Jesus Jesus was betrayed and deserted by his closest friends.

He was falsely arrested by religious leaders.

He was abused by those he came to save.

And yet he was not a helpless victim whose mission had failed.

Today on Truth for Life, we'll find out why.

Alastair Begg is teaching from the end of Mark, Chapter 14.

Well, from one perspective, the situation regarding Jesus and his mission is going from bad to worse.

We might even say that from the perspective of the narrative, Jesus and his disciples have pretty well had their day in the sun.

However, when you stand back from it within the framework of not simply the Gospel of Mark,

but also the unfolding story of the Bible, which is what we've been telling one another,

it is important for us to do, we realize that from

a theological perspective, Jesus has set his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem. None of the events

that have transpired, and which we have been most recently considering, have taken him by surprise.

They may have unsettled his disciples.

He has definitely been overwhelmed by the prospect of the physicality and the reality of all that he faces, but he's been telling them for some time that the son of man must go up to Jerusalem

and suffer and die at the hands of cruel men. And so, as you read these

verses this morning, it is important to understand that Jesus is not a helpless victim, that Jesus is

not here held in the grip of forces over which he has no authority. But rather, his words and his actions make it clear that he is

in charge of these events, that he knows exactly what is taking place, and he knows exactly what is

going to happen to him. And we might go as far as to say that the things that he has said and done since he

arrived in Jerusalem have actually precipitated the crisis which he now faces. In other words,

he is responsible for the circumstances in which he now finds himself. Now, you may want to think that out a little bit.

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