Study of Mark Chapters 10-16

MARK 10

vs. 01 -12

After Jesus taught the people about hell being purified and serving God, the Pharisees questioned Him. Once again, they seem to have totally missed the message of Jesus’ teaching. They spent their time and intellect looking for ways to trap Jesus and denigrate His message. This has not changed through the centuries. Many people today (many falsely saying they are being objective) approach the message of Jesus with the same attitude.

The question this time had to do with divorce. There are number of reasons this subject may have been raised. It may be an honest question.  The Jews were having a very difficult time with this problem and there were two different schools of thought on how to deal with it. This may have been an attempt to discredit Jesus. Jesus had already broached the subject once (Matthew 5: 31) and the Pharisees may have hoped He would contradict Himself. This may have been an attempt to have Jesus contradict the Mosaic Law in which case the Pharisees can say He did not know the Law or what Moses said. The question may have been an attempt to cost Jesus the support of the public. Once more they were attempting to put Jesus in an untenable position.

The Pharisees may have hoped Jesus could shed some light on how to address divorce, a serious sociological problem they were having. God puts a high price on chastity and the marital commitment. God’s concern and emphasis is evident in the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. In reality the leaders found what they thought were ways to circumvent God’s Law. A man could put his wife away for almost any reason, whereas the wife had very few reasons for which she could divorce the husband. Even if a wife did have acceptable reason(s) to divorce the husband, she was required to ask the husband to divorce her. The woman had few rights and could not divorce the husband.

The problem came with the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24: “when a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some and indecency in her,…” How should the word indecency be defined?

The school of Shammai interpreted Deuteronomy 24 to mean adultery only. Nothing else qualified as indecency. The school of Hillel defined indecency as broadly as possible. His definition could even include a wife spoiling a dish of food. One rabbi went so far to include if a man found another woman who was prettier, a better cook, or a better housekeeper than his wife (if only in his eyes), then that was considered indecency and the wife could be divorced.

The intent of Hillel and other similar schools of thought appear to be using semantics to avoid complying with God’s Law. The result was that women had few rights (although more than other cultures extant at the time) and men felt they could safely ignore God’s commands concerning the marriage commitment.

Jesus’ answer was to quote from Genesis 2: 27 and 2: 24. By quoting from Genesis Jesus references God, a higher authority than Moses. Jesus is not taking the side of the School of Hillel. Jesus puts this in the strongest terms. No person is to separate what God has joined. That is not man’s privilege or decision. This of course did not sit well with those wanting to violate their marital commitment.

By his answer, Jesus also addresses the possibility of the Pharisees trying to show He blasphemed. Jesus did disagree with what Moses allowed but did so in a way that was not arguable and maintained the reputation of Moses and his relationship with God. By saying Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of the Hebrew’s hearts Jesus was placing the responsibility for the situation squarely on the people and their leaders. Jesus also recognizes the great love Moses had for the people and the love that God has for all people.

Jesus also addressed this question in Matthew 5:31. At that time, Jesus had stated that any man who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery. Anyone who marries a woman so divorced also commits adultery. This statement in Mark does not contradict His statements here. The act of marital unfaithfulness automatically violates and abrogates the marriage vows.

Why did Jesus only speak of the husband divorcing the wife and not the wife divorcing the husband? Some of the more ardent people in the women’s movements have used these passages to try to say Jesus was a male chauvinist. This is certainly not the case and the answer appears to be quite simple. In the society, Jesus was addressing the men were the only ones with any real right of divorce. Whether Jesus agreed with the situation or not, He addressed reality. The fact this question comes up that all proves God intended for all persons, male and female, to respect each other and to honor their commitments to each other.

The Pharisees were probably also hoping for Jesus’ answer, whatever it may be, to erode some of His public support. This was probably accomplished. People do not like it when brought face to face with their moral and societal responsibilities, so those in Jesus’ time, Jewish or Gentile, felt the same. This has not changed over the centuries. Many are the excuses for taking the easy way out instead of praying and working through the problem. This is not to say we are not forgiven when we fail. It is to say we are not to make a failure a way of life, or a viable option.

A very important thing to remember here is that Jesus is speaking to God’s chosen people. The Jews, just as Christians now, were to be operating on a higher moral plane than other nations or belief systems. Jesus did not condemn the people; He did condemn their practices. Jesus did not say they could not, or would not, be forgiven. Jesus is instructing them in God’s Word and how to live holy lives.

vs. 13 – 16

Some theologians think that this incident was put in this spot because it is a logical progression after speaking of marriage. There could be other reasons for its inclusion here. First and foremost is the writer reported actions and what was said in chronological order. Jesus was teaching how a person must live to enter heaven. Jesus and the disciples had just left a group of people looking for excuses to do their will instead of their Father’s, God’s, will. A great deal of their time was spent devising ways to avoid to their responsibilities to God and God’s people. Now there is a group of children coming in simplicity and honesty to be blessed by Jesus. The chasm between these two scenarios is staggering.

When reading this passage, we may think poorly of the disciples, after all they were keeping the children from Jesus. Before we judge the situation too quickly we need to remember that Jesus has had a very difficult and tiring time. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and death. His spirit is heavy. The disciples have recognized His heaviness of spirit and were possibly trying to keep Jesus from being overburdened. Their motives may have been fine, although their actions misplaced.

Jesus becomes indignant. Again, we have one of those moments so common in Mark where the human side of Jesus is evident. Let the children come to Jesus. Why were the disciples stopping the children? They may be small and powerless but, next to God, so are we. The children were all the things the Pharisees and many adults were not. The children were humble, obedient, trusting and forgiving. All necessary to share in God’s kingdom.

vs. 17 – 27

The scene opens with a man running to Jesus. The man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and asks how to obtain eternal life. This is unusual, but his addressing Jesus by the title “good teacher” was even more unusual. This was a greeting normally used by the Greeks (there were areas of Israel that were very Hellenistic), not the Jews. The man may have been trying to flatter Jesus or he may have been more familiar with the Greek tradition. We cannot know what was in the man’s heart.

Jesus quickly cuts through the man’s words to his motives and actions and asked why the man called Jesus good. Asking this question leads to thinking the man was Jewish since no Jew honestly and sincerely called another man good, only God is good. This strong feeling of the Jews finds expression with David who said, “Behold I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) With one question Jesus causes the man to question his motives and the justification he is about to make for himself.

After Jesus asks his initial question, He instructs the man in what the law requires. At this time in history the law was what justified the Jews, Jesus had not yet died and resurrected. The man said he kept all the requirements of the Law since he was very young. He felt justified under the law. If he was as knowledgeable in the law as he claimed, he would have remembered what David said and he would not have called Jesus good nor would he feel he was justified under the law. Yet the man’s heart was honest, and he truly wanted to inherit eternal life.

Jesus saw the man’s heart and spirit and loved him. This man had the opportunity to enter into a special relationship with God and Jesus. Jesus told the man what he needed to do to have that special relationship, but the man had to be willing to take action. The man had been keeping the letter of the law but not necessarily the spirit of the law. He not only had to keep from doing wrong he must also do what was right. His faith and belief could not consist of a passive keeping from sin but must include proactive love to God’s creation.

After Jesus told the man he must give up what he put between him and God, the man left. The man was, in effect, saying his wealth was his god. The man’s greatest barrier between him and God was his wealth. Each person may have a different barrier. Jesus brought to the front the young rich man’s choice; his wealth or Jesus.

Jesus now makes a statement that shocks the disciples and the crowds. He says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle and for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (There was a gate in the walls of Jerusalem named the Needles Eye. At sundown, all the gates to the city were closed, except the Needles Eye. This gate was only large enough for a person to pass through. It was not large enough for a camel or other beast of burden to pass through. The gate allowed people to enter the city for shelter but did not allow camels to enter. Many theologians believe this gate is what Jesus was referring to when He used the term eye of the needle.)

Jews were taught to believe that prosperity was a sign of a man in good standing with God. Jesus was turning that completely around by saying riches could keep you from God. Jesus never said being rich was sin He just makes us to understand we cannot let our wealth come between us and God. Wealth is a gift and a responsibly. It is not for selfish use but must be used to accomplish God’s will.

What is wrong with wealth? There are two potential problems with wealth. Material possessions tend to keep a person’s mind on the things of the world and not the things of God. If a person’s main interest is material goods, that person will normally think of everything in terms of price and not in terms of true value. Jesus’ was not saying a rich man could not enter the kingdom of God, just that it would be difficult for the wealthy person to have his priorities in line with God’s will. God will not keep a wealthy person out, the person themselves may well not be listening for God or will choose not to hear God’s voice calling. It is a matter of where the mind and heart are focused. With God, all things are possible.

vs. 28 – 31

Peter, with his usual forthright approach, now asked what will be the disciples’ reward for all they have given up. The answer falls into three parts. First Jesus tells the disciples that no one ever gives up anything for God without getting it back multiplied a hundredfold. Second, Jesus let the disciples know there will be persecution. Third, Jesus added a warning that people focusing on being first will find they are last. This emphasizes that a person’s focus and the state of their heart is critical.

This is a continuation of the incident with the wealthy man. His attitude concerning his wealth and self-worth was inappropriate. He was putting wealth and self between him and God with the result that wealth and self became his god. In the same way, a disciple could put a high value on their works and self-worth and neglect the things and people of God. As this condition continues the believer would move ever further away from the Holy Spirit and God’s will. They would in effect become the last among the disciples.

vs.32 – 34

After Peter’s question to Jesus concerning what reward will receive for following Him Jesus gives them more information concerning what is to come. The mind-set of Jesus is in direct contrast to that of the disciples. While the disciples were concerned about their reward, Jesus is thinking only of the Father’s Will and the saving of mankind.

The scene here shows Jesus’ strong sense of purpose and a fear of the unknown and unfamiliar among the disciples. Jesus and the disciples are about to go into Jerusalem, the stronghold of His enemies. Up until now Jesus has been in the Caesarea of Phillipi area. He has now turned irrevocably toward Jerusalem and His crucifixion. All this is on the minds of the disciples. What will happen to Jesus?  What will happen to them?

The passage gives us quite a bit of information about Jesus and the disciples. The aloneness of Jesus is plainly seen. Jesus is walking down the road ahead of his disciples, alone. Despite Jesus being a very social person, He had work to perform which no one else could do or even truly understand. The disciples were reluctant to join Him. Jesus had just taught them a lesson on motives and service. Now He was going into Jerusalem to give the ultimate service from a motive of true love. Jesus knew it was time to fulfill His mission in accordance with the Word of God. It was His decision and His alone. The disciples’ only input would have been to try to stop Him.

The courage of both Jesus and the disciples is also very clear. This is the third-time Jesus has mentioned His death and the circumstances surrounding it. Now more information is given to the disciples, and it is even more grim. Jesus knows the approaching events and continues to follow God’s Will. The attitudes of the disciples are love, faith and courage. They do not see the coming events clearly; they only know what Jesus has told them. They choose to follow Him, even to their own death.

The compelling power of God’s word is made clear here. The disciples continue to follow Jesus despite their confusion. As Peter said and the disciples are convinced, Jesus has the words of eternal life. Where else could they go? The disciples wanted to understand all that was happening, but they did not have to totally understand to have faith and choose to follow.

vs. 35 – 45

This story is presented a bit differently in Matthew 20: 20-23. In Matthew, the mother of James and John makes the request. Matthew may have felt it was unseemly for the disciples to have asked the question, so he changed the incident slightly to show James and John in a better light. Mark, having Peter’s input, may have looked at this from the perspective of the individual who asked Jesus is not material, the request was really coming from James and John. There is also the possibility the mother encouraged them to ask the question, or they put their mother up to asking it. Regardless of which is accepted as the more reliable retelling of this incident the point is the same. At least two of the disciples were looking at position, not servanthood.

This incident reveals much about the people involved. The incident reveals that not only did James and John fail to grasp the teachings of Jesus about the last being first. They also seem to be somewhat unaware of, or insensitive to, Jesus’ feelings and state of mind at this time. (Remember, this is the same John that was known as the disciple Jesus loved.) Jesus had been telling them how He would be tortured and killed. Now these two disciples asked if they would receive the two highest positions in Jesus’ kingdom.

Insensitive as James and John were, as much as they missed the point of Jesus’ teachings, they still had faith that Jesus would be victorious. Jesus shows their personal ambition was inappropriate and misplaced but wanting to do the absolute best they could was not. Jesus spells out two conditions that are ground rules for all His disciples.

Jesus asks, “can you drink that cup I drink….” It was the custom at royal banquets for the King to hand the cup to his guests. The cup was a symbol of the life and experiences of the person to which it belonged. Jesus is asking if they were willing and able to go through the things He must. He continued and asked “…and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” The Greek baptize means to dip. It is a past participle and means submerged. The past participle is regularly used to mean submerged in any experience. The use of the term here has nothing to do with a water baptism but rather with a total immersion in the person and experience of Jesus Christ.

The disciples said they could drink from His cup. Jesus verified that they would suffer as He was about to and would be totally submerged in His experiences, but it was God the Father’s decision who received what position, not Jesus. Jesus did not say that neither James nor John would receive a position, only that it was not His decision to make.

After Jesus answered James’ and John’s request the other disciples became indignant with the brothers. This is like the pot calling the kettle black. It is doubtful if the thoughts of the other disciples were different than those of the brothers. Once again there is the possibility of a division within the twelve, a division based on personal agendas. Jesus immediately defuses the situation by teaching the disciples what being a servant is all about. Being a servant/leader in the Kingdom of God requires behavior, goals and motives that are diametrically opposed to those of the world. This included the actions of the disciples and all Christians within their groups. The purpose of being a Christian is not what service can believer extract, but rather what service can the believer give.

Jesus uses Himself as an example. With all His power, Jesus was willing to give Himself to, and for, all mankind. The term Jesus uses for a ransom for many has been theologized in great detail. Theories of atonement have been erected around what is in fact a statement of love and calling. One theory held that Jesus’ life was paid as a ransom to Satan, who then discovered he had bitten off more than he could chew. This is an unusual (and unfortunate) thought; that God had to buy off Satan. The implication is that God could not overcome Satan and therefore must buy him off. That implies that God and Satan are equal. If we accept that God had to resort to blackmailing Satan that would mean Satan is more powerful than God. This is absolutely not the case and is another case of Satan’s pride trying to make him equal to God.

A second theory is one that Gregory of Nyssa conceived. His idea was that God played a trick on Satan. The idea being that Satan somehow believed that by killing Jesus he could derail the plan of God. Once again this implies Satan was somehow equal to or better than God and God had to resort to trickery. This is not defensible Biblically or logically. Another view holds that God was not tricking Satan but rather Satan, due to his pride and egocentric personality, seriously thought he could derail God’s plan by killing Jesus. This view is much different than Gregory’s theory. In Gregory’s theory, the implication is God needed to trick Satan to redeem man. In the second there is no trickery by God. Satan’s pride leads him to try to destroy Jesus to derail God’s plan. The same pride that caused and causes Satan to rebel against God causes Satan to cause his own eternal exile from God and damnation.

A third theory from Gregory the Great was the idea that the incarnation was the divine strategy to catch the great deceiver. Christ was the bait. When the bait was dangled before Satan, he swallowed it and so was overcome forever. Peter the Lombard brings these ideas to their most bizarre conclusion. He said the cross was a mouse trap to catch the devil, baited with the blood of Christ.

These theories are interesting, but a simple reading of this passage makes it plain that Jesus is stating a fact and nothing else. Man’s rebellion against God was/is so great that only by the shedding of totally innocent blood could the slate be wiped clean. The only truly innocent blood was that of the Son of God. Satan had no choice, he did what he did out of hatred for God, all God’s creation and his own pride. Jesus did what He did out of love for God and love for God’s creation. Jesus had a choice and chose love. Satan had a choice and chose hate. Jesus’ statement was meant as an example of selfless love, the same kind the disciples were to have for each other and all of creation.

vs. 46 – 52

As Jesus and the disciples were walking toward Jerusalem they came to Jericho. Jericho was about 15 miles from Jerusalem and was where many the Temple priests had their homes. The law required all males twelve years of age and older, and living within 15 miles of Jerusalem, to attend the annual feast days at Jerusalem. Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem with a large crowd of persons also going there for the feast.

As the crowd was leaving the city a blind man (Bartimaeus) heard that Jesus was in the crowd and started calling to Him. Several people told the man to be quiet. The blind man ignored everyone and called even more loudly. Jesus instructed the man to be brought to him. The blind man was so eager to be healed that he ran to Jesus. Jesus asked Bartimaeus one simple question. What does he want? The answer is also simple; he wants to be able to see. Jesus’ immediate response to Bartimaeus’ is that his faith has healed him. Bartimaeus is healed and follows Jesus.

This incident relates a commonality in all the miracles related in the scriptures; persistence. Persistence comes with faith. Bartimaeus would not give up. He did not let decorum, society, peer pressure or what others felt was unseemly, stop him from calling out to Jesus. Bartimaeus’ response to Jesus calling for him was immediate. When Jesus called Bartimaeus came running. He came at the convenience of Jesus and the calling of Jesus, not at his own convenience. He knew exactly what he wanted. There was no ambivalence about his request. He wanted his sight. Bartimaeus had faith.  Even if his concept of Jesus was incomplete, he had faith and believed. The faith he had in Christ more than made up for his own incomplete understanding. He also had gratitude. Bartimaeus did not turn away after his healing. He followed Jesus. He finished with joy and loyalty.

MARK 11

vs. 1 – 11

Jesus has now come to the last part of His journey. It has been 3 ½ years since Jesus started His ministry. Now this part of His work is near completion. This was not Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem. The first three Gospels can give the idea that this may have been the first and only trip. The Gospel of John often mentions Jesus in Jerusalem. There is no disagreement between the Gospels. They are also written in the form that the ancients used for biographies. Each writer told what was important to them. To get a balanced view all of the gospels must be read.

Since Jesus was in and out of Jerusalem much more than once He probably made many contacts. Going to Jerusalem was not a quick decision on the part of Jesus. He knew what He was going to do and what was going to happen. The disciples located and took the colt as instructed then returned to Jesus.

As we look at the incident of the colt, we see Jesus using a time-honored method to get His message across. If the people would not be moved by words, use actions. This action was a deliberate act of Jesus to proclaim He was the Messiah bringing salvation. We must not misunderstand the message Jesus was sending by His actions. He was bringing spiritual peace and salvation.

In order to understand Jesus’ message in relation to the law, prophets and prophesy, we need to go to the Zechariah 9: 9-13. Zachariah prophesies of the King coming gently and riding on a donkey. This is telling of a king of peace. A king bringing forgiveness and healing to the land comes on an ass. This is not a king of war for a king of war comes on a horse. When we look at the Book of Revelation, we see the heavenly beings that bring plagues and war riding on horses. This passage in Mark fits together with the passage in Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61, Isaiah 11, and John 4:18-19. In each the King of Peace came first, after that comes the King of the Judgment of God. Jesus was using the eastern custom of the King who came in peace riding on an ass. The king who came riding on a horse came in war. The people did not truly understand or want to accept the message Jesus was bringing. They wanted a conquering Messiah, despite what the prophets said would happen. As they had been for generations the people were thinking in terms of conquest.

The shout hosanna is presently misunderstood to mean praise. Hosanna is a simple translation of the Hebrew word "Hoshiya na!" meaning for "Save, please!" This word occurs in second Psalms 118:25. Over the centuries the phrase hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually it came to mean, "Salvation! Salvation! Salvation has come.” The people shouting Hosanna to Jesus were crying out to God to save His people. The people were crying for a physical salvation from their enemies, not necessarily a spiritual salvation.

After Jesus passed through the crowds He went to the temple. The passage states that since it was late, Jesus went out of the temple and proceeded to Bethany. He knew this was the last peaceful time he would see in the Temple until He returns at the end time. From this point forward events would move quickly to their conclusion. Many thoughts had to be running through His mind. What thoughts must He have had about this people He wanted to do so much for yet would call for His crucifixion? What were His thoughts of the coming torture and crucifixion?

vs. 12 – 26

As Jesus and the disciples were going to the temple Jesus was hungry and seeing a fig tree went to find out if it was bearing fruit. Arriving at the tree Jesus saw it had no fruit and cursed it. After cursing the tree, Jesus continued to the temple.

This story presents many difficulties. Why did Jesus curse a tree because it did not bear fruit out of season? The whole action seems unreasonable and totally unlike Jesus. It seems to commentators Jesus was using His miraculous powers for his own sake; something He never did. Some commentators say this event never happened and, to prove the divinity of Jesus, was added later by the writer of the Gospel. Other commentators think that Jesus was looking for green figs; unripe figs that were very unpleasant and never eaten. Others provide no explanation at all. The writer of Mark is too careful in what he is writing to include an obvious fabrication. There is no need to include the story if it never happened. The story must be interpreted within the context of the entire passage, what was happening at the time and the message Jesus brought.  

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when He came to a fig tree. The tree was on the road indicating it was wild with no owner therefore anyone who was hungry should be able to eat the figs to satisfy their hunger. When Jesus came to the tree that appeared to have figs it was bare. The tree just looked good but could not satisfy anyone’s hunger. The fact that figs were not yet in season does not bear on the fact that the tree appeared to be fruitful but was not. People living outside of the Middle East are not as familiar with fig trees as are the residents. There can be two harvests of figs.

“The miracle of our Lord (Mt 21:18-20; Mk 11:12,13,10,21) which occurred in the Passover season, about April, will be understood (as far as the natural phenomena are concerned) by the account given above of the fruiting of the fig-tree, as repeatedly observed by the present writer in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. When the young leaves are newly appearing, in April, every fig-tree which is going to bear fruit at all will have some taksh ("immature figs") upon it, even though "the time of figs" (Mk 11:13 the King James Version), i.e. of ordinary edible figs--either early or late crop--"was not yet." This taksh is not only eaten today, but it is sure evidence, even when it falls, that the tree bearing it is not barren.” (Net Bible)

Jesus cursing the tree was neither a random act nor an act to prove His power. He had no need to do either. The fig tree appeared as if it would have immature (but edible) figs (taksh). It did not. Because the tree had no taksh it was a sure sign there would be no edible figs at the fruit bearing time for regular figs. The fig tree was a representation of Israel, at least their leadership. They looked like they would be fruitful but were not. Perhaps worse, their lack of spiritual fruit indicates they will be barren in the future. Jesus cursing the fig tree was acknowledgement of the reality that the tree would not be bearing fruit at the appointed time. What is different is the fig tree withered and dies overnight instead of the period of time it would normally take. Jesus was making a statement about Israel, much as Hosea did many, many years earlier.    

“¹⁰ "When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.”  Hos 9:10 NIV

Jesus was on His way to be crucified by the efforts of those very leaders who were unfruitful, did not follow the Word of God and served the false gods of money, power, position, etc. As the fig tree withered

After Jesus reached Jerusalem and the temple area, He immediately begins to drive out the moneychangers. Mark makes this sound rather abrupt but the activities taking place in the Temple had been going on for many years. For years Jesus has seen this same buying and selling and the Temple administration and animal sellers taking advantage of the worshippers.  Here is the house of God, a place all people should be able to come and worship; a place to cast off the cares of the world and take refuge in the God’s love. The Temple was intended as a place people could come to worship and praise God. Now the Temple has become a place God’s people were being robbed by those to whom the Temple of God was only a way to make money.

The method of robbery was as follows: in order to fulfill the law of sacrifice a person must bring a dove. A dove bought outside the temple cost the normal working man approximately a day’s wages. The priest had to rule on the acceptability of the sacrifice. The dove purchased outside the temple was almost always found to have a blemish. This forced the worshipers to buy the sacrificial dove inside the temple where they were more costly. The profit went to the person running the scam with a part of the excess profits to the High Priest.

The second method of robbery came with the paying of the temple tax. This tax was equal to about two day’s wages per year per worshiper. The tax had to be paid in a particular kind of coinage, the shekel of the sanctuary. In order to obtain this sanctuary shekel a person had to go to a moneychanger in order to change their everyday money into the sanctuary shekels. If the worshipper had the exact amount of change, the transaction cost a person about 1/3 of a day’s wage. If the person did not have the exact change, which was most often the case, the transaction cost approximately 2/3 of the day’s wage. The profit went to the person who ran the scam, and the High Priest.

Jesus was not at all happy with the arrangement and showed his displeasure in the time-honored method of using a visual lesson; He whipped the moneychangers and animal sellers out of the Temple. This action did not sit well with the Temple rulers. Jesus was preaching and teaching a personal relationship with God. If Jesus kept doing this the high priests would not be able to control the people or retain their positions and profits. This elevated the problem of Jesus to their number one priority. Jesus was not taking issue with the temple tax or sacrifice as such. Jesus was taking issue with the inflated costs charged unnecessarily in order to make money for the high priest and his minions.

When Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple area, He saw those making a profit from the worship of God and drove them out of the Temple. At the end of the day Jesus and the disciples went out of the city and again passed by the fig tree. This time the tree was completely withered, fruitless and useless. Some theologians claim the tree could not have been completely withered but rather the process had only started. The Bible states the tree was “withered from the roots.” This was unusual enough the disciples immediately saw what happened and Peter commented on the fact it was withered and the extent of the withering. It is interesting Peter said it was withered from its roots. The tree was withered from the base, its foundation, up, much like the Temple hierarchy.

Now we come back to the fig tree. If we look back at what has just happened in the Temple, the story makes sense. First, Jesus went to the fig tree to find food. The tree was in leaf, it looked good, Jesus was hungry. The tree was there to sustain life and Jesus rightly expected it to do so. The Temple priesthood were like the fig tree. They looked good. The people were hungry. The temple and priests were there to feed them. It was right for the people to expect spiritual nourishment. Just as Jesus was disappointed with the fruitless fig tree so the people were disappointed with the men serving God in the temple. Just as the tree withered and looked as useless for nourishment as it truly was, so the Temple priesthood would look as useless for providing spiritual nourishment as they truly were. Again, we must remember not all priests were part of the corrupt system.

There is another way to look at this story of the fig tree. In 2 Timothy 4:1 - 2 Paul tells Timothy to preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, renew and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. We humans like to judge what we feel is the appropriate time for particular actions (especially another person’s actions). Often, we hear someone say, or we ourselves say, not to do a certain thing, it is just not the right time. Our timing is not necessarily God’s timing. What we consider to be out of order or out of season may be just the right time in God’s mind. The decision is God’s, not ours. Our job is to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit.

The phrase about removing mountains was a common Jewish phrase. It was a vivid expression for removing difficulties and obstacles. If we have faith, sincere prayer to God will bring a solution to any problem. Having this kind of faith involves being willing to take everything to God in prayer and then the willingness to accept God’s answer.

The prayer of faith must be one of expectation. (Hebrews 11:1) We must truly believe that God will answer the prayer. Far too often our prayers are a formality, something we do without really thinking about content. We are taught to pray, but not to expect an answer. This leads to problems: one is not listening for an answer and therefore not hearing it. The second is when God provides the answer, we ignore Him and say it is due to circumstances or a coincidence. Why pray if an answer is not expected? Why talk with God without expecting a reply? To do so is wasting everyone’s time. Part of the reason we do not expect or listen/look for an answer is; if a person states God answered their prayer (especially audibly) that person is looked on with some suspicion about their mental state. We have broken the lines of communication with God. God loves us and want to communicate but often we keep the communication to a one-way communication only….us talking to God, not with God. Once more this is Satan tricking and encouraging us to not believe God and not have faith in God’s Word. The problem lies with us believing Satan and not God.

The prayer of faith must be one of love and charity. Far too often we forget that an intercessory prayer is often the most direct method to see the answer to our problems. It is a spiritual rule that we never see ourselves clearly until our attention is first fixed on God and our prayers for someone else. This cannot be a bitter, mean spirited or self-centered prayer of condemnation or envy. It must be prayed lovingly and honestly for another’s total physical and spiritual well-being. Notice this does not say to pray only for another Christian but rather all of God’s Creation.

vs. 27 – 33

As Jesus was walking in the temple a delegation from the Sanhedrin approached him. These men had probably witnessed Jesus clear the temple and posed what appeared to be a reasonable question. “By what authority do you do these things?” Who told Jesus He could disturb their way of life, making a living and worship? This question was asked not only because of what Jesus had just done but was also directed toward His actions since starting public ministry.

The delegation that approached Jesus appeared to be reasonable men asking a reasonable question. After all, they were not the ones who whipped people out of the Temple. Jesus read their hearts. He knew what motivated the question. Jesus cut through appearances and went to the heart of the matter.

Before we look at Jesus’ answer, we need to look at the motivation of the question. The delegation started out with the assumption they were the experts and, by virtue of their positions in society, permitted to judge Jesus. They were never in doubt about their motives or relationship to the religious authorities of the day. They were to protect the law from teachers like Jesus. God would never give any person the authority to create a disturbance in the temple, certainly not without first getting their permission. The intent of the delegation was to convince the people that Jesus was guilty of something, anything from being anti-government to blasphemy, and to remove Him before He caused more harm. To be fair we must recognize that the Israeli leaders were not just worried about their positions they were also concerned about the reaction of the Roman authorities. The last thing they wanted was a riot during Passover. Their concern came from their misunderstanding of the mission and message of Jesus.

Jesus, knowing their intentions, used a time-honored Jewish strategy and answered their question with a question. Jesus asked if John’s baptism was from heaven or from man. This put the delegation in a predicament worse than that in which they had tried to put Jesus. If they answered from God, Jesus could point to the fact that John recognized Him as the Messiah, therefore His authority came from God and why did the leaders not believe. If they answered the baptism of John came from man, then they may well have a riot on their hands. The people strongly believed John was a prophet, with the added distinction of being a recent martyr.  The delegation, not wanting to cause problems, can only answer that they did not know. By answering this way, they immediately abdicated any authority to compel an answer from Jesus. They admitted they were either ignorant of God’s workings, or that they did not have enough strength of their convictions to stand by them. In either case the initiative was lost and Jesus, by stating He would not answer them, was declaring the delegation from the Temple priests would not admit to the truth even if they did recognize it.

The passage does not condemn taking up offerings in church. At no time did Jesus condemn what the law required as far as the temple tax and sacrifice. What Jesus did condemn was the priesthood misusing the law for personal gain. Offerings must never be made a condition of attendance or forcing worshipers to give to the church instead of to God. Once again it is the intent, the state of the heart, that is important.

MARK 12

vs. 1 – 12

Although Jesus refuses to answer the delegation directly He does answer them indirectly by means of a parable. The parable is a familiar story to the people. By using the parable, Jesus brings to light the leaders’ motives for wanting Him killed. This is also a clear statement by Jesus that He is the Messiah. Jesus makes the statement in a way that the Jewish leaders cannot bring Him up on charges of heresy.

Analyzing the parable, we see the owner of the vineyard is God. The vineyard is the people of Israel. The tenants taking care of the vineyard are the spiritual leadership of Israel. The owner has provided everything a vineyard could possibly need to be prosperous. The servants that the owners sent are the prophets. The son referred to is the Messiah. In using this parable Jesus is sending the message that He is the son spoken of in the parable, therefore He is the Messiah.

The parable tells many things about God, Jesus and man. It tells us about the generosity of God.  The vineyard was state of the art for the time.  Everything that man could want to ensure an abundance of fruit was there. There is a direct relationship between this parable and the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2: 8 - 15. It also tells of the trust of God. The owner of the vineyard left and allowed the farmers to be in charge. The owner had faith in the farmers.  That faith and trust was violated. The reaction of the owner of the vineyard shows the patience of God.  The owner gave the renters many chances to pay, they turned away all of them. Here we see the love of God.  Even after the servants were killed, the owner sent his own son to make an accounting of the farmers. The owner still had faith in and love for the renters.  The son was also killed by the farmers. Eventually the owner’s patience ran out and now we see the justice and judgment of God.  After killing of the son, the patience of the owner ran out. He had the renters killed, which is what their actions show they were looking for from the owner.

Jesus was clear that He was the son, not a servant. There is a great difference between the two that was not missed by the leaders. Jesus has removed Himself from the succession of the prophets. Jesus is different.  Jesus is the last word, the final chance, for the leaders to return to God what is God’s. This parable also makes it quite clear Jesus knew he would be killed. This parable told the leaders He knew their plans and was ready to die, but they would have to accept the consequences for murdering Him. Jesus knew His would be the ultimate victory. Jesus knew that death is not the end of existence.

This parable also indicates the Jewish leaders thought the owner (God) was dead. This has a parallel in our time with the God is dead movement of the nineteen sixties and seventies (and continuing but in a more subtle manner). The farmers mistook love and patience for an inability to act or the death of the owner. If a person fails to accept the responsibility that comes with privilege, then both responsibility and privilege passes to another.

Jesus closes a parable with a quote from Psalm 118:22–23 (²² The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; ²³ the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. NIV). The Pharisees believe this Psalm was referring to the nation Israel. Jesus was saying their concept was shallow.  The rejection referred to Him, the Son of God. They rejected Him as being useless and unfit, yet He was and is the capstone of God’s complete plan of redemption for the world. The Israelites may not see it at this time but eventually they would. (A capstone is a finishing stone of a structure, the crowning achievement, point, element, or event. In the case of an arch the capstone is at the very top and holds the structure together and keeps it from falling down.)

The final verse of this passage tells us the leadership knew exactly what Jesus was saying. Once again, the leadership was afraid to do anything about Jesus. They were much more concerned about their positions than in defending what they consider to be the pure law of God.

vs. 13 – 17

After Jesus told the parable of the vineyard a group was sent from the Pharisees to try, once more, to trap Him. It can be easily imagined that after the delegation was made to look foolish by the parable, they decided to find a way to get Jesus into trouble with either the Roman authorities or the people. When the plan had been decided the best teachers and leaders, excluding the very top leaders (in an effort to avoid giving Jesus too much to legitimacy they did not want to become personally involved until the end), went to trap Jesus. By staying away from the controversy directly the top leaders can claim objectivity, even if they were anything but objective. (This is a well-used management tool for difficult problems. Always have a higher authority for middle management cite as a reference for their authority.) The “problem” of Jesus was elevated, and this delegation was a higher level of management than that which was sent earlier.  

An interesting side note is the cooperation of the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees were very concerned with obeying the Law, at least as they saw it. Their focus was on the minutia and not on the purpose of the Law. They were usually very nationalistic in a religious way. (They saw the Nation of Israel and the worship of God as inextricably bound together). The Herodians were primarily a political group that supported the rule of Herod and Rome. The religious focus of Israel was not a priority for them. Quite often the Herodians were in agreement with the Sadducees. (The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.) The Pharisees and Herodians (and Sadducees) were bitter enemies and their cooperation here emphasizes the urgency both groups felt to remove Jesus.

The plan was to force Jesus to say that either the Romans were legitimate rulers, in which case He would lose all standing with the people, or, the Romans were not legitimate rulers in which case He would be arrested by the Romans and put to death for treason. These were the only two possible answers the leaders’ thought were possible. Either answer would result in Jesus being silenced and no longer a danger to them. From a strictly human point of view this was a good plan.  Their plan would seem to put them (the leaders) in a position where they could not lose.

The trap was baited with flattery by the delegation. The delegation addressed Jesus as a teacher and publicly recognized His integrity. They noted that Jesus was not swayed by position, power, popularity, etc. He looked at the heart of the individual and their motivation for their actions and words. The words of the delegation were designed for the audience, to demonstrate to the people they, the leaders, were really looking out for the people’s best interest. After the flattery the delegation asked Jesus a question that, on its face, seemed simple, honest and straightforward. “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵Should we pay, or shouldn't we?" The question was a cleverly designed a trap with no way out, or so the leaders thought. Since the leaders did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God, they felt they were intellectually His superiors and could trap Him.

Before looking at the answer Jesus gave it is in order to look at the taxes involved. First, there was the ground tax. This consisted of 1/10 of all grain and 1/5 of all wine and food produced. Second was the income tax which amounted to one percent of a man’s income. Third was the poll tax. The poll tax amounted to one day’s pay per person per year. The Jews were not happy about paying these taxes.

Jesus sees through the delegation’s dissembling, dismisses the group’s attempts at flattery and answers their question in a way totally unexpected manner. First, He asked why they were trying to trap Him; so much for the surprise factor. Next Jesus asked to see a coin. After Jesus was given a coin, He then asked them whose picture was on the coin. Jesus then trapped them in their own trap. The delegation answered their own question by stating that Caesar's picture was on the coin. Jesus then told them the obvious, give to Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to God.

In order to have a clear understanding of just what was being said here we need to understand coins were viewed at that time. Coinage was a sign of legitimate power. When a person assumed leadership one of the first things they did was to mint coins with their image. A ruler’s control was measured by the area over which his coinage was considered valid currency. There is also the view that sense that because the coin had the ruler’s image on them they were, at least in some way, the ruler’s personal property.

With all of this being understood by the people of those times, in effect Jesus was saying; you rulers use the coins of Tiberius as legal tender, they have his image on them, so to your way of thinking they belong to him anyway, so give Tiberius what is already his. Jesus is telling them to admit the political and economic realities of the situation.

Jesus also tells them to give to God what already belongs to God’s. Recognize the reality of the spiritual world. Do not close out the reality of God just because you cannot readily perceive Him with the five physical senses and think He does not see what is happening. The leaders recognized the image of Tiberius on the coin but did not recognize the image of God on Jesus. or on mankind generally. The religious leaders of God’s chosen nation were more familiar with the temporal than they were of the spiritual things of the Holy, Eternal, Loving God. By his answer, Jesus really gave more legitimacy to the paying of taxes than what the leaders were taking from the people in the Temple. They are (grudgingly) giving Caesar what was his, but they were not giving God what was God’s and were effectively stealing from God’s people and God. There is a point at which the laws of the state and God can come in conflict. At this point of conflict, the Law of God holds precedence. The Law of God is eternal. The law of the state is temporal.

The very well laid plans of the leaders were in shambles. Jesus saw through their trap and answered both the question and made their hypocrisy evident to all. The wisdom and insight of Jesus amazed everyone.

vs. 18 – 27

After the question about taxes the Sadducees came asking a question concerning marriage after death. Since the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection this appears to be another attempt to trap Jesus. The question was based on the Jewish custom of a man marrying his brother’s childless widow in order that there would be children born. Any children born from that union would be considered the brother’s children and inherit the brother’s estate. The Sadducees went through a long, complicated story about seven brothers, the first brother died with his wife childless. The important part of the question is at the very end. The complicated story about the seven brothers was simply an attempt to muddy the waters and make question unanswerable. This question was different from the tax question in that it does not attempt to trap the person of Jesus but does attempt to disparage His doctrine.

What makes this interesting is the question was based on the idea that the resurrection is real, an idea which the Sadducees rejected. This makes their attempt to trap Jesus and their arrogant attitude painfully obvious, at least to Jesus. They did not directly question the doctrine of the resurrection but framed their question in such a way as to make fun of the idea of a resurrection. This is an approach taken by many who try to disprove the Holy Bible, the Trinity, etc. Quite often instead of openly stating their position they use an intellectual approach to try to hold the Bible, God, etc. up to ridicule. This is the approach the Sadducees took.   The Sadducees did not think Jesus would have an adequate answer and would show His inadequacy while supporting their position that there was/is no resurrection. As with the question about taxes Jesus’ response comes from a direction the Sadducees did not expect.

Jesus takes the initiative and very bluntly tells them they do not know (understand) the Scriptures or the power of God. These were the leaders of the people, the hierarchy of the Temple, one of the groups that claimed they knew and understand the Scriptures and God much better than the general population.  To this august group (at least by position and in their own minds) Jesus tells them, in front of the crowd, that they have no knowledge of the meaning of the Scripture or the power of God. Jesus then explains that once a person dies and is resurrected, they are like the angels, they are spiritual beings and there is no marriage.

Immediately after Jesus tells them they do not know what they are talking about, He verifies there is a resurrection. By saying this Jesus is telling them their entire theology, the basis of their belief system, is wrong. Jesus then validates there is a resurrection by referring to Moses and God’s words to Moses. His reference to God’s words to Moses indicate the Sadducees are in error. Jesus then tells them very bluntly they are in error. In fact, Jesus tells them they are badly mistaken. This is not a minor error but a serious error that can cause many problems for them and those they teach.

vs. 28 – 34

Jesus and the Temple priests were not operating in a vacuum. There was a large audience listening to every word they said and watching every action they took. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted the audience. Their intention was to make Jesus look like He did not know the law or what He was talking about. Things did not work out as they planned.  Instead of making Jesus look foolish they made themselves look foolish.

Among the audience was a teacher of the law. He also had a question for Jesus, but his attitude was entirely different than that of the Temple priests. Knowing the teacher was not trying to trap Him but rather asked an honest question, Jesus answered the teacher’s question in detail. The question was not aimed at separating the commandments into two categories, which should be obeyed, and which can be ignored. All of the 10 Commandments come from God and are to be obeyed. The question is really aimed at determining which of the commandments (if any) is the basis of the other commandments. Jesus set the priorities of the 10 Commandments and the Law.  

Jesus answered that the one commandment that is the basis for all of the others, the most important, is “the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  This is very clear. First, we must know and believe that there is only one God. We must love God with all our heart and all of our being. There can be nothing else we love more than God. In this statement Jesus covers the emotions, intelligence, soul and physical being. Every part, every molecule of our beings must love God. If we do that there is no room for anything but God and His commandments. ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  The teacher did not ask about the second most important commandment, but Jesus volunteered the information. These two commandments are inextricably bound together. It is impossible to love God and hate people.  

 “¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 7: 12 NIV) Many people quote this passage but few consider it in a proactive manner. We should not wait to see how others treat us to determine how we will treat them. We are to treat others with Christian love and behavior (action) at all times, including when we first meet and regardless of how others treat us. Everyone wants to be treated with love, respect and value, therefore that is how we must always treat others. This is a reinforcement of Matthew 5:38 – 42 and Luke 6:29. In both of these scriptures Jesus tells us if a person hits us on one cheek to turn the cheek.  

^“44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your  brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” {Matthew 5: 44 – 48  NIV)

It is important to note that this passage Matthew ends with the instruction to “be perfect.” This was not a suggestion or a recommendation but a direct instruction to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect. Quite often people quote this verse and then immediately put a disclaimer that no one can be perfect. This is not what Jesus states. Either we are wrong, or Jesus is wrong. Since Jesus is not wrong that means that those who say we cannot be perfect are wrong. In order to understand this scripture, we need to read verses 44 through 47 carefully and understand the context within which the statement was made. Jesus was instructing us to love one another. Not to love just those who are family or friends but those we do not know, the unlovely, those we do not like, those who cheat and steal from us, the poor, the rich, in short, everyone. Jesus’ instruction to be perfect has love at its core, its heart. The perfect is perfect in love, as is our Heavenly Father. How a person eats, looks, etc. does not have anything to do with being perfect. Operating in love, the love that flows from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit has everything to do with being perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

vs. 35 – 44

After Jesus answered the questions of the Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees He asks a question. We are not told if the question was addressed to any particular group or person. Since the listeners contained all three groups plus the common citizen the question may have been designed to show the teachers of the law were not able to answer His question. Jesus points out that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David. He questions how the teachers can say this based on David’s own words. Jesus makes it very clear that David was speaking as inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is very important because Jesus makes it clear that David’s words came from the Holy Spirit and by saying this Jesus is affirming the Trinity.

Jesus then shows that David called Christ his Lord. Now the question Jesus raises is: How can Christ be the son of David if David calls Him Lord. The term Lord indicates one in authority over the person addressing them as Lord. If Christ is simply the son of David, why would David call him Lord? The teachers of the law did not have an answer. Since the teachers of the law claimed to have full understanding of the law and held themselves in high esteem compared to the unlearned common citizen, not being able to answer Jesus delighted the other listeners. At last, here was a person more knowledgeable in the law than the teachers of the Law, and this person would be considered common and unlearned by those same teachers.

³⁸As He taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Jesus was teaching a group that contained Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, common citizens and other teachers. Jesus has already addressed the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, He now addresses the teachers of the law. Jesus told the people to be careful of the teachers of the law. He specifically warns of their attitudes and their reason for, and approach to, being teachers. Everything Jesus describes about the teachers present an egocentric attitude. The teachers were proud of their positions and made sure others knew how important they were. They made sure they looked and acted pious in public. How they acted in private wan another manner. Jesus lets them know that their true motives, actions and thoughts are known to God. Because they did not teach or act in love, their outward actions would mean nothing to God, and they would be punished. Their punishment would be even greater because they claimed to represent God but did not act in accordance with God’s love.

⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. ⁴³Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

This scene is an interesting contrast to Jesus’ comments concerning teachers of the law. Jesus was watching people putting their offerings into the temple treasury. The rich people put in large amounts of money while a widow with very little money put in a very small amount of money. The purpose of Jesus was not to compare one person’s offering to another but rather to make a point about a person’s heart and attitude about giving. The woman had very little money but still gave. The amount she gave was far more as a percentage than those who had great wealth. She gave everything she had for food, shelter, etc.  

Mark 13

The thirteenth chapter of Mark talks about things to come. It is one of the more difficult chapters in Mark. The thirteenth chapter of Mark concentrates on the second coming of Christ. This chapter must be read with an understanding of the Jewish faith and the Old Testament. The Jews knew they were the chosen people. They knew they were chosen and protected by God, not by man. They had come to the realization that their place as the chosen people could only come by God’s intervention. That time of God’s intervention was and is known as the Day of the Lord. This does not mean it is a twenty-four-hour time period, but a period of time known as the Day of the Lord.

The thirteenth chapter of Mark is very similar to Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Although they are similar, they may document two different times Jesus talked about what was going to happen. In Luke, the place and time is given as in the temple when Jesus looked up and saw the rich men putting money into the treasury. (Luke 20:1 and Luke 21:1) Both Matthew and Mark are quite specific that Jesus went out of the temple to the Mount of Olives and sat looking on the temple complex.

There is also the possibility that the Matthew and Mark (who used Peter as a source) put more emphasis on the place than did Luke. It is also possible that the conversation started in the temple and, after the questions were asked, continued on the Mount of Olives. Whether Matthew and Mark are documenting the same event as Luke is not as important as the message, which is essentially the same. If these three accounts are for two different events, then the fact the content is the same verifies the consistency of Jesus’ message. Jesus never wavered from His message.

Many theologians and believers look at Mark 13 from three perspectives. Some look at this chapter and feel the prophecies referred to the Romans and what they did to the temple and the Jews. The second group feels that this chapter and its prophecies refer to the last days when Christ comes again. There is a third group that combines these two. They believe that there was an immediate partial fulfillment of the prophecies by the Romans. They also believe that the prophecies refer to the second coming of Christ. This section of commentary is written from this third point of view.

vs. 1 – 2

Before looking at this section it is good to review what went before the disciples made these comments concerning the temple. Jesus had been in the Temple teaching and answering the questions of the teachers of the Law. He brought to light and answered the intellectual traps the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians laid for Him. Jesus also warned the disciple about the teaching of these groups and, finally, made the point that giving from the heart is much more important than the amount given. After all of this, as they were leaving the Temple, the disciples look at the building and talk about the magnificence of the temple building. There is an emphasis on looking at what man had made in had accomplished and on the beauty, not on the reason for and purpose of, the Temple. The disciples’ comments seem to indicate they missed the purpose of Jesus’ teachings in the temple. Jesus now reinforces His teachings. He tells them that not one stone of the temple they are so in awe of will be left on another. This is very difficult for the disciples to comprehend. The same problem is evident throughout history, including our time. Man builds massive and often beautiful structures that reach far into the sky and think they will last forever. Over enough time everything deteriorates. Scientists have found that, given enough time, even gold and diamonds deteriorate and are corrupted. Jesus makes it very clear that only what God does lasts forever. The Temple building was not of primary importance, the reason for the temple, the worship of God was. The disciples needed to learn this lesson. It would be critical in their future work.

vs. 3 – 13

Jesus now goes to the Mount of Olives. From this vantage point Jesus was able to look down on the complete temple complex. Peter, James John and Andrew are with Jesus and they have some questions they want to ask Him in private. They want to know when all the things Jesus has been talking about will happen. Like most people, they desired a timetable, something they could work to. It is difficult for us to walk by faith, believing in what we cannot see physically. Jesus did not give them a timetable but again gives them a warning. He wants them to be very careful that no one deceives them. He warns them that many people will come in His name claiming they are the Christ, or they are the one that the believers must follow. Their rules for salvation are what must be followed and try to convince people that it takes more than belief and faith in the salvation of Christ. They will deceive many. Jesus also notes that when you hear of wars and rumors of warns not to be alarmed, these things will happen, but the end has not yet come. He states that states that nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be natural disasters such as earthquakes and famines, but this is not the end, it is the beginning of the end. These show that the end is beginning but has not yet happened. It is a warning of what is to come so the believer will not be unprepared.

Jesus again warns them they must be on guard. True believers will be brought before judges, councils, churches, etc. to answer for their faith. Throughout history believers have had to constantly stand for their faith. The end will be no different. Christ also noted that the gospel must be preached to all nations first. That is not to say all the nations will believe, just that the Gospel must be preached to all nations before the end will happen. No one will have the excuse they did not hear the Gospel or have the opportunity to repent and accept Jesus as Savior.

Along with the warning, Jesus gives a promise. That promise being the Holy Spirit will tell us how to answer when we are brought before judges, councils, churches, etc. to give an answer for our hope and faith. That, despite being taken before various authorities, despite being beaten, harassed, lied about and badly used, the Spirit will always be with us. Jesus tells the disciples not to worry ahead of their appearance before authorities. The reason would seem to be worrying can be the result of less faith and, perhaps more importantly, takes time and energy that could be better used spreading the Gospel. There is also the tremendous emotional toll worry can take, a toll that can wear a person down and limit their effectiveness.

Jesus is very clear in His description of what will happen. He clearly states that believing in Him by standing up for Him will result in being ostracized by the majority of society. Almost everyone would turn against true Christians and even families would be torn apart.

Christians in our time tend to look for ways to get along with the world as a whole. We tend to judge the motives of other peoples, religions, and organizations from a Christian perspective. We tend to think the world operates from a spirit of love. This is not the case. The world likes to use the word love, but actually operates from a spirit of hate and chaos, from the spirit of Satan. In Mark 13 Jesus spends a lot of time clarifying that truly believing in and living for Him will cause us to be hated by the world. Verse 13 is critical. We need to remember this verse if we feel the world does not love us. ¹³All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (NIV) It is a bitter pill to swallow, but if we truly preach, teach and live in accordance with the teachings of Christ, the world will not like us. This is seen throughout history.

Before closing this section, a few comments about the deceivers and heresies are in order. Heresies can (sometimes) come from people with a good intent but wanting to fit the scriptures to their particular paradigms and beliefs. Often, they take a section of the scriptures and build a theology around that one section instead of taking the scriptures as a whole. The scriptures do not disagree with each other. Paul told Timothy all Scripture is good for teaching, edifying, reproof etc. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (NIV) One of the more prevalent heresies is that the law has been abolished. The Law has been fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. There is a great difference between these two perspectives. Some people state there is nothing left but grace and whatever we do is forgiven. In a certain sense this is correct. The problem is this heresy concludes that we could go on sinning because the more we sin the more opportunity there is for God’s Grace to work. This makes grace an excuse for sin. This is in direct contradiction to many Scriptures. John, in his gospel and the letters makes it very clear this is not the case. Jesus said to more than one person to “go, and sin no more.” (John 5:14; John 8:11)

Another heresy that is still quite common is a disbelief in the Trinity. This heresy believes that there were three separate and independent manifestations of God. The first manifestation was that of God as seen in the Old Testament. The next manifestation is that of Jesus. Once Jesus came then there was, according to the believers in this heresy, no more God the Father. The third manifestation is that of the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus died and rose again then that manifestation was done (completed) and the Holy Spirit became the final manifestation. This heresy is totally inconsistent with the Scriptures.

Not considered on the level of a heresy, but certainly not in accordance with the Gospels or letters, is the belief that the gifts of the Spirit and gifts of the ministry died with the original apostles. The scriptures are very clear that the gifts are given without any intention of being removed. Scriptures are very clear that the gifts were never taken away nor will they be taken away. (Romans 11:29 “²⁹for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.” ). The gifts and callings of God are immutable and unalterable. Mankind may choose not to use the gifts and callings but that is mankind’s choice and not a result of God’s removing them.

Christ is consistently very clear that we must look at all of the Word of God. Christ did not come to abolish but to fulfill the law. Christ also made it very clear that He exists from the beginning and for all time with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The term “from the beginning” means from before the universes were created. The Trinity is a mystery. We do not understand. It is a matter of faith. Mankind will never understand the ways of God. We are not intended to understand all of the ways of God. We can search out, we can set forth theories, we can praise, but in the end, there must be faith. Faith is built on searching out, praying about, and continuously looking into the full Word of God; Old and New Testaments. Be careful of organizations that try to produce a religion which will suit people and be popular or attractive. Do not separate yourself from Christian fellowship. The fellowship of other Christians helps us to avoid the trap of just listening to ourselves and thinking we know everything. We must be careful not to become fixed on just one part of God’s Word. Finally, remember that Christianity is a matter of faith. Be careful of organizations claiming to be Christian yet try to replace Faith by intellectually based reasoning and ignoring or denigrating the Holy Bible.  

vs 14 – 27

It is important to remember this entire section is about Jesus speaking privately to a few of His disciples. Sometimes this important fact is missed and can cause the reader to misinterpret the context of Jesus’ words. He tells them how to recognize that the end of days are upon us. Although Jesus is talking to only a few of His disciples, His words indicate He is looking at a future time. Jesus does not tell them the day or the hour but does tell them what to look for as signs that the end is near, this is entirely consistent with other scriptures. (Matthew 24:43)

Jesus foretells the fall of Jerusalem. His warning was that people should leave the city in order to save themselves. What actually happened was people went into the city and were destroyed by the Romans. This is very similar to what happened in the time of Jeremiah, the prophet. In that case Jeremiah warned the people to leave the city and they would live but if they stayed, they would die when Babylon captured the city. This is also a message for the end time. Jesus is not talking only about the fall of Jerusalem. The reader must look at all of the scriptures, including what Jesus previously said. When Jesus talks about the Abomination of Desolation He is referring back to the book of Daniel. This happened, at least in part, with the fall of Jerusalem. It becomes quite clear in verses 20 through 27 that Jesus is also talking about the end time.

Based on lessons from history and what happened to the Jews and Jerusalem what appears to be places of safety may not be at all safe. Verse 20 tells us that unless God shortens the days of affliction no person would be saved. For the sake of the true believers in Christ, God will shorten those days. It is obvious from His descriptions and verses 19 through 27 that Jesus is looking in time at happenings far beyond the fall of Jerusalem. What happened at Jerusalem was horrific but was no worse than that which happened to other cities at the time. What was different was that it happened to Jerusalem, the   Holy City of God and the location of the Temple of God. What happens at the end of days will be far, far more severe than anything in all of man’s history to that point.

Jesus also warns us about people falsely claiming to be the savior. At the time of Jesus there were a number of people who claimed to be the savior. (That fact was one of the reasons the Jewish leadership had a group of scholars available to ask questions of those claiming to be the Messiah.) Jesus is quite clear that these people are not to be believed. False saviors and false prophets will arise at the end time. There will be miracles and wonders and unusual things the false prophets can and will do. These will be evident enough that even those who say miracles, signs and wonders stopped with the early church will be forced to take note and change their stance. The purpose of these false saviors and prophets is to deceive people, including Christians if possible, in order to keep them from being saved through the true Christ- Jesus.

Christ lets us know that He has warned us all of these things. The abomination that makes desolation must appear. This is referring to the vision given to Daniel. Once again there seems to be two fulfillments of the prophesy in Daniel. One has already come, and one is still to come. Some theologians think this prophesy was fulfilled once and for all time by Antiochus when he desecrated the altar in the Temple. This position is not consistent with the scriptures in either Mark or Daniel. Both places make it very clear that this prophecy is for the end times. In Daniel the messenger tells Daniel that the prophecy is for the far future, the end of time, and is to be sealed until then. (Daniel 8:26)

vs. 28 – 37

Jesus tells us to be watchful. He uses the fig tree as a lesson. We know by looking at the different plants and trees which season is coming. If we look at a tree and see its branches look tender and it is putting out leaves then we know summer is near. If we pay close attention to the scriptures, we will also know what spiritual season is coming. Jesus seems to have a double prophecy here. He is speaking about things that are coming to pass immediately (in their present time) as well as things that will happen in the future just before and during His return.

Some theologians contend that when Jesus said these things were to happen with “this generation” (meaning the generation alive at that time) Jesus was in error. Jesus was not in error. The things He spoke about happened within the generation that was alive at that time. Other theologians contend that it must be for His (meaning Jesus’) generation only since Jesus said no man, not even the angels or the Son, knows the day and the hour except the Father. These theologians feel that Jesus would know the day and the hour of His return.

In the first instance, these things did come to pass. Within 30 to 40 years the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Jesus was not in error and the generation that co-existed with Him did not pass away before the prophecies were fulfilled in their sight. Second, people tend to misread and misunderstand (or misinterpret) the scriptures. Jesus is very clear that there are some things the Father keeps to Himself. At the time Jesus spoke these words He knew neither the date nor the hour. Jesus is also very clear that we can know the times and the seasons. Just as we can see what is coming in nature so we can see what is coming in the Spiritual world, that is the point of using the fig tree example. We are to be careful to keep our house, meaning our lives, in order. We must be careful to look at prophecy and scripture in order to be aware of the seasons. Where we are in prophesy. A fundamental part of being aware of the season we are in and the season we are coming to is to be knowledgeable in the full Gospel. For the early church their scriptures are what we know as the Old Testament.

We must be very careful of those who claim they have worked out the exact day and/or hour of Jesus’ return. We must be just as careful of those who say we cannot know the times or seasons. Based on the words of Jesus, both of those are in error. We cannot know the day or the hour, but it is incumbent upon us to be aware of the seasons. We can see it is coming if we know the scriptures.

Mark 14

vs. 01 – 02

The final days of Jesus’ time on earth are approaching. The first two verses of this chapter tell the thinking of the Jewish leadership. It is very clear they wanted Jesus dead. Since it was a requirement that every Jew within fifteen miles of Jerusalem must attend the feast, they knew that Jesus would be in Jerusalem during the feast of Passover. Because the leaders were concerned the people would riot, they did not want to take any action during the actual feast. The leadership was much more concerned with their position and Roman reaction than they were the Word of God.

The Passover is one of the three required feasts for the Jew. The Passover was significant due to its spiritual, historical and agricultural significance. Of the three, the spiritual significance was the most important. The Passover commemorated the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. God sent ten plagues upon Egypt in order to free the Israelites from bondage. In each case Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go but then a reneged on his promise. The final plague was the death of the first born of every person cattle and sheep in Egypt, except for the Israelites.

In order to be safe from the death angel, God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, the very best of the flock. They were to gather outside the house, take the blood and put it on the door posts and the lentil above the door. Once that was done the family was to go through the blood on the doorway and lentil, into the house and eat the lamb. With the lamb, they were to eat bread without leaven. When the death angel was the blood on the door posts and lentil the angel would pass over the house and the first born would not die. (Exodus 12)

The Passover was very important to the Jews. There were many preparations before the Passover. Passover’s meaning was explained and emphasized in the synagogues and its lessons taught daily in the schools. Nothing concerning the Passover was left to chance. No one would come in unprepared. In that day it was common to bury people beside the roads. If any pilgrim to the feast touched one of these wayside tombs they would have been in contact with a dead body. This would make them unclean and therefore unable to take part in the Passover. In order to keep this from happening, the tombs were whitewashed so they would be very visible, and the pilgrims could avoid them.

The number of pilgrims that might be in attendance during the Passover could be very large (some sources state three million or more). The potential for trouble with this large crowd was one of the reasons for the concern of the leadership. During the Passover emotions ran very high. This was especially true when the Jews were under the control of the Romans. The Romans were an occupying force and the Jews felt that they were in bondage to the Romans, which in fact they were. The Israelites were looking for a Messiah to deliver them, but they were looking for an earthly king, not a spiritual Messiah to deliver them from spiritual bondage. The Jewish authorities knew arresting Jesus could very well cause a riot. The people knew of the miracles Jesus performed and many people considered Him the Messiah. Arresting Jesus could start a riot resulting in the Romans putting it down by much bloodshed.

vs. 03 – 11

There could be a few reasons why the woman broke the flask and poured the entire contents on the head of Jesus. It was the custom in that time that if a glass was used by a distinguished guest it was a broken so that it would never be touched by the hands of a lesser person. More importantly, it was the custom to anoint the bodies of the dead. When this was done, the vessel used for the anointing ointment or perfume was broken and the pieces placed with the body in the tomb. Jesus’ comment that she did this for His burial indicates the latter was the case.

The first thought that seems to have occurred to more than one guest was that this was a waste of the money to buy the ointment. The ointment might have been sold for a large sum of money with the money given to the poor. They did what people usually do, they started talking about the woman in a negative manner. The King James Version says there were some at the meal who felt this way. We often single out Judas and think he is the only person who felt this way. That is not what the scriptures say, but Judas is the only person who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus tells everyone to leave the woman alone. Why were they giving her trouble? He makes it very clear she had done a good thing to Him. He now puts everyone’s priorities in order. They were saying that the ointment could have been sold for a lot of money and the money given to the poor. Jesus reminds them that there will always be poor people. They can and should help the poor at all times, but they will not always have Jesus physically with them.

There is now no question that Jesus knows He will be killed, and He does not intend to stop it. Jesus has always said He came as Savior for all of mankind, not just as a deliverer for the Jews. His words and actions this night confirmed His words. Judas, one of the twelve, now goes to the chief priests and proposes to betray Jesus. The motives behind Judas’ action are not clear. The disciples said (after the fact) that Judas was a thief and was embezzling money from their common purse. Theologians (especially in the present time) look for reasons that would justify Judas’ actions. In reality there is no possible justification. Like Pharaoh, Judas prepared himself for the role he played and suffered the consequences

Why did the other disciples not prevent Judas from going to the chief priest and betraying Jesus? The reason they did nothing was they did not know what he was doing. They probably assumed he was taking care of an errand for Jesus. Often the Scripture passage where Jesus said “the one who dips their bread with, he is the one who will betray me” is interpreted to mean all of the disciples heard what Jesus said. A careful reading of this passage will show that only John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who repeated Jesus’ answer to Peter, heard what Jesus said. We may now ask why John and Peter did not stop Judas. Again, they may have not understood what Judas was doing, they just may not have had any idea how to react, or perhaps they did understand this was to fulfill prophecy.

Jesus knows He is going to the cross. He knows He will die in a most painful and the degrading manner. He is confident, He is in control. He recognizes what must be done. This is possible because Jesus knows He is doing God’s Will and God is in control.

vs. 12 – 16

Now we come to the feast of Passover. This was the first day of unleavened bread, the time when the Passover lamb was killed. Jesus’ disciples asked Him where they should go to prepare and eat the Passover. Jesus told two of the disciples they were to go into the city and meet a man carrying a vessel of water; they were to follow him. In the culture a man carrying water is in itself unusual. Normally women, not men, would be bearing water, therefore this man would stand out from the crowds. Jesus told the disciples that wherever the man went they were to follow and speak to the head of the house where he entered. They were to say to the head of the house that the Master asked where is the guest chamber where He, Jesus, could eat the Passover with His disciples. The man would show them a large upper room furnished and ready for the Passover supper. The two disciples were to make things ready for Jesus and the rest of the disciples.

What is sometimes missed in this passage is that Jesus had everything planned and ready. He knew exactly who the two disciples were to speak with and where the Passover supper would take place. This should not surprise us. Jesus would ensure things were ready. This fact was not missed by the disciples. Jesus did not leave things until the last minute. He had arranged everything from the very beginning through the very end.

The Passover was eaten by the family. There have been questions about why Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples. Why were the disciples not with their families and Jesus with his family? The point that is missed is that the disciples were in fact the family of Jesus. Jesus made the point many times that those who believe in Him were His family. This is a continuation of His teaching on that subject. Jesus did eat the Passover supper with His family. He ate with those who believed in Him.

There has also been some question as to the exact time Jesus ate this supper. Some theologians say this could not be the actual Passover supper but was a supper the day before that the Jesus and the disciples counted as a Passover supper. This is in clear contradiction to the scriptures. The gospels clearly state that Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover supper. When we look at this we must remember that the Jewish day started with an evening. An evening and a morning is one day. This is in agreement with Genesis and current practice in Israel. We must also remember there were two types of Sabbath to the Jews. The usual Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. There was also a second type of Sabbath. This Sabbath was considered a high holy day and may or may not occur on the seventh day of the week. This would be one of the feasts specified by God to be held each year. We can find these in the books of the Leviticus and Deuteronomy When we look at the events that happened during this period of time we must remember that both a high holy day Sabbath and a regular seventh day Sabbath are involved and they are not the same day.

Once the disciples were shown the upper room, they were to make ready for Jesus and the other disciples. This involves some preparation. First came to the ceremonial search for leaven. Before the Passover every least little bit of leaven had to be removed from the house. This was because the first Passover was eaten with unleavened bread. There was no time to wait for leaven to make the bread rise. God commanded that the Passover would always be celebrated with unleavened bread. There is also a spiritual lesson here. As the Jews carefully searched for and removed all leaven from their physical house so the believer must search out and, through the Holy Spirit, remove all sin from their spiritual house.

After the search for the leaven, on the afternoon before the Passover evening, came the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Each family was to kill their own Lamb. In accordance with the commandment of God and the original Passover, the people took the blood of the slain lamb and put it on the door posts and above the door (the lentil). After putting the blood of the lamb on the door posts and lentil, everyone went into the place where they would eat the Passover. This resulted in the people passing through the blood and their first born would be passed over by the death angel.

There were specified actions and items that the disciples would need to prepare for the Passover meal. There was the lamb. There was the unleavened bread. These included a bowl of saltwater. There was a collection of bitter herbs. There was a paste mixture of apple’s, dates, pomegranates and nuts. There were also four cups of wine. All of these symbolized things that happened during the exodus from Egypt. The blood was to remind them of how they and their households had been protected when the death angel passed over Egypt. The unleavened bread reminded them of the bread they had eaten in haste when they escaped from slavery in Egypt. The bowl of saltwater was to remind them of the tears they had shed in Egypt and of the parting of the waters of the Red Sea. The bitter herbs were to remind them of their slavery in Egypt. The paste was to remind them of the bricks they were forced to make in Egypt and the four cups of wine were drunk during different stages of the meal to remind them of the four promises in Exodus 6.

vs. 17 – 21

Jesus and the disciples now go in to eat the Passover meal. It was the custom in the time of Jesus to eat in a reclining position. During the meal Jesus states that one of them will betray Him. Some of the disciples ask Jesus if it is them. Jesus answers that one of the twelve who dips his bread with Jesus is the person. There is some question concerning whether Jesus said this to the entire group of twelve, or just to one of the disciples. If we go to the Gospel of John (Chapter 13, vs. 21 – 26) we get more detail and the distinct impression that this was said to one disciple only. There was a disciple leaning on the breast of Jesus. This was the disciple Jesus loved. Simon Peter asked that disciple to ask Jesus who it was that would betray Him. Jesus answered to the disciple whom he loved, who then told Peter. When we look closely at the scriptures, we see the disciple whom Jesus loved was the Apostle John. The answer of Jesus gave was not necessarily intended for or heard by all of the disciples.

His next comments clearly show Jesus knew exactly what was happening and what was going to happen. He recognized that His death and resurrection were to be exactly as foretold in the prophecies. This included His betrayal. Jesus also stated that it was better for the person who would betray Him if that person not been born. The betrayal would happen as foretold and Judas was the person who prepared himself to be the betrayer. Jesus gave Judas every chance to change his mind including His comments at the Passover supper. Judas, as the rest of humanity, are without excuse.

We look at Judas and think what a terrible thing he did to betray Jesus. We must remember there are people in our time as well as all throughout history who have betrayed Jesus. Judas was not the last person to betray Christ. What Jesus said about Judas is also true of others who betray Jesus or put Him to open shame, it is better for them if they had not been born.

It would be good to look at some of the possibilities as to why Judas betrayed Christ. There have been a number of theories set forth as to why Judas betrayed Christ. There is the theory that Judas was a zealot and really thought he was fulfilling God’s Will. The thinking is that Judas wanted to force Christ to destroy the Roman occupiers and return Israel to its former glory. This theory has been used to try to justify the actions of Judas. The argument proposes Judas’ heart was in the right place although his actions were wrong. This is nonsense, illogical and certainly not in accordance with the facts. The actions of Judas show that he thought he was the person to determine what should happen, not God.  The betrayal of Christ by Judas clearly shows Judas felt he knew better than God or the Son of God what actions should occur and when. This is the same problem Satan had and has. It is a pride in self. Satan was proud and allowed that pride to stand between him and God. Satan felt in his heart that he knew best, not God. This same attitude and pride were in Judas. This pride is what caused Judas to betray Jesus. He may very well have felt he was doing the right thing. But that is only because he was not listening to God nor was his heart prepared to receive God’s Word. We must be careful we do not allow pride to come between us and God. Pride is egocentric and selfish; therefore it is not loving.

vs. 22 – 26

In order to understand what was happening here we must first know the sequential steps of the Passover meal. First, was the cup of the Kiddush. Kiddush means sanctification, separation, to be made Holy. Drinking the cup of the Kiddush separated this meal from all other meals. Second, was the firsthand washing. This was done by the person who was to celebrate the feast. The hand washing was performed three times. Third, a piece of parsley or lettuce was dipped in the bowl of saltwater and eaten. The parsley was symbolic of the hyssop used to put blood on the door posts and lintel. The salt was symbolic of the tears shed in Egypt and the water of the Red Sea.  Fourth, was the breaking of bread. On the table were three circles of unleavened bread. The middle circle was taken and broken and (at this point) only a small portion eaten. The bread was symbolic of the bread of affliction that the Israelites ate in Egypt. It was broken to remind those celebrating the Passover that slaves never had the whole loaf, but only bits and pieces.

Fifth, was the relating of the story of the Passover, of deliverance. The youngest person present had to ask what made this day different from all other days. Why was all of this being done? In reply the head of the house would tell the whole story of Israel through the great deliverance that came at Passover. In this instance, the questions would (probably) have been asked by John and the reply given by Jesus. The Passover is far more than ritual, it is a commemoration of the deliverance of the people of God by God.

Sixth, Psalms 113 and 114 were sung. These are the Hallel, the praise of God. Seventh, the second cup was drunk. This was the cup of Haggadah, the cup of explanation or proclaiming. Eighth, all of those present now washed their hands in preparation for the meal. Ninth, a grace was said. Tenth, bitter herbs were placed between the two circles of unleavened bread, they were dipped in the Charosheth and eaten. This was known as the sop and was a reminder of the slavery in Egypt and the work the Israelites were compelled to do while slaves. Eleventh was the meal. The entire lamb must be eaten without anything remaining. Anything that remained must be destroyed and not used for any other (common) meal. The twelfth, step was to wash the hands again. Next, (the thirteenth step) was the eating of the remainder of the unleavened bread.

The fourteenth, step was a prayer of thanksgiving. This prayer included a petition for the prophet Elijah to herald the Messiah. A third cup was now drunk. This was the cup of Thanksgiving. Step 15 was the reading of the second part of the Hallel, Psalms 115 through 118. The fourth cup was drunk and Psalm 136 (the great Hallel) was sung. Step 16 was the saying of two short prayers.

vs. 27 – 31

After the Psalm was sung, Jesus and the disciples (minus Judas) went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus knew what was about to happen and told the disciples they would all fall away from him. He said this based on a scripture with which they were all familiar. Peter immediately tells Jesus he will not fall away, all of the others may fall away but he, Peter, will not. Jesus tells Peter that before the cock crows twice he will deny Jesus three times. Peter insists (as did the others) that this will not happen. They will not deny Jesus.

As we look at this passage, we are immediately struck by the fact that Jesus absolutely knew what was to happen. Jesus knew He would die, be resurrected and go ahead of the disciples to Galilee. There was nothing for which Jesus was not prepared. It is a tremendous thing that knowing all that would happen, He had the love for us and courage to stay the course. He operated from a position of love, obedience and humility before God.

Peter is adamant in saying he will not deny Christ. This is consistent with Peter’s personality and is truly how he felt at the time. One problem is that he compares himself and his future actions to those of the other disciples. By saying the others may fall away but he will never fall away, Peter is placing himself above the other disciples. He is saying he is stronger, better than the other disciples. Peter may not have intended this meaning but that is the reality of his comments. Peter allowed pride to take over. He allowed his pride to make a rash and unloving statement. Jesus lets Peter know all humans, including Peter, are fallible. We all have our moments of weakness. Notice Jesus did not condemn either Peter of the other disciples but merely stated what would happen. Jesus knows we will be weak at times, but He understands, and His forgiveness is there waiting for when we repent.

We must recognize that Peter’s heart was in the right place. He truly loved Jesus (as did the other disciples) and could not conceive of denying Jesus. It can be better to have a bit of wildfire rather than no fire at all.

vs. 32 – 42

Now we come to a passage that is very difficult for Christians to read. In this passage we are looking at the very private and personal agony of Jesus. Jesus and his disciples came to Gethsemane and Jesus asked his disciples to sit while He went with Peter, James and John. He took Peter James and John with him and Jesus began to be in great distress. His mind was very troubled. He knew what was coming, His spirit and soul were in agony. He asks his three disciples to stay and watch while He went on a short distance and prayed. His prayer is heart wrenching. He prayed as we often pray. He asked God if it was possible that what was about to happen might not happen. He recognized God the Father could take away what was to happen. Jesus knew all things are possible with God. Jesus is looking at a terrible, agonizing death, humiliation, falling away of his friends, and ridicule by the Jews and their leadership. Jesus was very familiar with the agony of the cross. He was also familiar with the humiliation of the cross. Knowing this, Jesus still knew it was not what He wanted but what God wanted that was to be done. 

This passage makes a number of things clear. Jesus did not want to die. Jesus was a young man at this time, He was 33.5 years old. He knew there was much work left to be done. He submitted to the Will of God. Abba means father in Aramaic. The term abba is important in this passage. Jesus was not submitting to an uncaring God who was somewhere out there and not really concerned about the affairs of men. Jesus was submitting to God the Father. Even in this terrible time when this sacrifice had to be made, God is still Father. God cares deeply about each of us. John Wesley recognized this fact quite clearly. He noted that God, being the creator of everything, is truly concerned about everything. God is concerned about each individual person and part of His creation. That concern is the concern of love. God loves us. Jesus loves us. Because Jesus loves us, He was willing to put Himself second to the Will of God so that we could be saved.

Jesus came back from praying and found the three disciples asleep. He asked Peter, Simon are you sleeping? Could you not stay awake for one hour? Watch and pray unless you enter into some testing time, some temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Jesus was deeply disappointed at His closest disciples could not stay awake while He prayed. His comments to Peter were a small rebuke and a warning. Jesus used it as a teaching moment for both Peter and us. We must be watchful and pray in order to recognize and avoid the traps of Satan. In this case, it is especially important given the previous comments of Jesus that all of the disciples would fall away.

Once more Jesus left and went and prayed. He asked God if what He was about to go through could be taken away. Again, Jesus submitted His will to the Will of God. When Jesus returned, He again found the three disciples sleeping. We can guess Jesus woke them spoke to them about their sleeping. This is based on the scriptures’ comment that “they did not know how to answer Him.” Jesus left to pray one more time. When he came back the disciples were once again asleep. At this point Jesus told them they had rested enough the time had come. He was now to be betrayed into the hand of sinners. Judas the betrayer arrives with soldiers and Jesus goes to meet him. Again, Jesus is in total control.

There is a warning here for us also. Again, we must be watchful and in prayer lest Satan trick us. Our spirit can be quite willing to do all that is required, but our flesh is weak and can cause us to be spiritually asleep at times. We must be careful that this does not happen.

vs. 43 – 52

Jesus did not even complete what he was saying about the betrayer coming when Judas made his appearance. Judas came with a crowd of people with weapons (swords and clubs). They came from the chief priests, elders, and experts in the law. This was really a mob, a well-armed mob with the express intent of illegally arresting Jesus. Judas told the mob that the person and he kissed was the person they were to arrest. The mob knew quite well who Jesus was. They would recognize Him by sight, but Judas felt that they needed a definite sign so, in the confusion, they would not arrest the wrong person. (This may have pleased the chief priest and mob since they thought they could use Judas to wash their hands of guilt.) Judas chose a most ill-conceived sign to betray Jesus, a kiss. It was customary to greet a rabbi with a kiss. It showed respect and affection for a lofty teacher. The word used when Judas came and kissed Jesus to kiss as a lover kisses their beloved. Judas not only used a kiss as a sign but used a lover’s kiss. This is the most horrific part of this story and the action had to have been led by Satan as a sign of his disdain and hatred of Jesus.

Mark here tells a story that is not in the other Gospels. He tells the story about a young man who followed Jesus and became caught up in the events in the garden. The young man was covered only by a single linen garment. This is unusual in itself. Most people would go out dressed in more than just a linen garment. When the guards came to seize Jesus, they also tried to seize the young man. The young man escaped from their grasp and ran away naked. The guards were left with only his linen garment. The story was important enough to Mark for him to include it in his writings. The young man has never been positively identified, but many think it may have been Mark himself.

vs. 53 – 65

Now that the Temple Guards had Jesus in custody the Jewish religious/political leaders wanted to move quickly to assure His death. The Sanhedrin met (in unusual session that was not in accordance with Jewish law) in order to question Jesus and to look for some evidence they could use to put Him to death. They came up against a major problem. Although they had many witnesses none of the witnesses could agree on what Jesus said or did that, under Jewish religious law, deserved death. The reason for this was quite simple they were not telling the truth. This frustrated the High Priest and hid minions to no end. He led the Sanhedrin in breaking its own rules in order to kill Jesus and now even his hand-picked and coached “witnesses” could not provide a cause.  The High Priest finally asked Jesus to answer to what were obviously false charges. The High Priest wanted Jesus to condemn Himself.

The High Priest asked the one question that could provide him with a reason to condemn Jesus. The question he asked was a leading question, a type of question Jewish law forbid. No question might be asked that, by answering, might cause the accused to self-incriminate. The High Priest asked if Jesus was the Anointed One. Jesus answered that He was and that all of them would see Him sitting on the right hand of God. This was enough to cause the High Priest to rip his outer garments and declare Jesus had spoken blasphemy.

It is very interesting that the Jews were looking for the Messiah during the feast of Tabernacles. During this feast they built small rooftop sheds, facing east, looking for the coming of the Messiah. The Feast of Tabernacles gained more importance after the destruction of the First Temple.

“In the period following the destruction of the First Temple (586 B.C.E.), the frail and humble sukkah came to symbolize our national homeland and the Sanctuary which was laid waste. Since the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.), our longing had deepened for the reestablishment of the Temple and national sovereignty. We are now celebrating our national sovereignty - Medinat Yisrael” (The state of Israel)

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle (sukkah) of David that is fallen down and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. (Amos 9:11) Amos foresaw the coming of the Messiah and in the In the Grace said after meals during the Intermediate Days of the Festival, celebrants pray: "May the All Merciful One raise up for us the fallen tabernacle of David." Much of the feast deals with the coming of the Messiah as well as thanking God for the harvest. It is interesting that the feast thanking God for the harvest is the same feast where they looked for the Messiah. Jesus told those in the Temple that He was the living water. Jesus is the source of spiritual food and drink.

 Now Jesus, the eagerly and earnestly expected Messiah, has come and the Hebrews rejected Him. They rejected Jesus because He was not what they were expecting. Jesus’ agenda was not what they wanted. The Jews wanted a physical deliverance more than they wanted (or thought they needed) a spiritual deliverance. Jesus was not interested in political agendas or helping anyone gain power, He was interested in delivering His creation from Satan. The agenda of the Jews was much too small, narrow and self-serving.

There has been much written and discussed concerning the trial of Jesus. It has been argued that the Sanhedrin would not (or could not) have met in secret as described. The logic is that for them to do so would violate all of their rules. We can simply look around at the political machinations of any time-period (including the present day) to see that this type of thing happens quite often. It would not be difficult for the High Priest to arrange a special meeting of the Sanhedrin to deal with an emergency. (It would also not be difficult to ensure only those who supported his position to be told about the meeting.) The fact they were going against their own law would be justified in their minds by the urgency of the situation. They were very afraid concerned that Jesus would cause the Romans to take away their positions of power. They were also concerned that the Romans would destroy Jerusalem and persecute those believing in Judaism wherever they may reside. Their crucifixion of Jesus did not stop these from happening approximately 70 years later.

Throughout His arrest and trial, Jesus showed great confidence and courage. Jesus knew His mission and purpose. He knew His commission from God. Knowing His calling gave Him the confidence and courage to stand before the judges and answer as to His work and belief. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will give us this same courage and confidence when we stand to answer for our belief and calling in God.

vs. 66 – 72

Now comes the well know story of Peter denying Jesus. Peter had been with Jesus in the garden at the arrest. Peter followed Jesus and stayed in the courtyard. Peter probably gained admittance via the Apostle John; whose family was well acquainted with the High Priest (John 18:15 – 16). It was a chilly night and Peter sat at the fire with his cloak around Him. As Peter sat there, he was recognized and pointed out as a follower of Jesus. Peter denied the allegations, but he did not leave the courtyard. The fact he came to the courtyard at all after cutting the ear of a servant of the High Priest shows great courage. That he stayed in the courtyard after being recognized shows more courage than many people would exhibit. As Peter sat there, he was recognized again and pointed out. Again, he denied knowing Jesus. The third time he was recognized he vehemently denied knowing Jesus and even called curses down on himself if he was lying. As soon as he said these things the cock crowed. Peter, realizing what he had done completely broke down.

Peter showed greater courage than would many people in his circumstance. He also gave way to stress and fear resulting in denying Jesus. Peter showed human weakness under very stressful circumstances and finally, he showed great love when he realized what he had done to his Lord and friend. There was great love shown by Jesus in his forgiving Peter. Jesus knows His creation. Jesus had already forgiven Peter. Jesus does the same for us.

Mark 15

vs. 01 – 05

Mark now moves to that morning. The chief priests now consulted with the elders, scribes and the entire council. This is an interesting statement and leads to the conclusion that the original meeting of the Sanhedrin may not have included all of the members. Could it be that the Chief Priest held an initial, closed door meeting, with the attendees being handpicked people he knew would vote in the manner he ordered? If this was the case, then the morning meeting of the Sanhedrin was a formality for show. The chief priest already had the votes needed to sentence Jesus to death. The arrest and humiliation of Jesus had already begun, and His fate already decided. The purpose of the full Sanhedrin meeting was to approve what was already done. There is some thought that this second meeting of the Sanhedrin did not include all of its members, thus assuring the Chief Priest would have a majority in attendance to condemn Jesus.

The Sanhedrin could have overruled the chief priest, they chose not to do so. Jesus was already arrested and tried. He had already been beaten severely. The High Priest had already declared Jesus had blasphemed. The Sanhedrin did not have the courage to stand up to the High Priest for an innocent person.

It is probable they did not take Jesus into the Sanhedrin bound. The Chief Priest would have wanted it to appear the Law being followed and would have removed Jesus’ bindings before bringing Him into the Sanhedrin. They now bind Jesus again so He can be taken to Pilate. The Jews did not have the authority to execute anyone and handing Jesus over to Pilate was necessary for the High Priest to have Jesus killed. The Romans kept execution authority for themselves.

The accusation the High Priest brought to Pilate was different than the accusation given to the Sanhedrin. Here, Jesus was accused of stating He was the King of the Jews. This would amount to treason against the Roman Empire; a crime punishable by death. In the case of treason, the death was by crucifixion. Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews. Jesus’ only answer was that Pilate said so. Jesus neither confirmed nor denied the question. At this point, the Chief Priest’s handpicked group starts to level many different charges against Jesus. It is very possible the High Priest would not have been present. He would want to appear to be impartial. He would not want to be seen as leading the charge against Jesus. He wanted to people to think Jesus brought this on Himself and the Chief Priest was powerless to stop the proceedings. After all, Jesus had committed blasphemy and treason. Jesus had said He was the Son of Man. The problem (Jesus) was now in the hands of the Romans and to answer for His words and actions.

After the priests accused Jesus of crimes, Pilate asked Jesus again if He had no answer. Jesus did not reply. This was not the reaction Pilate expected. Pilate expected Jesus to put on a defense or at least a plea for His life. Jesus did neither. Pilate knew that the only accusation that mattered to Rome, and therefore him, was that of treason. Pilate also knew Jesus was aware of the punishment for treason. To present neither a defense nor plea for life was unheard of. Jesus had control of His fate, neither Pilate nor the priests. It is possible Pilate recognized this, at least more so than the Jewish leadership.

vs. 06 – 15

Every year, before Passover, a prisoner was released. The prisoner released would be one the people requested. The crowd asked Pilate to do as was his custom and release a prisoner. This Passover there was a prisoner named Barabbas waiting for punishment. We know very little about Barabbas other than what this short passage tells us. He was in prison for insurrection. He was one of a number of prisoners accused of murder resulting from their insurrection.

Pilate tried to take advantage of this custom to release Jesus. Pilate knew that Jesus was being accused out of envy, not because He had done wrong. The Jewish leaders stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas. The more Pilate tried to reason with the crowd and release Jesus the more the crowd shouted to release Barabbas. Pilate turns the decision over to the crowd. He asked them what he should do with Jesus, the one they called the King of the Jews. Pilate recognized the great difference between the welcome Jesus received when He entered Jerusalem a few days earlier and His reception now. The answer of the crowd was to crucify Jesus.

Their actions make character traits of the main players stand out very clearly, especially when compared to Jesus. That the Jewish leadership turned Jesus over to Pilate because of envy was clear, even to Pilate. There is the real possibility that the Jewish leadership feared Jesus. Although they accused Jesus of blasphemy, they knew who He truly is. The Jewish leaders and people condemned themselves, Jesus did not need to condemn them. This is true for all of humankind. We know our God and our Savior. When we reject Him, we condemn ourselves and try to rid ourselves of that guilt by blaming others, including God.

The actions of Pilate show cowardice and lack of confidence. He knew Jesus was innocent but was willing to crucify Him to keep the peace and, perhaps most importantly to him, his position of power. He also tried to remove the guilt for crucifying an innocent person from himself by placing that guilt on the crowd. The crowd also showed a lack of courage and confidence. They were all too willing to do what the Chief Priests instructed. It is thought that Pilate was also trying to move up in the Roman government and any trouble in Israel could easily keep that from happening. Allowing Jesus to be crucified did not help, Pilate was later recalled to Rome and his professional plans were stopped.

As already stated very little is known about Barabbas. He is a minor player in this drama and seems to be almost beside the point. If we read the Scriptures with more attention and, most importantly, prayer we begin to see some surprising facts. Jesus was accused of treason, insurrection. Barabbas was truly guilty of treason, insurrection. Jesus healed people and raised other from death back to life. Barrabas had in fact murdered people during the insurrection. Here we have the juxtaposition of a truly innocent man (Jesus) who did nothing but good for the Jews next to a truly guilty man who had done great harm to the Jews. The guilty person is set free and lives because the innocent person took his place. The choice given the Jews was the Son of God or the son of an earthly father (bar = son, abbas = father). Given how Jesus has arranged everything else this cannot be a coincidence and again sends the very consistent message of the Passover, the innocent Lamb is slain for the redeeming of the guilty.

All these actions stand out very clearly as the opposite of the actions of Jesus. The character traits exhibited by the chief priests, Pilate and the crowd were weakness, cowardice and a disregard for God’s Word. The actions of Jesus showed strength, courage, confidence and a commitment to do God’s will. The reason for the difference is in whom they served. Jesus was serving and following the directions of God. The chief priests, Pilate and the crowd were following Satan and his directions. Our world does not like to see things in black and white, but many times things are black and white. I am sure Pilate would have put a gray area of keeping the peace, the chief priests that it was better for one man to suffer and the crowds that they were just following their religious leaders. All of this can be distilled down to the question of who did each serve. Again, Jesus served God. The chief priests, Pilate and the crowd did not.

Pilate released Barrabas and sent Jesus to be severely flogged and crucified.

vs. 16 – 20

After Jesus was condemned to the cross He was turned over to the guards. He was rejected by the Jews, turned over to the Gentiles with a strong recommendation of crucifixion and was sentenced to the cross by the Gentiles. Jesus’ creation and people had turned away from Him. Now He was turned over to the guards as the cross was made ready.

The guards mocked Jesus. They abused Him physically, mentally and emotionally to amuse themselves. The crown of thorns would have been extremely painful. The sharp, thick thorns would have cut deeply into His scalp and face. The striking with a staff was a severe beating by veteran soldiers with thick pieces of wood. This, along with the crown of thorns would have contributed to blood loss, muscle bone and tissue damage and resulting physical weakness. The robe the soldiers put on Jesus to mock Him would have adhered to the blood covering Jesus. The action of taking it off would have caused great pain and the bleeding to restart.

The mocking may have been the most hurtful, at least emotionally. Here is the Son of God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe being mocked by His creation. This would have been an emotional pain far beyond what we endure. Jesus was taking on all of the sins of humanity while being mocked by that same humanity. It is now time for Jesus to carry His cross, the instrument of His death, to the place where He would be crucified.

vs. 21 – 32

The crucifixion happened at the third hour, approximately 9:00 am. Crucifixion was carried out as a ritual. The condemned was placed in a hollow square of four soldiers. At the front was a soldier carrying a board with the crime of the accused written on it. This board was affixed to the cross at the execution. This was not a short walk. The Romans used the longest route possible to reach Golgotha. They wanted to make the point to as many people as possible that anyone resisting Rome would meet the same fate. The road to Golgotha was long and winding.

Jesus had been beaten, tortured, abused and taunted. He would have had severe blood loss which would have weakened Him. He would have been required to carry the cross piece of the cross to the place of execution. This would be a heavy piece of rough-cut lumber. It was heavy and strong enough to support the weight of a man. This cross piece would have opened up the partially clotted wounds on Jesus’ back. In His weakened condition, the cross was too much for Jesus to carry.

The Romans occupied Jerusalem. As a conquering army, the soldiers were allowed to stop any citizen at any time and force them to carry a load or do other work. If a load was to be carried, the rule was the citizen could only carry it for one mile. At the end of that mile, the citizen could put the load down and the soldier would find another person to carry it.

A man named Simon was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He was not expecting anything unusual to happen. He saw the procession of Jesus and the guards and probably stopped to watch. Then he was forced to carry the cross of a condemned man. Being tapped on the shoulder was not the way he wanted to start the celebration of deliverance. Being from a foreign country Simon possibly did not know about Jesus. If he did know about Jesus, it would have been through conflicting rumors. What he did know was that Jesus was a condemned criminal and now he, Simon, had to carry the man’s cross.

When we read this section, we notice Simon is introduced as the father of Alexander and Rufus. This suggests that both of these gentlemen were known to the early Christian church. Could it be that Simon became a Christian? In Romans 16:13 Paul mentions Rufus and his mother. Could this be the same Rufus mentioned by Paul as being “eminent in the Lord”? We do not know for sure, but this passage suggests that Simon and his family accepted Jesus as their Savior.

Jesus finally came to the place of execution. Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh by a group of women who came to every crucifixion to offer the condemned person this drugged wine to ease their pain. Jesus refused to take the wine. Jesus would have been placed on the cross piece and nails placed through either His hands or wrists. The crime would have been nailed above His head. The crossbeam, with Jesus on it, would then be hoisted onto the upright and laced into the socket prepared for it. This would be very painful. The nails through the flesh, the hoisting onto the upright and the shock of setting the crossbeam into place would be agonizing. The cross would not have been any higher than absolutely necessary. The point was to punish the criminal, not to cause work for the soldiers. This would have place Jesus slightly above the onlookers.

Jesus was crucified between two criminals. Here was the Son of God put to death between two criminals. They were guilty. He was not. This is a repeat of the message sent by the release of Barabbas. The soldiers divided the clothes of Jesus. The outer robe was one piece and dividing would have destroyed it. The soldiers rolled dice for it. Here is Jesus, dying on the cross, watching the soldiers playing dice for His clothes. His only earthly possessions were being divided and gambled away.

Part of the pain was the verbal abuse hurled on the condemned. This was especially true for Jesus. The main verbal abuse from the Jewish leaders was a challenge to Jesus to come down from the cross. They said if He could save others, He should be able to save Himself. They totally missed the purpose of Jesus. Jesus was not there to come down from the cross, but to conquer the cross. Jesus, by choice, stayed on the cross.

vs. 33 – 41

The sixth hour would be 12:00 pm and the ninth hour 3:00 pm. During this time the entire land was in darkness. There are a few possibilities. The darkness could have been a physical darkness in the middle of the day. This would signify something of tremendous importance happened and would get the attention of everyone. The darkness could have been a spiritual darkness as all of the sins of all of humanity throughout all the past, present and future were taken on by Jesus as He sacrificed His life as the Passover Lamb. More likely the darkness was both with the actual darkness being the visual manifestation of the spiritual darkness of humanity.

At the end of the three hours of darkness Jesus cries out to God in physical, spiritual and emotional anguish asking why God had forsaken Him. We must remember Jesus had just taken on all the sins of all humanity for all times. God, being totally Holy, cannot abide sin and Jesus, being without sin, had our sins on Him therefore Jesus no longer felt God’s presence. Despite knowing what God was doing Jesus still suffered as a man and as the Son of God and cried out for God.

Misunderstanding the words of Jesus, some of those watching thought He was crying out for Elijah. Ever true to form some of the people again waited for Jesus to ‘prove’ Himself by Elijah coming and taking Him off the cross. Immediately after Jesus cried out to God He made a loud cry and took His last breath. Was last cry of Jesus one of anguish, as when he asked God why God had forsaken Him, or an exultant cry of victory?

As soon as Jesus died the Curtain in the temple that separated the Holiest of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in half. The Holiest of Holies was not to be entered or seen by anyone except the High Priest. God instructed the curtain to be installed in order to keep others out of the Holiest of Holies. This was for the people’s sake since anyone entering the Holiest of Holies and coming into the presence of God other than the High Priest, at the appointed times, would die. The curtain being torn in two indicated that, with the sacrifice of Jesus anyone who believed in Christ could enter into God’s Holiest of Holies.

The death of Jesus was dramatic. His actions during the trial and on the cross are different than any other crucified person and the physical environment was so unusual that even the hardened centurion recognized Jesus as the Son of God. Once again, we see a visual comparison. This time the comparison is between the Jewish priests and the centurion. The Jewish priests were well versed in the law of God, were waiting and looking for the Messiah h and were considered to be believers. The centurion was a battle-hardened pagan who was brutalized by battle and crucifixions. The Jewish priests should have recognized Jesus as the Son of God and did not. The centurion had no reason to recognize Jesus as the Son of God, yet he did. This is another visual sending of the message of Christ. It may also be a practical application of the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus and James and Salome as well as other women were at the crucifixion. These women had cared for Jesus since the start of His ministry and were with Him at His crucifixion. With the exception of John, we are not told if any of the apostles were at the crucifixion. (John 19:25 – 30) They may have been there and just not mentioned or it may have been too dangerous for them to be at the crucifixion.    

vs. 42 – 47

It is important to understand that this the day before the Passover Sabbath, not the usual 6:00pm Friday to 6:00pm weekly Saturday Sabbath. This is critical to understanding when Jesus was laid in the tomb and when He rose from the dead.  We must also keep in mind that the Jews had a habit of combining one day with part of another day and call it one day. This makes fixing the exact timing of crucifixion and resurrection problematic. In Matthew 12:39 – 40 ³⁹He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. NIV) Jesus makes it plain that the sign that He is the Son of God.

Jesus has been crucified and died. Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and asks to be allowed to take possession of the body of Jesus. This was an extremely courageous thing to do. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Council and to openly ask for the body of Christ was to put his career and perhaps life in jeopardy. When Joseph asked for Jesus’ body Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. The majority of the time the person crucified would last many hours and sometimes days before finally dying. The quickness (from Pilate’s perspective) of Jesus’ death was unusual enough that Pilate verified it with the Centurion in charge of the crucifixion. Once verified, Pilate gave Jesus’ body to Joseph.

Once Joseph has the body of Jesus, he purchased linen cloth and wrapped the body of Jesus before laying the body in the tomb Joseph had built for himself. Due to the time frame between the death of Jesus and the start of Passover the followers of Jesus were not able to prepare His body for burial. The linen wrapping was the only preparation made before placing Him in the tomb. The tomb Joseph had prepared for himself and now was used by Jesus had a very large stone used as a door. The stone was large enough that it would take a number of people to move it. This stone was intended to keep grave robbers out and was intentionally made very difficult to move.

The three women followed Joseph in order to see where Jesus was laid with the intention of coming back after the weekly Sabbath to anoint His body for death.

MARK 16

vs. 01

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Here we have Mary Magdalene (some think she was the sister of Lazarus), Mary the mother of Jesus and James as well as Salome going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. She was (as were the others) fully convinced He was dead. Since Jesus had been crucified and taken down from the cross late in the day there was no time to anoint the body before entombment, as would normally be done. The three women were coming to anoint Jesus’ body after-the-fact.

vs. 02 - 03

Due to the changes in the Gentile calendars it is impossible to determine the exact day on which Jesus was crucified. This is where the difference between a Holy Day (weekly Sabbath) and High Holy Day (special Sabbath as for the Passover, etc.) becomes important. If we work backward (using the terms and structure of our present week) from the day the women came to the tomb we can arrive at a probable answer.

Mark 16:2 tells us ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" This would be the usual weekly Sabbath, 6:00 pm Friday to 6:00 pm Saturday. This would place to women going to the tomb sometime Sunday morning. In Genesis 1:5 God creates the Earth and when He is complete with each part “ ⁵God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (NIV)

This theme of an evening and a morning make one 24-hour time period is consistent throughout the creation story. The cycle always goes from darkness to light. First there was chaos and then God brought order out of the chaos. Then there was the darkness of night followed by the light of day. There was the darkness of the time before Christ (lit only by the Hebrews, God’s chosen people) and the salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. Finally, there is time we are living between the first coming of Christ, the Son of God and the second coming when everything will be restored to God’s original plan.

Looking at these two passages together with the crucifixion and resurrection we can conclude the day of Jesus was nailed to the cross. First Jesus was very clear in Matthew 12: 39 to 40 that the sign they were looking for would be Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the great fish prepared for him be three days and three nights so Jesus would be three days and nights in the grave. The women came to the tomb early Sunday morning, as soon as they could after the regular Sabbath. If we work backward, we go from 6:00 pm Saturday to 6:00 pm Friday (the weekly Sabbath); the second day would be 6:00 pm Friday to 6:00 pm Thursday; the third day would be 6:00 pm Thursday to 6:00 pm Wednesday. This would fit in very well with the fact that Jesus was crucified at the 6^th hour (12:00 pm) and dies at the 9^th hour (3:00 pm) the day before the High Holy Day of special Sabbath.

vs. 04 – 08

Getting back to the ladies at the tomb, as they were walking to the tomb, they were wrestling with the problem of the stone doorway: Who would roll it out of the way for them? When they reached the tomb, they were surprised to see the stone already away and the tomb open. They went into the tomb and, instead of the body of Jesus they saw a young man sitting on the right side of the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. This was quite a shock to the women, and they were understandably alarmed. Where was the body of Jesus? Had someone taken His body? The young man assured them there was no need for alarm. His statement that they were looking for Jesus who was crucified would give the women assurance that he was sent to give them a message. The man then told the three that Jesus had risen; He was no longer in the tomb. He was no longer dead. The facts were irrefutable Jesus was not where they laid Him after His death on the cross.

vs. 09 - 13

After three nights and three days Jesus rose from the tomb, just as He said. The first-person Jesus appeared to was Mary Magdalene, a person from whom He had cast out seven demons. Jesus did not appear first to the disciples or Jewish leaders. His choice for His first appearance as the Risen Savior was to a woman, a woman who had been possessed by seven demons when Jesus first met her. In that culture choosing to appear first to a woman would be unusual. In Israel women held a higher status than did women in the rest of the civilized world at that time, but the culture was still one where men, the breadwinners, were considered primary and women secondary. The message appears to be that Jesus does not place any one group of people, gender or individual above another.

Mary immediately went to tell the disciples the great news. She went to a group who were weeping and grief stricken due to the death of their leader, rabbi and person they had faith was the Messiah. Mary comes to this group with the great news that Jesus was alive. Even though they had witnessed Jesus perform many and great miracles (including raising some from death, this was something outside of their experience. Death was final with no reprieve, yet this woman was telling them Jesus had appeared to her and He was alive. This was just not believable in their experience and paradigms.

Their disbelief was not limited to Mary because Mary was female. Jesus later appeared to two other disciples who were walking. These two are the two Luke described as on their way to Emmaus. These two also reported to the others that Jesus was alive and had appeared to them. They also were not believed.

vs. 14 - 20

Now Jesus appears to the remaining eleven apostles. Jesus appears to them while they are eating. This is not just a random or coincidental appearance. Jesus appears while they are eating for a reason. The first thing Jesus does is rebuke the eleven for refusing to believe He was risen. More than once Jesus had said He was the bread of life and the living water. Now when they were partaking of earthly food Jesus, the spiritual food, appears to them.

After rebuking the eleven gives them their commission, their life’s work. Their work is to preach the good news of salvation to all of creation. The decision of the listeners is to either believe or not believe, the results of both decisions are made clear. Jesus then was taken bodily up to Heaven and seated at the right hand of God. The apostles no longer and any doubts about who Jesus is or their work. Far from hiding they now preached openly and wherever possible. The truth of their message of salvation was confirmed by the signs and miracles that came with the message.

References:

James Kirkpatrick, Sunday School Lesson, 01/04/04, First Presbyterian Church, Johnson City, TN.

Origins of the Word 'Hell' Retrieved May 10, 2009 from

http://www.heavendwellers.com/hd_origins_of_the_word_hell.htm

Bible Study Group, 05/2009, Jonesboro U.M. Church, Jonesborough, TN

HOSANNA Retrieved May 22, 2009 from

http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper83/032783e.htm

NET BIBLE Retrieved September 28, 2009 from

http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Fig,%20Fig-Tree

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/Gospel-Of-Mark.htm    retrieved 8/8/2014

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/texts/mark.htm  retrieved 8/8/2014

http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentbooks/qt/gospelmarkintro.htm  retrieved multiple times

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09674b.htm  retrieved multiple times

http://www.christianinconnect.com/mark.htm  retrieved multiple times

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ransom-for-many/toc/  retrieved multiple times

Bible Study Group, Jonesborough Sr. Center, Jonesborough, TN

Holy Bible, New International Version; King James Version

Naves Topical Bible

Barclays Commentary

Is there a difference between understanding intellectually that Jesus rose from the dead and believing it in your heart?

What is the difference between the two?

What difference does it make in the actions of our lives?

What is your general reaction to, take on, the Gospel of Mark?