Mark 14:43-52 The arrest of Jesus
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Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
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Review
Review
Begin with the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry
Message: “Repent and believe the Gospel” - the Gospel was Jesus life and death
Preached, taught, performed miracles for three years”
Now in Jerusalem to fulfill the Gospel promise - to die for our sins
Immediately while He 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. 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.” After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. They laid hands on Him and seized Him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? “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.” And they all left Him and fled. A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
Introduction:
Introduction:
Matthew–Luke § 203. The Arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:43–52; Matthew 26:47–56; Luke 22:47–53)
With his arrest, Jesus’ passion predictions (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34) now begin their fulfillment. In his usual vivid and direct manner, the evangelist narrates Jesus’ arrest, the brief scuffle that ensues, the flight of the disciples, and the strange mention of the young man who flees naked.
Matthew–Luke § 203. The Arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:43–52; Matthew 26:47–56; Luke 22:47–53)
Thugs armed with clubs, working for the chief priests, are attested in the turmoil of Jerusalem in the late 50s and early 60s. According to Josephus, “Such was the shamelessness and effrontery which possessed the ruling priests that they actually were so brazen as to send slaves to the threshing floors to receive the tithes that were due to the priests, with the result that the poorer priests starved to death”
This had all the marks of a gang fight - from a worldly perspective
Illegal mobs of gangsters
Done at night
The young man at the end of this passage was a bystander, probably awakened by the commotion in the garden and went out to see what was happening. Such is the situation this young man saw that caused him to flee
Point 1: The Lord’s enemies did not understand the nature of His kingdom
Point 1: The Lord’s enemies did not understand the nature of His kingdom
Mark 14:43 “Immediately while He 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.”
Why did this mob show up?
Judas probably expected that the Lord would be fiercely defended by His disciples
The Chief priests were convinced that Jesus was planning to set up an earthly kingdom - defend it by physical means
Did not know: John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.””
In our work to build the kingdom of Christ, we need to remember this.
The kingdom is not built by violence or worldly weapons of warfare
2 Cor 10:4 “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
Zech. 4:6 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
The cause of truth does not need to be maintained by force
False religions, like Islam, spread their system by force, slaughtering their way across North Africa and Europe
False Christianity, like that of the Roman Church, engaged in torture and military action
The real Gospel of Christ doesn’t need any of this - it stands by the power of the Holy Spirit
It grows and spreads by the influence of the Holy Spirit on people’s hearts
There is no clearer sign of a bad religion than its willingness to resort to violence
Point 2: Everything that happened, happened by Gods Word
Point 2: Everything that happened, happened by Gods Word
Mark 14:49 ““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.””
None of this happened by accident
The path that Jesus followed from Gethsemane to the Cross had been laid out since the beginning of time
Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 were fulfilled exactly
The wrath of His enemies
His rejection by His own people
Being dealt with as a criminal
Being condemned by wicked people
all had been predicted by the prophets
This was all part of God’s great design to atone for the sins of the world
The armed mob, led by Judas to lay hands on Jesus, were the unconscious instruments of God - carrying out His purposes (Just like Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib)
We need to take note that everything that happens around us is ordered by God’s wisdom
The direction of things in our country and the world may go against our wishes
The situation of the Church may be very different from what we want
The wickedness of unbelievers and the hypocrisy of believers may really trouble us
But there is a mighty hand above us, moving the machine of this universe, and working all things together for His glory
The Scriptures continue to be fulfilled - not one “jot or tittle” shall fail to happen
Ps. 2:2 “The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed,”
But when Jesus returns at the second coming, even when things are at their worst, we will see that all things were done according to God’s will
Last point: the faith of true believers can fail
Last point: the faith of true believers can fail
When Judas and company showed up and physically took Jesus - He quietly submitted
His disciples fled
Mark 14:50 “And they all left Him and fled.”
Up to then, they probably hoped that the Lord would work another miracle and set Himself free
When they saw no miracle, their courage failed and they turned tail and ran
All their promises to die with Jesus rather than deny Him, were in the wind
Their terror at the present danger got the better of their faith - it drove all other thought from their minds
They “left Him and fled”
This is something all Christians should take note of - we do well to note the conduct of the Lord’s disciples and gain wisdom from it
We should never be overconfident in our own strength
The fear of men is certainly a trap
We never know what we might do, if we face such a situation, or when our own faith may fail
We need to be humble
We need to be understanding and loving in our judgement of other Christians
We cannot expect too much from them, or judge tham as having no grace, if we see them stumble and fall in a crisis
We should never forget that our Lord’s chosen apostles abandoned Him in His time of need
They also rose again, by repentance, and became the pillars of the Church of Christ
Bringing it home
Bringing it home
Let’s remember our Lord’s ability to sympathize with His believing people
The hardest trial for all of us is the trial of being disappointed in those we love
This is a bitter cup that all true Christians have to drink from
Ministers fail them, relatives fail them
One bottle after another turns out to leak and hold no water
We have one friend who never fails - Jesus
He knows our weakness and sickness, and has experienced all our sorrows
He knows what it is like to have friends and disciples fail Him when He is in great need
Yet He took it patiently and continued to love them anyway
He never gets tired of forgiving, and we need to do the same
Jesus will never fail us. Lam. 3:22 “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.”
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Prayer Requests
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