Once Judas agreed to betray Jesus, the conclusion to this story was fixed. And it was one that Jesus recognized when he decided to set his face to Jerusalem. But before he endured the first part of his ultimate destiny, he shared a final meal with his disciples. This was how it was described by the Evangelist Mark:
After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”
Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”
He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl. In one sense, it turns out that the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said,
Take, this is my body.
Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said,
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant,
Poured out for many people.
“I’ll not be drinking wine again until the new day when I drink it in the kingdom of God.”
They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives. [Mark 14:17-26, MSG]
Now this story from Mark was the most simple and straight-forward of the accounts. In his gospel, the Evangelist also described how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Yet for as clear as Mark was, the account was still filled with religious and symbolic value. For example, the sharing of the bread and the cup gave a foundation for one of the key rituals that the church has practiced for almost two thousand years. And the body given and the blood shed pointed toward what would soon happen.
And since it was a meal with all the disciples, Judas was there. As Matthew wrote, “After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, ‘I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.’ They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, ‘It isn’t me, is it, Master?’ Jesus answered, ‘The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!’ Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, ‘It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?’ Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.” [Matthew 26:20-25, MSG] You see, there only two men at the dinner who knew what was going to happen. And this interplay was captured in the song, “The Last Supper,” when Jesus and Judas argue and the rest of the disciples remain confused.
After the meal, Jesus took most of his followers to the Garden of Gethsemane in order that he might pray. And as the disciples continued to drift along in sleepy ignorance, their leader expressed his most heartfelt feelings to God. Again, according to Mark, “They came to an area called Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James, and John with him. He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony. He told them, ‘I feel bad enough right now to die. Stay here and keep vigil with me.’ Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: ‘Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?’ He came back and found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, ‘Simon, you went to sleep on me? Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.’ He then went back and prayed the same prayer. Returning, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open, and they didn’t have a plausible excuse. He came back a third time and said, ‘Are you going to sleep all night? No—you’ve slept long enough. Time’s up. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up. Let’s get going. My betrayer has arrived.’” [Mark 14:32-42, MSG]
Now I think the anguish that Jesus felt is important. You see, like us, I believe Jesus felt real fear, doubting whether his mission had accomplished anything and he was afraid of what awaited him. He knew what he was facing. But because he was 100% human, he didn’t face it like a god-man. Instead, he felt what we would have felt. And that’s something we need to remember, because when we share with God what we feel, he truly understands, because he felt it too. And this struggle was the basis for the song, “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say).”
I think it’s also important to remember that the struggle ended with faith. In other words, Jesus decided to face his destiny in spite of his fear and questions. And Judas kept his bargain with the religious leaders. Again, according to Mark, “No sooner were the words out of his mouth when Judas, the one out of the Twelve, showed up, and with him a gang of ruffians, sent by the high priests, religion scholars, and leaders, brandishing swords and clubs. The betrayer had worked out a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss, that’s the one—seize him. Make sure he doesn’t get away.’ He went straight to Jesus and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. The others then grabbed him and roughed him up. One of the men standing there unsheathed his sword, swung, and came down on the Chief Priest’s servant, lopping off the man’s ear. Jesus said to them, ‘What is this, coming after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I’ve been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. What you in fact have done is confirm the prophetic writings.’ All the disciples cut and ran. A young man was following along. All he had on was a bedsheet. Some of the men grabbed him but he got away, running off naked, leaving them holding the sheet.” [Mark 14:43-52, MSG]
Of course, this was a horrible showing by those closeness to Jesus. I mean, Judas betrayed him, and the others ran away. And this isolation was conveyed in the song, “The Arrest.”
Now, what I wrote wasn’t quite right. The rest didn’t run away, because Peter sort of hung around, following behind Jesus as he was led away. At the meal, Jesus had already made a powerful prediction about Peter. Luke wrote the following:
“Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.”
Peter said, “Master, I’m ready for anything with you. I’d go to jail for you. I’d die for you!”
Jesus said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me.”
Then Jesus said, “When I sent you out and told you to travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?”
“Certainly,” they said, “we got along just fine.”
He said, “This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you’ll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, ‘He was lumped in with the criminals,’ gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.” [Luke 22:31-37, MSG]
And so, with this hanging over his head, after the arrest, Peter followed at a distance. “Arresting Jesus, they marched him off and took him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter followed, but at a safe distance. In the middle of the courtyard some people had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. One of the serving maids sitting at the fire noticed him, then took a second look and said, ‘This man was with him!’ He denied it, ‘Woman, I don’t even know him.’ A short time later, someone else noticed him and said, ‘You’re one of them.’ But Peter denied it: ‘Man, I am not.’ About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: ‘He’s got to have been with him! He’s got “Galilean” written all over him.’ Peter said, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ He went out and cried and cried and cried.” [Luke 22:54-62, MSG] Now this part of the story was put to music in the song, “Peter's Denial.”
And so here was the final score. At the end, Jesus has twelve followers left. One betrayed him. One denied him. And the rest ran away. And to make matters worse, the very people who wanted him dead now had him in their custody. Jesus was alone. Or was he? Remember, the crowd had always been in the background, and at times seemed to be on Jesus’s side. I mean, it had been amazed by his miracles. It had enjoyed his stories. And it absolutely loved the free food he made from two fish and five loaves. In fact, the crowd had kept the religious authorities from acting earlier in the story. Of course, the crowd won’t determine his destiny. Jesus’s future was shaped by forces beyond anyone’s control.
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