Judas Comes with a Multitude - Mark 14:43

Mark wrote how Jesus said to His disciples, Peter James and John, “Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand”, and in chapter fourteen and verse forty-three of his book, Mark shared how “immediately, while he yet spake, came Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude”, where we read:

And immediately, while he yet spake, came Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

The verse reads, “And immediately, while he yet spake, came Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, ...”. Mark began with the word, “and immediately” which means “and straightway and forthwith”, “while he yet spake” or “during the time and moment when Jesus was uttering, declaring and proclaiming His words”, “came Judas” which means “arose and approached His disciple Judas Iscariot whose name means he shall be praise”, “one of the twelve” or “who was a certain and particular one of Jesus' twelve disciples”, “and with him a great multitude” which means “and alongside of Judas was a large crowd of people” “with swords” or “who were bearing large knives or small curved swords used for a cutting or strait sword used for thrusting” “and staves” which refers to “and timbers, sticks or logs made from wood which were used to shackle like a fetter or cudgel”. Mark shared how right after Jesus spoke the words about His “betrayer” being near, Judas came with a large crowd of people who were armed with weapons.

The verse continues, “... from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.” Mark added the words, “from the chief priests” which means “people who belonged to the high priest group” “and the scribes” or “and the men who men who were learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings and served as interpreters and teachers” “and the elders” which means “men of older age who were advanced in life and senior in terms of rank or office”. Mark shared how the crowd of people were directed by the religious leaders known as “high priests, scribes and elders”.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus knew how imminent His “betrayal” was, and as He was speaking, the ones who would “betray” and arrest Him appeared. This crowd of people was armed for battle, and as though they were going to have to fight to capture Jesus, the men came “equipped” with “swords and staves”. God allowed all this planning and preparation for His Son Jesus to give His life so people could be “saved” from their “sins” and have a relationship with Him. As we imagine ourselves in Jesus' position, we can easily understand why we should yield our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Mark shares how “he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".