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47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled. 51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. ~ Mark 14:47-52
Today, we return to Mark 14 where the Lord Jesus is with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place they were known to go often to pray. In the darkness of that night, in a place with a name which means "oil press," the Lord Jesus was being squeezed like an olive in a press. And then, a large crowd came to apprehend Him as if He were guilty of some crime.
In v.47 of today's passage we read, "Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear."
In John's Gospel, we learn that Peter cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Peter did this because he was trying to prove something to the Lord Jesus. It was he who said, "Even if all of these flakes forsake you, not me. You can count on me. I'll never do that."
In Luke's gospel, we are told the Lord Jesus healed this servant of the High Priest. His name was Malchus which means "king." After his ear was chopped off, Malchus wasn’t looking to be healed. Even if he thought his ear could be surgically re-attached, he most definitely would not have turned to the Lord Jesus for help. Yet, out of love, the Lord Jesus reached out to him and did the impossible in an instant, bringing healing and restoration. This was the last healing the Lord Jesus would perform before going to His cross. After this miraculous moment Malchus is never again mentioned in Scripture.
In v.48-49 of today's passage we read, 48 "Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."
The Lord Jesus came not to lead a rebellion, He came to provide forgiveness of sin. His mission was not to condemn but to save by being the truth and speaking the truth and doing the truth. And those who are not of the truth refuse to welcome Him as Savior. His ministry inevitably reveals blindness and unbelief that condemns.
At the end of v.49 we read, "But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."
This is why the Lord Jesus was betrayed with a kiss of a friend. This is why the religious leaders had the Lord Jesus arrested after the kiss of the betrayer, so that the Scriptures which prophesied of it would happen. This, of course, does not mean that God made Judas betray the Lord Jesus. No, this means God knew that Judas would choose to betray the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
In v.50-52 of today's text we read, "50 Then everyone deserted him and fled. 51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind."
The young man spoken of here was none other than John Mark who is the writer of this Gospel. He is the same John Mark who abandoned Paul and Barnabas while they were on their first missionary journey. Perhaps the reason he included himself in this account was to say that even he knew the abandoning nature that was in those first disciples.
Everyone abandoned the Lord because He is the only One who could withstand the onslaught of evil in all of its forms. No mere human could withstand such pressure. It was necessary that He was abandoned for He alone solved our sin and our death problem. The ear of God was closed to the Lord Jesus for a short time so that it might be open to us forever.
The Lord Jesus took on all the sins of the world so He could be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Although we know He was the innocent Lamb of God, the ugly sins of the world, past, present and future were all placed upon Him at the same time.
We also know that God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, have always been one and in constant fellowship with one another. But, when the Lord Jesus took on even one sin much less all sin, God the Father could no longer be in fellowship with Him while He bore that sin. God is pure and holy, and therefore, He could not allow Himself to be violated by remaining in contact with His beloved Son while He hung on that tree. He had to forsake Him, until the Lord Jesus died and paid the total bill created by our sin.
