Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. Mark 14:43-52
How would I react if the authorities came hammering on my door at night, wanting to arrest me for being a Christian? Would I go to pieces?
Thankfully, living where I do, this isn’t a fate I need worry about too much - but that can’t be said of many Christians around the world, ordinary people like you and me; for them it is a daily possibility. May God prompt us to be faithful in prayer for them!
Well, here is Jesus, standing in the Garden of Gethsemane and confronting “a crowd armed with swords and clubs”, sent by the religious authorities. Patience has snapped, and they have come to get him.
Two things particularly strike me: Jesus’ heart-breaking aloneness, and his wonderful dignity. Go to pieces? Not him!
That aloneness...
Jesus has been in an agony of prayer, asking his disciples to stay awake and keep him company. But they fail, and he finds them asleep. Now, as the mob arrives, it turns out that they are headed by one of his own inner circle, Judas. He identifies Jesus (it’s dark in the garden) by kissing him. Then, after a brief and futile skirmish, in which one of them attacks the high priest’s servant (John’s Gospel tells us it was Simon Peter), “everyone deserted him and fled”.
As if to emphasise Jesus’ aloneness, Mark adds the semi-comical detail of a young man (Mark himself, according to an early tradition) who is so desperate to get away that, when they grab him, he slithers snake-like out of his tunic and disappears naked into the night.
So Jesus stands alone.
It’s been said that anything in this life is bearable if you have someone to bear it with you. I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in that. Thank God for loyal family and friends who stick with us in our hard times!
But there’s no doubt that, tragically, this world is full of lonely people. So I must face the question, How loyal and caring am I to the lonely friend? Still more, how loyal and caring to the lonely stranger?
Lord, help me to see and love the lonely person, whoever they may be!
What about Jesus’ wonderful dignity?
At this pivotal moment in his life, he offers no resistance, either physical or verbal. “Why this show of force?” he mildly protests. “You could have come for me any time you wanted! I haven’t tried to hide myself away, have I?” So he is taken away, “led like a lamb to the slaughter”. Can you see the sad little procession, Jesus upright in the middle?
Where did he (fully human, remember, as well as fully divine) get this poise and dignity?
No doubt a life-time of self-discipline and deep spirituality fed into this. But the passage itself suggests two things which were particularly important.
First, he has just come through a time of intense, agonising prayer. Mark tells us that he was “deeply distressed and troubled”, Luke that “his sweat was like drops of blood”. He pleads with his Father to spare him the ordeal that lies ahead. But having come through that turmoil of prayer, he has found a new sense of peace and equilibrium.
There are times when we too need to grit our teeth and pray our way through hard situations. When perhaps those we have relied on fail us, what can we do but throw ourselves on the fatherly love of God and pour out our hearts to him? We may not get what we ask for, but we do reach a place of peace - not just a negative sense of resignation, but a positive acceptance of what we know in our hearts is right: “... not what I will, but what you will...”.
I wonder if any of us today need a determined getting-to-grips-with-God session, a real outpouring of our hearts?
Second, we shouldn’t overlook his simple words: “The scriptures must be fulfilled” (verse 50).
From early days, certainly by the time he was twelve, when he debated with the teachers in the Jerusalem temple (Luke 2), Jesus had had a deep sense of personal destiny. I have sometimes wondered at exactly what point in his young life he, reading perhaps Isaiah 53, realised for the first time, “This is... me!”.
We have no way of knowing. But we do know that all his life he had been reflecting on the scriptures, and now, even though even he could not know all the details, he sees the jigsaw pieces of prophecy clicking into place. To suffer and to die is what he came for - so he lets them lead him away. In the words of Hebrews 12:2: “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame...”.
You too have a personal destiny. As do I. May God help us, by his Spirit, to find it, to follow it - and ultimately to rejoice in it. Isn’t this how we are to give honour to the one we call “Lord”?
O what a mystery,/ Meekness and majesty./ Bow down and worship/ For this is your God. Amen. (Graham Kendrick)
“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. Mark 14:43-52
How would I react if the authorities came hammering on my door at night, wanting to arrest me for being a Christian? Would I go to pieces?
Thankfully, living where I do, this isn’t a fate I need worry about too much - but that can’t be said of many Christians around the world, ordinary people like you and me; for them it is a daily possibility. May God prompt us to be faithful in prayer for them!
Well, here is Jesus, standing in the Garden of Gethsemane and confronting “a crowd armed with swords and clubs”, sent by the religious authorities. Patience has snapped, and they have come to get him.
Two things particularly strike me: Jesus’ heart-breaking aloneness, and his wonderful dignity. Go to pieces? Not him!
That aloneness...
Jesus has been in an agony of prayer, asking his disciples to stay awake and keep him company. But they fail, and he finds them asleep. Now, as the mob arrives, it turns out that they are headed by one of his own inner circle, Judas. He identifies Jesus (it’s dark in the garden) by kissing him. Then, after a brief and futile skirmish, in which one of them attacks the high priest’s servant (John’s Gospel tells us it was Simon Peter), “everyone deserted him and fled”.
As if to emphasise Jesus’ aloneness, Mark adds the semi-comical detail of a young man (Mark himself, according to an early tradition) who is so desperate to get away that, when they grab him, he slithers snake-like out of his tunic and disappears naked into the night.
So Jesus stands alone.
It’s been said that anything in this life is bearable if you have someone to bear it with you. I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in that. Thank God for loyal family and friends who stick with us in our hard times!
But there’s no doubt that, tragically, this world is full of lonely people. So I must face the question, How loyal and caring am I to the lonely friend? Still more, how loyal and caring to the lonely stranger?
Lord, help me to see and love the lonely person, whoever they may be!
What about Jesus’ wonderful dignity?
At this pivotal moment in his life, he offers no resistance, either physical or verbal. “Why this show of force?” he mildly protests. “You could have come for me any time you wanted! I haven’t tried to hide myself away, have I?” So he is taken away, “led like a lamb to the slaughter”. Can you see the sad little procession, Jesus upright in the middle?
Where did he (fully human, remember, as well as fully divine) get this poise and dignity?
No doubt a life-time of self-discipline and deep spirituality fed into this. But the passage itself suggests two things which were particularly important.
First, he has just come through a time of intense, agonising prayer. Mark tells us that he was “deeply distressed and troubled”, Luke that “his sweat was like drops of blood”. He pleads with his Father to spare him the ordeal that lies ahead. But having come through that turmoil of prayer, he has found a new sense of peace and equilibrium.
There are times when we too need to grit our teeth and pray our way through hard situations. When perhaps those we have relied on fail us, what can we do but throw ourselves on the fatherly love of God and pour out our hearts to him? We may not get what we ask for, but we do reach a place of peace - not just a negative sense of resignation, but a positive acceptance of what we know in our hearts is right: “... not what I will, but what you will...”.
I wonder if any of us today need a determined getting-to-grips-with-God session, a real outpouring of our hearts?
Second, we shouldn’t overlook his simple words: “The scriptures must be fulfilled” (verse 50).
From early days, certainly by the time he was twelve, when he debated with the teachers in the Jerusalem temple (Luke 2), Jesus had had a deep sense of personal destiny. I have sometimes wondered at exactly what point in his young life he, reading perhaps Isaiah 53, realised for the first time, “This is... me!”.
We have no way of knowing. But we do know that all his life he had been reflecting on the scriptures, and now, even though even he could not know all the details, he sees the jigsaw pieces of prophecy clicking into place. To suffer and to die is what he came for - so he lets them lead him away. In the words of Hebrews 12:2: “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame...”.
You too have a personal destiny. As do I. May God help us, by his Spirit, to find it, to follow it - and ultimately to rejoice in it. Isn’t this how we are to give honour to the one we call “Lord”?
O what a mystery,/ Meekness and majesty./ Bow down and worship/ For this is your God. Amen. (Graham Kendrick)
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