Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19970409.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part LIV: Offsetting Discouraging Spiritual Defeats With Future Divinely-Promised Triumphs
(Mark 14:17-31)
  1. Introduction
    1. When a fellow church-goer altogether departs from following the Scripture's truth, or when disunity, apathy, or waywardness strikes even the godly few, we can become very discouraged and disillusioned.
    2. This problem is not new in the Church, for it existed among the disciples who were with Jesus shortly before His crucifixion. However, Christ offered encouraging promises of a future triumphs to overcome these discouragements, providing us a lesson in offsetting the discouragement of current defeats.
  2. Offsetting Discouraging Spiritual Defeats With Future Divinely-Promised Triumphs, Mk. 14:17-31.
    1. Just before Christ's suffering and death, the disciples experienced several discouraging spiritual defeats:
      1. Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray Him, Mark 14:17-21.
        1. As they ate the last Passover meal, Jesus announced that one of the 12 would betray Him, 14:17-18.
        2. This news deeply saddened the men, and each took turns asking if it was himself, Mark 14:19.
        3. Jesus announced that it was the one who dipped the sop with Him at the meal, Mark 14:20. He also noted that though this person would fulfill Scripture in betraying Him, it would still be better if he had never been born due to the ete rnal consequences of his unbelief in Christ, Mark 14:21!
      2. Christ then announced that all of the disciples would be offended and scatter from Him, Mark 14:26-27. This news so upset Peter in particular that he vehemently and repeatedly denied the prophecy, stating several times that he would die with Christ rather than deny Him, Mark 14:29-31.
    2. However, each of these gloomy subjects was offset by Christ's predicting a victorious future blessing:
      1. While dining at the meal where Jesus announced Judas' coming betrayal, Jesus focused on the special hope of the coming Messianic Kingdom:
        1. The betrayal was announced in conjunction to Judas' dipping the sop with Jesus at the supper, 14:20.
        2. However, at that same meal, while instituting the Lord's Table observance, Jesus focused in a very special way on the anticipation of the joys of the Messianic Kingdom yet to come: (a) He said that He would never again drink of the fruit of the vine until He drank it new in the Kingdom of God, 14:25. (b) This announcement focused on the joyful anticipation of that Kingdom, cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV ftn. to Mtt. 26:29. Ryrie says, "The disciples' attention is directed toward their eventual reunion in the future millennial kingdom with its joy and fellowship."
      2. While announcing the spiritual lapse of the twelve when they would scatter from Jesus, Christ focused on the special hope of the worldwide following of Jesus that these same disciples would yet accomplish:
        1. In conjunction with His predicting the scattering of the disciples following His suffering in Mark 14:27, Jesus immediately followed this upsetting prediction with verse 28, a verse which is introduced in the Greek by a strong adversative, "but" ('alla, UBS The Greek N.T., p. 185.
        2. This strong adversative introduces Christ's prediction that after His resurrection, He would go before them once again regained as their leader into Galilee.
        3. This prediction foresaw the gathering where Jesus would commission them to make followers of Him among the peoples of the world, cf. Mtt. 28:16-20.
        4. Thus, though the twelve would temporarily abandon their following Jesus, later would come the triumphant reverse of events where they would not only follow Jesus in His resurrection, but make followers of Christ out of the world's multitudes!
Lesson: (1) Jesus counterbalanced the discouraging news of Judas' defecting betrayal with predicting the joys of the Messianic Kingdom to be experienced by the remaining disciples and Him. (2) He offset the announcement of the abandonment of the twelve at His crucifixion with the uplifting prediction of their renewed followship and its impact on making followers of the WORLD'S peoples.

Application: To OFFSET the temporal discouragements of spiritual failure we see in others or even in ourselves today, we need to anticipate the joy of the final, future triumphs of God's program. In this way we avoid getting spiritually "wiped out" due to the dismal experiences of present setbacks!