Mark 14:48-53: a reflection

48Jesus answered them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? 49I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you didn’t arrest me. But this is so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.” 50They all left him, and fled. 51A certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth thrown around himself over his naked body. The young men grabbed him, 52but he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. 53They led Jesus away to the high priest. All the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes came together with him.

When Jesus is arrested, those who had followed him most closely all fall away in the crisis: they all left him, and fled. They all left him, and fled, the account says starkly. The disciples who had walked with Jesus, learned from him, pledged their loyalty to him, now, in the moment of crisis, when he is seized, all forsake him and flee, leaving him alone in the hands of those who came to arrest him. Even his closest followers deserted him when the danger came. And Christ, forsaken by all, went on alone to fulfill what he had come to do. This shows the reality of human weakness in a crisis, and Christ forsaken yet faithful. Even the closest followers can desert in a crisis; Christ was forsaken by all. Human loyalty can fail under pressure; Christ's did not. Christ was forsaken by his own, yet went on to fulfill his purpose. Take honest measure of your own weakness, and lean on Christ who was faithful.

Notice the stark reality here: they all left him, and fled. These were Jesus' own disciples, who had followed him closely, learned from him, seen his works, pledged their loyalty. Peter had sworn he would never fall away. But when the crisis came, when Jesus was seized and the danger was real, they all forsook him and fled, leaving him alone. Their loyalty, real as it was, failed under the pressure of the crisis. This is a sobering picture of human weakness. We can, like the disciples, mean our loyalty to Christ sincerely, and yet find that under real pressure, in the crisis, our resolve fails and we fall away, forsaking him in the moment of testing. It is humbling and honest to recognize this weakness in ourselves, not to presume, like Peter, that we would never fall away. But there is more here than a warning about our weakness. Christ, forsaken by all his followers, alone in the hands of his enemies, did not fall away; he went on, alone, faithful, to fulfill what he had come to do, to give his life for those who had just deserted him. Even when all forsook him, he remained faithful, and his faithfulness, not the disciples' loyalty, is our hope. We do well to take honest measure of our own weakness, and to lean not on our own loyalty but on Christ, who was faithful even when forsaken by all. Take honest measure of your weakness; do not presume you would never fall away. Human loyalty can fail under pressure; lean on Christ's faithfulness. Christ was forsaken by all, yet remained faithful. Rest your hope on Christ's faithfulness, not on your own loyalty.

That is worth taking to heart, for even Christ's closest followers deserted him in the crisis, a sobering measure of human weakness, while Christ, forsaken by all, remained faithful, and our hope rests on his faithfulness. We can mean our loyalty to Christ sincerely and yet find it fails under real pressure, as the disciples all left him and fled; but Christ, forsaken by all, went on faithful to fulfill his purpose. His faithfulness is our hope. Take honest measure of your own weakness, not presuming you would never fall away; lean not on your own loyalty but on Christ, who was faithful even when forsaken by all. Take honest measure of your own weakness and lean not on your own loyalty but on Christ's faithfulness, as when Jesus was arrested those who had followed him most closely all fell away in the crisis and fled, the account saying starkly that they all left him and fled; for the disciples who had walked with Jesus, learned from him, and pledged their loyalty now, in the moment of crisis when he was seized, all forsook him and fled, leaving him alone in the hands of those who came to arrest him, so that even his closest followers deserted him when the danger came, which is a sobering picture of human weakness, since we can like the disciples mean our loyalty to Christ sincerely and yet find that under real pressure our resolve fails and we fall away, so that it is humbling and honest to recognize this weakness in ourselves rather than presume, like Peter, that we would never fall away, but there is more here than a warning, since Christ, forsaken by all his followers and alone in the hands of his enemies, did not fall away but went on faithful to fulfill what he had come to do and to give his life for those who had just deserted him, so that even when all forsook him he remained faithful, and his faithfulness, not the disciples' loyalty, is our hope, and we do well to take honest measure of our own weakness and lean not on our own loyalty but on Christ who was faithful even when forsaken by all.

Lord Jesus, when you are arrested, those who had followed you most closely all fall away in the crisis: they all left him, and fled. They all left him, and fled, the account says starkly. The disciples who had walked with you, learned from you, pledged their loyalty to you, now, in the moment of crisis, when you are seized, all forsake you and flee, leaving you alone in the hands of those who came to arrest you. Even your closest followers deserted you when the danger came. And you, forsaken by all, went on alone to fulfill what you had come to do. Show me the stark reality here: they all left him, and fled. These were your own disciples, who had followed you closely, seen your works, pledged their loyalty. Peter had sworn he would never fall away. But when the crisis came, they all forsook you and fled, leaving you alone. Their loyalty, real as it was, failed under the pressure of the crisis. This is a sobering picture of human weakness. I can, like the disciples, mean my loyalty to you sincerely, and yet find that under real pressure, in the crisis, my resolve fails and I fall away. It is humbling and honest to recognize this weakness in myself, not to presume, like Peter, that I would never fall away. But there is more here than a warning. You, forsaken by all your followers, alone in the hands of your enemies, did not fall away; you went on, alone, faithful, to fulfill what you had come to do, to give your life for those who had just deserted you. Even when all forsook you, you remained faithful, and your faithfulness, not the disciples' loyalty, is my hope. Take that to my heart. Help me take honest measure of my own weakness, Lord, not presuming I would never fall away; and help me lean not on my own loyalty but on you, who were faithful even when forsaken by all, resting my hope on your faithfulness.