Tag Archives: betrayer

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – ONLY JESUS!

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ONLY JESUS!

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. Mark 14:43-52

God’s moment is always perfect. Once His decision had been made, Jesus didn’t have to hang around waiting. The gang of ruffians, led by Judas, emerged from the shadows. Recruited from the street by religious leaders, they were lured into doing the dirty work of the so-called “holy” ones.

Following Judas’ pre-arranged signal, they pounced on Jesus as though He were some dangerous criminal. Jesus protested but they ignored Him and “roughed” Him up just to warn Him not to try anything.

The disciples were stunned. What was all this about and what was Judas up to? They always knew there was something strange about him. He was never really one of them – always cagey, always aloof.

In a vain attempt to do something, Peter unsheathed his sword and took a swipe at the nearest guy, cleanly slicing off his ear. That didn’t work. The disciples, realising that any resistance was hopeless, took off and fled into the darkness, leaving Jesus at the mercy of ruthless men.

An anonymous young man got mixed up in this. Who was he? Most likely the one telling the story, otherwise why the detail?

One thing stands out clearly in this whole story; no other religious book relates the price the originator had to pay to provide the benefits of his life and death for those who follow him. Buddha? Mohammed? Sun Myung Moon? You can think of the religious system of any other initiator and you come up empty. They can tell you what to believe (on whose authority?) and what to do (to gain the god’s approval) but only Jesus, the Son of God, died for the benefit of the whole world to reconcile mankind to the Father!

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – PRESSED TO DEATH

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PRESSED TO DEATH

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer Mark 14:32-42

At this moment, Jesus and His disciples were functioning in two different worlds. Somehow these men, companions of Jesus though they were, seemed oblivious of what was going on in His soul. They acted like disinterested spectators, sitting idly by while the greatest drama in history was unfolding. Over and over again Jesus pleaded with them, “Keep watch with me.” Surely, if they loved Him and even if they did not understand what was going on, they could have stayed awake to “sit shiva” with Him.

Was Jesus wrestling with the injustice and sense of outrage at having to pay for the sin of the world? Something rises up from deep within, something inside protests loudly when we are unfairly treated, when we are rejected, ridiculed or punished for something we have not done. How much more Jesus who was innocent of any sin of His own, let alone the terrible weight of the world’s sin, beginning with Adam.

What was this cup from which He was turning with such vehement distaste? Was it the cup of God’s burning anger against sin? Was it the full weight of the broken law that He would bear? Was the physical agony He was about to endure only a fraction of the cup He had been asked to drink?

To Jesus, the cup was both a cup and a baptism. This symbolised something that had to happen both inside and outside. He who was holy, a God who hated and abhorred sin, had to endure both drinking and being immersed in its filth and its consequences until His body and His heart could no longer endure its weight. Sin literally squeezed the life from Him until He relinquished His spirit to the Father.

The human Jesus had been so identified and so saturated in the sin of the world that it was impossible for Him to remain alive in that condition. He was willingly reduced to nothing, a lifeless shell that could only be shut away in a tomb to rot and return to dust.

Brazen Treachery

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BRAZEN TREACHERY

Just as He was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. 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 Him 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 attest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.’ Then everyone deserted Him and fled. (Mark 14: 43-50)

How low could Judas sink to do this treacherous deed?

The moment had come. Jesus was prepared. He had fought His battle in the garden and won. His spirit was at rest, submitted to the Father and willing to face His ordeal through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was time for the action to begin.

How terrible that it had to be one of His own who would sell Him out to the enemy. Notice how Judas did it. First of all he walked up to Jesus and called Him ‘Rabbi’. What did that mean? To every disciples, his rabbi was everything – his leader, his teacher, his mentor, his example, and his model – everything to shape him into a replica of his master. Jesus had bent all His energies to train these twelve men to be like Him, not only in their actions and behaviour but also in their very heart and attitude.

How could Judas so brazenly address Jesus as ‘Rabbi’ when his very word betrayed his hypocrisy? He had become just like the ones he now served. With a sneer and a mocking smile, he walked straight up to Jesus and kissed Him. His very action must have cut Jesus to the heart.

It was a signal for the unruly mob to grab Jesus and tie Him up like a common criminal; Jesus’ hands, which had brought healing, comfort and life to many were now bound and he was dragged off to face the hatred of the most religious of all Israel’s people! Jesus protested. Why? He did not resist arrest. He questioned their outrageous behaviour when He was at their mercy at any time. He was a public figure, teaching and preaching to the crowds, not skulking in dark corners to dodge the authorities.

They could have taken Him at any time, but they waited until He was alone with His friends and out of the public eye. He knew that the religious leaders were too cowardly to order His arrest in the daylight. It was a deed of darkness. It had to be done under cover of darkness so that, by the time the city awoke, the trial would be over and He would be condemned to die. The people would have no say, and they could do nothing about it.

What a shock it must have been for His disciples! They had chosen not to take notice of His repeated warnings. Suddenly, everything He had told them began to happen. Judas, the missing disciple that none of them even bothered to ask about, appeared out of the darkness leading a mob of ruffians. Jesus was grabbed and bound, dragged away unprotesting while they gaped in horror.

They did not wait for the inevitable. No way were they going to be arrested with Him. Without a backward look, they fled into the darkness of the olive grove while the taunts and shouts of the arresting mob grew fainter. Perhaps they stopped in the depth of the garden, breathless and trembling, wondering what it was all about and where their Master was being taken.

When they realised that they were not being targeted, they quietly retraced their steps, listening for the noisy crowd and following them into the city. Where were they taking Him? They could only guess. To the headquarters of the Sanhedrin, no doubt, or perhaps to the house of the high priest.

Their minds were in a whirl. So it was Judas after all whom Jesus had unmasked at the Passover meal. The traitor! None of them betrayed Him, but they were no better. Where were they when He needed them the most? Trembling in the darkness, leaving Him to face the mob alone.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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