The Last Hours, Part Two
After Judas the betrayer had left to do what he had to do—betray the Son of God—Jesus and His friends finished their Passover meal and sung a hymn and left for the Mount of Olives—
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:26)
1. A disturbing prediction, Mark 14:27—31
As they were walking along, Jesus knew full-well what was going to happen to Him. He knew Judas had gone, betrayed Him, and sealed his deal with both the chief priest and Satan himself. Jesus also knew the words of Zachariah 13:7—
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the LORD Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones. (Zechariah 13:7)
Jesus knew that He, the Great Shepherd, was to brutally killed and that His friends, the sheep of His flock, would be scattered. But Jesus also knew human nature—
“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
” ‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’ (Mark 14:27)
These words must have caused confusion and distress in the disciples. Only slowly, after all this time with Jesus, did they begin to see the faintest glimmer of what Jesus had been alluding to all evening: He would be the Suffering Servant. But “suffering” was not our Lord’s last word. Notice the very last sentence—
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Mark 14:28)
Jesus told them clearly that he would rise, and would meet them in Galilee, their home province, some ways away, to the north. As has been noted, Jesus almost never referred to His death without looking beyond it, and though His death would scatter His sheep, His resurrection would unite them.
But Peter, apparently ignoring the resurrection statement, was greatly wounded by the fact that Jesus implied they, the disciples, would “fall away.”
Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”
But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. (Mark 14:27—31)
To borrow a phrase from William Shakespeare, Peter protests “too much, methinks.” But we often overlook the last sentence: “And all the others said the same.” We know, of course, that indeed Peter did disown Jesus exactly as predicted. We may learn a couple of valuable lessons here. First, the experiences of both Judas and Peter remind us of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:12—
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
Both of these men were intimate friends of Jesus, yet both faced the very real possibility of apostasy. Peter is the classic illustration of a believer, though he may backslide, may repent and be restored, and in the process become an even stronger believer for his experience. We also learn something of divine foreknowledge; it is consistent with human freedom and responsibility. Though Jesus knew about the coming events in every detail, He was not the cause of them.
2. The agony of Gethsemane, Mark 14:32—42
Finally, they reached Gethsemane, which means “oil press,” an apt name for the place where Jesus would spend praying about His future. It was probably a walled-in private garden full of olive trees. It was place Jesus and His disciples have visited often. Upon entering the garden, Jesus left eight of His friends near the entrance, but took Peter, James, and John with Him into the garden.
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” (Mark 14:33—34)
We can’t be sure why Jesus asked those three disciples to be with Him; we may speculate, however, that by now the full import of the Cross and what it meant to bear the sin of the whole world was beginning to weigh heavily on Him and, perhaps, Jesus felt the need for moral support. The two verbs translated “deeply distressed and troubled” taken together “describe an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty and anxiety (Bratcher and Nida). For some reason, Jesus wanted the privileged three, His inner circle, to know something of the agony He was experiencing.
How severe was this agony? Jesus Himself said that He was “overwhelmed” with sorrow “to the point of death.” This was no mere exaggeration. What Jesus prayed may be interpreted two ways—
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:35—46)
The traditional interpretation is that Jesus was staggering under the weight of the realization that in a short time, the awful wrath of God was going to let lose upon Him, and that He was about to suffer an agonizing, lonely death. This is the “cup,” His death on the Cross. Here, they say, we see Jesus submitting to God’s will.
However, there is another interpretation. Jesus had already submitted to His Father’s will. Jesus was no mere martyr; He was no victim of circumstances. In fact, recall these words Jesus spoke—
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17—18)
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and He was in total control of the events. The “cup” to which Jesus referred may not have been His death upon the Cross, but rather what was happening in the garden at that exact moment. Here was Jesus, falling to the ground, unable to stand, literally dying. This was not His time to die. This was not the cup Jesus was meant to drink from. Jesus was praying to His Father for physical strength and endurance to complete His mission and die, not in the garden, but on the Cross. No mere man can ever know what Jesus must have felt as He lie, sprawled out on the ground. It is one thing to know death is near, but Jesus’ mission was not just to die, but to bear the sin of the world and experience the full wrath of God.
Three times Jesus prayed, and three times His friends fell asleep on Him. We can imagine Jesus was just as tired as they were; tired from lack of sleep, stress, and drained because of the emotions they were all feeling that night. Finally, the time had come—
“Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Mark 14:41—42)
Verse 42 is amazing. It wasn’t enough that Judas and the soldiers were coming to get Him, Jesus had to go and meet them! Once again, Jesus is the One in charge.
3. The arrest, Mark 14:43—51
It is significant that Mark states Jesus’ betrayer was “one of the Twelve.” It is a fact that he never wants his readers to forget. Judas had thought of everything to make his mission a success. Soldiers, priests and a mob all came for Jesus, and a pre-arranged sign, a kiss, would ensure that in the confusion of darkness no mistake could be made.
Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. (Mark 14:45)
In fact, the original says that Judas “kissed Jesus repeatedly.” As if to protest the lawless, unruly nature of His arrest, Jesus confronted the crowd with a statement that must have staggered them—
“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” (Mark 14:48—49)
The crowd had weapons—clubs and swords—as they approached Jesus. They were treating Him as some kind of anarchist or insurrectionist, as if He were dangerous. This must have both angered and disappointed Jesus. He never hid His intentions from anybody, yet here came the very people who heard His teachings, brandishing weapons. They knew the truth, they had seen and heard His words of peace, yet the crowd obviously did not understand.
When the disciples realized that Jesus did not intend to resist and that, apparently, there would be no divine intervention forthcoming, they all ran away, to the last man. The awful words of verse 50 drive home the absolute failure of the disciples. Sanner has noted that their failure was not so much one of courage but of faith. Doubt may remove courage, but the disciples fled because their faith wavered, as was evidenced by Peter’s denial of Jesus later on.
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. (Mark 14:51—52)
Only Mark includes this brief incident. Matthew and Luke incorporate almost all of Mark’s Gospel leave these verses out. This is probably a personal reminiscence; it is Mark’s way of saying, “I was there, too.” (Hunter). Sanner surmises that given the fact that the earliest center of the Jerusalem church was the home of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12), it is probable that the Last Supper actually took place in the upper room of her home. It is also probable that young John Mark had followed Jesus and His disciples to the garden and was an eye witness to all that happened there.
4. Trials and denials, Mark 14:53—15:20
The arrest was over, and apparently two of the disciples, John and Peter, returned to follow the crowd to the home of the high priest, where Jesus was to have His first hearing, which was illegal according to the law of the land; but the high priests, usually so intent on enforcing the letter of the law, were concerned with one thing only: getting rid of Jesus. Mark does not mention John, who was related to Caiaphas, and who entered his house, Peter hang back, preferring to sit with the servants around a fire as the night was now chilly.
There were a total four “trials” before Jesus was finally executed. The first one was before Annas, a former high priest, John 18:12—13, 19—24). The second one was conducted before the sitting high priest, Caiaphas. Mark begins with this one; it is also found in Matthew 26:57 and John 18:13. The third trial was the one before Pilate, recorded in all the Gospels, and the fourth was before Herod Antipas, noted only in Luke 23:6—12.
The fix was in from the outset, with a myriad of false accusations and false witnesses. All through the mock trials, Jesus held His peace and said nothing in His defense. However, when Caiaphas commented about the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus answered openly—
“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)
With one sentence, Jesus gave His enemies all the evidence needed to convict Him, and Jesus was condemned to death.
Peter’s denial of Jesus, which really began back in verse 54, is fully developed in verses 66—72. Some make much of Peter’s denial, but one wonders if we would have faired any better, given the circumstances. It should be noted that like John, Peter actually showed great courage in following Jesus into the courtyard of the palace where the trial was taking place. Moreover, since Peter was the only one present when the three denials took place, only he could have told the others what he had done. A lesser man might not have told anybody. His honesty preserved his downfall for all time, but is also a testament to his understanding of God’s forgiveness.
Peter ultimately denied his Lord three times, just as Jesus had predicted. There probably isn’t a man alive, besides Jesus Himself, who could grasp the sorrow expressed in verse 72—
Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
The cowardice of Peter’s heart would later be corrected when he was gloriously baptized in the Holy Spirit, becoming a fearless preacher of the Gospel of Christ.
Here we see the glaring difference backsliding and apostasy in the actions of Judas and Peter. Apostasy is the complete rejection of the truth, which is ultimately the rejection of the One who is the Truth. As in the case of Judas, a person may have the outward appearance of being born again, but during a time of severe trial or temptation, this kind of person may apostatize; repudiate everything they once claimed to believe. This is to become an apostate, and there is no hope of restoration or forgiveness for the apostate. Backsliding, on the other hand, is forgivable, as demonstrated by Peter. Peter lowered his spiritual standing before God and man by knowingly lying; he was too weak to take a stand. To such a person, the Lord is bound, and will forgive and eventually restore.
“Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.” (Jeremiah 3:14)
Peter was the backslider. Even though his sin was serious, he realized what he had done and returned with a deep sense of humility and repentance. The Lord, whom he denied, never denied Peter.
