Mark 14:43-72

14:43-45 | Judas came to the garden with a multitude sent from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders – the three groups that constituted the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish religious body. This mob was armed with clubs and swords, apparently fearing resistance. Judas probably chose a kiss to identify Jesus because otherwise it would be difficult to single out the correct individual in the darkness.

14:47-50 | Peter’s courage did not last long among this crowd. John 18:10 identifies him as the man who cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, but after this single errant blow, he fled along with the other disciples.

14:51-52 | Only Mark records this incident, and many commentators have suggested that the young man is Mark himself.

14:53-54 | Mark does not record the pre-trial of Jesus at the house of Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23) but moves directly to the trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Although Peter had fled the garden, he followed the arresting party at a distance, far enough away to remain unnoticed.

14:55-59 | The witnesses produced against Jesus could not agree in their charges against Him, and so Jesus did not respond to any of them – fulfilling the words of Isaiah (Isa. 53:7). Had this been a typical capital case, the inconsistency among these “witnesses” would have been grounds for invalidating their testimony (Deut. 17:6). Their statements about the temple pertained to Jesus’ action at the temple earlier in the week.

14:60-62 | Jews in that day considered the term the Son of the Blessed to be identical with “Messiah” (or “Christ” in Greek). When the high priest asked Jesus if He believed Himself to be the Messiah, Jesus finally broke His silence and identified Himself with the messianic figure described in Daniel 7:13 and Psalm 110:1. The time had come for an unequivocal self-declaration.

14:63-65 | The response of the high priest was almost gleeful, and the religious leaders erupted into calls for Jesus’ execution. He was also subjected to terrible physical abuse. In their terms, Jesus had committed blasphemy by claiming to be the one worthy to come before the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13).

14:63 | The high priest tore his clothes in a false display of offense at the blasphemy. In the greater picture, however, it perhaps symbolized that he had abdicated his role – a moment that anticipated the rending of the temple veil.

14:66-72 | Gauging that the trial had gone badly for Jesus – perhaps based on what he could hear from the courtyard below – Peter’s courage completely evaporated. Three times he denied that he even knew Jesus, emphasizing his final denial with a curse.