realities

Mark 14:43 And immediately, 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, the teachers of religious law, and the elders. 44 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: "You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard." 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. "Rabbi!" he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.
46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest's slave, slashing off his ear.
48 Jesus asked them, "Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 49 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."
50 Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away. 51 One young man following behind was clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, 52 he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked.

66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, "You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.*"
68 But Peter denied it. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.
69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, "This man is definitely one of them!" 70 But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, "You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean." 71 Peter swore, "A curse on me if I'm lying—I don't know this man you're talking about!" 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me." And he broke down and wept.

I don't get this. I've never understood how the disciples could run away.

These guys had been together for 3 years.
They had walked the roads with Jesus,
been rained on with Him,
suffered with the heat & cold with Him,
seen great triumph & rejection with Him,
seen Him feed 10,000 people & then 5000 people with next to nothing,
seen him walk on the water & calm the sea,
seen Him heal the sick & demon-possessed.
They'd spent incredibly intimate times with Him,
eating with Him by the fire at night out in the open,
slept with Him out in the countryside on who knows what,
had those quiet talks late at night around the fire,
awakened in the early morning light (I wonder if Jesus ever had bed-head?) & had that quiet early morning conversation,
taken a whiz by the side of the road with Him (as well as taken a poo, too),
taken drinks from springs, wells, rivers, & the like with Him,
went swimming with Him in streams & lakes & took baths in those places with Him.

These guys knew Jesus in ways none of us will;
they knew if He was left handed or right handed,
if He liked meatloaf or calf's liver,
if He liked white bread or wheat bread,
if He liked eggs for breakfast or just some toast,
if He liked to take afternoon naps on the Sabbath,
& countless other things.

And there in the garden they just ran away.

Yes, I know the parallels - that we all abandon Him during our day, when we should own up to knowing Him, to following Him, that we are totally dependent on Him, & that we know the overwhelming reality that He is the only Way, Truth, & the Life. I am so keenly aware of how faithless I am. I know how many times I say no when I should say yes. I know who I am, & who we are.

But I'd like to think that at the arrest, I'd have hung with someone I'd seen feed 10,000 people with a few fish & loaves, & I'd gone skinny dipping with in the Jordan River.

What about you? What do you think?