Epaggelia

v43, the prophecy fulfilled in Judas and the Temple guards was made by David in Psalm 41:9 & 55:12-15. The gospel narratives never before recorded weapons being used against Jesus, yet when they are prepared, it’s too late! Christ has already surrendered. The kiss of Judas, a simple greeting wasn’t used to get close enough so as to identify in the darkness and grasp him for a beating and stabbing, no, it was simply fulfillment of prophecy, proving God’s sovereignty. Some of the Temple guards may have known what Jesus actually looked like but even with their lanterns, they weren’t taking any chances in identifying quickly the right man, they weren’t taking any chances, it was meant to be a swift under the cover of night arrest, previous attempts in broad daylight were useless. Lk. 4:16-30 by people who knew him in Nazareth, Mk. 2:23-3:6, Jn. 5:1-18 & 8:48-59, 10:31-39, 11:45-57,three times by pharisees, Lk. 19:45-48 by the Temple leaders after Christ’s cleansing of the Temple, Lk. 20:9-19 by Jewish experts in the law. Now the enemies and betrayer are playing into the hands of Satan himself, v49. 

All the disciples left Christ and fled, v50. There are times when every faithful Christian feels like giving up, but this verse proves that even our failures as a child of God, are known by God, before they are committed. Yet He still loves us. We have given God a million reasons to give up on us, but none of them are good enough to stop him from loving us. The only people God does give up on, are people in the world who have never trusted & obeyed in the first place and repeatedly reject his love to the point of turning the Creator into the created in their own minds, see Romans 1:19-28. 

v51-54, these verses show a connection between Peter and an unknown young man, which may indeed be the author Mark, noting that just because Peter tries to follow, he was really just like the chickens that fled naked, he would eventually betray Christ too with his lying denial. We are all the same, weak humans in need of the Savior’s love and God’s powerful righteous Spirit to do what is really right. Christ knew that after his resurrection, His Spirit’s presence would help them do “greater works”, Jn.14:12.

v55-62, the silence of Christ here while being falsely accused under arrest is known by Peter, as he from a distance is fully aware of how hard every leader in Jerusalem is trying to prove Christ a fraud. This vain attempt of legal wrangling is seen as futile by Peter in reflection as he writes 1st Peter 3:16-18. Christ’s silence was held long enough, so as to let their lies lead his enemies into using their hatred to face the truth they rejected. Was Jesus really the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus couldn’t resist quoting Daniel 7:13.

v63-65, the violence that breaks out against Jesus by respected Jewish leaders is both appalling and demonic, in that they give the guards opportunity to use the clubs in beating Christ, yet he lives to willingly take further punishment for our sins all the way to the cross. They could have killed him right there, but God is sovereign, it had to be on a tree, Dt.21:22-23 & Galatians 3:13. Jesus never shrank from taking on the physical punishment for our sins, what he wavered at in prayer at Gethsemane is the horror of becoming a curse in his Father’s eyes. The emotional and spiritual pain of being under the curse of sin, crushed Jesus in prayer to the point of shrinking away from the Father’s will, but it was not to be. The enemy’s spitting disgust would lead to getting the Romans in on his death by torturous crucifixion. See Isaiah 50:6 & 52:14