Mark 14: 43-52
Betrayal and Arrest 

The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 

For Jesus, the righteous man, Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, the Holy One, to be handed over to sinners is for Jesus to step from God’s protection into God’s judgment.  In Gethsemane Jesus hangs from a precipice, clinging to some last hope that he need not take the fall, that the plan might be changed – pleading that there might be some other way – but submitting his will to the will of his Father whatever sufferings may come.

Today we follow Jesus as he puts aside his divine prerogative and gives himself over to betrayal and suffering at the hands of men for the sake of mankind. 

Scripture Reading 

Prayer 

From the days of the Exodus Israel looked to Yhwh, her God, as a faithful Father – a Father constant in steadfast love and justice – who remains true even when his children are false. 

Before his death, Moses admonished the wilderness generation to look to Yhwh as Father, in the famous song of Deut 32… 

Deuteronomy 32:4-6 4 "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.  5 They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.  6 Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you? 

Jeremiah 3:19-21 19 "'I said How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.  20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.'"  21 A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God. 

But as Jesus walks into this obedience as the faithful man we will begin to find in him again the steadfastness of God – the God who is faithful though all betray him, even a reflection of the Father who is constant despite the turning aside of his children. 

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – said Jesus 

Jesus overcomes the weakness of his own flesh by keeping a desperate connection with God in prayer.  It seems the Spirit of God is still with Jesus despite the silence of his Father.  The flesh is weak, but Jesus’ Spirit prevails through prayer. 

The confrontation with Judas and the mob reveals the tragic weakness of the disciples. The calamity of betrayal by one and abandonment by all results from men confusing God’s will with their own will. 

Jesus gives himself over to judgment in order to show that God is true though all humankind be liars.  He believes there is vindication on the other side of judgment and death.  He believes the only possible solution to this crisis is to align his will with the Father’s will – even when that path looks terrible, even when he remains unsure why it must to be this way or exactly how it’s going to play out – Jesus’ faith in the Father is such that he gives himself over no matter the cost.

And this obedience is what discipleship is all about.  Jesus taught earlier: 

Mark 3:35 – “Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." 

Mark 8:35 -  “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 
And by keeping his own will united with his Father we find Jesus still reflecting the character of his Father as he greets the betrayal of Judas.  Jesus will remain constant though his disciples fall on every side.  Despite his own reservations he will abide in the plan. 

And in his constancy Jesus shows forth in himself the kindness and forbearance of the Father – the justice and mercy of God.  Christ will show that his own character is like the Father’s character – is like Yhwh’s character – like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – like the Lord God of old who remained faithful to Israel again and again despite her repeated betrayal and abandonment of him.   Here is the will of the Father at work in Jesus indeed. 

Here is "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." 

Jesus at the same time submits to the will of the Father and endures the silence of the Father.  He is a man walking in the way of God, yet bearing the iniquity of other men. He maintains righteousness, yet is treated as wicked. 

Having endured the dreadful prayer vigil, Jesus rises to meet judgment in Gethsemane, and in so doing Jesus unites the will of God with unflinching human faithfulness.  He plays the role of Israel and the role of the Lord at the same time. 

And in the midst of betrayal, Jesus’ faithfulness exposes our folly so that the willful actions of men appear like so many waves breaking against the Rock that is Jesus Christ – Judas…Peter…the Crowd from the Temple…the young man running off naked – all these in frenzied confrontation and yet Jesus remains constant (nearly directing the show) – he gives himself over that the Scriptures be fulfilled (v. 49). 

The will of God outlasts the will of men. 

So we understand something of the posture of Jesus in facing his arrest, but let us learn from three other human angles in the text… 

The kiss…the swordsman…the angry mob 

1. the kiss

Mark 14:44-46 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard."  45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him.  46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 

Why a kiss?  What does the kiss achieve?  Why not shout Jesus down or simply point him out from a distance? There is surely some strategic advantage for Judas, the insider, to come close and ensure they capture the right man – but is there more? 

It seems to me we must learn from Judas’ action something about ourselves.  Judas wants to betray Jesus; he intends to break faith, but he doesn’t get his hands dirty.  Judas does as much as necessary to ensure that the arrest will be accomplished; he goes far enough to tip the scales in opposition to Jesus – but then he disappears into the night – Mark never mentions him again. 

People often cover their most terrible actions with a veneer of dignity.  If you want to betray your friend you don’t typically go shout in their face, you will (more likely) try to manage the betrayal while still acting friendly.  You may even act more friendly than ever to make sure they take the bait.  And you will likely leave the dirty work – the clubs and swords – to someone else. 

Michael Card’s song – “Why”

“Why did it have to be a friend who chose to betray the Lord? 
and why did he use a kiss to show them, that's not what a kiss is for? 
Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain. 
and only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.” 

Judas can tell himself that Jesus had it coming, that he would have been captured eventually anyway. 

Application: Is your heart set against a friend this morning?  Are you planning a dignified betrayal of someone close? – it may be something you intend without thinking of it as betrayal.  You may be thinking that they had it coming, that you’re just playing your part.  (Judas didn’t arrest Jesus, he just took his money and pointed them in the right direction.)  Perhaps its not a big momentous betrayal like Judas, but a small betrayal – just enough to cast doubt on the character of another family member or another church member?  All such things bring sorrow to our God. 

You don’t have to do it.   Let us not be a church that behaves like Judas…let us be true even though it hurts, even when we don’t feel like it, because our Lord has been true to us. 

OR your betrayal may be a more direct betrayal of Jesus himself.  How do you speak about Christ when you’re not at church?  Do you chose his way when money is on the line?  Do you stand for Christ when it’s unpopular?  Do you seek God in the quiet place of prayer? 

And this leads us from the kiss to the sword 

2. the sword 

Mark 14:46-47 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 
Mark doesn’t tell us who this is, but John says plainly it was Peter who struck out with his sword.

[John 18:10-11 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)  11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"] 

Apparently Peter is trying to make good on his promises of fidelity – “If I must die with you I will not deny you.”  And this is the sort of action that our culture glorifies. 

Illustration: For example…The first translation of the gospels into old Saxon under Charlemagne (early 9th century) recasts Jesus life as a Germanic warrior saga, complete with poetic style and lots of embellishment.  It’s called the Heliand (= the saviour).  I’ll read a translation of what the Saxons first read and heard about Peter’s swordplay. 
The Heliand (The Saxon Gospel)

Song 58 – Christ the Chieftan is Captured, Peter the Mighty Swordsman defends him boldly 

“Then Simon Peter, the mighty, the noble swordsmen flew into a rage; his mind was in such turmoil that he could not speak a single word.  His heart became intensely bitter because they wanted to tie up his Lord there.  So he strode over angrily, that very daring thane, to stand in front of his Commander, right in front of his Lord.  No doubting in his mind, no fearful hesitation in his chest, he drew his blade and struck straight ahead at the first man of the enemy with all the strength in his hands, so that Malchus was cut and wounded on the right side by the sword!  His ear was chopped off, he was so badly wounded in the head that his cheek and ear burst open with the mortal wound!  Blood gushed out, pouring from the wound, The men stood back; they were afraid of the slash of the sword.”  (A translation and commentary by G. Ronald Murphy, S. J., 160) 

Application: But this rash swordplay is not the kind of faithfulness Jesus has been looking for – it comes too little, too late.  The real battle was back in the lonely place of prayer. 

Mark 14:37-38   37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?  38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 

Too often, in our human willfulness, we have a misapplied zeal.  We want to make things happen so we try to kick-start the kingdom of God, but God just won’t let it happen by our own devices – our own cleverness, human zeal, and quickness at the draw – is not what he will use because he’s more interested in our reliance upon him.  There is more power in prayer and submission than in the sword and aggression.  Jesus will win the victory because he waits on the will of the Father. 

Too often we want to see people cut down rather than pray for their deliverance, and we want to make our own way out of trouble rather than seeking the way of God. 

It may be when God has you in the place of trouble, the place of crisis and fear, that he doesn’t want you to fight your way out but to pray your way through.  I am convinced that God will sometimes lead us into trouble, into travail, and even into tragedy in order to show us himself – in order to show us that our needs and desires are only finally fulfilled in Him and in submission to his way – even as God leads Jesus into trouble for the salvation of the world.  Jesus believes that in the end he will be able to confess, like Joseph to his brothers who sold him to slavery:

ESV Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 

This means we can have the freedom to look for the good in the midst of hardship and turmoil and even betrayal – to look for what God might be doing, how he might use you and your story, you and your pain for the healing of others.  We can go there, we can say such things more boldly than Joseph, because we know that our Lord has gone before us. 

3. the Mob

Mark 14:48-49   48 And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?  49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." 

The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders are ready to do the dirty work.  They’re angry enough with Jesus to do whatever it takes to be rid of him – by hook or by crook.  And at every step they are protecting themselves – hiding their deeds for fear of the people until they can fabricate a case against Jesus, sending a mob of men under cover of darkness, paying Judas to show the way. 

Jesus invites this club-bearing crowd to consider who stands for truth – the one who acts in open daylight, or the one who works in secret shadows. 

Application: Men will do almost anything for the sake of political expediency, in order to gain power and to preserve power people will often do whatever it takes.  It’s thought that it was Harry Truman who first said, “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog.”  The suggestion is that if you want to play politics, then you’ll have to expect betrayal.

“In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”  - Winston Churchill 

Jesus does expect betrayal but he does not hide himself – he knows that truth is suppressed in the public square, but he chooses to reveal his truth in the open anyway. 

The work of the church and the kingdom of God is not a private affair but a public affair.  The gospel belongs out in the open for everyone to hear, not hidden in a corner.  Intrigue and conspiracies and deceptions will come to an end, but the truth does not come to an end.  The work of the seemed big and imposing at the time, but it seems small to us now – the clubs and swords seem silly next to the truth of Jesus Christ. 
When you’re fretting that truth seems hidden and suppressed, remember that the gospel cannot finally be silenced by mobs of men.  Live your faith out in the open so that Christ may be glorified in the open and remember that the truth will stand even beyond betrayal, even beyond death.
 

Conclusion: 

51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. 

So far I’ve been encouraging you to live like Jesus, but in conclusion I want to remind you that you are not Jesus.  Most of us are more like this bystander who runs off naked. 

anonymous man, perhaps identified as John Mark, but more significant that he is anonymous
leaving clothes behind emphasizes the shamelessness of this abandonment
this is where most of us fit in the story: we’re not one of the chosen 12 apostles, we’re not part of the angry mob arresting Jesus, but more likely the self-interested bystander, ready to flee when things get dicey.
Christ has clothed you again – no more need to run away…

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.  15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;  16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.  17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,  18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.