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Mark chapter 14

English Standard Version

New International Version

New American Standard Bible

53They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. 54And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire. 55Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. 57And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, 58We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’?' 59And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, 'Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?' 61But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, 'Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' 62And Jesus said, 'I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.' 63Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, 'What further need do we have of witnesses? 64You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?' And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. 65And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, 'Prophesy!' Then the officers took custody of Him and slapped Him in the face.
Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

12And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? 13And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. 14And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 15And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. 16And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 17And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. 18And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. 19And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I? 20And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. 21The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born. 22And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 26And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. 27And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. 28But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. 29But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. 30And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. 31But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

What does Mark chapter 14 mean?

The final chapter before Jesus' crucifixion starts with Mark's characteristic "sandwiched" stories, which devolve to pure tragedy. While Jewish leaders and Judas prepare for His betrayal, Jesus concentrates—still—on teaching the disciples the truth about Himself, themselves, and what the Jewish Messiah really is.

The Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and elders have joined together to destroy Jesus. Their main setback is the crowd (Mark 14:1–2). Jesus just spent a week humiliating the Jewish religious leaders and winning the hearts of the people (Mark 11—12). He must be arrested when He's relatively unprotected or the crowd may riot (Mark 14:1–2).

For at least the second time, possibly the third (Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8), a woman anoints Jesus with perfume. At the home of Simon the Leper, an unidentified woman anoints Jesus' head on the day the Passover lambs are being anointed (Mark 14:3–9). Jesus praises her gracious act of worship that prepares Him for His burial the next afternoon.

The mood turns dark again as Judas approaches the chief priests, offering to betray Jesus to them (Mark 14:10–11). If the Jewish leaders need to prevent a riot, they'll have to arrest Jesus at night away from the crowds, when it's hard to see and there are few witnesses. Judas will tell them when and where. It's possible that Judas has become disillusioned with Jesus' refusal to become a military or political Messiah, leading him to actively look for a profitable way out of the situation.

Mark describes the Passover meal with the disciples (Mark 14:12–21) while John goes into greater detail about what Jesus taught them (John 13—17). In Egypt, the blood of lambs protected the Israelites from death (Exodus 12). As Jesus prepares to shed His own blood to bring life to the world, He dismisses Judas to set the stage (John 13:21–30) and transforms that Passover meal into the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:22–25).

After their meal, Jesus and the disciples go to a garden on the Mount of Olives where Jesus prophesies their abandonment of Him (Mark 14:26–31). The disciples will scatter, and Peter will deny he even knows Jesus.

Jesus separates from most of the disciples and tells Peter, James, and John to pray that they will be strong in the face of temptation. Jesus walks farther and collapses before His Father in a tortured prayer, simultaneously asking to forgo the cross and submitting His will. The three disciples sleep and are not prepared for what comes next (Mark 14:32–42).

Judas returns, leading a crowd of guards and servants to arrest Jesus (Mark 14:43–50). Judas approaches Jesus with a kiss to identify Him. In the dark and chaos, Peter slices off the ear of a servant (John 18:10), but Jesus heals the man (Luke 22:51) and goes peacefully. The disciples scatter, as He said they would.

Of all four Gospels, only Mark mentions that a young man also flees (Mark 14:51–52). The guards try to grab him, but he escapes into the night, leaving behind the linen wrap that served as his only clothing.

Mark combines Jesus' trials before Annas, a former high priest, and Caiaphas, the current high priest (John 18:12–13). Members of the Sanhedrin gather all the witnesses they can find to uncover a crime they can charge Jesus with (Mark 14:53–65). Even though the witnesses lie, the Sanhedrin cannot find two identical testimonies, required for a capital offense. Jesus provides no defense (Isaiah 53:7). Finally, the high priest asks Jesus directly who He is, and Jesus responds. The council members immediately convict Him of blasphemy.

While Jesus is questioned and beaten, Peter remains near the guards and servants warming themselves by a fire (Mark 14:66–72). Peter is a follower of the man who is arrested and he assaulted a servant who is the friend and relation of the men around him (John 18:10). In his fear, Peter forgets his vow to die for Jesus and instead denies that he ever knew Him (Mark 14:29–31).

Jesus spends the days before His crucifixion as He has spent the previous three years: trying to get the disciples to understand the bigger picture of the Jewish Messiah's role in God's plan for the world. Where other Gospels, especially John, go into more detail, Mark touches on just a few themes that will prepare them for establishing the church: Recognize and honor God's work (Mark 14:3–9). Recognize the enemy, but don't fear him (Mark 14:1–2, 10–11, 17–21, 43–50, 53–65). Value community and communally remember Jesus' work (Mark 14:12–16, 22–25). Lean on God's power, not your own, to remain faithful to Him (Mark 14:26–31, 66–72). And understand that God is a Father, deserving our honesty, our trust, and our obedience (Mark 14:32–42).
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