The Folly of Self
This section of scripture actually has a few very important aspects for us to look at. The first thing we read about is the bitter betrayal of Judas. In all the ways he could have chosen to identify his rabbi and friend, he chose a kiss of friendship. The betrayal of someone close to us always stings all the more for their false friendship. Jesus comforts us when we have been hurt by the people we love and trust because he understands what it feels like. He knows the pain of trusting someone who turns around and harms us. He can comfort the abused, the forgotten, the betrayed, and the abandoned because he has stood in our shoes. He understands our pain because he felt it on a very personal level. As Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” I wonder what Jesus felt when he saw Judas leading a mob of armed thugs. Did he feel sorrow or anger? Was he resigned or disappointed? No matter what I feel in those moments when a friend or a loved one betrays me, Jesus understands because he has felt the pain.
Next, we see “one of those who stood by” drawing his sword and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s slave, Malchus. John 18:10 tells us that the “one who stood by” was Peter. Being true to his bold proclamation of standing by Jesus’ side, Peter rashly drew his sword and attempted to protect his master in his own strength. Peter, being limited by the power of a man, only succeeded in slicing an ear off. This example reminds us to fight the correct way. Our weapons are prayer and faith. The Word of God is our sword. Our way of fighting looks very different to the mob attempting to end our ministry and taint our message. Human weapons can never compete with spiritual ones. We need to remember this when we are tempted to use our own strength instead of hiding behind the mighty power of our God.
Interestingly enough, Jesus felt compassion even when faced with an angry multitude who desired to see him dead. Luke 22:49-51 reveals, “And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, ‘Lord, shall we strike with the sword?’ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him.” William Barclay commented, “Had Jesus not healed Malchus, Peter would have been arrested as well; and there might have been four crosses at Calvary.” When we attempt to force our own will we create chaos. God’s will brings peace and purpose. God had a plan for Peter. He was an important part of creating the new church. Had Peter’s will prevailed, all that would have changed. Let us make sure we don’t get in our own way. Our best of intentions fall very short. We need to stay in God’s perfect will and timing. Peter couldn’t understand, and neither do we sometimes. That is why faith is required to follow Jesus. Let us learn to walk in faith and not our own understanding.
Lastly, we see the disciples abandoning their Lord. We know that at least John and Peter eventually turned back to follow Jesus at a distance. John remained till the very end while Peter felt the devastation of being the one to deny their Savior. There was someone else there; however. Mark adds that, “a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body; and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” David Guzik explains, “Since the earliest days of the church, commentators have supposed this young man to be Mark himself. It was his humble way of saying, ‘I was there.’ Many people suppose that the upper room where Jesus held the last supper just a few hours earlier was at a home owned by Mark’s family. Acts 12:12 says that the disciples used to meet at the home of Mark’s mother. It may be that the arresting army led by Judas first came to Mark’s home, because that is where Judas last left Jesus. When Judas and the group came and found them gone, it would have been easy for Judas to suppose that they went to Gethsemane, because Jesus was accustomed to going there (Luke 22:39). When Judas and the group started out for Gethsemane, we can imagine that young Mark hurriedly dressed in a simple linen cloth and set out to beat Judas and his gang to Gethsemane so that he could warn Jesus.” Charles Spurgeon adds a beautiful note to this simple account. He preached, “The modest spirit of Mark seemed to say, ‘Friend Peter, while the Holy Ghost moves me to, tell thy fault, and let it stand on record, he also constrains me to write my own as a sort of preface to it, for I, too, in my mad, hare-brained folly, would have run, unclothed as I was, upon the guard to rescue my Lord and Master; yet, at the first sight, of the rough legionaries, at the first gleam of their swords, away I fled, timid, faint-hearted, and afraid that I should be too roughly handled.’”
The arrest of Jesus, though a sad commentary on the weakness of mankind, also offers us a form of encouragement. Like Peter and Mark, I often run before thinking. I make bold proclamations that I have not the power to fulfill. I think too much of my abilities and lean not heavily enough on God’s power and strength. Yet, Mark and Peter could not mess up God’s plan, and neither can we. Our weakness simply shows off God’s strength. Like Mark and Peter, we cannot allow those times when we turned left when we should have stood still to keep us from getting back on the path God made for our lives. They could have given up. They could have accepted defeat and faded into the absurdity of time, but they didn’t. God wasn’t done with them, and He isn’t done with you. Our failures don’t derail our God. They are learning moments for our benefit and for our continued humility, not barriers to our service of our God.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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