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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, Jesus said to 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.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be." Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all said likewise. Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch." He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. Then He came the third time and said to them, "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." Then they all forsook Him and fled. My study bible says, "The fact that a signal, the kiss is needed here is a commentary on the kind of people who make up the mob that has come to take Jesus. 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."
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 tells us that "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."
Why this betrayal? Why the kiss? I think it's important that we understand, once again, our very human Savior's experience of His life in this world. He's known all the things that we know, all the disappointments that life can hold. Surely there can be no more bitter experience than this one, in which one of His own chosen apostles betrays Him with a kiss. We've perhaps all known moments of abandonment and betrayal by the ones we've trusted and treated well, by the ones whom we consider a part of "our own." Our Savior is no stranger to the troubles that we go through, to the very most hurtful things in life. We know of His physical suffering, but psychology would ask us to envision, also, His emotional suffering and pain that He went through, and to understand that whatever we go through in life, He's no stranger to that as well. In fact, He's been there before us. Abandonment issues, psychology would tell us, are among the most difficult of psychological hurdles to face and to cope with, and yet we see Jesus' demeanor. While He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, in yesterday's reading, we saw how He faced what He was about to go through: by putting it all in the Father's hands. And the way in which He spoke to the Father wasn't to a distant, formal, forbidding God of awesome and fearsome power, but before "Abba" -- Daddy, Papa. Ultimately, Jesus' trust is in the Father. And there is a great lesson for us. When we go through abandonments and betrayals, there is One in whom we may continue to put our trust through all things. In fact, Jesus' abandonment and betrayal assures us that God knows what we suffer and how we suffer. God knows what we go through in life that breaks our hearts, that lets us down, that teaches us -- if we would let it -- not to believe that love or trust in anything is really possible. But there really is always one place we can go, and one place in which we can trust, and that is in prayer, in talking with God, with Christ. The fact that Jesus has been through it all before we do means that we are never alone; we are always with One who understands and has voluntarily come there with us already. Mark's Gospel paints us a picture of Jesus as Savior, the One who comes to rescue us from the bonds of the prince of this world who afflicts and causes suffering and pain. His presence with us is His message of salvation; He is with us in our affliction. I can't tell you the countless stories of those who are alone and seemingly abandoned, for whom all hope is gone, who have found their way forward through prayer, and who've known they were not alone because of prayer. It may take awhile, one may not know until one can look back in hindsight about this help, but it is there. Let us remember where we put our trust. Let us be grateful for His presence with us, for His companionship in the Comforter. Closer than our hearts, He is there when life disappoints, in the places where our abandonment and betrayal leave us. He has gone there before we have. Let us remember that He was betrayed with a kiss, by one of His own, when someone we love and trust may unjustly do the same.
