The Two Paths Of Betrayal (Mark 14:1-72 February 14, 2016)

Transcription

1 The Two Paths Of Betrayal (Mark 14:1-72 February 14, 2016) The Two Paths Of Betrayal Mark 14:1-72 Part 1 Since this church started in 1993 I know full well that on many occasions I have failed people close to me. I also know full well that some who were among my closest friends have failed me often in ways I never saw coming. Those betrayals still hurt me a lot. I also know that there is not a person sitting here who has not been failed, betrayed or abandoned by someone close to them. A husband or wife they intended to love for life who betrayed them adultery, desertion, failure. A parent who failed to love unconditionally. A prodigal child who broke your heart. A friend who stabbed you in the back. It is hard to forgive. And equally true there is not a person here who has not failed, betrayed or abandoned someone close to them. When we do this it can be hard to think that these others can forgive us. But what happens when the One we betray is God Himself? Is there a way back from this betrayal? This morning we are going to see that there is a sense in which each of us has walked in the footsteps of Adam and even of Judas in betraying Jesus. But what is even more amazing is that God stands willing to forgive those who betrayed His Son in the most astounding of circumstances. 1

2 While logic says that if you betray God there is only one path the path of the perishing as we will see this morning: The love of God provides a second path that leads to forgiveness the path of the penitent. Betraying God is not a small matter. If you are a Christian at some time in your life you have come face to face with the enormity of what grace is. You realized that in a sense your sin nailed Jesus to the cross. Your sin betrayed the only perfect and good man who ever lived. And you will have struggled to accept the offer of grace and forgiveness. You know you don t deserve it. You deserve hell. However, what our passage this morning shows us is that: The love of God is so great it even offers salvation to those who betrayed His Son. We are in Mark chapter 14 and in it we find one of the most incredible pictures of grace in the entire Bible. As we have seen, the Gospel of Mark centres on: Jesus: The God Who Came To Save 2

3 We are in the third major section of this Gospel: The climax of the gospel 11:1-16:8 And we have reached the final part of this section: The Triumph of Jesus the Messiah Here we will see this: His sovereign betrayal 14 His atoning death 15 His glorious resurrection 16 On the surface chapters look anything but a triumph Jesus is betrayed and murdered. But as we will see in the hands of God the darkest of times can become the most glorious of triumphs. God works all things even this together for good. Chapter 14 is a fascinating chapter. On one level what is going on is fairly obvious from the structure of the chapter: The Lord knows the leaders will destroy Him vv The Lord knows Judas will betray Him and the disciples will fail Him vv. And then we see the fulfilment. Judas does betray Him and the disciples do fail Him vv The leaders do destroy Him vv But, as well Mark adds two final touches: The Lord knows the leaders will destroy Him vv The Lord knows Judas will betray Him and the disciples will fail Him vv. Judas does betray Him and the disciples do fail Him vv Mark abandons Him vv

4 The leaders do destroy Him vv Peter abandons Him vv On the surface this all looks like a tragedy. Jesus is progressively failed, abandoned and betrayed by everyone. A key verse is verse 50: And they all left Him and fled. But it isn t ultimately a tragedy. In the sovereign hands of God, it becomes a picture of pure grace: The love of God is so great it even offers salvation to those who betrayed His Son. But even this is not the whole story of this chapter. Weaving through this tale of betrayal and abandonment there is a second theme. The plan of God is so great it even works good through those who betrayed His Son. We are never to think of the death of Jesus as having caught God by surprise whereby He has to scramble madly to try and make something good come out of this unspeakable evil. God planned the details of Jesus betrayal and death before the foundation of the world. God determined to use the evil and failure of men to work the greatest act of good in history. The plan of God in the death of Jesus is shown through: Scripture revealing His death through betrayal 4

5 Again and again Jesus specifically says the betrayal of Judas and the abandonment of the disciples and His death was written beforehand in the Scriptures. God planned this. God preparing His death amidst betrayal God works to prompt Mary to use what is probably the most valuable thing she owns ointment worth a year s wages to anoint Jesus prior to His death. God works to prompt a man in Jerusalem to allow the disciples to have a last supper before Jesus dies. God works to prompt the High Priest to condemn Jesus on the charge that He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. Jesus trusting His death despite betrayal Jesus may not have known the hour of the end times but He knew the hour of His end. He knew He must die on the Passover. He says Mary is anointing Him for death. He knew when the hour of His betrayal was at hand. He knew He had to prepare His heart in prayer in Gethsemane. But most of all He knew this was not the end. He tells the disciples His next drink with them will be in the kingdom not in this life. He tells the chief priest he will see Him coming of the clouds of heaven. Jesus knew He would rise again. He knew all of this was the plan of God from eternity past. So, this chapter paints these two great pictures. The love of God in salvation and the plan of God in salvation. Because this chapter is so long 72 verses what I want to do is to look at one picture this week and the second picture next week. So at the end of today don t despair that we didn t look in detail at events like Mary s anointing or the last supper. That is coming next week. This week I just want to look at the picture of the love of God in salvation. Please look with me at Mark 14:1-2. On one level this whole chapter paints a picture of the dark sin of man as everyone close to Jesus deserts Him, fails Him and betrays Him even those who knew far better. 5

6 We begin by looking at: The Lord knows the leaders will destroy Him vv. 1-2 Mark 14:1 2: It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people. As we have seen when Jesus entered Jerusalem the leaders were somewhat confused about Him. There were things about Him that made them wonder might He be the Messiah? Pros Miracles Prophecy Authoritative Teaching Holiness John the Baptist But then there were so many things that to these leaders screamed He just cannot be the Messiah. Cons Not King Not Powerful Did Not Oppose Rome Poor, Galilean, Dubious Birth Teaching Opposed Tradition Associating With Outcasts They weighed these facts and decided that He was most definitely not the Messiah. Combine that with His challenge to their authority and the result is they determined Jesus of Nazareth must die. The chief priests and scribes the very ones entrusted with awaiting the coming of Messiah not only missed His coming but they conspired to destroy Him to have Him murdered. In this they betrayed not only themselves, not only Jesus but also the nation. Yet God knew this. It was set from eternity past. 6

7 Let me put this in another light to give you an idea of how treacherous this is. Jesus not only never committed a crime all He did was love. He loved the outcasts, the poor, the Gentiles and women. He taught us to love our enemies. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He taught us to render our due to Caesar and those in authority. He commanded us to keep the Law of God. He didn t lie, steal or commit adultery. And they determined that the reward for this unblemished life was to be murdered! Imagine Florence Nightingale returning to England and coming before Queen Victoria only to be told for services rendered to the British troops in the Crimean War the lady with the lamp is sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. You just can t come to grips with this type of betrayal. But it gets worse. The Lord knows Judas will betray Him and the disciples will fail Him vv It is a few days before the Passover and the cross. Jesus is with the twelve. Men who had lived with Him, laughed with Him, heard Him teach and watched Him raise the dead. These men had been through so much with Him. Jesus is in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. A woman who John tells us is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus comes and anoints His head with very costly ointment. But she is not praised by all. Verses 4-5: There were some who said to themselves indignantly, Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. Three hundred denarii is a year s wages. It is a huge sum of money. Some cried what a waste! In John s gospel we are told where this dissent originated. John 12:4 6: 7

8 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Judas was trusted with the money he had long betrayed that trust by helping himself to the common purse. Now he watches a year s wages poured out and his thought is not for Jesus, not for the poor but for himself. A portion of that money would have sat nicely in his pocket. It seems he voiced his dissent gave the excuse about helping the poor and managed to get a few of the other disciples on side. But this act just ate away at Judas. Something crystalized in his mind. He was a disciple for what he could get out of following Jesus. If Jesus was the kind of Messiah he wanted then he would have a prominent place in the kingdom. He was in it for the power and the prestige. But Jesus didn t seem to care about power and prestige. He didn t care about money. It seems it dawned on Judas that he had wasted the last few years. There was only one way left to make money out of this situation. Verses 10-11: Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. I read these words over and over. I find it so hard to comprehend. Judas watched Jesus heal and raise the dead. He heard about heaven and the kingdom of God and salvation. He was a trusted member of the twelve. What he got out of this was thirty pieces of silver. What he lost out of this was his soul. Ultimately Judas chose this world. He chose money as his master. 8

9 Thirty pieces of silver vs eternal life. I can barely fathom how bad this decision is. Search your hearts make sure you are not a Judas. Make sure you aren t in it for what you can get out of it. Make sure you are not swayed by silver or anything else over eternity. Jesus promises the world to come not the things of this world. I think some are like Judas they want it all. When they don t get this world they turn from Jesus. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. Betraying a friend is bad. Betraying God is beyond imagining. And what is more Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him. He sent the disciples to prepare for the Passover one last supper. Then comes these words. Verses17 21: And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, Is it I? He said to them, It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. You are eating with Jesus who knows the hearts of all men and in the middle of the dinner He drops this bombshell one of you one of My loved, trusted friends who I have eaten with, ministered with, empowered to cast out demons and heal the sick. One of you who have seen Me raise the dead. One of you who eats with Me pretending friendship you are planning to betray Me. I want you to imagine you are one of the eleven hearing this. Your first thought is surely You are wrong no one here could possibly do that then you realize it is Jesus speaking. Your second thought is well which one of you guys is it come on? But then your heart sinks and you ask Oh no Is it I? As much as we hate to admit it the reality is that under the right circumstances any of us can commit any sin. 9

10 Every one of the disciples had this cold chill oh no it isn t going to be me who betrays Jesus is it? In the past three years every one of them would have had times of doubt, and sin and failure. As we will see on one level there is a sense in which every one of them actually does betray Jesus. However, there is only one who does the actual betraying unto death. Now imagine you are Judas. You have already made a deal with the leaders to betray Jesus. You think no one knows. You are eating and drinking and Jesus says Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. I think Judas heart would have nearly stopped. He knows it is him. He wonders if everyone knows it is him. Is everyone looking at him? Then these words: For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. It is written that I will die. It is the plan of God. But that in no way excuses the betrayal to come. We can t wrap our minds around this. Judas was going to betray Jesus from before he was born but the decision to betray Jesus is his and his alone and he bears full responsibility. He is a son of perdition. He will spend eternity in hell. Better he had never been born. Matthew 26:25 tells us: Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? Judas knows it is him. Does Jesus? Oh yes. Wow! Jesus said to him, You have said so. 10

11 I cannot imagine how Judas heard this and still went through with betraying Jesus. When Jesus dipped His morsel of bread and gave it to Judas this sign of fellowship was an offer of forgiveness. I cannot imagine why He didn t collapse at His feet begging forgiveness. All I can think is that at times our hearts are so hard we shut ourselves off to the voice of God and grace and blindly choose sin. Brothers and sisters keep your heart tender so when God prompts we listen. While we breathe it is never too late. But, if our hearts become calloused we can set our faces to sin and nothing not the voice of Jesus the threat of hell the looming destruction will tear us away. This was Judas. But, the other disciples were not entirely blameless. Jesus institutes the last supper. I can barely imagine what the atmosphere is like. Jesus is going to be betrayed to death by Judas. He gives him a morsel and Judas leaves. I imagine the dinner conversation is a little tense to say the least. Then comes verse 27: And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. It is not just Judas you will all abandon Me. Peter takes offence at this. Verse 29: Peter said to him, Even though they all fall away, I will not. Sometimes I don t know what to make of Peter. He doesn t have any filter for his thoughts. Even if you thought this why would you say it? You know Lord, I can see where You might think these guys will chuck the towel in and abandon You Andrew can be a woos James can lose it but me? No way! 11

12 The disciples were rough and raw. They argue as to who is the greatest or who is the one least likely to run away. There is a pride here that needs breaking. There is an ignorance of how sinful their hearts are that needs correcting. We might like to think we will never fail Him but surely we all know better. Verse 30: And Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. Peter you think you can stand but you will scatter with the others and more than that you will abandon me in a spectacular way. And what is more your bravado will not last one night. Your triple failure will come before the roster crows twice. Peter will have none of it verse 31: But he said emphatically, If I must die with you, I will not deny you. Torture me kill me I won t deny You. Surely You know me better than that! And they all said the same. While I might like to think I would never deny Jesus, betray Jesus, abandon Jesus I have come to know better. I have done it too many times. I have failed Him in witnessing, in living holy, in seeking first His kingdom. I have put myself first too many times. In the same way these disciples will abandon Him in His greatest hour of need. Then having told us that the leaders, Judas and the disciples will fail Him we see the fulfilment of this. First: Judas does betray Him and the disciples do fail Him vv Remember back to chapter 13 Jesus repeatedly told the disciples that they had to stay awake be on guard not sleep. Now they go to Gethsemane where Jesus needs to prepare His heart in prayer. 12

13 He asks the disciples to wait for Him stay awake to be on guard. Verses 33 34: And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch. Jesus is clearly distressed and troubled. He asks these men pray for Me, uphold Me this is My hour of testing stand with Me. I need you. Jesus prays and agonizes great drops of blood sweat from Him. He comes back to His men those who said they would die before they fail Him and verses 37-38: And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Jesus must have been crushed. It is late the disciples are exhausted but Jesus has never asked them something like this. Surely after failing once they would pray aloud together hold each other accountable do whatever it takes. Verses 39-40: And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. I ll bet they didn t know what to say. Failure two. But He gave them another chance. And they blew it again. Verses 41-42: And he came the third time and said to them, Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand. Three times they failed Him. The reality is Jesus was always going to be betrayed. Their prayer and vigilance would not have stopped that. But somehow their prayer would have strengthened Jesus sustained Him in His hour of need. 13

14 If anything should show us the power of prayer and the need of prayer it is this passage. How many times have I failed to pray for God s people, His kingdom, His glory? Somehow our prayers are used to work the plan of God in this world yet how often do we fail Him in this? And now comes the greatest act of treachery in history. Verses 43 46: And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, Rabbi! And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. Betrayed with a kiss! Judas still wanted the show of friendship even in the act of betrayal. But the failure was not Judas alone. Verse 50: And they all left him and fled. Just hours earlier Peter boasted If I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the rest said the same. But when the heat came the sheep all fled. How often do we think we are more capable than we are? How often have you said: I won t commit that sin again? I won t clam up in that situation again? I won t waste my time or money again? I will read the Word and pray regularly? And when the hour comes our resolve fails. We are flesh. And it all leads to the final phase. 14

15 The leaders do destroy Him vv Verse 55: Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. They looked for something the best they could find is some garbled testimony about destroying the Temple. So they decided on the charge of blasphemy. Verses 61-65: Again the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest tore his garments and said, What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, Prophesy! And the guards received him with blows. Jesus was sentenced to death for speaking the truth. He is the Christ. He is the Son of the Blessed. Yet for this they all condemned Him as deserving death. Jesus came to save them and they killed Him. It is hard to get your head around the magnitude of this failure. It is like the Titanic going down and one lifeboat is left so the Captain shoots holes in it to see if it will float. They killed the Saviour. The abandonment is complete. The leaders, the disciples and Judas failed Him and led Him to the cross. But Mark adds two final touches. Look at verses 51-52: And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. We don t know for sure who this is. The fact that it is only in this gospel and the way it is written has led many to think this is Mark himself. 15

16 I think it probably is. I think these verses go with verse 50 and they all left Him and fled. I think Mark is putting his hand up to say I abandoned Him too. I failed Him in His hour of need too. At the very least the point is that everyone even this young man fled and left Jesus. And then finally we see: Peter abandons Him vv In verses we find that after all the disciples fled Peter regrouped and followed the party taking Jesus. He is in the courtyard of the high priest. He knows his very life is in danger. But this is the one who boldly declared If I have to die I won t deny You. Bring it on. Brave words in the safety of the Upper Room. Now in the courtyard of the high priest the bravado cools. A servant girl walks up and says You were with the Nazarene, Jesus. Now those brave words sounded pretty hollow. His courage failed I don t know what you mean. And a rooster crowed. I am thinking that as the rooster crowed Peter heard the words of Jesus and told himself man up what is the worst they can do kill you? Stand by the Lord. Declare His innocence and your love for Him. But the girl started saying to the bystanders this man is one of them! He denied knowing Him a second time. Others joined in Certainly you are one of them for you are a Galilean. He swore at them I do not know this man of whom you speak. He denied Him a third time. And then the rooster crowed a second time. 16

17 At this the words of Jesus crushed him and he broke down and wept. If there was one person on earth you thought would not abandon and deny Jesus it was Peter. He not only failed Him three times in Gethsemane he denied knowing Him three times only hours after swearing it could never happen. What do we learn from this chapter? As we will see next week the betrayal of Jesus was ordained by God. It is prophesied in Scripture and a part of His divine plan. But why? Why did the disciples the good guys have to fail Him and deny Him? Surely it would have made sense if this chapter just had verses 1-21 the decision of the leaders to kill Jesus and the events leading up to the betrayal by Judas and skipping down to verses and His sentencing to death. Why did the disciples and Peter and Mark have to fail Him? In fact, why did Judas even have to fail Him? If you look at verse 49 the leaders could have seized Him in the Temple at any time. They didn t actually need Judas to betray Him. So why a whole chapter filled with betrayal even from those closest to Him? I believe the point is this: There is no one who does not fail and betray Jesus The love of God means that betrayal does not have to be the end There is no one who does not fail and betray Jesus. If there is anyone who could have stood firm it was the disciples and especially Peter. They failed. They failed miserably. 17

18 You and I are no different. The fact that we have sinned is why Jesus came and had to die. If we didn t fail Him there would have been no need of the cross. And tragically even after becoming Christians we fail and fail again. We are meant to read this and realise every one of us failed Jesus and betrayed Him. In this sense, His blood is on our hands. But: There is no one who does not fail and betray Jesus The love of God means that betrayal does not have to be the end The love of God means that failure and betrayal does not have to be the end There is no greater crime we could commit but the love of God is even greater than our sin. Brothers and sisters chapter 14 is here as one of many reminders that there is no sin we can commit even as Christians that is beyond the love of God to forgive. Several times a year someone tells me they have committed an unforgivable sin. Adultery, homosexuality, betrayal. Yes there will be consequences for sin. But to ever think that your sin is beyond the love of God is to belittle grace and diminish the work of Jesus. If He can forgive Peter and the disciples and restore them to fruitful ministry He can forgive you. In the plan of God, it is what happens after our failure that counts. There are two paths of betrayal. The first is the path of Judas the path of the perishing. Judas heard Jesus teach on forgiveness forgiving seventy times seven. 18

19 He heard Him say the one who has been forgiven much loves much. Judas had seen Jesus forgive prostitutes, tax collectors, zealots he had to know the door of repentance was always open. When he was sitting in the Upper Room and Jesus said one of you will betray Me Judas had to know that if he broke down in true repentance Jesus would forgive him. My theology says there is no sin Jesus cannot forgive even this. Even after betraying the Lord with a kiss if he had come to his senses fallen on his knees confessed his sins I believe there would have been forgiveness. Even that crime could be forgiven. The grace of God is sufficient even for this. But Judas did not repent he chose to hang himself. He is the son of perdition. He rejected grace so it would have been far better for him to never have been born. Over the years I have seen too many men and women take this path. Members and attenders right here. Looking saved ministering in the church. But inside there was a gnawing love for the world. Finally, their sin could not be contained. At this point, they could have repented they did not. They chose the world. Left their spouse and children embraced the world and are so lost. If you harbor a gnawing love for the world repent now deal with it now. And even if you don t and it leads to sin remember this sermon it is never too late to repent. Because there is another path the path of Peter the path of the penitent. Betrayal The Penitent Failure Of Flesh Failure Of Faith The Perishing Peter s sins were great. In the face of his great pride three times he deserted Jesus in His hour of need in Gethsemane and three times in the home of the high priest. 19

20 The difference is that as soon as Peter realized what he had done he broke down and wept. He asked forgiveness. He was penitent. In John 21 we read that after the resurrection Jesus came to the disciples. Three times He asked Peter do you love Me? Then feed My lambs? Peter was restored and served the Lord faithfully. I am sure there were times even after this when he failed but there is always forgiveness in the cross. This door is always open. It is never too late. Judas failed and Peter failed. What is the difference? Judas failure was a failure of faith. He didn t truly believe that Jesus would forgive a debt of sin so massive. But the truth is Jesus can forgive even that. I don t know what sin you bear what I do know is that by faith it can be nailed to the cross and you will bear it no more. On the other hand: Peter s failure was a failure of flesh. His faith did not fail. In Luke 22:31 32 Jesus said this: Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Jesus knew that his faith would not fail and that he would turn repent and serve the church. Peter s sins were great but he just trusted that God s grace was greater and it was. Everyone ever born has fallen short. In a sense we have all walked in Judas shoes. In a sense we all deserve Judas fate. But the love of God is so great it covers even the greatest betrayals and failures of men. This is grace. This is our gospel. This is our hope. 20

21 21

22 The Two Paths Of Betrayal (Mark 14:1-72 February 14, 2016) Main Point: The love of God is so great it even offers salvation to those who betrayed His Son. Why does the pain of betrayal hurt so much? Why is it so hard to forgive betrayal? Why did the plan of God necessitate Jesus being betrayed by so many? Considering the sinless life He lived, why did the leaders of the Jews actually plot to have Jesus killed? Why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of the 12 when He knew He would betray Him? Why did Judas choose to stay a member of the 12 for so long? What made Judas finally decide to betray Jesus? Why did he go through with even knowing Jesus knew and had condemned him for it? What lessons do we learn from Judas that can stop us following in his path? Why do we think we will not fail Jesus when we have failed Him so often? In what ways have you failed or betrayed Jesus even after coming to Christ? How can Peter be so emphatic he won t fail Jesus and then fail so spectacularly? What was the place of the disciple s prayer in strengthening Jesus? What do we learn about the necessity of prayer from this? Why is is to hard to have sustained prayer? Why is it so hard to keep resolutions about holiness and preparedness? What is the difference between the failures of Judas and Peter? What is the difference between a failure of flesh and a failure of faith? Are there any unforgivable sins other than denying the power of Jesus to save? Why do so many feel their sin is unforgiveable? What should we do when we feel our heart being wooed from Christ? What should we do if a major sin does occur in our life? 22

23 What does this chapter teach us about grace and the love of God? 23