And by the Spirit of the Lord strengthen me" (Psalm 50:13-14).

The passage ends with the approach of the traitor Judas. Continuation of the story further.

c) The kiss of Judas and the arrest.

14.43-52 — "And straightway, as He was still speaking, there came Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude of people with swords and stakes, from the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. And he who betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying, "Whom I kiss is the One, take Him and lead Him carefully." And when he came, straightway he came to him, and said, Rabbi! Rabbi! and kissed Him. And they laid their hands on Him and took Him. And one of those standing there drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, "As if you had come out against a thief with swords and stakes to take me." Every day I was with you in the temple and taught, and you did not take Me. But may the Scriptures be fulfilled. Then, leaving Him, everyone fled. A certain young man, wrapped in a veil over his naked body, followed Him; and the soldiers seized him. But he, leaving the veil, fled naked from them."

Judas' deal with the enemies of Jesus took place. The three parties of the Sanhedrin (chief priests, scribes, and elders), who constituted the highest political and religious authority of Israel, sent a large detachment to seize Jesus with the help of Judas Iscariot. Judging by the number of people in the company and their equipment (swords and stakes), strong resistance was expected from Jesus' disciples. But there was no strong resistance. Mark reports only one incident, that of one of the disciples who "drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear." The Evangelist John (18.10) writes that it was Peter, which corresponds to his fiery temperament.

There are some accents in Mark's story that distinguish him from the other evangelists. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reacts to Judas' kiss as follows: "And Jesus said to him, 'Friend, why have you come?' (Matthew 26:50). And in the Gospel of Luke as follows: "And Jesus said to him, 'Judas! Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48). There is nothing of the kind in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus has no reaction to the kiss. A student's usual meeting with his Teacher is shown: Judas, "having come, immediately came up to Him, and said, 'Rabbi! Rabbi! and kissed Him." And in the original, he did not just "kiss", but kissed firmly, as if from the bottom of his heart. Yes, the treacherous sign was not just a formal kiss of respectful greeting - it was a strong kiss of a loving person. And this is a very dark moment in the Gospel. Jesus does not push Judas away, nor does he turn away from him, nor does he utter a word of reproach. One can only speculate about the meaning of this subtle feature in the Gospel of Mark.

In contrast to Luke and John, Mark reduces Jesus' imprisonment not to the work of Satan, but to the will of God. In the Evangelist Luke, Jesus Christ says: "Now is your time and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). Mark is quite different: "Let the Scriptures be fulfilled," is Jesus' reaction to His arrest.

But none of His disciples understood this. Their nerves gave out. They were unprepared for this turn of events and feared that they too would have to share Jesus' fate. Therefore, everyone fled, and Jesus was abandoned by everyone at the very end of His earthly journey; "Then, leaving Him, they all fled." True, we are told about a certain young man, whom it is impossible to identify with anyone from the text itself: "A certain young man, wrapped on his naked body in a veil, followed Him; and the soldiers seized him. But he, leaving the veil, fled naked from them." At first glance, this episode seems completely out of place here. After all, he does not add anything to what has been said. But there must have been some reason why Mark gave this strange story here. Neither Matthew nor Luke mention this episode. Therefore, the tradition formed the opinion that the young man was Mark himself, who announced himself, modestly keeping silent about his name. You never can tell. Perhaps it was just a curious person, accidentally involved in what was happening. Or maybe this young man symbolizes a disciple who would like to follow Jesus – but... And he did not succeed in doing so. We don't know.

4. Trial and sentence.

Christians in the early centuries were concerned with slightly different problems than we do today when we think about the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We are interested in all the legal circumstances that led to Jesus' death. Countless studies, reflections, scientific and non-scientific discussions, numerous novels, as well as feature films and documentaries are devoted to this issue. We all want to know: Who, after all, is responsible for the death of our Savior? Who should we direct our anger at? The early Christians were interested in another question. They asked themselves: How to explain to people that it is the One Who experienced a shameful death who is the Son of God and the Savior of the world? Questions of a historical and legal nature did not really interest them. Let us recall at least the entire series of great epistles of the Apostle Paul. Is there a single word in them about the legal procedures for Jesus' trial and condemnation? Not a single word! But what they have are painful and fruitful reflections on the meaning of the Cross, on this Divine paradoxical miracle – salvation through death on the cross! "There's nothing to be done. Today, shredded thought strains the mosquitoes of historical details, rarely paying attention to the entire rocks and cliffs of the meaning of salvation in Christ.