What is He doing? SMBC Student Albert Homerwijaya

Series: Mark

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 13th April 2014

00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Have you ever felt like you were born for something?
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 That you were put here on this earth for one particular purpose?
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 My father had a clear purpose for my life when I was growing up.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:22 Since I'm from a Chinese background, you can probably guess what his purpose for me was.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 He wanted me to become a doctor.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 So my parents were migrants to Australia.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:34 They came to Australia so that my sister and I could have a better life.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:39 My father worked hard so that he could provide for his family.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 Whilst I was growing up, he kept telling me,
00:00:41 --> 00:00:49 Son, you need to become a doctor so that you don't have to work as hard as I have to work.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:56 So that you can have an easier life and provide for your family.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:03 So growing up, I could really feel this weight of expectation on my life.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:08 I knew it was my father's will that I should become a doctor.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 I'll come back to this story a little later on.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:22 But as we look at the passage today, we see another man who bears the weight of expectation to do his father's will.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:29 But unlike me, it was not the expectation to choose a particular career path.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:37 It was we find a man who, in order to do his father's will, needed to die.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:42 And we're going to be looking at three scenes of Jesus' life.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 The first of these is a feast or a party.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 The next is a private dinner.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:54 And the final scene culminates on a mountain in a garden with Jesus before his father.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:59 These are the final chapters of Jesus' life.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:06 And so the passage begins with an introduction to let us know when these events are happening.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 So please read with me from verse 1.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:17 Now, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:26 And the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 But not during the feast, they said, or the people may riot.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 So it is two days before Passover.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 What is Passover?
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 Well, Passover for the Jews was a big celebration.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 It's a festival which lasts for seven days.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:50 It commemorates God rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:56 So here we are, two days before the Passover begins, preparing for the celebrations.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 But already, something isn't right.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:08 The Jewish authorities were looking for a sly way to arrest Jesus and to kill him.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:14 But they didn't want to kill him during the feast, during the celebrations, because it would upset the people.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 So they waited for an opportunity to kill Jesus.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:28 And as we approach the first of the scenes, Mark, the gospel writer, is already showing us that death is lurking.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 Scene 1.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 Jesus takes us into a home of a man named Simon the leper.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 There is Jesus reclining at a table with a whole bunch of people around him.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 This is a party, a celebration.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:50 Suddenly, a woman bursts through the door, carrying a jar, and everyone's surprised by her entrance.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:56 Seeing Jesus, she runs over to him and breaks open the lid of the jar.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 The sweet scent of perfume fills the air.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:09 It's a pleasing aroma, a very pleasing aroma, from a very expensive perfume.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:15 The woman starts pouring the perfume over Jesus' head.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:20 So what's the significance of what is happening here?
00:04:20 --> 00:04:24 Why would the woman pour perfume over Jesus' head?
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 It seems quite strange.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:38 Well, clearly, the woman loved Jesus and wanted to express her love by bathing Jesus with what would have been her prized possession.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:43 A jar of perfume worth a whole year's worth of wages.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:52 What she didn't realize, though, was her act of love was a far more significant act.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:58 Pouring perfume over someone's head is an act called anointing.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 And not just anyone was anointed.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 Kings were anointed.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:12 The great kings of Israel, Saul, David, Solomon, were all anointed.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:18 But the person normally doing the anointing was supposed to be the high priest.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:25 And so it's a bit surprised, it's not surprising why the Jews around Jesus didn't recognize what was happening here.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:30 Rather than being anointed by a high priest, Jesus was anointed by a woman.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:36 This still begs the question, though, why is Jesus being anointed?
00:05:37 --> 00:05:42 So earlier in Mark chapter 8, verse 29, Jesus asks Peter,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 Who do you say I am?
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 And Peter responds saying,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 You are the Christ.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 Jesus has been declared to be the Christ.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:53 Christ.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 Now, Christ isn't Jesus' last name.
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 Christ is his title.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 He is Jesus the Christ.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 And what does Christ mean?
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 Well, Christ means anointed one.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:13 And why?
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 What's the significance of being an anointed one?
00:06:17 --> 00:06:26 Well, because for the Jews, being anointed signified the start of a king's reign.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:34 The declaration that Jesus is the Christ or the king has been made and now he is being anointed.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 This is a really exciting moment.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:41 Jesus' reign as king is about to commence.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 But let's look at the reaction of the people to the anointing.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 Verse 4.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 Some of those presents were saying indignantly to one another,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 Why this waste of perfume?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:58 It could have been sold for a year's wages and the money given to the poor.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 And so they rebuked the woman harshly.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 The people around thought,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 It was such a waste to be using this expensive perfume.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 But what they failed to recognize was the importance of the person.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 And the importance of the event.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 Jesus is the Christ.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 And he was being anointed.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 The king was about to commence his rule.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 And this was his inauguration.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 Of course you would pull out the best for this occasion.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:35 What is a year's worth of wages when you're talking about the inauguration of a king?
00:07:35 --> 00:07:41 Jesus responds by highlighting the importance of the event.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:45 But not in the way in which we would expect.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 Let's keep reading.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:47 Verse 6.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 Leave her alone, Jesus said.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 Why are you bothering her?
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 She has done a beautiful thing to me.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:59 The poor you will always have with you.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 And you can help them any time you want.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 But you will not always have me.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 She did what she could.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 She poured perfume on my body beforehand.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 To prepare for my burial.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:22 What Jesus said would have left the people around him gobsmacked.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 In stunned silence.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:31 Jesus has just said that his anointing is the preparation for his burial.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 Jesus is the king.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 But his reign begins with death.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:43 So as we close the first scene, we have this strange tension.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 Jesus is the king.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 But he is also going to die.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:56 So immediately after this, Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, agrees to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:01 We saw earlier that the Jewish leaders were looking for an opportunity to kill him.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 Now they have their opportunity.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 Death is coming.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:10 But why does Jesus need to die?
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 The disciples might have been quite confused by this last encounter.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 Why would this anointing be a preparation for his burial?
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 It can't just end like this, can it?
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 God's promised king has arrived.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 And as soon as he arrives, he's going to be taken away.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 Why does Jesus have to die?
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 Jesus gives the answer in the next scene.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 And so let's look at what's happening.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:40 We move from a larger gathering to a smaller gathering.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:46 From a party with many people to an intimate dinner with a few friends.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:51 This intimate dinner happens two days later on the first day of the Passover.
00:09:51 --> 00:10:03 We are told that this is the day when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, foreshadowing the reason why Jesus needed to die.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:11 As Jesus and his disciples are eating together, enjoying one another's company, Jesus gives this explanation.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 Let's read from verse 22.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 Take it, this is my body.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:30 Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them, and they drank from it.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, he said.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:42 I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:51 Jesus takes the bread, he breaks it, and he gives it to the disciples.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:56 Jesus takes his cup, gives thanks, and passes it around to his disciples.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:03 Jesus explains the bread is his body, and the wine his blood.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 His body is about to be broken.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 The blood spilled.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 The symbolism is clear.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 Jesus, the king, is going to die.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 And the reason Jesus is going to die is there in verse 24.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 So that many can be saved.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 This is the reason why it is the will of the Father that Jesus dies.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:33 Because by his death, Jesus can save many.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:39 Jesus is the Passover lamb who needs to be sacrificed for us.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 This is why Jesus came to earth.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 This was his purpose in life.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:51 His purpose in coming to this earth was to die so that many can be saved.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 So that many can live.
00:11:53 --> 00:12:02 Just because you were born to do something, though, doesn't make it easy.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 As I mentioned before, my father wanted me to become a doctor.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 And so my parents put me in one of the best private schools in Sydney.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:16 I was in that school from kindergarten to year 12.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 And not only that, I was in tutoring from year 3.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:26 As the years went by, I studied hard and I did well at school
00:12:26 --> 00:12:31 with the goal of getting a high enough mark in the HSC to get into medicine.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 It was all going as planned.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:41 But then in year 12, the weight of all this expectation started to bear down on me.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:46 The pressure of performing at school year after year started to get to me.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 I wanted independence.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 I wanted to make my own decisions.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 I wanted to be free.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 Eventually, I couldn't bear it any longer.
00:12:57 --> 00:13:04 With the finish line in sight, I made the decision not to do my father's will.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 And I didn't apply to study in medicine.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 I would not become a doctor.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:16 Just because your life has been directed to do something,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 doesn't mean it's easy to do.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 Doesn't mean it's easy to carry it out.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 I was living with the expectation that I should become a doctor.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:34 Can you imagine what it would be like living with the expectation that you needed to die?
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Here in the third scene, we come to the crux of the matter.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 The turning point.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 Will Jesus carry out what he was anointed to do?
00:13:46 --> 00:13:50 Will he choose to die so that many will be saved?
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 This is the point of no return.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 Will Jesus choose to go to his death?
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 Scene 3.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:03 Jesus is now all alone.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:08 He has just told his disciples that they would abandon him.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 Every single one of them.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 And now we can already see this taking place.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 It's night time.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:23 Jesus is in a garden called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:30 He is with his most trusted disciples, Peter, James, John.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 He asks them to keep watch for him.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 But they cannot.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 They keep falling asleep.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:43 Jesus is utterly alone as he prays to his Father.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 Let's look at what Jesus has to say.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:52 Before he prays to his Father, he expresses his state of mind to his disciples.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 Let's read from verse 33.
00:14:55 --> 00:15:02 He took Peter, James, and John along with him.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07 And he began to be deeply troubled, deeply distressed and troubled.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:15 My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:20 He said to them, stay here and keep watch.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:25 Can you imagine being in this state of mind?
00:15:26 --> 00:15:32 Having your soul overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:40 Here is a man who is clearly struggling under the weight of what he needs to do.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 The weight of his Father's will for him.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 Verse 35.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:53 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, the hour might pass from him.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 Alone, Jesus prays to his Father.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:04 Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 Take this cup from me.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 Yet not what I will, but what you will.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:17 This prayer speaks volumes.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:26 Abba, Father, Jesus is addressing his heavenly Father, the one with whom he's had an intimate relationship since before the creation of the world.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:31 Everything is possible for you.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:38 Here, Jesus is acknowledging the sovereignty of God, of his Father.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:45 This is the same God who spoke the world into existence, who breathed life into it.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 For God, nothing is impossible.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 Jesus knows this.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 Take this cup from me.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 This is Jesus' plea.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 The cup is the wrath of God.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:08 By dying on the cross, God is asking Jesus to bear his wrath.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:12 This wrath should not have been directed to Jesus.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:17 No, this wrath should have been directed to you and me and all of humanity.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:23 Because we could never obey God's will perfectly.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:27 This is how Jesus will save many.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 By drinking the cup of God's wrath.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:34 By sacrificing himself for our sakes.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:38 Jesus is standing before this cup and asking,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:44 Father, if there is any other way for your purposes to be fulfilled,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 if there is any other way to save humanity,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:54 don't make me die on the cross and drink the cup of wrath which they deserve.
00:17:57 --> 00:18:03 Yet, not what I will, but what you will.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 This is Jesus' resolve.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:13 Jesus submits himself to the Father's will because he loves the Father.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 And he loves humanity.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:22 Jesus loves the Father so much that he chooses to go on to the cross and die.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:29 He chooses to bear the wrath of the Father so that we might be saved.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:33 He chooses to bear the wrath which we deserve.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 And through this, to fulfill God's great plan of salvation.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 The Father loves Jesus as well.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 And so after this, the Father will raise Jesus to life again.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48 And enthrone him as the rightful king and ruler of all.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 Verse 41.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 The hour has come.
00:18:57 --> 00:19:00 Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 Rise, let us go.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 Here comes my betrayer.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:10 With this resolve, Jesus chooses to do his Father's will,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:17 to die on the cross so that by his death, many will be saved.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 What does this mean for us?
00:19:24 --> 00:19:31 Jesus did his Father's will and died on the cross precisely because we could never do the Father's will.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:36 God's will for us is that we be in perfect relationship with him.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 That we treat God as he deserves to be treated.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:45 That we praise God for who he is and give thanks for everything he's done for us.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:53 That we love God with all of our hearts, all of our soul, all of our strength, and all of our minds.
00:19:53 --> 00:20:04 Who among us could even imagine loving God with all of our hearts, soul, strength, and mind?
00:20:04 --> 00:20:10 Who among us could imagine living in perfect relationship with God?
00:20:10 --> 00:20:16 None of us could do the will of the Father.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:23 And so Jesus had to do the will of his Father by dying on the cross.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 By this, our relationship with God could be restored.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:35 All we need to do is believe in Jesus and accept this free gift of relationship.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:43 If you haven't accepted God's offer for relationship, I urge you to accept it.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:47 By your own strength, you can't please God.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:51 You can't do the Father's will.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 But the beauty of the gospel is God knows this.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:58 God knows that you can't do his will.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:05 And so he sent Jesus to come to earth 2 years ago to do his will perfectly.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 And to die on the cross.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:13 To bear the punishment of your failures and my failures.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:20 And all we need to do is accept this free offer of relationship.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:32 If you want to find out more about this, if you want to know more about this offer which God is making to you,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:37 please come talk to me or one of the other church leaders at St. Paul's.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:44 We would love to talk to you about this free offer of relationship which Jesus provides for us.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:53 If you have already accepted this offer and are a follower of Jesus, let us rejoice.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 Let us give thanks for what Jesus did.
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 That Jesus did what we could not do.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 Nothing we could do could make us right with God.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 All the works of our hands.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 The good deeds we do.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 Our attendance at church and Bible study.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 The money we give.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 All of these could not restore the relationship.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 Could not restore our relationship with God.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:24 Let us rejoice because Jesus did the will of the Father when we could not.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 And by his death, he saved us.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:33 We have seen today that Jesus was anointed to be God's king.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 But as the king, he needed to die.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 Because by his death, he would save many.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:47 We saw the anguish and sorrow which Jesus experienced as he was faced with death and the wrath of God.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:54 But Jesus chose to submit himself to the Father's will and die on the cross.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 Jesus did what we could not do.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:02 And for that, let us give thanks and praise.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 You are clear to God's words.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 You
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 had
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 You
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 God's
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14 God's
00:23:14 --> 00:23:29 God's
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 God's