The moment of decision: the mob turn up to arrest Jesus. Before the betrayal Judas not only arranged to identify the ‘guilty’ man, but also gave orders as to what to do with him: ‘arrest him and lead him away under guard’ (vs 43,44).

These are very specific orders. How much was Judas in collusion with the leaders? Had they given him authority to order the guards? Did this show that Judas thought Jesus would fight back? Perhaps Judas suspected something (Matthew 26:53). Judas had known Jesus almost as long as the other disciples. Maybe he thought that Jesus was only human after all, thus the betrayal in the kindly manner of greeting. No need for shouting, Jesus’ bewilderment would be sufficient for the guards to do their business – but it would be the kiss of death to both.

And what of the other disciples? What of us, looking on the scene now? What would we have done at Jesus’ arrest? What do we do now? There are two choices: to ‘exit stage left’ or to follow to see what happens. What are we to do?

Thank Jesus for his faithfulness in not abandoning his calling. 

Mark does not depict an orderly arrest by officers of the law, but rather a messy grabbing of Jesus by a motley crew from the Jewish leaders. The indignity that Jesus will suffer has begun. The section begins with the traitor’s kiss and ends with an anonymous young man fleeing naked. In the middle, someone attempts an armed defence of Jesus. The only person with real dignity is Jesus himself. He not only questions the need for a nocturnal arrest, but also points out that in these events Scripture is being fulfilled. There is no actual scripture cited, but it may be that Isaiah 53:11 and 12 are in his mind – he is numbered as a transgressor just as he will be crucified between two rebels. Whatever is going to happen to Jesus, it is part of God’s purpose and plan.¹

All the disciples now flee from the scene. Mark emphasises the ‘all’ in his sentence structure. Scripture is fulfilled, as Jesus had said earlier (v 27).² Jesus is not only alone, as he was in prayer to the Father, but he is now also deserted and in the hands of his enemies. As the story adds suffering to suffering, we are reminded that all this is for us and our salvation. We should not run from the reality of his suffering nor believe that we can ourselves avoid suffering if we follow him faithfully.

The passage ends with the naked young man running away. Speculation that this was Mark himself would provide a reason for his including the incident. If it were, we might also see this as a demonstration of his humility and self-awareness, for this would not be the only time he ran away from following Jesus. Paul characterised his departure from Perga as another desertion.³

Confess those times when you have deserted Jesus.

¹ Cf Acts 4:28  ² Quoting Zech 13:7  ³ Acts 13:13; 15:37,38