Mark 14:43-52

Mark 14:43-52 … The complicity of Judas Iscariot with the religious rulers is evident as this passage opens. Consider Judas momentarily: How could Judas, after being in a position of privilege, accompanying Jesus for at least 3 years of ministry and enjoying a personal relationship with Him, then turn and callously trade that relationship for 30 pieces of silver? That’s hard to answer, particularly since each of the disciples asked (Mark 14:19): “Lord, is it I?” The best answer is that Judas is like many of us … we calculate benefit in personal terms … what I get from the relationship … not what I give to it. We’re getters, not givers, and that is the root of much sin. It may not be as simple as that, but it’s certainly worth some introspection.

In these verses also, you have the impetuous Peter cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Other Gospels give us the servant’s name (Malchus) and even tell us it was the right ear, which Jesus miraculously restored with a touch. Finally, we might note (v.51) the young man who observed all these things and, when seized by the authorities, slipped out of his clothing (probably a tunic of some kind) and although naked, escaped capture. Since all of the disciples left also, some speculate that the young man is Mark, since only he could have known about this autobiographical event. These of course are incidentals. The key thing to note is that Jesus the Messiah has been deceitfully betrayed into the hands of evil and envious pretenders of faith (the chief priests) who are intent on killing Him to maintain their own influence and status.