Gospel of Mark/Chapter 14:1-21/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 14:1-21 14:1 “Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread was two days off; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth, and kill Him” 14:2 “For they were saying, ‘Not during the festival, lest there be a riot of the people” These verses introduce a section that will involve Jesus’ suffering and resurrection.

The Passover was the celebration that commemorated the historical event when the angel of the Lord passed over the homes of the Hebrews on the night he killed all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:13,23,27). The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed the Passover and lasted seven days. Since the Lord’s Supper was after the Passover meal and took place on Thursday night, this incident must have taken place on Wednesday.

Earlier the Jewish leaders had sent the temple police to arrest Jesus, but this had failed (John 7:32, 45ff). The term “stealth” means “deception, cunning, and treachery”. “It suggests that the leaders of the nation deliberately abandoned all conscience to seek out unashamedly deceitful means to trap Jesus. They were seeking some stratagem, some cunning plan, to arrest Jesus which would not

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compromise their public image or cripple their authority” (Fowler p. 620). Jesus will later expose their underhandedness to their face (Luke 22:52; John 18:20ff).

Apparently the Jewish leaders were not afraid that Jesus might use His miraculous powers against them, but rather, they feared the multitudes that might turn on them (Matthew 21:26). Jesus’ popularity with the multitudes was their principle preoccupation, because during a feast attended by thousands of Jews from all over the world (Acts 2:5-11), He would be surrounded by sympathetic supporters.

Like Tabernacles and Pentecost, Passover was one of the pilgrim feasts, in which huge crowds came to Jerusalem. They were afraid that such crowds would contain many of Jesus’ supporters.

Like Tabernacles and Pentecost, Passover was one of the pilgrim feasts, in which huge crowds came to Jerusalem. They were afraid that such crowds would contain many of Jesus’ supporters. Yet, they will change their plan when Judas approaches them with his offer of betrayal.

Jesus Anointed 14:3 “And while He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper”: “So great were the crowds who came to the Passover that they could not all possibly obtain a lodging within the city of Jerusalem itself, and Bethany was one of the places outside the boundaries of the city, a place for the overflow of the pilgrims to stay” (Barclay p. 126). Bethany was located east of Jerusalem on the road heading to Jericho, about 2 miles from the city of Jerusalem (John 11:18).

It does appear that the supper mentioned in John 12:1ff and Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9 are the same supper. While Matthew and Mark both mention something Jesus said and something the Jewish rulers did two days before the Passover (Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1), it appears that the feast mentioned thereafter is the feast mentioned by John. Lenski notes, ‘”Six days before the Passover” (John 12) is not in conflict with the two days before the Passover mentioned in Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1. Neither of these two evangelists gives the date for the supper at Bethany. They report a saying of Jesus that He would be betrayed and crucified at the feast of the Passover two days hence, while at the 2

same time the Jewish authorities resolved not to destroy Him at the time of the Passover. Then, without following the chronological sequence of events, these two evangelists report the supper. Matthew merely says, “now when Jesus was in Bethany”, and Mark, “and being in Bethany”, neither fixing the date. John supplements the others and records the date (pp. 834-835).

14:3 “And reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head” John records that it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus who performed this deed (John 12:3). “Pure nard”, that is the genuine article, not a substitute or generic brand. “Nard is the plant which furnishes the essence for the perfume, the finest coming from India” (Lenski p. 839). “Nard is an aromatic herb grown in the high pasture-land of the Himalayas, between Tibet and India. In view of the fact that it had to be procured in a region so remote, and carried on camelback through miles and miles of mountain-passes, it was very high-priced” (Hendriksen p. 175). Mark records that this perfume was housed in an alabaster vial (14:3). Alabaster was a kind of soft, white marble, which was very adapted to preserving the odor of perfume. These vials came in various shapes and sizes, though they were often long and slender at the top and round and full at the bottom.

“One can picture the scene. Her heart overflowing with love and gratitude for her Lord, Mary has occupied a position behind Jesus, as the guests, according to custom, are reclining on couches arranged in inverted U-shape fashion around a low table. Suddenly she breaks the jar which she is holding in her hand, and she pours its sweet-smelling contents over Jesus” (Hendriksen p. 176). John records that she anointed His feet, and Matthew and Mark record that she pours it on his head (Mark 14:3; Matthew 26:7). There is no contradiction here, for the contents eventually were poured over the length of His body (Mark 14:8).

Be impressed that the Gospel writers were not copying each other, for there is no need for that, they wrote by inspiration! “Matthew and Mark record that Mary anointed the head. John takes it for granted that his readers know these records and supplements them by stating that Mary anointed the feet. The precious fluid 3

was abundant; poured out upon the head and flowing upon the neck and the shoulders, enough was left for the feet, in fact, so much that Mary wiped off the feet with her hair” (Lenski pp. 839-840).

14:4 “But some were indignantly remarking to one another, ‘Why has this perfume been wasted?”

14:5 “For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor’. And they were scolding her” It appears that Judas started the protest (John 12:4) then the other disciples joined in. Even a week before the Passover, Judas had definite intentions about betraying Jesus. We cannot excuse Judas for his actions, for God did not (Acts 1:18). His betrayal was not a moment of weakness, an act of confusion, rather it was planned and premeditated. In addition, Judas was also of thief (12:6).

Tenney notes, “The two chief personages in the account are Mary and Judas. The contrast between them is striking. Mary was the embodiment of self-sacrifice; Judas, of selfishness. Mary expressed her feeling in a costly gift; Judas, by cheap sarcasm. Mary took the place of a servant of Jesus; Judas constituted himself a critic” (p. 182). Which attitude do we possess? Are we prepared to sacrifice, give, and serve? Or we the critic, the complainer, the person who sees God’s will as too-taxing, as asking too much, as being unworkable? Do we want Christianity to work for us, or are we willing to work for Jesus? Do we want a Christianity that is popular, successful and convenient, or do we simply want to sit at Jesus’ feet, regardless of the cost?

The average worker earned one denarii a day, and taking into account the Sabbath days, this amount would be an entire salary for a whole year. It’s interesting that Judas knew exactly what that vial of perfume would have sold for at the local market.

14:5 “The money given to the poor”: It was customary among the Jews to give gifts to the poor on the evening of the Passover. “They were scolding her”: The disciples were completely blind concerning the importance of what Mary did.

“This is all the more surprising since they had often enjoyed the generous 4

hospitality of Mary, her sister, Martha, and her brother, Lazarus, while in Bethany” (Gaebelein p. 756). John reports that Judas was not concerned about the poor, rather, he was the treasurer of the group and had been embezzling funds. He was angry that he did not have access to the 300 denarii.

14:6 “But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me’” : Jesus immediately speaks up and comes to her defense.

14:7 “For the poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you do not always have Me” “There are things which we can do almost any time; and there are some things which we will never do, unless we grasp the chance to do them when it comes” (Barclay pp. 130-131). The poor can be helped everyday, but Jesus will not be with them in the flesh for that much longer. Poverty will never to eradicated (Deut. 15:11). Where Jesus is honored, where people unselfishly seek to serve Him, the poor will be taken care of. “How the disciples must have regretted their actions here in later days. How they must have felt the shame of criticizing Mary when they themselves allowed these precious opportunities of showing loving concern pass by” (Butler p. 171).

14:8 “She has done what she could”: We are never helpless. There is always something that we can do. “She has anointed My body beforehand for the burial”: The question from the above passage has been, “How much did Mary really know about the impending death of Christ?” From these passages are we to infer that Mary saw something that the other disciples did not see, that is, He was headed for definite danger and death? Is this anointing purely out of gratitude for raising her brother, or is there also an element of deep sorrow, the feeling that she might lose Jesus to an impending death? A case could be made that Mary was the best listener of those who followed Jesus (Luke 10:39). In addition, Jesus had often spoken about His death (Matthew 9:22; 16:21; Mark 8:31,32; 9:12; 10:32-34; John 6:52-56; 7:33; 8:21-23; 10:11,15). Had Mary seen the truth that the other disciples had refused to see?

14:9 “And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of in memory of her”: 5

Jesus knew the truths which would be revealed through the Holy Spirit and written down for all time (John 16:13; Ephesians 3:3-5). Woods notes, “Had she followed the suggestion to sell the nard and give the proceeds to the poor, a few no doubt would have benefited; but thousands upon thousands, in ages to follow, would have lost immeasurably more than the objects of her charity would have then gained. This teaches us the important lesson that a good work for Christ does not die in the doing of it. Here is impressive proof of the far-reaching consequences of unconscious influence. One murmurer may poison a whole community; another, like Mary, may inspire multitudes” (p. 256).

This is also another prediction of His resurrection, because the preaching of the gospel presupposes the Resurrection. Anywhere in the world that the good news is preached, Mary’s act of love and devotion will be remembered.

Judas Makes His Plans 14:10 “And Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests, in order to betray Him to them” Various commentators have attempted to understand Judas’ motivation for betraying Jesus. Some say Judas was vindictive, having just recently been rebuked

by Jesus (Matthew 26:10). Others say that Judas had grown frustrated with Jesus’ lack of political ambition. Some feel that Judas was trying to force Jesus’ hand, to where Jesus would be forced to defend Himself, display His power, and set up an earthly kingdom. Yet the above verse seems to have the motivation right before us, when Judas asked for money to betray Jesus, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?” (Matthew 26:15). That is, in the final analysis, Judas was motivated by greed (John 12:6).

14:11 “And they were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time” The reason that the Jewish leadership needed Judas was because they wanted to arrest Jesus when no one was around, with as little commotion as possible. Yet Jesus was apparently difficult to find at night, and His habits were not always predictable. By accepting Judas’ help, the Jewish leaders unknowingly 6

surrendered control of the situation back to Jesus. Jesus would not die after the festival, but during the Passover festival. Undoubtedly, the priests and Judas imagined themselves in control of the situation. Fowler notes, “Those who would not willingly serve Him as instruments of righteousness, can, without violation of their human will, be made to serve the purposes of God. Even while they are bent on gratifying their selfish desires, God’s program moves irresistibly forward” (p.

655).

Some feel that Judas was set up to fail, seeing that the Old Testament had clearly predicted that a friend would betray Jesus, yet the Old Testament did not name the specific individual who would do this. God knew that Jesus would be betrayed, but by whom and how were items that were left up to human free will.

“Here was opportunity for anyone to betray Him, Judas, moved by his own ambitious desires, took the bait” (Fowler p. 648). The same thing is true with “who” would move for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus knew it would be the scribes and chief priests, but individual scribes and priests did have the choice to distance themselves from such a plot (Mark 15:43). The same is true with heaven and hell.

God knows that the majority will be lost (Matthew 7:13-14), but specific individuals have the choice as to which gate they will enter. Finally, God can look ahead into the future and see who will betray him or sin, yet the sinner is always given the opportunity to repent, and Peter took advantage of this. Plus, God knowing that someone will fall into temptation does not mean that God determines that event, knowing the future, is not the same as determining the future.

The Passover 14:12 “And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?’”

The Passover was a one-night celebration on the 14th of Nisan and the feast of Unleavened Bread lasted from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan (see Exodus 12:1-5; 12:3-10). Since the feast of Unleavened Bread immediately follows the Passover, at which only unleavened bread is also eaten, the day of the Passover itself could 7

be considered “the first day of Unleavened Bread”. This would be Thursday, the 14th of Nisan. This is confirmed by the fact, that it is the first day of Unleavened Bread, yet the Passover has not been eaten yet.

14:12 “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”: Apparently, Jesus might have hidden the name of this man from Judas, thus preventing Judas from betraying Him prior to the establishment of the Lord’s Supper and His very important teaching to the apostles in John chapters 13-17.

Luke records that Peter and John were specifically sent on this mission. In addition, while not naming the man, Jesus lets Peter and John know they will recognize this man when they enter the crowded city of Jerusalem. There was no time to lose, because the Passover meal had to be eaten between sundown and midnight.

14:13-14 “And He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him: and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, ‘Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’”

Here we see once again that God is never taken by surprise, but rather, that God takes care of everything in advance. There would be thousands of people looking for such a room in Jerusalem on this night, but everything has been prepared.

Jesus may have had previous contact with the owner of this house, yet there is supernatural knowledge in the fact that Jesus knew that this man would meet them with the water-pot at exactly the right moment.

14:13 “A man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water”: Such a man would be easy to spot for customarily women , not men, carried such jars.

14:15 “And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; and prepare for us there” This would include such things as the preparation of the Lamb. Unless the owner of the Upper Room furnished everything, the two disciples would need to procure unleavened bread, fruit of the vine, bitter herbs, and roast the lamb. Thousands of lambs were normally slain between three and five o’clock on the 14th of Nisan 8

by hundreds of priests with the assistance of Levites who skinned them (2 Chron.

35:1-19).

14:16 “And the disciples went out, and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover”: Everything was ready. Table, cushions and all the food.

14:17 “And when it was evening He came with the twelve”: Mark notes (Mark 14:17) that Jesus did not even come near the Upper Room until after sunset.

Matthew picks up the narrative with Jesus already present and reclining at the table. He was sitting or reclining in Roman style on a couch, or in the Oriental custom, on cushions arranged on the floor around a low (U-shaped?) table in the center of which the food was placed. “With the twelve”: Means others were absent, such as the women who followed Him and other disciples who were apparently scattered out over Jerusalem as guests in private homes or camped out on the hills surrounding the City.

14:18 “And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me---one who is eating with Me’” Jesus must reveal this truth so as to prove that the impending betrayal did not catch Him by surprise, so they would hopefully be better braced for it when it came (John 13:11,19). Foreknowledge of what Judas was about to do did not diminish the pain for Jesus. He is fully aware that one of His own men is under contract to betray Him. He warns Judas, without exposing him by name to give Judas the opportunity to repent. “Study how Jesus treated Judas, and stand in awe of God’s respect for human freedom. The Lord did not expose him by name, violently attack Him or wither him with supernatural power. His arsenal of appeals was multiple and varied: He began by shocking him with the heinousness of what he was contemplating, a move that was calculated to catch Judas completely off-guard. Then He appealed to Judas’ sense of fellowship and love.

Last, He appealed to Judas’ self-defensive instinct by a stern warning well calculated to stir his fear of God” (Fowler p. 673).

14:18 “One who is eating with Me”: That is, one of the twelve.

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14:19 “They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, ‘Surely not I?’” This statement shocked the disciples, which reveals that none of the disciples had ever suspected that Judas was weak or less than faithful, or that he had been stealing from their common fund. Not one said, “I know who it is, it is Judas!” In addition, since Jesus did not reveal when this betrayal would take place, they may not have even connected the betrayal with this very night.

“Each dismayed, ‘Is it I Lord?’ should have shaken Judas with powerful force, because the betrayer knew the innocence of each man. Dare we ask ourselves with the same painful objectively what kind of situation or temptations would ever undermine our resolve to serve Jesus? This humility is the only appropriate spirit with which to approach the Lord’s Supper” (Fowler pp. 675-676).

14:20 “And He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl” Rather than use knives and forks to eat, they dipped their food from the common dish with their hands. Because many were dipping in the bowl with Jesus during that meal, the dipping would not unmask the traitor. Yet, there may have been several dishes at this meal, indicating that maybe four or five apostles had been using the dish that was immediately in front of Jesus. Edersheim pictures Judas seated on Jesus’ left and John on His right, it would be an easy matter for Judas to dip his hand with Jesus in the dish. It also would explain how Jesus could easily be talking directly with Judas without others hearing (Matthew 26:25) and then hand him the sop (John 13:25ff).

Jesus’ purpose here is not to point out who the betrayer is, but rather to reveal the true evil of the betrayer. The person betraying Jesus is right now his table companion, sharing a meal with Jesus, and pretending to be a close friend. The ultimate treachery, as Jesus hammers it out, is that one would arise from this supper, in which he had shared from the same dish as Jesus, and go out and repudiate everything that Jesus had taught.

14:21 “For the Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” 10

Yet, the betrayal did not catch God by surprise, rather, even the evil purposes of sinners is used in God’s plan. No one is forcing Jesus to die, no one will take His life from Him, and rather, He will offer Himself freely. He explains to the disciples and Judas why He was making no move to stop this terrible deed.

“The words of Jesus stop the mouths of the apologists for Judas. When the judge thus speaks in condemnation, who shall presume to argue in extenuation?”

(McGarvey p. 653).

Here it is clear that there is a state worse than not being born. Hell is not a place where people cease to exist, for that is the same condition as not being born.

Rather, not existing is preferable to hell, which is a place of eternal torment. “The Lord’s dire warning actually treats Judas with merciful indulgence by effectually furnishing the traitor a motive, hence also a chance, to back out of this conspiracy! A close friend would betray Jesus (Psalm 41:9), but Judas does not have to be that man, nor, he does not have to remain that man!

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