Gethsemane Bible Study Week 6
Jesus Identifies Himself
52 Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 53 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”
Turning from Peter to the arresting crowd, Jesus pointed out the irony of their mob action against Him (26:55). Their swords and clubs would have been most appropriate if He had been leading a rebellion. But in fact, He had taught in the temple courtyard almost every day that week, and they had made no move to arrest Him. The irony is even greater because Jesus sat in the official position of teaching and thus had been respected as a rabbi. Surely no rabbi would be arrested in the middle of the night by a mob with swords and clubs. But, Jesus declared, this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled (26:56).
Jesus answered Judas’ betrayal and the discples’ counter-attack with a question: “Am I leading a rebellion … that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?” (14:48). These ideologically charged words refocus the attention from the disciples’ bravado to the voice of Jesus.
The Greek text begins with the phrase “as against a robber.” Jesus spoke directly to His accusers. The disciples simply overheard His show-stopping words leveled at the armed crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me” (14:48–49). The readers witness the powerful effect of the overheard word. In honesty, the question seems out of place in the midst of a chaotic situation. It forces all eyes away from the threefold use of the sword (14:43, 47–48) and onto Jesus’ words. Jesus has returned to His didactic method, causing the disciples (and readers) to focus on His emphasis; He did not come as a revolutionary. The translation of the word “robber” (lāstās) is vital to comprehending what Jesus was conveying to the forces, but even more so to the disciples, who overheard these words. Jesus was not implying He was merely a common thief, but that they came to arrest Him for being an insurrectionist, a revolutionary who posed a threat to Rome. Jesus’ use of “revolutionary” would be verbally linked to His earlier Temple action, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers” (lāstās, 11:17). As Jesus was driving out the money changers, He was pointing out the corrupt nature of Temple practice.
In Jesus’ use of the quote from Jeremiah, He took it out of the realm of possibility and stated emphatically, “You have made it a den of revolutionaries (lāstās).” In both Temple speeches—Jeremiah’s original and Jesus’ reapplication—hearers were being condemned of insurrection (lāstās) against God.11 Thus, one of the charges for which Jesus was crucified is the very crime that people have been guilty of throughout human history—dethroning God’s agenda and crowning their own.12
Jesus was not leading a rebellion. The crowd did not have to come after Him with swords and clubs (Luke 22:52), and He would not defend himself with violence. To His followers He said, “No more of this!” (22:51). Jesus had taught His followers to love their enemies and to bless those who despitefully used them. In this moment of personal agony, He thought of others, even His enemies. He touched the man’s ear and healed him (22:51). The last recorded miracle of Jesus was that of healing the severed ear of one of His enemies.
Fully submissive to the will of God and the unfolding plan of salvation, He said to the mob, “This is your hour—when darkness reigns” (22:53). The night was dark, but it was destined to grow darker. There is no darkness greater than that which surrounds sin. Soon even the sun would cease to shine as the deeds of sinful humanity reached their darkest. Satan is the prince of darkness, and at least for the moment, he appeared to be in charge. This was his hour, and for but this short time he would have his way with Jesus.
THE LAMB IS LED TO THE SLAUGHTER
Seizing him, they led him away (22:54). Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled as Jesus “was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isa. 53:7).
If you look at the people in the garden that night, you might find yourself. There were those who slept when they should have prayed. There was Judas, who was willing to sell out his Master for a few coins. There were religious leaders who had lost the meaning of being a child of God. There was Peter, who was committed, but weak under pressure. There was a wounded servant who had experienced a touch of mercy and would not know what to do about it. And there was Jesus, submissive to the will of God though knowing the cost would be tremendous. Do you see yourself somewhere in the garden that night?
Though the troops were led to the garden by a betrayer, Jesus was not caught there by surprise. He apparently had settled into the routine of visiting the garden, and had maintained that routine in order to assure the success of Judas’s mission. Despite the numerical superiority of the arresting party, Jesus proved to be the one in complete control of the situation. Filled with the knowledge of all that was going to happen to him (18:4), Jesus seized the initiative and went out to meet the aggressors as they approached. Without waiting for them to question him, Jesus demanded of them, Who is it you want? When they answered, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus immediately replied, I am he (18:5).
I AM HE
These words of Jesus had a startling effect: it seems those who stood nearest to Him drew back and fell to the ground (18:6). Such a result is not easily attributed to simple surprise that a hunted suspect would so openly identify himself. Nor do their actions suggest a reverent kneeling by Jews who might have thought Jesus had pronounced the divine name (“I am”—see also Exodus 3:14 and comments on John 6:20). Rather, something of the divine majesty of Jesus himself seems to have been unleashed, knocking those near Him to the ground. Clearly, this powerful company of soldiers had met much more than its match, and would succeed in capturing Jesus only through His voluntary compliance.
Since the arresting party named Jesus alone as the target of its mission, Jesus demanded the release of His disciples: If you are looking for me, then let these men go (18:8b). After all, it was the death of Jesus, not the death of the disciples which stood at the center of God’s plan to redeem the world. Of course the disciples would, at a later time, be exposed to the threat of death and to death itself for the sake of the gospel (16:2; 21:19). But for the present, and until Jesus had laid down His life, had been raised, and had appeared to the disciples, they would enjoy a special protection from death, thanks to Jesus. But the fact that Jesus himself won the dismissal of His disciples from the custody of the soldiers does not negate the claim of the other Gospels that the disciples fled out of fear (see Mark 14:50–51).1 Their flight may have been possible only because the soldiers were persuaded by Jesus to permit it.
Dunamis = Explosive Power
DUNAMIS (Greek). doo-nuh-mis.
Greek for “power.”
. δύναμις dunamis; from 1410; (miraculous) power, might, strength:—ability(4), meaning(1), mightily(1), mighty(1), miracle(2), miracles(17), miraculous powers(3), power(83), powers(6), strength(2), wealth(1).
dynamite
■ noun
1 a high explosive consisting of nitroglycerine mixed with an absorbent material.
2 informal an extremely impressive or potentially dangerous person or thing.
■ verb blow up with dynamite.
—DERIVATIVES dynamiter noun
—ORIGIN 19th century: from Greek dunamis ‘power’ + -ITE1.
Exousia = Authoritative Power
1849 ἐξουσία (exousia) Strong’s Greek #1849
1849. ἐξουσία exousia; from 1832; power to act, authority:—authorities(7), authority(65), charge(1), control(1), domain(2), dominion(1), jurisdiction(1), liberty(1), power(11), powers(1), right(11).
ἐξουσία (exousia). n. fem. power, authority. An authority, either human or supernatural.
This is a general word for “power” or “authority” and is often used for human authority (e.g., Matt 8:9). It is used to refer to supernatural forces in several ways. It is used in the constructions “power (exousia) of darkness” (Luke 22:53; Col 1:13) and “power (exousia) of Satan” (Acts 26:18), but these refer to power as an abstract quality, not to supernatural beings. However, in several passages (1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 6:12; Col 2:15; 1 Pet 3:22) “authorities” (exousia) refers in a generic way to supernatural beings, which Christ has overcome and against which Christians must struggle.
Deserted
Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. The prophets foretold the events of Jesus’ death, but He—the greatest prophet—had predicted (26:31) that all the disciples would fall away. Their departure left Jesus alone in the hands of those who had plotted His death.
Finally, these ominous words: Then everyone deserted him and fled (14:50). The predicted desertion became a reality, and in the midst of a crowd of armed soldiers, Jesus was alone. In the original Greek, the last two words are “fled all.” The unprepared reader has no time to make a mental or emotional shift as he or she reads, “they all deserted him and fled.”13 Thus, Jesus’ prediction of the disciples’ desertion (14:27) and its fulfillment at His arrest (14:50) serve as excellent examples that those who cling to self-interests that clash with Jesus’ agenda will ultimately find themselves guilty of rebellion; that is insurrection against God.
A Naked Man???
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind (14:51). After the tragedy of the corporate abandonment of the disciples, we read of this enigmatic boy who ran away, seemingly as an afterthought by Mark. We are uncertain whom this might be, possibly an eyewitness to the events known by the early readers of Mark, akin to Alexander and Rufus who are named as present at the crucifixion in 15:21. There has been throughout the ages a somewhat sacred suggestion that this is a narrative self-portrait of Mark himself in a cameo-like appearance, but we have little or no supporting evidence for this position. However, the passage should not be discarded simply because it may be troublesome for the interpreter, for it clearly teaches several subtle and sustainable truths. First, since this apparently is not one of the twelve disciples, we can draw the conclusion that there were other “followers” who were willing to go this far with Jesus. The call to discipleship though hard, is not reserved for only the spiritual elite, but for all willing to sacrifice for the Master.
Second, this passage of the young man may serve to further demonstrate the disciples’ willingness to die for Jesus (14:31), especially if they might rise to the status of martyrs. This young man is said to be wearing a “linen cloth,” and the only other place in Mark where this word occurs is in 15:46 in reference to a linen burial shroud purchased by Joseph of Arimathea and used to wrap the body of Jesus. If this detail is significant, it suggests that this young man (another term only used of the angel-like figure at the tomb; 16:5) may not be Mark’s autobiographical note, but that he is being painted as the typical mind-set of Jesus’ followers. Against all odds (two swords [14:47; Luke 22:38, 49] versus a cohort of soldiers), they came prepared to do battle against their Roman oppressors. They knew that Jesus could strike fear into those who opposed Him. Moreover, in their belief, power and miracles were the hallmark of Jesus’ claim to His messianic reign. For His followers, there would be no better time for Him to overwhelm His opponents and take the throne by force. They came dressed for death, prepared for burial, with nothing on but a “linen burial garment.”14
Now, the worst of all possible scenarios unfolded. Jesus, who wields all the power of heaven, allowed himself to be arrested and ultimately to be humiliated and die, just as He has predicted (8:31–32; 9:31–32; 10:32–34). His words, which earlier fell on the deaf ears of the disciples, were now becoming true.