“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” Mark 14.37-42
The age of door to door delivery is upon us. In most cities of at least moderate size you can get almost anything delivered straight to your door in a matter of minutes. Between Door Dash, Uber Eats, HEB and Walmart services, or Amazon Prime, if you want it you can get it in no time (and I remember when just pizza was the only delivery!)
The type of delivery I’m discussing this morning is not food or drink, goods or services — it’s the betrayal of the Christ when he was delivered into the hands of the religious leaders. As we know, the final hours of Jesus’ life is upon him. He’s in the garden praying and his not-so-faithful disciples have fallen asleep again. His request for them to stay awake falls on deaf ears because “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And before they get a chance to redeem themselves (a fourth time!) the betrayer is upon Jesus and they have lost their chance for redemption.
But this story isn’t just about the disciples is it? It’s a story about us — our failure, our flesh, our inability to “keep watch” and remain faithful guardians of the Gospel. Try as we might, we would rather sleep than save souls. We are not complete failures but more times than not, we slip into mediocrity or a casual awareness of our mission. When Christianity was the norm and Methodists (for example) were comfortable and respected in the USA (150 years ago to the present), we were more concerned about our place in society than making disciples. And as a result, we have slipped into accepting social and theological ideologies that are not consistent with Scripture.
Now many will make the argument for this saying “Jesus meant this…” or “Paul meant that.” Or “the culture of the first century is different than today..” But in truth, we are simply disobeying Scripture. And it’s not just one issue or one church, many issues cloud our mind and our judgement and we’d rather be swayed by the tides of current culture than the timeless truth of God’s unchanging, yet living and breathing word.
It was because of the weakness of Jesus’ disciples, and our own weakness and propensity to sin, that Jesus was delivered. We (and they) let Jesus slip away and be taken by his betrayers – Judas and the religious Jews. We also let the truth of the gospel be compromised.
Now we have an opportunity to recapture God’s truth, stand for Christ as Messiah, and proclaim his message for a lost and dying world. As Revive Children’s Camp conclude yesterday, we preached “Jesus is Lord” and saw dozens come to faith. We aren’t preaching against anything but for a clear, orthodox and traditional view of Scripture. As my seminary Dean says…”we believe what must people at most times in most places believe about Scripture.”
Do not allow the truth of God to be distorted in your own heart and mind. Allow Jesus’ grace to fall upon you and find your faith in his unchanging Word and the power of the Spirit.
“O Lord God, your deliverance was God’s plan to save humanity. You could have revolted against the Lord’s plan but you submitted to his will for your life. Thank you Lord for sacrificing your life so we might have hope, love and salvation in your hands. Give us strength to stand for you. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen