14:1-2 The plot against Jesus began to increase in severity. His adversaries did not want to attack or imprison him on a day when multitudes of people were especially focused on celebrating with him, but they knew they wanted to capture Him as soon as the excitement died down and people were less focused.
14:3 A very devout woman uses something that was precious and important to her on showing Jesus her faith and love for Him... but she's criticized for it in the next verse, and we can learn a lesson from this.
14:4-5 These people were uppity; they blamed her for "wasting" something that could have been given to the poor... almost to the lesson...
14:6-7 Jesus reminds the people that he will be gone (physically) from the Earth for years... and years... and years (and remember He had been warning the disciples of His impending departure). This woman was showing love and gratitude for Her time with Jesus. She was not "wasting" she was using what she had to show her complete and true faith and thankfulness to Jesus.
Truly they would have a lifetime to work with and help the poor (and when that is one's focus, God always provides the material and opportunity to do so) but they only had a short time to reflect on the time they were able to spend with their Teacher, Jesus. Jesus knew they would be upset about His departure and here he's kind of reminding them to soak in the experience, to learn from Him all that they can while He still had time there.
14:8 The woman carried out a cultural ritual of preparing a person for their burial. She loved Jesus, she wanted to show Him respect and she also showed that she had been listening and absorbing what He had been teaching and predicting. She was aware that His time was almost up.
The others were too focused on belittling her to see the deeper picture. This is a common problem in the world today: so many like to point fingers at others' flaws and condemn them for their mistakes. Jesus did not teach us to be this way. Jesus taught us to be understanding and helpful. We are not being helpful when we attack a person for doing something we do not understand or agree with. Be perceptive, there are so many kind people in the world who are attacked for their beliefs or their actions (when really they are not hurting anyone at all!) Do not be so cruelly critical.
14:9 This book of Mark had not been written at the time and yet Jesus lets them know that because of this woman's complete faith... she would have a place in God's word. And here we are reading about her!
14:10-11 Judas arranges a deal with Jesus' adversaries to betray Him and turn Him over to them. We each play an integral part in the world and Judas' was this mistake... this arrangement -- but as we will learn in acts, Judas was deeply apologetic of this choice he made and he quickly rejected the prize money he got for making it.
14:12-16 The disciples take instruction from Jesus, who had instruction from God about how and where the last of His days would be spent. The disciples make the arrangements and every part of the plan goes smoothly... because God has prearranged it.
14:17-18 Jesus was given all of the facts of what His time here would be like before He arrived -- that's what makes Jesus so beautiful. Jesus came knowing that the world would ultimately reject and harm Him... He came despite that so that He could help, lead and love whoever would accept Him. He was not afraid of rejection, of pain... He loved and knew God so well that He bravely and selflessly came here.
He knew that He would be betrayed. He knew about the deal which happened behind His back. He knew which disciple would betray Him.
14:19 The disciples were sad and wanted to know who would do such a thing.
14:20 Jesus gave them enough information to understand that He knew specifically who it would be.
14:21 Jesus reiterates that He will complete His entire purpose on Earth... but that those who work against Him would ultimately be defeated. God forgives everything when we are sincere in asking for His forgiveness (even Judas could have been forgiven by God because, in The Book of Acts, He certainly seems genuinely sorry for his mistake). However, Jesus wants everyone to know that unapologetic adversaries will not triumph.
14:22 Bread is symbolic of Jesus teaching. Jesus is the manifestation and representation of compassion, wisdom, faith and humility. To "eat" of Him (bread) is to live by His word...to take it into our minds and souls. He spreads His message just as He shares the bread... and those who listen and love Him, take it into themselves. God is our sustenance; He gave us life... He is all that keeps us alive.
14:23-24 And again, the beverage is representative of Him. We should let His wisdom flow throughout us.
14:25 Jesus is explaining that this meal would be His last on Earth until His return (which we spoke of in the previous chapter). The events of His crucifixion would begin to take place.
14:26 The sung a hymn, likely a prayer... Jesus always kept God at the forefront of their gatherings and that's why Jesus is so beautiful and blessed. Each day we should strengthen our relationship with God by acknowledging Him, thanking Him, and sharing our thoughts (good, bad and funny) with Him.
14:27 This is a symbol of a larger picture: Jesus is explaining that each of the disciples will be at least a little distracted without Him right there with them, leading their every move. We can also understand this verse this way: after Jesus' crucifixion, generations later, people would lose touch with God. So many have. There are so many people who do not read the Bible or keep God in their minds and lives and hearts. We scatter... our thoughts are scattered, our spirituality is fragmented... We need our God to keep us focused and happy and without Him, without keeping Him in our lives, we lose direction and life becomes more difficult than it needs to be. We let anxiety overcome us.
14:28 Jesus assures them that after the crucifixion He will rise. Jesus has a lesson to teach them about eternity and eternal life and the spiritual form of life and being that God has created. We will also cover the spiritual form of life when we get to those verses. For now, let's focus on Jesus' promise that He would return to them even after His adversaries believed they had stopped Him.
14:29 Peter declares his faith to Jesus... he refuses to believe that he would ever go against Jesus. It's good to be strong and bold of faith but Jesus wanted us to learn a lesson from Peter... sometimes we only test and create our strong faith by being confronted with circumstances which challenge it.
14:30 Jesus let's Peter know that what He has predicted will happen (and we will see it unfold). The lesson to learn is that we cannot only speak bravely but we must also be brave. God wants us to have true courage... to back up what we say and feel by doing what we say and feel in trying times.
Jesus says that Peter will deny Him 3 times even that very night... we know that Jesus always predicts correctly...
14:31 The disciples are still vehemently defending themselves, they have not yet learned that Jesus always prepares them with the truth.
14:32 Jesus always prays to and with God. God is our life, our strength and our guidance. It's a gift to have Him with us and listening to us at all times... don't forget Him or take His presence for granted.
14:33-34 Jesus was weighted down by... well, the weight of humanity. Jesus knew that the world really needed Him and He was so sad to leave... but He knew it had to happen in order to give humanity the chance to define themselves with complete freedom.
When you feel like the weight of the world is on you... you are blessed with the same opportunity, the opportunity to speak to the entity Who created you... who loves you and awaits your voice in His ear.
14:35 Jesus was not sorrowful for Himself -- Jesus was sorrowful because He saw all of what lay ahead for humanity without His physical, tangible presence on Earth. He could see all the mistakes and violence that would be committed after He left and He prayed to God that there might be another way of distinguishing the good from the bad.
14:36 Ultimately, Jesus understands that praying for GOD'S WILL is always the best choice. God's will is perfect and omniscient -- two things we are definitely not. God can foresee everything and so we should trust that whatever He puts or allows in our lives can be seen as instruction for greater opportunities.
Always remember this line: "Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." Pray to God, explain to Him how you are feeling and where you would like to take your life... but always end it by giving Him permission to exert His perfect will on your life. Always end or begin your prayers giving Him your faithful permission to supersede what you ask for (if it is unknowingly to you -- harmful to you).
14:37-38 An important lesson here: Jesus had gone to pray for a time and during that time with God... the disciples immediately forgot the be observant, purposeful and vigilant. This is symbolic: Jesus would be (and now has) going to live with God in the spirit and He needed His students to remain focused and efficient! He needed them to be prepared to work without Him right there by their sides. We can also learn from this: although Jesus and God are not visually apparent to us... we should trust that they are with us and we should work in Their name to help and love God's fellow children.
14:39-40 Jesus repeats the circumstances... and the disciples still fail the lesson. People still fall away from the word of God... they get distracted and they "fall asleep" on the job (of life). Look for deeper meanings in all of God's verses and then learn from them. God needs us to be awake and working in the name of compassion.
14:41-42 A third time Jesus repeats the circumstances... this message of vigilance is important to Him and also important to the end times. If not for Jesus' urging, the disciples would have missed His capture by the adversaries all together. Jesus had to keep them focused... but He needed them to find focus within their faith.. within the faith inside of themselves. He needs us to be focused within our faith because there are so many people on the Earth who can benefit from it.
We do not want to be sleeping during important moments and that a lesson we can get from these verses. All times are important... our lives are important because God loves us, individually, but also because we are strategically placed and gifted with the tools needed to make improvements to our personal environments (Corinthians 12).
14:43-45 Immediately (Mark loves to use this word and it's perfect because it shows us how precise and accurate Jesus always was) the adversaries arrive and Judas gives away Jesus' identity. Jesus worked to blend in, He never boasted (and there were no cameras or social media) so He needed to be identified and Judas' kiss on His cheek (a common greeting at the time in the culture) did just that.
14:46 And here Jesus is captured. Remember something: the only reason any human or entity was able to lay even a finger on Jesus was because God allowed it (for a lesson for the greater picture).
14:47 There were some who were prepared to fight but Jesus knew that scripture must be fulfilled.
14:48-49 Jesus calls them on the violent nature of their capture of Him -- His entire life on Earth He was kind and gentle... yet they captured Him as though He was a dangerous criminal. Jesus is perceptive and He understands situations very well -- He calls his adversaries out for their ridiculousness. They are obviously frightened of how powerful He is... otherwise why would they arrive armed to capture a life-long peaceful person? A person who never ran from them or fought with them...
He was always... teaching. He never did anything negative or violent and they were witnesses of that. They were too afraid to capture Jesus around all of those who loved Him. The crowds would have never allowed it.
14:50 So many, even while He was captured, were overwhelmed with His wisdom, strength and faith.
14:51-52 Likely this was Mark himself (the writer of the book we are studying now), this young man. Mark wrote this gospel not as one of the disciples (because he was much younger) but instead as an observer. Mark's mother housed Jesus and the disciples for gatherings, meals and teachings and so Mark was always around observing and learning. Jesus adversaries tried to grab him and he ran.
14:53-54 Jesus' adversaries bring him to their leader and while everyone has fled out of fear, Peter follows the group as they take Jesus away.
14:55 These evil humans tried to think of some reason to keep Jesus imprisoned... they want to have Him put to death. Remember that these people were looking out for their own interests -- they wanted to rule and control the people in their region, they wanted to collect their money (deceptively) and tell them what to believe. They were angry that Jesus had broken down their corrupt system. They were greedy -- the world is still filled with greed and greedy leaders today. Be vigilant.
14:56 They even thought of lies to try to condemn Jesus to death. That's how desperate they were to have their control back. They had horrible values... they were not kind people, they are the type of people God hopes we will ask Him for help in defeating them.
They try to lie but they are not even smart enough to lie with any intelligence... each of their lies contradicts the others and it becomes apparent to everybody that they are foolish. Not all deceptive leaders are foolish however, you must be observant to catch them.
14:57-59 We know, because we have studied, that Jesus never said He was going to destroy a building. In the beginning of His teaching about the end times He spoke of the building crumbling (and we know it's because the Earth will be restored by God)... but He never said He was going to do any malicious act against anything at all. The false stories continue to fall flat.
14:60 It's clear that the situation is ridiculous and yet Jesus remains silent -- Jesus does not make a circus out of any situation. He allows these men to reveal their own lies.
14:61-62 Jesus is asked if He is the Son of God... Jesus will never deny His father, our Father, our loving God.
14:63-64 Jesus' adversaries consider this admission to be blasphemy worthy of death. They were evil, violent men who searched desperately to find a reason to put Jesus to death... yet, He had not said anything incriminating. More than that, He never did anything incriminating.
14:65 Jesus endures horrible, cruel behavior and torture. Jesus came to give courage and strength to the people who had previously been under the rule of the unjust, violent humans. Jesus experienced the difficulty that all of us faith on Earth -- He teaches us with experience. He was so brave and so strong and all for our benefit. These men highlighted the beauty of Jesus because He rejected everything they were. His experience with them showed us why He was so passionate to save us from their ways.
Jesus is our savior because he LIVED. He lived to teach and guide and love.
14:66-67 Peter was still outside of where Jesus was brought. Peter truly did love Jesus so much (and still does because remember those who love God have eternal life!) but soon he is recognized by a woman for being a follower of Jesus.Remember that Jesus predicted Peter would deny him three times (14:30 of this chapter).
14:68 Peter got scared. Likely he was aware of how badly Jesus was being treated and understandably, he was terrified. This is what Jesus was teaching us about: when the circumstances are intense, our faith is most tested. Our faith must be strong so that our courage does not dissipate in the moments when it is most needed. It's not easy... it's a journey, but when you trust God... He truly does protect you so perfectly. Nobody can take your eternal life.
14:69 Again, Peter is recognized and for a second time, he denies.
14:70-71 A third time, Peter denies.
14:72 At this point, Peter remembers the conversation with Jesus earlier and finally he understands. Peter is bereaved. He's so sorrowful... He loved(loves) Jesus and never wanted to betray Him... but he got scared. Peter was sincere and remember God is always with the sincere hearts. Peter's faith would develop so much (and we will see that growth and all that it accomplished as we continue through the new testament).
