Mark 14 covers the anointing of Jesus, the Passover / Last Supper, the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where His disciples fall asleep, Judas’ betrayal, the arrest and mock trial of Jesus, and finally Peter’s denial of His Savior. This lengthy chapter is filled with rich description. Let’s take a look:
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2"But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."
3While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year's wages[1] and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.
6"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
We are in the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and we have another Marken Sandwich here at the beginning of this chapter. We could look at this a couple different ways. One is to have v1-2 be the first slice of bread and v3-9 as the substance. The other is to have v3 as the first slice of bread and v4-9 as the substance. Either way, v10-11 are the final slice of bread. V1-2 simply acknowledge that “the chief priests and” religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but they couldn’t do it at this time because of the large crowds.
V3 shows the fitting sacrifice of faith, when “a woman” – noted in John’s account as Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus – anointed Jesus with very expensive perfume. Mark goes out of his way to slow down the narrative and provide an ample description of this event. First, this happened at the home of Simon the leper (mentioned only regarding this event). Surely he was a former leper, perhaps and even likely healed by Jesus. Next this happened in Bethany, about 2 miles from Jerusalem and a convenient place for travelers (and Jesus in particular) to stay when visiting the large city. Also noteworthy, this action was not unusual, as it was common for hosts to provide their guests (and especially more distinguished guests) with oil for cleansing. Most often, this would have been a small amount of olive oil, a plentiful and inexpensive option for most people of the time. But Mary’s action would have been seen as extravagant by any definition. Mark says the jar was alabaster, its contents were pure nard, and the value (we find out in the next verse from the indignant disciples, most notably Judas) was nearly a year’s wages. Extravagance is appropriate in measure and according to the circumstances, but this would not have been the expected time and place to find such an action. This was a genuine loss of wealth whereby Mary accepted earthly poverty to honor Jesus, and this action flowed naturally from her faith. Remember she had seen her brother raised from the dead by Jesus, and she heard Jesus tell her that He is the Resurrection and the Life. She gave Jesus a perfectly extravagant gift of honor and devotion, and Jesus added to her intentions by acknowledging that her sacrifice of honor was an anointing prepare His body for burial.
Some of the disciples (namely Judas as we learn from John’s account) were angry about this apparent waste. Truly, if the expensive perfume was going to spent like this, surely it could have been sold to benefit the poor in their midst. That was a reasonable consideration, but Jesus defended Mary’s action by saying that the poor will always be around and need assistance, but He would not. Therefore, considering the limited time remaining with Jesus, and the uniqueness of this opportunity, her lavish expense was well spent. The presence of Jesus is supremely valuable, so anything done with His glory and honor in mind is acceptable and appropriate. Even more, His death is supremely important, so what Mary did – even if unintentional – was glorifying to God, anointing Jesus’ body for burial preparation. Likely in our day, we believers do things with good intentions that God uses for even better purposes than what we intend. Even in being hospitable to strangers, a kind action done in faith, we may be entertaining angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2). Jesus even returns honor for honor in v9, by declaring that wherever the gospel is proclaimed, this woman and her actions would be remembered. Sure enough, by recording this event for us to read, Mark, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, makes Jesus’ words come true.
The final slice of bread in this Marken Sandwich comes in v10-11, where we see a contrasting response to Jesus. Obviously, Mary’s sacrifice of faith resulted in a loss of wealth to honor Jesus. Here Judas abandons his faith and betrays Jesus to gain wealth. How foolish! And remember, Judas was with Jesus for 3 years of authentic ministry. If this could happen to him, how do we expect to stand firm in our own faith? His scolding of Mary, we learn from John, was done with impure motive, as Judas would often help himself by stealing from the purse shared by the disciples for ministry. And his sad display of greed at the expense of Jesus’ life – while surely God’s design from the beginning – remains his responsibility, and this action serves as a reminder to us to guard our hearts, our motives, and our deeds to honor the Lord.
The Lord's Supper
12On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
13So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."
16The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me--one who is eating with me."
19They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"
20"It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."
23Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.
24"This is my blood of the[2] covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
In v12-16, we see the sovereignty of Jesus, who is in complete control over all things, including the smallest details, and is never a victim of circumstances. He gives specific instructions to His disciples to prepare for their Passover celebration, and everything happens just as He said. The Passover observation and corresponding Feast of Unleavened Bread had been part of the Jewish calendar for some 1400 years. And it should come as no surprise that Jesus’ death occurred at the time of Passover, for He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (1 Corinthians 5:7). While we in 21st century America cannot truly appreciate the awful experience and still appropriate lessons learned from animal sacrifice, we can be sure that centuries of the Temple sacrificial system of religion had prepared the Jews to understand exactly what Jesus’ sacrifice was all about. They would have been able to understand that all the sacrifices of generations before simply pointed toward the ultimate fulfillment of the whole system in the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ (cf. the entire book of Hebrews).
In v17-21, Jesus tells the disciples about the betrayal that is about to occur. This too is both a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Psalm 41:9) and another clear display of Jesus’ sovereignty. V21 is a particularly vivid description of the doctrine of concurrence, whereby God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility stand side-by-side with no contradiction or incompatibility. Jesus would go as it is written, but woe to that man who betrays Him! Concurrence refers to any single event or action that has 2 actors with different motives. Here, the action or event is the betrayal of Jesus. This comes about by the declaration of God, with a pure motive of glorious good for the benefit of those He loves, and also by the unimpaired decision of a man, Judas Iscariot, who had a wicked motive for selfish gain at the expense of his friends.
It can be challenging to consider the concluding sentence of v21, “It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Some discussion of supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism might arise. The latter says that God’s ordination of future events, including the betrayal of Jesus, happened only after His foresight of man’s fall. It sounds like a reaction after gaining a view of the consequences. The former, on the other hand, demands that God’s ordination of all such events occurred prior to any mere foresight of consequences. In other words, as these views relate to Judas and Jesus’ words about him here in v21, supralapsarians would say that God decreed this end for Judas before and apart from the necessary fall of mankind and plan to send Jesus to propitiate and save the elect. This can certainly sound harsh to think that God would effectively create specific individuals for damnation, but remember, He can make some pots for display and honor and other vessels for common use. He has that prerogative as Creator, and none of His creation has any right to criticize His purposes. Infralapsarians would say, rather, that God’s decree regarding Judas was only an afterthought, once He realized that mankind would fall into sin and a plan to send Jesus would need to result. This seems in some way to reduce the burden on God for the damnation of Judas, but it also, to some, makes Judas out to be a sort of hero for mankind, sacrificing Jesus at his own peril, without even realizing it was exactly what needed to happen for the good of the elect.
Regardless, this final sentence of v21 is a warning to those who fear God. May it never be said of us that it would be better for us to never have been born in the first place. As that sentiment demands an eternal reality of ultimately unredeemed. For if there is certain redemption, or even the possibility of it, then surely being born is worthwhile, no matter what hardships are to be faced in this life.
The final section of this passage includes v22-25. We have the institution of what is called the Lord’s Supper, or also known as Communion. We are given another vivid depiction of the importance of blood, and specifically the Body and Blood of Jesus (consider Isaiah 53:12). Biblical covenants are sealed in blood (Genesis 15:9-21; 17:9-14). Exodus 24:9-11 portrays the inauguration of the Old Covenant, where the leaders of Israel “beheld God and ate and drank.” In the same way, when members of the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood gather to eat and drink in this ceremonial manner, we declare that God is our God and that we belong to Jesus; likewise we proclaim that our faith and trust is in the death, resurrection, and future return of our Savior (1 Corinthians 11:26-27). It is to be a clear and repeated reminder of God’s promises and a foreshadowing of the marriage supper of the Lamb to come at His return (Revelation 19:6-9). Finally in v25, Jesus Himself declares that, though His death is imminent, it is not final; He looks forward to resurrection and return in glory to commune with His disciples again.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
27"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written:
" 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'[3] 28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
29Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not."
30"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today--yes, tonight--before the rooster crows twice[4] you yourself will disown me three times."
31But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same.
Gethsemane
32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36"Abba,[5] Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
37Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
39Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
Jesus Arrested
43Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." 45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." 50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
After completing their meal, the celebration of Passover ended with the singing of a hymn, one of several throughout the traditional routine. In v26, the gathering heads out to the Mount of Olives, and Jesus then tells His disciples that they will all fall away. Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7, which indicates that the sheep will scatter when the Shepherd is stricken. This was a God-ordained moment, truly like every other moment, but unique in its very specific prophetic fulfillment. It would be terrible, but not final. Good would result from Jesus’ earthly demise. Even Peter, despite vehemently denying the possibility that he would abandon Jesus, along with the others, would fall away; and not only would it happen, but it would happen precisely the way Jesus described. The disciples revealed their spiritual pride here, and it’s really no surprise, because they’ve exhibited signs of spiritual pride throughout their ministry with Jesus.
Spiritual confidence can leave us vulnerable; pride is revealed in the need to distinguish oneself from the surrounding masses. Peter was trusting in his own heart, in his own strength, and wisdom says he is a fool for doing so (Proverbs 28:26). While the downfall of the disciples, and Peter in particular, was according to the plan of God, that is no excuse for the unimpressive self-confidence of sinful humanity. God is faithful (1 Corinthians 10:13), but mankind is weak when it comes to temptation. While in some measure, self-esteem and confidence can be helpful in this life, humility and trust in Christ are what serve us best.
In v32, the group moves to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer time, and the disciples failed to stay awake with Jesus. Once again, we see the effects of spiritual pride, stretching to weaken every facet of a human’s being. When failing to rely in humility on God’s provision in every moment, we struggle mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray. He wanted them to be conscious and vigilant in seeking the Lord’s guidance, specifically and especially for the moments that lay ahead, which troubled Jesus so much, to the point of hematohidrosis. But the disciples were sinful in their abdication of this duty to watch and pray. Their physical fatigue was no excuse!
Pastor John Kimbell says that we live in a raging sea of trial and temptation, and we should stay alert by praying continually that God would deliver us. He points out that God does not answer prayer based on our consistency to pray; rather God answers prayer based on the perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ.
Finally, Judas leads the religious leaders to arrest Jesus. He does not try to flee or fight. He prayed that this cup would be removed from His life, but He was willing to accept what His Father had in store for Him. And this cup was the righteous wrath of God against sinners for their sin. Jesus the righteous drank the cup of God’s wrath reserved for us, so that we who believe in Him and His resurrection and trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life would not have to face that for ourselves, something we would never exhaust and otherwise must spend eternity enduring in agony (Isaiah 53). So trust Him! Recognize Jesus in both true humanity and Deity in this passage, knowing, even declaring, what would come to pass, honest and humble, faithful in submission to the will of God, which was to crush Him.
Before the Sanhedrin
53They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " 59Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ,[6] the Son of the Blessed One?"
62"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
63The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
65They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.
It is exclusively tradition that says v51-52 refer to Mark himself, and there’s no reason to doubt this. At the same time, nothing changes in our understanding of the message if this is not the case. This passage is about the rejection of Jesus, and even Mark, so it is thought, includes himself in that rejection. What Jesus endures in this passage should bring us to tears, as both the injustice is truly shameful, and the magnificent love of Jesus towards sinners is so spectacularly remarkable.
First, notice that everyone abandons Jesus in this moment of greatest trouble. That reality, of course, fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7. The fear and desperation that led to the disciples fleeing from Jesus was sinful. Surely this was a high stress, difficult moment, but that’s no excuse. Their reaction to the circumstances is contrasted by the steady endurance that our Savior showed. What a friend we have in Jesus (Proverbs 17:17)! There’s no reason that He should consider us to be His friends; but there’s never a time when we can’t look to Him as our friend. And Mark provides us here with another sandwich, as he is accustomed to doing. Really the courage of Jesus in v53-65 slides right between the fleeing of the disciples (v50-54) and the denial of Peter in v66-72, which we will look at in a moment. But notice that even though Peter “followed” Jesus in v54, he did so “at a distance.”
Next, see in v53 that all the religious leaders came together; they were looking for a way to put Jesus to death (v55), but it’s chilling when we read, “they did not find any” (v55). This after-hours trial, on a festival weekend no less, provided no evidence against Jesus, and even witness testimony – false or otherwise – purported against Him did not agree (v56-59). This illegal tribunal had an outcome predetermined – by these wicked men and by a pure and holy God as well! Even with myriad accusations against Him, Jesus remained silent (v56-61). This again was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, “As a sheep before its shearers is silent, so the Son of Man opened not His mouth.”
Before moving on to the High Priest finally getting a response from Jesus, let’s look at the main accusation against Him. The testimony, which didn’t agree, suggested that Jesus claimed the destruction of the Temple could occur and be undone in three days. Of course, where they understood Him to be referring to the magnificent Jerusalem Temple, He was talking about His own body and His resurrection. While none of the synoptic gospels record Jesus saying anything like this, we see that John does record Jesus’ words, back when He cleansed the Temple on the first occasion, much earlier in His ministry. And perhaps if that statement was being brought up here, more than 2 years would have passed since it was said. Maybe that’s why the witness testimony couldn’t agree. But it wasn’t referring to anything blasphemous or otherwise worthy of death anyway. Maybe they were hoping it would lead to something like terroristic threatening, or insubordination to the Roman government. But it didn’t stick.
In fact, Jesus’ own testimony was required to put Him to death. When the High Priest, baffled at Jesus’ silence in the presence of so many accusers, asked Jesus if He was “the Messiah, the Son of the Most Blessed (v61), Jesus finally answered in v62, “I am.” And if this simple answer wouldn’t have been enough, Jesus added some apocalyptic truth to His reply, saying, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” I think the added truth here absolutely blew the lid off the steaming environment. Declaring Himself to be the Messiah and Son of God – and the prophesied judge of all in the end times (i.e., the majestic, authoritative, and powerful God Himself) – pushed everyone there over the edge. The response was both sorrow and horror, as seen in the tearing of the clothes (v63). Because they didn’t believe the truth that Jesus courageously declared in the presence of His enemies (Psalm 110:1-2; Daniel 7:13-17), they had to declare Him guilty of blasphemy. His proclamation of the truth led to His death, which ironically was His triumph.
V64-65 are awful. “They all condemned Him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at Him; they blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and [mocked Him]. And the guards took Him and beat Him.” This illegal, after-hours, holiday (read Holy Day) trial, filled with wickedly false accusations against the perfectly innocent and all-alone Jesus got way out of hand. It’s one thing to be falsely accused and another to be unjustly condemned. But the spitting (Numbers 12:14-15), blindfolding, hitting, mocking, and beating takes this injustice to a horrific level – one that makes me ashamed to see my own participation in. Yet, in the most cruel of moments, Jesus remained steadfast and loyal to God the Father, trusting Him completely to see this through to the end. “It was the will of God to crush Him” (Isaiah 53).
Peter Disowns Jesus
66While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
"You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said.
68But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.[7]
69When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." 70Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean."
71He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about."
72Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[8] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice[9] you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.
As mentioned earlier, Peter “followed” Jesus in v54, but he did so “at a distance.” He might be considered brave at first glance, but he proves in this passage that even if his intentions were honorable, his weakness could not be overcome in his own strength. And that’s a picture of each one of us. As Jesus foretold, Peter denies Jesus three times. He was ultimately selfish, striving to preserve what to him appeared to be his own autonomous existence, which is the very thing each of us does on a daily basis when we sin. We declare ourselves, rather than God, to be in charge over us. But here, as will be true for us as well, Peter is found out. His Galilean accent and appearance give him away. No one from Boston or Chicago or New York can go incognito in the south, say Alabama, for long. Peter was accused of being with that Nazarene, Jesus, a derogatory term as used in John 1, for surely nothing good can come from Nazareth. And v71 is the culmination of Peter’s totally opposite stance from v19 generally and v29-31 specifically, mere hours before this moment of truth. He swears and calls down a curse upon himself if he even knows Jesus. And then, in v72, at the crowing of the rooster, he remembers Jesus’ words.
Peter’s response to end the chapter is promising. He is truly broken, grief-stricken in a way that will ultimately lead, as Jesus foretold, to his repentance. It was a miserable failure, for which there was no excuse. But it was also part of the perfect plan of God to have Peter become the rock, the one who would uphold the truth and not back down and help the other disciples to become steadfast in their trust of Jesus. See especially John 21:7-19 for the reinstatement of Peter to go back to work for the Lord.
Footnotes
- 14:5 Greek than three hundred denarii
- 14:24 Some manuscripts the new
- 14:27 Zech. 13:7
- 14:30 Some early manuscripts do not have twice.
- 14:36 Aramaic for Father
- 14:61 Or Messiah
- 14:68 Some early manuscripts entryway and the rooster crowed
- 14:72 Some early manuscripts do not have the second time.
- 14:72 Some early manuscripts do not have twice.
Bible text from
Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society.