The Darkest Night

Mark 14:43–52 ESV

43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled. 51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Prayer

The night is getting darker as time passes by. Jesus, in his humanity, asks God if it were his will that he would remove the burden of the cross from him. God’s will remained. While this was going on, his closest followers gave themselves to the temptation of a nap. They gave up on watch keeping in favor of sleeping. Jesus returns and startles them.

He tells them that the hour has come. And in that moment, they could hear the footsteps of the soldiers that were coming to arrest him. Fear and hesitation were in the air. But not from Jesus. Jesus had the answer from his father that this was his will and Jesus gives him full submission. These disciples though were fearful of the events that were to come. Even though they had been told, they were not prepared.

Have you ever known something was coming, yet you still were not prepared for it? I believe that I could say that about pastoring. I knew what was coming and I knew what I would be going through in a lot of ways, yet I know that I was not fully prepared for what would happen. But yet, there have been times when I was fully prepared for events that would happen. We see this distinction between Jesus and his disciples here.

All of us have experience the proverbial “dark night of the soul”. But there is no comparison to the darkness of the night in the garden of Gethsemane that is taking place. The man who is sinless and innocent of every crime, is being arrested for bogus charges in the shadows. He will go on to have an illegal trial in a kangaroo court. This means that they did not follow their own process and that the outcome had already been determined before the trial even began. Jesus would be deserted by his closest followers and would go to the cross basically alone.

But, all of this happened according to God’s plan. This was never the backup plan because man screwed up. This was the plan before time in memorial. Plan A was always God sending Jesus to be the spotless sacrifice for the sins of man. And he would need to willingly go to die.

Main Point: Jesus Gave Himself Willingly to go to the Cross

We often think of the true winners and victors in life of ending up with a crown. They will get this seat of prominence amongst peers. Jesus had been offered this position. In the book of John after Jesus fed the 5,000, the people tried to make him king. Jesus knew that this was not the route he came to take. So he retreated. He was not sent to sit in power over a country but to hang next to criminals on a cross.

He refused the crown in favor of the cross.

Are you willing to give up a crown for a cross?

To follow Christ means to get uncomfortable and to give up any sort of prominence that our world offers at times.

Our passage continues as Judas is approaching.

Mark 14:43 ESV

43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

Mark here immediately points out that Judas was one of the 12. He wanted us, the readers, to understand the betrayal that was happening by one of the closest followers of Jesus. But that isn’t all that this verse paints for us. We can just imagine while we read this that Judas and the chief priests and the scribes and the elders are all marching down the Kidron ravine as they approach Jesus.

But they didn’t just come alone. They brought a crowd, a crowd that came bearing weapons. The task was to arrest Jesus. The believed that they needed clubs and swords to take a man who had only ever used words to get points across into custody. Why? It wasn’t many days before this that they had dealt with an insurrection with a man named Barabbas. We will see how the court system deals with insurrection in the example of this man in the very near future.

They came prepared for a physical attack. And I would suggest that they were not even doing this on account of Jesus himself, but because of his followers. See, they had insider information about the people that followed Jesus. Judas let them in on it because he was one of them. And he flexes this when they come up to Jesus.

Mark 14:44–45 ESV

44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him.

Notice that Mark changes how he refers to Judas here. He now calls him the betrayer. The verse before, he named him as Judas. Now that Mark has identified him, he is reminding us that the guy who Jesus put in charge of the money and was a close follower was the one who brought the men to arrest him. Not only that, he did not want there to be any confusion over which one Jesus was. Judas wanted to make sure that Jesus got what was coming to him. So he signaled them with a kiss to which one needed to be killed.

And, a side note, notice he tries to be sly when he comes up to him. Judas acts like he is showing him respect by calling him Rabbi. Like Jesus doesn’t know why he is there. First of all, he showed up with a gang of people with weapons that are going to arrest him. Second of all, he is God. He knew long before Judas did that Judas would betray him.

Here is some quick application for you. God doesn’t just care about the outward things. He cares about our hearts and our motives and our intentions.

Mark 14:46 ESV

46 And they laid hands on him and seized him.

The plan is working. They have come to arrest Jesus. They have him in custody. He will be taken to a council that is consisting of the very men who are arresting him to stand trial. They would ignore all of the false testimony and take him before Pilate. Pilate did not want to make a decision so he took him before the people. Pilate stood before the crowd while the chief priest were within the crowd stirring them up to turn against Jesus. And Pilate asked what they wanted and they declared that they wanted Jesus to be crucified.

The ones who were against Jesus thought that they were finally going to be successful in their plan. And, at face value, they would think that they were. But, their plan was part of God’s plan. God’s plan was greater. His plan did not see the condemnation of a man who was sinless to be to no effect. God’s plan was to redeem the sins of man. And he is accomplishing it through the evil intentions of the chief priests and scribes and elders. And he accomplishes it through the evil intentions of Judas.

When Josephs brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt in the book of Genesis, he saw the greater picture.

Genesis 50:20 ESV

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

We do not always see the bigger picture. When I was growing up my mom enjoyed cross stitching and even in the last several years, Brittany and Peighton have done it some. If I were to take something that was cross stitched and turn it over backwards, you would not be able to tell me what the picture was. You would see what looked like very random strings hanging down. Different colors looking like they are overlapping each other and you just can’t make sense of it. But when you get the right perspective, everything changes. All you have to do it turn it over and see the masterpiece that has come together.

Sometimes, we aren’t able to see the outcome. But we must trust in the sovereignty of God in all things. Even in the things that seem like they are evil, God can use them for his good. The evil intentions of this group of men is part of the events that brings evil men to a perfect savior.

So they come and they seize Jesus. But his disciples are not fond of what is happening.

Mark 14:47 ESV

47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

In John’s account of this, he names the disciple as Peter and tells us the name of the servant even. We can see this rollercoaster of emotion that Peter goes on in this chapter. First, Jesus tells him that he is going to abandon Jesus and deny even knowing him. He is adamant that this will not happen. Now he is in the garden with Jesus while Jesus prays, and he falls asleep and Jesus calls him out on not keeping his focus where it needs to be. Now, this mob has come to arrest Jesus. He just can’t take anymore so he takes out his sword and begins an attack.

This is not the reaction that Jesus has taught them to have. Jesus was telling them that this was how it was to happen and told Peter to chill out.

John 18:11 ESV

11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Peter, this is how it must happen. This is the will of God.

All in a matter of hours, Peter has lost so much. Looking at it from his perspective, he has lost the confidence of Jesus in him, he has lost the trust of Jesus while keeping watch, he has now lost his closest friend and mentor, and in the hours to come, he will lose his way.

Has anyone ever felt like this? You have probably felt this way this past week if we are honest. How should we respond to this, or what can we learn from Peter? We will get into it more in the next couple of weeks but we need to understand that our response to a situation or a decision that we have made should never define who we are. If you have come to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ, you are define by the work that he did on the cross on Calvary.

What if Peter let this define him? If Peter was held back by this one night, then the rest of the New Testament might look quite differently. Because Jesus, after the resurrection, pulls Peter aside and encourages him. Jesus knew everything that went on. Jesus even knew the thoughts that Peter had during all of this. But he pulled him aside and said “Peter, if you truly love me, then you will go and you will proclaim to everyone what you know to be true. That Jesus is Lord.” And this is what Peter does. Because he didn’t let what he did define him.

Let’s get back to our text.

Mark 14:48–50 ESV

48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.

They brought all of the big guns to come and take Jesus. But why? He said, “you were there with me when I was in the temple preaching. You heard my message and sat and listened. You saw people begin to follow me. Yet you did nothing about it then.” He is questioning why they wanted to make this big show.

Remember that they had already dealt with an insurrectionist. Now, they are treating Jesus as one. They came looking for a fight. His disciples were ready to give them one. They were willing to draw swords and attack the ones who came to take Jesus. But Jesus did not engage in the potential fight.

And notice what happened after Jesus refused resistance. They all left him and fled. Not the ones who came to capture him, because they still arrested him. But the ones who were following fled when there was no fight.

2 things are going on in the moment as to why this happens. First, and most importantly, God’s word is coming to life in the moment as prophecy is being fulfilled.

Zechariah 13:7 ESV

7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

The shepherd is being struck so the sheep are scattering. But secondly, the disciples were disillusioned. They wanted a savior. I believe that to be fully true. But the savior they were getting was not the savior they though they needed. They wanted a political savior still. No matter how much Jesus had taught on his purpose and his plan, they saw it going up in smoke. If they could fight their way out of this, then they still had a chance of Jesus being able to take an Earthly throne. But Jesus is willingly giving himself over to execution. So they flee. They wanted that revolutionary but they were witnessing what they perceive to be a resignation. So they flee.

But not all of them flee.

Mark 14:51–52 ESV

51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

There was one who attempted to go with him. He was spotted by the group and they tried to take him into custody. But he fought them and was able to slip their grasp. This one disciple was still trying to follow him until he was noticed. They grab him and he fights to get away. We do not know the name of this disciple from what the text tells us, but many believe that this man was actually the author of this account, Mark.

If you don’t remember, Mark is penning the account from the perspective of Peter. Mark (John Mark) was a close follower of Peter and Paul. There is a chance that Mark was there when this happened. And he decided to remain anonymous when telling about this. Just speculation. But what we do know is that he wanted to follow Jesus but was not willing to risk imprisonment or death to do so.

I asked earlier, are we willing to give up a crown for a cross. Let’s revisit that because we have seen several different people answer this question in the moment of what event is taking place.

Jesus most definitely gave up a crown for the cross. He knew his mission was to come and shed his blood for the sins of man.

The disciples fled. They were not willing to go to the cross. The young boy acted like he still wanted to follow Jesus but when approached, he fled.

This will change though. After becoming witnesses to the resurrection, the disciples (later known as the Apostles) would become the early church fathers. They would spread out and take the message of the resurrection of Jesus all over, bringing hope to the Gentiles. Tradition tells us that all of them but John would be martyred for their faith.

They were actually willing to give up a crown for a cross. They changed. Maybe you have not been there before where you are willing to stand for your faith. But Jesus calls us to that. There are 2 points that I see in this text to help us out with this.

Jesus Does Not Want Swords, He Wants Soldiers

We often get very defensive over things. We can even sometimes be like Peter and be very quick to draw our swords. But Jesus wants us to be soldiers. Soldiers are more methodical in what they do and they listen to and execute the directives of their commander.

I think of the old children’s song “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. We should have that mentality. God has given us a purpose here. And that purpose is not to draw swords. It does not do the Kingdom of God any favors when we are the ones who attack. But instead, soldiers of Jesus are ones who know that their weapon is the word of God. And that weapon is not given to us as a means of attack but one of defense.

We use the truth of God’s word to defend against the attacks of sin. This may be our own personal sin or sins that are perpetrated by a group of people.

As Christians, we stand against things that are morally wrong. But we stand against them by standing on the word of God. Things such as abortion which is nothing more than cold blooded murder. Things such as homosexuality which is an attack on the institution of marriage that God himself instituted. Those are some of the more prominent things that are easily spoken out against by Christians. But we also must stand against things such as racism, prejudice, and favoritism.

Let’s just say, for example, we live in a world where people struggle to find their next meal and we are overly blessed with what God has given us, we must (to the extent that we are able) take care of others. I am not saying that we enable others in their horrible decision making. But what if we can make that difference. And we as a church, I firmly believe, can do that. God has placed us here for a reason.

Some ways that we can do that as a church.

1. Do a bi-monthly community meal

2. Help to have food drives (SCCM or in-house)

3. Assist ministries like the Legacy Dream Center in providing care for those recovering from addiction

4. Provide financial classes to help people who are struggling with money

5. Find ways to serve pregnant mothers in need (Love Life, PRC)

God has given us the means and the ability to make a difference in the fight on sin in our world. But also, God has given us a fight against sin in our personal lives. We all struggle with sin. I want to be very vulnerable to you all. I struggle constantly with losing my temper with my daughter. I know that when I am not as connected with God through prayer and his word, that it is worse. So I need to fight that through protecting my time with him in fellowship.

But maybe your struggle is other things. Jealousy, greed, gossiping, lust. All of these things are extremely common in our lives. So I want to give us practical ways to fight this.

1. Protect your time with God

prayer and reading; daily devotional; bible app with a reading plan; apps for prayer (YouVersion prayer, Daily Prayer App)

2. Find accountability

need to be talking to each other to find encouragement during struggle and to help encourage others; make some new friends right here at church

3. A change in thoughts

When you start to think a certain way or to do a certain thing, change it. Romans 12:2 “2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Philippians 4:8 ESV

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Jesus Does Not Want Deserters, He Wants Disciples

In our passage, we see everyone around him that is following him to go and desert Jesus. We are not called to be deserters but to be disciples. The act of being a disciple is intentional, it doesn’t accidentally happen. So we need to be intentional about following him.

The river is getting much wider between culture and Christianity today. We have seen that recently with attacks on Christians and for us in America, specifically the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, who was killed for his Christian theology and conservative political beliefs. Too often though, when we are confronted or even questioned about our faith, we end up like the young man in the garden of Gethsemane and tussle and run away.

So how do we make sure that we are disciples and not deserters.

1 - Intentionally commit yourself to Jesus

Salvation; recommitment; believe in the gospel of Jesus (gospel presentation)

Then baptism and joining in covenant membership with a church

2 - Intentionally stand for scripture

Christians must be people of God’s word. We stand for what God’s word says. Even when it is not popular, even when you are the odd man out at work or school or the neighborhood, you stand for God’s word. We love the things that God loves and hate the things that he hates.

3 - Intentionally share the gospel of Jesus

The only hope for our world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, there was someone who was willing to share the hope of Jesus with you. And before that, if you were to die, you would have sentenced yourself to Hell. I do not desire anyone to go to Hell, not even the most vile person you could imagine. And the only way for us to change that is to share the hope of Jesus in the gospel of Jesus.

If you are not sure how to do this, I have pamphlets that help out and there is an app called Life on Mission that walks someone through the gospel as you are sharing it.

If you have never been serious about your faith, it is high time to get there. And if you are already serious about your faith, praise God, but tighten the buckle a little more because our world needs us to be as committed and serious as possible.

We are not to be like the disciples and run when things get hard. But we are to be like Jesus and seriously devote ourselves to the work of God.

As we close and we sing this song, I want to encourage anyone who wants to pray to come down to the front steps here and kneel down and pray. And if you don’t want to come down and pray alone, grab someone and drag them down here with you. If you aren’t praying, I want to hear you singing. I want the words of this song to be true of us as we sing it.

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Prayer