“The final saga?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, March 24, 2024
Mark 14:1-15:47 (Forward, p. 55) CEV p. 1047
One of the ploys that television writers often employ is to end an episode, or sometimes an entire season, with a real ‘cliff-hanger.’ Normally this is at a point of high drama, a point where almost anything could happen. And so, the viewer is left hanging, left wondering, what will happen next. And, of course, all this is done on purpose, in order to get you to tune in again. Meanwhile you are left in uncomfortable suspense.
Today’s passage, the entire two chapters of Mark 14 and 15, are certainly ‘high drama’, and certainly we would normally be left hanging, left wondering what will transpire next. I say ‘normally’ because we, as believers, already know ‘the rest of the story’, which is sort of sad in a way. It is sad because it robs us of the terrible tragedy and the deep significance of what has just taken place.
On the one side, the human side, it would seem like the final saga in this ‘interesting’ man’s life. From the viewpoint of the general public, the crowds, Jesus had lived and had a tremendous and storied career, but now it was finished, done. From the viewpoint of the disciples, the one they’d put their hopes in, was now dead and gone, and they were left hopeless and desolate and with no sense of the future.
From the viewpoint of Jesus’ sparring partners in the scribes and Pharisees, so long ‘bested’ by Jesus in their debates, so often shown off as losing their verbal battles, and so often shamed, here, finally, it was Jesus that was shamed—and in the very worst way possible, that is, by being cursed by God for being hung on a tree.
From the viewpoint of the Jerusalem establishment, the Sanhedrin, here was one more troublemaker safely out of the way. And from the viewpoint of Pontius Pilate, his career—and potentially, his life—were safe for the moment, safe because yet another crisis had been averted.
But there was something more at work here, something other-worldly, something supernatural. There was something bigger, much bigger, at work here. God had a plan and a purpose in all this, and Jesus was willingly submitting Himself to it. His arrest, betrayal, trial, humiliation, and
death had a loving purpose, namely, to defeat death and sin and shame and Satan, and in doing so, free us, each of us who will believe and trust in Him, from these self-same things. Yes, this seeming ‘end of a saga’ had yet another episode, another season, and what a glorious one it would be, for in it, we would find hope and new life and glory. Amen.
Forward notes: “They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’” (verse 19).
“After Jesus declares that someone will betray him, the disciples revert to self-preservation instead of expressing concern for Jesus’s safety. The disciples’ ongoing ignorance about what is taking place is shocking and heartbreaking.
“Herein lies the dilemma of our present reality. As much as we think we know what is happening, there is always more to the story. I believe one of the reasons Jesus invites his disciples to stay awake and pray is so they have time to discern the meaning behind the events taking place. Sadly, they do not follow what he asks.
“The times we live in are tumultuous, with many experiencing extreme challenges. Our leaders often rush toward quick solutions when real societal solutions require a transformation of the heart. How might we express genuine concern for those needing our help instead of defaulting to old patterns of self-preservation? Our discipleship might put the concerns of Christ over our own for the benefit of all.”
Moving Forward: “Are you awake and praying?”
Some concluding notes: I’m not sure that I fully agree with today’s author. I’m not sure that self-preservation was the premier motive in the disciples’ question to Jesus. Removal or avoidance of shame or guilt perhaps, but not self-preservation. It is surprising, and interesting, to note that, for a change, they are actually taking Jesus seriously and believing what He is saying—taking it as authoritative.
And, as for the three disciples in the Garden, I’m not sure that any of their wakefulness or prayer would have alerted them to the full significance of what was taking place. The radical nature of Jesus’ self-sacrifice was something absolutely foreign to them—or to anyone living back then.
However, I absolutely agree that the only viable and lasting solution to our world’s problems today require ‘a transformation of the heart’, a putting of the will of God ahead of our own wills. And that means that however we ‘express genuine concern for those needing our help’—if that be God’s purpose--is solely up to Him. It may well be that our ways of expressing that concern are not what God wants at all, so we need to leave this entirely up to Him and therefore let Him guide and empower us in this.