Jesus Arrested

Scripture

Matthew 26:47-56
Mark 14:43-50
Luke 22:47-53
John 18:1-11

Key Differences

John does not record Judas' kiss.  It is likely to have occurred before the soldier's made their presence known and the other events of John's account occur. 

In John, Jesus asks "Who do you want?" and then responds "I am He."  The Greek doesn't record the "he" but rather I am.  Just was speaking the name of God and not just identifying Himself as the one they were looking for.  The very force of the name of God being spoken by God in flesh causes the soldiers to fall to the ground.

Mark records that a young man followed the group and fled away naked when the soldiers seized him.  This was most likely the author Mark himself.  Acts 12:12 tells us that the believers gathered in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark.  This was quite possibly the location of the Upper Room where the disciples frequently met and where Jesus held the Last Supper.  If this were the case, Mark would have been nearby the Last Supper.  As Judas went to betray Jesus it is likely that he first looked for Jesus at Mark's house but not finding Him there, continued to other places that he knew Jesus frequently went.  Mark may have ran off to warn Jesus of the men looking for Him but did not arrive on time.  None of this is found in scripture but is simply putting pieces together.  Mark is thought to be the young man who fled away naked by most theologians regardless of the events that led up to this.

Additional Commentary

It may appear strange that Judas must identify Jesus to those who wanted to capture Him.  This makes more sense when we consider two matters of the circumstance though. 

Even though almost all of Jerusalem has heard of Jesus, this did not make Him necessarily identifiable.  In an era before television and photographs, the only way to know what Jesus looked like would have been to actually see Him.  Even those who witnessed His miracles may not be able to identify Jesus.  At the feeding of the 5,000 many people witnessed the miracle but very few would have been close enough to see Jesus and get distinguishing features.

The other fact is that it is night.  The soldiers and others with them are carrying torches.  This sheds light for only a few feet.  Even up close, a torch would give flickering light and cast strange shadows.  Only someone who knew Jesus well would be able to identify Him from any kind of distance in those circumstances.