Mark 14 [continued]

[they were headed to the Mount of Olives]

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

²⁷"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written:
   " 'I will strike the shepherd,
       and the sheep will be scattered.'

Zechariah 13

⁷ "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!"
declares the LORD Almighty.
"Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸ In the whole land," declares the LORD ,
"two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.
⁹ This third I will bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, 'They are my people,'
and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' "

back to Mark...

²⁸But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

²⁹Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

³⁰"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today--yes, tonight--before the rooster crows twice^[4] you yourself will disown me three times."
³¹But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same.

[So the flock will be scattered, but after he is resurrected, the shepherd will gather them again in Galilee. vs. 27,28]

[As he's done before, Peter has the gall to correct Jesus here. Peter was so sure of his strength. But even the prophet Zechariah who lived long before him disagrees. v. 29 Can you imagine that? Jesus telling you the details of your sin...not some vague sin in the future that you'll commit, but tonight. You're so sure that you can resist, at least for such a brief time...but it turns out you aren't strong enough.]

[Mark examines the night in more detail than Matthew, Luke, and John as far as the rooster crowing and the number of times. The other books only talk about the final crowing somewhere around dawn.

Gethsemane

³²They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." ³³He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ³⁴"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."

[Gethsemane means the place of oil presses. Notice what Jesus does here at what is perhaps the greatest temptation of his life. He fortifies himself with prayer. He tells his disciples to do the same. Perhaps it's also comforting for him to have the disciples near him even though they are prone to failure sometimes. They also need to pray for strength at this time because they are about to go through temptations when Jesus is arrested. Jesus is so sorrowful about what is to come.]

³⁵Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶"Abba,^[5] Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

[This is probably Jesus at one of his most human moments. Jesus was a man, but was also God. His human part is frightened at what is to come and begs God that, if there is any other way, it might be done. But his Father does not interfere as his human part requests. This is a prayer for us to remember many times in life. You think you didn't get what you prayed for? We can't demand anything from God and sometimes God doesn't always give us exactly what we ask for. He was certainly not giving Jesus what he asked for here. It was probably the ultimate denial of a prayer. It seems a reasonable request. Jesus did not deserve to die in this way. Perhaps God could find another way. But it was not to be so. It was Jesus' place to die for the sins of everyone else, though he didn't deserve it. But in his prayer, Jesus is willing to accede to the will of the Father even if it is not what Jesus wants to do. “Yet not what I will, but what you will”]

³⁷Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ³⁸Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
³⁹Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
⁴¹Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

[Jesus returns the first time to find them sleeping. There was Peter who was just saying how he would follow Jesus to his death. He couldn't even last while Jesus prayed for a while. Jesus summarizes the weakness of man in one sentence. “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” We know what is good and what is best, but so often we don't seem to do what it takes to accomplish it. We are often like Peter, putting ourselves in the path of temptation and sin and eventually paying the price. Jesus goes off to pray again and returns. They have no excuse. “They did not know what to say to him.” One more time he goes off to pray but when he comes back, it's too late for them to give him any comfort anyway.]

Jesus Arrested

⁴³Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
⁴⁴Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." ⁴⁵Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him.

[This is so insulting of Judas. He parades right into the midst of Jesus and the disciples and acts like everything is fine. Is he not even thinking about what he's doing at this point?]

⁴⁶The men seized Jesus and arrested him. ⁴⁷Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
⁴⁸"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? ⁴⁹Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled." ⁵⁰Then everyone deserted him and fled.
⁵¹A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, ⁵²he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

[We read in Luke that the apostles only had two swords with them, so they are poorly armed. They're not really ready for a full armed battle and it isn't God's will that it should happen like this. This is Peter that strikes with the sword, you can see in the book of John. We also read in Luke that Jesus heals this man's ear. Do good to those who hurt you. Jesus asks them why they didn't arrest him in the temple if they're so sure he's guilty. This points to his innocence. This is finally the time when he is vulnerable in a remote place where there won't be a riot if they arrest him. The scripture he talks about them fulfilling might be

Isaiah 53
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.

So here it was, the moment of truth. The flock is scattered. This is possibly more frightening than they had thought it would be. Every man for himself. This one fellow is so terrified that he leaves his only bit of clothing behind. These are terrifying times for Jesus' followers.]

Before the Sanhedrin

⁵³They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

[So, although Peter is scared to death during all of this, he still loves Jesus enough to want to follow him to see what happens to him.]
⁵⁵The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
⁵⁷Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " ⁵⁹Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" ⁶¹But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ,^[6] the Son of the Blessed One?"
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."
⁶³The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. ⁶⁴"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
⁶⁵They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.

[The Mosaic law said that you could only be condemned on the testimony of two or three people. The chief priests were trying to scrounge together people to tell lies about Jesus. They didn't rehearse their testimony well enough because they weren't agreeing with eachother. Also mentioned here is the general misunderstanding about what Jesus said concerning the temple.

John 2

¹⁸Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
¹⁹Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
²⁰The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" ²¹But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Then the chief priest asks directly if Jesus is the savior, the Son of God. Jesus answers him directly that he is. Not only that, but that he will see him some day sitting on the right hand of God in heaven. The roles will be reversed and Jesus will be the one in judgement and the high priest the one being tried. The high priest knew that all gathered there would take this as a direct insult. He rips his clothes for added effect. In the end, it says they condemned him as worthy of death. The Sanhedrin couldn't officially sentence him to death...that would be done in front of Pilate.]

Peter Disowns Jesus

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
"You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said.
⁶⁸But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.^[7]
69When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." ⁷⁰Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean."
⁷¹He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about."

[Peter has entirely forgotten what he'd said about going with Jesus to his death. Saving his skin is all that matters to him.]
⁷²Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.^[8] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice^[9] you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.

[Now Peter realizes what he's done. Of course, he feels really rotten. I think we can see ourselves in Peter. We try to dedicate ourselves to Christ, but when we have failed, it's a miserable feeling. However, we see later that Peter picks himself up and is very important in his role as an apostle of Christ.]

Mark 15

Jesus Before Pilate

¹Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

[Pilate could care less if Jesus says he is the Messiah or even if he is blaspheming in the opinion of the Jewish leaders. They probably had to talk a while to figure out something that they thought would anger Pilate. A political rivalry.]
²"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

[They're trying to twist this to look like Jesus is going to put himself over the Jews and lead them in an uprising.]
³The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."
⁵But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
⁶Now it was the custom at the Feast [the passover] to release a prisoner whom the people requested. ⁷A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. ⁸The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
⁹"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, ¹⁰knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
¹²"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
¹³"Crucify him!" they shouted.
¹⁴"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
¹⁵Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

[You can easily see how corrupted the chief priests had become. This had happened many times in the old testament. The Israelites would come under the leadership of an ungodly King who would erect Asherah poles and altars for Baal and so on. They were also corrupt at this time, convincing the people to demand that an innocent man is killed and that a murderer is released. So, they end up killing a man who did not cause an insurrection against Pilate and release a man who was definitely an insurrectionist.

Remember in Isaiah we read that He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Pilate is irritated. Normally, someone in this situation would fall all over himself to make excuses to escape punishment. But Jesus accepts his role in all of this. He must be a sacrifice.]

The Soldiers Mock Jesus
¹⁶The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" ¹⁹Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

[The Roman soldiers show their contempt for the Jews as they mock Jesus as king of the Jews and yet treat him terribly.]
...continued next time