The Rest of Mark chapter 14, really speaks for itself. It’s the Last Supper in the Upper Room. It’s the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine. Finally, the agony in the garden followed by the betrayal of a “friend”, the prediction of a falling away, the arrest and mock trial. Come and walk with the Passover Lamb — the Lamb of God. Let’s dig in…
Mark 14:12-72
The Last Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’ (Zechariah 13:7)28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. (That was Mark, the author!)
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Peter Disowns Jesus
66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Mark 14:12-72 NIV
Dig Deeper in these Related Posts:
- What is the Passover Meal? A Walk Through Holy Week
- Jesus Humbles Himself then is Betrayed by a Friend
- The Last Supper, Gethsemane and Jesus is Arrested
- Are You Strong Enough to Face Whatever Life Serves You?
- Matthew 26: Jesus is Anointed, Arrested, Mocked and Rejected
- The Final Day: Jesus is Betrayed, Arrested, and Judged: A King not of this World.
Some New Points to Ponder
Let’s look at some points that might not be so obvious…
- When Jesus sent the disciples to find the room to prepare the Passover meal, He told them to look for a man carrying a water jug. That job was a woman’s job, so that man would have stood out. He told them to say that the “Teacher” needs the room. It sounded covert and secret as a deliberate delay. He had to go through the Passover meal with the 12 so He could say what He said. He didn’t want Judas to have the chance to have Him arrested before.
- The Truth. Many times Jesus says “I tell you the truth” or depending on which Bible version you use, “Truly I tell you”, or “Truly I say”. He always spoke with authority. And as He said in John 10, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
- The best people to explain the Jewish Passover and the meanings of the blessings, elements, and how Jesus fulfills the Passover, are Messianic Jews. Check out the videos at the bottom.
- They used unleavened bread. Leaven represented sin. The bread represented His body which knew no sin. It is the Bread of Life.
- Then Jesus passed the cup of wine — the cup of redemption. He says that He will not drink with them again until the Kingdom of God. Revelation 19.
- Jesus predicts a falling away of all His disciples. Actually, only one stood by Him at the cross — John. Falling away today refers to apostasy — when professing “Christians” walk away from Christ. The Greek word for “falling away” is skandalizō – where we get out word “scandal”. Wow. Related: the Parable of the Soils.
Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled
These are just some of the Old Testament Prophecies that Jesus, the Lamb of God, fulfilled to this point.
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 31:31-32 NLT
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
Zechariah 13:7 NLT
the man who is my partner,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Strike down the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn against the lambs.
Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
Psalm 41:9 NLT
the one who shared my food, has turned against me.
The Lamb of God in Utter Agony
Growing up Catholic, I remember the traditional pictures of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It shows Him stoic, and peaceful, looking up to the sky. In reality, if you carefully read that part of this chapter, He was in AGONY. He was alone. This picture better portrays how it was.
Jesus was dreading the cross. The whole scene at Gethsemane was late at night, around 10-11 pm and lasted about 3 hours. Hence, that’s why the disciples kept falling asleep. Jesus basically is waiting to be betrayed. He is voluntarily moving forward to the cross. He could have run away.
The weight of the world’s sins was on HIS shoulders. His Soul was deeply grieved. Yet, He says to the Father, “Your will, not mine.” Wow.
Peter’s Denial
The last point I want to make is that Peter had yet to learn his own weakness. Just as Jesus predicted, Peter denied Him 3 times before the rooster crowed. Amazingly, once Peter receives the Gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, He has the makeover of makeovers! Look at what He writes in his first letter…
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9 NLT
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
The Prophetic Significance of Pesach (Passover) with Olivier Melnick
Passover Unveiled – 3 Jewish Professors share how Jesus transformed their view of Passover.
Top image by Good News Productions International from FreeBibleImages.org. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
