this man
of whom you speak. And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter
remembered how Jesus had said to him, before the rooster crows twice, you will
deny me three times. And he broke down and wept. As the pressure comes, we see
another failure. Peter the rock has crumbled. He goes as far as to invoke a
curse on himself, swearing that he doesn't know Jesus. With gusto, he fulfills
Christ's prophecy from just hours before, denying him three times before
morning. He realizes this and weeps. And with our small flame of hope, as it
flickers out, we are saddened. The men initially fail, they try to recommit, and
then they fail yet again, but spectacularly. It seems as though it would have
been better if they didn't even try. Instead of simply fleeing, we now have
shameful abandonment and fearful denial. We read this and we sometimes ask, how
could they do this? Especially Peter. He passionately promised that he would not
do this very thing. But the reality is, their stories are our stories. And their
responses are our responses. We may be followers of Christ, but under the
pressures of this world, we often flee him in shame and deny him out of fear. We
may not be running in the streets naked. We may not be cursing that we don't
know him. But when it costs us something, how often do we distance ourselves
from Christ and deny him with our actions? We see this everywhere. We see this
in our witness and our evangelism. Maybe an opportunity comes up to share our
faith, but we shrink back. We say, this isn't the time. I don't want to make it
weird. People make fun of me. Maybe a coworker is going through a major trial
and clearly needs hope, but you offer generic encouragement instead of the
gospel. We see this too in our workplace and school. Maybe you gossip and
complain because doing otherwise would make you stand out, would make you an
outsider. Maybe you cut corners because everyone always has. Maybe you instigate
crude jokes because you think as long as you're not leading the charge, it's
okay. We see this too in our families and our relationships. Maybe you normally
pray before meals, but you don't when your extended family comes. Maybe you
alter your standards in dating because you're tired of being alone. Maybe you
explode in anger at your spouse or kids because you're tired at the end of a
long day. Maybe when you visit your family, you find yourself slipping back into
the old sinful patterns, not because you want to, but because it feels easier
than disrupting the you that they expect. And we also see this in our own
personal integrity. Maybe you skip church week after week, not because you're
sick, but because you're slowly drifting. Maybe your worth gets defined by
likes, shares, and social media validation rather than your identity in Christ.
Maybe you compromise your convictions to maintain friendships or avoid conflict,
and maybe you pursue success, comfort, or approval with the same intensity with
which you used to pursue Christ. Under pressure, we all have or will identify
with many of these examples. I know that I do. We are faithful followers of
Christ, but too often we run and deny. We fail in our following, and we stumble
into unfaithfulness. Looking from this outdoor scene at the beginning and end of
our text, we move to the center of our text inside, and we'll see the leaders of
Israel and how they fare. We'll flip back to verse 55. Now the chief priests and
the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but
they found none, for many bore false witness against him, but their testimony
did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, we
heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three
days I will build another not made with hands. Yet even about this, their
testimony did not agree. So this is a chaotic scene steeped with corruption. A
trial that should be happening during the day is starting in the middle of the
night. Instead of gathering at the temple complex, 70 men have piled in to the
house of the high priest. Before any witnesses have spoken, we have seen that
their intent is to put Jesus to death. The same people who bribed Judas are now
condemning Christ. The ones who are meant to protect the law have discarded it.
Instead of seeking justice in the light, they are breeding injustice under the
cover of night. What we're seeing here is a phony trial. This is corruption and
injustice at the highest level. And as this corruption plays out, let's pick
back up in verse 60. When the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus,
have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But
he remained silent and made no answer. Christ remains silent. This should be
shocking to us. We can't stand to have our character questioned or words
misremembered. Even at the slightest accusation, we jump to defend ourselves.
Yet here stands the only truly innocent man who had ever lived, and he says
nothing. It's only when he's asked directly that Christ speaks. Look at verse
61. Again the high priest asked him, are you the son, are you the Christ, the
son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am, and you will see the son of man seated
at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. We will revisit
these words later, but in short, Jesus makes an unmistakable claim to deity,
which explains what happens next. Continuing on in verse 63. And the high priest
tore his garments and said, what further witness do you need? You have heard his
blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death.
And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to
him, prophesy. And the guards received him with blows. Hearing Jesus claim to
divinity, they charged him with the capital offense of blasphemy and condemn the
son of God to death. And to complete this picture of corruption, if we didn't
already have enough, the high priest tears his robes, which also violates the
Jewish law that he's supposed to uphold. If you're curious, you can look in
Leviticus 21 10. These men make up the highest court in Israel. They were
responsible for upholding God's law and justice, and instead they discard God's
law and they twist justice. They've abused their God-given power and authority.
In an incredible understatement, we can say that they too have been unfaithful.
Unfaithful to their roles, unfaithful to God's people, and unfaithful to God
himself. Although we live in a different context, we see the same today. Many
who claim to lead for Christ can fall headlong into unfaithfulness. I'm sure
that we've seen this before, unfortunately. Maybe you've been deeply hurt by a
church's abuse of power and authority. Perhaps you were manipulated or
controlled. Maybe church discipline was abused. You left the congregation in
pain, and you struggled to commit to another body of believers. And you wonder,
will this happen again? Maybe you've seen a pastor or elder get caught in a
terrible sin and fall into disqualification. Someone you looked up to and
respected has shattered your trust. You ask, if they could fall so far, who can
I trust? Maybe you look around and see churches trading sound doctrine for
crowd-pleasing messages. The prosperity gospel promises health and wealth
instead of cross-bearing discipleship. Sin is minimized or ignored altogether
while people are encouraged to find their best life now rather than to die to
themselves. You watch as they preach a different gospel. Seeing this is
discouraging. It's disheartening. It's just sad. If those who are supposed to be
shepherds and upholders of God's word can fail so deeply, where can we find
hope? As we revisit Jesus' words, we get our answer. At the end of verse 61, the
high priest asked Christ, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? And as the
question hangs in the air, I imagine the camera pulling back to show us the full
scope of unfaithfulness that we've witnessed. Outside we see a silhouette of a
young man running naked into the night. In the courtyard, we see Peter weeping
after his third denial. And inside we see the chaos and corruption of the
highest court in the land twisting justice. Everyone has failed. Everyone has
proven unfaithful. And this is where Christ speaks. In this mess of 22 verses,
he speaks once. He responds and says, I am. Christ's words cut across the scene.
In this divine callback that reaches back thousands of years, Jesus affirms his
identity with the same words that God used with Abraham, I am, making it clear
and without a doubt who he is claiming to be. He is the God of their fathers,
and he will deliver his people. He is faithful. He's faithful to his identity.
He's faithful to his task. He's faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful. But
he doesn't stop at I am. He continues, and you will see the Son of Man seated at
the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. So this picture of
Son of Man coming with the clouds is from Daniel 7. Daniel 7, 13 through 14.
I'll read snippets from both of those verses. I saw in the night visions and
behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. And to him
was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. And laying claim to the right hand
of power, he's calling back to Psalm 110, 1. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my
right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. And so in a single
statement, Christ is weaving together not one, not two, but three Messenic
texts. He's saying, I am the one the prophecies are talking about. It's no
surprise that the religious leaders responded as they did. And as we read
Christ's words, we see that he isn't simply claiming to be God. He's speaking to
the unfaithful. To the unfaithful followers who run and deny, he shows that he
will stand firm. And to the unfaithful leaders who twist justice, he proclaims
that he will judge them. For those of us who follow Christ, this is really good
news. When we fail to follow him, we can remember that he is faithful. When we
fail in our witness, he remains the perfect witness. When we compromise our
integrity, he remains perfectly faithful. And when we drift from him, he never
drifts from us. This doesn't mean that we should embrace our sin, but that we
should embrace our Savior. Seeing our unfaithfulness shows us our need for his
faithfulness. If our faith and following were up to us, we would have no chance.
He is the one that accomplishes our faith. He is the one that leads us in our
sanctification, and he is the one who brings it to completion. An encouraging
verse for us is 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 and 24. Now may the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful.
He will surely do it. This is the promise we see on display in this text. He is
faithful. We trust that even though we fail, the Holy Spirit is still working in
us. Seeing and resting in his faithfulness encourages us to kill sin and strive
to be more like Christ. Not because we are seeking to win his love, but because
we already have it. And as we think back to the injustice and corruption in the
church at large, we can also take heart. Even now, Christ is the one with the
ultimate power and authority. He's the only leader who won't fail you. Psalm
146, 3 through 5 puts this perfectly. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of
man in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the
earth, and on that very day his plans perish. Trust is he whose help is in the
God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord. Even though we see pastors fall, even
though the gospel is distorted, our hope is not in men. Our hope is in the Lord
God. We trust that God is faithful and powerful and will preserve his church and
his people. And for those of you who don't know Christ, this is a warning, but
it's also an invitation. This man Jesus was not just a prophet who died, he is
the king who reigns in power. In a world where we live for ourselves and where
we grasp for our own authority, know that he will come back as judge. But you
too can be saved by his faithfulness. First John 1 says it like this, if we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. That's it. The invitation is there. So bringing it
to a close, yes, we obviously fail in the everyday things of life like playing
taps, but more seriously we stumble in our faith and we fall short. Just like
everyone in this passage, we run and we deny. We do this every time we choose
comfort over obedience, silence over witness, and sin over faithfulness. And
although it is good for us to come away from this passage mourning our
unfaithfulness, it is far better for us to come away from this passage rejoicing
in Christ's faithfulness. Because that's the point here. Not simply that we
fail, but that he doesn't. He is the better Adam who didn't run and hide. He
remained faithful to his mission, faithful to his people, and faithful to his
father. He remains faithful to me and to you. So be encouraged even when we are
unfaithful. Christ remains faithful. Let's pray.