Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.

And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely." As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." Then they all forsook Him and fled.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

- Mark 14:43-52

In yesterday's reading, we learned of Jesus' night in the garden at Gethsemane, which means "olive press." But first, at the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' " Peter denied that this was possible, and that he would die with Jesus before he would deny Him. Later, they were in the garden at Gethsemane. Jesus asked His closest disciples, Peter, James and John, to watch and pray with Him. And then He prayed alone, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." Three times He told His friends to watch and pray, lest they enter into temptation, and yet they slept. Finally, Jesus said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."

And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely." As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." My study bible points out something very important here, that we can tell what kind of people make up this crowd by the fact that they didn't know Him. They needed to have Judas point Him out with a kiss. This is a mob, made up of people who have no idea who He is. A note says, "Had the chief priests, the scribes and the elders come, they would have recognized Him. Even most of the common people would recognize Him. But these are armed Jewish servants, usually confined in the temple area to maintain order under the authority of the chief priests. According to John 18:3, a band of Roman soldiers collaborated with them." The fact that Jesus points out He was in the temple daily, teaching, and they did not seize Him points up to the comment in my study bible, that these are armed servants usually meant to keep order in the temple. It is, all in all, an extraordinarily cowardly act, committed in the very early hours of the morning while it is still dark, out of the sight of the common people, with no officials present. That He was betrayed by a kiss needs no comment at all. We will just remember His always scathing words against hypocrisy -- and pray that we do not betray Him in our lives in a similar way. But Jesus does defend Himself, although -- as always -- with His eloquent words. He's a man of peace, and yet they seize Him as one who is violent. He spoke openly in the temple, and yet they are treating Him as if He were a robber sneaking in where He was not allowed. We recall His cleansing of the temple, and the power of His teaching in the temple before all, His open disputes with the leadership.

Then they all forsook Him and fled. The sheep are scattered. This is a night of chaos, terror, violence.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. My study bible notes, "There is some conjecture that this young man who fled naked is the Apostle John. Another tradition holds the young man is Mark himself. The latter view would explain why the incident is mentioned by him, but with no name given -- a traditional way of talking about oneself." The linen cloth hastily thrown around his body tells us what the hour is; he's been roused from sleep. And the "young men" -- the soldiers -- are excluding no one in their attempt to seize Jesus and His disciples. It is a reinforcement of this picture of violence against peaceful people. But His sheep are spared as He has prayed, only Jesus is taken.

The night, the early hours, the torches (which John's gospel tells us about), the clubs and swords, they all tell us about this hour and this time, and this mob that has come for Jesus. It is, truly, an hour of darkness in so many ways. He is treated, as He points out, as a robber -- even though He was daily in the temple teaching. He is betrayed with a kiss by one of His own. It is a time of the lowest and the base. And Jesus, who came to bring a heavenly kingdom into the world, is dragged through this time of what we might call "hell on earth." The young men who seize Him are entirely ignorant; they don't even know who He is. And they are led by a betrayer having no loyalty, no understanding, who has turned entirely from His love. It is an upside-down time, a time of great evil, of violence and chaos. And this is what evil looks like, no matter what the form it may take: of time upside down, of ignorance and violence, expedience and betrayal of any and all love and wisdom. But Christ sanctifies whatever His presence touches in this world. What we must remember is that even in the midst of this evil, God is at work to create for us a New Covenant, a sacrifice that will bind us more deeply to Him and secure the presence of His kingdom and His love for us more surely and deeply. We are surely familiar with such scenes in our world, with injustice and violence and evil. But we follow His example and remember God's power turns a crucifixion into a Resurrection, and the cross into the power of Life Itself. Don't be fooled by what life appears to be, but accompany all things in life with prayer, and with the Spirit. Even in this "hell" Christ reveals to us His truth and His love for us. We don't know what the outcome is to all things. But we do know that with God, all things are possible. In the midst of whatever the world may present to us, we always have the choice with which He presents us, and the faith He teaches us. As His sheep, can we accept His love as He asks?