Sabbath School lessons are a global study initiative undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As we enter the third quarter of 2024, we will explore the book of Mark. This week’s lesson, titled ‘Taken and Tried’ covers the week from September 07 - September 13. Join Pastor Mark Finley for a brief preview of what to expect in this week’s study.

<p>Sabbath School lessons are a global study initiative undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As we enter the third quarter of 2024, we will explore the book of Mark. This week’s lesson, titled ‘Taken and Tried’ covers the week from September 07 - September 13. Join Pastor Mark Finley for a brief preview of what to expect in this week’s study.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Sabbath School 3rd Quarter: The Book of Mark

01 The Beginning of the Gospel

02 A Day in the Ministry of Jesus

03 A Day in the Ministry of Jesus

06 Inside Out

07 Teaching Disciples Part 1

08 Teaching Disciples: Part 2

09 Jerusalem Controversies

10 The Last Days

11 Taken and Tried

12 Taken and Tried

13 The Risen Lord

Lesson 11 in the Gospel of Mark, in our Sabbath School lessons this week, is I think 1 of the most profound lessons in our entire series thus far. As we journey through the Gospel of Mark, we have looked at Christ's teachings and we've seen the profound nature of those teachings. We've looked at his miracles and we've studied about them and seen how Jesus has touched the eyes of the blind and they've been opened and touched the ears of the deaf and they've been unstopped and healed a withered man's arm and caused the leap to walk again, run. We've seen the miracles and the teachings of Christ. But when you come to that last week of Christ's life, you see the Father's love revealed in a deeper, broader, more powerful way. In this week's lesson titled Taken and Tried, we look at a number of instances in the last week of Christ's life. We see the anointing of his feet and his body by a woman who spends all she has on Jesus. We see Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial. We take a look at the farce of the trial, but we look at the Last Supper in Gethsemane. So let's dive right into our lesson. We begin with Mark chapter 14, verses 1 to 11. And here in the 14th chapter of the book of Mark, the Bible says in verse 1, after 2 days, it was the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might take him by trickery and put him to death. But they said, not during the feast, unless there's an opera among the people. Notice, the Pharisees are plotting. Here you have Jesus, honest, trustworthy, transparent. And on the other side, you have the Pharisees with their trickery, their deceit, and their hypocrisy. They pretend to be religious while their hearts are filled with greed and selfishness. Jesus has a self-sacrificial lifestyle which is truly genuine Christianity. He comes to the home, verse 3 of Mark 14, in Bethany of the house of Simon the leper. Now you remember also Bethany was where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived. And it says that a woman comes having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard and she broke the flask. She pours it on Christ's head and his body. And here, some are saying, what about a waste? It could have been sold for 300 denarii. That's a year's wages. I mean, that's like today. Depends what your year's wages are, but I mean, a low wage, 30, 000, $40, 000, higher wages. I'm not quite sure exactly, but it's the average wage of that day. And they say, what a waste. What a waste. Incidentally, who was this woman? I believe that this was Mary Magdalene, who is also Mary, the sister of Lazarus, the 1 that Jesus cast 7 demons out of. A woman that left home and went to a faraway place called Magdala, who lived a lifestyle that was not in harmony with God's will, a lifestyle of immorality and who was abused by men who took her body as a plaything, not as something sacred to be revered or respected, and but who was touched by the Spirit of God, changed by the grace of God, transformed by the power of God, a woman who had the large capacity to love. And here this woman Loved Jesus in a sacred holy righteous way And she was so thankful that her sins were forgiven so thankful that she was redeemed by his grace so thankful that he saw her for what she was, but accepted her, transformed her, changed her, built her up, made her respectable again. And when others were criticizing her, what does Jesus say in Mark 14, verse 6? But Jesus said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She's done a good work for me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish, you may do them good, but me, you do not have always that I love. Verse 8, she has done what she could. She has come before to anoint my body for burial. Don't you love that? She's done what she could. When you end your life, when I end my life, I want God to say of me, Mark Finley did what he could. He did what he could. He couldn't do everything, but he could do something. And the something he could do, he did do. He did what he could. What a testimony. We do what we can do for Christ. Pass out that piece of literature. Give that book. Speak hope to that discouraged colleague. Lift up others in prayer. Give a Bible study. The declaration that Jesus made there is incredibly meaningful. She did what she could. Now when you contrast this woman with the next story in verses 10 and 11 of Judas Iscariot, who barters with the priests for money. So you see the woman who gives everything she had because she'd be redeemed by the grace of Christ. And you see this woman self-sacrificially giving to Jesus. And you see Judas filled with Arabists and greed and a self-inflated importance. I love what it says here in our lesson that In Sunday's lesson, you find it says in the second paragraph down, this passage is the fifth sandwich story in Mark. Now, you remember a sandwich story is you start with 1 story, then you have an eternal truth, then you have a story that is either the same or the opposite. So in this instance, you have these 2 opposites. You have the woman who is so unselfish, and you have Judas who is so selfish. And it says, the story of the plot against Jesus is linked with the story of a woman who anoints Jesus' head with precious perfume. 2 parallel characters with opposite actions displaying an ironic contrast. 2 parallel characters, who are they? The woman and Judas. Where do you stand? Do you stand with the woman? Self-sacrificial love, kindness, compassion, reaching out to others, sacrificing whatever it takes for Jesus' sake, or do you stand with Judas? Trying to get everything you can for yourself. I know that your desire is to stand with this woman. When we are forgiven, when we're changed, when we're pardoned, when we're transformed, when we see how much Jesus has done for us, All we want to do is serve him. We come to the story of the last supper on Monday's lesson. You find it in Mark chapter 14, verse 22 to 31. And in Exodus 24, 8, you find a similar experience. So How do we relate Mark 14 and Exodus 24? In Mark chapter 14, Jesus breaks the bread and he says, take eat for this is my body. He gives them the cup and he says, take drink you all of it for this is the blood of the new covenant shed for many for the remission of sins, the blood of the new covenant. That blood represented forgiveness. That blood represented freedom from guilt for you and for me. It represented the fact that in Christ and by Christ and through Christ, there is no condemnation. So the blood of Jesus pardons us for our past and empowers us for our present. The blood of Jesus delivers us from the guilt of sin and from the grip of sin. It delivers us from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. Now, How does the blood of Jesus deliver us from the guilt of sin? When Christ died on the cross, he died not the first death, but the second death. The Bible says, cursed is everyone that hangs upon the tree. Galatians 3 verse 13. The Bible says, 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, he who knew no sin became sin for us. So when Jesus died on the cross, he died the death that sinners will die. In other words, he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So the death of Christ on the cross reveals God abandonment when, because Jesus is bearing the sins of the world. He could not see himself coming through the portals of the tomb. He thought going into the grave that he may never come out, But he trusted the Father by faith. That's why his last words were, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit. Now was the Father, did he abandon Christ on the cross? No, the Father looked down with love there, But the father had to turn away from the cross. Why? Because he turns away from sin and Jesus bears sin. So as Jesus is enshrouded with darkness, he cannot see the father's face. The hiding of the father's face is because of sin. But the father loves his son, the father grieves with his son, the father's pained with his son, the father and the son are together in the atonement of Calvary's cross. Now, how does this relate to Exodus 24, verse 8? In Exodus 24, the Israelites are coming out of bondage. In verse 8, it talks about the fact that what do they do? They put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost, symbolizing deliverance. God delivers ancient Israel from Egyptian bondage And God delivers us from the bondage of sin as well. So the Last Supper reminds the Israel, reminds the disciples of the Exodus experience and the marvelous experience of Israel coming out of Egypt and God destroying the Egyptian armies and God leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea and Moses and Miriam and Aaron singing the song of victory. So at the Last Supper, God delivers us from the guilt and the shame of sin. God pardons us. God opens the sea before us, the sea of destruction, the sea of death. And we can sing and rejoice. Worthy, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor and power forever, we come to Tuesday's lesson, Gethsemane. And in Gethsemane, we read that in Mark 14 verse 32 through verse 42, Mark 14, verse 32 to verse 42. We read Jesus goes into Gethsemane. And as we see Jesus there in Gethsemane, we see a struggle for the, it's Mark 14, verse 32, we start. We see this struggle for the destiny of the world. The great controversy is playing out here, the world hangs in a balance. It says they came to a place which was named Gethsemane. Now what is Gethsemane? What's the word mean? The word has to do with an oil press. And just as the press of the oil and you know they they the way they dealt with this olives when they were pressed is they put the olives into a press that was between 2 stones and the donkey would walk around, dragging 1 stone over the other. It was a cylindrical press, and he would press and the stones would crush the olives and the olive would pour out. So Jesus goes to Gethsemane and he pours out his life for you and for me. He's there in Gethsemane and he tells to his disciples, sit here while I pray. And he takes Peter, James and John with him and He's troubled, he's distressed. The destiny of the world hangs in a balance. He says, my soul is exceedingly troubled. He comes to pray and he says, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but you will. In Gethsemane, Jesus says, take the cup. What is the cup? It's the cup of suffering, the cup of the guilt of the sins of the world. It is the cup of agony. Peter will deny him. Judas will betray him. The disciples will forsake him. Pilate will condemn him unjustly and Roman soldiers will nail him to the cross. Take this cup of suffering, this agony, this shame, this guilt of the cross away. But then he says, not as I will, but as you will. Jesus prays that 3 times. What does that teach you in May? Christ was surrendered to the Father's will at any cost to himself. God invites us to open our hearts to him. You see, when you have the cup, there's 3 things you can do with the cup. 1, you can accept the cup. 2, you can complain about the cup. 3, you can reject the cup. You can accept the cup of trials and suffering and difficulties and say, Jesus, give me strength to bear this. You can complain about the cup. And you can say, ah, why is this happening to me? You can murmur about it. You can cast dispersion on God because of it, or you can reject it totally. You say, I'm not interested. You can just walk away and reject the cup. But Jesus accepted the cup, the cup of trial and difficulty. We accept that cup, knowing that there's no trial, no difficulty that he will not get us through. He got Jesus through Gethsemane. We notice what it says here. And last paragraph, last paragraph, Tuesday's lesson. When you face hardships, it's encouraging to have friends who support you. Jesus wanted Peter, James, and John to pray for him. Actually, they fell asleep. In Philippians 4, verse 13, Paul talks about doing all things through the 1 who strengthens him. Many forget Philippians 4, 14, where the apostle begins, "'Nevertheless, ' it reads, "'nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles. Isn't that good news? Jesus brought Peter, James and John to Gethsemane to pray with him. Although they fell asleep, he knew he was there. They were his friends. When you're going through troubles, to know friends are awake praying for you makes all the difference. Paul knew that, that the Philippians were praying for him. This is what Jesus desired in Gethsemane. 3 times he came seeking comfort from his disciples. 3 times they were sleeping. At the end, he arouses them to go forth with him to face the trial. He is ready, they are not. See, they slept when they could have been praying. And if Peter would have been praying, if they would have been praying, they would have had the strength to face the trial, like Jesus had the strength to face the trial. So Jesus invites you before the trial comes to pray, before the trial comes to seek him, before the trial comes to have your heart filled with the strength and power. He leaves the garden and as he does, something remarkable happens. There's a crowd that comes. And as that crowd comes, we find the difference between Judas and Jesus. Judas betrays Christ with a kiss. Jesus. And so Judas is filled with hypocrisy. But Jesus says, who are you seeking to that crowd? I am Christ. Let my disciples go. Mark 14, verse 43 to 52. Immediately while he was still speaking, Judas, 1 of the 12 with a great multitude with swords and clubs came from the chief priests and scribes. Now his betrayer had given them a signal saying, whoever I kiss, He is the 1, take him and lead him away. And so Judas comes in his hypocrisy and he says, Rabbi, Rabbi, and he kisses him. And Jesus says, verse 48, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me. I was daily with you in the temple teaching and you did not take me, but the scriptures must be fulfilled. They all forsook him and fled." Jesus is open and transparent. Judas is a lying hypocrite. Ellen White writes this, Desire of Ages, page 716. You find it in your lesson on Wednesday, but Ellen G. White writes, "'Judas had naturally a strong love for money, "'but he had not always been corrupt enough "'to do such a deed as this. He had fostered the evil spirit of Avarice until it had become a ruling motive of his life. The love of Mammon overbalanced his love for Christ. Thus becoming a slave of 1 vice, he gave himself to Satan to be driven to any lengths in sin. Now this is significant. You have greed, avarice, that's greed. You have greed that begins to dwell in his heart. He does not deal with it. The greed becomes an overbearing selfishness. The overbearing selfishness leads him to willing to sell Jesus out. That leads him to willing to lie and even to have Jesus put to death. So you see the steps. What we do not conquer conquers us. What we do not deal with controls us. What we do not open our hearts and say, Jesus, forgive me for this. Jesus, give me power for this. Any little sin in our life that we do not deal with will continue to grow and grow and grow and grow. Sin does not become smaller. If you don't deal with it, it becomes greater. The will of God. Will. Enable us as we surrender our lives to the will of God, God gives us power and strength When we come to the end of our study this week in Thursday's lesson, it's entitled, Who Are You? And it says, compare how Jesus responded to events in contrast to how Peter did. What lessons can we learn? How did Jesus respond to the challenging of the crowd? He responded with peace. It was peace in his heart. Nobody could disturb that peace. He was 1 with the father. How did Peter respond? Peter wants to fight. Peter takes out his sword. You look there at verse 60 to verse 72, Mark 14, verse 60 to 72. And it says, the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you?" So Jesus has been taken by the crowd, he's brought to the high priest, he keeps silent and he answers nothing. Again the high priest says to him, are you Christ the Son of the Blessed? Jesus simply answers, I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Jesus is in peace. But what happened with Peter in the garden? What did he want to do? Want to take out a sword and fight? What lesson does this teach you and me? In Christ, by Christ, through Christ, we can be at peace. When we're condemned, if there is peace between us and God, and there's peace in our hearts, we need not get all bent out of shape, angry and bitter and defend ourself. In Christ, we find peace. Peter lacked faith, therefore He took out the sword and tried to cut off a man's ear. Jesus had to put it back on, didn't he? When we trust God, we trust our reputation with him. We are not asked to live to guard our reputation. We're asked to live to guard our character. We can't control what other people think about us. We can control how we respond to what they think. And we can control how we develop a character like Jesus. As we come to the end of this lesson, there's a strong appeal. And the appeal is don't live your life to try to please others. Don't you live your life to try to simply ingratiate them to you. Don't live your life as a fighter, as a battler, either to fight, to defend yourself, live a life of trust, live a life of confidence in God, knowing that he will care for you. And 1 day he'll set all things right. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the lesson of Gethsemane where Jesus surrendered all to the father. When we are presented with the cup, help us surrender that cup to you. Thank you, dear Jesus, as well, that we need not fight or battle to protect ourselves, that we can leave our lives in the hands of the living God to trust him completely. Thank you that the peace of Christ that passes all understanding can fill our hearts. Thank you that Isaiah the prophet said, thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon you. Jesus in Gethsemane was in perfect peace. Jesus at his trial was in perfect peace. Jesus was in peace because he knew his heart was at 1 with God. Keep us faithful to you and help us be in perfect peace as well. In Jesus' name, Amen. This media was brought to you by Audioverse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, Or if You

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Series

Sabbath School 3rd Quarter: The Book of Mark

11 Taken and Tried

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 The Beginning of the Gospel

25m

02 A Day in the Ministry of Jesus

25m

03 A Day in the Ministry of Jesus

29m

06 Inside Out

22m

07 Teaching Disciples Part 1

23m

08 Teaching Disciples: Part 2

22m

09 Jerusalem Controversies

19m

10 The Last Days

25m

11 Taken and Tried

22m

12 Taken and Tried

23m

13 The Risen Lord

26m

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