The sermon by David Green focuses on the arrest of Jesus as depicted in Mark 14:41-52. It begins by highlighting the betrayal by Judas, one of the twelve disciples, who led a group of Roman soldiers and Jewish temple police to Jesus. Judas identified Jesus to the authorities by giving him a kiss, a symbol of friendship and affection, which made the betrayal more poignant. Despite being aware of Judas' intentions, Jesus did not resist arrest, fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, such as those in Isaiah 53. The sermon points out the cowardice and hypocrisy of the authorities who came for Jesus under the cover of darkness, fearing public backlash. It also touches on the reactions of the disciples, who fled in fear, and the mysterious young man mentioned in the passage, speculated to be Mark himself. Throughout the sermon, the emphasis remains on Jesus' mission to fulfill the scriptures and his willingness to undergo suffering for the salvation of humanity.

God's word to Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. It's been a couple weeks since I've been here and we'll start where we left off. Begin reading of verse 41 just as a kind of refresh. Mark chapter 14, begin verse 41, and he cometh the third time and saith unto them, sleep on now, take your rest, it is enough the hour is come, behold the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise up, let us go, lo, he that betrays me is at hand. And immediately while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. He that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same as he. Take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, goeth straightway to him and saith, Master, Master, and kissed him.

They laid their hands on him and took him, and one of them that stood by drew a sword and smote a servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Jesus answered and said, under them are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me. I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not, but the scriptures must be fulfilled and they all forsook him and led. There followed him a certain young man having a linen cloth cast about his naked body and the young man laid hold on him and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. From them naked.

This morning I'd like for us to consider Jesus' arrest, the arrest of Jesus. In our text here we find, we'll be taken by the way verses 43 through 52 is our text, but in this we find that as he was speaking, and that's why I started with verse 41, so we kind of get the context, this is Jesus who's speaking, but while he was speaking, here comes Judas, one of the twelve. We're reminded what a terrible betrayal this really was. He comes with a great multitude. With a great multitude.

You know, none of the others of the 12 suspected Judas, but Jesus knew who he was. Remember verses 18 through 21 as we looked at that several weeks ago, but if you go back there and as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. They began to be sorrowful and say one unto him one by one, Is it I? And another said, is it I? And he answered and said unto them, it is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.

The Son of Man indeed goeth as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Good word it for that man if it had never, if he had never been born. But Jesus knew from the beginning who he was. And yet, all along, he was patient, he was long-suffering with him, and oh how terrible, how terrible is this man Judas's punishment. I'm not here to preach about Judas, but I am here too for us to consider Judas for a moment.

Judas heard the gospel. Think about this. Judas was there during that time. Judas was there with Jesus. Not only do I believe that Judas heard the gospel, I believe Judas preached the gospel.

He was one of the Apostles, so much so that the others did not suspect him. They trusted him enough that he held the money. He was the treasure, if you want to put it in modern terms today. He professed to know Jesus. He was baptized.

He was a member of that first little church there. Do you ever think about these things and consider them? He was in that He was in that circle and yet he did not believe what he heard. I heard something this week and it was just random. I was just not even looking for it.

It just, you know, sometimes, sometimes I like to just scroll on my phone and Facebook. It's a time waster, really. But this man was talking about Judas, and he made the observation that Judas is the only man that Jesus ever sent out alone. Everyone else, he sent out in twos. He sent the 70 out in twos.

That's in Luke chapter 10, if you wanna go look at that. Judas had a devilish work to do, so Jesus sent him out from the supper alone in isolation. It was alone in secret. You see, oftentimes the work of the Lord is done. There's a pattern.

There's a pattern here in the scriptures, and it's done openly, and it's done in twos. But the devilish work was done in isolation and in secret, and it was done at night. Judas was doing some secret work by himself. And obviously he came back with others, but they weren't with any Christians, were they? He came back with a multitude.

Who were these multitude? Well, they weren't friends of Jesus, were they? Mark tells us here in our text in Mark chapter 14 and verse 43, and immediately while he has spake cometh Judas who had gone out alone, Now he comes back with a multitude, a great multitude, and they come back with swords and staves. Swords and clubs. That's what that staves is.

That's an Older word. They came with swords and clubs. The men with swords would have been Roman soldiers. The men with clubs would have been the Jews, more specifically what we would think of as the Jewish temple police. These were no friends of Christianity, they were no friends of Christ.

Judas had led them there. John gives some more detail of this group in John chapter 18. John chapter 18. Verses one through three, When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden into which he entered and his disciples. Judas also which betrayed him knew the place for Jesus off time resorted thither with his disciples.

Judas then having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." So they came with lights and torches and weapons. This was not a friendly group coming to seek Jesus. They needed the lights because remember this is in nighttime. These were of the Pharisees, the very people who were against Christ and his church. This would have been a combination of Roman soldiers, chief priests, Jewish elders, an angry mob if you will.

They needed Judas to show them where to go because had he not known where Jesus would be, They would have been searching all night. It was the Passover. The place was packed. They needed someone who knew something about the habits and inner workings of Jesus. And so back into our text there in verse 44.

He that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, whosoever I shall kiss, that same as he, take him and lead him away safely. Judas gives them a token, a signal. He didn't want him to escape. He didn't want to alert everybody what was going on. Judas was a man that everybody in Jesus's circle trusted.

The other 11, they trusted Judas. So he wanted to get in there and signal the others, this group signal the others, this group of Roman soldiers, these temple police, these authorities of who they needed to grab. And so how else to do it? With a kiss on the cheek. A kiss on the cheek.

Something that was referred to, something that was reserved in those days for love and affection of a close friend. Now you and I, we don't do that in our society. However, We often will shake hands or even hug someone who is close, but in their society and even still yet in European culture, people still kiss on the cheek. In the scriptures, we're told to greet one another with a holy kiss. It's something that is referred to as being a bond of close friendship and companionship.

No one would have thought it odd for Judas to go up and kiss Jesus on the cheek. They probably had greeted one another that way multiple times. But here, in that hour, that night, this was truly a terrible betrayal. The ones who were with him, those Romans and those Jews, they would not have otherwise recognized him. It was dark.

There were a lot of other people in the area. And I know I keep emphasizing this, but a lot of times we forget about, you know, we're reading this in the light, we forget about, you know, even I oftentimes as I've read this, I don't think about it, but it would have been dark. Believe it or not, Jesus was not known very well to the Roman soldiers and was not familiar to the Jewish officials. We live in an age where we have TV screens and cell phones, social media, all that stuff. Think about this.

The President of the United States, How well would we know him if we passed him on the street, if it wasn't for television and social media, even though he's the president? Even a two-term president like Obama, how well would we know him? I wouldn't know him very well at all except for TV and social media, Facebook, all of those sorts of things. We take for granted the things that we have in front of us all the time. These guys who were with Judas wouldn't have known him the same way that Judas knew him.

Judas had been in with him consistently, a lot. Six months earlier there was an attempt to apprehend Jesus, but the men who were there were all struck and they abandoned the task go with me to John chapter 7 John chapter 7 verses 32 through 47 look at this all with me for just a few moments here. John chapter 7 verses 32 through 47, it says this, the Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, yet a little while am I with you, then I go unto him that sent me. You shall seek me, you shall not find me, where I am thither you cannot come.

Then said the Jews among themselves, whither will he go that we cannot find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this? That he said ye shall seek me and shall not find me and where I am thither ye cannot come. In the last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because the Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people therefore when they heard this saying said of a truth this is the prophet. Others said this is the Christ, but some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, not of the town of Bethlehem where David was?

So there was a division among the people because of him, and some of them would have taken him but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees. They said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, are you also deceived?

And so there was this attempt that took place. And so there's all this confusion going on in all of this, but also remember beloved that, and this is perfect timing because we just came through a season where a lot of people were thinking about this. But in the humiliation of his incarnation, Let us remember, this is marvelous, that in the humiliation of his incarnation, Jesus looked and dressed like any other Jew of the first century. There was not some special glow about him. There was not some special mark about him that set him apart from every other Jew.

Nothing of his physical appearance distinguished him as divine. In fact, Isaiah chapter 53, and you can put a marker here because we'll be back here in a little bit, but Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness. When we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

You see? This is why Judas was needed. This is why this is all coming the way it was. As one commentator put it, this was the ultimate betrayal, but it had to happen this way. Again, back into our text in Mark chapter 14, in verse 45, 14.

Verse 45, as soon as he was come, he go straightway to him and sayeth, Master, Master, and kissed him. This was a dramatic scene, no question of it, As Judas rushed to him and not only kissed him on the cheek, but said, no doubt loud enough for the others to hear, master, master, rabbi, rabbi. He had to be sure that the other saw and heard what was going on. As we've gone through the Gospel of Mark, I've recommended multiple times the harmony of the Gospels. Let's take a few moments now and just look at the other three accounts to get the full picture of what's happening what's happening that very night and so in Matthew chapter 26, Matthew chapter 26, beginning of verse 47, beginning in verse 47 While he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same as he, hold him fast. Forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Hail master, and kissed him. Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took him. Behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck a servant of the high priests and smote off his ear.

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father? He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels. How then shall the scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, are you come out against a thief with swords and staves for to take me?

I sit daily with you teaching in the temple and you laid no hold on me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." Over in Luke, Luke chapter 22, This is Luke's account, verses 47 through 53. And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

They which were about him saw what would follow. They said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? One of them smote the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. Jesus answered and said, suffer ye thus far, and he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests and captains of the temple and the elders, which were come to him, being ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves when I was daily with you in the temple you stretched forth no hands against me but this is your hour and the power of darkness.

And then in John 18, John 18, We already read verses one through three. Verse four says, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also which betrayed him stood with them.

As soon as he said unto them, I am he, they went backward, fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way.

That the same might be fulfilled which he spake of them which thou gavest me, have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, smote the high priest's servant, cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheath, the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it." And so from these four accounts we notice that each of them has different but not contradictory details. Indeed we're able to gather the full, I believe the full account of what happened on that night.

I will return to a couple of details as we go along in Mark chapter 14 and verse 46. They laid their hands on him and took him. They laid their hands on him and took him. He went willingly from what we have read and gathered from the other accounts and from this account he went willingly. In fact, 1st Peter chapter 2, Chapter two, verses 21 through 23.

For even here in two were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." He had come for this moment. This is what he had come for. In fact, Jesus, yes he was born, he was born of a virgin. He did come as a babe and he was in a manger but he was born to die. Though there was a sword drawn, in fact Mark records it there in verse 47.

One of them that stood by drew a sword and smote a servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. There was a sword drawn. There were weapons. The apostles had weapons, Peter particularly, but notice Jesus didn't. Jesus didn't fight.

He didn't resist arrest. Indeed, Mark here does not identify that it was Peter, and if you were carefully listening as I read the other three accounts, you notice that Matthew, Mark, Luke, none of those identified that it was Peter. Only John identified that this was Peter that drew the sword. Kind of an interesting detail Kind of an interesting detail there. John's gospel was written later, later than the others.

This is speculation, but many commentators believe, and I suspect they're probably right, that the reason why Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not name Peter in their writings is because for them to do so at the point of their writings would have put Peter into some trouble with the authorities. But by the time John wrote, perhaps Peter was either dead or somehow out of danger of Jewish revenge. Whatever the case may be, that is a possibility. Now, Malchus was neither a soldier nor a temple police officer, but rather he was a slave of the high priest. And he would have been brought along to help out, perhaps even to observe of what took place.

Had Jesus not healed his ear, what Peter did would have gotten Peter into some serious trouble. Perhaps even the The night would have gone quite differently for Peter. That could have maybe even been the end of Peter's life at that point. But because Jesus stepped in and healed his ear, well alright, you want to take this story back to the authorities. Where's the evidence?

And oh, you want to tell them that Jesus healed your ear. Okay, go ahead. Tell them that. You see. Left them in a predicament.

Left them in a predicament. And so in verses 48 and 49, and by the way, just as a side note, notice in none of those accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, none of the gospels. Nowhere does Jesus chide Peter. Nowhere does he tell him that he was wrong for having his sword. It is not a crime for a Christian to have a weapon.

The sword in that day would have been the equivalent of someone having a good handgun like a like a Glock or a Beretta or something like that. A good semi-automatic handgun would be the equivalent of having a good sword and Peter obviously knew how to use it to be able to to be good enough to slice off the man's ear without cutting his head off or do a lot more damage. And so he tells him, put it back in your sheath, put it back, put it away, now's not the time. Obviously, but he did not tell him, you need to, you need to not have it. And let's put it all into perspective, they had just come from having the Passover together, having the Lord's Supper, and an all-night prayer session, all of those things.

Obviously he had it with him all along. And so let's just be realistic here. There's a time when it's proper to use your weapon and a time not to, and that was the wrong time. And so just as a side note there. But Jesus, you know, this is about the arrest of Jesus.

Peter, Peter was trying to protect the Lord. Put yourself in his shoes or his sandals as it were. Understandably this is what he was doing and so we understand somewhat of what he was doing. We can't criticize him too much for what he was doing. I mean if a mob come up, if you're in that situation, and no doubt there many of us if we if we had our weapons we'd be ready to draw them and do whatever we could to protect our Lord.

And so it's understandable why He did what He did. But Jesus, we see he's the example here. And he says there, he says in verses 48 through 49, and this is what Peter said in the text there in 1 Peter. Jesus is the example. Are you come out as against the thief with swords and with staves to take me?

I was daily with you in the temple teaching and you took me not, but the scriptures must be fulfilled. He had come to do the Father's will. He had come to die for the sins of his people. He wasn't going to be the one to fight back. Jesus makes a good observation here though.

Why were they coming out against him at night? Why were they coming with clubs and with swords in private under the cover of darkness when he had publicly been teaching in the temple. He wasn't going around sneaking privately, trying to do something underhanded. They were treating him as if he were a thief. But the scriptures were indeed being fulfilled.

What scriptures? Well, he's talking about the Old Testament. I told you to place a rib in there in Isaiah chapter 53, we'd be back there, but let's go back there for a moment as an example Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53 verses 7 through 9. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment. Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. Because he had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in his mouth.

Verse 12, Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." He was not violent, you see, in his arrest. He was not violent all the way up to the cross, and we'll see that, even on the cross. But his enemies were hypocrites, and they were cowards. Obviously this was fulfilling of the scriptures, but they weren't going out and saying, you know we read Isaiah 53, so we know this is how it's gonna be.

No, no, that's not what they were doing. They came with clubs and with swords because they were looking for a fight. They came at night because they feared public reaction. You say, you say, David, how do you know that? Well, the Bible tells us about that in Luke chapter 22.

Luke chapter 22. Verses one through six. Now the feast of the unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people. They feared the people.

You see that? Then entered Satan into Judas, surname Descariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them. They were glad and covenanted to give him money. He promised and saw opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude." You see how all this began?

They sought how they might do this, but they feared the people. And then Judas entered into the picture. Satan was involved in all of these things, you see. They feared the public reaction. Back into Mark chapter 14.

Cowards and hypocrites they were. But Mark 14 and verse 50. I know I'm going over but this is just some important stuff here. We kind of begin to wrap this up. Mark 14 and verse 50.

And they all forsook him and fled. They all forsook him and fled. This refers to the apostles. Remember, Jesus had said this would happen, verse 27. Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night.

For as written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. All of you shall fall away." He told them that and that's what they did. He was forsaken. What happened? What happened that night?

Well, they found no comfort in the scriptures. He told them what was going on, but they found no comfort there. They were concerned when they realized he was not resisting arrest. And I'll tell you what, you put yourself in their shoes, you put yourself there that night, and I guarantee you, they were concerned that they might also be arrested. I'd be concerned about that.

I can tell you, I'd be no better than they were. I'd run. I'd ski that one out of there. It's easy to stand here in the comfort of the church building and say, I would never do that, but you know what? Peter said the same thing there they were gone we stopped there but I want to I want to cover verses 51 and 52 because there's something bizarre right here in this gospel.

And it's only here in this gospel. And there followed him a certain young man having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. And the young men laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. This is bizarre, okay? This is bizarre.

Okay? And I'll admit, I'll admit, you know, reading the Gospels is one thing. And I love to read through the Bible, and I hope, I hope this being a new year, I hope you're reading your Bible every day. I hope you do that. You know, there's reading plans where you can get through and read your Bible every day.

I hope you do that. If you read about 15 minutes a day, three chapters a day, you can get through your Bible all the way through Genesis to Revelation in one year. I hope you do that. But you know what? There's a difference between just reading through the Bible and actually getting in and trying to study this and teach it.

Because you get into something like this and you scratch your head and I guarantee you I never preached from this text. I've never preached about Mark chapter 14 verses 51 and 52. But it is there and it's there for a reason. Mark is the only gospel writer that records this. Who is this?

Well, you know, I start checking the commentators, you know, once I figured out and no one else written about this and cross-checking the other Gospels and the Harmonies, no one else has written about it. So then I checked the commentators and they're as puzzled as I am. But a lot of commentators think that maybe this was Mark himself. And that would make sense since Mark is the one who's writing this. Maybe this was Mark.

You know, a lot of times the writers, they don't write of themselves and give their identities. But you know we don't know for sure but it would make sense, it would make sense. Mark was living in Jerusalem at the time if you go into Acts chapter 12, Acts chapter 12, In verse 12, and when he had considered a thing, he was come to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. So Mark was living in Jerusalem. And so maybe that was Mark.

And if it was, that would make sense, why he would write that. Why was he naked? Well, remember, it's the middle of the night. You know, you ever hear something going on outside and get stirred up and you run outside with a linen cloth or something next to nothing. You run outside to go figure out what it is.

I mean those sorts of things happen. John Brodus, the commentator from the 1800s, he gives us three things to think about with a passage like this and I think it's helpful. And I'll close with his thoughts because he said it very well out of all the commentators I read after. He said, first, it's unwise to spend time over a point which cannot possibly be determined and is of no real importance. The description in verse 51 seems to indicate that he had in some way been suddenly aroused from sleep and had hurried forth imperfectly clothed.

Two points as to this young man are clear. Number one, he tried to be an exception when all were forsaking Jesus. I like that. Number two, but his courage gave way and he fled in an ignominious manner. This strikingly shows how great the terror felt by the Savior's followers.

So understand something, and that was that was Brodus and I thought he had some good thoughts there, but just understand as we think of this there were a lot of things happening the night that our Lord was betrayed. Some of these men were named, some of them were not. And as we read about this and think about this, we can We can focus our attention on the men and the women who are around the cross and the people that were going on. But the central figure of these verses is Jesus. And that's true with any of Scripture.

Jesus is the one where our attention should be focused. I thank God that there are men and women who are willing to be around the cross, men and women who are willing to follow Jesus. But let us always and forever focus our attention on the great things that our Lord has done for us. May God add a blessing as we think about that.