Bible Study series: Mark 14:43-52. He is alone now. It really is happening.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
If you would like to see the original Greek, please click here:
At that link, I also offer more commentary and a Summary and Conclusion, geared towards discipleship. Scroll down to the bottom and check it out!
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Mark 14:43-52
43 And then, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. 44 The one handing him over gave them a signal, saying, “The one whom I will greet with a kiss is he. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Coming quickly and approaching him, he said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 They put their hands on him and seized him. 47 One of those standing there, drawing the sword, struck the servant of the chief priest and took off his ear. 48 But in response, Jesus said to them, “You come out with swords and clubs to arrest me, as to an insurrectionist? 49 Every day I was right there with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not arrest me. But in order for the Scriptures to be fulfilled– 50 Abandoning him, everyone fled.
51 Now a certain young man, clothed with a linen garment on his naked body, was following him. They seized him. 52 But leaving behind his linen garment, he fled naked. (Mark 14:43-52)
Comments:
43:
By naming Judas once again, Mark makes clear we know who the traitor was. He is not any Judas, which was a common name back then, but he was one of the twelve.
The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders sent the mob, led by the chief priest’s servant. They are the one who authorized the arrest.
See this post for these Jewish groups, who are placed in alphabetical order.:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
This is perfect timing in Mark’s eyes. As soon as Jesus finished speaking in the previous pericope, the mob arrives.
“swords”: this brand of sword was short or it was a long-blade knife intended for fighting. It did not have a long blade (Decker’s comments on v. 47).
44-45:
“signal”: the standard Greek word for “sign,” but “signal” is related to “sign” (note the first four letters). It was clearly an agreed-on gesture to tell the large crowd who the target was, so I chose “signal.”
“kiss”: in some cultures—like France—they go cheek to check or even kiss the cheek. Here it was a greeting, part of the “Rabbi!” Why does Judas call him Rabbi (see v. 25)? As noted in v. 25, it is not inaccurate, but Peter did proclaim the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16). Maybe Judas simply cannot bring himself to acknowledge a level of deity for the Lord.
See my post on the title Rabbi:
1. Titles of Jesus: Rabbi and Teacher
“coming quickly”: Judas did not hesitate but approached the Lord quickly.
46-47:
Who took off the right ear of the servant? John’s Gospel reports that Peter cut off Malchus’s ear (John 18:10-11). How do we know the servant’s name? He probably joined the Christian community later. He had a high position for a commoner, and many Jews converted to the Messiah immediately after Pentecost, so he may have joined them and told his story. Why wouldn’t he join since Jesus healed his ear and put it back one (Luke 22:51)? But we don’t know for sure what happened to Malchus.
When Jesus was asked whether he was Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, “I am he.” Then the crowd with swords and clubs drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:6). Jesus’s words had power. He was in charge, whether the arresting party knew it or not. But the Father’s will had to be carried out, and it was his will that his Son suffer and die. So the arresting party with swords and clubs had to be allowed forward to accomplish their unjust deed.
48-50:
“insurrectionist”: it could be translated as “revolutionary.” It was someone who did not maintain the peace but was in rebellion against Rome and the Jerusalem establishment who cooperated with Rome. His reply about paying tribute to Rome cleared him of any strong opinion about Roman domination (12:17). He was more interested in establishing God’s kingdom which would soon go way beyond Israel to the whole world.
They were coming out to arrest a criminal, Jesus said. He is being sarcastic here, telling them that he was in the temple during the day, but they did nothing to him. Why not? Recall that in v. 2 the Jerusalem establishment wanted to arrest Jesus, but they feared the crowds. They could only commit their injustice in the dark. He is calling them “authoritative cowards,” without actually using the words.
In Greek the sentence trails off. Which Scriptures were being fulfilled? Recall that Zech. 13:7 had predicted that the sheep would leave the shepherd when he was struck down (v. 27). This is what they did in v. 50.
Please go to my commentary on Luke 24 for more comments on Jesus’s Bible prophecy lessons, and the apostles’ preaching from them.
51-52:
Who was the young man who fled naked? No one knows for sure. Strauss lays out the options: (1) John Mark, author of the Gospel; (2) John the apostle, identified as the “beloved disciple” of the fourth Gospel; (3) Lazarus; (4) James, half-brother of Jesus; (5) rich “young” ruler of Mark 10:17-31; (6) a young disciple whom Jesus raised from the dead in the apocryphal Gospel of Mark; (7) the young man who appeared at the tomb of Jesus (16:5); (8) a local youth who came out to investigate (snoop around) and was inadvertently seized by the crowd; (9) an unknown follower of Jesus outside the twelve.
My preference is for the first option.
Whoever it was, France’s point is valid: “The ignominious flight of this anonymous sympathiser serves in the narrative context to underline the complete failure of Jesus’ friends to support him when the moment came. Apart from his captors, Jesus leaves Gethsemane alone.”
Lane says the same thing.
GrowApp for Mark 14:43-52
1. Jesus was arrested and abandoned. Have you ever been abandoned? How has God restored you to a new family—his new Christian family?
RELATED
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
For bibliographical data, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 