Mark 14:43-52. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 13, 2020.
We continue our walk through the Gospel according to Mark, and today we arrive at the point of the arrest of Jesus. It is still the middle of the night, though we are not given the exact time. Jesus and his disciples are at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus has been praying. At some point, Jesus tells Peter, James, and John upon waking them up that the betrayer is here.
As Jesus is speaking, the arresting force comes on the scene. It is led by Judas and Mark particularly notes that he is one of The Twelve. To be betrayed requires someone who has been close to you. We never speak of being betrayed by an enemy. We expect them to try and harm us. Judas had been chosen by Jesus, participated in all that the disciples did, and was loved by Christ until the end. The Bible tells us that, even when Jesus chose Judas, he already knew what he was and what he would do. John 6:70 states, “Did I not choose you, and one of you is a devil?” John places this immediately after a statement from Peter that The Twelve had come to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Later in John 18:9, Jesus prays, “Of those whom you gave me, I have lost none.” This implies that Judas was never one that God had given Jesus. Jesus chose him on purpose. There needed to be a betrayer. Still, few things sting quite so badly as being betrayed by those you treated well.
To add insult to injury, the group coming to get Jesus is armed to the gills with swords, clubs, and a lot of man-power. Just from the situation alone, we could expect at least 2 to 3 men per Jesus and his disciples, without Judas. This would be a force of over 20 to 30 men. It is interesting that the word used in John 18:3 and translated as a “detachment of troops,” is a technical term for at least 200 men. We cannot be completely sure John was using it technically, but we will leave it at that. John also tells us that they carried torches and lamps, which would make sense since it is the middle of the dark and not inside the city. Jesus will emphasize the ludicrous nature of this huge arrest party later, so I will leave it here.
Judas has worked out a signal for the group that would identify which of the men is Jesus. It is dark and there are at least eleven of them who have a vested interest in protecting Jesus. So, this does make some sense. However, Judas chooses a kiss of greeting as his signal. Thus, Judas comes up to Jesus and addresses him as Rabbi, which means teacher, and gives him a customary kiss. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give a few lines from Jesus to Judas that Mark does not record. It is unclear whether Jesus asks this as a question or a statement, but it doesn’t change it in the end. “Friend, do what you have come to do.” The second is this. “Judas, are you betraying me with a kiss?”
For his part, Jesus had treated Judas as a friend, and given him a friend’s place near him. Yet, Judas uses something that should be a good thing, an intimate thing, to portend something that is bad. O friend, beware the kisses of this world. Many pretend closeness, but they are all about their own gain and advancement. Politics may make strange bed-fellows, but they generally will stab each other in the back in the end. We can choose to obsess over who may betray us, but Jesus shows us that this need not be our concern. Betrayals will occur, and it is not my job to determine ahead of time in order to stop them. If God is our guide then He will also be our guard. And, if anything gets through His guard then He is working it for our good. Part of the problem that Judas has is that he cannot see how Jesus is working things for the good of Judas. He takes matters into his own hands and betrays Jesus for his own personal ends. To follow Jesus in this matter requires us to have faith in God over the top of our hurt feelings.
As the men move to seize Jesus, a confrontation occurs. Before we follow this account, let me remind us of the added detail that is given in John 18:4-8. There, Jesus asks the men who they are seeking and then answers, “I am.” We are then told that the men drew back and fell to the ground. By the way, I would not assume that this means ever single person in the arresting party, especially if there are 200 of them. Regardless, when they get up, Jesus asks them again and then tells them again, “I have told you that I am. Now, most translations will have Jesus saying “I am he.” However, the pronoun he is not actually in the Greek. It simply says I am. Of course, many languages allow and employ assumed words within discourse. Yet, the forceful falling backwards of the men (at least those directly around Jesus) gives a strange emphasis to his words. The Hebrew name of God given to Moses at the burning bush was in Hebrew Yahweh, I am. Two things are accomplished by this. Jesus signals to us just who he really is, and how easily he could get out of this predicament. Second, it focuses the men on him so that they will be more likely to let the disciples go.
But, let’s get back to Mark. As the men begin to lay hold of Jesus, Peter uses a sword to strike at one of the men. He ends up cutting off the ear of Malchus the High Priest’s servant. No doubt, Malchus was there to represent the High Priest, and make sure all went well. Though Mark leaves it at that, Luke tells us that Jesus healed the man’s ear. This would be similar to a police officer being knifed by a guy when arresting his friend. However, the friend then comes over and heals the knife wound. Wow, what would you do with that as a police officer? Here we see that Jesus had no ill-will towards these men. They are only the blind following blind guides. It is the authorities who sent them that have the true guilt. We should also remember that when Jesus talked to them about having a sword earlier that night, he did not mean to protect him from being arrested. Even when Jesus was suffering injustice, he was gracious. How can this be? For the one who is in God’s hand, injustice is never permanent because God oversee it all. The day of setting all things right may be in the future, but God has guaranteed it to mankind.
Jesus actually gives two rebukes here, although Mark only records a rebuke of the arresting force. In Matthew 26:52, Jesus rebukes Peter. “Put your sword away. All who live by the sword will die by it.” Peter was a man of action and wanted to stop this injustice from occurring, but this is not God’s way. Jesus also states, “I can pray and receive 12 legions of angels.” Note: 1 legion was typically 6,000 foot-soldiers and 700 as cavalry. That would be nearly 84,000 angels. An extremely large force to say the least. Jesus was probably not emphasizing the exact number, but rather the overwhelming force. We should also keep in mind that one angel slew 185,000 Syrians in one night in 2 Kings 19:35. No earthly forces, nor any fallen spiritual forces can actually do anything to Jesus save he allow it. Lastly, Jesus says to his disciples, “Shall I not drink the cup that my Father has given me?” He can come all this way for this purpose, and now he would balk? No. Jesus would press on.
Jesus also rebukes those leading the arresting party, as Mark records. They could have arrested him any time during the day at the temple. Why did they wait for now? Jesus was not known to be an outlaw in any way. Why a huge force with swords and clubs? This is most likely projection on their part. The wicked are always afraid that others are just like them in their hearts. Thus, they trust no one. Luke adds the words, “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Jesus connects the hour of the arrest with the spiritual darkness with which they were in league. In these last days, a great darkness called by Paul, “The Lie,” and “A Strong Delusion,” is coming. It will be a time where the powers of darkness will have their way for a season. Children of the light never need to be afraid of the powers of darkness, not because it cannot touch us, but because God is our defense and our vindicator.
At this point, Jesus is bound and taken away. He has told the guards to let the disciples go, and they seem happy to have him alone. Their arrest order was apparently only for Jesus. Of course, if they had understood what those eleven men would do later, the leaders would have had them all seized and executed, but this was not in God’s plan. Let us remember that God is always in control, even when the forces of darkness are having their way. It is difficult to rest in that belief in chaotic times like they were seeing and that we are seeing today. However, it is possible, and it is the gift that God gives to us if we will seek it through faith.
At this point, all of the disciples forsake Jesus and flee. On one hand it was fine for them to leave Jesus because that is what he wanted and what the Father had decreed. It was not their time to be arrested and die. On the other hand, they vehemently insisted that they would stand with Jesus just hours ago. They are doing in the flesh, what was proper to do by the Spirit of God. What I mean is that we can do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. It is a good thing that God loves us, disciplines us, and restores us to him in grace.
In verses 51 to 53, we have a strange part of the story that is unique to Mark. There is a young man who is obviously not one of the disciples. The term means a young servant who is typically in the teens. The fact that he only has a linen covering seems to imply that he had been in bed, and had hurriedly covered himself to see what would happen. This is not one of The Twelve. In short, it is believed by many that this is Mark himself, though we cannot be sure. The arresting party may have stopped by the place of the last supper first. This would have wakened up the household and made them aware of the desire to arrest Jesus. Mark may have been following the party to see what would happen and is nearly grabbed as he tries to continue his following after the arrest. Of course, we are told that he slips away without his linen covering. Why would Mark record this? One conjecture is that Mark couldn’t describe the failures of his betters without including his own failure in the moment, though he leaves it anonymous. Of course, we all fail at times. Yet, the Lord loves us and promises restoration to those who love him. And, this is what the world does. It challenges your love for Jesus. Will we love him and follow him, or will we run away from him? And, if we run away from him, will we go to destruction like Judas, or will we be restored like these men were? The disciples ran away, but in that isolated place, they met the resurrected Lord and that made all the difference. May God strengthen us and remind us that we serve the Lord of Life who has conquered death. Amen!