INTERNET BIBLE STUDIES Mark Lesson 15
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Mark Chapter 14:1-31

Memory verses for this week:  Prov 6:6  Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:  Prov 6:7  Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Prov 6:8  Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

Introduction: We continue with our study of Mark this week as we cover the first half of Chapter 14.  Jesus taught the disciples in Chapter 13 about what would happen during the end times and what we should expect.   We were warned to not be surprised when the world hates us because of our love for God.   Jesus taught about the blooming of the fig tree and how there would come 7 years of tribulation on the earth.  Tribulation that will be worse than any before it on the earth.  We were warned to be watching for Christ’s return.

I. The Plot to Put Jesus to Death

Mark 14:1  After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.

The Passover was a feast of the Jews instituted in the days of Moses while they were in the land of Egypt.   We read about it in Exodus Chapter 12 and it tells us here what they were to do at this feast.   We know it was in remembrance of God passing over the firstborn child and not putting that child to death if they had the blood sprinkled on the door posts and lintel.

Exo 12:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

Exo 12:2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Exo 12:3  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Exo 12:4  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

Exo 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

Exo 12:6  And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

Exo 12:7  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Exo 12:9  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

Exo 12:10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

Exo 12:11  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.

Exo 12:12  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

Exo 12:13  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

Exo 12:25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Today we don’t celebrate the Passover feast, but we remember what Christ did for us there on Calvary when we partake of the Lord’s supper.   In our church, we typically observe this once per year as they did the Passover feast.    We know that God truly passed over us and our sins when we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Mark 14:2  But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

The religious leaders wanted to destroy Christ, but they were afraid to take Jesus during the feast unless there be an uproar of the people.  Jesus was surrounded by several thousand Galileans who would be taking part in the feast.   What is hard to believe is that we see no record that anyone prayed or considered what God thought of their plan.   We need to be fearful of anyone with big plans without consulting God about them.

J. Vernon McGee had some more information considering the Passover feast.

The Passover was observed on the fourteenth day of the first month, which is the Jewish month Nisan and corresponds to our April. “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover” (Lev. 23:5). Then the Feast of Unleavened Bread was on the fifteenth day of the same month and it continued for seven days thereafter. “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread” (Lev. 23:6). It was, I think, the intention of these eleven rulers to take Jesus at the end of the Passover season, after the crowds had left Jerusalem, and then put Him to death.

 

They decided they would not do it on the feast day—that is, during the Passover season, which is the Feast of Unleavened Bread and which extended for seven days. You see, at the end of that seven days the people would begin to leave Jerusalem and then they would reach out and put their hands upon Him. The reason they didn’t want to touch Him during the feast days was that they feared an uproar or a riot. The crowds were in Jerusalem for the feast and the people held Jesus in high esteem. The common people heard Him gladly. He fed and healed them. [i]

II.  The Anointing at Bethany

Mark 14:3  And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

This anointing is recorded also in Matthew’s account of the gospel in chapter 26 while John records it in John 12:2-8.    This is not the same anointing as mentioned in Luke 7:36-50.   This anointing was done by Mary of Bethany in Judea.  It mentions that it happened at the house of Simon the leper.  We don’t know much about this man, but most likely he was a leper who had been healed by Jesus.   While Jesus sat to eat, a woman comes in and pours ointment on Jesus’ head. 

Mark 14:4  And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

Mark 14:5  For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Mark 14:6  And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

Notice the attitude of the people at the act of the woman when she anoints the Lord with ointment.   Some had indignation while others considered it a waste.  Some felt that the money this ointment could have brought might have been better used to help the poor.  Makes you wonder if those who complained and grumbled helped the poor themselves?   Sometimes those most vocal in complaining are not doing anything for the Lord when it comes to helping those in need.   Some are willing to take from the treasury of the Lord to spend on almost any project, but they won’t give anything themselves to that project.  We need to be people who have liberal hearts and a willingness to help others.  Jesus was always ready to help those in need, while he himself was poor and had not even a place to lay his head.

Mat 8:19  And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Mat 8:20  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Verse 5 says some murmured against the woman also.  When you try to do something in the work of the Lord, be sure there will be some that will criticize.   But we need to please one, and that is the Heavenly Father.   Jesus declares the woman had wrought a good work in what she had done for him.

Mark 14:7  For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

Mark 14:8  She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

We hear a lot of people talk about trying to end poverty by government programs, but Jesus says that the poor will always be with us.   He tells them that any day of the week we can help the poor, but what this woman did for him could not always be done.  He soon would be dying there on Calvary, and this woman had brought the ointment to anoint his body for burying.   I believe she did all she could… do we do all we could for the Lord?  I’m afraid I come up short on this most days.

Matthew Henry said this about the anointing.

But Christ makes it to be an act of great faith, as well as

great love (v. 8); “She is come aforehand, to anoint my body to the

burying, as if she foresaw that my resurrection would prevent her doing it

afterward.” This funeral rite was a kind of presage of, or prelude to, his

death approaching. See how Christ's heart was filled with the thoughts of

his death, how every thing was construed with a reference to that, and how

familiarly he spoke of it upon all occasions. It is usual for those who are

condemned to die, to have their coffins prepared, and other provision

made for their funerals, while they are yet alive; and so Christ accepted

this. Christ's death and burial were the lowest steps of his humiliation, and

therefore, though he cheerfully submitted to them, yet he would have some

marks of honour to attend them, which might help to take off the offence

of the cross, and be an intimation how precious in the sight of the Lord the

death of his saints is.

Mark 14:9  Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. 

Jesus tells those there that what this woman did would be remembered throughout the whole world wherever the gospel is preached.   What she did for Jesus was spoken of for a memorial of her.   The small things that you and I do, while they may seem insignificant, if they are done for the Lord out of a heart of love, God will accomplish much through them.   And God will not fail to reward those who do things in the name of the Lord.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Mat 10:41  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

Mat 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

 

III.  Judas Covenants to Betray Christ

Mark 14:10  And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.

Mark 14:11  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

Judas goes to the chief priests and offers to betray the Lord.   They are happy to hear that he is willing to do this, and they promised him money.   He got approximately $18 in our money today.  (30 pieces of silver.)    What a small amount of money to betray the greatest person that ever lived on earth… the only one who never sinned.

Mat 26:15  And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Mat 26:16  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

 

IV.  The Preparation for the Passover

Mark 14:12  And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?

It was the first day of unleavened bread when they killed the Passover lamb.  The Passover lamb was slain in the afternoon around 3pm on the 14th day of the Jewish month Nisan.   The disciples know it is time, and they ask the Lord where should they go to prepare the Passover.

Lev 23:4  These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

Lev 23:5  In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.

Lev 23:6  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

Mark 14:13  And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

Mark 14:14  And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

Mark 14:15  And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

Mark 14:16  And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

Jesus tells two of the disciples, Peter and John, to go to a certain place and gives them instructions as to what they were to do.   They were to go into the city and find a man bearing a pitcher of water.   Once they found him, they were to follow him and wherever he entered, that was to be where they were to ask the Goodman of the house for the guestchamber.   The Goodman of the house would show them a large upper room that would be furnished and prepared for them.   And as was always the case, the men go and things are just like Jesus said they would be.   Everything is prepared and waiting for them.

V.  The Last Passover

Mark 14:17  And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.

Mark 14:18  And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

Mark 14:19  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

That evening, as Jesus sat with his 12 disciples, he tells them that one at the table would betray him.  This shocks them all, and they begin to ask, “Is it I?”  Jesus says that the one who will betray him is “the one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.”

Mark 14:20  And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

Mark 14:21  The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

Jesus says the Son of man indeed goeth as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed.   Jesus says it would have been good if he had never been born.   Judas Iscariot was with the Lord, but he was not a saved man.  Jesus said he was of his father the devil, and was called the son of perdition.

Luke 22:3  Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 

John 13:26  Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

John 13:27  And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 

John 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

John 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

J. Vernon McGee identified Judas Iscariot as the ‘son of perdition in his commentary on the New Testament.

“Those that thou gavest me”—we have election mentioned again. There are certain things which I believe that to me are not contradictory, but they certainly are paradoxical. Election and free will happen to be one of those. I wish you could have met me when I graduated from seminary. I was a smart boy then and I even had the answer to election and free will. But I have a little more sense than I had then, and I realize that we simply do not understand it.

Judas Iscariot is, of course, “the son of perdition.” He fulfilled the prophecies concerning him.  [ii]

VI.  Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

Mark 14:22  And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Mark 14:23  And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

The Lord’s Supper is one of two ordinances of the New Testament Church.   The first of course if baptism, which is our doorway of entrance to the church, and the second if the Lord’s supper.   Both have rules and should be followed exactly.   No lost person should be baptized,  and certainly no one out of the Lord’s will should be partaking of the Lord’s Supper.   We do not believe the Lord’s supper is a Christian ordinance, but a church ordinance.  Therefore we believe that only members of the local church can partake of the Lord’s Supper.   There are many rules given in Corinthians concerning the Lord’s Supper.  The bread that we eat symbolizes the broken body of Christ, while the cup (or grape juice) represents the blood of Jesus.

Mark 14:24  And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Mark 14:25  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Jesus explains what the cup was all about, and promises that he will not drink the fruit of the vine again until he comes again in the kingdom of God.   This will be during the Millennial Reign of Christ after the 7 years of Tribulation.

VII.          Peter’s Denial Foretold

Mark 14:26  And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

This is one of the greatest points we have to prove that Jesus established his church during his earthly ministry.   Most of Christendom teaches that the church began on the day of Pentecost, but we believe it began in the Lord’s ministry.   We have scripture stating that the Lord would sing in the church.   But this is the only instance we have of Jesus singing in the bible.   Would that not mean that the church was in existence at this time, particularly since they were observing a church ordinance?

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

Mark 14:27  And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

Mark 14:28  But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

Mark 14:29  But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

Mark 14:30  And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Mark 14:31  But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

We know that verse 27 was so true.  Smite the shepherd and the sheep  shall be scattered.  Jesus tells them that after He is risen, he will go before them into Galilee.   Peter was always quick to speak, and he says “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.”  Jesus tells him that this day, before he cock crows twice, he would deny him 3 times.   Peter becomes more adamant and says more vehemently, “If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise.”   And note what the others said… “Likewise also said they all.”  We had better be careful when we brag what we will do in the flesh.  In church capacity, we may feel really faithful and ready to face anything.  But take us out of the church, get us one on one with the world, and persecution comes, we must have the grace of the Lord to stand strong.

 

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Prov 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

 

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[i]J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.

[ii]J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.