MARKAN MEDITATIONS

Meditations in the Gospel of St. Mark

St. Mark 14:43-52

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THE ACCOUNT of Mark of the arrest of Jesus does not have some of the details that we find in the other Gospels, but as Mark's account was directed by the Holy Ghost, we believe that there is important history here on its own without the addition of the details given by the other Gospel writers. Thus it is just with Mark's account that we shall be dealing without reference to any of the other Gospels.

The first thing that must strike us is the depth of the ravages of sin that has effected the human heart, and the domination of Satan over the hearts and wills of human beings. We are told by Mark that a crowd was sent to arrest Jesus, and they were sent by the religious leaders of the day - the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. The opposition to Jesus and thus the direct opposition to God came from where one had a right to expect the greatest devotion to God, and we see the crowds only too willing to take their lead. Just because a body claims to be worshipping God and adhering to God, it does not mean that they are. In fact the leaders of the Jewish church were worshipping Satan with all their outward forms of religion. Their actions proclaim that it was Satan who was the one they obeyed and followed and who was their king. The Bible makes clear that who is not for Jesus is against him. This was the truth Jesus told his disciples. The Jewish church of the day did not recognize Jesus or accept him. They were against him, and thus they were for Satan. The Bible leaves no place of neutrality for anyone. We cannot sit on the fence.

It is amazing that with all the evidence that Christ was the promised Messiah given by Jesus in his holy life, his caring and loving ways and acts, in his miracles of power which could only be divine, that there could be any doubt of his identity; yet the Jews of the day rejected him, simply because there own authority and position was threatened by Jesus. They loved the world and sold their souls. This love of the world is seen even more starkly in the case of Judas. He had lived with Jesus and had been intimately associated with all he did, yet in spite of the goodness, love and power that Judas saw in Jesus, he loved the world more than his soul or Jesus, and chose 30 pieces of silver rather than life. Such was his love of the world that he was willing to betray the Lord he had professed to follow and serve with a token of affection, and seemed not to be effected by it.

Such is the ravages of sin and corruption that is in the human heart. When we notice this corruption and the domination of Satan over the souls of humanity, it is surprising that any are Christians at all. Thanks be to God that in his sovereign grace he has rescued us from the powers of darkness and translated us, with so many more, into the kingdom of his dear Son.

The other thought which holds great truth is in verse 50, where we read, "Then everyone deserted him and fled". Even the young man who followed Jesus, who is usually thought to be Mark himself, fled when the crowd attempted his capture. It must have been simple devastating for the Saviour to be left entirely on his own, with no human support or companionship in the time of his great trial. Yet, even though it was the cowardice of the disciples that caused them to forsake Jesus, it was also necessary for Jesus to go to his sufferings alone, and his being forsaken was in the overall plan of God for redemption.

The words of the hymn express the truth well. "There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in". No sinful human being could contribute anything to the work of redemption Jesus was going to perform. Sinful humanity at the best would only hinder, and at the worst spoil the work of the Son of God. Jesus had to go to the cross and suffer for the sins of the world alone, because it required a sinless man to be able to die in the place of others. If Jesus had committed only one sin, he could only have borne the punishment of his own sin. It was because he was sinless and the Son of God as well as the Son of Man that he was able to bear the sin of others in their place.

Such was Christ's love and the love of the Father, that they were willing to take on this sacrifice and suffering. The glorious thing is that Jesus was more than equal for the task and in fact needed no help to achieve the goal, which to any other would have been impossible.

The last thing that captured my attention was the words of Jesus in verse 48, where he chides his captors for coming armed and in such numbers to take him. It is the implication in these words which is so revealing. They reveal the fear the Jewish authorities had for Jesus. They refused to accept his divine authority, but they still feared him because deep down they knew there was no doubt that he was God and his power was infinite. They also reveal that the taking of Jesus was permitted by Jesus himself, and the purpose of God. Theoretically Jesus could have been captured at any time. He was openly preaching and teaching amongst the Jews, but only at God's time could the capture of Jesus succeed. Then Jesus also gives testimony to his purity. They came out with weapons as if he was a felon, whereas they knew perfectly well, because they had seen his holy life that he was without any blemish of sin whatsoever.

There is so much in these few verses that show forth Jesus as God and Saviour. Let us meditate deeply on this revelation.