“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?” Mark 14:48 KJV
Reflection: who is Jesus to you?
Judas walked up to Jesus in the garden, calling Him “Rabbi”, which typically means “Teacher”. And, although Judas betrayed Jesus, he could have still thought of Jesus as a Teacher. But in the KJV, we see something else. Let’s read a couple of verses for context. “And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh 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. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.” Mark 14:43-45 KJV. Did you notice that? Judas called Jesus
Master, master.
It is, in fact, a proper translation of the word Rabbi with Master, so that translation makes sense. And, that is perhaps so much more fitting, to explain the difference between the “heart” of Judas, and the “words” he used to describe Jesus. And that really highlights his hypocrisy. In the focus verse today, we see Jesus once more calling out the wicked hearts of all the religious leaders; the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, saying “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?” Mark 14:48 KJV. They came at Him,
As against a thief,
because, in reality, that is exactly how they looked at Jesus. A thief. He was threatening to take away from them what they had assumed was theirs. Remember, they had put themselves as a “gate to God”, as Jesus said earlier about them ““But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” Matthew 23:13 ESV. They made up all sorts of rules and rites, adding their burdens to the people. And, the rules applied to the people; not to them. In a way, they had put themselves in the seat, the position of God (sounds vaguely familiar even today, right?). But this wasn’t theirs. Jesus had changed all of that, reset the meaning of the scripture, that only by faith in Him we can enter the kingdom.
John the Baptist said as Jesus started His ministry “He must increase, but I must decrease.”” John 3:30 ESV, which is the Christian walk also reflected by Paul “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 ESV. And, this is by no means easy. It is a lifelong commitment to following Christ. To become more and more like Him; not by our own works — quite the opposite. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 ESV. Sadly, we so often see even Christian leaders who put themselves in the spotlight, where Christ should be. So,
who is really Jesus to you?
This is a difficult, but very important reflection. Please don’t rush through it. You might be tempted to use one of our normal Christian replies like “He is my Savior”, I would like to encourage you to try something different. Try to describe Him based on how you treat Him each day. Our actions tell us often what is truly in our hearts, more so than our words. Do your actions say that He your Teacher or Rabbi, meaning that you listen to Him even more than Facebook, Instagram or the News? Is He truly your Lord, meaning that you follow His ways even in your daily life decisions? Is He your God, that you love more than anything else?
