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Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris:
Hey everybody, thanks for joining us. We are The Bible Guys.

Jeff:
So for our listeners today, Chris and I are having a debate. So if you may notice for the ones that are watching, you can see that I have my water in a nice cup that says the Bible guys on it. Right. And I can take a drink like this. And it’s great and I can set it right back down there and it looks nice on the set. Chris comes in with water bottles and styrofoam cups and he wants to sit it on there. And I was just saying, this nice coffee cup that says the Bible Gospel on it looks more professional than like you just stumbled in off the street with a cup of coffee that you got at the mission.

Chris:
Yeah. And so, and then my, my angle is I said that I think that a placed mug with our logo looks very cheesy, like a talk show host, like the view or something like that, where it’s desperate to look professional and it looks cheesy. Whereas this is just real because some of us are naturally professional. This is the everyday guy. Yeah, this is the everyday girl, everyday guy. There’s no pretentious feeling here. We’re just, we’re drinking coffee out of a chinette to-go thing.

Jeff:
To-go thing. Where did you get that though? My wife. Your wife? You have those at home?

Chris:
Every single day I take this.

Jeff:
Well, almost every day. You have to-go cups at home? Yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah. So, you know, they make like Stanley to-go’s that you can wash and reuse. But I always leave them. Way to fill the landfills. This is fantastic. What kind of person, you know, I can, I can take this, I can take this and wash it out and use it again tomorrow. I can use this 10,000 times and you’re going to have a truckload of garbage at the end. Okay.

Chris:
Because we have to move on. I’m not going to entertain that at all. Okay. But we have a segment that says two foods are going to be listed and you have to decide which one stays and which one goes away forever.

Jeff:
Well, that’s why I was talking about it. Should we keep the coffee cup or should we let you bring in the throwaway? Is that right, Jeff? Let you bring in the throwaway. We’ll just let people vote. That’s their vote on this one. Okay. But we have to choose these. And it goes away forever. Right. They’re gone forever. We never get them again.

Chris:
Oh, that’s terrible.

Jeff:
Okay.

Chris:
Waffles or pancakes? Which one goes away forever? That’s tough. Waffles. I think, actually, I agree.

Jeff:
Really? I do. We agree a lot on these, by the way.

Chris:
Yeah, I actually agree because I think I’m choosing this for society, not for me. For society. And I think more people actually like pancakes.

Jeff:
You’re so good to us, Chris. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I do think of everybody else. I think you think for everybody else. Number two is bacon or sausage?

Chris:
Sausage has to go. Really? Well, I think more people like bacon.

Jeff:
It doesn’t matter what other people want. This is for us. You have to decide.

Chris:
Well, wait a minute. Think about the instructions here. I’m a pretty literal person. It says you have to decide which one stays and goes away forever. So I’m still me making the choice, but it’s telling me… You’re doing it on behalf of everybody else? It’s telling me it goes away forever for the world.

Jeff:
It doesn’t say for the world. It just says it goes away forever.

Chris:
How can pancakes go away forever just for me?

Jeff:
Maybe they’re invisible to you and you can’t smell or taste them anymore.

Chris:
Stop. Just stop. I don’t know. More people like bacon, so I say sausage goes.

Jeff:
What do you say? I would keep the sausage. Really? Yeah. Bacon can go. And I love bacon. Love it. But I love sausage too.

Chris:
Wow. That’s surprising.

Jeff:
And I like to make sausage.

Chris:
It’s good. Okay. Tater tots or french fries?

Jeff:
That’s a tough one. A good tater tot is better than a good fry.

Chris:
I agree. I agree. However, I think more people would be upset. More people like fries. Who cares about what more people want? So we’re obviously viewing through two different things. I think of others. You think of you. That’s the lesson here.

Jeff:
Yes. Yes. That’s it.

Chris:
So I, okay. If you want me to say for me, I would do actually opposite. I would actually keep, I would keep waffles for me, get rid of pancakes. Okay. I would keep bacon over sausage. Okay. And I would keep tater tots over fries for me. Okay. I’ve just chosen.

Jeff:
I would keep pancakes, sausage, and tater tots also. So I would keep tater tots. Okay. Pie or cake, Chris?

Chris:
Oh, I already know. If I’m going to do it for me, I’m going to say cake goes away, pie stays.

Jeff:
Yeah. I think the point of these segments is not what do you think? You’re not, you’re not trying to get the right answer. You’re trying to give your answer. That’s, that’s the point behind these. But what I’m saying, so you’re saying pie over cake?

Chris:
It’s saying my answer for the world.

Jeff:
No, it didn’t say anything about the world. It says forever.

Chris:
It says it goes away forever.

Jeff:
It doesn’t matter. It’s your, it’s people want an insight for you, not what you think about the world, but for you, what do you want? And so you say pie. I like pie. I hate pie. The only pie I like, I like two kinds of pies. I like a chocolate silk with a good graham cracker bottom to it. Oh my word, that’s my least favorite pie. And I like a pecan pie.

Chris:
We are definitely disagreeing on this one.

Jeff:
I know, that’s why I only eat cake.

Chris:
I don’t like almost all cake. Almost all cake I don’t like.

Jeff:
Why are we friends? I don’t know. Okay, guacamole or queso?

Chris:
Because we like tater tots.

Jeff:
We have tater tots in common. That’s right. No matter what happens, Chris, we always have tater tots. We have tater tots.

Chris:
We’ll always have, what is it, Rio? We’ll always have Rio. Yeah.

Jeff:
We’ll always have tater tots. Okay. And guacamole or queso? Oh, that’s a very tough one. Oh, I’d get rid of queso a hundred times over guac.

Chris:
I think I agree. Not a hundred times. Oh, I would. But I think I would keep guac. Yeah. Guac.

Jeff:
Okay. Well, there you go. Our own, we have two commonalities.

Chris:
Yes.

Jeff:
Okay. Well, that had to have been riveting. Just riveting.

Chris:
Well, the biggest debate was, you know, I was thinking of others. That was the biggest debate. Yeah. About the whole thing. Yawn. Well, this yawn. Hey, the coffee cup conversation was way more riveting than that. Right? So this particular scripture that we’re about to read, which is Jesus being betrayed, is found in all four Gospels. What is the percentage of all of our episodes that had, do you think, all four Gospels?

Jeff:
Let me look it up real quick. a lot. Not many. Not many is the answer.

Chris:
Yeah, not many. Not many. I was just going to say, I bet you it’s 5% to 7% of all the episodes that we’ve had, the events actually.

Jeff:
Which shows up in all four Gospels. Yeah, I think so.

Chris:
Don’t you agree?

Jeff:
Yeah, there’s a lot of commonality between Matthew and Mark. They’re the most common. Luke covers a lot of the same things, oftentimes with different details. And then John comes at the whole story of Jesus totally different. And so he covers different things, you know. along the way, but yeah, it’s pretty rare, I think, that all four Gospels hold the same thing. Well, so we’re reading from Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 18. There’s a lot of verses, so let’s get right into it. It says, even as Jesus, Matthew 26, verse 47, even as Jesus said this, remember, get up and pray, right? Here they come, my betrayer. Even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal. You’ll know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. So Judas came straight to Jesus. Greetings, Rabbi, he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. Jesus said, my friend, go ahead and do what you’ve come for. Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest slave, slashing off his ear. Put away your sword, Jesus told him. Those who use a sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my father for thousands of angels to protect us and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now? Then Jesus said to the crowd, Am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the temple? I was there teaching every day, but this is recorded in the scriptures. I’m sorry, but this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the scriptures. And at that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled. In Mark chapter 14, it says, and immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the 12 disciples arrived with a crowd of men, armed with swords and clubs, and they had been sent by the leading priests and the teachers of religious law and elders. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal, you’ll know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss, and then you can take him away under guard. As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus, Rabbi, he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him, but one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear. Jesus asked them, am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the temple? I was there among you teaching every day.” But these things are happening to fulfill what the scriptures say about me. Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away. One young man following behind was clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked. In Luke 22, verse 47, it says, But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss, but Jesus said, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords. And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, No more of this. And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the temple guard, and the elders who’d come for him. Am I some dangerous revolutionary, he asked, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns. And in John 18, verses 1 through 11, it says, after saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and temple guards to accompany him, and now, with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. Who are you looking for, he asked. Jesus the Nazarene, they replied. I am he, Jesus said. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. As Jesus said, I am he, they all drew back and fell to the ground. Once more, he asked them, who are you looking for? And again they replied, Jesus the Nazarene, I told you that I am he. Jesus said, and since I am the one you want, let these others go. And he did this to fulfill his own statement. I did not lose a single one of those you’ve given me. Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest slave. But Jesus said to Peter, put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the father has given me?

Chris:
Yeah, so in this case, I’m going to vote for John’s writing.

Jeff:
You like John’s the best?

Chris:
Oh, without a doubt.

Jeff:
Big fan. Big fan. Big fan. Big fan.

Chris:
Big fan of the Bible.

Jeff:
That’s right. Two thumbs up.

Chris:
So even the way he starts it, and he says he crossed the Kidron Valley, and he’d gone into a grove of olive trees, and Judas knew this, and so he’d given him Roman soldiers to accompany him. It’s a contingent, and with blazing torches and lanterns and weapons, they arrived in the olive grove. I mean, it’s just, it paints the picture, it gives specifics, and all of that, but John’s the only one that records this unbelievable thing that happens where everybody falls down when Jesus says, I am he. Right. Right? And in the, in the gospels here, it’s, I am capital AM, capital A, which is, you know, it’s the name for God, the name that God gave to Moses for himself. Right. And so here’s, and by the way, they would have known that I would, I would guess, don’t you think?

Jeff:
Yeah. One of the Greek phrases in, it could have been translated. The I am is here rather than just, I am here. I am here. It could have been translated, the I am is here.

Chris:
You mean he. I am he.

Jeff:
Yeah, I am he. I’m sorry. It could have said. The I am is here, or I am the Lord, right? So yeah, he’s definitely assigning his association with the God that confronted Moses from the burning bush, I am. When Moses said, you know, who should I say sent me? He said, tell him I am. That’s how God refers to himself, is I am. Yeah, which is amazing.

Chris:
I am. You know, I was, I’m to be, no, I am. I just am. And they all fall down. Well, that’s the amazing part. Can you imagine Jesus just announcing? And again, I would guess that, you know, all the Jewish scholars, you know, they were all scholars, weren’t they? But all the Jewish boys who had grown up and memorized the Torah and every one of them knew it. And so when he claims to be, I am, and he says this phrase, and then all of a sudden everybody falls down, what compels them to fall? Right. It’s the power. Surely they didn’t fall out of reverence as they’re there to capture this revolutionary.

Jeff:
No, I think it was the power of God. Yeah, I do too. That just knocked them down. Yeah. That they could not stand in the presence of God in that moment.

Chris:
Yeah. And then I wonder if that made them want to arrest Jesus more like, we got to get rid of this guy. Like I just lost control of my knees.

Jeff:
I think that the fact that there’s this contingent, right? So there’s some, some priestly guards, and then there’s a Roman contingent that show up, right? So there’s these two military groups. So there’s Jesus, there’s the 12 and maybe several more, right? We know that Cleopas and Cleopas’ wife was there. We know that Mary Magdalene was there eventually, you know, around the cross, Mary, his mother was there. There were a lot of people, but I don’t think you’re talking about hundreds of people. I think you’re talking about a a dozen and a half or two dozen people, and they send out basically a mini army. So what were they afraid of? I think this is an indicator that the Pharisees knew the power Jesus had was real. They were rejecting that it was from God. So then he makes this God declaration, I am, is here, and they fall to the ground. This is very similar to when God told Moses, take off your sandals, you’re standing on holy ground. Only this one, they wouldn’t have responded, so God just knocked them down. They’re not going to stop and take off their sandals. These soldiers, they got to just flick, flick, flick, flick, flick. They just fall down. It’s such a cool thing.

Chris:
And there’s a lot of people to knock down. Yeah.

Jeff:
It’s a whole contingent of military. It doesn’t say how many, but it’s a bunch. Yeah.

Chris:
Right. And to be fair too, the Pharisees probably didn’t know how many followers were going to be with Jesus. And chances are they probably thought that he might have been a revolutionary. Yeah. You know, after all, you know, that’s what the people expected as Jesus marched in on Palm Sunday. You know, their desire was the King of the Jews, you know, finally another King of Israel to overthrow the oppression of Rome. So they sent an army, maybe, maybe thinking that there was going to be some sort of a pushback.

Jeff:
Yeah. I think so. They were clearly cowards. They didn’t arrest him when he was in the temple every day. Right. And he points it out. You cowards. Right.

Chris:
He points it out. Because everything’s politics with them. Yeah. Right. So he’s in the temple. They were trying to avoid a riot. Yes. And they probably know they would have lost. Yes. Right. Because after all, you know, Herod’s job is, and Pilate’s job is just to keep the peace. Right. Right. You know, Pilate, as we’re about to find out, all he really cares about is his peace.

Jeff:
And Caiaphas and Annas and the priests, they just care that they’re not having problems from Rome and that they can keep their jobs because they’re paid well, right? So the whole thing, they just, the cowards and Jesus calls them out on that. They send out overwhelming force. And then how cool is it? You know, this is the second time that it mentions that the disciples carried swords. So the other time Jesus says, hey, make sure, you know, now I’m telling you go with the sword. Remember he said, before I told you don’t take a sword, which means they had them, but when he sent them out for evangelism purposes, don’t go with swords, right? That’s what he said. But then this time, before all this happened, they’re together. And he says, so now I’m going to tell you, go ahead and get a sword. It’s going to get really, really rough. And they go, hey, we’ve got some swords, Jesus. How many have? We’ve got two. That’s enough. Right. That’s enough. You got enough to defend yourself from bad guys that are trying to rob you or whatever. Right. And then here they say, Hey Lord, we’ve got the swords. You want us to fight. Right. And, uh, he, he literally takes out his sword. Peter does and cuts off Malchus’s ear. Yeah. Um, which again, John is the one who mentions Malchus. The other one just mentions a priest slave. Yeah. And so very specific.

Chris:
He didn’t mention the healing part because the other one says, uh, he healed them.

Jeff:
Right. Yeah. And so he just picks up the, Only Mark and Matthew do, right?

Chris:
Well, actually, no. Only one of the Gospels talk about the healing.

Jeff:
Yeah, heals.

Chris:
Is that Matthew? Yes. No. Mark doesn’t say it. Luke does not say it. So it must have been… Yeah, it has to be Matthew. We’re wasting a bunch of time. I don’t see it. I can’t see it either. We’ll find it as we’re talking.

Jeff:
It’s in there. Somebody will tell us in the thing.

Chris:
Yeah, but only one of the Gospels mentions that he actually heals.

Jeff:
It’s Luke. It’s Luke. Yeah, which again, he’s always the one talking about bodies and the physical things. Verse 51, but Jesus said no more of this and he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Chris:
Yeah. And by the way, that must have been something great, you know, just, just to see that, you know, they’re expecting, you know, they send an army, they’re expecting pushback, possibly, you know, somebody gets their ear chopped off. Well, that’s just the price of doing business. Right. Yeah. And then Jesus is like, no, let’s do another miracle in front of everybody.

Jeff:
and heal his ear.

Chris:
Can you imagine if you’re a Roman guard, then you’re, you know, you’re, you’re, you’re given your duty, right? I mean, you just have an assignment. I wonder how many people wished that they wouldn’t be arresting Jesus. I wonder how many Roman guards believed, even though they were Gentiles and they felt like they weren’t a part of the Jewish custom. And this was sort of a Jewish doctor or healer, you know, or rabbi. I wonder how many of them said, I can’t believe we’re doing this.

Jeff:
Well, by the time you get to the cross, you have at least one saying, surely this is the son of God. So yeah, I don’t know, but they’re, they’re just doing their job. And Peter cuts off Malchus’s ear, which is such a cool move, right? I mean, it’s, it’s a violent moment that that part of it’s bad, but Peter is that committed that going up against a Roman contingent, he’s going to fight for Jesus.

Chris:
And you got to give him credit because he did say, we’ll die with you. Yeah. Yeah. And so this is him saying, okay, this is the time.

Jeff:
I have my sword. I’m ready to go, man. I’m going to, so, um, you know, sometimes people would say Jesus was a pacifist. But Jesus told his disciples to have swords. Here, they mention it, and he doesn’t say, oh, why do you have swords, right? He knew that they had swords. It was a part of their culture. It’s part of what they did for self-protection, that kind of thing. So Jesus isn’t pacifistic here, but what Jesus said is if you use a sword, you’re going to die by the sword, right? So if you choose a violent path, you’re probably going to die that way. And so he pulls out that sword, cuts off his ear, ready to die for Jesus on Peter’s best day. Peter’s pretty amazing. And then in just a few minutes, we’re going to see Peter has his worst day. Right. And it’s just, I think that’s us. We have these really amazing days for Jesus. Then we have these disappointing days for Jesus. We’re going to talk about how Jesus handles that over the next few days here when we get into them. But I just, I love it. I love the power Jesus displays. I love the courage that Peter displays. And, you know, to contrast that, you’ve got Judas, just this cowardly kiss and stepping back and saying, go get them boys.

Chris:
And by the way, Luke’s the only one that records, you just mentioned it, but Jesus said to Judas, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? You know, you and I memorized it, right? Betray us thou, hast thou betrayed me with a kiss? But, you know, I always think of Et tu, Brute? Right? That’s what I always think of Julius Caesar. When Brutus killed Julius Caesar. Yeah. And it’s like the friend betrayal. Obviously this story came first. But still, I always think of like this moment where there’s an eye-locking exchange where, you know, Judas comes in and I’m not sure what he was thinking. Was he thinking that maybe perhaps He had a story, you know, like, hey, these guys captured me, this army, you know, whatever it is. But Jesus, you know, he knows it and he looks right at him and he says this question. And later on, we’re going to see that Judas is filled with deep regret after everything else. Not going to save him, not going to help him. But still, I’d have to believe that this is one of the moments that probably haunted him as Jesus looked at him and says, you betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss.

Jeff:
Even in this terrible moment, verse four, John chapter 18 says, Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. So he stepped forward to meet them. He steps out and he goes, Hey, just take me. Don’t, don’t hurt my disciples. Right? So he’s, he’s willingly protecting, uh, the, his followers. And that’s what Jesus does is Jesus takes, Jesus takes the punishment. Jesus takes the violence for our sin. Jesus takes all of the consequences on our behalf. He steps out in front of us and said, take me, don’t take them. Yeah. Right. That’s pretty incredible.

Chris:
Hey, and last thing, and I was, I was really trying hard in my mind to avoid what I’m about to say, but I can no longer avoid it. You got to do it. I got to do it. Okay. What’s with, Oh, by the way, this one young man was clothed in a long linen shirt and the mom tried to grab him. He slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked. And, and, and, and it says all his disciples deserted and ran away. And then one young man, which means it indicates it doesn’t say specifically, but it’s indicating that it’s one of the disciples.

Jeff:
Somebody that was with Jesus, yeah. So church tradition has it it was Mark, the author.

Chris:
Oh.

Jeff:
Yeah, so historically for 2,000 years, I did not know that. The belief is that it was Mark, that Mark was there. Because you remember Mark was, eventually Mark is writing Peter’s side of the story. But remember, John doesn’t use his own name either. John says the disciple Jesus loves. And this is an incidental thing that apparently the others didn’t notice or didn’t see, because they’re all running. Everybody is scattering. And Mark knew this detail nobody else knew. And so historically, theologians have always said that it’s probably Mark was writing about his own experience in that moment. So Mark wasn’t a disciple of Jesus, but he wasn’t one of the apostles, but he was one of the followers of Jesus, John Mark was. So that’s what some people think. Cause he would have been like a young boy here, like a very young teenager. Um, because remember he’s, he’s a Barnabas’s nephew, right? Right. So he’s a young man, uh, just in a couple of years, Paul is frustrated with him as a young man. So this would have been, he would have been a boy, which is exactly what it says, right? One young man. So this is going to be a young guy. He’s probably younger than John.

Chris:
Yeah. I’m not sure that I ever have heard that before. I don’t know how that escaped me, but, uh, but I’ve always thought I’ve read through this and every time I come across it, I’m like, why, why, what’s with that detail?

Jeff:
He’s he’s in his, you know, they, they would take off all the clothes, sleep in their pajamas and for them it would have been a robe or, or, or this nightgown. Right. That’s what he’s sleeping in. And then he goes running. And you’ve seen it in football. Somebody grabbed a hold of the Jersey Jersey, just shreds and right. The same thing. Yeah. That’s so fun. Isn’t that great. What a great picture.

Chris:
Yeah. All right. Well, hey, that looks like our time. So we will see you tomorrow on The Bible Guys.