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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Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Each act spreads, and many will be
blessed.
[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.