Gethsemene: Betrayal in the Garden (Morning)
Download MP3If you have a bible, I invite you to turn to Mark chapter 14 as we are continuing our study through the gospel of Mark. As a reminder of where we are in Mark at this point, it's the last night of Jesus's life. It's likely around midnight, yet Jesus will be crucified by 9 o'clock in the morning. Even though we only have a few hours left though, a whole lot is going to happen during this time. If you remember, the evening began with Jesus, celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples.
Joel Brooks:They were doing it at a secret location. Judas was there. Then Jesus dismissed Judas, and so he went off to go negotiate a price to betray Jesus, while they're selling on a price. And Jesus finishes the meal, and then his disciples, they walk a half mile over to the Mount of Olives, and they go into the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus begins to pray. He he prays for 3 hours.
Joel Brooks:During this time, we looked at that last week. He, he's rattled. He begins to come apart. Horror is opened up before him as he is given a sip of the the cup of judgment or the cup of wrath that awaits him. After spending all this time in prayer, Jesus, he encouraged his disciples.
Joel Brooks:He warned them, actually, to to keep praying in order that they might resist temptation. They, however, fall asleep. As a result, what we're gonna see is that they could not resist temptation. When Judas comes back to arrest Jesus, they're all going to flee. What we're gonna look at this morning is Judas coming.
Joel Brooks:He comes with a large group of people in order to arrest Jesus. Jesus then will be arrested. Then we are going to have two trials that will happen, a trial before the religious leaders, a trial before Pilate, then Jesus will be flogged, and then he will be crucified by 9 AM. A lot happens on this final night. What we're gonna look at this morning is when Jesus is arrested in the garden.
Joel Brooks:So Mark 14, we'll begin reading in verse 41. And Jesus came the 3rd time and said to them, are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. The son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Joel Brooks:Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. And immediately while he was still speaking, Judas came, 1 of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priest and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, the one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.
Joel Brooks:And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, Rabbi. And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me?
Joel Brooks:Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled. And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and they seized him. But he left the linen cloth, and he ran away naked. This is the word of the Lord.
Joel Brooks:Amen. You would pray with me. Father, we thank you for your word, and we pray that now through your Spirit, You would write that word on our hearts. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore, but, Lord, may Your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen. So Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane has inspired many paintings over the centuries. And next time you see one of those paintings, I want you to notice Jesus's hands. Almost all of them make a point to show his hands, and in almost all of those paintings, you'll notice that his hands are folded or clasped together like this, as he is praying. That image has become so common that this is now just what we associate with prayer is is is hands like this, clasped together.
Joel Brooks:And it's become immortalized, through our emojis. So you know now, if you were to send a text to somebody, and you were to say, hey, pray for me, I got a new job interview, and you get back the emoji this, you know, you don't get the the thumbs back, you get this, you know what the person means when they send that emoji, is that they were gonna pray for you, but they didn't, but they at least sent the emoji for prayer. Why is this the image we have of prayer? You don't have to fold your hands in order to pray. I was taught to pray this way when I was a young child, and, my parents, they told me it was to keep my hands from fidgeting around, it was to help me focus, so I didn't grab, you know, a matchbox car or some little toy like that.
Joel Brooks:But I don't think Jesus struggled with ADHD. I don't think that's the case. The tradition actually came this way. Early in church history when Christians were being arrested and then tortured and often killed for their faith, the soldiers would come to their house, and they would ask the person they were arresting, are you a Jesus follower? And they would say yes, or sometimes they'd simply say, Jesus is Lord.
Joel Brooks:And then what they would do is they would put their hands together, and they would offer. They would put their hands, they would fold them or clasp them together, and they would offer it surrendering, to these arresting officers. It's an act of surrender. And so that's how these early artists, that's how they saw Jesus praying in the garden. It was an act of surrender.
Joel Brooks:Jesus went to his father, and, of course, he asked for what he wanted. I don't wanna I don't wanna drink of this cup. I don't wanna drink of this cup. And he asked and he asked, but ultimately he said, Father, not what I want, but your what you want. I surrender to your will.
Joel Brooks:And what a great reminder for us, because that really is what prayer is about, isn't it? It's us coming to our Father with our request, with our desires, but ultimately we say, Father, I want what you want for my life more than what I currently want for my life. Your will be done. And so it's a great picture of prayer, this act of surrender. Now, after Jesus surrendered himself once again to the will of his father, I want you to notice the transformation that happens in Jesus.
Joel Brooks:He entered the garden initially, and and he was rattled when he he went in there. He comes apart. We looked at that last week as he's experiencing the agony of the cup, and he's sipping that cup of wrath. But after spending all this time in prayer, Jesus now comes through with this new resolve. And once again, he's in control.
Joel Brooks:He's back in charge. He goes, and he wakes up his disciples. He tells them, you've slept enough. The hour is at hand. The son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Joel Brooks:Rise. Let us be going. My betrayer is at hand. These are actually the last words in the gospel of Mark that Jesus ever says to his disciples. Rise.
Joel Brooks:Let us be going. Guys, you've had enough sleep. Get up. Let's be going. I think Mark wanted to be sure to preserve these words for us, not just because that's what Jesus said to those disciples, it's what he says to all of his followers.
Joel Brooks:You've slept enough. Get up. Let's go. And where are we to go? We're to go to the cross.
Joel Brooks:These words are an exhortation for us to follow Jesus to the cross. Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. Jesus is asking us to follow him to the cross. The story about Jesus's arrest here is about Jesus choosing the way of the cross instead of choosing the way of the sword.
Joel Brooks:As we're gonna see, there's actually gonna be 2 very different paths that are laid out before us in this passage. 2 very different paths or ways to try to change the world. 1 is going to be by using swords and clubs, and the other is going to be by going to the cross. One will be through taking life, and the other is going to be through laying one's life down. We're gonna be presented with 2 very different kingdoms here.
Joel Brooks:It's a clash of kingdoms happening in this text. And we're gonna see this as this text unfolds. Immediately after telling his disciples to get up for his betrayer is at hand, almost as as if on cue, Judas enters. Once again, Jesus is back in control. If his disciples had not been sleeping, they would have certainly seen Judas coming.
Joel Brooks:But Judas isn't coming alone. A huge crowd is coming with him. John's gospel, he tells us that an entire cohort of soldiers came with Judas. A cohort was 600 soldiers. And they would have been the ones there with the spears and with the swords.
Joel Brooks:In addition to those soldiers, you had all these religious leaders and the priests. They came along with their temple guards. They would have been the ones with the clubs. The temple guards, they they use a club. They use a a non lethal force.
Joel Brooks:And then of course, likely, in addition to the soldiers, and to the guards, and all the religious leaders, you would have had these random people joining in as well, so it's likely over a 1000 people coming to arrest Jesus, a 1000 people in this merry mob going up the hill. John's gospel says they were carrying torches, lanterns, so it would have been quite a sight. I'm not sure how you picture Jesus' last moments in prayer. Maybe you picture being all quiet and serene. But Jesus would have most certainly heard the sound of 100 of soldiers marching up the hill towards him as he is continuing in prayer.
Joel Brooks:If his eyes had been open, he would have seen, a 1,000 torches coming up the hill towards him as he is praying, father, you know, remove this cup, not what I want, but what you will. And he sees the torches coming, yet he stays. He doesn't run. As the soldiers enter into the garden, they would have had a hard time recognizing Jesus in the dark. They would have course been vaguely familiar with what He looks like, but remember, this is the ancient world, there are no street lights, no light pollution out there at the time.
Joel Brooks:It would have been pitch dark, and so you would have had to have somebody who really knew what Jesus looks like, and to get close enough to Him to correctly identify Him. And Judas said, I can handle that. I'll show you who He is. He goes, as a matter of fact, it'll be the one that I kiss. I will kiss Him, and that's how you will know it's Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Did you know this is actually where we get the, the phrase, the kiss of death? It comes from this text here, the kiss of Judas. It's the kiss of death. You can look it up in the dictionary or Wikipedia if you believe it. The kiss of death is to be intimate with something that will cause your ruin.
Joel Brooks:But interesting here, it's, it's not Jesus' plan that's going to be ruined. It's Judas' plan, because Judas is intimate with the sword. He really hasn't been that intimate with Jesus. Now you would think that Judas, he would betray Jesus perhaps with a slap. The one I slap, that's how you'll know who it is.
Joel Brooks:Or perhaps just the one I point to. You know, go up and you're like, it's him. He's right here. That's what you would expect. But instead, Judas says, I'm gonna give him a kiss.
Joel Brooks:The actual word that's used for a kiss, is not the word that's used to describe the normal greeting. You know, back in this day, in this culture, people would kiss one another. You would kiss a friend when you when you welcome them or saw them. Even the men, they would they would kiss one another on each other's cheek. That was a common greeting.
Joel Brooks:But that's not the word for kiss here. The word that's used here is one that means a deep affectionate kiss. It's the kiss that, when you have that story, the parable, the prodigal son returning home, it's the same type of kiss that the father gave the son. The embrace, the warmth. Now I don't think at all Judas felt this about Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Not for a moment. I think what you see here is Judas is just really laying it on, giving Jesus such an affectionate kiss like that. It is I tell you, he's a fascinating character to study, Judas. It's really hard to figure out what's going on in his head, but here in this kiss, he is committing the most evil act in human history. Now, we already know this, but Mark wants to remind us of this about Judas.
Joel Brooks:This is Judas, one of the 12. Here he knows we already know he's one of the 12, but he wants to remind us he's one of the 12. He was one of Jesus' inner circle. He's one of Jesus' friends. He was one of the ones that Jesus has poured His life into over the last 3 years.
Joel Brooks:Jesus was betrayed by Him. For those of you who have ever been deeply hurt by someone that you deeply love, maybe even betrayed by them, and know that Jesus has gone through the same thing, but even to a much greater severity. And what Jesus does here is actually model for us how we're to respond if that were to ever happen. In Matthew's account of this, Jesus, he responds to Judas's kiss by saying, friend, do what you came to do. I mean, Judas is clearly his enemy, yet Jesus reaches out even at the end and calls him friend.
Joel Brooks:In Luke's account of this story, Jesus says, Judas, will you betray the son of man with a kiss? That's not Jesus trying to get new information out of Judas. That's Jesus trying to get Judas to slow down and think about what you're about to do, Judas. You really gonna do this? Betray the son of man with a kiss?
Joel Brooks:We see even here at the end, Jesus is pleading with Judas. Judas came as an enemy, but Jesus is still reaching out to him as a friend. Now as the soldiers move in to grab hold of Jesus, someone close to Jesus drew out a sword and struck the servant of the high priest. And when he struck me, I actually cut off his ear. Now Mark doesn't name this person, but come on.
Joel Brooks:I mean, if I were to give you just one guess, every person here is gonna get the right You you know who it is. It's Peter. It's obviously Peter who does this. So Mark is silent about this, but John tells us later it was Peter. Now perhaps Mark chose not to tell us that this was Peter, because, maybe it was out of respect for his mentor.
Joel Brooks:Remember, Peter was his mentor. When we're reading, the gospel of Mark, really, what we're kinda reading is the gospel according to Peter. It might have also been just to keep Peter safe, because Mark was written while Peter was still alive. And so if he had put it out there that Peter was the one who struck this official, well, Peter could have been arrested. John, however, wrote it way after Peter was dead, and he could just mention whoever he wanted.
Joel Brooks:And Peter was the one who did this. Now it's not hard to understand why he did it. Is it? I mean, the first instinct we have, if someone's coming after us, If someone's trying to hurt us, what's the first instinct? It's to go for the sword.
Joel Brooks:Absolutely. It is our first instinct. And even more so for Peter here, because he had a lot to prove. He had just sworn his allegiance to Jesus again, and said, I'm willing to die for you, and he went, like, I mean, he was over the top verbose and loud about this. He wanted to make sure the other disciples knew it.
Joel Brooks:Hey, they might not follow you, but I will follow you to the end, even if it means giving my life. And so here was his chance. And so he he pulls out his sword, and he's heading over, but he I may almost picture it. There's all the soldiers here. He's like, not the soldier.
Joel Brooks:Let's go after the servant of the high priest. They they don't fight back. But remember, Peter's not a fighter. He's a fisherman, and so he he misses the the high priest's servant, and he doesn't hit his head. He actually just chops off his ear.
Joel Brooks:Now according to the other gospels, Jesus at this moment picks up the ear and heals, this high priest servant. We're actually given his name, his name is Malchus. And I think the reason that we know his name is Malchus is because Malchus probably couldn't shut up about this after it happened. I mean, come on. I'm sure he's seen down the street, like, here comes Malchus again.
Joel Brooks:I wonder what he's gonna talk about. Remember the time that Jesus was arrested, and they cut off my ear, and then Jesus put it back? We've heard it a 1000 times. So people know it was Malchus. Malchus's ear.
Joel Brooks:We also know that from the other gospels, that Jesus gave Peter a very sharp rebuke after he did it. In Matthew, he says, Peter, put your sword back into its place, for all who take out the sword will perish by the sword. Do you not know that at this moment, I could call down 12,000 angels? In Luke, or in John, He says, put the sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?
Joel Brooks:And in Luke, he shouts this enigmatic phrase, let it go. Let go of this, or let it go. And the reason it's a it's a enigmatic phrase is because we actually don't find that phrase anywhere else in ancient literature. You don't find it in any ancient Hebrew literature or Greek literature. For all we know, Jesus actually came up with this phrase, let it go.
Joel Brooks:Elsa immortalized it 2000 years later. I mean, can't get it out of your head, let it go. But don't forget, Jesus came up with it first. He didn't tell people Peter to stop it, but let it go. Just let it go, Peter.
Joel Brooks:What is Peter supposed to let go? The obvious answer is the sword, but I believe it's more than that. I think he's telling Peter not to just let go of the sword, but to let go of the sword and everything the sword represents. And the sword represents through throughout scripture, represents the the power, the influence, the ability to force people to do what you want them to do. That's really what the sword is.
Joel Brooks:It's the power to compel people's behavior. And Peter is saying, let that go. And instead, I want you to embrace the cross. The way to change the world is not by taking a life. It's by laying down your life.
Joel Brooks:Hear me. Christians, the the Christian faith can never be forced onto people. And it should not be defended by killing, but only by dying. And if you look throughout church history or just throughout the world's history, some of the worst atrocities have actually happened by the church because they have forgotten this. You will see if you look at history, that the people who have caused the most damage to Christianity have not been the enemies of Jesus, but have been the zealous followers of Jesus, who have used the sword, and all that the sword represents.
Joel Brooks:People who are so eager and so zealous to defend Jesus often cause him the most harm. Do you know what actually happens when we use the sword to defend Jesus. And by that, once again, by by sword, I mean, using whatever we have at our disposal to make people do what we want them to do. Whether that's through using our money or our power or influence or by using force. When we use the sword, yes, we might compel behavior, but we also cut off the ears of those who need to hear the gospel.
Joel Brooks:Such a vivid picture we have here. When we use the sword, we cut off the ears of the very people who need to hear the gospel. Did you did you know that when Jesus heals this person's ear, it is the only healing we have in all of the gospels of Jesus healing a recent injury or a recent wound? It's the only time. And how terrible it is that that wound was caused by one of His followers.
Joel Brooks:Unfortunately, over the centuries, Jesus has had to heal a lot of wounds that we have inflicted, hasn't He? Church, the only sword that we are to ever pick up and use in defense of Jesus is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. That's it. We're we're to pick up the word of God, and we are to be fearless. We are to be bold proclaimers of this word and all that this word teaches.
Joel Brooks:We do not back down from that. But when we boldly proclaim his word, which is the sword of the spirit, what we see is not, not just a change of behavior, we actually see a change of heart. That's what we're after. Jesus is after more than changing behavior. Jesus wants to change people's hearts.
Joel Brooks:Now as Jesus looked out at these 100 of soldiers and these temple guards that are before Him, He he asked this question. He says, have you come out to me? Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? That word, robber, might be translated different in your translations. It's it doesn't really mean robber because you don't send a 1,000 armed people to catch a thief.
Joel Brooks:What it means, and perhaps you have it translated in your bibles, it means a rebel or a revolutionary. It's someone it's used to describe someone who is leading an armed revolt, and that is certainly what these people thought. It's certainly what the soldiers thought, what the religious leaders and their guards thought. It's what Peter thought. It's what Judas thought.
Joel Brooks:It's why they all came expecting a fight. Jesus doesn't say here that he isn't a revolutionary. What he's saying is here is don't think for a moment that swords or clubs can stop me. Can't stop this revolution. He's actually leading a revolution, but it's just not the type that can ever be stopped by clubs or swords.
Joel Brooks:You see, he's doing a different type of revolution because all the revolutions that have happened throughout the world history, if you think about it, they've never actually changed a thing. That's why the world's still a mess. All the revolutions that have happened is just evil replacing another type of evil. Violence replacing another type of violence. A mistake that humans make all the time, and I would say especially here in the West, we make this mistake, is we just assume that oppressed people means they're a morally good people.
Joel Brooks:And as the the oppressors are evil, but those who are oppressed must be morally good. But the reality is usually those who are oppressed are just evil people without power. And what we see throughout history over and over again is that those who are oppressed, they lead a revolt, they gain power, and then what happens? They become the oppressor. So another revolution has to happen, and so they throw off their oppressors and they gain power.
Joel Brooks:And then they become the oppressor. And so another revolution has to happen, and it goes on and on and on. Just one form of evil replacing another form of evil. Just one form of violence, replacing another form of violence. Jesus says, I'm not gonna lead a revolution that's just gonna need another revolution, that's gonna need another revolution.
Joel Brooks:I'm doing something entirely new because I'm bringing about a different type of kingdom. And in my kingdom, you don't return evil with evil. You return it with good. In my kingdom, you don't curse your enemies, you pray for your enemies. You bless those who persecute you.
Joel Brooks:In my kingdom, you love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and strength, and you love your neighbor as yourself. In my kingdom, you do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In my kingdom, you don't take a life, you lay down your life. To the world is this, do your worst to me. Do it.
Joel Brooks:Pour out all of your hatred. Pour out all of your sin. Pour out all of your evil. Pour out all of your violence, unleash it all on me, and I will return none of it to you. Instead, what I'm gonna do is carry all of that to the cross.
Joel Brooks:It dies there. The revolution that Jesus is bringing about here is actually going to get rid of sin, not just recycle it. And he's not getting rid of their sin. He's getting rid of our sin. Now, I I know that her first impulse when we are sinned against is, once again, is to take out the sword.
Joel Brooks:It's to fight right back. But thank God that was not Jesus' first impulse when we rebelled against Him. Don't forget, we were his enemies. We sinned against him, and his first impulse was not to fight back against us. It was not to take our life.
Joel Brooks:It was to lay down his life for us. And now Jesus, He's asking those who follow Him to do the same. He's saying, remember, you were My enemies, and I laid down My life for you. So don't fight evil with evil. Instead, show people the same love and mercy I have shown you.
Joel Brooks:So as His followers, that's what we're to do. And the only sword that we ever pick up is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, because we are not interested in compelling people's behavior. We wanna see people's hearts changed. Now after Jesus puts an end to all thoughts of an armed resistance, He is then arrested, and then his disciples flee. Actually, we read that everyone associated with him fled.
Joel Brooks:And this is your typical fight or flight impulse here. When Jesus removes fighting is no longer an option, they're like, well then we flee. So everybody takes off running, because staying with Jesus and being led like a lamb to the slaughter simply didn't even enter their minds. And so now Jesus, what this means is He is going to go to His trial, and He's gonna go to the cross utterly alone. All the gospels make this crystal clear.
Joel Brooks:Jesus is completely abandoned by everyone who loved him. The abandonment starts here, that all of his disciples flee, and ultimately, he'll be abandoned even by his father on the cross. Now Mark finishes this arrest story with this really bizarre story, in verse 51. About a young man, who had been following Jesus, and had been clothed with nothing but a linen cloth. And when the soldiers tried to seize him, they they tore away the linen cloth, and he ran away naked.
Joel Brooks:It's I mean, it's just a bizarre, crazy story. It adds nothing to the narrative. I mean, it's just like this. Why'd you put that in there, Mark? It adds nothing to the narrative.
Joel Brooks:None of the other gospels thought it was worth including. They don't write about this. And because it adds nothing to the narrative and none of the other gospel writers include this, most scholars throughout history have thought this is actually Mark himself. That's how he knows about it, and that's why he included it. Mark would have been a very young man at this time, possibly in his teens.
Joel Brooks:We know from Acts chapter 12 that the church used to use his family's home to meet in, is and that home was in Jerusalem. It very well might have been the home where Jesus had the last Passover meal with his disciples. If that were the case, you can almost picture when the Passover meal is over and Jesus is leaving and going away, little rebellious teenager Mark sneaks out of the house with just a sheet. Whoever it was didn't have time to dress, and so they just grab the sheet and they head out into the night. If it was Mark, it would also explain how we know about what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Joel Brooks:Remember, the disciples were asleep, but somebody apparently heard Jesus, what he prayed, and recorded those words. So I think it was likely Mark, he was there in the shadows. He was there listening. So why did Mark record this though? Well, I think he wanted us to know that even he fled, That even he let Jesus down.
Joel Brooks:And he didn't just flee, he ran away naked and hid. I mean, he would rather flee into the darkness without any clothes on than stand with Jesus. And I think what Mark is trying to say is, if Jesus can save someone like me, he can save anyone. And once again, I hope you don't miss this here. There's another echo of Eden in here.
Joel Brooks:These little echoes of Eden have been throughout this text. But if you remember, Adam and Eve, they were once in a garden with God, and there, they chose to disobey Him. And when they disobeyed Him, they realized that they were naked, and they were ashamed, and they ran and hid. It's what sin does. It makes us run away from God, run away in our nakedness and shame.
Joel Brooks:But here in this garden, Jesus, unlike any human in history, doesn't run. He's the only person in the garden who doesn't fall into temptation. If you also remember back to Genesis, after Adam and Eve sinned, they were removed from the garden, removed from the presence of God, and what God did was He put an angel to guard the entrance to the garden. This angel had a flaming sword, so no one could ever get back in to enjoy the presence of God. From that moment forward, the only way to get back to Eden was to go under the sword.
Joel Brooks:Jesus didn't use the sword, but He fell underneath it in order to bring us back into the presence of God. When we sinned against Him, He didn't unleash a sword and have judgment fall on us. Instead, He said, I will fall under that sword of judgment to once again bring you back into My Father's presence. What a glorious, glorious Savior we have. Let's pray to Him.
Joel Brooks:Jesus, we were Your enemies, and yet You did not pick up the sword to slay us. Instead, You laid down Your life for us. And it's hard to fathom the reasons why, but thank You. And Lord, You have asked us to follow You, and so I pray that in how we go through our day to day living, it would be a constant laying down of our life for others. And we can lay down our life because You have given us a new one.
Joel Brooks:So Jesus, thank You. And I pray if anyone here doesn't know You, that even in this moment, You would irresistibly call them to Yourself. And we pray this in the name of our present and our future King, Jesus. Amen.
