5 Essential Doctrines to Believe In by J.C. Ryle

1. The Absolute Supremacy of Holy Scripture

Show us anything, plainly written, in that Book, we will receive it, believe it, and submit to it. Show us anything contrary to that Book, and however sophisticated, plausible, beautiful and apparently desirable, we will not have it at any price.

2. The Doctrine of Human Sinfulness and Corruption

Man is radically diseased. I believe that ignorance of the extent of the Fall, and of the whole doctrine of original sin, is one grand reason why many can neither understand, appreciate, nor receive Evangelical Religion.

3. The Work and Office of our Lord Jesus Christ

The eternal Son of God is our Representative and Substitute. We maintain that people ought to be continually warned not to make a Christ of the Church. We hold that nothing whatever is needed between the soul of man the sinner, and Christ the Savior, but simple child-like faith.

4. The Inward Work of the Holy Spirit

We maintain that the things which need most to be pressed on men’s attention are those mighty works of the Holy Spirit–inward repentance, faith, hope, hatred of sin, and love to God’s law. We say that to tell men to take comfort in their baptism or church membership when these all-important graces are unknown, is not merely a mistake, but positive cruelty.

5. The Visible Work of the Holy Spirit in a Person

We maintain that to tell a man he is “born of God” or regenerated, while living in carelessness or sin, is a dangerous delusion. It is the position we assign to these five points which is one of the grand characteristics of Evangelical theology. We say boldly that they are first, foremost, chief and principal things in Christianity.

JESUS: BETRAYED & ABANDONED - MARK 14:27-52

 Jesus Predicted His Abandonment By The Disciples

14:27-31

Mark continues his theme of Jesus being abandoned and left alone to suffer. As they left Jerusalem, after the supper, Jesus led them to the Mount of Olives. 

Jesus told them they would all fall away, or abandon him. He put it in the context of Zechariah 13:7, which says “strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered”. He was speaking with divine authority. He is the shepherd God will strike him, or allow him to be struck, to fulfill his will. Isaiah 53:10 says: “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.” 

Jesus had already told them that he would be betrayed by one of them. And now he tells them they will all abandon him. They are confronted with the lack of faithfulness as a group, even though they are, as the Twelve, those closest to Jesus. 

Peter, of course, spoke up to say he would not fall away even if all of the other disciples did. (29) Jesus told him that he would indeed deny him, not once, but three times. (30) It would not be a momentary lapse. It would be a complete and thorough denial.

Peter did not take it to heart and continued to assert that he would even go to death with Jesus. (31) Notice that he did not defend the other disciples, only himself. 

Had Peter had been more humble, he would have prayed and sought strength to face the coming trials. But he believed he was self reliant and strong. That led to his downfall. 

Peter had to be humbled to be the servant leader Jesus called him to be. This humbling was painful. That is why I always encourage believers to humble themselves. It is much less painful.

The encouraging word from Jesus was that, after his resurrection, he would “go before” them to Galilee. (28) He would gather them to himself again after they scattered. As he did with the crowds in Galilee, he would have compassion on them as sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

The disciples seemed to have completely missed part of what Jesus said. He said “after I am raised up” (ESV) or “after I have risen” (NIV). He was about to die, but he would be resurrected. And then he would gather them again. The actions of the disciples later affirm they did not understand this. 

Praying At Gethsemane

14:32-42

At the base Mount of Olives, Jesus went to a place called Gethsemane. It was across the Kidron brook from Jerusalem. The word means “olive press”. It was an olive grove and probably had an olive press. It was a place they went often, as Luke 22:39 says he went there as was his custom. 

Jesus told the disciples to sit down while he went to pray. (32) Mark does not tell us if they did, but given what the other three did, it is doubtful they prayed. They probably fell asleep.

Jesus took his inner circle with him: Peter, James, and John. These were his inner circle. They claimed to be strong: Peter said he would never fall away; James and John said they could drink the cup Jesus would drink.

He sat them down apart from the others. He was distressed, troubled, and very sorrowful. He said “sorrowful even unto death”. The New International Version says his soul was overwhelmed with sorry to the point of death. 

He had intense spiritual suffering. He knew he was about to bear the sins of many. He would be abandoned by his friends, but worse, alienated from the Father. 

Jesus told them to stay there and watch. 

He then went off a ways and fell to the ground praying. You know it is bad when a man lays on the ground to pray. 

Jesus asked the Father to let him avoid this bearing of humanity’s sin with all of its suffering, both spiritual and physical. Yet, he submitted to God’s will, saying “not what I will, but what you will”. (36) 

Jesus returned to his three friends and found them sleeping. They were not watching. They were not praying. They were not even sympathizing; they were sleeping. 

Jesus again chided Peter. (37) In effect, he said “you who said you were so strong you would not fall away, can you not even stay awake for me?”. He also told him to watch and pray, but specifically this time that Peter would not enter into temptation. And he told him his flesh was weak. (38) 

Again, you would hope Peter would get the message, humble himself, and pray for strength. But he did not. Jesus went back to praying and when he returned they were again sleeping. And it happened a third time. 

It was strange that men who so short a time before had been protesting that they would die for him, could not stay awake for him one single hour. 

In their defense, it was night time, when people slept. They had eaten a big meal and drunk wine. They had experienced emotional turmoil. But they gave into physical needs without recognizing the great spiritual crisis that was soon to be upon them. As Jesus said, the flesh is weak. 

When Jesus went to Gethsemane there were two things he sorely desired: human fellowship and God's fellowship. God acknowledged that need in the creation story, saying: ”It is not good that the man should be alone," God said in the beginning. (Genesis 2:18) In difficult times we want someone with us. 

Sometimes, we do not even want God to do anything. We only want him there; we want to know he is there. Jesus was like that. He called God “Abba”, Aramaic for “my father”.

Betrayed, Arrested, and Abandoned

14:43-51

As Jesus spoke, a crowd arrived, led by Judas. The crowd, and Judas, were sent by the Sanhedrin. That is what Mark means when he wrote that the crowd was from the chief priests, scribes, and elders. (43)The crowd was armed with swords and clubs, ready for a fight. 

Judas had lost all sense of honor. He told the crowd they would know whom to arrest when Judas kissed him. It was customary for a disciple to greet his rabbi with a kiss. It showed respect and affection. 

There are two possibilities here. Maybe Judas somehow thought the kiss would disguise his intent, but the armed crowd behind him would show that not to be true. Or maybe Judas wanted to rub it in, knowing the kiss was not a sign of respect, but of betrayal and disrespect. 

So Jesus was arrested. He pointed out their cowardice, arresting him at night with weapons when he had been with them for many days in the temple. (48) But he went with them anyway, obedient to the Father’s will and fulfilling the Scriptures. 

Then come some of the saddest words in the New Testament: “they all left him and fled”. (50) Just as Jesus said they would do, the fell away. They were not willing to suffer along with Jesus.

Those who fled included a young man who was caught, but shrugged off his clothes and fled naked. Only Mark includes this, so many thing the young man was Mark himself. 

Takeaways

The flesh is weak! Do not think you can fight spiritual battles in your own strength. Pray for God's help.

Jesus is our model of obedience. Despite the horror he faced, he moved forward to do God's will in complete obedience. 

Bible Verses About the Passover

 PASSOVER

Exodus 12

The original Passover.

Exodus 23:15

Feast of Unleavened Bread requires eating unleavened bread for seen days and making an offering.

Leviticus 23:4

How to observe Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Food offering must be given every day.

Numbers 9:1-5

Moses led them to observe Passover in the desert.

Numbers 9:13

Penalty for failure to observe Passover - must be cut off from the people

Deuteronomy 16:1-8

Sacrifice of the lambs on the day of passover in the evening at sundown. 

Joshua 5:10

Israelites observed Passover at Gilgal. 

1 Corinthians 5:7

Christ is our Passover Lamb. 

8 THINGS ABOUT JESUS FROM HEBREWS 1:1-4

1. Jesus has the last word. God formerly spoke through the prophets. But then God spoke through his Son, Jesus. And that is the final word. That is why we do not follow those who say God has spoken to them outside of what the Bible says. 

2. He is the heir of all things, appointed so By God the father. He is supreme over all things. Indeed all things were created for him. (Colossians 1:16)

3. God created the world through Jesus. As John 1:3 says: “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made”. 

4. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact representation of his nature, i.e., the Son is a separate person from the Father, but has the same glory and nature, or essence. He is God.

5. He holds everything together. The universe stays together by the word of his power.

6. He made purification for the sins of believers by dying on the cross.

7. He was resurrected and exalted to set at the right hand of God the Father (the Majesty on high).

8. He is superior to the angels. 

THE LORD'S SUPPER: MARK 14:10-25

 Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14:10-11

In contact to Mary’s act of devotion to Jesus, Judas sought to betray him. Mark specifically identities him as one of the Twelve. He was an insider, close to Jesus. Yet, he met with members of the Sanhedrin, agreed on a price, and began to look for the opportunity to betray.

Mark does not name the price as Matthew does. Instead he focused on Judas’ greed and the depth of his betrayal as one close to Jesus. 

Preparations For The Passover Supper

14:12-16

The week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived. The first day of the Feast is Passover. Mark specifically tells us it is the day when the Jews sacrificed their sacrificial Passover lamb. He wanted us to know that Jesus died on Passover, sacrificing himself for sin just as the lamb was traditionally sacrificed. (Exodus 12)

The arrangements that were made for Jesus to observe the Passover with his disciples are all directed by Jesus. He sent two disciples into Jerusalem, the only place the Passover could be observed. He arranged for them to meet a man who had a place furnished and ready for them. They met him and prepared the Passover meal. (16) It was customary for the residents of Jerusalem to make spare rooms in their houses available for visitors to observe the Passover. 

This shows us that Jesus is in control of events, not one who is caught up in events controlled by others. Jesus did not retreat, he followed the course he chose to follow in accordance with the Father’s plan. 

Here is an interesting side light to the story. The room here is described as a large upper room. (15) The room where the disciples met after Jesus’ ascension is also called “the upper room”. (Acts 1:13) Further, when Peter was in prison before the angel set him free, the disciples were meeting and praying. Peter went there to join them. That house was owned by Mary, the mother of John Mark, the author of this gospel account. (Acts 12:12) 

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

14:17-21

Although the Passover was a celebration, Jesus introduced sorrow. He told his followers that one of them eating with him, one of the Twelve, would betray him. (18) Jesus cast the announcement in terms of Psalm 41:9: “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me”. 

They kept asking “is it I”. (19) The other gospel accounts show us that Jesus pointed out Judas as his betrayer.

Jesus knew he would go to his death as it was written of him (21). For example. This implies divine purpose. He was obedient to the will of the Father. 

There are no references in the Old Testament to the Son of Man dying. Jesus identified himself with the suffering servant of Isaiah. See Isaiah 53.

However, although it was God’s will for him to die, his betrayer would suffer for his actions. (21) Jesus pronounced a “woe” upon him: It would be better for him not to have been born. God may use the evil acts of men for his purposes, but the man is still responsible for his actions. 

The Lord’s Supper

14:22-25

Mark does not describe everything that happens at the meal, but focuses again on Jesus, his actions and his words. He begins with the group reclining at table and eating. (18)

During the Passover meal, 4 cups of wine were consumed ritually, reciting prayers and scripture passages. The meal is eaten after the ritual of the 2nd cup. When the 2nd cup was poured, the host would pray over it, then recite Exodus 6:6b: “I will deliver you from slavery”.

The food is then served, along with two unleavened bread wafers. Each person breaks his neighbor’s bread, they dip it and eat it. Then the meal is eaten. This is apparently when Jesus introduces the Lord’s Supper.

He took one of the wafers of bread, blessed it and broke it. He told them to eat it, saying “this is my body”. 

Then he took the cup of wine, maybe the 3rd ritual cup, gave thanks, gave it to the disciples, who all drank of it. Normally, with the 3rd cup, the host again quotes part of Exodus 6:6: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” The disciples drank it.

Then Jesus said “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured our for many”. (24) Jesus would give his whole self for the disciples, dying on the cross. 

There is a reflection here of the inauguration of the Old Covenant. When the Israelites committed to God’s covenant, Moses took the blood of sacrificed oxen and threw it on the people, saying “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words”. (Exodus 24:3-8) 

Here, the blood was not thrown on them, but symbolically taken into them. The blood of animals was a type of the blood of Jesus, which is the only effective blood of the covenant. Jesus’ death is vicarious, in place of ours, as sacrifice for sin. He “bore the sin of many”. (Isaiah 53:12) 

Jesus would then lead the disciples to drink the 4th and final ritual cup of wine. There is a prayer of blessing, then the host recites the final clause of Exodus 6:6-7: 

“Then I will take you as my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Jesus then said he would not drink wine again until that day when he drinks it new in the kingdom of God, looking forward to consummated kingdom. (25)

Finally, they sang a hymn, traditionally Psalms 115-118. After the hymn, the left Jerusalem and headed for the Mount of Olives. (26) 

Why do we observe the Lord’s Supper? Because Jesus told us to. “Do this in remembrance of me”. (Luke 22:19.) “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25) 

It reminds us, as a church body, that he died for us and we are redeemed by the blood he shed for us.