Mark Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen
Mark Chapter Thirteen
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6:1-3 (NIV)
Signs of the End of the Age
This chapter is known as the Olivet Discourse as Jesus gave this instructive teaching on the Mount of Olives, and it is the longest unit of His teaching recorded by Mark. The main idea here is that we should be on guard so that we are neither deceived nor anxious about the end times and Jesus also instructs us on how we are to be prepared. He does not want us to be led astray or to be caught unawares.
This Chapter is lengthy and requires our in-depth concentration as it is not easy information to readily absorb or to interpret. Many faithful, Bible-believing teachers differ on the details. So we want to major on the majors here and not on the minors. Also, in His discourse, we do not find Jesus encouraging us to set dates or to identify the Antichrist, the False Prophet, or the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Rather He admonishes us to be on our guard and to stay awake – be alert! No one but God knows when the end will come. However, since the end will come – and suddenly - either by our deaths or Jesus’ return, we must remain vigilant and constantly faithful in our service to our Master. Just as the saints who have walked before us.
Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem which prompted the disciples to inquire about the timing of “these things”. Apparently they associated the destruction of the temple with the end of the Age. Matthew tells us:
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3 (NIV)
In reply Jesus skillfully wove together into a unified discourse a prophetic scene involving two perspectives: (a) the near event, the destruction of Jerusalem (a.d. 70); and (b) the far event, the coming of the Son of Man in clouds with power and glory. The former local event was a forerunner of the latter universal event. In this way Jesus followed the precedent of Old Testament prophets by predicting a far future event in terms of a near future event whose fulfillment of at least some of His hearers would see.
Obviously, nearly two millennia have passed since the fall of Jerusalem, and the end has not yet come. This prophetic information was set within a framework of (a) warnings against deception and (b) exhortations to vigilant obedience during the intervening time of missionary outreach, persecution, and socio-political upheavals.
There are nineteen imperatives given in this section. The verb “Be on guard” occurs four times at significant points throughout the discourse as well as “Watch out”. This was to encourage Jesus’ followers to maintain a steadfast faith and obedience to God throughout their present Age. It certainly should serve as a “heads up” to us in our generation as well!
As Jesus was leaving the temple area for the last time one of His disciples addressed Him as Teacher and with awe and admiration called attention to the massive stones and the magnificent buildings in the temple, that is, the sanctuary itself with its various courts, balconies, colonnades, and porches.
The Jerusalem temple was not fully completed until a.d. 64. It was built by the Herodian dynasty to win Jewish favor and to create a lasting Herodian monument. It was considered to be an architectural wonder of the ancient world. It was built with large white stones, polished and generously decorated with gold as recorded by the Jewish Historian Josephus. It covered about one-sixth of the land area of old Jerusalem. To the Jews nothing was as magnificent and formidable as their temple.
Jesus’ response was a startling prediction of the total destruction of all these great buildings. The whole complex would be completely leveled—literally, “stone will certainly not be left here upon stone.” Jesus’ use of the emphatic double negative twice stressed the certainty of His words’ fulfillment.
This ominous prediction is the sequel to Jesus’ judgment on the misuse of the temple earlier in Mark 11. As in Jeremiah’s day so again the destruction of the temple by a foreign power would be God’s judgment on rebellious Israel. This prediction was fulfilled literally within the span of a generation. In a.d. 70, after the temple area was burned, the Roman soldiers were commanded to demolish the whole city and level its buildings to the ground.
The four disciples Jesus called first asked Him privately for more information about the Lord’s prediction. Only Mark recorded their names. Often in Mark, a question from the disciples would introduce a section of Jesus’ teaching to them. He was all about teaching His guys before He left them. He did not want them to be caught unawares.
The disciples’ question, perhaps voiced by Peter, is expressed in two parts: (a) When will these things (destruction of the temple and other future events happen), and (b) What will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled? The verb “fulfilled”, meaning “be accomplished”, denotes the final consummation, the end of the present Age.
Having only the perspective of Old Testament prophecy, the disciples saw no long interval between the temple’s destruction and the end-time events climaxing in the coming of the Son of Man. They assumed that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were some of the events at the end of the present Age and would inaugurate the earthly messianic kingdom. They wanted to know when this would happen and what visible sign would indicate that fulfillment was about to take place.
The conditions associated with the impending local crisis of Jerusalem’s fall foreshadow those connected with the worldwide end-time crisis. Thus Jesus’ words remain relevant both to His first disciples, and for all His disciples who face similar conditions throughout this Age.
Interestingly, He answered their second question first regarding “the sign” in two ways: negatively, by warning them against false signs of the end, and positively, by stating the notable event which inaugurates unparalleled tribulation and by describing the Second Advent. He then answered their first question regarding the “when” in a parabolic form.
Watch out – take heed, be on your guard - is a call to vigilance repeated throughout the discourse. Jesus warned His disciples to be on guard against messianic impostors. Many false messiahs will arise in crisis times, making use of His name (His title and authority), claiming, I am He literally “I AM” – a term only used for God. This claim to deity is expressed in the formula of God's own self-revelation. They will lead many people astray. Second, Jesus warned His disciples against misinterpreting contemporary events such as wars and natural disasters as indications that the end is at hand. They were not to be alarmed and thereby be diverted from their work whenever they would hear of wars (meaning sounds of battle close at hand) and rumors (reports) of wars far away. He tells them that it is necessary by divine compulsion that these things must come about. They will all fall within God’s sovereign purposes, which include permitting wars as a consequence of human rebellion and sin. But the end—of the present Age and the establishing of God’s rule on earth—is still to come (“is not yet”).
This thought is confirmed and expanded: Nation will rise in armed aggression against nation – all under God’s Sovereign control. In addition there will be earthquakes and famines, suggesting divine judgment. Yet these things are just the beginning of birth pains. The words “birth pains,” the sharp pains preceding childbirth, picture divine judgment. They refer to the period of intense suffering preceding the birth of the new Age, the messianic kingdom.
This emphasis – “the end is still to come” and “these (things) are the beginning of birth pains” —suggests that an extended period of time will precede “the end.” Each generation will have its own wars and natural disasters. Yet all these events fall within God's purposes. Human history is heading toward the birth of the new Messianic Age.
His purpose here was to prepare His disciples for suffering because of their allegiance to Him. Every believer is to be prepared for this as well. Consider the cost – both positively and negatively (meaning what is the cost of not following?). The gospel out of divine necessity must first be preached (proclaimed) to all nations, all peoples worldwide. That is God’s plan.
In proclaiming the gospel the disciples would be persecuted but they must not despair and give up. J. C. Ryle states: “we want the uniform but we don’t want to get it dirty.” Despite all opposition, proclaiming the gospel is a priority in God’s plan for this and every subsequent Age and will be accomplished in accordance with His purposes. This is to be the responsibility of each generation until He returns. It is Jesus’ great mandate Matthew we read:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Yet, preaching the gospel worldwide does not require or guarantee its worldwide acceptance before or at the end of the Age. That is the response of the hearer of the Truth.
Jesus goes on to say that whenever the disciples are arrested and brought to trial for preaching the gospel, they were not to be anxious beforehand about what to say in giving a defense. We are never to be anxious to give a defense either as the Holy Spirit will tell us what to say. They, as we, are to speak whatever God gives them and us to say at that moment. The Holy Spirit would do the speaking; He would enable them to say the right things at the right times with boldness despite their natural fears.
Next we learn that opposition will come not only through official channels but also through close personal relationships. It will be so severe that family members - brother versus brother, father versus child, and children versus parents - will betray each other to hostile authorities, thereby causing Christian members to be put to death. Because of their allegiance to Jesus – literally, “on account of My name”- His disciples will be hated continually by all men, that is, all kinds of people, not just hostile authorities or family members. He who stands firm – he who has endured – meaning one’s life as completed - who has remained loyal to Jesus Christ and the gospel to the end – to the complete limit - of his life on earth, will be saved. This “saved” one will experience God's salvation in its final form—glorification. Hebrews tells us:
27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)
Perseverance is a result and outward sign of faith, not the basis, of spiritual genuineness. Paul states in Romans:
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:29-30
A person genuinely saved by grace through faith endures to the end and will experience the consummation of his salvation. Yet Mark’s words of warning were pertinent to his Roman readers who were threatened by persecution for their allegiance to Jesus. Such suffering could be more readily endured when viewed in the context of God’s plan for worldwide evangelism and vindication.
Some interpreters limit the events of this section to the chaotic years preceding Jerusalem's fall (a.d. 66-70). Others relate them exclusively to the Great Tribulation at the end of this Age. But the details suggest that both events are in view. The conquest of Jerusalem is theologically (not chronologically) attached to the end-time events. The expression “the abomination that causes desolation” (mentioned in Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11) is the link between the historical and eschatological perspectives. These “near” tribulations foreshadowed the “far” Tribulation of the end time.
The sign that “these things” were about to be fulfilled was the appearance of the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong - a reference to the temple sanctuary. More precise identification may have been politically dangerous for his readers. Mark’s exhortation, “Let the reader understand”, was a decoding signal urging them to recognize the significance of Jesus’ words in light of their Old Testament context.
The word “abomination” denoted pagan idolatry and its detestable practices. The phrase “the abomination of desolation” referred to the presence of an idolatrous person or object so detestable that it caused the temple to be abandoned and left desolate.
Historically, the first fulfillment of Daniel’s prophetic use of the expression in Daniel 11:31-32 was the desecration of the temple in 167 b.c. by the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes who was frustrated by the Jews refusal to give up their religion and identity. He erected an altar to the pagan Greek god Zeus over the altar of burnt offering and sacrificed a pig on it (Josephus).
Jesus’ use of “the abomination of desolation” referred to another fulfillment—the temple’s desecration and destruction in a.d. 70. When His disciples, those present and future, see this desecration take place, it is a signal for people in Judea to escape to the mountains beyond the Jordan River in Perea.
Josephus recorded the occupation and the appalling profaning of the temple in a.d. 67-68 by Jewish Zealots, who also installed a usurper, Phanni, as high priest. Jewish Christians fled to Pella, a town located in the Transjordanian mountains.
These events of 167 b.c. and a.d. 70 foreshadow a final fulfillment of Jesus’ words just prior to His Second Advent. Mark used the masculine participle “standing” to modify the neuter noun “abomination”. This suggests that “the abomination” is a future person “standing where he does not belong.”
This person is the end-time Antichrist. He will make a covenant with the Jewish people at the beginning of the seven-year period preceding Christ’s second coming. The temple will be rebuilt and worship reestablished. In the middle of this period (after 3 1/2 years) the Antichrist will break his covenant, stop temple sacrifices, desecrate the temple, and proclaim himself to be God. This launches the terrible end-time events of the Great Tribulation. Those who refuse to be identified with the Antichrist will suffer severe persecution and be forced to flee for refuge. Many—both Jews and Gentiles—will be saved during this period but many will also be martyred.
When this crisis breaks, the person on the roof of his house must not take time to go inside to retrieve any possessions. The person working out in the field must not take time to go back to another part of the field or his house to get his cloak, an outer garment that protected against cold night air.
Jesus expressed compassion for pregnant women and nursing mothers forced to flee under such difficult circumstances. He exhorted His disciples to pray that this - the coming crisis necessitating their flight - will not happen during the winter, the rainy season when swollen streams would be difficult to cross.
The reason their flight was urgent and hopefully would be unhindered is that “those days” will be days of distress. The wording literally conveys the picture of something being crushed, pressed, compressed and squeezed as from a great weight. It is used to denote grievous physical affliction or mental and spiritual distress. This distress of the tribulation will be unequaled from the beginning of Creation until now... and never to be equaled again. At no time in the past, present, or future has there been or will there ever be such a severe tribulation as this.
This unprecedented distress was true of but not restricted to the destruction of Jerusalem meaning Jesus looked beyond a.d. 70 to the final Great Tribulation prior to His Second Advent. This is supported by these facts: (a) Mark 13:19 echoes Daniel 12:1, an end-time prophecy; (b) the words “never to be equaled again” indicate that another crisis will never be like this one; (c) “those days” link the “near” future with the “far” future (d) the days will be terminated.
If the Lord God had not already decided in His sovereign plan to cut short (meaning to terminate, not reduce the number of) those days, no one would survive (“would be saved”), that is, be delivered from physical death. But God set limits on the duration of the end-time. He did so because of the elect, those redeemed during “those days,” whom He has chosen for Himself. While all this proved true indirectly in a.d. 70, the language of this verse suggests God’s direct intervention in judgment, an unmistakable characteristic of the end-time Tribulation.
At that time - in the middle of “those days” - of severe affliction and flight, if someone should claim that the Christ (Messiah) was here or there, His disciples were not to believe it (either the fallacious claim, or possibly “him,” the person), and turn aside from taking refuge. Jesus explained that many false Christs and false prophets would appear and perform miraculous deeds that would seem to validate their claims. Their purpose would be to mislead the elect, the believers in the true Messiah. The clause “if that were possible” shows that they will not succeed.
Next, Jesus again exhorted His disciples, “Be on... guard” for deceptive pitfalls in these crisis days.
The word “But” in Verse 24 introduces a sharp contrast between the appearance of false messiahs who will perform miraculous signs and the dramatic coming of the true Messiah in those days following that distress. These phrases indicate a close connection with verses 14-23. If these verses apply exclusively to the events of a.d. 70 then Jesus Christ should have returned shortly thereafter. That He did not return then supports the view that Verses 14-23 refer to both the destruction of Jerusalem and the future Great Tribulation before Christ will return.
A variety of cosmic disorders involving the sun... moon, and stars will immediately precede the Second Advent. Jesus’ description is fashioned from Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4 without His quoting exactly from either passage. This vividly refers to observable celestial changes in the physical universe.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. Isaiah 13:10 (NIV)
4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. Isaiah 34:4 (NIV)
God is the great Creator of the constellations and He moves them as He pleases – Nothing is too hard for our God:
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26 (NIV)
The last statement - the heavenly bodies - literally, “the powers that are in the skies” will be shaken - may refer to physical forces controlling the movements of the celestial bodies which will be thrown out of their normal course. At that time when the cosmic events just mentioned have taken place, those people living on the earth then will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and heavenly glory. This is Jesus’ personal, visible, bodily return to the earth as the glorified Son of Man. Jesus described it in the familiar but elusive language of Daniel 7:13-14:
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14 (NIV)
Isaiah adds:
3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5 (NIV)
Jesus’ triumphant return will bring an end to the veiled nature of God’s kingdom in its present form. Also at that time the Son of Man will send forth His angels and gather His elect from the four winds. The “four winds” means from all directions, a reference to people living in all parts of the world, as emphasized by the last two phrases. None of the elect will be left out. None – praise Jesus!
Jesus moves to amplify what He has taught with an illustration from the fig tree. There is nothing complicated until He gets to the end, then a theological Pandora’s box is opened! Branches with developing leaves tell us summer is on the way. From this Jesus makes a theological affirmation: “When you see these things happening, know that He is near – at the door!” The events of Chapter 13, especially verses 14-25, tip us off that affairs in world history are moving toward a climactic end. These signs warn us that Jesus, the Son of Man, “is near” – ready to storm the citadels of sin, Satan, death, hell and the grave. The Antichrist and the false prophets are about to meet their doom. Imminence is clearly an essential component of biblical eschatology.
Jesus next drops an interpretive bomb in verse 30:
30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Mark 13:30 (NIV)
With solemn introductory words: “I tell you the truth”, Jesus declared that this generation will certainly not come to an end until all these things have taken place. “Generation” can refer to one’s “contemporaries”, all those living at a given time, or to a group of people descended from a common ancestor. Since the word “generation” is capable of both a narrow and a broad sense, it is preferable in this context to understand in it a double reference incorporating both senses. Thus “this generation” likely means: (a) the Jews living at Jesus’ time who later saw the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and (b) the Jews who will be living at the time of the Great Tribulation who will see the end-time events. This accounts best for the accomplishment of “all these things”.
Jesus’ assertion of “I tell you the truth” guarantees the fulfillment of His prophecy. The present universe will come to a cataclysmic end. Peter speaks of this as well:
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:7 (NIV)
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13 (NIV)
Yet Jesus’ words - including these predictions - will never pass away. They will have eternal validity. What is true of God’s words is equally true of Jesus’ words, for He is God.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)
89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89 (NIV)
Lastly, Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or the hour – not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Though it will be possible for some to discern the proximity of the coming crisis, no one knows the precise moment when that day or hour will arrive. The words “that day or hour” are widely understood to refer to the Son of Man’s second coming. The “day of the Lord” includes the Tribulation, the Second Advent, and the Millennium. It will begin suddenly and unexpectedly, and no one except the Father knows the critical moment. Paul tells us:
1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NIV)
Because no one knows when that time, the appointed time of God’s intervention, will come, Jesus repeated His admonition, “Be on guard!” and added, “Be alert!” The Parable of the Absent House Owner, unique to Mark, reinforces the call to constant vigilance and defines it as a faithful fulfillment of assigned tasks. Before going away on a journey the Owner put his servants collectively in charge of carrying on the work of his house. He gave each one his own task and ordered the doorkeeper who controlled all access to the house to keep watch. The wording meaning “a mindfulness of threatening dangers which, with conscious earnestness and an alert mind, keeps one from all drowsiness and all slackening in the energy of faith and conduct. In His eschatological discourses, the Lord demands constant watching and preparation for the decisive day of His appearing.” (NT Lexical Aids).
A Powerful Perspective – Michael Youssef (2)
We are all responsible to keep watch, to be alert to spiritual dangers and opportunities because no one knows when the Owner of the house, who indirectly represents Jesus Himself, will return. All believers should be watching and working in light of the certainty of His return, though its time is unknown except to the Father.
How Soon Will Jesus Return? Living in the Last Days – Jon Bloom (3)
Chapter Fourteen
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
The chapter begins with the chief priests and the teachers of the law slyly looking for some was to arrest Jesus and kill Him. Yet, they did not want this to happen during the feast fearing the people would riot as He was very popular with the crowds. Apparently they planned to arrest Him after the throngs had subsided, but Judas’ unexpected offer expedited matters. Thus God’s timetable was followed – as it always is!
Next we discover in this passage of Scripture a great contrast of an unnamed woman who gave Jesus her very best and a man in Jesus’ inner circle, Judas, who betrayed Him. Interestingly, of the woman Jesus said: “Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her”. Yet of the man our Lord states: “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”.
The scene opens up at Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper who apparently had been healed by Jesus earlier and was well known by the disciples. In John’s Gospel it is noted that the unnamed woman was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. She came with an alabaster jar, a small stone flask with a long slender neck, containing about a pint of costly perfume made of pure nard, an aromatic oil from a rare plant root native to India.
Mary broke the slender neck of the stone flask and poured the perfume over Jesus’ head. John wrote that she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair as well. Interestingly, each time we see Mary it is at Jesus’ feet. A woman normally would not approach a man in this public meal setting except to serve him food. Mary cared not one whit for cultural conventions. Jesus was her Lord and Master. She deeply loved Him and would have done anything for Him. She wanted everyone to know the inestimable value she placed on Jesus. No one could deny or doubt where her loyalty lay. Can the same be said for us? Where do our affections lie? The greatest work takes the greatest attention and requires the greatest cost.
The critics would have no part in praising what this woman had done. Some began to indignantly talk among themselves. Led by Judas, the traitor, in self-righteous pride and in harshness he rebuked her actions and questioned her motives. While she worshipped, they expressed displeasure and anger. They not only demeaned the woman they demeaned Jesus as well. To honor Christ in this manner, to them, was a waste. Obviously, they did not believe He was worthy of such a sacrifice of extravagant love and adoration.
Ronnie Stevens A Path To Discipleship March 11 (4)
It so often seems the world, and sadly also the church, have no problem with mere moderate and measured devotion to Christ. It’s ok to follow Him just not follow hard after Him. I mean, part of your heart is fine just don’t go overboard. They have little or no problem with too many possessions and a pursuit of a comfortable and convenient Christianity. But walk away from a “real career”, and you will be marked as foolish, living a “wasted life”. Walk away from the comfortable to serve the Lord in inner-city America among the poor and hurting and you will often be deemed silly and impractical. Yet Jesus is looking for wholehearted devotion and a willing mind from His followers whatever He calls us to do. Paul tells us in Colossians:
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)
Remember He calls every follower to be about doing His will and it will vary and look different in every soul. We are to keep our eyes on our own little red wagons – doing what He calls us to do - not what He has called others to do. Further, we are to admire and appreciate sincere loving faithfulness in others not scrutinize it or be envious of it. In Heaven we have a Master giving us a high five for loving faithful service to Him. When the first Christian martyr Stephen was stoned he saw the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Jesus stands to receive His faithful servant into glory. In our passage today, Jesus in effect stands up for another faithful servant, a woman who has showered Him with a sacrifice of extravagant love. “Leave her alone”, He commands them. Don’t harass her or give her a hard time. She has done something wonderfully beautiful and important – and she did what she could.
Jesus makes three striking observations about Mary. (1) “She has done what she could.” She held nothing back! (2) Her act of extravagant love had prophetic and symbolic significance (probably unbeknownst to her): “She has anointed My body in advance for burial.” (3) Jesus makes a promise that her sacrifice of extravagant love will never be forgotten as the gospel advances throughout “the whole world.” Even our discussion today of her actions is a validation of what Jesus promised. She did what she could. I wonder do we do what we can?
I Can’t Do This, God – Jon Bloom (5)
Some people find Jesus useful because of what they think they can get from Him. Others find Jesus beautiful because they get Him. This woman found Jesus beautiful and gave all she had to Him.
How The Story Of Your Life Changes The World For Generations To Come - Jackie Green and Lauren Green McAfee (6)
In Contrast, Judas found Jesus useful and sought to get all he could in exchange for Him. Judas was one of the twelve – he was so close to Jesus and yet he missed Him. Amazingly, Judas takes the initiative to turn Jesus over to the chief priests. We are told in both Luke and John that Satan moved him to betray the Master but Judas also made a freewill choice to do so. He willingly acquiesced due to the lack of wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Scripture tells us:
28 Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)
The walls surrounding a city were for its safety. If there was a breach in the wall, it gave the enemy access. That is the illustration here. Self-control is our internal wall. We must constantly check for breaches as the enemy is a good shot and can readily take us down if we do not keep our walls of self-control fortified. We know from other passages of Scripture that Judas was a thief. This was a breach in his wall. He loved money and Satan and self wooed him with it. Also, this is yet another example of one who perhaps at one time loved Jesus but just not that much – the wholehearted devotion part he totally missed. Beware ladies, it is so easy to fall. We fall into sin but we must pursue holiness. Oh, how I want to be like Mary. But oh, how often Judas so readily appears in the mirror. Only the Gospel of my Savior can heal this sin-sick soul.
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus is both the Suffering Servant of the Lord and the Sacrificial Lamb of God, who would die for the sins of the world according to the will of God. Jesus is not some tragic hero caught in events beyond His control. Neither does He cower or retreat rather Scripture tells us He resolutely set out for this event. He displays, as He has throughout the Gospel, a sovereign freedom and authority to follow a course He has freely chosen in accordance with God’s will and plan. Our King knows exactly where He is going and what will happen. Amazingly, sovereign grace will use even human evil to accomplish its saving purposes. Our Lord will be certain everything goes according to plan- everything. All Scripture must be fulfilled.
The disciples ask the Master where the memorial meal will take place so that they might go and make preparations. Jesus provides precise instructions and sends two of His guys into the city. They find everything exactly as He had said (go figure!). It is always just as He told them – it is always just as He tells us as well in His Word.
Unbeknownst to his guys, Jesus would be the Passover Lamb and He was in complete control of all the events leading to His death. The cross did not catch Him off guard. It was His scheduled divine appointment, as Peter would write, “before the foundation of the world”. Jesus’ confidence in God’s will should inspire us to trust Him even when the road of life may be difficult, painful, or even deadly. He is ever working something out for our good. What He allows in our lives is always for a refining work. Like the Rock Tumbler which takes ordinary rocks and adds water, grit and tumbling and produces polished stones, so too, God desires to make us into polished stones for His glory. God is always on the throne and always in total control. Nothing is chance and nothing is happenstance. No plan of His can be thwarted and He loves us with an everlasting love and always has our best interest at heart.
Next we see Jesus and His guys reclining at the table. He was not surprised by His betrayal rather heartbroken and disappointed. These were His most intimate and trusted companions. The betrayer was a close and trusted friend not an enemy. Our Lord surely was sad that Judas had allowed Satan to enter in. While they were reclining at the table Jesus utters words that must have shocked all and sent a chill throughout the room: “I assure you, one of you will betray Me – one who is eating with Me.” How He knew this we are never told, but He knew. Our Lord’s words provoked grief and soul searching in His guys, as they should. Each of the disciples began to ask Him, “Surely not I?”
Jesus then makes one of the most profound and theologically significant statements in the whole Bible. He says:
21 “The 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.” Mark 14:21 (NIV)
Jesus was predestined to be betrayed and crucified. The one betraying Jesus was pitied in spite of his unconscionable deed (“woe to that man”). Jesus loved and cared even for Judas. The future judgment for Judas will be so terrible it would have been better if he had not been born. Revelation will always bring responsibility. Even though Judas’ betrayal was ordained according to God’s plan, he was morally responsible for his freewill action. Jesus will be betrayed and crucified according to God’s predetermined will, but this in no way relieved Judas of his responsibility and guilt. In a divine mystery we will never completely comprehend in this life, we embrace the truth and tension that divine sovereignty never cancels out human freedom and moral responsibility. Both are true. We affirm them both.
Sadly, the answer to each disciple’s question – “Is it I?” – requires an answer of “yes” from each and every one of us. Yes, Judas betrayed Jesus, but by morning all the disciples would betray Him from weakness, fear, and cowardice. We are all like Judas because every sin against Jesus is a personal act of betrayal. Yet this is where the grace of the Gospel shines so brightly: even those who betray this great and glorious Savior can experience immediate and complete forgiveness through simple repentance and confession of sin.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Godly repentance will grieve over the terrible thing it has done, but then it flees to the foot of the cross – to Jesus – who took that sin on Himself at the cross. In grace God forgives and He provides the strength to move forward in the “family of the forgiven.” If only Judas had repented of his sin he would have been forgiven yet he went to the wrong source for forgiveness.
Jesus had already served His disciples by washing their feet. Now we see Him serving them again as He institutes what we call “the Last Supper”.
“He who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of himself.” Bonhoeffer
Jesus’ death made possible for us a new and greater exodus than Moses as we are set free from our slavery to sin. The Passover meal was the proper occasion for the Lord’s Supper to be instituted. Keller writes:
“It included four points at which the presider, holding a glass of wine, got up and explained the Feast’s meaning. The four cups of wine represented the four promises made by God in Exodus 6:6-7. These promises were for rescue from Egypt, for freedom from slavery, for redemption by God’s power, and for a renewed relationship with God. The third cup came at a point when the meal was almost completely eaten.”
This third cup is most likely the one mentioned in Verse 23. The Passover meal is proceeding as usual when suddenly Jesus departs from the normal script. What He says are the words of a madman unless He is the Son of God and the true Passover Lamb. Breaking the bread and blessing it, He says, “Take it; this is My body.” Next, He takes the cup, blesses it, and “they all drank from it.” Then he says, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”. The new covenant, like the old covenant, is a “blood covenant”. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Hebrews tells us:
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 (NIV)
That is “shed for many” informs us that the new covenant, promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is made possible by the death of Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant of the Lord” who “bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).
31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)
Jesus brings things to a close by refusing to drink the fourth and final cup. It is the cup of consummation and life in the promised land of God. For that cup He will wait. First, He must drink to the last drop the cup of God’s wrath and justice. Apart from it, no cup of blessing would be possible.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
Jesus is the righteous King who endured betrayal and shame for the sake of sinners. He drank the cup of God’s wrath so that we might drink the cup of salvation. He submitted Himself in the garden of Gethsemane that He might save sinners on the cross. Jesus is the King who suffers alone for His people. Again, Hebrews states:
27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)
Our Lord has celebrated Passover with the disciples and in so doing instituted the “Lord’s Supper,” a memorial that pictures His bloody atonement and anticipates the coming of the kingdom of God in all its glory. The evening, however, has a dark cloud hanging overhead: one of His closest friends will betray Him. Jesus will suffer at the hands of His enemies who have been plotting His death for some time. He also will suffer at the betrayal of his friends who fail Him in His hour of need, sell Him out, abandon Him, and deny Him. And He will suffer at the hands of His Father, whose will it was that He should drink the cup of divine wrath that each of us should have drunk. Yes, to the amazement of the angels and the wonder of sinners saved by grace, “the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely” (Isaiah 53:10). It was the will of the Father to kill His beloved Son so that He would not have to kill you and me.
The suffering of this great King is multifaceted: personal, physical, mental, and most of all, spiritual. Jesus saw His loving Father’s hand in it all. He trusted Him in His most trying hour, an hour our finite human minds can never full comprehend. Oh the solitary suffering of the Savior King!
“Our addiction to success, to grandiosity, to winning has gone unchecked. We forget that we are followers of a suffering servant, bearers of the Cross, participants in a cruciform story.” Chuck DeGroat
As they finished the Passover dinner, the Lord and His disciples probably sang one of the final Hallel psalms and then headed out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus tells them that not only would He be betrayed but also they, “will all fall away”. This would be the fulfillment prophesized in Zechariah 13:7:
7 “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered”. Zechariah 13:7 (NIV)
As stated, His suffering and death were divinely ordained and sanctioned. Using the evil intentions and actions of sinful men, God will work the greatest possible good in saving sinners. The disciples will scatter like frightened mice, but hope will not be lost. Jesus assured them, “After I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee” (14:28). Where He first called them, there He will meet them again. There He will return, reclaim, and recommission them for the work of taking the gospel to the nations. Talk about making “beauty from ashes”!
Proverbs 16:18 states:
18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)
Yet sadly we often forget these words and suffer the consequences. Peter joins us: hearing Jesus predict their defection, he steps up and with arrogance and bravado announces, “Even if everyone runs away, I will certainly not!” Wow! What a declaration of fidelity! Yet in making this bold pronouncement, Peter, in essence, calls Jesus a liar. Jesus says they will fall away. Peter responds, “No I won’t!” Our Lord responds to Peter, and though His word contains a rebuke, I cannot help but imagine they were delivered with compassion and kindness: 30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today--yes, tonight--before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” Mark 14:30 (NIV)
You would think that Jesus’ Words would have flat out silenced Peter but not so – he even raises the stakes! And all the others chimed in as well! Beware of who you follow!
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. Mark 14:31 (NIV)
All of us would like to think we would have succeeded where Peter and the disciples failed. We would also hope to exhibit greater humility and a more controlled tongue! But if we are honest, we probably would have said the same thing and acted in the same way. Human nature is so human nature, amen?? Thankfully, His guys were the recipients of our Savior’s gracious forgiveness and restoration – as are we! Jesus accepted that He would be abandoned and left alone in His darkest hour so that you and I would never be abandoned or left alone either. The writer of Hebrews so sweetly states the precious promise for all of us:
5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
Next, we see Jesus on sacred, holy ground as we discover the depths of His agony and pain in which He endured the night alone for His love of sinners like us. Jesus takes the disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He would often go there with His guys more than likely to pray. He told His disciples to “sit here while I pray”. This is the third and final time Mark records our Lord praying alone. Each occasion was a time of significant importance, but none more than this one.
Jesus was deeply distressed and horrified. James Edwards states: “ Jesus words, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’; echoes the haunting lament of the downcast and dejected soul in some of the Psalms. Yet, Nothing in all the Bible can compare to Jesus’ agony and anguish in Gethsemane – neither the laments of the Psalms, nor the broken heart of Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac, nor David’s grief at the death of his son Absalom.”
Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay and watch – be alert and pray. Sadly, they stay and sleep instead. He left them and went a bit further, fell to the ground under the massive burden He was carrying, and asked His Father that if possible, the hour might pass from Him. The intensity and intimacy of the request is staggering: 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36 (NIV)
He would pray that same prayer again and Matthew informs us that He did it a third time as well. Yet He continued to trust God in spite of the exceptional trauma of the moment. What’s more, the “cup” that He prayed might be removed was not the physical pain He would endure on the cross. Indeed, many Christian martyrs have gone to their death with thanksgiving and joy with no evidence whatsoever that they wished to avoid the hour of their martyrdom. No, the cup that so distressed and troubled Jeus was the spiritual suffering he would endure as He would bear the sins of the world and drink to the last drop the fierce wrath of God as our substitute. Keller writes:
“In the garden of Gethsemane, He turns to the Father and all He can see before Him is wrath, the abyss, the chasm, the nothingness of the cup…Jesus began to experience the spiritual, cosmic, infinite disintegration that would happen when He became separated from His Father on the cross. Jesus began to experience merely a foretaste of that, and He staggered.”
The anguish and pain of the cross was not what concerned His soul. It was knowing that He would be abandoned by and separated from His Father as He answered “for every sin and crime and act of malice and injury and cowardice and evil in the world.” That is what brought Him to His knees and moved Him to make His poignant plea.
As Jesus struggles for the souls of men His guys are sawing logs! His closest friends sleep soundly some distance away. The tone of our Lord’s chastening was, no doubt, mild and full of grace. He encourages them to be watchful and prayerful – just as we are to be! Temptation is ever lurking nearby, and, sadly, redeemed spirits are still attached to sinful flesh. The flesh’s weakness actually acts with great power to take us where we do not want to go. Jesus knew they wanted to be strong for Him. He also knew they would fail.
Jesus has agonized over His passion, and he has done it alone. He wakens them: “Enough! The time has come.” The issue is settled! Jesus’ will and His Fathers are now united! For the joy set before Him – as the writer of Hebrews states - He will endure the cross and all that it entails. Gethsemane was “hell” for Jesus, but I am so thankful He went through it. You see, if there is no Gethsemane, there is no Calvary. If there is no Calvary, there can be no empty tomb. And if there is no empty tomb, there is only hell for us.
While Jesus is talking, Judas arrives with an armed crowd from the Sanhedrin – the “temple police”. They may also have been accompanied by Roman soldiers. Judas gives Jesus a greeting of respect and plants a kiss of betrayal and death on His cheek, identifying clearly the one they came to arrest. The religious Gestapo springs into action. No charges were made. Following legal protocol was not on their agenda this night!
The disciples may have been taken by surprise but Peter drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear. His name was Malchus, probably a servant of the high priest Caiaphas. Jesus immediately heals Malchus rebuking the mob for their extreme methods. He is no robber or political revolutionary. He had been with them day after day teaching in the temple. They knew who He was. They could have arrested Him at any time. Arresting Him late at night in a quiet, secluded location showed their cowardice. It was shameful. It was also a fulfillment of Scripture. Isaiah prophesized:
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3 (NIV)
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. Isaiah 53:8 (NIV)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 (NIV)
Mark 14:50-52 records the sad defection of the disciples – all of them! Those who just a short time earlier boasted that they would die for Him are now nowhere to be found. An anonymous “young man” was nearly captured but fled the scene in the buff. Church tradition says that was Mark the author of the gospel we are studying! So again, as it was in the Garden of Eden, our nakedness is exposed as we desert the God who loves us and has graced us so abundantly with His kindness and good gifts. Jesus is left alone – forsaken - to face the wrath of man and the wrath of God. He will receive all that we deserve, that we might receive all that He deserves – the “Great Exchange” has begun.
Before the Sanhedrin
The Savior’s final hours were both unjust and illegal. Jesus endured six hearings in a matter of hours – three ecclesiastical trials before the Jewish religious authorities and three civil trials before the Roman political authorities. It is difficult to count up all the violations of the Jewish law He underwent. For example, in capital cases like Jesus’, trials at night were forbidden. In cases, where a guilty verdict was reached, a second day and session were required to ensure a fair trial. Such a trial should not convene on a Sabbath or festival. In addition, a charge of blasphemy could not be sustained unless the defendant cursed God’s name, and then the penalty was to be death by stoning, not crucifixion. In Jesus’ case no formal meeting of the Sanhedrin ever took place in the temple precincts, which was the proper location for a trial. Nor was Jesus provided or even offered a defense attorney. Furthermore, His trial was at night because criminals could not be executed on the Sabbath. If Jesus was arrested on Thursday night, things had to move swiftly if He was to be killed and buried by dusk on Friday, before the start of the Sabbath. Regarding the time of the trial, “an all-night session of the Jewish authorities was demanded by the fact that Roman officials like Pilate worked early in the morning and then refused to take on new cases for the rest of the day. If Jesus could not be presented to Pilate early Friday morning, the case would drag on till after the Sabbath – along with mounting risks of mob violence.
These religious leaders were motivated by expediency and therefore judicial procedure was of little concern to them when the hour demanded quick action. When there is a will to remove an undesirable enemy, a way will be found!
So it is the beginning of the end for the great King or so they thought! Religious and political authorities will conspire to put Him to death. And His closest companion will draw near only to deny that he ever knew Him. He is left all alone.
Under exceptional duress and persecution, Jesus will stand up and speak out, bearing clear testimony concerning who He is and what He will do. He knows it will seal His fate. He also knows it is what He must do. The souls of mankind hang in the balance.
Jesus was taken to the high priest, a man named Caiaphas. He had succeeded his father-in-law, Annas, who had been removed by the Romans but still wielded enormous influence. Peter, apparently alone, followed Him at a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. The kangaroo court of the chief priest and the Sanhedrin sought witnesses against Jesus but struck out. Their testimonies “did not agree” with one another. Yet still as far as this tribunal was concerned, Jesus was guilty until proven innocent.
The trial was not going as planned – the case unraveling and headed for disaster from the perspective of the religious leaders. Then the high priest Caiaphas rises and begins to interrogate the Lord Jesus. Any idea of judicial impartiality flies out the proverbial window. Jesus does not respond to his questions reminiscent of Isaiah 53:7:
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 (NIV)
No doubt frustrated by now, the high priest addresses Jesus again and asks Him under oath, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
“The effect is to put a full Christological confession into the mouth of the high priest!...Jesus’ arch-prosecutor confesses His name! How ironic that in the Gospel of Mark the two most complete Christological confessions from humans occur in the mouth of those responsible for Jesus’ death: the high priest in 14:61 and the centurion at the cross in 15:30.” James Edwards
Called, under divine oath, to bear witness to His true identity, He directly and openly affirms, “I am”. He also identifies the Messiah with Daniel’s apocalyptic Son of Man:
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.” Mark 14:62 (NIV)
It is as if Jesus is stating: Today I stand before you, but there is coming a day when you will stand before Me in judgment! A great reversal is coming! His words set off an uproar of self-righteous indignation. As far as they were concerned, Jesus had condemned Himself with His own words. The high priest rules He is guilty of blasphemy, a capital offense, and first says that no other witnesses are needed and second asks what the verdict of the Council will be – “And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death”.
Things move from unjust to shameful as they spit on Him, insult Him, blindfold Him, mock Him, strike Him and taunt Him. Again, our Lord remains silent. They beat and slapped the innocent and loving man who, as Acts 10:38 says:
38 went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
It is hard to put into words the severity of this miscarriage of justice. And it will get much worse.
Peter Disowns Jesus
Just a few hours earlier Peter had pledged that even if all the other disciples fall away he would not. He goes on to say that he would die with Jesus rather than deny Him. We simply don’t know our own hearts do we? In less that 20 verses later Peter had run away just like everyone else when Jesus was arrested. Now, we find him, drawing close to the place where our Lord is being held. He is in the courtyard and a servant girl notices him and says to him: “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus”. Peter blatantly rejects her accusation. To avoid further scrutiny, Peter moved out into the entryway and again the servant girl sees him and says: “his fellow is one of them”. And again he denies it. The “rock” is beginning to crack! This servant girl is persistent and unrelenting in her (or God’s!) pursuit of Peter. She, along with others began to say: “This man is one of them”. James Edwards states: “A change in place is no substitute for a change of heart. Like a guilty conscience, the servant girl accuses Peter a second time.”
Peter is now on the hot seat in front of others. Here is his chance to “man up,” regain his courage, and take a stand for the Jesus for whom he had expressed undying loyalty. Unfortunately, “again he denied it”. The tense of the verb he used means he kept on denying that he belonged to Jesus. It was not a one-time slip of the tongue. The fracture of this rock is growing.
Peter failed the Lord three times in the garden of Gethsemane. Now he fails Him three times in the courtyard of the high priest. Initially, he failed Him by sleeping when he should have been praying. Now he fails Him by denying Him when he should have confessed Him. The rock named Peter crumbles and is pulverized under the pressure.
Again the bystanders call to Peter, “You certainly are one of them, since you are also a Galilean”. This was all Peter could take. He puts himself under a divine curse. “If I am lying may God strike me dead” is a modern idiom that captures Peter’s sentiment. “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” Peter does not even mention Jesus’ name, thereby distancing himself even further from this now convicted capital criminal.
“Immediately, a rooster crowed a second time.” Peter then “remembered” that Jesus had predicted his denial. This broke him, and he, overwhelmed by this betrayal and cowardice, “began to weep”. At the very moment he was voicing his third denial, Jesus “turned and looked at Peter”. Sinclair Ferguson says, “That look was to be his salvation, for he saw in those eyes not condemnation but compassion. That was the turning point in his life…Now, in this most painful and memorable of ways, Peter saw himself as he really was, repented, and was remade into the great apostle.”
The Strongest Men Are Gentle – Dave Mathis (7)
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.