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Sermon Notes

Mark–the Right Now Gospel
Chapter 14
Part 23
“Jesus Betrayed and Arrested 2”

We closed last time with the arrest of Jesus following the dreadful kiss from Judas that signaled the soldiers to seize Jesus.
Mark records in verse 50: “Then they all forsook Him and fled.”
Then Mark adds something to the narrative none of the others did:
Mark 14:51,52 “Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.”
Some Bible scholars believe this was Mark, the writer of the gospel we’re now studying. He was, they believe, offering an embarrassing bit of autobiography! Still others believe it may have been someone like the owner of the garden that was awakened by the tumult and ventured out to see what was happening. There is really no way of knowing for certain. What it DOES reveal is the fear and panic surrounding our Lord’s arrest. It looked as if the world was coming apart!
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
53 “And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.”
The high priest was Caiaphas, along with all of the religious leaders, the chief persons of the Sanhedrin with their officers, including some of the esteemed teachers of Scripture in the synagogues; all gathered together to put an end to Jesus.
Jesus had so angered them, so effectively called out their hypocrisy, and humiliated them so badly in Scriptural debates that they had decided as one man to orchestrate his arrest by way of lies, and see to it he was put to death.
54 “But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.”
This verse speaks powerfully to us today. First, things never go well when you follow Jesus at a distance. Peter thought he was keeping himself far enough away to not be associated with the Lord. In doing so, he isolated himself in the hour of trial.
Second, he warmed himself at the world’s fire. And not just any fire. Matthew’s account of the event tells us:
“But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.”–26:58
So the fire Peter warmed himself at was actually located within the high priest’s domain, within his private courtyard. This court was the place where the guards and servants of the high priest were assembled to try Jesus.
The Pulpit Commentary writes, “We now see Peter among the servants, crouching over the fire. The weather was cold, for it was early springtime; and it was now after midnight. Peter was warming himself in the light of the fire (πρὸς τὸ φῶς)–toward or facing the fire, so that his features were clearly seen in the glow of the brightly burning charcoal.”
By positioning himself there, Peter had subjected himself to great temptation, for those around him soon saw his face and began the interrogation that led him to renounce the Lord three times.
55 “Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. 56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.”
Truth was not a concern here. The religious leaders actively searched for liars and trouble makers to bring damning testimony against the Lord. But they found none because there was none. But no matter. They were more than happy to concoct lies to get the job done.
57 “Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.”
This first accusation was a twisting of what Jesus had said regarding his own body, compared to a temple, being resurrected on the third day, and had nothing to do with the actual man-made Temple. And yet even here the accuser’s stories did not agree!
60 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, ‘Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?’ 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing.”
He kept silent because he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Also because he was well aware that all of this these events were being guided by the sovereign hand of his heavenly Father.
“Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?'”
62 “Jesus said, ‘I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”
This time Jesus answered him because both Matthew and Luke’s accounts inform us that the High Priest had said, “I put you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”–Matt. 26:63
So out of reverence for the divine name which had been invoked by the high priest, and also out of respect for the office of the high priest, Jesus answered. And his answer sent the high priest into a rage:
63 “Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?’ And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.”
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Here is where the hard part comes in as the cruel Roman soldiers began to abuse him:
65 “Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.”
None of this was a surprise to Jesus. He had already told his disciples,
“…33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
Now, as always, his predictions have come to pass just as he said.
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Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps
66 “Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.
In saying this, Peter was claiming, “I do not know the man,” meaning not only that he had no personal knowledge of him, or acquaintance with him; but that he had never seen the man in his life. So this was a full on lie.
We notice that it says at that point, Peter moves away from the fire and steps out on the porch, to get away from scrutinizing eyes.
And it is then that the rooster crowed the first time.
Remember Jesus’s prediction to Peter, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”–14:30
Peter, true to nature, “spoke more vehemently, ‘If I have to die with you, I will not deny you! And they all said likewise.”–vs 31
But he did deny him, and after this first denial, the first crowing of the rooster was heard.
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His denials proceed from here to go from bad to worse:
69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.” 70 But he denied it again.”
Matthew and Luke reveal this second denial was stronger than the first:
Matthew writes, “And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man” (Mt 26:72).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had instructed his followers to never use an oath:
“But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.”–Matt: 5:34-35
So Peter transgresses here the teaching of Jesus that he had personally heard.
The SECOND denial done, he has one to go per Jesus’s prediction:
70b “And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”
71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
When it says that Peter cursed and swore, it doesn’t mean he used profanity. The word ‘curse’ is from the Greek word ἀναθεματίζω from which we get anathema. It means ‘to bind under a curse, to bind with a vow under penalty of curse and damnation.’
As Paul the Apostle said of false teachers, “As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preaches to you any gospel other than that which you received, let him be anathema” (under God’s curse).–Galatians 1:9
This is what Peter was saying! Matthew’s account says “Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
In other words, Peter was saying “I swear to you that if what I’m saying isn’t true, may curses and damnation fall upon me!”
The Bible says that immediately following his third denial:
72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And when he thought about it, he wept.”
Now, Luke adds a heart wrenching fact, “And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.”–Luke 22:61
The Lord had access to look at Peter from the chamber in which the trial was going on, in the direction of the court where Peter then stood. Jesus could see his fallen man in all his shame. And that glance of knowing sorrow went straight to Peter’s heart.
Mark simply says, Peter wept. But Luke records, “Peter went out and wept bitterly.”–22:62
The adverb ‘bitterly’ suggests he cried loud and long. One paraphrase says, “He went out and cried and cried and cried.”
Peter’s boisterous self-confidence, his compulsive bragging and self-assuredness, all melted away. He had failed the Lord spectacularly, all within earshot of His Savior. Peter would never be the same. From here on out he is marked with humility and reliance upon the Holy Spirit, which was exactly where the Lord wanted him!
And so with our own failures we should likewise learn from this account that the Lord is forgiving, ever merciful, and that our confidence should rest in Him, not in our own frail frames!