A Night That Will Live in Infamy: The Arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane (Mark 14:42-52)

 We remember Pearl Harbor. We remember 9/11.  

But there is one night in human history that deserves to be remembered with far greater sorrow and awe: the night Judas kissed the door of heaven shut, and armed men dragged the sinless Son of God into the darkness.

This was not just an ordinary arrest.  

This was the creature assaulting the Creator.  

This was the blackest, most infamous act the world has ever seen.

Four portraits of infamy stand out in Mark’s account:

1. The Kiss of the Ultimate Insider  

   Judas—one of the Twelve—leads the lynch mob. He had seen the dead raised, eaten the multiplied loaves, and called Jesus “Lord” to His face. Yet for thirty pieces of silver (the price of a crippled slave), he sells the Savior.  

   Church membership, baptism, preaching, miracles—none of it saves without a new heart. Religious privilege without regeneration = treachery.

2. The Violence of Religious Hypocrisy  

   They come with swords and clubs from the chief priests, as if Jesus were a terrorist instead of the Prince of Peace. The same men who will soon scream “Blasphemy!” are tonight committing the ultimate blasphemy—laying violent hands on God incarnate.  

   Nothing is more dangerous than religion without submission to Christ.

3. The Cowardice of the Faithful  

   “Then they all forsook Him and fled.”  

   Hours earlier they had sworn undying loyalty. Now they sprint into the night like scared rabbits. Peter swings a sword in false bravado, then runs like the rest.  

   We are no different. Every time we choose silence over witness, comfort over obedience, reputation over Christ—we reenact verse 50.

4. The Shame of the Naked Fugitive  

   A young man (probably Mark himself) flees so fast he leaves his linen garment behind and runs away naked. From Genesis 3 to Gethsemane, sin always ends in naked shame.  

   Yet the next time Mark mentions a linen cloth, it is lying folded in an empty tomb. The naked runner will one day be clothed in resurrection righteousness.

But the deepest wonder of this infamous night is Jesus Himself.  

He could have summoned twelve legions of angels.  

He could have vaporized the mob with a word.  

Instead He says, “Let the Scriptures be fulfilled,” and walks straight into the horror—for us.

The worst thing that ever happened (the murder of God) became the best thing that ever happened (the atonement for sinners). The night humanity did its worst was the night Jesus did His best.

So let the false disciple tremble.  

Let the religious hypocrite fall on his face.  

Let the coward who has run from Christ remember: He was forsaken so we would never be.

This infamous night is why Good Friday is truly good.  

Because the One who was betrayed, arrested, stripped, and forsaken now lives to clothe every returning fugitive in the spotless robe of His righteousness.

Never forget Gethsemane.  

Never trivialize the kiss, the swords, the flight, the naked shame.  

And never forget the love that refused to fight back, because it had come to die.

DMMC 

11-30-25