The capture: V. 48. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take Me? V. 49. I was daily with you in the Temple teaching, and ye took Me not; but the Scriptures must be fulfilled. V. 50. And they all forsook Him and fled.
V. 51. And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him; V. 52. and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
Jesus had a very impressive word to say to the members of the capturing party. It was a disgrace for them, it reflected upon them, that they came out with swords and with clubs, as though they were out to arrest a dangerous robber. He reminds them that they might have had opportunity daily to apprehend Him, as He taught in the Temple. This showed very plainly that the present situation was not due to their planning. It would have been an easy matter for Him to obtain His liberty.
But the matter of His capture in this way was done in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Unwittingly they were serving to establish the truth of prophecy. Not only the Passion as such, but the individual incidents of Christ's suffering had been foretold, and it was imperative that the Word of God stand true and unassailed, also against the scoffers in our days.
This word of Jesus, whereby He yielded to His fate and willingly placed Himself into the hands of the enemies, proved too much for the disciples; it was the rock of offense over which they stumbled. Panic-stricken, they leave their Master and flee with precipitate haste, lest they also be caught by the band and share the Lord's fate. All the proud, self-confident assertions of a few hours before were forgotten.
Even so many Christians that were eager with their protestations of loyalty when there was no danger near have left Christ and His Word and Church at the first indication of possible suffering on His account.
There is an interesting incident related at this point. It seems that a young man living in one of the houses of the neighborhood had been awakened by the noise of the party, and, hastily throwing a linen cloth about his naked body, went out to see what the trouble was about. Seeing that Christ had been captured, he followed for some distance, either out of curiosity or from apprehension for His safety. But his garment made him all the more conspicuous on the moonlight night, and therefore some members of the party from Jerusalem tried to catch him. But he slipped the linen cloth from his body, leaving it in their hands, while he escaped from them naked.
From the earliest times many commentators have held that this young man was Mark himself, who tells this incident which made such a deep impression upon him on the night of Christ's arrest, and perhaps fully decided him in the Lord's favor.