43 Immediately while He was still speaking , Judas , one of the twelve , came up accompanied e by a crowd with swords and clubs , who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders . 44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal , saying , "Whomever e I kiss , He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard ." 45 After coming , Judas immediately went to Him, saying , " Rabbi !" and kissed Him. 46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword , and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear . 48 And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber ? 49 "Every day I was with you in the temple teaching , and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures ." 50 And they all left Him and fled .
51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked .
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest ; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together . 54 Peter had followed Him at a distance , right into the courtyard of the high priest ; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 14:43-54
Commentary on Mark 14:43-52
(Read Mark 14:43-52)
Because Christ appeared not as a temporal prince, but preached repentance, reformation, and a holy life, and directed men's thoughts, and affections, and aims to another world, therefore the Jewish rulers sought to destroy him. Peter wounded one of the band. It is easier to fight for Christ than to die for him. But there is a great difference between faulty disciples and hypocrites. The latter rashly and without thought call Christ Master, and express great affection for him, yet betray him to his enemies. Thus they hasten their own destruction.
Commentary on Mark 14:53-65
(Read Mark 14:53-65)
We have here Christ's condemnation before the great council of the Jews. Peter followed; but the high priest's fire-side was no proper place, nor his servants proper company, for Peter: it was an entrance into temptation. Great diligence was used to procure false witnesses against Jesus, yet their testimony was not equal to the charge of a capital crime, by the utmost stretch of their law. He was asked, Art thou the Son of the Blessed? that is, the Son of God. For the proof of his being the Son of God, he refers to his second coming. In these outrages we have proofs of man's enmity to God, and of God's free and unspeakable love to man.