53:10

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Jesus, Judas, Sanhedrin, sword, arrest, betray, Christ, disciples, verse, Peter, Mark, garden, crowd, cross, people, leads, roman soldiers, guards, tells, Passover meal

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

1. The Arrival of the Crowd.. - 2 -
2. The arrangement of Judas. - 5 -
3. The Audacity of Peter. - 7 -
4. The Authority of Christ. - 8 -
5. The Abandonment of the Disciples. - 10 -
6. The Aloneness of Christ. - 11 -

 

Introduction

Well, this morning we come to Mark chapter 14, as we continue our study in Mark. Mark chapter 14. We will be in verses 43 through 52. As you can see, the title of the sermon this morning is A Kiss of Betrayal in the Garden. The last time that we saw Jesus, He was praying in the garden while the disciples, Peter, James, and John, the three of them -- the inner circle -- they continued to fall asleep. As Jesus told them to pray. Their flesh got a hold of them, they didn't obey Christ, they didn't stay awake and pray. And Christ told them to pray that they would not be led into temptation, but they gave in to the flesh. They fell asleep three times. Finally, after the third time, Jesus says in Mark chapter 14, verse 42, “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” (Mark 14:42) In our passage this morning, we're going to see this final betrayal take place.

 

So let me read our passage for us. So, we can set the scene and see what's going on here. Follow along, as I read our passage, Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 43.

“Immediately while He” (Jesus) “was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.” 45 After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? 49 Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” 50 And they all left Him and fled.
    51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. (Mark 14:43-52)

 

Solomon has so wisely written in Proverbs 27:6 these words, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." There are people that we meet in life who show an outward display of affection toward us, that means absolutely nothing. If you've ever been betrayed by a so-called friend, you understand the pain, you understand the hurt that it brings. Someone who has spent time with you, someone in whom you thought actually cared for you. Someone whom you thought would be loyal to you. But when their true colors come out, they turn on you. And you feel the pain. When that happens to us, it's a shock. We can't believe it. It's a shock to us, because you and I cannot see into the future. When we're betrayed by a friend, we are blindsided.

 

But for Jesus, this wasn't a blindside. This wasn't a shock. In fact, if you remember from a few weeks ago, Jesus has been telling His disciples, and one of them is going to betray Him. In fact, earlier that night, while they were eating the Passover meal together, Jesus announced to His disciples that one of them was going to betray Him. And how did they respond? They all went down the line, not I Lord, not I Lord, not I Lord. They understood their depravity, and they did not want to betray Christ. And so, they go down the line and they try and clear their name may it not be I Lord.

 

Then Judas says, "Not I, Rabbi." (Matt 26:25) Jesus responded and said, “you've said it yourself.” Then Judas left that meal. And he went out over to the Sanhedrin in order to betray Christ.

 

See Map of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane is

 

Jesus and the disciples then leave that upper room, where they were eating the Passover meal, and they head out then to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus tells eight of them to stay outside of the garden, while He, along with Peter, James and John, go inside of the garden to go and pray. After Jesus gets done praying, and He wakes up the disciples, after a third time of them falling asleep, He wakes them up, and He can now hear the crowd of people coming over to the garden, to arrest Him. Which leads to our first point here this morning, what we will call The Arrival of the Crowd

 

1.     The Arrival of the Crowd

 

Look at verse 43. “Immediately while He (Jesus) was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. (Mark 14:43) Notice that Jesus is still speaking here. He is still speaking with Peter, James and John. It's as if one second of time, not one second of time, was wasted there in the garden. Jesus wasn't sitting on the ground, waiting for Judas to show up. He didn't join the other three and take a nap with them. He prayed to the Father, until the very last second. He was completely dependent upon the Father, all the way up until the last second. And He knows that the crowd is coming to get Him. That His time has come. Jesus, He has come to earth to die on a cross. And it's all now led up to this moment, to this time, to this hour.

 

So He goes to His disciples, and He tells them to get up. Get up guys!  And while He's telling them to get up, then comes Judas, Judas, one of the twelve. Notice what Mark tells us there.  Mark tells us that it was Judas, not just any Judas, but it was Judas who was one of the twelve. He wants us to know that. Mark wants us to know and understand that this was Judas, who was one of the twelve disciples who walked with Jesus every single day. 24/7 he spent time after time after time with Jesus being fed by Jesus, being cared for by Jesus, being loved by Jesus. He is one of the twelve. And Mark points that out to us.

 

Why does he point that out to us here? Because he wants us to know and to see the horror and the shock of this event? Not that this would shock Jesus. Remember, He already knows someone's going to betray Him. He already knows it's Judas, who's going to betray Him. But it should shock us. How could someone be so close to Jesus and betray Him like this? But he does. Judas does. And he shows up then with a large crowd.

 

The last time that we saw Judas was at the Passover meal. But remember, Satan entered into him. And then Jesus told him, "What you do, do quickly." (John 13:27) And so Judas left, he was gone. It was then Jesus and the eleven that were there. Judas takes off, he leaves and he goes over to the Sanhedrin, most likely to the court of the high priest, where the chief priests and the scribes were gathered as they were planning to kill Jesus. They were plotting this.

 

But if you remember from March chapter 14, verses 1-2, the Sanhedrin -- they didn't want to arrest Jesus, and they didn't want to kill Him during Passover, because of the fear of the people. They had a great fear of the people. Jesus had many 1000s of people who followed Him and knew who He was. He was popular. They all knew Him. Do you remember back to Monday of Passion Week, Jesus comes riding in on that donkey. And what are the people doing? They're lining the streets there as He comes into the temple there, and they're lining the streets and they're hailing Him as King. “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD” (Mark 11:9) He is the Messiah. He's their king.

 

And the city is packed full of 10s of 1000s of people, as people have come from all over Judea, to come and celebrate the Passover meal. The chief priests and the scribes know that if they make a spectacle of Jesus, and they arrest Him during the Passover, what are the people going to do? They'll riot, they'll riot. They can't have a riot on their hands, because who is under control or who is controlling Israel at this time?  Judea. The Romans are. And so, if there's a riot, then that begins there in Jerusalem at the Passover, Rome is going to find out, and they're going to come in heavy-handed. And so, they can't have a riot.

 

So, they have to find another way. Judas was that other way. Judas was the other way. He was the one who would help them fulfill their plan. And so, Judas shows up, and who was with Judas? Notice what it says there... "a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders." (Mark 14:43) Matthew tells us that this was a large crowd. A large crowd shows up. How big was this crowd? Well, John tells us in his account that there was a Roman cohort that shows up there. A Roman cohort. A cohort was a 10th of a legion, and a legion was 6000 men. So, if you do your math, a 10th of 6000 is 600. 600 Roman guards. Now a cohort could be anywhere from between 300 to 600. So you have between 300 and 600 Roman guards who show up to arrest Jesus. It's a large crowd.

 

And those soldiers, as they would come, they would be the guys who would be carrying the sword. The sword that they carried was not a long sword, but it was a short dagger. They were skilled with that dagger. Those Roman soldiers could go up and they could kill someone in an instant with that dagger. They were trained in it. It was used in combat. That was the sword that those Roman soldiers carried. And they show up then every one of them armed with a sword.

 

But then you also notice, you have men that show up with clubs. Who were these men? Well, these were the Jewish temple police, the Jewish temple police. These were officers who were under the authority of the chief priests and the Pharisees. And their job was to make sure that everything that went on there at the temple was under control. They couldn't have things break out in the temple. Why? Because who was watching?  Rome was. And if you have something break out in the temple. Rome's getting involved. So, the Jewish temple police were there, and their job was to make sure that everything stayed calm and cool during the Passover.

 

Remember, you've got 10s of 1000s of people that are gathered there together in this one city, in Jerusalem. So, you have these Roman soldiers who show up and you have the Jewish temple police then who show up. We don't know how many Jewish temple police there were. But there were hundreds of men who show up to arrest Jesus.

 

And then you have the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, this would be the Sanhedrin. The religious leaders, the Sanhedrin there is made up of both Sadducees (who were the liberal side of the bunch) and then you had Pharisees (who were the more conservative of the bunch.) The Sadducees and the Pharisees -- and they then made up the Sanhedrin. And here's the thing, these liberal guys and these conservative guys, they didn't really get along. Except for this night they do. They get along this night. Why? Because they have one common enemy. And who is that? Jesus. They want to take Him out.

 

Now you have to understand that since it is the Passover, in Jerusalem, you have 10s of 1000s of people there in the city. Lots of Roman soldiers that are there in order to keep the peace. They had to make sure that things did not get out of hand. And at some point, either during the week, or possibly even during that night, the Sanhedrin -- listen to this -- the Sanhedrin had to get permission from Pontius Pilate to use the Roman soldiers to go and arrest Jesus. The Sanhedrin doesn't have the authority over the Roman soldiers. Pilate does. He's the governor of Judea during this time, and so he has the authority over them. And so, the Sanhedrin has to gather together, they've got to go over then to Pontius Pilate and say, can we use the Roman soldiers to go and arrest this guy?

 

Now, you got these Jewish men, these Jewish religious leaders there in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin, who go over and ask permission from the Romans. Jews hated the Romans. But again, this night, they have what? A common enemy, Jesus. And so, they get all of these men gathered together, hundreds of men with swords, and clubs and torches, (because it's nighttime.) It's in the middle of the night, past midnight. So they show up with torches so they could light the way and they all then arrived there at the garden.

 

And who's leading this large crowd of armed soldiers? Judas is. Judas is. Which leads to our second point, point number two. The arrangement of Judas.

 

2.     The arrangement of Judas

 

Look at verse 44. “Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.” (Mark 14:44)

 

When Judas left that Passover meal, he went straight over to the Sanhedrin. Remember, they were the ones who gave Judas the 30 pieces of silver. Right? To betray Christ. And he arranged a plan, so that when they arrived at the garden, the guards would know which man to arrest. Because they didn't know who Jesus was, these Roman guards wouldn't have been able to spot Jesus. In fact, the Sanhedrin when they show up, most likely would not have even been able to spot Jesus. Why? Because Jesus looked like an ordinary man. Just an ordinary man.

 

In fact, Isaiah 53 verse 2 says,

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him (Isaiah 53:2)

 

He's just a man. Looks like just a man. Obviously, the Sanhedrin have seen him. They've had run-ins with Him, right? On the temple ground there as Jesus has been teaching on the temple ground. So maybe they could spot Him if they had enough light there. But it's the middle of the night. These Roman guards who are coming to arrest Him, they don't know who Jesus is. But Judas does. Judas knew Jesus better than any of those guys. It's dark out and they come, and they arrive. And Judas makes an arrangement, and he says, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one. Sieze Him and lead Him away under guard." (Mark 14:43) The plan was all set in motion by who? Judas. He told them what they were to do. He was the leader of this ring, leading them to Jesus.

 

And you can, you can picture Judas leading this large crowd. Now remember who's outside of the garden? Eight of the disciples. And here comes Judas walking up the mountain there -- walking up the hillside -- and he comes to the entrance and what do you think the eight probably do? Judas. There you are. Where have you been? What are you doing? And what does Judas do? He walks right past those guys, right into the garden to go and find Jesus.

 

And following along with Judas was this large crowd of men who are armed and ready to arrest Jesus as if He was some monstrous criminal. Judas walks right into that garden and what does he do? Look at verse 45. "After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. (Mark 14:45) Notice again, Judas could not call Him Lord. He can't call him Lord, the other guys did. But Judas couldn't, because Jesus is not his Lord. He calls Him Rabbi, which means master or teacher. But he couldn't call Him Lord.

 

Judas walks right up to Jesus, and he does the worst possible act in all of human history. He kissed Jesus to betray Him. In ancient times, the kiss was a sign of respect and affection. And that kiss there showed the closest love and affection for a friend. And specifically, that kiss on the cheek. That was the closest type of love and affection that you could show to a friend -- to kiss them on their cheek. That word there "kiss" in the Greek is the word kataphileo. And it's an intensified form of the verb phileo and shows him fervently and continuously kissing Jesus. The action that Judas does here is the exact same action that the father does with the prodigal son. It's the exact same Greek word. As the prodigal son comes home, what does the father do? He goes up and he embraces him and he kisses him and he kisses him and he kisses him because he's so excited to see his son -- his son has returned. And that's the exact same thing that Jesus that Judas does to Jesus.

 

Edmond Hiebert, a commentator says this, "Apparently the kiss was prolonged with a show of affection, so that those with him would have ample time to note Jesus’ identity."  He's going to kiss Him, and kiss Him, and kiss Him to make sure that these Roman guards know He is the one. 

 

Judas walks right up to Jesus. And you can imagine this playing out here. Judas walks right up to Jesus. And Jesus looks Judas in the eyes. One more opportunity, Judas to repent. Judas will you repent? And Judas had every opportunity to fall on his knees there and beg for forgiveness and worship the Savior. But he doesn't. Instead, he kisses Jesus. But listen to what Jesus says in this moment. Matthew shows us the heart of our Savior in this moment in Matthew 26 it says this, “Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 And Jesus said to him” (Listen) “, “Friend, do what you have come for.” (Matt 26:49) In that moment, as Jesus is being betrayed by one of his very own, what does Jesus call him? Friend, friend. At a moment of betrayal, the worst kind of betrayal that any man has ever done in the history of mankind, Jesus still shows love for Judas. That's the heart of our Savior. That's the heart that we are to have for our enemies. Right?

 

Now, if we read verse 46 it seems as if the guards just run up and grab Jesus and arrest Him. But let me give you a few more details from the other gospels to help you understand what's going on here. Jesus is standing there. The disciples are also standing there with Him. You can picture that.  Jesus and the disciples on one side, Judas and the crowd of guards and the religious leaders, then on the other side.  And John tells us this in  John 18, John 18:4, it says this, “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.” (That is, with the crowd) “6 So when He (Jesus) said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:4-6)

 

Here's what happens. Jesus, when He asked them, who are you looking for? He uses the name of God, I am. In the Greek, it's the words "Ego eimi" -- I am. And when He says, I am, what happens to that crowd of men that are there in front of Him? They all collapse. They all fall to the ground. The power of Christ is on display, as He just opens His mouth and says, who are you looking for? Jesus, the Nazarene. "I am." BOOM! and they all hit the dirt. They fall down under the power of Christ, as He speaks forth the name of God.

 

He says, I am God. And they collapse. One commentator says this, "They are hopelessly outnumbered by one."  This crowd of hundreds of men, outnumbered by one. This crowd armed to the teeth, with swords and clubs, outnumbered by one. So, they get back up. John 18:7 it says, “Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” (speaking of the disciples who were standing there with them) “9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” (John 18:7-9)

 

Jesus says, look, if you're looking for Me, which I know you are, you're looking for Me, here I am. But let My disciples go. Do not arrest them. Don't take them. Jesus here is not only fulfilling the Scriptures in this moment, that He will not lose one of His disciples, but He's also protecting the disciples. Because what Jesus was about to go through was too much for these guys to handle. Jesus knows that the arrest, an arrest and perhaps even execution was too much for these guys to handle. And so, He protects them. And He tells the guards, you let them go, take Me but you don't take My guys.

 

So, then we come to verse 46, in Mark chapter 14, and it says, "They laid hands on him and seized him." (Mark 14:46) And obviously, the disciples did not like seeing this. Right? There's their master, their Lord, the Messiah, who is now being arrested by the guards. And one of them tries to step in for Jesus. Which leads to our third point this morning. The audacity of Peter.

 

3.     The Audacity of Peter

 

Look at verse 47. “But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. (Mark 14:47) Now, Mark doesn't tell us who this is. Possibly because, remember, Mark's gospel is the account of who? Peter. Peter is possibly too embarrassed to say who it was. But John, makes sure he lets us know who it is. John tells us in John 18:10 it says, "Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:10-11)

 

Jesus was ready to drink the cup. We talked about that last time. He's ready to do the Father's will. But Peter wants to stand up and defend his Messiah, defend Christ. Now, do you think that Peter was a surgeon just trying to get the man's ear? He wasn't. What was Peter aiming for? His throat. He wanted him dead. He was aiming for the man's head. Peter pulls out his sword, because he wants to protect Jesus. And He wants at these guys. How dare you come and do this to Christ. And as Peter pulls a sword out, and he goes to strike -- Malchus ducks, and by God's grace, Peter only gets his ear.

 

You see, even in this account, Jesus is still protecting Peter. He's guarding and protecting him. Because if Peter would have gotten the throat of Malchus, what happens to Peter? Now you don't have three crosses, you've got four -- they would have killed him. They would have put him on a cross. He would have been arrested and led to death. But after Malchus' ear is cut off, Luke tells us that Jesus then touched Malchus' ear and healed him. The only the only miracle that we have in Scripture of a fresh wound, a fresh wound, where Jesus then goes and touches his ear and completely heals him. Now you think at that moment after they've already fallen to the ground, because Jesus speaks forth and says, "I am" and then He heals this man's ear, you think they would have fell down again and declared Him as Lord, but they don't.

 

And here's the amazing thing in all of this. As Peter pulled his sword out and struck him, attempted murder. But he only got his ear and Jesus healed then the man's ear. And now the guards have nothing to accuse Peter of. If they were to bring Peter before with Malchus standing there and say he tried to, he tried to strike this guy with his sword. Pilate would say, 'proof, show me some proof.' Well, I mean, he struck him, and he got his ear. Well, let's see his ear... looks perfectly fine to me. Peter, you're free to go.

 

Jesus heals Malthus's ear, not just to show compassion to His enemy, but also, to show grace to Peter. To guard and protect him. And bold Peter. Audacious Peter is told by Jesus to put the sword away. Put it away. Jesus said in Matthew 26:52, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” (Matt 26:52)

 

Listen, as believers we do not live by the sword. We don't live by the sword. The church does not live by the sword. We don't take the law into our own hands. Now earlier Jesus had told them to take a sword. He told them you need to take a sword with you. Why did He do that? Why did He tell them to take a sword? To use for self-defense. You can use the sword for self-defense. But you don't live by the sword. We do not attack our enemies. We do not go and kill our enemies. The kingdom of God does not advance by killing enemies. It advances by winning souls. That's what we have been tasked to do, as a church, as believers -- is to preach the gospel to our enemies, to pray for our enemies, to love our enemies, not to attack them. But to care for them.

 

Some might say, Well, what about the Crusades? Weren't those “Christian” crusades? No, they weren't. There was nothing Christian about the Crusades. The Church does not live by the sword. We don't attack our enemies. We love our enemies, and we pray for them. And we are to trust in the sovereignty and the authority of Christ, right? That's what we've been called to do.

 

Which leads to our fourth point here this morning, the authority of Christ.

 

4.     The Authority of Christ.

 

As we work our way through this, you're going to see how Christ is still in authority of everything that is going on. Look at verse 48. "And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? 49 Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” (Mark 14:48)

 

Look, Jesus is not afraid of these guys. There is no fear that is mount up in Christ. As hundreds of guards come with swords and clubs to arrest him, there is zero fear in Christ. But He's not very happy with them. Why? Because all He's done through His ministry is He has loved people, and He's cared for people, and He's shown compassion to people. And yet they treat Him now as if He is some kind of criminal. They show up with swords and clubs to arrest Him. Which is what they would do if they're going to arrest a criminal. That word "robber" there in the Greek can mean a bandit or a highwayman. What would happen is as you would travel along the highway, there would be bandits/robbers that would hide out on the side of the road, and as you came through, they would stop you and then they would rob you, and then they would let you move on. But that word "robber" there can better be translated as a revolutionary or an insurrectionist.

 

Obviously, Jesus was not a thief, right? They didn't put Him on trial for being, for stealing something, for being a thief. But they would have accused Him of being an insurrectionist. In fact, even the thieves on the cross, along with Barabbas, were insurrectionists. Listen to Mark 15:7, "The man named Barabbas had been in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection." (Mark 15:7) Those guys -- to His left and to His right -- on that cross. They were revolutionaries. They were insurrectionists. But listen, not Jesus. Jesus never went after Rome. He never went to go and conquer Rome. He was not an insurrectionist. He was not trying to start a revolution. He came to establish what?  His kingdom. And it begins where? The church.

 

On the day of Pentecost, He came to build His Church. Believers, that's what He came to do. But He's there, hanging on a cross, next to insurrectionists, murderers. And Luke tells us that Barabbas was a murderer too. And here's this Roman cohort now standing in front of Jesus, treating Him as if He's in the same boat as Barabbas. And those others who would eventually end up on the cross with Him. But all that Jesus has done throughout His entire ministry is He's cared for people and loved them and preached the truth to them.

 

They even saw Him in the temple, preaching and teaching to the people. But they wouldn't arrest Him there. Why? Because they were afraid of the people. Because they knew that Jesus did no wrong. If Jesus was so bad that they needed to bring a Roman cohort of soldiers to arrest Him, wouldn't they have arrested Him earlier in the week when He's out in the public? I mean, they would have had ample opportunities to get Him. But they didn't. Why? Well, not only because they were afraid of the people, but notice the end of verse 49. Notice what it says there. "But this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures." (Mark 14:49)

 

Why are these guys here at this point in the garden, arresting Jesus? Because they are fulfilling the perfect plan of God. That's why they're there. All of this was transpiring, just as Jesus said it would in the Old Testament. Listen, Isaiah 53:3, "He was despised and forsaken of men." Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed and was afflicted."  Isaiah 53:9 By oppression and judgment, He was taken away." Isaiah 53:12 "and was numbered with the transgressors." This is all fulfilling the plan of God.

 

Jesus is still in complete authority. Nothing is happening in that garden, that Jesus wasn't in perfect control over. Remember, He predicted that Judas would betray Him, right? He knows it's going to happen. And His disciples won't be arrested. Why? Because Jesus said, I will lose none, fulfilling the Scriptures. And now He's there in the garden, being arrested by the guards. Because that's exactly what God's plan was. Exactly. Christ is in complete authority. In this situation, nothing is happening out of His control.

 

And listen, nothing in our world happens outside of the control of Christ. Nothing. So, what are we called to do church? Trust Him. Trust Him. He is in complete control. In fact, as they even arrest Jesus, and then they go and beat Him, and then they go and nail Him on a cross. Listen, they were not taking His life from Him. Did you know that? They weren't taking His life from Him. He was laying down His life on that cross. Listen to John 10:15. "even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.” (John 10:15-17)

 

Verse 18 of John chapter 10, "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” (John 10:18)

 

Christ has all authority. He's in complete control of the entire situation. They didn't take His life from Him, He willingly went, and He drank the cup for you and I, He willingly went and lay down His life so that you and I could be saved.

 

All of this is playing out in the perfect plan of God. But what did the disciples do in this moment of Christ's arrest there in the garden? This leads to our fifth point this morning, we'll call the abandonment of the disciples.

 

5.     The Abandonment of the Disciples.

 

Look at verse 50. "And they all left him and fled." (Mark 14:50) Isn't this what Jesus said what would happen? Back in verse 27, He said, Jesus said, "You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ (Mark 14:27) Well as they bound Jesus and led Him away, what did the disciples do? They all left Him and fled. They abandoned Jesus.  Even Peter, who said again and again, even if you go to death, I will never fall away Jesus. I'll be with You to the end. Peter who stood up for Jesus in the garden with a sword -- he wouldn't be found with Jesus. In fact, as we'll see, he's going to deny Jesus three times.

 

But Jesus there in the garden is now in the hands of sinners, who are leading Him to His death. His closest companions are gone. The men whom He poured His life into for three years, they have all abandoned Him. And He's all alone. Which leads to our sixth and final point this morning. The aloneness of Christ.

 

6.     The Aloneness of Christ.

 

Look at verse 51. "A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.” (Mark 14:51) One commentator I read this week said this, "not all Bible stories are suitable for a reenactment in Sunday school."  There's one of them.

 

Who is this guy here? Who is this young man? We don't know. We don't know. Mark is the only one who tells this about this young man. Now, there have been speculations about who this man is. And again, these are only speculations. Most who speculate say that this here is Mark, that it's Mark himself. We know that Mark lived in Jerusalem. Some say possibly that the crowd would have gone to Mark's house before they came out to the garden of Gethsemane. Mark is asleep in his home. He's lying there asleep; the crowd shows up looking for Jesus -- most likely would have spent time in Mark's home. And Mark wakes up and he hears this commotion that's going on. And he wraps his sheet around himself. He gets up and he follows then the crowd all the way to the garden to go see what was going on.

 

Is it Mark? We have no clue. We don't know. When you get to heaven, get in line, as we all ask Mark, who was this guy? And he'll tell us. But why did Mark put this in here? What's the purpose of this, Mark? Why would you tell us about this young man? Answer. He is showing that Jesus is now all alone. He's all alone. Every single person has abandoned Him. Even this unnamed young man who's out on the fringe who wants to see what's going on with Jesus. Even he takes off. Jesus said they'll strike the shepherd and what will the sheep do? They'll scatter. Jesus has now been completely abandoned as He goes to the cross, to make the payment for our sins.

 

Isaiah 53:7 says

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

 

And why did Jesus go to the cross all alone? To bear our punishment for our sins. To make the payment for you and I -- so that we could be saved from our sins. What a loving and gracious savior, who went all alone to the cross, with no one there to defend Him. He hung on that cross and He bled and He died and He took the wrath of God that is do upon us. He took it upon Himself as He drank the cup -- so that you and I would never have to endure the wrath of God.

 

And He commands us to repent of our sin and put our faith in Him. And if you're here this morning, and you have not done that, I encourage you to do that today. I urge you repent of your sin, and put your faith in Jesus Christ, so that you will not have to endure the wrath of God. Because it's coming. It's coming. But you can be saved, if you will place your faith in Him.

 

I want to close with a verse from a hymn called, The Gethsemane Hymn. Here's the words. The second verse of this hymn called The Gethsemane Hymn, it says this,

To know each friend will fall away

And heaven's voice be still

For hell to have its vengeful day

Upon Golgotha's hill

No words describe the Saviour's plight

To be by God forsaken

Till wrath and love are satisfied

And every sin is paid

And every sin is paid

 

Father, we thank You for Christ our Savior, who paid for our sins. Who was betrayed by one of His very own. Who was treated as a criminal. And yet all He did was love and care for people and have compassion on them. And yet He went to that cross willingly. They did not take His life from Him, but He went out of submission to You and out of love for us. Father, we thank You that He went to that cross and that He drank that cup. And that He paid the price for our sin. Father, we know what Your Word says that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23) We thank You for that free gift that You have given to us. Father, I pray that You would help us to live our lives in light of that glorious, marvelous gift that You have given to us. We thank You that Christ did not stay dead, but that He rose again on the third day. And that He sits at Your right hand. And that He calls all to come to Him -- because He is the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE -- and He offered offers life. And we thank You for the life that You've given to us. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.