Arrest


Mark 14:43–52
43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 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. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 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.” 50 And they all left him and fled. 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.

As Jesus completes His time with the Father in prayer, the authorities arrive to arrest Him. Leading the pack is the betrayer, Judas. He greets Jesus with the title of “Teacher” rather than “Lord” which gives us a glimpse into his heart. He is no longer among those who believe Jesus to be the Messiah (if he ever did). While Jesus goes without contest (on His part) we do see a small amount of rebellion from Peter, who cuts off the ear of one of the soldiers, as we learn in John 18. In that same chapter, we also learn that when Jesus acknowledges that He is the great “I AM” everyone there falls to the ground – including Judas. Jesus takes a moment to question why they come to arrest Him in the middle of the night when it could have more easily been accomplished on one of the many times they saw Him in Temple, but of course, that goes unanswered.

At the point of His arrest, the remaining disciples flee. This event was also prophesied in the Old Testament.

Zechariah 13:7
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Jesus now faces the tortures, trials, and humiliation of the Passion alone. “This cup” will not pass from Him and for that we are deeply grateful, for in His suffering is our victory.

Unique to the book of Mark is the mention of the “young man” who seems to stay with the arresting soldiers until he is discovered and runs for his life as well. This young man is not identified and there has been much speculation as to who he might be throughout the centuries. Some think it may have been Mark himself. Others have suggested it may have been John, for he was most likely a teenager at the time and the Greek word here implies a teenager. But in the end, we simply don’t know. I believe the over-response of the soldiers gives us a greater look into their hearts and minds. They perhaps knew that this was not a fair arrest and were slightly spooked about the whole thing. And of course, they had just wiped off the dust of the ground from their clothes having fallen before the Lord of Hosts.

What we see in this account of Jesus arrest is that He is in full control of the entire situation. While He certainly goes into it with dread, as we learned from His prayers in the previous reading, He remains faithful to the task and for that, we are and will be eternally grateful.

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