The Desire to Save Our Skin
Covid-19 is not the first pandemic the church has faced. The church is familiar with pandemics and plagues throughout its history. The way the church has reacted is unfamiliar to many. For example, after a plague swept through the Roman Empire in the third century, Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, reflected on the Christian response during that time. In an Easter letter, he wrote: “Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Needless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy.”
The coronavirus has come to our city. How will we respond? I’m not talking logistics. I’m talking about our hearts. Rather than fear, I pray that we’ll entrust ourselves into God’s hands and experience his peace and look to see where we can be his hands and feet. We must exercise wisdom and caution. But may the desire to save our own skin not be our ruling desire.
The desire to save our own skin is a deep and abiding desire in all of us. This is one reason why people make runs on stores and buy up all the supplies without any thought for what others may need. I’m not sure how this relates to stockpiling toilet paper, but I guess that’s one thing that we really don’t want to run out of! Of course it’s wise and okay to buy extra food and supplies in a time like this. My point is, did you do so while thinking about anyone but yourself?
“Every Man for Themselves!”
As we saw last week, Mark ended the account of Jesus’ arrest by telling us that the disciples all ran away and another guy runs away naked (14:50-52). Mark’s point is that the ruling emotion in all these guys was the desire to save their own skin. The mood of the moment was, “Every man for themselves!” Everyone close to Jesus is terrified and running away. To their shame, all of Jesus’ friends fled like cowards.
I asked us to consider last week if we would run away from Jesus when things get crazy? Will we choose the shame of abandoning our Savior over the honor of staying with him in the midst of evil and tragic events? As a church, when the going gets tough, what will our message be? Will we bear witness to the value of Jesus? Or will we bear witness to the value of our own skin, our own lives? What kind of witness will we be?
Another Markan Sandwich
These are the questions that Mark wants us to keep wrestling with in the next section of his passion narrative. In 14:53-72, Mark gives us another sandwich, another instance of two stories flanking each side of a central story, just as two pieces of bread flank what’s in the middle.
Mark tells us of Peter’s denial of Jesus in verses 53-54 and 66-72 and of Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin in verses 55-65. He does this literary juxtaposition of Jesus and Peter to show us two different ways of bearing witness under persecution. The courage and faithfulness of Jesus is contrasted with the cowardice and false witness of Peter. Mark wants us to ask ourselves what kind of witness we’ll be when the heat gets turned up in our lives.
Peter Wanted Safety and Comfort
Let’s begin by looking at the first part of the sandwich in verses 53-54. After his arrest, Jesus was taken to the most powerful Jewish leaders of his day, the “chief priests and the elders and the scribes,” which made up the Sanhedrin, or “Council” (v. 55). Jesus, the sovereign maker and ruler of all things is subjecting himself to a trial by mere men.
Verse 54 says that Peter followed “at a distance.” He’s already abandoned him in the Garden, but now he comes back to follow the proceedings against Jesus. When he comes back, he makes sure to keep a safe distance between him and Jesus. He’s still hoping to save his own skin. He doesn’t want to be tried or executed with Jesus. This is the same Peter who said he’d follow Jesus to the death (v. 31).
Let’s pause and consider whether we’re following Jesus at a safe distance? Are we interested in him but not willing to suffer for him? Do we practice “social distancing” from Jesus in public? A really practical way to know if we do is to ask whether the people with whom we interact each day know that we follow Jesus? I’m not asking if we talk about Jesus to everyone all the time. I’m asking if the people closest to us know where our allegiance lies? Do our words and actions and attitudes reflect that we live for King Jesus? Or do we subtly keep our distance from Jesus until Sunday mornings?
Peter not only wanted to be safe, he also wanted to be comfortable. Verse 54 says that he sat with the guards to “warm himself at the fire.” Peter is mingling with the people who likely arrested Jesus and who were about to beat him up. He was so concerned with his safety and comfort that he didn’t mind rubbing shoulders with the guys who arrested his friend. Peter was interested in what happened to Jesus as long as it didn’t interfere with his safety and comfort.
Do We Live for Safety and Comfort?
What about you? Are safety and comfort controlling objectives in your life? Here are some questions to help us think through the question. Have you ever invited any of your coworkers to church or had them over for dinner or tried to share the gospel with them? Have you ever seriously considered and prayed about living in another country to spread the gospel? Is your giving to gospel work outpaced by your giving to entertainment and vacations? Do you talk regularly to a brother or sister in Christ about the sin that you keep struggling with?
By God’s grace, the coronavirus is giving us an opportunity to consider how much we love our lives. The uncertainty and disruption and angst and anxiety that we feel is what many of our brothers and sisters around the world live with every day. We truly lack for nothing. Many times it takes the threatening of our safety and comfort and health and freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want to reveal exactly where our hope is.
The Meat of the Sandwich
After Mark shows us Peter in the courtyard, he moves quickly to the meat of the sandwich, Jesus’s trial upstairs (vv. 55-65). These Jewish leaders weren’t on a truth-seeking mission. They weren’t gathering facts. This was a classic witch hunt. Almost every detail of the trial violates Jewish rules for cases like this. Trials weren’t supposed to be conducted at night, this one was. A trial couldn’t be held on the eve of a feast or a Sabbath, this one was. If a criminal was convicted of a capital crime, the Sanhedrin was supposed to meet again the next day to confirm their judgment. This was to prevent rash judgments, but this also was not done in Jesus’ case.
Why did the Sanhedrin act so rashly and illegally? Because they wanted Jesus to die as soon as possible and they wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. This was their desire all week long (11:18, 12:12). Jesus is already convicted in their eyes. They ignore their rules in order to put a man they hate to death. Their plan was not going well as the mock trial began. Their witnesses didn’t agree with each other (vv. 56, 59). Even with all their plotting and planning, they can’t discredit Jesus.
Facts are stubborn things. Jesus continues to withstand attempts to silence him. His truth perseveres, even in a society like ours that says all religions are the same. Not only is that illogical, it’s not true. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and everyone who comes to him in faith finds truth in him and him to be the truth.
The High Priest Steps In
As it becomes clear that their plan is backfiring, the high priest has had enough, so he steps in to interrogate Jesus himself (v. 60). Jesus responds with silence (v. 61a). This is not only strategic, because they would’ve twisted anything he said, but is also prophetic. Remember the suffering servant from Isaiah 53 we read about last week? Listen to how the prophet describes him, seven hundred years beforehand: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (v. 7). The silence of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant is a result of his innocence. He’s as innocent and quiet as a lamb about to be torn apart by a bunch of wolves.
Getting nowhere, the high priest tries again (v. 61b). “Blessed” is a word that Jews would use to avoid saying the name of God. Caiaphas, the high priest, is asking Jesus if he’s the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus openly affirms his question, “I am.” Then he immediately interprets what he means by saying that they will see “the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (v. 62).
Many skeptics say that Jesus never claims divinity for himself in the Gospels. There are, however, many examples of him doing so, even if they’re not always as clear or direct as skeptics would prefer. The clearest example may be this verse.
After Jesus answers the high priest’s question with a clear “Yes, I am the Messiah and Son of God,” he adds four self-descriptors. He’s the “Son of Man” who’s seated at God’s right hand and will come again one day with “the clouds of heaven” (v. 62).
The “Son of Man” is a divine figure in Daniel who receives an everlasting kingdom from God (7:13-14). Jesus is saying that he’s this pre-existent divine figure. Then he says that he’ll be “seated at the right hand of Power,” with “Power” being another example of a word Jews would use to avoid saying the name of God. Jesus is claiming to share God’s throne as co-ruler of the universe. Then he says that he’ll be “coming” one day. The Lord was the One who promised to come and judge the world. Finally he says that he’ll be coming “with the clouds of heaven.” Yahweh, the Lord, is the “cloud rider” in the Old Testament.
The response of the high priest in verses 63-64 is, “Gotcha!” We know Jesus was claiming divinity for himself because the high priest accuses him of blasphemy. The charge of blasphemy is powerful proof that Jesus claimed divinity for himself.
This whole scene is very ironic. The Sanhedrin, the governing body of Israel was breaking the law while Jesus upheld it. The testimony that they needed to condemn Jesus wasn’t provided by the false witnesses but by Jesus himself. The high priest accuses Jesus of blasphemy, but he’s actually the one guilty of blasphemy because Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is on trial before the Sanhedrin, but there will be a day when the Sanhedrin will be on trial before Jesus. When the Son of Man returns in glory, he’ll be the Judge and they’ll be in the dock.
Verse 65 is the beginning of Jesus’ physical suffering. Have you ever been spat upon or hit in the face? It’s a very shameful experience. The humiliation that the Son of God went through for our sake is testimony to his faithfulness to the Father and his love for us, and a fulfillment of Isaiah 50:6, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” Jesus was determined that the Scriptures be fulfilled, down to the last detail. So the Judge of the universe let a bunch of punks hit him in the face.
Peter’s Denial
The second piece of bread in this sandwich is in verses 66-72, where Mark picks back up with what’s happening down in the courtyard. While Jesus’ trial is going on upstairs, another one is going on down in the courtyard. Peter’s faithfulness to Jesus is on trial. A servant girl is the judge. Peter is in the dock. And three times he denies Jesus before someone with no power, authority, or status. Oh, how weak his faith was!
Verse 68 says that he moves out “into the gateway” after denying Jesus the first time. With every denial, he’s moving further and further away from Jesus. The change of place didn’t change his heart, as he denied Jesus two more times from the gateway (vv. 69-71). We may think that a move or a mission trip will change our lives. But a change of location cannot change our hearts. Only Jesus can change our hearts.
Verse 71 says that Peter “began to invoke a curse on himself and swear.” He’s not just using crude language. He’s probably invoking God’s name in an oath, saying something like, “I swear in the name of God, I do not know this man.” Profaning God’s name like this was worse than profanity. Ironically, Jesus is upstairs being accused of blasphemy while Peter is at the gate committing blasphemy, using the Lord’s name in vain.
Then in verse 72 Peter hears the rooster crow a second time and remembers what Jesus predicted. Peter finally realized what he was doing. The fog of fear and faithlessness began to clear. When he realized what he’d done, he “broke down and wept.”
We usually don’t react this way with people around. We usually don’t feel the weight of our guilt until we’re all alone, perhaps when we get in bed at night. In those moments, all our defensive postures are gone and we understand what we’ve done. We’re alone before God and the truth of our sin and the truth of God’s holiness pierces our consciences and breaks our hearts.
Peter has a moment like this in front of this servant girl and bystanders. His guilt is so overwhelming that he doesn’t care who’s around. He weeps in front of these strangers because he finally realizes who he is and what he’d done. He was a faithless friend to the man who’d done so much for him.
Peter’s Denial Wasn’t Greater than Jesus’ Love
If Peter, the leader of the apostles, can deny Jesus, then we’re not immune. Mark and the early church were honest about the sin of Peter. Why? Because they were convinced of grace. They knew that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Rom. 5:20). They didn’t try to hide or minimize what Peter did. They reported it just as it happened because they knew that Peter’s denial wasn’t greater than Jesus’ love. None of our sin is greater than God’s grace.
Through this sandwich, Mark has shown us two different ways of bearing witness under persecution. The courage and faithfulness of Jesus is contrasted with the cowardice and false witness of Peter. Mark wants us to ask ourselves what kind of witness we will be when the heat gets turned up in our lives.
So, Preston Highlands, with the world freaking out about coronavirus, what kind of witness will we be? The reality that, because of his death, Christ is ours and we are his forever must shape the way we answer this question.