Morning Musing: Mark 14:21

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“For the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Yesterday we talked about loving in ways that seem hard to the recipient of that love. Last week we talked about why Judas betrayed Jesus. This morning, I want to look with you at something Jesus said that sits right at the intersection of these two conversations. This is another one of those things Jesus said that doesn’t make sense at first read. Well, that’s not quite totally true. It makes sense on it face, but the sentiment He expresses here prompts some challenging theological quandaries. Let’s talk for a few minutes this morning about the time Jesus said it would have been better for someone not to have been born.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 14:17-19

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“When evening came, he arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, ‘Surely not I?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever betrayed anyone’s trust? I’m not talking about lying to another person. That particular sin is on all of our balance sheets. I’m talking about actively betraying another person. They trusted you to do something that would advance their interests in some way and instead, you acted in a manner that intentionally did the opposite. They trusted you to be a certain type of person because you led them to believe as much, but the truth is you never were, and eventually they found out. That’s a pretty terrible place to be. If you’ve been there, you know the heavy weight of emotion and guilt you bear for it. Now, imagine that you haven’t done something like that, but someone tells you that you will. How are you feeling now? That’s where the disciples found themselves quite unexpectedly on the night of what would be their last supper with Jesus. Let’s talk about it.

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Faith at Home

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As we continue this week in our series, Standing Firm, through the New Testament letter of 1 Peter, it seems like the apostle is going off the rails. He’s been preaching a consistent and powerful message, but here it looks like he’s switching gears entirely. If you look closely, though – as we’ll do in this message – he’s being perfectly consistent with the theme he’s had running from the start. Although it looks like this passage is about wives submitting to their husbands and is thus terribly controversial, it’s about something much more important than that. Lean in with me and let’s see what Peter has to say here.

Faith at Home

You all know what a Chinese finger trap is, yes? A few months ago, I gave one to everyone in the room. Naturally, everyone who was here kept theirs in a treasured spot as you do with all your sermon freebies. I don’t suspect I need to explain to you how they work. You put your fingers in and when you try to pull them out, you discover they are trapped. The harder you pull, the more thoroughly you find yourself trapped. The trap works by taking your natural inclination—to pull harder when you’re stuck—and makes it work against you. The design tightens more the more it is stretched. In other words, when it comes to escaping from a Chinese finger trap, force isn’t going to do the trick. So, what does? Gentleness.

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Digging in Deeper: James 1:19-20

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“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.”
— ‭‭James‬ ‭1:19-20‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

I don’t usually come back to the same passage quite so soon after talking about it on a given day, but I just couldn’t think of any more relevant a word for what I am seeing happen in my little corner of the world right now than what James wrote here. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about anger and why people seem so angry all the time these days. Then, this past week, I’ve watched people be angry and stay angry and my mind went back to James’ wisdom. What are they angry about? On the surface, a bit of cloth, thread, and elastic that can’t cost more than about fifty cents. Let’s talk this morning about masks.

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Morning Musing: Mark 14:15-16

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“He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” So the disciples went out, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”
— ‭‭Mark‬ ‭14:15-16‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

I remember being given a worksheet to do when I was in an elementary summer school program years ago. I’m pretty sure it’s still around today. At a glance, it is a pretty simple worksheet. There are twenty instructions students are to follow. As soon as the list is complete, they may turn it in. The kick is, the instructions all seem pretty weird. None of them are difficult. There are short math problems, instructions to count out loud, easy geography questions, and the like. At the very top of the page, though, is one other instruction. In fact, it is the only instruction on the page. It says to read everything first, and then get started. That seems innocuous enough, but most students don’t follow it. You can tell because only one or two students walk up to the front of the room and hand their paper in almost immediately. They do this because the last problem gives a simple command: As soon as you read this, take this paper back to your teacher, you are finished. Students who followed the instructions carefully had a much easier road than those who didn’t. In another odd little episode between Jesus and His disciples here, we find a reminder of this same truth.

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