Some things are better after they are broken. The rose pedal must be crushed before it gives forth fragrance. A wild colt must be broken before it has value. In Mark 14, there are three things that get broken and three people who struggle with the process.

First, there is a broken box and an unbroken disciple (verses 3-11). Jesus is a guest in the home of Simon the Leper. Mary brought an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. The jar had a long neck, which Mary broke to release the aroma.

Judas, however, was disgusted with Mary's extravagance. He measured everything in terms of money. So he agreed to betray Jesus, selling him for about one-third of what that expensive perfume would have brought. Mary was not calculating the cost. She was worshiping Jesus. Judas was thinking only of himself and embezzling money from the treasury.

The scene now shifts to the Upper Room. There, we see the broken bread and the same unbroken disciple (verses 12-26). After sharing the Passover with his disciples one last time, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by breaking the bread. He said, "Take it; this is my body." Through the virgin conception, a body was prepared for Jesus, and he entered this world fully man but still fully God. Yet that body had to be broken. Every time we receive the Lord's Supper, we are reminded that he became our substitute and died for us.

Yet even at that late hour Jesus is concerned about others. Before ever instituting the Lord's Supper, he expressed grief that one of the disciples who was sharing in that meal would betray him. Although Jesus reached out to him in love, Judas was consumed with his own agenda. The moment he makes a decision to go through with his plan, Satan entered him. Judas walks away from the love of Christ into the night, still unbroken.

The 11 follow Jesus from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane. As Jesus prepares them for the crisis, he is glibly interrupted by Peter. Peter announces that even if everyone else falls away, he will not. But Peter has never been broken, and he does not know himself.

Here, we see a boastful disciple and a broken Savior (verses 27-42). Jesus is overwhelmed with the spiritual conflict, but Peter is oblivious. While Judas is conspiring with the enemy, Jesus struggles alone. "Must I really drink this cup of suffering?" Yet Jesus concedes, "Not what I will, but what You will."

Suddenly, his prayer is interrupted by an army led by Judas. Yet Jesus shows kindness to his betrayer. When Peter abruptly wakes up, attempting to make up for lost time, Jesus calmly tells the wild man to put up his sword and repairs the damage he inflicted. But Peter is not finished until he denies the Lord three times. Finally, he broke down and wept. Only after he repented could he be filled with a Spirit greater than himself.

Yet when Judas saw what he had done, he committed suicide. One night they were all together, but before another day elapsed, the body of Jesus was broken, the pride of Peter was broken, and the hope of Judas was broken.

If we submit to the will of God, he will break us and then put us back together. The alternative is self-destruction (Matt 21:44). We become our own worst enemy when we pray, "Not Your will, but mine." Paradoxically, winning comes through surrender, not fighting. May God give us the grace to pray, sincerely, "Not my will, but Your will be done."

Reasoner is a faculty member at Southern Methodist College in Orangeburg.

The Times and Democrat is seeking submissions from local pastors for "Friday sermon." Pastors from all denominations are welcome to write a column, approximately 500 words in length, based on a past or upcoming sermon, your view on an issue in the news or any other faith-based topic of interest. Submissions should be sent to Wendy Jeffcoat Crider, features editor, The Times and Democrat, P.O. Box 1766, Orangeburg, SC 29116, or by e-mail at wjeffcoat@timesanddemocrat.com. Submissions are due each Tuesday at noon. Based on response, a different pastor will be featured each week.

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