Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take 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 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

Yesterday we read that, at the Last Supper, their Passover supper, Jesus said to the 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.   Once again, we note that Mark makes it clear that Jesus' betrayal comes from a close intimate, one who was a friend, one of the twelve.  My study bible also points out to us that the very fact that a kiss is needed to signal this mob is a commentary on those who comprise it.   Both the Jewish leaders and even the most common people, my study bible says, would have recognized Jesus, as He was teaching daily in the temple, and was welcomed to Jerusalem at the beginning of the week (see this reading).  What this shows is that these soldiers are mercenaries, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, a group which John tells us also included Romans; that is, a cohort of troops from a Roman legion (John 18:3).  The traditional liturgy of St. John Chrysostom includes a prayer for the strength not to kiss Jesus in betrayal as did Judas.

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 forsook Him and fled.  John 18:10 identifies the one who drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest as Peter.  Jesus gives the admonition that His death has been foretold in the Scriptures, and that they must be fulfilled, a statement meant to strengthen the disciples at the hour of their greatest test.  It is a signal to them not to resist, and so they 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.  My study bible comments here that to flee naked is a great shame and humiliation (Ezekiel 16:39; Amos 2:16).  It notes also that there are some who teach that this young man was James, the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19).  Others think that this was the apostle John, the youngest of all the twelve.  But most others believe that this was Mark, the author of this Gospel, as the common literary device for a writer was not to give one's own name (see Luke 24:13, John 21:24).  The other evangelists don't mention this incident.  My study bible notes that they would not have been inclined to humiliate Mark, while Mark would have been more likely to relate such an event concerning himself.

 Mark gives us the details, in these last two verses in today's reading, of the young man who followed Christ, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  Let us keep in mind that the disciples had been hastily around from sleep, surprised by the contingent of Roman soldiers plus officers and servants of the chief priests and Pharisees.  John says there was a cohort of soldiers, which means there were several hundred, the equivalent of a modern military battalion.  John tells us also that they came with torches and lanterns and weapons, which Mark defines as swords and clubs.  We can imagine the shock for the disciples, and Peter drawing his sword and responding in haste.  Only Jesus really knows and understands what is happening, and continues to advise His disciples, reminding them of the fulfillment of the Scriptures.  Mark tells us of this young man, most likely to be himself, who follows Christ but is then seized by part of this group, and so flees naked away, a great humiliation.  It is a depiction for us of the desperation of this time, the panic of the disciples in their inability to act against what is happening.  In yesterday's reading, above, Jesus told them (and quoted from Scripture), "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.'"  Mark gives us his own humiliation, an illustration that the sheep are scattered.  How would the Church recover and organize itself?  It is a teaching to us about overcoming the worst of times -- and about all things being in the hands of God.  Christ's continual admonition to them was to turn to prayer to resist the temptations that would come to them this night and through the events of His Passion; we get the sense of the panic and terror.  Let us recall His words in our own times of panic or terror, and the temptations that lie in times of overwhelming stress and fear, when we haven't got control over events that threaten us or fill us with dread.  We are to resort to prayer, we keep alert and awake to what we are to be about, how to understand the time, and seek God's guidance.  He has given us a Comforter, a Helper, and He remains with us.  But let us remember the example of the disciples:  in the darkest of times, nothing may be clear to us.  We might not understand what direction our lives or events out of our control are taking.  And it may simply take time for us to regroup and reconnect.  But God is at work, His presence remains for us; the Resurrection is present.  Let us remember to give God's peace time to work out, and that prayer is the one real weapon we have that goes to the depth of where we are.  It is prayer that penetrates all things, and transcends all things.  It is prayer that puts us in the presence of the One who is aware of every sparrow, for whom every hair of our heads is numbered (Luke 12:6-7).