COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 156
Mark 14:42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth Me is at hand. 43And immediately, while He yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 And he that betrayed Him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely. 45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to Him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed Him.”
(Mark 14:42-45; Matt 26:46-50; Luke 22:47-48; John 18:2-3)
JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS
INTRODUCTION
The prayer of Jesus has been heard, “in that He feared” (Heb 5:7). He was not delivered from the appointed work of drinking the awful cup of Divine indignation and laying down His life a ransom for many. However, He was granted strength equal to the occasion, when there “appeared an angel from, heaven, strengthening Him” (Lk 22:43). In the Luke text, the word “strengthen” is a different Greek word, used only here and Acts 9:19, where Saul was strengthened after fasting and praying for three days. When Jesus told Peter to “strengthen” his brethren when he was “converted,” the word used meant to confirm or establish (Lk 22:43). THAYER When Paul engaged in “strengthening all the disciples,” the word used meant to reestablish, or confirm (Acts 18:23). THAYER When Peter prayed that God would “strengthen” the brethren, the word used was yet a different one, meaning to confirm in spiritual knowledge (1 Pet 5:10). THAYER The word used to describe the strength Jesus received from the angel is translated from a word meaning “to grow strong, to receive strength,” THAYER “regain strength,” FRIBERG and “to regain strength after a temporary loss.” LOUW-NIDA The idea here is that the strength of Jesus had been depleted as He was “in an agony,” and prayed more earnestly. Now, in a display of the grace of God, and without rest and recuperation, His strength is renewed, and He is brought to the highest level of moral and spiritual aptitude. He did not leave the struggle, but held on until “He was heard.” Now, in the fulness of confidence and strength, He will go out to meet the enemy, and face “the power of darkness.” When the people of God grow weary and are tempted to withdraw from the battle, they do well to remember the night our Lord was betrayed. At that time God revealed what can be done for the person who walks in spiritual resoluteness and resolve. What follows confirms the effect of the strength Jesus received, establishing to our hearts and minds the superiority of Divine strength.
JESUS GOES TO MEET THE ENEMY
“ Mark 14:42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth Me is at hand. 43 And immediately, while He yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.”
RISE, LET US GO. His prayer being heard, and strength being received, the time for praying has come to an end. Now is the time to go forward and confront the enemy. There does come a time when we must leave the room of supplication and enter into the work-room. In this case, the work was laying down His life, in order that He might take it up again (John 10:17-18). Prayer, therefore, was preparatory, and was not an end of itself. The one who was going to betray Him as near, and he would not delay to perform his treachery. John says of this event, “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth” to meet the coming entourage (John 18:4).
Here we learn of the inferiority of the intellect itself. Although highly vaunted by men, the intellect is not adequate – knowing what is coming is not sufficient. There must be a corresponding strength to confront the destiny to which we have been appointed, just as it was with our Lord. He knew what was coming, and that is why He prepared for the occasion with firm and resolute prayer. We too have an appointment with death, and the ultimate confrontation of God Himself (Heb 9:27). The insightful prospect of these appointments can cause great fear in men. Yet, if they will repair to God in fervent prayer and resolve, they will obtain the strength to face these appointments with confidence.
WHILE HE SPAKE. Jesus had no sooner summoned His disciples to get up and go than Judas appeared with those to whom he would betray the Lord. The immediacy of the moment is noteworthy, telling us something about preparation for trial, or carrying out a Divine mandate. It is essential that the preparation be finalized immediately before the trial. Jesus was not prepared for this in His birth, or when He was found in the Temple at twelve years of age. The preparation was not finalized during His ministry when He spent night-long vigils in prayer (Mk 1:35; 6:46; Lk 6:12). He received the required strength when it was needed, not in escrow. There are trials that cannot be successfully endured depending upon the strength of yesterday, and blessed is the person who recognizes this. It is true that there are trials that come upon us suddenly, but they are of a different order, belonging to the category of things we “know not” (Prov 27:1; James 4:14). However, when we come to the matter of death and judgment, or of being tempted, or confronting the hatred of men, it is our business to be in a constant state of preparation. Souls that fall from their steadfastness do so because they were not prepared for the thing that caused them to swerve aside.
A MULTITUDE WITH SWORDS AND STAVES. Judas came with “a great multitude.” He did not accompany them, but they accompanied him. HE was “accompanied by a multitude.” NASB The number of people involved is unknown, but it was a significant number, as indicated by the word “great,” which means “many, abundant, much, and plenteous.” THAYER Some have estimated the number to be 200-600 men, although the language itself does not indicate this. I do not know that there was ever an occasion when Jesus faced aggression from only one person. There seemed to be an innate awareness of the superiority of Christ’s person, even though it was not a perfect awareness. Thus a multitude came to take Him.
This multitude comes armed with “swords and staves,” or “clubs.” NKJV John says they came “with lanterns and torches and weapons” (John 18:3) – and they were coming against only a single Man. However, this was no ordinary man, and they knew it.
FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS, SCRIBES, AND ELDERS. This “great multitude” were send “from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.” Matthew says they were “from the chief priests and the elders of the people” (Matt 26:47). John says they were “a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees” (John 18:3). Some have affirmed Roman soldiers to have been among this number. I doubt that this is true, for Judas had come from the Jewish authorities, not the Roman ones (Mk 14:10). There is no evidence that the Roman authorities became involved until Jesus was sent to Pilate (Mk 15:1).
These soldiers were doubtless from the “Captain of the Temple,” who was known to have consorted with the high priest and the chief priests (Acts 4:1; 5:24). While this was a military office, it is understood that it pertained to a function of the Levites, who kept order in the Temple. Josephus refers to this function in his writings. Bell Jud.,’ 2, 6, 5:3;12:6 We also know from Scripture that the Levites stationed captains and guards with spears and shields around the Temple (2 Kgs 11:10-11). Also, when the Levites compassed, or surrounded, the king, they did so “every man with his weapon” (2 Chron 23:7), confirming there was a kind military branch among them. In this text, the Jews came out against Jesus as a lawbreaker, offender, and rabble-rouser among the people. This confirms they were threatened by His presence and His words, which indicated that their hearts were wed to the world, and their minds corrupted, so they could not receive the truth.
A TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP BECOMES THE SIGN OF BETRAYAL
“ 44 And he that betrayed Him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely.”
JUDAS KNEW THE PLACE. Concerning this garden, John informs us that Judas “knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples” (John 18:2). Luke informs us that during the time preceding this betrayal, Jesus had spent His days in the Temple, and His nights “in the mount that is called Mount of Olives” (Lk 21:37). We know the disciples were with Him in the Temple (Matt 24:1; Mk 13:1). There is no reason to doubt that they were also with Him in the Mount of Olives. Not only had Jesus “resorted” to this area in the night, however, but often during the day as well (Matt 24:3; Lk 19:29,27; John 8:1).
The tense of the expression “that betrayed Him” is more precisely translated in the New American Standard Bible: “who was betraying Him” – that is, who was in the act of betraying Him while he was coming. The expression “betrayed Him” also connotes this meaning, assigning all of the activities associated with the betrayal to the act itself. This is in perfect accord with the doctrine of scriptures that states the committal of sin is when lust has conceived. In such a case, the sin itself is traced back to the point when the individual was drawn away of their own lust and enticed (James 1:14-15).
Sin must never be treated as though it was a mere mistake, a lack of good judgment, or was committed inadvertently. There is considerable activity that precedes the committing of transgression – activity that reveals a corrupt heart, a love for self, and a failure to live by faith. It is indication that a great falling away has taken place when sin is no longer considered to be serious, and all manner of explanations are offered for its presence. It is ever true that the closer a person is to Christ, the more sin is hated. Also, the further one is from Him, the more sin is tolerated, explained, and overlooked.
HE HAD GIVEN THEM A TOKEN. A “token” is a “signal,” NKJV or a “sign.” NRSV And why was it necessary to give the multitude a “token” or “sign?” Had Jesus not been a public figure for over three years, and well known among the people? There are some very practical reasons that can be given. First, “it was night”(John 13:30), and lanterns and torches would not lighten the area sufficiently to see Jesus clearly. Secondly, it is not likely that those who had actually spent time with Jesus were among the militia that came to arrest Him. Men sent by the Pharisees to apprehend Jesus returned empty handed, reporting, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:32,44-46). Too, the religious leaders feared the people (Mk 12:12; Lk 20:19; 22:2). It is not likely, therefore, that they would have chosen men familiar with the ministry of Jesus to apprehend Him.
The token is noteworthy: a “kiss!” As used here, a “kiss” is a token of friendship. To this day this expression is common among the people of the East. Such a greeting was expressed when Laban met Jacob (Gen 29:13). Jesus upbraided Simon because he gave Him no kiss when He entered his house (Lk 7:45). When Paul left the brethren from Ephesus, they fell on his neck and kissed him (Acts 20:37). The kiss of Judas was like the kiss to which Solomon referred: “the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov 27:6). It was like the kiss that Joab gave Amasa when he killed him: “And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground” (2 Sam 20:9-10). Of course, such treachery would not have been possible if Jesus did not “lay down” His life, submitting to be betrayed by one of His own disciples, and put to death by the very people to whom He had come.
LEAD HIM AWAY SAFELY. Mark records that Judas told the multitude to “take Him, and lead Him away safely.” Other versions read, “seize Him, and lead Him away under guard.” NASB As used here, “safely” means in a manner that prohibited His escape – hence other versions read “under guard.” Matthew clarifies that the first meaning – preventing His escape – was the thrust of the statement. He reports Judas saying, “hold Him fast!” (Matt 26:48), which is involved in laying hold on Him, or seizing Him.
It must be remember that the primary aim of Judas was not to do Jesus harm, although he surely knew that was the intention of the chief priests, scribes, and elders. However, he was motivated by covetousness. Therefore, when he came to the chief priests to strike a bargain he said, “What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?” (Matt 26:15). Later, Peter would refer to that money as “the reward of iniquity” (Acts 1:18).
Judas was “drawn away of his own lust” for money to betray the Son of man. However, this was not a sudden thing, for he had been culturing his lust throughout the ministry of Jesus, taking from the treasury of the Lord and His disciples (John 12:6). We learn from this of another dimension of sin that is not considered by transgressors. When a person has nurtured a vice, Satan can enter into the matter, moving the individual to commit sin that extends beyond himself.
THE TREACHEROUS ACT
“ 45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to Him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed Him.”
AS SOON AS JUDAS CAME. Judas wasted no time in betraying Jesus, doing so “as soon as he was come,” leading a multitude carrying swords and clubs. “Immediately” NASB he went to Jesus, eager to earn the money he would receive. There is a certain eagerness that accompanies transgression that makes a person willing to press the matter, insisting that what is intended be carried out to the finest detail. Sins that effect other people, like fornication, adultery, theft, and murder all demand aggressiveness, for they cannot be committed casually. Such is the case with covetousness. Highlighting this, Matthew says of the occasion, “Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him,” even doing so while Jesus was still speaking privately to the eleven (Luke 22:47). There was a sense in which he had to interrupt Jesus in order to betray Him. However, he was quite willing to do so.
MASTER, MASTER. How grievous the greeting must have sounded to the Lord Jesus: “Master, Master!” The word translated “Master” is the root word for “Rabbi.” The word literally means “My great One, my honorable Sir.” THAYER It is a word that is generally applied to a respected teacher (Mk 9:5; John 3:2). What gross hypocrisy was revealed to be in Judas, who would use such a greeting for the One from whom he had learned nothing. Jesus had taught the twelve, of which Judas was one, to serve, not to be grasping (Lk 22:26). Yet, Judas had chosen to pursue his own lust for money, oblivious to all that it involved.
Early in His ministry, Jesus referred to those who feigned honor toward Him. “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt 7:21-22). Again He said, “And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Such people sought to feed their own lusts using the name of Jesus. They were exploiters of the holy name – at least they thought they were.
There remains a body of people who employ the name of Jesus, whether as “Master, Master,” or in some other form, only for personal and worldly gain. They are no different than Judas. In fact, they are brothers to Judas who expose Jesus to disgrace, only in order that they might satisfy their own depraved wills. Immoral ministers and church leaders fall into this category. In their sin they have betrayed the Lord, giving His enemies the opportunity to “blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called” (James 2:7). There is no adequate way to state the seriousness of such sins – sins committed within the house of God, like that of Ananias and Saphirra, who also fell prey to the sin of covetousness.
FRIEND. Upon kissing the Lord, Matthew tells us that Jesus responded, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” (Matt 26:50). It was not that Jesus was ignorant of what Judas was doing, or that He felt Himself endeared to Judas. He knew he was “a devil” (John 6:70), and Jesus has no friendship with the Devil (2 Cor 6:15). The word “friend,” as used here, means “comrade, mate, or partner,” THAYER“one who is associated with another,” FRIBERG and “and “A person who is associated with someone else, though not necessarily involving personal affection.” LOUW-NIDA It is not a term necessarily involving endearment, but one that speaks of being involved in the same work. The expression was doubtless prompted by the prophecy of Christ’s betrayer that is found in the forty-first Psalm: “Yea, Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, hath lifted up his heel against Me” (Psa 41:9). A similar prophecy is found in the fifty-fifth Psalm. “But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company” (Psa 55:13-14). Judas used his familiarity with Jesus as a means to betray Him to His enemies – even though he had, as Peter affirms, “obtained part of this ministry” (Acts 1:17). It was that involvement that provoked the use of the word “Friend.”
In this expression, some have suggested that Jesus was holding out the scepter of mercy, although nothing in the text suggests this. That supposition involves some other assumptions that are exceedingly difficult to receive. Among them would be the willing reversal of prophetic statements, and Jesus forgetting the Satanic nature of Judas.
Luke provides an additional perspective of this occasion. “But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” or, “are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?” NKJV (Luke 22:48). Here is the ultimate insult, to oppose the Son of God as though Judas was close to Him and respected Him. There is no more serious sin than to claim identity with Jesus, yet to be “abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate,” thereby denying the Lord that one professes to know (Titus 1:16). Thus, in an act of deception, and with alarming aggressiveness, the Son of God is “betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mark 14:41). And yet, Jesus submits to it while He is strong, doing so because this had been appointed for Him.