Contrast in Character

Mark 14:66-72

      One of the keen skills of our military Special Forces is the ability to blend into a culture very different from our own. The master the language, the customs, the mannerisms, the dress, the eating habits of the other culture. Then they slip in and live among that population unnoticed. At the right moment they act. I admire their dedication to their task.

      We all have to learn to blend in. We go to school and try to dress like the other kids. If we don’t, we are picked on and made fun of. As adults we have usually learned the limits of acceptable behavior. We curb our desires to act too crazy for fear of rejection. About the only time blending isn’t important is in marketing. When we want to sell something, we want to stand out from the crowd, we want to be noticed.

      When I lived overseas I was often told to try to blend into the surrounding culture. We were all told to not wear American looking clothes. The American flag T-shirts were a definite no go. We had to curb our public behavior. We Americans can be loud and intrusive compared to other European cultures. We usually stick out like sore thumbs.

      I remember moving to San Antonio, TX. As an English speaker, I stuck out! I was also a non-Texan. Two strikes. And I wasn’t tan. Strike three.

      Peter, the apostle, didn’t do any better at blending in than many of us in a foreign location. He was under pressure. He was right under the nose of those who had captured his leader. Fear was rampant, probably palatable. It is late at night. He is in the courtyard of the high priest, a very powerful and probably wealthy individual. It would have been a large house with a courtyard large enough for Peter to have moved around and try to evade detection.

      This kind of wealth was very different than what Peter was used to. He was a fisherman by trade, hardly the kind of career that led to great wealth. He didn’t manage a fleet of boats. He manned his own vessel, probably a fairly small, sail and oar driven vessel. He would have caught enough to feed himself and his family with enough left over to sell to pay for the other necessities of life. No 401k padded him from retirement poverty. If he didn’t fish, he didn’t eat.

      So standing in this rather lavish house and grounds would have been difficult for him under any circumstance. But these weren’t just any circumstances. Jesus had been arrested and was being questioned only a few feet away, behind those walls. The One in whom Peter had put his earthly, and maybe spiritual hopes, was being railroaded. And there was nothing he could do about it.

      He tries to blend into the crowd, but a pesky servant keeps poking her nose into his business. He wants to blend in, but she keeps pointing the spotlight his direction.

The Power of a Kiss

Mark 14:44-46

      James Bond movies have made the poison kiss part of our cultural language. It was always the beautiful enemy spy who would pass the poison. What makes the delivery system so striking is the mixed messages given. The kiss is a sign of intimacy and affection. Kisses are usually reserved for family. In some cultures cheek kisses are exchanged when greeting takes place. “You may kiss the Bride” signals the official start of a marriage. Kisses before this moment didn’t really count. This is the first official kiss of the new couple.

      So when a kiss is used to pass poison, an agent of illness and death, the mixture of messages is stark. Intimacy is about trust and care. Poison is about hatred and vengeance. So to put these two together is a great combination.

      Judas is going to betray Jesus with a kiss. Hear the contrast? But a kiss really was the perfect action for making sure Jesus was the One arrested. Judas didn’t want any mistakes, and neither did those who wanted Him arrested. Judas wanted his money; they wanted Him dead. So they had to be sure the right person was nabbed.

      Pointing a finger in the middle of the night wouldn’t narrow the field down much. Neither would describing Jesus’ clothing or appearance. Most men dressed pretty much the same back then. Most would have had beards and long hair. And in the late night light, with only some torches to provide flickering light.

      So the kiss by Judas was the perfect identifying act. Judas would be close enough to ensure that Jesus was the one He was identifying. He was going to kiss, after all. Now before you get too grossed out, it would have been a kiss on the cheek, not a strange HBO kiss between grown men. It would have been a mutual kiss on the cheek, like some Europeans do still today.

      And those who have come to carry out their orders seize on the signal and arrest Jesus. There isn’t much this group of twelve men could do to resist this group of professional soldier and guards. They had trained together for this type of mission. They knew exactly what to do if there was any resistance to their actions. They were carrying out their activity with the authority of Rome behind them. You couldn’t get much more powerful than that.

      Remember, a kiss is a powerful thing. Don’t take it for granted. Hopefully the kisses you experience today will be ones that don’t trigger an armed response unit!

Three Strikes

Mark 14:27

      In American Baseball, three strikes means you are out. You are finished with your turn at bat. You failed as a batter. You let down your team. The worst time to strike out happens when the bases are loaded. There are three runners just waiting for the opportunity to score. So when the batter gets three strikes, the disappointment is palatable. You can often hear the groans of disappointment from the fans in the stands.

      Strikes at a factory can mean lost wages, a lost job, or even a lost industry. Strikes of transportation assets can mean a city comes to a halt. Striking a piece of precious porcelain or crystal can mean destruction. Striking the face in an argument can mean the beginning of the end of a marriage. But in Olympic boxing, striking the face gains points in your favor.

      But there is something very different that happens when a leader is struck in such a way that they lose their position of authority. When an assassination takes place of a world leader, the consequences can be destabilizing. In the power vacuum, struggles for power can lead to blood baths and oppression.

      Mark tells us that after Jesus had finished the meal He started the walk out of Jerusalem toward Bethany where He was lodging during the Passover feast. But along the way He was going to make a stop at Gethsemane. Jesus knew He would never make it back to His lodging. He would be betrayed prior to that moment.

      Judas has already left the group. We learn this from the other accounts of this moment. But Jesus and His eleven disciples start their journey. Jesus continues to talk about their falling away. He recognizes that their scattering is predicted in Zechariah. The LORD in Zechariah’s time foretold one of the elements of the Judgment. That one element Jesus picks up here that applies to the coming hours is the striking of the shepherd, Jesus Himself, and the scattering of the sheep, the disciples.

      I think the disciples still had the choice to stay true to Jesus, to not run away in the moment of decision. They could have stood with Jesus. They could have been on crosses numbered four through fourteen. But they turned and hid, not wanting to get caught up in the mess.

      It is part of the LORD’s plan that the shepherd is struck. Notice it is the LORD who does the striking. We might want to blame the religious leaders or the Romans for Jesus’ death on the cross, but Jesus’ death is part of the LORD’s plan. It had to happen in order for the penalty for your sin and my sin to be paid. If Jesus didn’t die, there would be no hope for humanity.

      And Jesus chose to go to the cross. He could have called angels to His rescue. He could have recanted His claims. He could have backed down and apologized and taken a plea deal. He could have agreed to stay silent. But He didn’t!

Finger Pointing

Mark 14:18-19

      I remember when I was a kid hearing those in authority in my life tell be about the finger pointing used when I was trying to shift blame away from myself. They would say something like this.  “Remember, when you point your finger at someone else you have four fingers pointing back at yourself.” To which I would give a smart-mouthed response, which was never well received, “Only three, my thumb is pointing forward also.” And when I say it was never received well, I mean NEVER!

      Blame shifting really never works the way we want it to work. Even if we can convince others it wasn’t you, we still know the truth. This kind of lie works its damage on us. We pay a price for blame shifting. Kids learn to blame shift as soon as they have a sibling. If they are an only child, they are behind the power curve. By the time they get to school, everyone else will have perfected the art of blame shifting, and their rank amateur status will become obvious.

      But kids aren’t the only ones who do this. When things are going south at work, not working out, and the heat is starting to be felt, blame is a wonderful tool. Point at the economy, the changing demographics, the competition, the delays in the supply chain, the workers, and the management. The secret is to point everywhere else. Never take responsibility for your part. It can’t be you, can it? You didn’t contribute to the problem, did you?

      Marriages are a great place for the blame shifting game. When hurts happen, it is easier to point the finger, raise the voice, and point out the other’s faults. But it takes two for a marriage to fail, even if your part was very small. Blaming helps put off the pain, if only for a few moments. Anger is easy. Grief is painful.

      Jesus tells His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him. This would have been the perfect opportunity to blame shift. Peter could have spoken up as the most impulsive in the group and blamed one of the more introverted disciples. Many of them could have pointed to Peter since he made an easy target. Jesus had, after all, told Peter, “get behind me, Satan” on one occasion. Others could have been singled out for their individual times of “not getting it.” There was plenty of blame to go around.

      But amazingly, each disciple in turn points the finger at themselves. This is so unlike them. They are willing, in this moment of greatest vulnerability, to take responsibility. They can’t believe what Jesus is saying. How could any of them betray their close friend, this One who cared so much for them.

      And yet, this is exactly what Jesus says will happen. One of them. This isn’t true! It wasn’t just Judas that betrayed Jesus. He might have taken the money and arranged the physical betrayal, but all the disciples fled. All of them turned their backs to one degree or another. None stayed rock solid.

Day 258

Agony experienced at Gethsemane 

Mark 14

Key Verses: 2, 3, 7, 13, 18, 25, 29, 34, 44, 52, 61,

It almost seems strange to write about Jesus’ last days on earth when we celebrated His first day only yesterday. I pray that you were able to keep Him central, even in the middle of the flying paper and excess calories. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my wife, my two children and their spouses, and my five grandchildren (and an “adopted” friend of the family). 

Jesus was getting ready for the great feast of Judaism. It celebrated their birth as a nation, their exodus from Egypt. And at the same time His enemies are plotting His execution. They had fear that riots would break out and the Romans would take over control and they would lose their place in power.

While they are plotting His death, Jesus is being anointed with oil and perfume, an ancient spa treatment! He is at the house of a societal outcast. He feels right at home. Some in attendance balk at the expenditure of resources on such an expensive gesture. What a waste, they say. Jesus blesses this woman and the gesture. Sometimes wealth can be used to bless in a way that seems extravagant, but it is OK. This is the exception rather than the rule. Not many times does Jesus commend the “waste” of resources. And guys, I don’t think a boat for her fits in this category, sorry!

Judas in there and takes his final steps toward his rebellion and suicide. He tries to force Jesus’ hand. You can’t force God.

The second predicted encounter happens during this final week. This time it is to secure a place for the Passover meal in the over-crowded city of Jerusalem. The encounter happens and they make preparations. But even with all this closeness, friendship, even intimacy that Jesus shared with His disciples, Judas chose to betray Jesus. And Jesus reveals this truth in such an intimate way. He uses food and drink that is being shared as part of their sacred time together in preparation for the Passover celebration. He says that it would be better if Judas had not been born. Not much worse than not being born.

This is my body and my blood. Sharing this meal was an act of consecration of Himself and of the disciples. He is the center. Without “eating Him” there is no salvation. We can talk about exactly what Jesus meant in detail, but it is clear He calls us to share in His essence. They conclude the meal by singing together. This meal was a fairly traditional meal with many elements that were identical for hundreds of years. They shared together to remember the past intervention of God in their lives. Jesus shares the meal again letting them know that His intervention would be a game-changer.

The aloneness of Jesus during this most difficult hour surprised me. He has His best friends, His closest confidants with Him, and He is alone as He prays. He pulls away leaving the disciples to join in His vigil. They are to stay alert; He is to struggle in prayer. Their job was simple; His was close to impossible. Have you ever felt alone in the middle of a crowd? Have you ever had such turmoil in your soul that you had to just pull away by yourself? And Jesus even knows what is going to happen next. Or perhaps it is because He knows what happens next that He is in such soulful turmoil.

Judas who left their last meal before it was completed returns. This is one return to which Jesus was not looking forward. Jesus knew the injustice and indignity to which He would be subjected, and yet He willing surrendered. And the betrayal happens with the symbol of intimacy: a kiss. This is perhaps the first recorded “kiss of death.” And the first recorded streaker! The streaker was probably Mark himself. Notice that he often names characters, and yet this one remains nameless. Would you want to attach your name to this?

Jesus’ enemies want to kill Him so much that they throw charges at Him hoping one will stick. The one that does is the statement connected to the Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. Messiah will come in the clouds. They knew exactly what Jesus was claiming. He was claiming to be God.

Jesus’ enemies respond with injustice. Jesus stayed true to God; Peter betrayed Him. Jesus willingly took the beatings and indignity; Peter pushes against any suffering with words of denial and rejection of the truth. Peter was so proud that when his betrayal is complete he breaks. Tears.