Mark 14-16
What I Noticed Today (Mark 14-16)
Mark 14-16
These three chapters comprise the sixth and final major section of the Gospel of Mark. They cover Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem; his betrayal, arrest, trials, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Mark 14
In verses 1-2, (See also Matthew 26:1-5), two days later was Passover (Thursday) and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and scribes were plotting to have Jesus arrested and killed, but they delayed acting until after the festival because of His popularity.
Note: Jerusalem would have been crowded with people coming to celebrate Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
In verses 3-11, (See also Matthew 26:6-16), while Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came and anointed Jesus with an expensive jar of oil. Some of the disciples rebuked her extravagance, saying the oil could have been sold for about a year’s wages and given to the poor. Jesus rebuked them, saying she had anointed Him for burial. Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and betrayed Jesus promising to hand Him over to them.
Note: Mark is jumping back in time in verses 3-11 to the week before Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem (probably Friday).
In verses 12-16, (See also Matthew 26:17-19), on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened bread and the day for preparation for the Passover (Thursday), Jesus sent Peter and John to go into the city (Jerusalem) to meet a man who would have a room prepared for them to prepare for the Passover.
In verses 17-21, (See also Matthew 26:20-25), Jesus joined the disciples in the evening (Friday), and they began to eat the Passover meal when Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him. Each one, in turn, denied it, and Jesus said it was the one with whom he was dipping the bread. This fulfilled Psalm 41:9.
Note: Judas would have been in a place of honor reclining at the left side of Jesus.
In verses 22-26, (See also Matthew 26:26-30), Jesus established the Lord’s Supper explaining the bread was a symbol of His body and the cup of wine a symbol of His blood. The eating and drinking established a new covenant of promised forgiveness through Jesus’ death on the cross.
Note: Jesus gave thanks for the bread and wine. The Greek word for “giving thanks” is eucharistēsas, from which we get the word Eucharist.
In verses 27-31, (See also Matthew 26:31-35), Jesus announced the disciples would all scatter (quoting Zechariah 13:7) after His death but that after He was resurrected, He would join them in Galilee. Peter vehemently denied that he would fall away. Even if he had to die with Jesus, he said he would not fall away. All the other disciples said the same thing.
Note: Interestingly, all the disciples focused on the first part of Jesus’ statement that they would fall away, but none of them brought up the meaning of resurrection or the fact that Jesus would see them again in Galilee!
In verses 32-42, (See also Matthew 26:36-47) they journeyed to Gethsemane to an olive grove. Jesus told the disciples to sit and wait while he prayed. He took Peter, James, and John with Him a short distance away and told them to keep watch. Jesus went a little further and began to pray. He returned to Peter, James, and John and found them sleeping. He left them a second time to continue praying and returned to find them asleep again. He left them again to pray and, returning, found them asleep a third time. He told them it was time to get up because His betrayer was near.
Note: Gethsemane means “olive press" or “press of olives.”
In verses 43-52, (See also Matthew 26:47-56), while Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived with the chief priests, scribes, elders, and a mob of men with weapons. Judas kissed Jesus, referring to Him as Rabbi. They arrested Jesus. One of the disciples standing nearby cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave (from John 18:10, we know it was Peter who cut off the servant's ear named Malchus).
Jesus rebuked them for coming out at night to capture Him as though He was a criminal when they could have arrested Him anytime He was teaching in the temple. With that, all the disciples ran away.
A young man who was with them attempted to run away and was caught by his linen cloth. He left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.
Note: Most scholars believe that the young man Mark referenced was Mark himself. Jesus was staying at Mark’s father’s house. Mark had gone to bed in a linen sleeping garment, and hearing the commotion, had hurried outside into the olive grove.
In verses 53-65, (See also Matthew 26:57-68), Jesus was taken from Gethsemane to Jerusalem to the high priest for trial with the chief priests, scribes, and elders all in attendance. Peter followed at a distance and stood in the courtyard surrounded by the temple police.
The chief priests and the Sanhedrin conducted a trial looking for testimony that they could use to convict Jesus, but none of their false testimonies agreed.
Note: The Sanhedrin was a 71-member court headed by the high priest (Joseph Caiaphas). A quorum of 23 members was needed to conduct a trial.
The high priest asked Jesus two questions: Are you going to answer these charges, and Are you the Messiah?
Note: The first question is stated in emphatic form, meaning a positive response is expected, but Jesus said nothing. According to Jewish custom, not defending yourself was usually taken as an admission of guilt.
In answer to the second question, Jesus answered, yes, He was the Son of Man. With that, the high priest tore his robe and declared Jesus guilty of blasphemy. The court agreed, condemning Jesus to death.
Note: The punishment for blasphemy was stoning (Leviticus 24:15-16).
Some members of the Sanhedrin spit on Jesus, blindfolded Him, and beat Him. The temple police joined by assaulting Jesus.
In verses 66-72 (See also Matthew 26:69-75), while Peter was still in the high priest's courtyard, one of the high priest’s servants accused Peter of being a Nazarene who was with Jesus. Peter denied it and moved to the entryway. Another servant approached Peter and accused him, and again he denied being a disciple. A third servant accused Peter of being a Galilean and a disciple of Jesus, and again he denied it, calling curses on himself.
Note: Galileans spoke an Aramaic dialect different from those in Jerusalem, so his accent stood out.
Note: Peter calling curses on himself was like swearing before God that what he was saying was true, but of course, it was not.
Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter realized he had denied Jesus three times just as Jesus had said. He wept, realizing what he had done.
Mark 15
In verses 1-5 (See also Matthew 27:1-2), the chief priests, elders, scribes, and Sanhedrin met to confirm their guilty verdict as soon as it was morning. They then led Jesus away to Pilate (the Roman governor over the region).
Note: This second meeting was probably 5-6 am on Friday (April 3, A.D. 33). It was typical for a sentence to be confirmed the day following the verdict. Under Roman law, the Sanhedrin could convict someone, but they had no authority to carry out a death sentence.
Pilate questioned Jesus, asking if He was the King of the Jews, and Jesus confirmed that He was. The chief priests accused Jesus of many things, but He did not answer their charges.
In verses 6-15 (See also Matthew 27:15-26), Pilate’s custom was to release one prisoner at the Passover festival. He asked the people if he should release Jesus, but the chief priests rallied the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas, a convicted murderer. The crowd then demanded that Jesus be crucified, so Pilate had Jesus flogged and then turned Him over to be crucified.
Note: It was the Roman custom to flog a male who was sentenced to death. The prisoner was stripped, usually tied to a post, and then flogged with whips that had pieces of sharp bone and metal embedded in them. Because there was no set limit on the number of blows in a Roman flogging, the flogging itself often led to death.
In verses 16-20, (See also Matthew 27:27-31), the Roman soldiers removed Jesus from the courtyard and took Him inside the palace. There they humiliated Him by dressing Him in a purple robe and placing a crown of thorns on His head. They beat Him with a rod and spit on Him. Finally, they dressed Him in His own clothes and led Him away to be crucified.
In verses 21-32 (See also Matthew 27:32-44), the Roman soldiers forced Simon the Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross until they reached Golgotha (Place of the Skull). They offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, but He refused it.
Note: Myrrh was a narcotic given to deaden the pain and bring about a quicker death.
They crucified Jesus at 9 am (the third hour), casting lots for His clothes (fulfilling Psalm 22:18), and put a sign on the cross, “The King of the Jews.” Jesus was crucified between two outlaws (fulfilling Isaiah 53:12).
Passersby, the chief priests, and scribes mocked Jesus so much that even the two men crucified with Him also mocked Him.
In verses 33-41, (See also Matthew 27:45-56), in the ninth hour (12n), darkness came over the land for three hours until 3 pm. Jesus shouted, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Note: Jesus had taken on the sin of the world, so at this moment, he was separated from the Father, who cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13).
Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. At that moment, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion who was standing near Jesus said certainly this man was the Son of God.
Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James the younger and Jose, and Salome, mother of Zebedee’s sons, attended to Jesus.
Note: The devotion of these women who had been ministering to Jesus stands in stark contrast to the disciples who had been scattered just as Jesus predicted.
In verses 42-47, (See also Matthew 27:57-61), it was Preparation Day (Friday before the Sabbath). Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, went to Pilate and requested Jesus' body in order to bury Him. When Pilate confirmed that Jesus was indeed dead, he gave Jesus’ body to Joseph.
Note: Roman custom was to leave a body hanging on the cross for some time. Only the Roman magistrate had the authority to release the body for burial. Jewish custom was to bury the corpse on the day the person died, which needed to be done before evening.
Joseph wrapped Jesus’ body, placed Him in a tomb, and rolled a large stone across the entrance while Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jose, were watching.
Note: The large stone that covered the tomb's entrance was quite heavy and rolled downhill into a slot in front of the tomb. Moving it away would require it to be rolled uphill, which would require several men.
Mark 16
In verses 1-8, (See also Matthew 28:1-8), in the evening when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome, bought spices to anoint Jesus. Early the next morning, they went to the tomb and found the large stone rolled away and a young man dressed in white linen sitting on the right side of the tomb.
The angel told them not to be afraid, Jesus had been resurrected, and to go tell His disciples and Peter that Jesus would meet them in Galilee (as promised in Mark 14:28). The women fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone for a while because they were afraid.
Note: Peter being singled out for this confirming message indicated that he was still counted among the disciples despite his denial of Jesus.
Mark 16:9-20
Note: These twelve verses are the most problematic and disputed in the New Testament. The writing style is different than the previous writing. Mary Magdalene is introduced with some detail as though we had not already been introduced to her, but she was mentioned three times before in Mark 15:40, 47, and Mark 16:1. Modern scholars generally agree that these last twelve verses were written by someone other than Mark and added to his Gospel early on, and thus became part of the canonized version.
In verses 9-13, Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb that same morning, and Jesus appeared to her. She went and told the disciples, but they did not believe her. Jesus also appeared in a different form to two others as they were walking on the road. When these two reported it to the others, they did not believe either.
In verses 14-18, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples while they were eating. He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who told them He had been resurrected.
Note: The author's word to describe Jesus’ rebuke of the disciples is especially harsh criticism.
Then Jesus commissioned the disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. The signs of a person who believed include casting out demons, speaking other languages, picking up snakes, not being harmed by poison, and healing the sick.
In verses 19-20, after speaking with them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven by God and sat at His right hand. The disciples went as directed into the world, preaching the Gospel.
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