Dear Friends

Having taught in primary schools, and dealt with playground ‘incidents’, for over thirty years, I am all too familiar with the way people can see the same event, yet recall it differently. This is less to do with ‘lying’ and more to do with the way observation and the mind works. Each ‘witness’ sees events from a slightly different perspective, and the mind has a tendency to fill in unseen details based on previous experiences. So it is unsurprising that each Gospel each has its own take on the arrest of Jesus. What is surprising, is how much they agree with each other.

Looking at the Gospel accounts of the night Jesus was arrested, they all report a large, armed, crowd came to arrest Him, and one of Jesus’ followers cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave. Three report Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, Jesus asked them why they had come for Him at night when he had been in the Temple every day, and the events were foretold. While two report the disciples fled. This is a remarkable level of eye witness agreement from such a dark and chaotic night.

What is also particularly striking are additional details provided in individual Gospels:

Mark records that,

‘A certain young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.’ (Mark 14:51,52)

This deeply personal detail, has lead many to conclude that the young man was Mark himself!

His age fits and, years later, when he recorded the events, running naked and frightened, into the night would certainly have been a strong memory.

John gives us another detail, when Jesus asked the crowd who they were looking for, they answered ‘Jesus of Nazareth’.

‘When Jesus said to them, “I am He”, they stepped back and fell to the ground.’ (John 18:6)

Notice Jesus said ‘I am’, the name God told Moses to report to the Israelites:

‘God said to Moses, ‘”I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”’ (Exodus 3:14)

Notice, also, the power of that Name caused the people to fall, yet Jesus meekly submitted Himself to arrest to protect His disciples, such was His determination to complete His mission as prophesied.

This Easter, as we again face the reality that it took the death of Jesus to atone for the sins of humankind, we can take enormous comfort knowing that

‘God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)

Many blessings,

Carl