A Denial, a Failure, and a Betrayal

Betrayal Predicted

The evening continues normal enough for the disciples. They depart the Passover singing a hymn, typical Jewish tradition, probably Ps.118. Well they head out of the city, cross the Kidron Valley until making their way up the Mount of Olives. As they get there, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach.

The first thing He says to them is “All of you will fall away,” and He quotes Zech.13:7 to back up His prediction: “I will strike the shpeherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” And what Jesus says to them is not so much a prediction that they would become “unbelievers,” so to say. Rather, in the upcoming events, they would lose their courage, faltering and failing Christ. When the shepherd is struck, the sheep flee for fear of what might happen to them. The same is the case with the disciples. When their leader is persecuted, beaten, when He dies on the cross, the disciples will flee for fear of facing their own persecution…their courage fails them.

Now there is a unique phrasing connection that happens here. The word Jesus uses, “fall away,” comes from the Grk. word skandalizo. It’s not the first time that Mark uses the word. The first time it appears in chp.4:17, and it’s in reference to the seed on the rocky soil. Remember this soil? It’s the seed that sprouts up really quick, then just as quick as it comes up, it “falls away” because the roots are so shallow. Think back on that passage, one of the things we talked about, and Francis Chan was the first person I’d ever heard say, “Don’t assume you’re the good soil.” Soil has to be cultivated and worked. You can almost hear Jesus now saying the same thing to the disciples. You all assume you have good soil, but just because you initially received the truth with zeal and excitement and vigor, it doesn’t mean there’s depth there yet. All of you will actually prove to be rocky soil as ultimately you fall away. The catalyst for this event will be the beginning of Jesus’ passion, His suffering.

Thankfully, Jesus reminds them that His grace is greater than their failure. Yes, you will fall away. Yes, your soil is rocky. But I will rise again, and I will gather you, as well.

Galilee here becomes symbolic for Mark as a place of restoration. The resurrection is as sure as Jesus’ death, and His grace is a certain as their betrayal. Jesus meeting the disciples there, He says He will “go ahead” of them. Some take it to be a simple chronological proceeding, but I think there is a theological clue in Mark’s phrasing. For “go ahead,” Mark uses the word proago. The sense is more that Jesus will lead the disciples there as a shepherd leads his sheep, not just “I will precede you there.” Meeting them in Galilee is symbolic of restoration, and Jesus’ actions as their shepherd — the One that was struck — confirms the grace needed to carry the disciples along.

Well, in steps Peter. In his ever-brash, ever-bold way, he lets Jesus know that yet again, Jesus is wrong, because even if all of the other disciples “fall away,” he “will not.” Peter’s rebuke of Jesus here is only slightly less rude than the one in Mk.8:32, but the insinuation is rather insulting to the other disciples. Whereas Jesus predicts the departure of every disciples, Peter thinks himself the exception to the rule.

Just a word of warning here — many Christians have met their demise and have fallen to temptation because they thought themselves impervious to the struggles of others. Because of our sinful natures, we are all capable of copious amounts of evil given the right opportunity at the wrong time. The moment we think ourselves impervious to any particular sin is the moment we become most vulnerable to that temptation.

Given Peter’s emphatic declaration that he would not deny Jesus, Jesus bolds, underlines, and highlights that Peter will indeed do so. He repeats the time reference three times — “today, this very night, before the rooster crows...” He gets more specific with each statement, almost like putting it in flashing neon lights.

At this point, the rest of the disciples join in. In unison, they begin to protest, “I will never deny you.” It’s very likely that still…the disciples are thinking in terms of messianic war. Yet their boastful bravado will soon give way to fearful failure. Proverbs 16:18 seems to come into vivid focus — “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.”

Betrayal Foreshadowed

While Jesus predicts the denial of the disciples in vv.27-31, a foreshadowing of that denial comes in vv.32-42. As Jesus moves to Gethsemane, the Hebrew word for “olive press,” we see the Jesus painfully anticipating what will happen to Him. And just thinking about all of the events that happen here in the last couple of chapters of Mark, you really see faith coming from unforeseen places. David Garland points out that a nameless woman anoints Jesus for His burial, despite the objections of His friends. A bystander will carry His cross. A pagan centurion supervising the crucifixion will confess the Christ. A council member who could have been involved in His condemnation will obtain His body and see it buried. Women followers will watch Him die on the cross and go later to anoint His body. And here, we see the contrast. Three faithful inner-circle members snooze while Jesus alone shoulders the burden He is about to bear. They betray Him, deny Him, and flee for their lives when He is hauled away; they deny Him when He is condemned to die; all of their failure is here foreshadowed when they could not stay awake to pray.

It’s interesting that Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him to pray. Yes, these were the ones who you could call the inner-circle, but these three have also explicitly claimed greatness as Jesus’ disciples. First James and John came and asked Jesus if they could sit in the seats of honor in His kingdom, and Peter Himself has just declared his unwavering commitment to Jesus — even if everyone else deserts You, I won’t. Surely if anyone can sustain loyalty to Jesus, it’d be these guys.

Mark notes that Jesus is both “deeply distressed” and “troubled.” It’s really a way for Mark to say that Jesus is going through the worst type of anguish you could imagine. His coming death was no surprise. He knew it to be coming; He knew His time was drawing near. This is intense psychological suffering, mental anguish that rears its head long before the physical pain begins. Of all the emotional turmoil felt in the Scripture — from Abraham as He prepared for Isaac’s sacrifice, to the painful laments of the psalms and even David’s grief at the death of Absalom — it seems the toil this takes on Jesus mentally far surpasses them all.

Leaving the disciples three, Jesus goes a little further and lays Himself on the ground before God. He doesn’t take the normal Jewish position for prayer, which is standing, hands lifted to heaven. It seems He lays out as an expression of submission — though there is much anguish in what He is sent to do, though He wishes the task could be accomplished another way, nevertheless He is submissive to the Father’s will. His posture becomes a physical representation of the attitude of His heart.

As He prays, He calls out to His Father — “Abba.” This term has been popularly understood recently as being similar to saying “Daddy,” much like a little child climbing into their father’s lap. While this can be the case, if there are no childlike connotations attached to it, it simply is an intimate form of “father.” In fact, Dave Black makes note that the term actually has a lot of theological truth attached to it, and it’s not just a childlike cry but also a term of reverent submission and honor. Given the context that Jesus uses it, given His recorded prayer, that certainly makes sense. Now one thing is certain — how Jesus views Himself in relation to God. And the content of His prayer — You can do anything, so “take this cup away from me” — shows the intense inner struggle Jesus is going through. But, He also confesses His willingness to follow the Father’s will, no matter the cost — “not what I will, but what You will.”

Here is Jesus yet again refusing an easy exit ramp in the face of bitter suffering. He refused the temptations of Satan, and He rejected the temptation to remain with Moses and Elijah in His glory. Instead, Mk.10:38 — He will drink the cup…He will be baptized in divinely-willed suffering. His cry shows His genuine temptation to forsake the suffering, and if there is a ram caught in the thicket nearby and it would please God the Father to sacrifice it instead, then by all means, let it happen, but at the end of the day, Jesus’ will to obey the Father is greater than His desire to protect Himself. This may be the most powerful take away in the entire lesson: choose the will of God, prefer it as the most important thing, even when it certainly means pain will follow!

After praying, Jesus returns and finds the disciples asleep. Whereas it was necessary to stay alert and pray, the disciples’ simply do not have it in them. He lets them know it won’t always be their “want to” that’s in the wrong place, but that there is a real danger when it comes to our physical abilities. Their physical and emotional exhaustion makes it impossible for them to stand firm in the midst of genuine spiritual battle. Not to read too much in to it, but given the connection between physical fatigue and the disciples’ failure, it seems to underscore all the more our need for Sabbath rest!

So Jesus departs, prays again, and returns and finds the disciples in the same place. When He calls them out on their failure yet again, they’re speechless. Mark says, “they did not know what to say to Him.” They have no legitimate excuse for returning to the very thing Jesus had just convicted them of before. As a side note, how often are we left speechless before God when He calls us out on our junk, we go through the motions of “repenting,” though it’s probably more a guilt-ridden sorry than a sorrow-filled repentance, only to leave the altar and pick that same old sin back up again?!

Well, verse 41 says it happens a third time and when Jesus returns yet again and catches them napping on the job, He says, “Enough! The time has come.” Jesus calls them to their feet and says its tome for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the “hands of sinners.” Interesting choice of words, really. The term “sinners” was generally applied to Jews not living according to God’s will, and it was used for Gentiles who didn’t even know God’s will. And here, Jesus applies it to the religious leaders who are seeking His death.

So he tells the three — “Remain here and stay awake.” His command mirrors the same command He gives to the disciples at the end of the Son of Man discourse in Mk.13:32-37. But in the end, all of them fail even in a moment of relative ease and comfort.

The Coast Guard has a motto: “SEMPER PARATUS” or “Always Prepared.” This motto is necessary if we are to live faithfully for Christ. What a contrast between the prayer, preparation, and sanctification displayed by Jesus and the lack of prayer and the utter disoriented bewilderment of the others.

Jesus moved toward His adversaries, faithfully committed to God’s will. The disciples will ultimately flee as Jesus suffers. If we are to have any hope of standing firm at the moment of persecution today, we must always stay close to Jesus, remaining diligent — awake and alert — in order to meet temptation standing up.

Betrayal Realized

Jesus begins alerting the disciples to their failure, and even though they all protest, they also all fall. Even the faithful three succumb to fleshly failure and can’t even stay awake to pray as Jesus Himself prays. And finally, what was initially foretold by Jesus vv.17-21, becomes a reality.

They send the posse after Jesus, armed with swords and clubs, following the lead of Judas, waiting for the sign to take Jesus down. They’re ready for a fight but looking in the wrong place.

The word Mark uses for “crowd” here, oxlos, is the same word that’s used elsewhere in Mark to describe the people that were fed and taught by Christ. And at this point, Mark’s not just using words, he’s letting us know something deeper. This is the first time the “crowds” were hostile to Jesus, but from this point moving forward, they’ll appear in this hostile manner. They become quite representative of the larger public, and oh how fickle they’ve become.

A pre-arranged sign has been given. Judas says, “The one I kiss.” The picture is quite jaw-dropping, really. The root of the word for kiss is phileo and you may know that this word is often translated as love. You’ve heard “Philadelphia,” the “City of Brotherly Love.” That’s the root — phileo and it combines with root adelphoi — brothers. The particular word, kataphilein, points to a lavish, even passionate kiss. Not romantic in any way, but and extended show of “affection,” if you will. But the act itself was far from genuine affection — nothing more than feigned “love.”

So here is Judas, the ultimate betrayer. Only hours before he celebrated the Passover as one of Jesus’ closest companions, and now he uses a sign of friendship and affection to signal his betrayal. A typically warm gesture of love becomes a sign that leads to certain death.

As they move in to arrest Jesus, Mark records that someone in the crowd cuts the ear off of someone else in the crowd. It’s interesting that Mark doesn’t tell us who cuts and who gets cut, but the Gospel of John is forthcoming with the names.

Luke records that Jesus heals the man, and Mark centers on Jesus’ response — “have you come out with swords and clubs?” They One who beckoned the little kids to come around, who compassionately healed the sick and the lame, the One who even raised more than one person from the dead, and they come at Him armed for battle, treating Him like a criminal. He had taught daily…openly in the Temple. He’d operated with integrity and openness, ministering and teaching openly, and yet they’re treating Him like a violent revolutionary.

Verse 50 offers the pinnacle statement, and vv.51-52 show just how far it runs. “They all deserted Him and ran away.” As if that weren’t bad enough, even the young man, possibly Mark but no way are we even close to certain about that, this “certain young man” who had been following Him, they spotted him and took “hold of” him, and before you know it, he’s slipped out of his linen cloth and “ran away naked.”

That’s it, from the prediction that all of the disciples would betray Jesus, to the failure of the disciples in the garden, unable to stay awake even to pray, to the turn-coat kiss form Judas, to even an random young man following and watching the scene unfold. All of it reminds us that Jesus was faithful to the end, even when everyone else abandoned Him.

Call to Action:

Jesus remained faithful in the face of His followers failure.

Spiritual health is necessary for sustained faithfulness.

Jesus is faithful to us even when we let Him down. (He still went to the cross for every sin of every denial and every betrayal!)