Mark 14:32-52 (The Hour Has Come)
Notes
Transcript
Mark 14:32-52 (The Hour Has Come)
Mark 14:32-52 (The Hour Has Come)
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though all fall away, I will not.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” He came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. Look, my betrayer is at hand.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a rebel? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” All of them deserted him and fled. A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.
And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
I did not spend much time here last week, but I want to take a moment to share with you a slightly different perspective on this quotation of Jesus.
At first, I thought…
There are two shepherds in view at this point of the gospel:
Jesus
The High Priest
Who is the highest ranking person in Israel at this time.
But later I thought, wait, Isaiah 53 defines the ‘servant’ as a sheep, a lamb, that is led to slaughter.
Sheep are servants…
And further reflection reminded me of Jesus calling himself the ‘Good Shepherd’ in John 10.
Also Peter refers to Jesus as a Shepherd
And to add to confusion, John in Revelation
Calls him a lamb who is a shepherd
Revelation 7:17 .
for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Also, the passage in Zechariah 13:7-9, from which this quote is taken, refers to the shepherd as a ‘Gever’ (גבר), a strong man, which is a term that is not used in Messianic passages in scripture.
THUS…
At this point, Jesus is a sheep, he is the lamb of passover.
Post resurrection, he is the Shepherd
And I think my reading is further strengthened by what Jesus says in verse 28.
“But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
The Greek term ἄγω (agō, meaning "to lead" or "to bring") and its cognates are sometimes used in contexts related to shepherding, though not as frequently or explicitly as one might expect.
Psalm 23:2-3: "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters."
Isaiah 40:11: "He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young."
Exodus 15:13: "In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed."
John 10:3-4: "The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
Luke 4:1: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness."
Romans 8:14: "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."
Revelation 7:17: "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’"
Why to Galilee?
Because he is leading them out of Jerusalem, for now.
Peter’s words are directly tied to his desire to see Jesus as the Shepherd of Israel
In the way he wants.
When he wants.
A ruler, a king…
As a dictator of kindness…
But this is not how Jesus is going down…
He goes to Gethsemane…
And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
He is in a Garden whose name means Olive Press
He charges them to stand guard
They keep falling asleep
And we know what happens…
He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”
The scene is dynamic
Tense…
Confusing…
Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.
The ones who were to keep watch, have kept 40 winks
Again, this allusion to those who are to ‘guard’ the garden
And they let something in that is not supposed to be there
Can you imagine…
Tense…
Confusing…
And there is Judas, one of them
With the temple police
Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
That term, ‘lead him away’ is the same term, like they are leading a sheep to slaughter.
****KISSED HIM
This is not the first time in scripture people have been deceived with a kiss:
Genesis 27:26 “Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.””
Genesis 29:13 “As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,”
Genesis 33:4 “But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.”
A kiss of genuine kindness
Genesis 45:15 “And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.”
Once Judas completes the betrayal…the servant soldiers…
Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.
That term, ‘laid hands’ is important.
It is what you do when you designate the animal for sacrifice
But it also shows up in an interesting passage…
My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me with speech smoother than butter but with a heart set on war, with words that were softer than oil but in fact were drawn swords. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
That term companion…same as the one used in Zechariah, the passage that Jesus quoted earlier.
All of them deserted him and fled. A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.
The primary point of these three verses is to indicate that everyone fled from Jesus.
He is left to be taken by the crowd loyal to the chief priests, scribes, and the elders.
But this character with the linen garment is a big point of contention.
Some say this is Mark indicating he was there but choosing to remain anonymous
Some say this a picture of all the disciples (the twelve and others) fleeing
But this one does not make sense because of the previous verse which states they all deserted him and fled
Some say this is a picture of baptism, the putting off of your old garment
Some say he is a literary connection to Mark 16:5.
Maybe an angel (Ezekiel, Daniel, etc.)
I don’t like any of those options. Since the unnamed young man in anonymous, Mark is inviting us to see the imagery and put it together.
By the way, this is the ONLY place this scene occurs. No other author picks it up.
So, what do I think: 3 potential options
The servant whose ear is healed by Jesus
It is possible this servant to the chief priests is himself a priest of lower level
He would be wearing a linen undergarment
If he is moved in the moment, he may flee in shame of trying to arrest Jesus
We know some of the leaders follow Jesus.
Judas. It is possible that Judas is expecting a different outcome.
The satan, in other gospels, enters Judas
Now that the betrayal is complete, the satan leaves Judas
Judas realizing what he has done, flees in shame (naked) to hide
A metaphorical image of the priesthood being ‘struck’
The priests were required to wear a linen undergarment
The image is the priesthood is being stripped of their position
We will see later the High Priest removing his garments by tearing them from himself
Which Torah strictly forbids him from doing.
So what do we do with all this information?
Sometimes there is not a moral element to the reading
Sometimes the story of God’s redemption is about Jesus…
Whose work is unique in creation
In order to put the Spirit of God into humans
The events we covered today are a small journey into the wonderful intricacies of scripture
It can serve as a reminder of the trustworthiness of our scripture
And the need for you to study for yourself
Mark 14:32-52 (The Hour Has Come)
Mark 14:32-52 (The Hour Has Come)
