Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024037S
|
00:00 ♪♪♪
00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:13 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 We're glad that you are able to join us this week 00:20 as we look at lesson number 11, "Taken and Tried." 00:24 This is a 13-week journey that we are taking 00:26 through the book of Mark, and we're glad 00:28 that you are able to join us. Let's begin today with prayer. 00:31 Father, we ask that You will bless our time together 00:33 as we continue our journey through the book of Mark. 00:35 We're learning more and more about Jesus, 00:37 more and more about the plan of salvation 00:40 and the price that was paid 00:41 that we might have access to salvation. 00:44 We ask that You might bless our time together today, 00:47 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:49 >>Dr. Thomas Shepherd: Amen. >>Eric: Well, we're also glad 00:51 to have Dr. Tom Shepherd here with us. 00:53 He is the senior research professor for New Testament 00:57 at the Theological Seminary, Andrews University. 01:00 Tom, thank you once again for joining us. 01:02 >>Tom: It's a joy to be here. 01:04 >>Eric: So, you've authored this, 01:05 you've taken us on a 10-week journey so far, 01:08 we're getting toward the very end here, 01:10 and we're getting into the last bit of Jesus' life, 01:14 as it were, "Taken and Tried" in lesson number 11. 01:18 We get to Mark 14, and we hear this story. 01:21 We read about the story of a woman 01:23 who anoints Jesus' head with an oil of spikenard. 01:27 Why did she do this? 01:29 >>Tom: [laughs] It's a good question. 01:31 The text actually never tells us why she did. 01:34 This is one of the last sandwich stories in the Gospel of Mark, 01:40 and it puts together the plot to kill Jesus 01:44 and Judas' betrayal of Jesus with the story about this woman. 01:51 Mark 14, 15, and 16 are known as the "passion narrative." 01:55 It's that section that tells us about the events 01:59 right before and including His death 02:03 and then His resurrection. 02:04 So, we should read some of this passage. 02:08 Let's start with verses 1 and 2 of Mark 14. 02:11 >>Eric: "After two days it was the Passover 02:13 "and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 02:14 "And the chief priests and the scribes sought 02:17 "how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. 02:20 "But they said, 'Not during the feast, 02:21 lest there be an uproar of the people.'" 02:24 >>Tom: So, they're plotting to kill Jesus, 02:26 but they don't want to do it in public. 02:28 They don't want to, you know, make a scene. 02:30 They're afraid that the people will object and stop them, 02:36 so it says "not during the feast." 02:38 Actually, it might be not during or not in the feast, 02:41 meaning not in public. They want to do it in private, 02:44 which is what they end up doing. 02:45 But then we break away from that story 02:48 of their plot to the story of this woman. 02:51 So, it's good to read that whole story, 02:53 it's a beautiful little story, verses 3 through 9 of Mark 14. 02:58 >>Eric: "And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 03:01 "as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask 03:05 "of very costly oil of spikenard. 03:08 "Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 03:10 "But there were some who were indignant among themselves, 03:13 "and said, 'Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 03:17 "'For it might have been sold for more than 300 denarii 03:20 "and given to the poor.' And they criticized her sharply. 03:23 "But Jesus said, 'Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? 03:27 "'She has done a good work for me. 03:29 "'For you have the poor with you always, 03:31 "'and whenever you wish you may do them good; 03:33 "'but me you do not [always have]. 03:35 "'She has done what she could. 03:37 "'She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. 03:40 "'Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached 03:43 "'in the whole world, what this woman has done 03:46 will also be told as a memorial to her.'" 03:49 >>Tom: Okay, she's never named, 03:51 but Jesus says that what she did 03:54 should be part of the gospel message. 03:56 Now, that story, this particular story, 03:59 appears in all four gospels, and that may be the reason why, 04:03 [chuckling[ because Jesus said it should be there. 04:06 Now, we're never told exactly why she did this, 04:10 but she comes up and anoints Him with this very costly perfume. 04:16 Nard or spikenard was actually from a root of a plant 04:22 that grows in the Himalayas, so it was a long ways away 04:27 where it came from, and you had to-- 04:30 it was in an alabaster jar, 04:32 so it was all very expensive. 04:34 I mean, $300 denarii would be close to a year's wages, 04:39 and so that was a lot of money to pour out at one time, 04:44 but she does it, and she never speaks in the whole story. 04:47 Now, once she does this, it's interesting, 04:50 the Gospel of John tells us 04:51 that "the fragrance filled the house." 04:54 There are some deeds in life 04:58 that are fragrant deeds, 05:00 that they just, I don't know-- 05:03 they just speak of love 05:06 and of grace, and you remember them in wonderful ways. 05:10 Well, that's what happens with this woman. 05:12 She is criticized by the people around her, 05:16 and we might wonder, well, why did they criticize her? 05:20 And, well, they try to cover their feelings by saying, 05:26 "This could have been sold for more than 300 denarii 05:29 and given to the poor." 05:30 Oh, it sounds very holy, very, you know, gracious: 05:34 "We want to help the poor people." 05:36 And you can imagine this woman, who has done this, 05:41 wanting to slink away and just not be seen. 05:44 You know, when you try to do something nice 05:46 and then people misunderstand it, 05:49 it really cuts, but then Jesus speaks up: 05:54 "Leave her alone." "Leave her alone." Don't bother her. 05:58 "Why do you trouble her? 05:59 She has done a beautiful thing to me." 06:01 So, He affirms her in no uncertain terms, 06:05 and then He responds to them, "You always have the poor." 06:09 You can help them whenever you want. 06:11 But now pointing towards where we're headed 06:13 with the passion narrative of Christ, He says, 06:15 "You will not always have me." 06:17 And then He deepens that by saying, 06:20 "She's anointed my body beforehand for burial." 06:23 So, in the Gospel of Mark, she's the only one 06:26 who really anoints His body before He's, you know-- 06:28 well, even after His death, the women come to the tomb, 06:31 and it's too late. He's already risen from the dead. 06:34 So, she's the one who anoints Him, 06:37 and He says that, 06:39 "Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, 06:42 what she has done will be told in memory of her." 06:44 You wonder, why this act? 06:47 He has interpreted her action, prompted by the Holy Spirit. 06:51 He interprets her action as that which was a fragrant act of love 06:58 before His death. You know, too often we wait 07:00 until somebody dies to say nice things about them. 07:04 She said something nice about Jesus before He died, 07:08 and I imagine that this spikenard-- 07:11 I can just imagine that this smell maybe continued--you know, 07:18 when He walked by, people said, [sniffs deeply] "What's that? 07:21 That's nard." You know, a very expensive perfume. 07:25 Maybe even at His trial that they could still smell 07:29 this spikenard on Him, 07:31 and it was a fragrant show of love 07:35 before He would suffer. 07:36 >>Eric: So, a beautiful gift, and not much appreciated 07:40 by those who were nearby. 07:41 >>Tom: Now, we should go on and read verses 10 to 11 07:44 because that's the outer story coming to a conclusion. 07:47 >>Eric: Verse 10 says, "Then Judas Iscariot, 07:49 "one of the twelve, went to the chief priests 07:51 "to betray Him to them. 07:53 "And when they heard it, they were glad, 07:55 "and promised to give him money. 07:57 So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him." 08:00 >>Tom: Now, this is a nefarious deed 08:02 that this man Judas does. 08:04 He's one of the twelve disciples; 08:06 that's noted a number of times: 08:08 "Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve." 08:11 He's the last person you would expect to betray Jesus, 08:15 but he's the one who does it, 08:17 and he goes down through history. 08:19 There's a reason why we don't name our children Judas 08:22 [laughs] because it's a terrible, terrible blot 08:26 on his name. Now, the interesting thing is 08:31 our gospel stories report this story 08:35 a little differently in each one, 08:37 and sometimes I'll ask students, 08:39 I'll say, "How much was the nard worth?" 08:46 And they'll say, "More than 300 denarii." 08:49 And I say, "Who tells you that?" 08:53 And they'll sort of guess, you know, and I say, 08:55 "How much did Judas sell Jesus for?" 08:58 Thirty pieces of silver. Who tells you that? 09:02 Well, Mark doesn't, if you notice. 09:05 Matthew does, but Mark does not. 09:07 In fact, for Mark here, it's just a promise of money. 09:11 He promises that he'll get some money. 09:13 Now, what's her name? 09:16 Oh, her name is Mary. 09:17 Who tells you that? The Gospel of John. 09:20 We tend to put all of them together, 09:22 join them all together into one kind of story. 09:25 The Gospel writers did not, 09:28 and sometimes they left out information 09:31 as part of the purpose of their story, 09:35 and in this story the woman is not named, 09:37 but Judas is, one of the twelve, all right? So here it's already 09:42 he's a man, she's a woman; he's named, she's unnamed. 09:45 He gets a promise of money; she gives something worth 09:48 more than 300 denarii, right? 09:51 And she is--her action by Jesus is called good, 09:56 and Judas is looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. 10:01 So there's all these contrasts, 10:02 it's part of the sandwich story pattern 10:04 of setting up an irony that here's a man 10:08 who should be serving Jesus, 10:10 but he's doing just the opposite. 10:12 Here's a woman who's unnamed, 10:14 and yet she's the true disciple. 10:17 And so there's maybe a little role reversal there, 10:19 man and woman, a disciple and unnamed woman, 10:23 so it's a pretty powerful kind of a statement, 10:25 and that's part of why Jesus says, 10:27 "Wherever the gospel is told, 10:29 what she has done should be told in memory of her." 10:31 So that's why we're telling you today about this story. 10:34 >>Eric: So, a fulfillment of prophecy, if you will-- 10:37 >>Tom: Yeah. >>Eric: ...of Jesus' desires. 10:39 There's something else we want to try to cover 10:41 before we take a short break, 10:43 and this story leads right into the communion service 10:46 that you read in the next section there. 10:49 What's communion all about, 10:51 and why do a lot of people skip it? 10:53 >>Tom: [laughing] Yeah, it's a good question, 10:55 why people skip it. 10:56 We'll talk about that in a moment later. 10:59 So, this is the time of Passover. 11:02 That's the time when Jesus dies, and Mark tells us in verse 12 11:07 that, "On the first day of Unleavened Bread, 11:09 "when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, 11:11 "His disciples said to Him, 'Where will You have us go 11:14 and prepare for You to eat the Passover?'" 11:15 He tells them how to set things up. And so they do so. 11:19 Now, while they're eating the Passover-- 11:22 we skip down to verse 22: 11:24 "As they were eating, He took bread, 11:27 "and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, 11:30 "and said, 'Take; this is my body.' 11:32 "And He took a cup, 11:35 "and when He had given thanks 11:36 "He gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 11:39 "And He said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, 11:42 "'which is poured out for many. 11:44 "'Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again 11:46 "'of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new 11:50 in the kingdom of God.'" 11:52 So, Jesus takes the emblems of the Passover meal-- 11:57 not the lamb, you'll notice that there's no lamb being eaten here 12:00 because He is the Lamb of God 12:02 who will take away the sin of the world. 12:04 But He takes the bread, and He takes the cup. 12:07 And He uses them to represent. 12:11 He says, "Take, this is my body." 12:13 It wasn't, it was obviously not His actual body. 12:17 It was representing His body. It's a metaphor. 12:20 "This is my body." 12:22 The cup, "This is my blood of the covenant." 12:27 Now, we're going to need a little more time 12:29 to probably explain that blood of the covenant, 12:31 but I want to mention one thing here, 12:33 that this is never referred to as wine. 12:37 Anywhere in the New Testament, 12:39 wherever it references the communion cup, 12:43 it's either called "the cup" 12:45 or it's called "the fruit of the vine," 12:49 suggesting that this is not alcoholic, 12:52 it's grape juice, 12:53 or even as one of my professors thought, 12:56 maybe a grape syrup. 12:58 They would make grape syrup sometimes and use that, 13:01 or maybe they would reconstitute some, 13:04 but this was not an alcoholic beverage. 13:08 So, whenever I'm teaching people or elders about that, 13:12 I say, "Please do not call it wine. 13:14 Please call it the cup that we're using." 13:16 >>Eric: You've been on a journey with us, 13:18 about an 11-week journey. 13:20 There's a book that we still want to encourage you 13:22 to pick up if you have not yet done so. 13:25 It is not too late, and that is the companion book 13:28 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 13:30 Tom, tell us a little bit again 13:31 about why this book is so important 13:33 for people to have and what they might get 13:35 out of this week's lesson in there. 13:37 >>Tom: Alright, so this is the book. 13:39 We've been talking about it throughout the quarter, 13:41 but if you haven't gotten it, it's called "The Book of Mark." 13:43 It goes right along with the lesson quarterly. 13:45 Each chapter is geared to each lesson, 13:48 and this chapter will talk about the things we've discussed here, 13:52 the sandwich story, the Lord's Supper, 13:55 and also about His struggle in Gethsemane. 13:59 So it's worth it; it gives you extra information beyond 14:02 what the "Sabbath School" quarterly describes. 14:04 >>Eric: Thank you, Tom. 14:05 You can pick that up very easily at itiswritten.shop. 14:08 Again, itiswritten.shop, just look for the companion book 14:12 to "The Book of Mark." 14:14 We're going to be back in just a minute as we continue 14:17 with lesson 11 here on "Sabbath School," 14:19 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:21 ♪♪♪ 14:25 >>John Bradshaw: The Bible is filled 14:27 with stories of flawed human beings 14:30 God called to serve Him in incredible ways. 14:33 He took a violent, impulsive, racist fisherman 14:37 and transformed him into one of Jesus' closest disciples 14:40 and one of the most influential leaders of the early church. 14:44 Join me for another episode of our series 14:46 "Great Characters of the Bible" as we look at the life of Peter. 14:51 Peter was far from perfect. 14:53 He was overly confident, he made promises he didn't keep, 14:57 but his experience is an encouragement 14:59 to anyone who knows the feeling of messing up 15:02 as a follower of Jesus, 15:04 of falling short and wondering if you'll ever get it right. 15:08 God stuck with Peter and helped him grow, 15:11 and if you'll let Him, He'll do the same for you. 15:15 "Great Characters of the Bible: Peter," 15:19 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 15:25 >>John: You know that at It Is Written, 15:27 we are serious about studying the Word of God, 15:29 and we encourage you to be serious as well. 15:32 Well, here's what you do if you want to dig deeper 15:34 into God's Word. Go to itiswritten.study 15:37 for the It Is Written Bible Study Guides online, 15:40 25 in-depth Bible studies that will take you 15:43 through the major teachings of the Bible. 15:45 You'll be blessed, 15:46 and it's something you'll want to tell others about as well: 15:49 itiswritten.study. 15:51 Go further: itiswritten.study. 15:55 ♪♪♪ 16:00 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 16:01 brought to you by It Is Written. 16:03 We're on lesson number 11, 16:05 taking a look at the communion story. 16:08 Tom, share a little bit more with us 16:10 about this communion story and what's happening here. 16:12 >>Tom: All right, so in Mark, chapter 14 and verse 24, 16:16 Jesus says, "This is my blood of the covenant, 16:18 which is poured out for many." 16:20 Now, using that terminology "blood of the covenant" 16:23 actually links us back to the covenant 16:26 that God made with the Israelites at Sinai. 16:30 So, if we turn over to Exodus, chapter 24 and verses 5 to 8, 16:36 we'll read about this. 16:37 It's very interesting the way it's stated. 16:40 Exodus, chapter 24, verses 5 to 8. 16:45 Wonder if you could read that for us, Eric. 16:46 >>Eric: "Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, 16:49 "who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings 16:52 "of oxen to the Lord. 16:54 "And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, 16:57 "and half the blood he sprinkled on the alter. 16:59 "Then he took the Book of the Covenant 17:01 "and read in the hearing of the people. 17:03 "And they said, 'All that the Lord has said we will do, 17:06 "and be obedient.' 17:08 "And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, 17:10 "and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant 17:13 "'which the Lord has made with you 17:14 according to all these words.'" 17:16 >>Tom: Okay, so there's the very kind of terminology, 17:19 "This is the blood of the covenant," 17:23 and it was a covenant at Sinai. 17:26 Sometimes people question why did the people say, 17:30 "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, 17:32 and we will be obedient," when they very shortly fail. 17:37 Well, what else are you going to say 17:39 when you're making a covenant with God? 17:40 "Oh, I'm not going to keep it," you know. 17:42 No, that's not the expectation. 17:44 So, when we come over to Mark and Jesus says these words, 17:51 those words from Exodus would be, 17:54 like, ringing in their ears: 17:56 "This is my blood of the covenant, 17:57 which is poured out for many." Notice it's "my blood." 18:00 So, He is the blood of the sacrifice; He is the Lamb. 18:04 It is His death that will bring salvation to the world. 18:09 This is the new covenant. 18:11 Now, that's actually where we get the names 18:13 for the parts of our Bible. There's the Old Testament-- 18:16 "testament" is another name for "covenant"-- 18:17 and the New Testament, or new covenant. 18:20 And so, the communion service 18:22 is especially linked up with this idea. 18:25 In the Adventist church, 18:26 we celebrate communion typically once a quarter. 18:29 The Bible never says how often you should celebrate it. 18:32 We put with it what we call "the ordinance of humility," 18:36 the foot-washing service 18:37 that is described in John, chapter 13, 18:40 and it's a very meaningful service, 18:43 where Jesus comes to especially be with His people. 18:47 It's sad to me that there are some people 18:49 who absent themselves from church 18:51 when the communion service is going on. 18:53 Maybe they don't like that kneeling down and washing 18:56 somebody else's feet, I don't know, 18:58 but you really miss out when you don't stay for communion. 19:03 It's when Christ comes to be with His people. 19:05 He told us to do this. 19:06 Paul tells us that as often as we do this, 19:09 we show the Lord's death until He comes. 19:11 So, we're looking back to the cross, 19:12 and we're looking forward to His second coming. 19:15 Very meaningful service, 19:16 very important for you and me to be involved in. 19:21 >>Eric: So, the communion service here 19:22 leads us then almost directly into the Garden of Gethsemane 19:28 in the book of Mark in chapter 14, where we are. 19:32 Share a little bit about Jesus' experience 19:35 in the Garden of Gethsemane. 19:37 What was that like for Him? 19:39 >>Tom: So, this is a very dark scene in the Gospel of Mark. 19:42 In fact, it's a lot of what we're going to see 19:44 from now on, it's pretty dark, 19:46 and Mark just kind of lays it out and displays it. 19:50 He goes to Gethsemane, starting in verse 32, 19:55 and He tells His disciples to "sit here while I pray." 19:59 And then He takes with Him Peter, 20:01 James, and John-- this is the inner circle, 20:03 the very men who had been with Him 20:05 on the Mount of Transfiguration, and He begins, it says, 20:09 "To be greatly distressed and troubled." 20:11 Now, in hero stories in the Greco-Roman world, 20:15 this is not something that would typically be said. 20:18 The hero is, you know, like, struggling and everything 20:21 like this, but Jesus, He says, "My soul is very sorrowful"-- 20:27 this is verse 34--"even to death. Remain here and watch." 20:32 And He goes "a little farther, 20:33 "He [falls] on the ground," and He prays, 20:37 "if it were possible, [that] the hour might pass from Him," 20:40 and He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. 20:44 "Remove this cup from me. 20:46 Yet not what I will, but what You will." 20:50 Now, it's interesting, 20:52 He asked God to take the cup from His hand. 20:54 Now, remember back in chapter 10 20:56 when we studied James and John asking Him to give them 21:00 the place on the right and the left, 21:01 He said, "Can you drink my cup? 21:04 Can you be baptized with my baptism?" 21:06 And they said, "Sure." [laughs] 21:08 He says, well, yeah, that is going to happen, 21:11 "but to sit on my right and left isn't for mine to give." 21:14 Actually, who will end up on His right and left 21:16 are two thieves on crosses, 21:18 not what James and John had in mind. 21:22 But here in Gethsemane, He's bearing the cup of sorrow. 21:27 He's bearing the cup of our sin, trying to make that decision, 21:33 struggling with that decision to go to the cross. 21:36 Now, He says, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. 21:41 "Remove this cup from me. 21:43 Yet not what I will, but what You will." 21:46 How did God answer that prayer? 21:48 >>Eric: In a word, He said no. 21:50 >>Tom: Correct, He said no. 21:52 So, you see, sometimes we talk about answered prayer. 21:57 I believe that every sincere prayer 22:01 of the Christian is answered, but God doesn't always say yes. 22:05 We shouldn't expect Him to always say yes. 22:07 Sometimes He says no. 22:09 He said no to His own Son, and if He says no, 22:13 it's for a good reason why He says no, 22:16 that there's some greater thing, 22:18 some greater goal in mind that God has. 22:21 And of course, in this case, 22:22 the greater goal was our salvation, you know, 22:27 so He goes through with this cup and drinks it. 22:31 Now, what's really striking is, 22:34 He comes to His disciples three times. 22:39 Why did He go back to His disciples? 22:42 Well, you know, when you're going through trouble, 22:47 it's nice to have somebody by your side. 22:50 I'm reminded of Philippians 4:13, where it says, 22:55 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." 22:58 It's a great text. 23:00 Nobody remembers verse 14, which starts, "Nevertheless." 23:06 So, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. 23:09 Nevertheless"-- "Nevertheless" what? 23:12 "Nevertheless" it was kind of you 23:14 to come to my aid in my need. 23:17 So, Paul is writing Philippians to a group of people 23:20 who sent him a gift to help him while he was in prison, 23:24 and Jesus is looking for the same kind of support, 23:27 and it's not there. 23:29 The disciples are asleep. 23:31 He even calls, "Simon, are you asleep? 23:34 Could you not watch one hour?" 23:36 And they don't do it. 23:38 Okay, so eventually He comes and He says, 23:41 all right, "Let's get up and go. Here comes my betrayer." 23:45 The betrayer comes, He's arrested, 23:47 and He's taken to the Sanhedrin. 23:49 >>Eric: So, let's jump to Jesus' trial. 23:51 You've got Peter's denial of Him, Jesus's trial-- 23:54 how do these two events compare with one another? 23:57 >>Tom: All right, these two events are the last 23:58 of the sandwich stories in the Gospel of Mark. 24:00 You remember these stories have either parallel characters 24:03 who are doing opposite actions 24:05 or opposite characters doing parallel actions. 24:07 Here we have two parallel characters, 24:09 Jesus and Peter. Both are on trial, 24:12 and there's quite a sharp contrast between what they do. 24:15 Jesus, of course, will say in verse 62 at His trial. 24:19 Well, the high priest asked Him in verse 61, he says, 24:23 "'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' 24:26 And Jesus said, 'I am.'" 24:29 There's no doubt about it, that's who I am. 24:31 "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated 24:33 "at the right hand of Power, 24:34 and coming with the clouds of heaven." 24:36 This is what brings His condemnation. 24:39 So, you read verse 63, 24:40 "And the high priest tore his garments and said, 24:42 "'What further witnesses do we need? 24:44 "'You have heard His blasphemy. 24:46 "What is your decision?' 24:48 "And they all condemned Him as deserving death. 24:51 "And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face 24:55 "and to strike Him, saying to Him, 'Prophesy!' 24:59 And the guards received Him with blows." 25:01 This is the beginning of now the mistreatment of Jesus 25:04 with physically beating Him, whipping Him, 25:07 doing all kinds of things that we're going to see 25:09 as we go on in this study. 25:11 But at this point, the story breaks back away 25:14 to what's happening to Peter. 25:16 Peter was down in the courtyard. 25:18 He had followed Jesus at a distance. 25:21 You don't want to follow Jesus too close 25:23 [chuckling] when He's taken to trial. 25:26 So, he's down in the courtyard, 25:28 and let's just read verses 16 through 72. 25:33 >>Eric: "Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, 25:34 "one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 25:37 "And when she saw Peter warming himself, 25:39 "she looked at him and said, 25:41 "'You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.' 25:43 "But he denied it, saying, 25:45 "'I neither know nor understand what you are saying.' 25:48 "And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed. 25:51 "And the servant girl saw him again, 25:53 "and began to say to those who stood by, 25:55 "'This is one of them.' But he denied it again. 25:58 "And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, 26:02 "'Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, 26:05 "and your speech shows it.' 26:07 "Then he began to curse and swear, 26:09 "'I do not know this Man of whom you speak!' 26:12 "A second time the rooster crowed. 26:14 "Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, 26:18 "'Before the rooster crows twice, 26:20 "you will deny me three times.' 26:21 And when he thought about it, he wept." 26:25 >>Tom: What a sad story 26:26 about what happened to Peter. 26:28 Three times he denies Jesus, and at the second time 26:32 he hears the rooster crow that second time, 26:35 and he remembers Jesus' words: 26:37 "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." 26:41 Now, that was a prophecy that Jesus had made earlier 26:45 in this chapter, earlier that evening, 26:48 and while Peter is down there and is denying Jesus, 26:55 Jesus' prophecy is coming to pass. 26:58 Now, back in verse 65, "Some began to spit on Him, 27:02 "to cover His face, and to strike Him, saying, 'Prophesy.' 27:05 And the guards received Him with blows." 27:07 "Prophesy"--and one of His prophecies coming true 27:10 right at that time as Peter is down below 27:13 denying his Lord. 27:14 So, Peter's denial is a fulfillment of the prophecy 27:19 that Jesus had made and proves that Jesus is the Messiah, 27:22 you see? So, this is the irony of it, 27:24 where Peter's denial actually proves Jesus to be the Messiah. 27:29 But of course, Peter went through a terrible experience 27:32 going through this, but Jesus never gives up on him. 27:36 There's still hope for him. 27:38 >>Eric: That's right, and we're going to be looking 27:39 at some of that hope coming up in our next lesson. 27:42 Lesson 12 is "Tried and Crucified"; 27:45 that's coming up next week. 27:48 We're glad that you have been able to join us again this week 27:50 here on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written, 27:53 and we look forward to having you join us once again. 27:56 We are getting toward the very end 27:58 of the book of Mark, but we are not quite there yet. 28:01 Some of the most incredible portions 28:04 of the book of Mark are just on the horizon, 28:07 and we look forward to having you join us as we cover them. 28:10 God bless you, and we'll see you next time. 28:12 ♪♪♪ 28:25 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-09-05