Mark 14:43 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders. 44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away securely.” 45Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46 Then the men seized Jesus and arrested Him. 47 And one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Jesus asked the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted Him and fled. BSB
There is a modern idea that Judas was somehow frustrated rather than being unfaithful because he merely wanted Jesus to jump into the fray and start acting like the Messiah they had been expecting. Under this scenario, Judas turns Jesus over to the Jewish authorities in order to force Him into action. In contrast is the longstanding view of a betrayal that is made even worse by the affectionate gesture. There is also a church tradition that Thomas, also known as Didymus (the Twin), might have looked like Jesus so that Judas uses the kiss to differentiate between the two. We see in John 18 that is was Peter who cut off the ear of the servant Malchus. Luke 22 adds that Jesus immediately healed this damaged ear.
The chief priests, scribes and elders did not want to arrest Jesus in the daylight because they were afraid of what the people would do. Instead, they waited until they could catch Him in the dark and away from His great crowds. In verse 50, we see that the sheep are scattered, just as Jesus had prophesied earlier.
Luke 22:35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without purse, and wallet, and shoes, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. 37 For that which concerns me has an end.” 38 They said, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.” He said to them, “That is enough.” WEB
These verses in Luke precede his account of Gethsemane. Here the disciples are armed and told to be armed as things are about to change. This is a bit confusing as we think of the early church as being non-violent. Nevertheless, the church has traditionally held the view that there is a legitimate use of force to punish evil and to preserve good based upon several Bible verses, of which this is one. Another possibility is that the possession of these two swords by the disciples is necessary to fulfill the prophecy “He was counted with transgressors”.
Mark 14:51 One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him, 52 but he pulled free of the linen cloth and ran away naked. BSB
A rather strange detail not discussed in the other Gospels. The tradition is that the Upper Room was in the house of John Mark’s mother. Mark is a young man who sneaks out in bed clothes to see what is going on and he nearly gets seized. The story is included here to put Mark’s thumbprint on this Gospel account.
Mark 14:53 They led Jesus away to the high priest. All the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes came together. NHEB
There are two trials – one before the Jewish authorities and a Roman trial. In the Jewish proceedings, Jesus goes before Annas first, then to his son-in-law Caiaphas who was the high priest (see John 18). Originally, the high priests were descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron but that family line ends right before the first century. Annas was appointed high priest in 6 A.D. by Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria. He gets into trouble a few years later for sentencing someone to death (which only the Romans can do) so he was removed from office in 15 A.D. Five of his sons along with his son-in-law, became high priests with Annas remaining the power behind the throne.
When it comes to blame for killing Jesus, there has been a long history of blaming the Jews. Truth be told, the New Testament does not paint a particularly good picture of the Jewish leadership and their desire to kill Christ. There are many who believe that Germans didn’t resist the Holocaust because of the teachings (or their misunderstanding of the teachings) of Martin Luther from a book he wrote about four years before he died. That said, while they may have wanted to kill Jesus, the question is whether they actually had that power (or did Jesus simply allow them to do so)?
John 10: 17 Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.” WEB
Matthew 26: 52 “Put back your sword again,” said Jesus, “for all who draw the sword shall perish by the sword. 53 Or do you suppose I cannot entreat my Father and He would instantly send to my help more than twelve legions of angels? 54 In that case how are the Scriptures to be fulfilled which declare that thus it must be?” WEY