This is the Faith Debate, a theological roundtable gab fest, a free-for-all forum with faith community leaders wrestling over the truth. In less than one half hour, learn more about what really matters than what most others learn in a week. The Faith Debate is on the World Wide Web at WFMD.com, keyword faith. Are you ready for the clash of ideas? Are you ready for the sound of freedom? Let's get ready to rumble. In this corner, weighing in with a master of divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, the Faith Debate Master of Ceremonies, Troy Skinner. As we continue our Faith Debate Lockdown Tapes Part 2, we did some lockdown tapes. I forget how many it was. It was at least a half a dozen, but we're doing a half a dozen and a dozen lockdown tapes I think we did several months back because of the first wave of lockdowns. As I'm recording this, we find ourselves in a second wave of lockdowns. And so figuring out what do we do? Because it's hard to get people together with all the restrictions about where you can go, how many can gather, wearing masks, all that sort of stuff. And so I have a number of things that feature me on social media that are long form. And I thought, you know, you probably haven't heard those have been exposed to most or much of that. So I figured I would share it with you in this venue. So what you're about to hear is something that actually was shared via social media during Passion Week last year. So Resurrection Sunday, I think actually was on Resurrection Sunday. If not, it was the week before, but I think it was actually on Resurrection Sunday or perhaps the day before Resurrection Sunday. I think that's what it was. Anyway, we're going to walk through Christ's Passion Week from the Gospel of Mark. And you're going to hear most of the message. You're not going to have time to hear quite all of it, but you're going to hear most of it here right now. So I hope you enjoy. And he said to them, I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them, his clothes becoming dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them, Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He didn't know what to say. They were so frightened. Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them and a voice came from the cloud. This is my son whom I love. Listen to him. Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the son of man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what rising from the dead meant. And they asked him. Why did the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? Jesus replied to be sure. Elijah does come first and restores all things. Why then is it a written that the son of man must suffer much should be rejected. But I tell you, Elijah has come and they have done to him everything they wished just as it is written about him and jumping ahead to verses 30 and 32 of Mark chapter nine. They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, the son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him. And after three days he will rise, but they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. traveling through the Passion Week of Jesus using the Gospel of Mark as our guide. You might have already noticed in Chapter 9 of Mark's Gospel account this theme of fear, twice already we've heard about them being afraid. And you're going to see that as a continuing theme and you're also going to see how the fear is tied to unbelief. When they do not trust God and not trust Jesus then they have fear and so Conversely, when we do trust God and do trust Jesus, it chases away fear. So now I'm going to pick up with chapter 10, verses 32 and 34, and then jump ahead to chapter 11, if you're following along at home. So chapter 10, verses 32 to 34, they were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way. And the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the 12 aside and told them what was going to happen to him. We are going up to Jerusalem, he said, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later, he will rise. As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples saying to them, go to the village ahead of you. And just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why are you doing this? Tell him the Lord needs it. And we'll send it back here shortly. They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied to the doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, what are you doing untying that colt? They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our Father David! Hosanna in the highest!" Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve. Following along, turn to Mark Chapter 12. We're picking up in Chapter 12 with verse 18 and reading through to verse 27. Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. Teacher, they said, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be since the seven were married to her? Jesus replied, are you not in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken. And then we're going to skip ahead to chapter 14, the first 16 verses there. Now the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread were only two days away and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. But not during the feast, they said, or the people may riot. While he was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar, a very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor. And they rebuked her harshly. Leave her alone, said Jesus. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor, you will always have with you and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priests to portray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover? So he sent two of his disciples telling them, go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. say to the owner of the house he enters the teacher asks where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready make preparations for us there the disciples left went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them so they prepared the Passover so now we're in Mark chapter 14 verse 27 You will all fall away, Jesus told them. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. Peter declared, even if all fall away, I will not. I tell you the truth, Jesus answered. Today, yes, tonight, before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times. But Peter insisted emphatically, even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. And all the others said the same. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. Stay here and keep watch. Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him. Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will. Then he returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. Simon, he said to Peter, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing. The body is weak. Once more, he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 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 betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go. Here comes my betrayer." Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. The one-eyed kisses the man. Arrest him and lead him away under guard. Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Am I leading rebellion, said Jesus, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me, but the scriptures must be fulfilled. Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young man wearing nothing but a linen garment was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. We're going to pause here. We're going to have a word of prayer here in a moment. But again, I want to emphasize there's this theme of belief and unbelief and fear and lack of fear. And fear of itself is not a sin. Jesus was afraid and he was deeply sorrowed by what lay before him but he trusted the Father, he trusted God and so he acted with boldness and had faith and so then he was able to behave and speak in a way that was absent of fear and a couple of little quick Bible study notes for you. If you have your Bibles open, you'll make a note. It's interesting here that one of them standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Oftentimes you'll hear me when reading scripture, particularly in a sanctuary setting, I might end the reading of God's word by saying, them who have ears to hear, let them hear. And here you have someone who doesn't hear the truth, doesn't recognize God, doesn't believe Jesus, doesn't trust God. And so Symbolically here has no ear to hear, but let's not get too hard on that high priest servant because the disciples themselves really weren't hearing so well, were they? They were told to keep watch. They were told to pray and instead they slept. We know now that Christ has risen and he's going to return again. And we are told to keep watch and to pray until the second coming. Are we watching? Are we praying or are we sleeping? Do we have ears to hear? If so, let us hear. And now let us pray. Father, we praise you for your eternal plan and the confidence and trust we can have that you are in control sovereignly of orchestrating that plan to its completion. We thank you that we live in a, in a victory of a post resurrection world that we can look back. The sacrifice of the cross and the emptiness of the tomb, and we can draw strength as believers in you and your word. And yet we acknowledge that we are in a pre second coming world as well. And so there is still pain and sorrow and death and struggle. So many economic hardships, so many medical difficulties. We praise you for those that in this time who've gotten sick, who've gotten well. We praise you for those who've been protected from getting sick during this season. And we praise you for the good news that we in our church received this week that Darlene, who lost her job right before all the craziness took place, actually got a new job in the midst of this craziness and that she starts this coming week. We thank you for these reminders of your sovereign touch on our lives, that you care for those who belong to you. That you love us. That you chose to love us before we knew to love you. You love us as we come to you, as we are. And yet you love us enough not to leave us where we are and to transform us, to march us forward on our path of sanctification. until that wondrous day of glorification that awaits. We thank you for the truth of your word. We thank you for the trustworthiness of the many witnesses who testified to the risen Christ. We thank you that we can commemorate and celebrate and recognize what some have called most wondrous day and most wondrous miracle of all. We thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit that we have in dwelling us, that you are in us, in our heart, leading us, guiding us, helping us to trust you, to love you, and to love others. We're picking up with our reading of Mark's Gospel account of the Passion Week, and we're on verse 53 of chapter 14. And by the way, where we ended, we had the young man running off naked. It's interesting, he leaves the garden exposed and naked. If you're familiar with what happens in the garden of Eden, they felt exposed and naked and they fled or they hid in fear. So again, there's this theme of fear and not trusting that God's got it under control. And in case I forget to bring it up later in verse 64, but we're about to read, it's going to say they condemned him, Jesus, as worthy of death because of what they deemed blasphemy. It says they all condemned him as worthy of death. What a note of irony we have there. Yes, he is worthy of death as the spotless lamb to pay the price that's due to all of us. I wonder if it's part of the gospel message. So I'm picking up chapter 14, verse 53. They took Jesus to the high priest and all the chief priests, elders, and teachers of law came together. Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. The chief priests of the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him. We heard him say, I will destroy this man made temple and in three days we'll build another not made by man. Yet even then their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that the men are bringing against you? But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? I am said Jesus. And you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. The high priest tore his clothes. Why do we need any more witnesses? He asked, you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him. They blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, prophesy. And the guards took him and beat him. While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. You also were with that Nazarene Jesus, she said. But he denied it. I do not know or understand what you're talking about, he said, and went out into the entryway. When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, this fellow is one of them. Again, he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, surely you are one of them for you are a Galilean. He began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them. I don't know this man you're talking about. Immediately, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him. Before the rooster crows twice, he will disown me three times. And he broke down and wept. Very early in the morning, the chief priests with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. Are you the king of the Jews? Asked Pilate. Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied. The chief priests accused him of many things. So again, Pilate asked him, aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of? But Jesus still made no reply and Pilate was amazed. It is rather amazing. Let's. And it is rather amazing. We're going to have to pause there because we're running out of time here on the Faith Debate. Sometimes the audio doesn't exactly line up the way one might like. What you're listening to is a special edition, lockdown tapes edition of the Faith Debate show. Can't put the panels together when we have all the restrictions and stuff that are in place and that sort of stuff. uh... last year during the spring during the first lockdown uh... church has pastoring at the time which did not and that surviving the covid uh... craziness as it as it turns out uh... and so now i'm pastoring a different church uh... a house church that's uh... you know church plant called the house of the faith in christ and what we're doing is work work where's snagging audio from the house of the faith in christ youtube channel really going through the videos and i am I'm editing on the fly. I'm running the video from YouTube and then I'm jump cutting from one spot to another because what you heard that the original context was there was reading from scripture with some lessons kind of attached, very short form lessons and then we'd sing a song, then read another passage. uh... sing a song and that sort of sort of thing and so we had like six or eight different uh... readings and lessons along with you know half-dozen or eight songs in her splice obviously i'm jumping past getting rid of all of the uh... all the songs and speaking of songs here's the music telling us that our show is drawn to an end for this week Find us on Facebook. If you want, you know, you can listen to these podcasts there, or just go to the WFMD page for Facebook, WFMD.com, the Facebook, the Faith and Hate pages there. And you can follow me on Facebook if you want personally, although I'm spending a lot more time now on MeWe and Parler, so look for me there. And if you follow me, I'll follow you. Till next week, 167 and a half hours from right now, thanks so much for listening. God bless.