Mark 14:43-52 - Jesus is arrested

Events are unfolding exactly as Jesus and ancient prophecy said they would...

Mark 14:43-52

Judas comes to betray Jesus by identifying him with a kiss so that the mob sent by the religious authorities could arrest him.  Their biggest problem with Jesus was 'blasphemy', which means claiming to be God when you're not God (John 10:33).  Judas has been watching for an opportunity to hand Jesus over (Mark 14:10-11) and Jesus had predicted that one of his closest 12 friends would betray him (Mark 14:18-20).  Judas makes his own mind up but his actions are totally fulfilling everything Jesus said would happen. 

One of Jesus' friends sticks up for him violently by slicing off an ear of one of the mob.  From John's gospel account, we know that this was Peter (John 18:10).  His passion is admirable but his perspective and methods are wrong.  Jesus is not planning to win his battle with swords but by his own sacrificial death on the cross for the sin of the world (Colossians 2:15).

Jesus challenges the religious thugs but he knows their actions are part of the fulfillment of prophecy.  He himself had said it would happen this way (Mark 8:31).

All Jesus' friends desert him at this point and run away scared.  Again, fulfillment of prophecy from hundreds of years before, which spoke of God striking the shepherd and the sheep scattering (Zechariah 13:7).

And then we have this seemingly random detail about a guy who runs off naked from the scene.  What's that about?  It's not fulfillment of prophecy like the rest of this section.  So why is it included?  Scholars tell us that the description of the robe implies someone who was well-off and it's thought by many that this is Mark himself.  This detail is perhaps the author's way of saying he was there too and even he ran away and left Jesus alone.

These are dark times and even though the disciples can't see it, there is hope.  Jesus is not choosing to fight a battle with swords but he does have a battle plan - one that will get a lot worse before it gets better.

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Mark 14:32-42 - Suffering for suffering

What do you do with your sadness, sorrow, struggle and suffering?  Jesus prays.

Mark 14:32-42

Jesus is fully human and fully God.  The Bible says that 'in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form' (Colossians 2:9).  We call it the 'incarnation'.  God took on flesh and became a human being in Jesus.  He's called 'Immanuel', which means 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23).  In this section of Mark's account, we see just how human Jesus is at his lowest point and yet he doesn't sin.  His soul is 'overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death' and he asks for another way but he remains faithful to God the Father and determined to trust and obey him whatever needs to happen.  

How does Jesus manage to struggle and not sin?  Is it because he's God and it's no real problem at all?  No.  He's not cheating!  Jesus is fully God but he's laid aside certain rights to become genuinely human (Philippians 2:6-8).  This is Jesus truly struggling.  Struggling but not sinning.  And he manages it be cause he prays.  He gets his friends to pray too, but they let him down.  When we struggle or face temptation we have two options: run towards God or run away from him.  In the garden in Genesis, the story tells us Adam and Eve sinned and ran and hid from God (Genesis 3:8-10).  In this garden, Jesus runs towards God in prayer and he shows us that full reliance on our heavenly Father in our darkest moments is our only hope.

Jesus is struggling and suffering for the world's struggling and suffering.  He knows his imminent death on the cross and separation from God the Father will ultimately bring peace, forgiveness, friendship with God, life to the full and life forever to those who trust and follow him.  Jesus knows he will pay a high price for the world's rebellion against God so that people who respond in faith may be free and have a certain hope that outlasts the suffering of this world.  He knows this part of the plan is necessary to offer rescue to the people he loves and that by going through with it, he will ensure that for those who trust and follow him, the suffering they face in this world will be as bad as it gets.  No-one will have to face absolute separation from God unless they stubbornly choose it.

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