Mark 14

The Explanation

Mark 14 is a long chapter, and a lot happens in one night. It starts two days before Passover. The leaders want to arrest Jesus, but secretly, because they are afraid of the crowd.

Then something beautiful happens. A woman comes to Jesus with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. She breaks the jar and pours everything over His head. Some people are angry. That perfume was worth a year's wages! But Jesus says: "She has done a good work for me. She anointed my body beforehand for the burying." She understood something the others did not yet see: Jesus was going to die.

Right after this, Judas, one of the twelve, goes to the leaders. He agrees to hand Jesus over for money.

That evening they eat the Passover meal together. Jesus takes bread, breaks it, and says: "Take, eat. This is my body." Then He takes the cup: "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many." A covenant is a solemn promise between God and people. Jesus says: My death is that promise.

After the meal they walk to the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus says to His friends that they will all leave Him tonight. Peter protests loudly: never! But Jesus tells him that before the rooster crows twice, Peter will deny Him three times.

In the garden Jesus is deeply sad. He says: "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." He asks Peter, James and John to stay awake with Him. Then He falls on the ground and prays: "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire." Three times He prays this. Three times His friends fall asleep.

Then Judas arrives with soldiers. He kisses Jesus, that is the sign. Jesus is arrested. All the disciples run away. One young man even runs away naked when they grab his cloak.

Jesus is brought before the high priest. False witnesses come, but their stories do not match. Finally the high priest asks straight out: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus answers: "I am." He is condemned to death for those words.

Meanwhile, Peter sits in the courtyard warming himself by the fire. A servant girl recognizes him. Peter denies knowing Jesus. It happens three times. Then the rooster crows. Peter remembers what Jesus said, and he weeps bitterly.

What Does This Mean?

This chapter shows two things at the same time. Jesus knows exactly what is coming, and He chooses to go through with it. And the people around Him, His best friends, fail one after another. Judas betrays. Peter denies. The others flee.

Mark does not hide this. He tells it honestly. Jesus is alone. Even His prayer in the garden is answered with silence and sleeping friends. That is hard to read. But it also shows how much Jesus loves us: He kept going when everyone else stopped.

The Common Thread

Remember what Jesus said about the cup at the meal? "My blood of the new covenant." Long ago, God made a covenant with His people using the blood of animals. Now Jesus says: My own blood makes a new covenant. Through His death, God opens a way for people to belong to Him again. Everything in this chapter, the perfume, the bread, the cup, the prayer in the garden, points to the cross that is coming.

For You

Peter really meant it when he said he would stay loyal. And still he failed. Maybe you know that feeling. You want to do the right thing, but when it matters, you are quiet, or you go along with the group. The good news of this chapter is not that Peter was strong. It is that Jesus knew Peter would fall, and still called him His friend. Jesus knows you too. Completely. And He still chose the cross.

Talk About It

Why do you think Jesus prayed "not what I want, but what you want"? Is that a hard prayer to pray?

Peter cried when he heard the rooster. Do you think that was the end for him, or the beginning of something?

Praying Together

Lord Jesus, thank You that You went on when everyone else ran away. Thank You that Your blood makes a new covenant, a promise that holds. Teach us to pray like You did in the garden. When we fail, remind us that You already knew, and You still love us. Amen.