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Mark 14

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Mark 14
 
Mark’s passion narrative displays a similar progression and arrangement as that found in Matthew and Luke. Yet Mark arranged the events in three “sandwich” units, a literary figure he had employed previously (cf. 3.13-25; 7.1-8.26; 11.12-25). While this chapter could be titled, “the forsaken Son of Man,” the text makes plain that God was working compatibly alongside sinful human choices so as to accomplish His ultimate purpose in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 
 
Mark showed that Jesus was a figure who was either deeply loved or hotly despised. The characters described in vv. 1-11 displayed their inner thoughts concerning Jesus by how they were affected by money:
  1. Mark provided some important background for Judas’ act of betrayal: “The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill Him” (v. 1)
  2. Mark then inserted the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with costly perfume while He was staying in Bethany (vv. 3-9). Her boldness was displayed in the fact that the ointment was worth a year’s wage for a common laborer! While the disciples began to scold her lack of frugality, Jesus understood this as preparation for burial; He knew that He had already been sentenced to death, One who would give His life as “a ransom for many” (10.45)
  3. Judas, on the other hand, wasn’t so far-sighted. He was concerned for his own gain, and, in light of the Sanhedrin’s desire to get rid of the Galilean preacher, Jesus was worth some valuable silver (vv. 10-11). Judas, an insider, had less devotion than an unnamed woman! The abandonment of Jesus had begun
 
Mark next provided insight into the theological rationale for Jesus’ mission (vv. 17-31). Here the first Lord’s Supper and Jesus’ explanation of His coming death was couched in the midst of unfaithfulness and sin. The arrangement itself may be Mark’s commentary on human depravity, and the righteousness of God to restore sinners:
  1. Judas was identified as the one who would willingly betray Jesus (vv. 17-21)
  2. The first Lord’s Supper commemorated Jesus’ promise to lay down His life for the disciples (vv. 22-26)
  3. Peter, along with the rest of the twelve, were identified as those who would deny Jesus (vv. 27-31)
 
The final Markan “sandwich” in Mk 14 focuses upon the difficulty of bearing witness to the truth in the context of suffering (vv. 53-72)—a theme Jesus had addressed previously (cf. 13.9):
  1. The Sanhedrin attempted to find witnesses against Jesus, but could find none truthful (vv. 53-59)
  2. Jesus, in both silence and speech, witnessed to the truth of God (vv. 60-65). Jesus’ initial silence to the question of the high priest served to emphasize and heighten His answer to the priest’s continued interrogation. Jesus then confessed the truth of God; He was in fact “the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” (v. 61). The One they had so easily seized would later be seen “seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (v. 62)
  3. Peter failed to act truthfully, courageously, in the context of possible persecution (vv. 66-72). In the sharpest of contrasts, Peter failed while Jesus succeeded. All hope for the kingdom yet rested in the Person of Christ
 
The way in which Jesus quoted the Old Testament in Mk 14 underscores His unique place in the storyline of Scripture. Jesus quoted Zech 13.7, telling His disciples, “All of you will run away, because it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’” (v. 27). In the original setting, the prophet did not clarify the nature of the shepherd in view, remarking rather generally concerning the forgiveness and restoration that would come when this shepherd would be smitten, and his sheep refined (cf. Zech 13.1-9). Following the Passover meal Jesus clarified the matter. He was the shepherd who would soon be struck, the disciples were the sheep who would soon be scattered. In quoting Zech 13.7, Jesus thus made it clear—as He did at other times (cf. 8.31-32; 9.30-32; 10.32-34)—that God was the ultimate agent in the affairs of His day; while the Sanhedrin would not remain guiltless, ultimately the shepherd was struck by the sword of the Lord. But this rather gloomy element would not be the last word on the matter; when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin, He confessed to the high priest that He was indeed the Messiah, saying boldly: “All of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (v. 62). Jesus cited Dan 7.13 and Ps 110.1 so that all in His hearing would not miss His explicit Messianic claim; they had put on trial God’s Anointed One! But this was all according to God’s plan. The Lord had planned to display His power in raising the crucified shepherd, and Jesus alluded to Dan 7.13 and Ps 110.1 to accentuate that He was indeed the authoritative Son of Man who would be raised to take His place at the right hand of the Almighty.
 
 
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