Gospel of Mark:

Commentary on Chapter 14

• v. 1 – The Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrations by which the Jewish people remembered God’s deliverance of their people from slavery in Egypt.
• v. 5 – A denarii is roughly equivalent to a day’s wages, so the vial of perfume was worth nearly a year’s wages.
• v. 10 – We do not know why Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. It may be that he became disappointed in Jesus, it may be that Judas was simply greedy, or perhaps Judas was attempting to force Christ’s hand by bringing to a violent head the differences between Jesus and the authorities.^[1]
• v. 13 – Carrying water was a woman’s job, thus this man would have stood ought.
• vv. 22-25 – We continue to commemorate Christ’s sacrifice through communion. There are four major perspectives on the nature of communion:
  • Some believe that the bread and wine actually become Christ’s flesh and blood as they are partaken.^[2] (Roman Catholics)
  • Some believe that the bread and wine remain bread and wine and yet have the body and blood of Christ in some sense in them.^[3] (Lutherans)
  • Some believe that we receive spiritual nourishment from Jesus through consuming the bread and wine.
  • Some believe that communion is only a memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and that it does not convey any spiritual benefits per say. (Baptists)
• v. 27 – Zechariah 13:7.
• v. 35 – It is likely that Jesus prayed aloud, so Peter, James, and John could hear Jesus’ anguish.
• v. 36 – “Abba” is an Aramaic term for “father” which reflects deep intimacy.
• v. 41 – Note that the disciples fell asleep three times, just as Peter will soon deny Jesus three times.
• v. 44 – At this time there were no photographs so many people would not have been able to recognize Jesus by sight – especially in the dark.
• v. 45 – To give a kiss was a customary means of greeting in the Ancient Near East.
• v. 49 – Isaiah 53:7-9.
• vv. 51 – This is an unusual account found only in the Gospel of Mark. It is generally believed that Matthew and Luke both used Mark as one of their sources for writing their gospels – and yet neither retain this account. What is the stories’ purpose here? The only reasonable explanation thus far provided is that Mark was the young man.
• v. 56 – If the testimony of witnesses did not agree, an individual could not be condemned based on their testimony.^[4]
• v. 62 – This is the first time in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus publicly proclaims himself to be the Messiah.
  • See Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13 for the source of Jesus’ statement here.

Author: David Mackey

Version: 0.5 5/12/13.