Judas arrives immediately, right as Jesus is speaking, and Mark, for some reason, thinks it necessary to inform his readers that Judas is one of the twelve. Don't we know that already? Does it seem odd to you that at this point Mark would think it necessary to say? I mean, here we are in chapter 14, at the end of chapter 14. We do know by now that Judas is one of the twelve, right?
Well, maybe Mark is again reminding us that it was one of the twelve, one of the intimate insiders, who ultimately betrayed Jesus—a truth which on the surface would seem embarrassing, nevertheless a truth which would have had profound significance for the church to whom Mark writes his gospel, the church at Rome, which is undergoing persecution. If one of the original twelve could succumb to temptation and fall, if one of the original twelve could be used by Satan to betray Jesus, then maybe we should take a hard look at ourselves and examine ourselves to be sure we are genuine believers.
The writer to the Hebrews echoes this warning in Hebrews 3. There he is writing about those in the wilderness, in the book of Numbers, who failed to enter into the promised land. He explains that they failed to enter in because of unbelief. Then he says this,
Hebrews 3:12-14 ESV - Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
These warnings of apostasy found throughout the New Testament are warnings given to the visible church, that is, the body of believers who show up on Sunday to worship and live for Christ during the week—the visible professing church—because not all the members of the visible professing church are members of the invisible church.
Let me try to explain. The visible church is made up of those professing Christians who gather together and worship him. But the invisible church is made up of those genuine believers throughout the ages who belong to the visible church. These warnings are given to the visible church. Be sure that your faith is genuine. The proof of possession is perseverance. Thank God that for most of these disciples this incident will not be the end for them.
But for one it will be, and now Judas has come with what looks like a mob by the way Mark describes it. It isn't a large number of people, not a number that would get noticed per se, but a large enough number, and they are carrying swords and clubs. They are armed and they have come from the Sanhedrin. They are temple guard, sort of a local law enforcement under Jewish jurisdiction operating within the confines of authority allowed to them by Rome.
But it is dark, and none of these people would necessarily have recognized Jesus even in daylight. It wasn’t like his face was plastered on billboards around town. They didn't have television images of him. Even when he spoke to a large crowd, they might look and see him up there, but not necessarily be able to pick him out so far away. Jesus, in Mark's gospel at least, hasn't been in Jerusalem that much. So Judas has given them a sign to look for, a signal that this is the one, arrest him. That sign is a kiss.
Mark 14:44 ESV - Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.”
So Judas has told them ahead of time to arrest the one whom he will kiss. A kiss was a normal social greeting, especially between a rabbi and a disciple. But the Greek words underlying our English translation seem to indicate that Judas’s kiss was lavish in its hypocrisy, almost mocking.
Mark 14:45 ESV - And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him.
That Judas could call him “rabbi” with his lips, and feign love and fidelity even further with a kiss, while at the very same moment using those lips and lies as a betraying signal to Jesus's enemies, is both treacherous and tragic. It is the ultimate betrayal. Here again we should be taking our cue from the other eleven disciples who, when they heard this was going to take place, immediately doubted themselves, “Is it I?”