In his final days as a man, Jesus was abandoned by almost everyone who was close or important to him.
He was abandoned by his friends, by his family, by his religion, by his country… and even, to an extent, by his heavenly Father.
And today, as we look at our next major section of Mark’s Gospel in chapter fourteen, we will see just how these awful events came to happen.
We’ll see the abandonment anticipated… as Jesus speaks about his coming death.
We’ll see the abandonment predicted… as Jesus speaks of his betrayal and desertion.
And we’ll see the abandonment realised… as we see his disciples neglect him and play their part in handing him over to his enemies.