Mark 14:43-52

There's no doubt about it. Even in the midst of evil actions, we humans like to pretend we're in the right.

 

This passage highlights our self-deception twice, first through Judas and then through the crowd that came to arrest Jesus.

 

Judas was performing one of the most wicked deeds ever performed in the history of the human race; he was betraying the Son of God into the hands of His enemies. But even with a crowd at his back, Judas did not have the courage to look Jesus in the face and say, "I brought them here to arrest you." Instead, he greeted Jesus and kissed Him, just as though their relationship was perfectly solid. Did he think that Jesus was blind? That He didn't see a huge crowd with swords and clubs? Did he think that Jesus was dumb? That He couldn't figure out that Judas had led them here, or that He wouldn't realize that the men who stepped forward to arrest Him did so because Judas identified Jesus as the one they were after? No. Rationally, Judas knew that everything was plain and clear. He was betraying Jesus. Judas was identifying Jesus, handing Him over to His enemies. But Judas was trying to make himself feel better about the whole thing by putting on a facade of friendliness. He was pretending, to salve his own conscience, that he was living life rightly.

 

What about the crowd? They came to Jesus in the middle of the night with swords and clubs to arrest him. Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy right away. Couldn't they have arrested him during the day? After all, wasn't he a public figure? He wasn't trying to hide from them, like a robber might. He had been spending his time in the temple courts, easily found in broad daylight in the city of Jerusalem. So why would they go to all this trouble to wait until the middle of the night, when they would usually have been sleeping? Why would they come with swords and clubs to arrest a man who wasn't violent? The truth of the matter was that coming in the middle of the night made them feel like they were after a dangerous criminal. Arresting him while carrying swords and clubs helped them sense that Jesus was someone to fear, and that they were right in their actions. If they had arrested him in broad daylight, it would have been all too plain to everyone that their actions were immoral.

 

How easily we men deceive ourselves and justify our actions! How foolish we are, and how scared to admit our sinfulness!

 

Father, send the light! Help us to see the truth. Make us incapable of hiding our evil intentions and actions any longer. Make us fall on our faces, dismayed at the thought that Your wrath is deserved – every bit of it! And when we think that all hope is lost, show us Your love. Show us how while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Make us a humble and grateful people, amazed at Your patience with us. And teach us to walk always in the light.