Jesus’ Arrest

The Bible tells us that our righteousness, our absolute best to you as well. Like filthy rags. The only way anyone of us can ever stand in the sight of God is to be stripped of those riots and then closed afresh in the garments of the righteousness of Christ. That's the gospel in this good news also means we must be stripped of our own self old ways our old habits will hear a pointed object lesson about that today on Renewing Your Mind as we continued our drawer sees Paul's exposition of the gospel of Mark. Let's join RC now be reading from chapter 14 from verse 43 through verse 52 Mark 1443 to 52 and elastic organization stand for the reading of the word of God and immediately while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the 12 with the great multitude with swords and clubs came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, not his betrayer had given them a signal saying whomever I kiss. He is the one sees him and leave him away safely. As soon as he had, immediately he went up to him and said to him, Rabbi, Rabbi, and kissed him, and they laid their hands on him and took him one of those who stood by, drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear and Jesus answered and said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me. I was daily with you in the temple teaching and you did not sees me, but the Scriptures must be fulfilled. Then they all forsook him and fled. Now a certain young man followed him having a linen cloth around his naked body and the young men laid hold of him and he left the linen cloths and fled from them naked.

This is the divinely inspired record of the treason of Judas and his betrayal of our Savior and we ought to take to our hearts. The grave significance of what is recorded here not only for our information but for our admonition and for our edification.

Please be seated. This past Monday. Thursday evening I looked at this incident with many of you of the betrayal of Jesus by the treacherous chess of Judas, which is known in history as the kiss of death marks record here tells us that while Jesus was saying that his betrayer was of and Judas with a great multitude that is of soldiers and we assume here that the soldiers who were present with swords and clubs were a mixture of those who were members of the temple guard belonging to the Sanhedrin, as well as members of the cohorts of the Roman garrison stationed there in Jerusalem and they came to this designated place where the arrest of Jesus would not be made in a public arena where it would not take place under the light of day, but rather in a secluded spot so that his arrest would be covered by the cloak of darkness every aspect of this incident that we see here indicates an action that took place among the children of darkness, it was one of the most wicked acts of all of history. And it was appropriate that it took place not in the light of the sun, but in the darkness of the night and so we read that Judas had given them a signal saying whomever I kiss. He's the one sees him and lead him away safely. Now this was not an expression of Judas for the concern of Jesus safety. Obviously that was not foremost in his mind, but his expression to the arresting officers that Jesus be led away safely meant simply that this action can be undertaken in such a manner as that we are not at risk. Those of us who were involved in his arrest and seizure, and as soon as he had come immediately he went up to him and said to him, Rabbi, Rabbi and kissed him again on Monday. Thursday evening I spent most of the time talking about the significance of the tests of the trial, the incredible paradox here is that a gesture of profound honor and affection which customarily was given by disciples to their Rabbi was the method used by Judas for a most evil and wicked mission and we also note in the text of the language here describes the kiss of Judas is not a simple, brief pack on the cheek, but rather the Greek indicates a kiss that was lavishly bestowed upon Jesus, signifying and especially deep sense of affection and honor, and so the kiss itself was not only an action of contradiction, but it was a contradiction with a vengeance. But the other element that is found in Mark's account of this is the way by which Judas spoke to Jesus. On one occasion, I preached on Matthew chapter 7 on the end of the sermon on the Mount, which I introduced as being the scariest sermon I've ever heard, where Jesus at the end of the sermon on the Mount described the situation would come to pass in the last day when he said, many will come to me and say to me Lord, Lord, did we not do this in your name.

Did we not do that in your name and Jesus on that occasion said I will say to these people depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you know when I looked at that sermon. I called attention to an extremely un-usable but at the same time significant cultural form of expression that was contained in Jesus warning he didn't say many will come to me in that day and say Lord, did we not do this in your name but she says trays. Those who will come in professing to be affectionate toward him and they will say to him, Lord, Lord, Lord, repeated some of you remember that on that occasion I called attention to this unusual but significant Hebraic gesture that we find only about 15 times in all of sacred Scripture, and that is the custom of addressing somebody by the repetition of their name. We sought in the Old Testament.

When Jacob feared to go with his family into the land of Goshen and God came and spoke to him, saying Jacob J.

Don't be afraid where you go I will go with you even earlier in the Old Testament record was that poignant moment on Mount Moriah when Abraham laid his son Isaac on the altar and at the last second, God interrupted him and called to him, saying, Abraham, Abraham, lay not your hand upon your son.

For now, I know that you trust. Later on in the Midianite wilderness when God called Moses to the task of leading the people of Israel and the Exodus he spoke to him out of the burning bush saying Moses. Moses throughout the Old Testament and the midnight summons to Samuel. Samuel, Samuel, which the lad replied speak Lord for thy servant here when Elijah was taken up to heaven and the chariots of fire.

Elisha stood there looking and he said my father. My father wore David's cry of lament at the news of the death of his son when he screamed so I have someone my son, my son Absalom, my son come. The New Testament Jesus speaks so tenderly to Martha when she objects to the attention that Jesus is showing to Mary at Lazarus home, the spacer nieces Martha, Martha, it's okay, and so on.

Saul on the road to Damascus Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me Simon Peter. When Jesus warns of his impending denial. He said he would never deny him. Jesus and Simon's Satan would have you and sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you and of course the most dramatic use of the repetition came from across itself. When Jesus cried out a way a my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me were in his lament over the city, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would've taken you to myself as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not do you see what's going on here.

Every time the personal form. Address is used by way of repetition. It communicates an intense and profound sense of personal affection and Jesus was saying that at the last day.

People would come to him whom he did not know who did not belong to him who would pretend that they belong to him that would not only name his name, but they would repeated as if they were on intimate terms within Lord Lord deny, preach, deny, teach, did not give my money. And Jesus said in the scariest warning of all I will say to them, please leave. I don't know who you are. I don't know your name, depart from me, you workers of iniquity see where that's so scary that Jesus would ever say that you know we have jargon in the Christian world where people say are you saying to another way they were sick. Do you know Jesus that's not the issue. The issue is not, do you know Jesus. This was the Jesus know you are.

We known of him in that singular redemptive manner that he knows those who are his immediacy Jesus and have to wait to the last day to see his prediction fulfilled the thumb would come calling him, Lord, Lord, because here in the very moment of his betrayal. Judas comes and publicly kisses Jesus and addresses them. Rabbi Rabbi, Rabbi, the one I love Rabbi the one Ice-T Rabbi the one I serve Rabbi, Rabbi. The kiss with the kiss of death when they laid their hands on him and they took him one of those who stood by, drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest cut off his ear. He goes nameless in Mark's account and tradition tells us that Mark was the secretary of the apostle Peter, and it was Peter's apostleship that stood behind the gospel of Mark John Manes, the nameless one in his gospel and he identifies him as Peter. The impetuous and impulsive disciple. So Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest cut off his ear. We don't get the detail you're the Jesus rebuked him forward and picked up the year and put it back in this manner. Zero just been cut off as it restored by the very one whom he is arresting for execution. Jesus said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs in order to take me everything I was with you in the temple teaching there.

I was in at the sneak out in the bushes to take rest for you. Take me there easily unit and sees me there in order that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. Then we read them.

They all, meaning all the disciples forsook him and fled as it was not Judas. It wasn't just Peter was every last one of them ones who fell asleep while Jesus was in agony in prayer just a little earlier in Gethsemane now at the moment of his arrests.

These heroes of the faith turn tail and fled into the darkness then to this mark appends an extremely unusual detail in verse 51. Now there's a certain young man that followed him having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body and the young man laid hold of him and he left the linen cloth and fled from them make it. What's up with this. While there are some things that we can discern from the text about this strange incident of the young man who was following. Presumably, at a safe distance who was not one of the 12 and he obviously was a man of means, because only the wealthy war linen coverings under their tunics and so this man had to be a man of some substance.

This young man and obviously the fact that he only had on the linen cloth without the undergarments indicated that he had dressed in haste to come and follow this situation so in all probability we can assume that he lived nearby, probably in Jerusalem. This is delicious morsels for speculative theologians to chew on and many of them do and say. Why is this unnamed person in this embarrassing account. Included in this record if it was a young man who lived in Jerusalem is wealthy, it could very well and then Mark himself, who was of the priestly caste and his family was of wealth and maybe this is Mark's way of inserting himself by graphically into the account which would indicate he was an eyewitness of the things that took place here with a strange way to intrude into the narrative almost the Hitchcock in as Alfred use to them, assert himself in cameo positions in his own movies. Maybe that's the case, but that's pure and utter speculation when uninterested in is not the identity of this young man, but the details of his flight into the darkness. After this linen piece had been grabbed by one of the soldiers and he spun out of the grasp of the soldier leaving his garments as Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife when she clutched his garment and he escaped by leaving the garment behind which was then evidence for Potiphar's wife's lies against Joseph, but what we find here is that this moment of crisis somebody reduced to nakedness fleeing in the dark, calls attention to the text in the Old Testament in the book of the prophet Amos were Amos in the second chapter goes to the list of three transgressions and four of Moab of Judah of Israel, and so on. In verse 13 he says, behold, I am weighed down by you. This is God's rebuke of his people as a cart full of sheaves is way down. Therefore flight will perish from the swift, the strong shall not strengthen his power nor the mighty deliver himself, and he will not stand who handles the boat and the swift, the foot will not escape God is predicting what the conditions will be when he visits his judgment upon his people, the powerful will become impotent. The swift will become slow a foot even the one who rides a horse will not be able to deliver himself. Listen, this the most courageous men of might show fleeing naked in that day, says the Lord wrote a book many, many years ago. First, titled the psychology of atheism. Then later retitled if there is a God, why are there atheists. And then there I have a chapter on the nakedness motif that we find in sacred Scripture, as well as in Western philosophy. I did a word study of that word gum loss which is the Greek word for naked and we go all the way back to the garden. We were told that in creation. The man and the woman were naked, but without shame until sin came into their life in the very first psychological self awareness of guilt and shame was an uncomfortable awareness of nudity and since that hour in the garden of Eden.

Human beings have been the only animals who have adorned themselves and covered themselves with artificial garments because it's built in to our fallen humanity to equate shame and nakedness humiliation with nakedness and throughout the pages of Scripture.

When God speaks of bringing judgment against the guilty exposes their sin and scripts them of their close look in the book of Revelation and see the judgments of God sending away the wicked in nakedness. I wish I had time to speak much longer of that motif, but it's at the heart of our understanding of redemption. Dear friends, because all of us have garments that clothe us and our righteousness is we are told like rotten filthy rags and the only way anyone of us can ever stand in the sight of God is to be stripped of those rags and then closed afresh in the garments of the righteousness of Christ. That's the gospel we heard it in the reading from Exodus of the consecration of the garments of the priests of Aaron and the priests who were set apart and who were covered to serve in the presence of God. You and I can never stand in the presence of a holy God. Unless we are close from on high with her righteousness that is not our own. This man that night in his sin ran for his life. Being naked and ashamed is a message of such great importance for each of us.

We must be clothed in the righteousness of another, or we will be ashamed on the day of judgment. Dr. RC Sproul is teaching through the gospel of Mark here in the sun. The addition of Renewing Your Mind and were glad you joined us today. I'm Lee Webb, as we have made our way through this gospel week by week Dr. Sproles help us understand specific words and phrases the cultural and historic context of each passage and how each verse connects with the rest of the Bible are resource offered today provide you with the same kind of insight for the entire Gospel of Mark. When you contact us today with a donation of any amount will send you a digital download of Dr. Sproles commentary on Mark. You can request it online. Our web address is Renewing Your Mind.org did you know that were translating our resources in the Spanish, German, French, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and several other languages. Many believers in these countries were being introduced to sound theology for the first time. That's because the Reformation really never took hold in many of these countries, so we're grateful for your support as we work to meet the needs are brothers and sisters in Christ around the world after Jesus arrest he was taken before the Sanhedrin microscope will take us to the details of the trial next Sunday and I hope you'll join us for Renewing Your Mind