29 John Keble, Priest, 1866
    30 Innocent of Alaska, Bishop, 1879
    31 John Donne, Priest, 1631 was an English poet and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets.

April

    1 Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, 1872
    2 James Lloyd Breck, Priest, 1876
    3 Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253
    4 Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Leader, 1968
    5 Pandita Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness and Evangelist in India, 1922




John 12: 12 - 16   (alt. for all)

John 12:12 (NRSV) The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--
the King of Israel!"
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15 "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!"
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.


PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 19 - 29   (RCL)
                        (1 - 2), 19 - 24   (C of E)

Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.


118   Confitemini Domino   (ECUSA BCP)
  
1      Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
     his mercy endures for ever.

2      Let Israel now proclaim, *
    “His mercy endures for ever.”

19  Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
 I will enter them;
 I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20  "This is the gate of the Lord; *
 he who is righteous may enter."

21  I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
 and have become my salvation.

22  The same stone which the builders rejected *
 has become the chief cornerstone.

23  This is the Lord's doing, *
 and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24  On this day the Lord has acted; *
 we will rejoice and be glad in it.
 
25  Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
 Lord, send us now success.

26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
 we bless you from the house of the Lord.

27  God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *
 form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.

28  "You are my God, and I will thank you; *
 you are my God, and I will exalt you."

29  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
 his mercy endures for ever.
 GOSPEL:  Mark 11: 1 - 11   (all)

Mark 11:1 (NRSV) When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Beth'phage and Beth'any, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?' just say this, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Beth'any with the twelve.

It is “two days” before the combined festivals of Passover (commemorating the time in Egypt when the plague which killed firstborn boys passed over, skipped, Jewish homes) and that of Unleavened Bread (remembering the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt.) Many pilgrims have come to Jerusalem for the celebrations. Some of the religious authorities (“the chief priests and the scribes”) have been plotting for some time to kill Jesus: see 11:18 and 12:12. Having him killed during the “festival” ( 14:2) might cause a popular uprising (“riot”). Their intention was probably to wait until the pilgrims had left the city.

Jesus is visiting Simon “the leper” ( 14:3) – a person who is ritually unclean. His house is in “Bethany”, a village south-east of Jerusalem, on the edge of the Mount of Olives. While there, an unknown woman brings an “alabaster jar of ... nard”, a perfume flask containing an ointment made from a rare Indian plant (and imported from there.) In pouring it over Jesus’ head, she (in effect) anoints him as kings were anointed (see 2 Kings 9:6, where Elisha anoints Jehu as king) – but this may be fulfilment of Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil ...” She perceives that he is the Messiah (meaning anointed one); she sees what the religious authorities and some of those present at the meal ( 14:4-5) fail to understand; unlike them, she has spiritual insight. (“Three hundred denarii”, 14:5, was a year’s wage for a labourer, if he had steady employment; to possess something of such value, she was probably not poor.)

Jesus answers her critics in five ways: (a) she has done “good service” ( 14:6, literally: a beautiful deed) for him; (b) the opportunity to be with him in his humanity will soon end; (c) poverty will always exist in the world – the poor can always be helped; (d) she has, in the way she is able, done what she can for him; and (e) she has anointed his body for burial (while he is still alive). (The custom was to anoint a person when he had died, but there was no time to anoint Jesus’ body: see my comments on 15:42-47 below.) The story of her action will be proclaimed as part of the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

There is a huge contrast between the woman and “Judas Iscariot” ( 14:10): his infidelity and betrayal are especially horrifying since he is “one of the twelve”. His offer to betray Jesus makes possible a change in the religious leaders’ plans: killing him before the festival is now possible. In 14:12a, Mark may be speaking of the Roman “day” rather than the Jewish. (The Roman day started at midnight, but the Jewish at sundown.) He implies that the Last Supper was at the time of the Passover meal, but John the evangelist places it on the evening before. I agree with those scholars who say that the Supper was not a Passover meal.

In 14:13, that a man would carry a jar of water is unusual: men carried water in skins and women in terra-cotta jugs, so identifying the man would be easy. Was this meeting pre-arranged, or is it an example of Jesus’ foreknowledge? The two disciples speak of Jesus as “The Teacher” ( 14:14), so possibly the house owner is a follower of Jesus. The “room” ( 14:15) would be a guest room, furnished with rugs, cushions and perhaps a low table. 14:16 does not mention the disciples’ surprise, so it is likely that the meeting was pre-arranged.

Jesus knows in advance of Judas’ plot ( 14:18). Each disciple denies involvement to another ( 14:19). The treachery is enormous: the traitor is a member of the community, one who dips “bread into the [common] bowl” ( 14:20) with Jesus. (This verse may allude to Psalm 41:9: “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.” It is surprising that, if this is a Passover meal, the contents of the bowl are not mentioned; elsewhere, Mark is keen to show Jesus as an observant Jew.) The Old Testament does not mention the Son of Man suffering, so 14:21 is probably an imposition of the Son of Man on the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Jesus, “the Son of Man” , is willing to submit to God’s plan, but Judas will be condemned at the Last Day.

14:22-25 describe the institution of the Lord’s Supper. (The name comes from 1 Corinthians 11:20.) The meal has begun with a preliminary course (“while they were eating”, 14:22). The “loaf of bread” was likely a flat cake of leavened bread. Jews to this day bless the bread and break it, but Jesus says something special: “this is my body.” That his body is to be broken may indicate that he expects to be stoned. (Crucifixion did not necessarily involve breaking bones, while stoning did.) The traditional prayer of thanks (Greek: eucharistesas) over the cup is Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who has created the fruit of the vine.

“All of them” ( 14:23, including Judas) drink from the cup. The wine is “my blood of the covenant” ( 14:24): recall Exodus 24:8, spoken by Moses when the Sinai covenant was ratified: “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you ...” Again, “poured” points to death by stoning. The new relationship between God and humankind is “for many”, not just for those present. 14:25 speaks of the past (Jesus has shared meals with many) and of the future, when he will drink the wine “new”, afresh: it points to the heavenly banquet at the end of time, the coming of the Kingdom of God.

As they walk to the “Mount of Olives” ( 14:26), outside the east wall of the city, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7: a prediction of his death and the temporary desertion of his disciples. All deny that they will leave him: they are willing to die for him ( 14:31); Peter insists that he will remain loyal ( 14:29). Jesus predicts that Peter will “deny” ( 14:30) him three times (see 14:66-72). In 14:28, Jesus speaks of his post-resurrection appearances (cf. Matthew 26:31-35): he will lead them again. “Gethsemane” ( 14:32, meaning olive oil press) is a small garden on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus takes with him “Peter and James and John” ( 14:33), the three disciples who have seen his glory in the Transfiguration; now they see his distress and weakness. Even though he knows what is to happen to him, he is apprehensive: a thoroughly human reaction to a great impending event. He asks the three to “keep awake” ( 14:34), to remain alert, to be with him in this difficult time. In 14:35-36, he struggles (humanly) with his destiny.

In a supreme gesture of supplication to the Father, he throws himself on the ground and prays that, if it be the Father’s will, he may avoid the coming ordeal by simply dying. His prayer is a very personal one to his Father (“Abba” means Daddy): you can do anything: “remove this cup” of suffering. (Recall 10:38, where he asks James and John: “Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink?”.) But dying on the cross is in God’s plan, and Jesus is obedient to it. Finding Peter asleep, he calls him “Simon” ( 14:37), the name he had before becoming a disciple. Peter is to pray that he not be faced with a struggle between God and the devil. In 14:41-42, Jesus announces that the next step in God’s plan will now happen: “my betrayer is at hand” .

The “crowd” ( 14:43), a mob, which includes the high priest’s slave ( 14:47), has been stirred up by the religious authorities. The crowd would not know Jesus by sight, so Judas has “given them [the authorities] a sign” ( 14:44): a kiss was the traditional greeting to a teacher. Judas calls Jesus “Rabbi” ( 14:45, my master), a form of address used to honour teachers of the Law. Cutting off the slave’s “ear” ( 14:47) – or part of it, as the Greek implies – is an act of revenge for the indignity done to Jesus. Jesus points out that he is not a “bandit” ( 14:48): he is not a threat to law and order, to Roman rule.

14:49 suggests that Jesus taught in the Temple more than is recorded in the gospels. As Jesus predicted in 14:27, a quotation from Zechariah, the eleven (“all”, 14:50) flee. The “certain young man” ( 14:51), by tradition, is Mark.

In 14:53-65, Mark conflates (combines) the preliminary hearing before a committee of the “high priest” and the meeting of the whole Sanhedrin (“chief priests ... scribes”), but in 15:1 the Sanhedrin holds a “consultation”. (Luke says there were two meetings: one of the committee and one of the Sanhedrin.) Peter warms himself “at the fire” ( 14:54) or charcoal brazier in the “courtyard” of the high priests’ house. Per Deuteronomy 19:15, for a charge to be valid, at least two witnesses had to bring the same “testimony” ( 14:55); witnesses were questioned separately. Jesus’ statement in 14:57 lays him open to a charge of wizardry (“not made with hands”, 14:58), a capital offence under Leviticus 20:27. The witnesses take Jesus’ words literally; he probably meant If the Temple is destroyed, I will restore the worship of God in my resurrection .

Why would Jesus even attempt to answer conflicting witnesses? ( 14:60) (But note Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, ... yet he did not open his mouth.”) So the chief priests ask him: do you have royal pretensions? Are you God’s Son? (“Blessed One”, 14:61, and “the Power”, 14:62, are Jewish ways of referring to God.) Jesus answers: “I am” ; perhaps echoing Exodus 3:14: there God says he is to be called “I AM WHO I AM”.

Jesus asserts that he is the Son of Man insofar that he is transcendent, will be enthroned in heaven, and will judge. His glorious coming at the end of the era will be final proof of God’s victory over evil. Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy (claiming to be God), although his offence does not properly fit the definition of the crime (cursing in God’s name) in Leviticus 24:10-23. Perhaps “all of them” ( 14:64) does not include Joseph of Arimathea – see comment on 15:43. Jesus is sentenced as “deserving death” , for which the penalty should be stoning (but at the time the Sanhedrin may have lacked the power to give the death penalty). The high priest was required to tear his clothes ( 14:63) in a case of blasphemy. Some mock him ( 14:65): the Messiah was expected to be a prophet. (This verse fulfills the prophecy in 14:4-6 of today’s reading from Isaiah.)

14:66-72 present Peter’s faithlessness in contrast to Jesus’ faith. Peter denies association with Jesus three times before the cock crows, fulfilling Jesus’ prediction of 14:30. (Peter’s dialect showed him to be Galilean.)

“As soon as it was morning” ( 15:1) the Sanhedrin, the supreme court, (“chief priests ... with the elders and scribes and the whole council”) meet to decide on Jesus’ fate. They hand him over to the Roman authorities on the political charge of claiming to be king. (It appears that they did not reach a decision in the meeting(s) described in 14:53-65.) Mark implies the complicity of the Jewish authorities (“They bound Jesus ...” ). “Pilate” was Prefect of Judea, Samaria and Idumaea 26-36 AD; perhaps he says: You the King of the Jews? You don’t look like a revolutionary! Jesus’ answer amounts to: Yes, but not the way you mean it.

Mark portrays the Jewish authorities as instrumental in raising (further) charges ( 15:3); he minimizes Pilate’s guilt. Jesus does not answer these false charges ( 15:4). Pilate is “amazed” ( 15:5) because a simple peasant would protest innocence, and a revolutionary would deliver a political manifesto: Jesus does neither. (Outside the Bible, Pilate is described as cruel and obstinate; Mark shows him differently.) Pilate’s verdict is not mentioned, but it must have been treason to warrant crucifixion: Jesus’ claims sound like a threat to Caesar’s authority.

The custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover (“the festival”, 15:6) is unknown outside the Bible, but such amnesties did occur at some Roman festivals. There were several insurrections ( 15:7) during Pilate’s prefecture. Barabbas was a revolutionary and probably a murderer; it is his fate, not Jesus’, that has attracted the “crowd” ( 15:8). For Pilate, it would be politically wise to release Jesus, not Barabbas ( 15:9), but the “chief priests” ( 15:10) fear that Jesus may attract many as a religious leader, and urge reform of the Temple (see 11:17). The crowd, stirred up by the chief priests ( 15:11), demand Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate sees no guilt in Jesus ( 15:14), but he takes the politically expedient path, “wishing to satisfy the crowd” ( 15:15) and avoid a riot. He has Jesus flogged with a leather whip containing pieces of bone or metal.

Either at Herod’s palace or at the Fortress Antonia, soldiers (“the whole cohort”, 15:16) mock Jesus: they dress him in a royal cloak, put a crown on his head and salute him. (“Purple”, 15:17, was reserved for royalty, but likely the cloak was one of theirs – scarlet. The “thorns” available would not twist easily so the crown was probably radial – as on the Statute of Liberty – not round; wearing it was not torture.) They hail Jesus as they did the Emperor (Hail, Caesar), ironically proclaiming his true identity. (The significance of 15:19a is unknown.)

“Cyrene” ( 15:21) was in North Africa, near Bengazi. “Simon” was probably known to Mark and his first readers; he was either from a farm or had just visited one (“country”). The custom was for a criminal to carry the crossbar, but Jesus was already too weak to carry it himself. (Flogging was usually at the place of crucifixion.) “Golgotha” ( 15:22) is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for skull. Jesus refuses “wine mixed with myrrh” ( 15:23), a sedative. Mark’s description of the crucifixion is just three words ( 15:24).

The executioners divide the victim’s clothes among them, but this verse also fulfills Psalm 22:18. A placard was placed around the criminal’s neck, stating his crime. The words on Jesus’ “inscription” ( 15:26) are from 15:2: his claim of messiahship has been twisted into a conviction for treason. Perhaps the “two bandits” ( 15:27) are revolutionaries. Three groups mock him: (a) passers-by, who scorn him (“shaking their heads”, 15:29, a Middle Eastern gesture) and repeat the first charge made before the Sanhedrin ( 14:58), (b) the religious authorities, who say: If you are the Messiah, work a miracle: save yourself, and (c) “those ... crucified with him” ( 15:32). Crucifixion was a very cruel form of execution; death from suffocation came slowly, often after several days, and resulted from the trauma caused by flogging, thirst, hunger, exhaustion, and exposure. The victim’s arms being stretched back, breathing was difficult. While he had the strength, he periodically lifted himself with his legs to take a breath.

Mark does not explain the “darkness” ( 15:33). Jesus’ cry is the first verse of Psalm 22, in Aramaic. This psalm, as a whole, tells of a righteous sufferer who, despite his travails, comes to trust in God. Perhaps “some” ( 15:35) misunderstand Jesus’ words because they are spoken in pain, leading them to believe that “he is calling for Elijah”. (Jews expected Elijah to return at the end of the age, Malachi 4:5). The gift of “sour wine” ( 15:36, what a soldier carried) may be an act of curiosity: maybe Elijah will save him. Jesus dies suddenly, violently, probably in pain ( 15:37).

The “curtain of the temple” ( 15:38) was that before the Holy of Holies, through which only the high priest passed. Recall 1:10, the tearing open of heaven at Jesus’ baptism. In ancient cosmology, a giant pudding bowl separated earth from heaven: a barrier between God and humanity. So both the ritual and cosmological barriers are torn open – as a result of Jesus’ death; it is an act of God, symbolizing the arrival of open access of humankind to God. (See Isaiah 64:1) The words of the “centurion” ( 15:39), a member of the hated Roman army, a Gentile, may show only that he recognizes Jesus as a benefactor of humankind, but they are much more significant for us. Jesus dies in only about six hours, probably because he had been flogged severely. “Women” ( 15:40) are very much followers of Jesus, from the earliest days.

Jesus dies about 3 p.m. ( 15:34) on Friday, “the day before the sabbath” ( 15:42). Because the Jewish day begins at sundown, and no work can be done on the Sabbath, there are only a few hours in which to bury his body. Deuteronomy 21:22 stipulates that the corpse of one convicted of a capital crime must be buried on the day of his death, so it is important that an effort be made to bury Jesus before sundown. So “Joseph of Arimathea” ( 15:43), “a respected member of the council”, a sanhedrin (but possibly not of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin), and a pious Jew or a follower of Jesus (“waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God”), immediately asks the Roman authorities to release Jesus’ body.

Pilate naturally wonders whether Jesus is dead yet, for death usually came only after many hours or even days, but after checking with “the centurion” ( 15:44), he pronounces Jesus dead, and releases his body. Some burial shrouds were elaborate, but Jesus’ is a simple “linen cloth” ( 15:46). Joseph lays the body in a tomb (a cave-like structure) presumably intended for himself. He rolls a disk-shaped rock “against the door” ; “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses” ( 15:47) witness this action. (A body was normally washed and then anointed with oil before burial, but in Jesus’ case, there was no time to do this. It was the custom to leave a body to decompose for about a year, and then transfer the bones to an ossuary, a bone-box.)

4:2: “Not during the festival”: Did the priests hope to arrest Jesus before or after the feast? The latter seems more likely. Judas's willingness to betray Jesus led them to execute him during the feast (according to Mark) or before it (as seems more likely on the historical level). [ NJBC]

14:3-9: The spiritual insight and generosity of the woman are contrasted with the spiritual blindness of the high priests and scribes ( 14:1-2) and Judas ( 14:10-11). [ NJBC]

14:3: “at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper”: So unusual is such precision about places and names in Mark that the details must have been part of the original story. [ NJBC]

14:3: “Simon the leper”: His identity is unknown. [ NOAB]

14:3: “poured the ointment on his head”: See also Luke 7:38 and John 12:3, where the woman anoints the feet of Jesus. [ NJBC]

14:6: “good service”: i.e. what is good and fitting under the circumstances of impending death. The same Greek words are translated as “good works” in 5:16. [ NOAB]

14:7: Deuteronomy 15:11 says “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’” [ NOAB]

14:7: “you will not always have me”: The saying explains Jesus' tolerant attitude of 14:6 and his description of the woman's act as a good deed. It is a christological saying like the bridegroom saying in 2:19, not a social commentary. [ NJBC]

14:8: John 19:40 tells us: “They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [ NOAB]

14:11: “they ... promised to give him money”: The other evangelists make Judas's motives explicit: greed (Matthew 26:15), Satan (Luke 22:3), and Satan plus a habit of stealing (John 13:2; 12:6). [ NJBC]

14:12-16: These verses identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal in the strict sense that it took place on the 15th of Nisan; the other synoptic gospels follow Mark's chronology. John 19:14, however, places Jesus' death on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan and thus makes the Last Supper a pre-Passover meal. John's chronology is more likely correct, since it is dubious that the chief priests and scribes would have acted as they did on the first day of Passover. The effect of Mark's making the Last Supper a Passover meal was to draw Jesus' death more closely into the great Passover themes of sacrifice and liberation. [ NJBC]

14:12: “Unleavened Bread”: The spring agricultural festival of Unleavened Bread had been combined with the celebration of ancient Israel's release from bondage in Egypt (see Exodus 12:15-20; 34:18-20). It began on the 15th of Nisan (March-April) and lasted for eight days. The sacrifice took place on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan before the first day began at sunset. Thus the disciples were sent out to make preparations for the Passover meal celebrated at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. [ NJBC]

14:12: The institution of the Passover is detailed in Exodus 12:1-13. It was celebrated in homes. [ CAB]

14:13: “a man carrying a jar of water”: Is this an example of Jesus' extraordinary foreknowledge, or was it the result of prearrangement? See 11:1-6 (the colt) for a similar problem. [ NJBC]

14:13: “two of his disciples”: According to Luke 22:8, they are Peter and John. [ NOAB]

14:14: “guest room”: It was on the second floor, probably served by steps outside. In Luke 22:12, Jesus tells Peter and John: “‘He [the owner of the house] will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there’” . [ NOAB]

14:16: The disciples’ lack of amazement is an indication of prearrangement between Jesus and the man carrying the jar of water. [ NJBC]

14:17-21: The first incident in the Last Supper account stresses Jesus' foreknowledge regarding Judas's plot to betray him and Jesus' willing submission to God's will in his suffering and death. [ NJBC]

14:17: “When it was evening, he came with the twelve”: In the light of 14:12-16, it is the beginning of the 15th of Nisan (since Jewish days were reckoned to begin at sunset). The two disciples are already at the appointed site according to 14:12-16, but here they are in the party coming to it. [ NJBC]

14:18: In John 13:18, Jesus tells Peter: “I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me’”. The prediction shows that Judas's betrayal does not catch Jesus by surprise. [ NJBC]

14:19: The Greek shows that the question is so worded as to imply that the answer would be negative. [ NOAB]

14:21: “the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”: Although fulfilment of the Old Testament is a major theme in the passion story in Mark, there is no Old Testament passage that speaks of the sufferings of the Son of Man. [ NJBC]

14:21: “woe to that one ...”: Just because God's plan is at work in Jesus' death, it does not mean that Judas has no responsibility. [ NJBC]

14:22-25: The re-enactment of the Last Supper in the subsequent life of the Church recalls the past event, celebrates the present communion of God’s people, and looks forward to the liberation and reunion of Christians with Jesus in the ‘kingdom of God”. [ CAB] The bread and wine are interpretations in the light of Old Testament sacrificial traditions (see Exodus 24:8 and Isaiah 53:12) and the hope for the messianic banquet in God's kingdom. The disciples are invited to share in Jesus' sacrificial death. Exodus 24:8 says: “Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’”. Isaiah 53:11-12 foretells: “... The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors”.

14:22: “this is my body”: Translations. such as represents or symbolizes fail to do justice to the realism of the words. [ NJBC]

14:23: “he took a cup”: At a Passover meal the bread would be shared toward the beginning and the cup (actually three cups) in the course of it. Here the cup follows after the bread (as in the accounts of Paul and of Luke), which suggests that it was not an official Passover meal. [ NJBC] In 1 Corinthians 11:25, Paul states what he has received from the Lord about the Last Supper and had handed on to the Corinthian church: “In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’”. See also Luke 22:20.

14:24: “my blood of the covenant”: This is an allusion to Exodus 24:8, quoted above. [ NJBC]

14:24: “for many”: An allusion to Isaiah 53:12 (one of the Servant Songs) and gives the action a sacrificial dimension. [ NJBC]

14:24: See also Hebrews 9:20; Matthew 20:28; Mark 1:4; Exodus 24:6-8. In the background of Jesus’ words are several important ideas in Judaism:

    one’s sins lead to death;
    God has rescued his people, as from Egypt, and may be trusted to deliver from death itself;
    in mercy God forgives those who obey him;
    God will make a new covenant: see Jeremiah 31:31-34. [ NOAB]

Jesus speaks of his blood as being the mediating reality in a new relationship between God and humankind. In 10:45, Jesus speaks of “his life [as] a ransom for many”. A “ransom” is given to gain release. There Jesus speaks of his life and death as achieving freedom for “many”, i.e. with no specified limit to a few, but does not spell out details. See also Luke 4:18; 13:29; 1 Timothy 2:5-6. [ NOAB]

14:25: “until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God”: This places the Last Supper in the context of the messianic banquet (see 6:35-44, the feeding of the five thousand, and 8:1-10, the feeding of the four thousand). Rather than seeing the Last Supper (and the Eucharist) as an isolated event, it is important to connect it with Jesus' earlier meals with tax collectors and sinners (see 2:16) and to the future eschatological banquet. [ NJBC]

14:26: A Passover meal ended with the singing of Psalms 115-118, the second part of the Hallelujah psalms. [ NOAB]

14:26: “they went out”: John 18:1-2 tells us : “After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples”. [ NOAB]

14:27: In John 16:32, Jesus tells his disciples: “‘The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me’”. [ NOAB]

14:27: “I will strike the shepherd”: Jesus is identified as a shepherd in 6:34. The quotation is Zechariah 13:7 – a prediction of both Jesus’ death and the flight of the disciples. [ NJBC]

14:28: This verse points forward to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. The “ young man” (see 16:5) at the tomb on Easter Day tells the two Marys and Salome “‘But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’” (see 16:7) [ NJBC]

14:30: See also 14:66-72; John 13:26-38; 18:17-18, 25-27. [ NOAB]

14:32: See also John 18:1, quoted above, and Hebrews 5:7-8. [ NOAB]

14:32-52: What sustains Jesus is his unique relationship to God and his conviction that God's will revealed in the Scriptures is being fulfilled. [ NJBC]

14:32-42: Only Mark reports Jesus’ prayer that he might escape the period (“hour”) of agony through which he is soon to pass, and his addressing God as “Abba”. [ CAB] Mark’s version of the agony in the garden presents Jesus as the obedient Son of God who struggles to accept God's will in his passion. It portrays the disciples as hopelessly unaware of what is going on, thus as an example to be avoided. [ NJBC]

14:33: “began to be distressed and agitated”: The text expresses his deep emotional plight in the face of his impending death. This emphasis does not necessarily contradict the stress on Jesus' foreknowledge and acceptance of God's will in the preceding passages, since one can be terrified of what awaits one, that is, one’s fate (e.g. as a cancer patient does). [ NJBC]

14:34: In John 12:27, Jesus says: “‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour’’”. [ NOAB]

14:34: “I am deeply grieved, even to death”: NJBC offers my soul is sorrowful, even unto death. In speaking to the three disciples, Jesus uses the language of Psalm 42:6, 12. [ NJBC]

14:35-36: Jesus would not accept for himself the possibility of anything contrary to God’s will. [ NOAB]

14:36ff: This prayer bears some resemblance to the Lord’s Prayer. See Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. [ NJBC]

14:36: “Abba”: In Romans 8:15-16, Paul writes: “... When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. See also Galatians 4:6. This word passed into the prayer life of the early Church. [ NOAB]

14:36: “cup”: A metaphor for that which is allotted by God, whether blessing (see Psalms 16:5; 116:13) or judgement (see Isaiah 51:17 and Lamentations 4:21). It here refers to Jesus’ suffering and death. See also Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:38. [ NOAB]

14:36: “not what I want, but what you want”: Jesus had to discipline himself to accept his sufferings. Recall the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. [ NJBC]

14:41: The three passion predictions (see 8:3 1; 9:3 1; 10:33-34) are being fulfilled. [ NJBC]

14:43: “Judas”: The synoptic gospels do not report his movements on this night. John 13:30 says “after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night” and John 18:3 “Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there [i.e. to the garden across the Kidron valley] with lanterns and torches and weapons”. [ NOAB]

14:43: “a crowd”: The arrest is carried out by a kind of mob, rather than by the Temple police (as stated in Luke 22:52) or the Roman soldiers (John 18:3,12 says). [ NJBC]

14:47: “one ... who stood near”: According to John 18:10, it was Peter. [ NOAB] Luke 22:50-51 tells us that Jesus healed the man's ear. The Greek suggests that only part of the ear was cut off. [ NJBC]

14:49: Luke 19:47 tells us: “Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard”. and John 18:19-21 tells us Jesus’ answer to the high priest: “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret” . [ NOAB]

14:49: “Day after day”: Mark has told us that Jesus had only been in Jerusalem for three days , so that Jesus had been teaching “day after day” in the Temple looks odd. [ NJBC]

14:49: “let the scriptures be fulfilled”: Apparently a reference to 14:27 (where Zechariah 13:7 is quoted), though it may be meant in a more general sense, as in 14:21 (“the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”). [ NJBC]

14:51: “A certain young man”: His identity is not disclosed. Perhaps he was sleeping in the house where Jesus ate the Last Supper and rose hastily from bed to follow Jesus to Gethsemane. If the house was that of Mary, the mother of John and Mark (where the disciples met at a later date: see Acts 12:12), it is possible that the “young man” was the Evangelist himself. [ NOAB] Only Mark mentions him. [ CAB] The identity of the young disciple who flees away naked has attracted many guesses through the centuries. [ NJBC]

14:53-15:15: Throughout the trials, Jesus the innocent sufferer remains almost entirely silent: see Isaiah 53:7. [ NJBC]

14:53-65: Mark presents the hearing at the high priest's house on the first evening of Passover as a full-scale trial (though there are serious historical problems connected with this portrayal). Could the whole Sanhedrin meet there (see 14:64)? Would they have met there on the first night of Passover? These problems suggest that Jesus underwent a preliminary hearing at the house of the high priest on the evening before the first evening of Passover (see 14:12-16). The preliminary hearing was conducted by a small group or committee of Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]

14:55: The Law required at least two witnesses who gave the same testimony. See Numbers 35:30 and Deuteronomy 19:15. Jesus endorses this law in Matthew 18:16. [ NOAB]

14:55: “the chief priests and the whole council”: Mark presents the hearing as a full-scale trial before the whole Sanhedrin. This tendency was probably part of the general Christian effort to play down Roman involvement and to play up Jewish involvement in Jesus' death. [ NJBC] Was this because Christians needed to live in a degree of harmony with the civil authorities?

14:58: “‘I will destroy this temple”: Jesus may have contrasted Temple worship in the present with the kind of worship that will prevail when God's kingdom comes. The “I” may have been God, or perhaps even Jesus speaking in God's name. The saying probably had some relation to the cleansing of the Temple (see 11:15-19). Later New Testament writers tended to spiritualise it (see Matthew 26:61; John 2:21; Acts 6:14) in the light of the fact that the Romans rather than Jesus destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70. [ NJBC]

14:61: “‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One”: Peter has identified Jesus as the “Messiah” in 8:29; a voice from heaven has identified Jesus as “my Son, the Beloved” in 1:11 (at his baptism) and 9:7 (his transfiguration). [ NJBC]

14:62: According to NOAB, this is Daniel 7:13 combined with the thought of Psalm 110:1.

14:63: “tore his clothes”: An action expressing grief. See also Acts 14:14 (Paul and Barnabas lament that they are taken for Greek gods) and Joel 2:12-13 (“... rend your hearts and not your clothing ...”). [ NOAB]

14:64: “All of them condemned him as deserving death”: Jesus was probably viewed as a Jewish political-religious agitator (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 17.10.4-88 269-85; 18.4.1 85-87; 20.8.6 167-72) who threatened the power of both the Romans and the Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]

14:64: “All of them”: But according to Luke 23:51 Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, had not assented. [ NOAB]

14:65: “‘Prophesy!’”: This request carries the irony that the treatment fulfills the Old Testament prophecies found in Servant Songs (see Isaiah 50:4-6; 53:3-5). It may also allude to popular perceptions about Jesus as a prophet (see Mark 6:15; 8:28). [ NJBC]

14:66-72: Note the progression in the audiences for Peter's denials: a “servant girl” ( 14:66), the “servant-girl” plus some “bystanders” ( 14:69), and “the bystanders” ( 14:70). [ NJBC]

Comments: Peter’s dialect shows him to be Galilean: On the Day of Pentecost, the crowd asks: “‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans’” (Acts 2:7).

14:66: See also 14:30. [ NOAB]

14:71: “curse”: Peter not only denies his participation in the movement, but confirms by a “curse” his lack of links with Jesus. [ CAB]

14:72: “the cock crowed for the second time”: i.e. before dawn. In 13:35, Jesus warns: “Therefore, keep awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn ...” [ NOAB]

14:72: “he broke down”: The meaning of the Greek is uncertain. [ NOAB]

15:1-5: To CAB, the sanhedrin is a regional one, not the national one.

15:1: “As soon as it was morning”: Jewish law required that the Sanhedrin take formal action by daylight. See also Luke 23:1 and John 18:28-32. [ NOAB] This verse seems to assume the occurrence of a second official meeting of the Sanhedrin in the morning (see also Matthew 26:66; 27:1). [ NJBC]

15:2: “Pilate”: Pilate's headquarters were at Caesarea Maritima; he came to Jerusalem to oversee the Passover pilgrimage, lest trouble break out. [ NJBC]

15:2: “‘Are you the King of the Jews?’”: Pilate's question is a political translation of the titles Messiah and Son of God. It shows that the strategy against Jesus was to connect him with political-messianic movements of the time and to condemn him as a revolutionary. [ NJBC]

15:3: “the chief priests accused him of many things”: Their repeated accusations contrast with the silence of Jesus See also Isaiah 53:7 and Psalm 38:13-15. [ NJBC]

15:6: “he used to release a prisoner for them”: Perhaps the occasional practice of amnesty has been made into a custom by the evangelists or their sources. [ NJBC]

15:7: “Barabbas”: The name is a transliteration of the Aramaic bar ‘abba’, son of the father. [ NJBC]

15:7: “insurrection”: We have no record of this particular insurrection. The crime was more serious than that of brigandage. See also 15:27. John 18:40 tells us “... Barabbas was a bandit”. [ NOAB]

15:11: See also Acts 3:14 (Peter’s statement to the sanhedrin). [ NOAB]

15:13: “Crucify him!”: Mark tells us that Pilate had Jesus crucified not because he was guilty but because the high priests through the crowd put pressure on him (“wishing to satisfy the crowd” according to 15:15) [ NJBC]

15:13: Deuteronomy 21:23 states that a religious curse is implicit in crucifixion. [ NOAB]

15:15: “after flogging Jesus”: The victim was bound to a pillar. [ NJBC]

15:16-47: Jesus is put to death as king of the Jews in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, without playing down the implacable hatred displayed by his adversaries: see 14:21. [ NJBC]

15:16: “the whole cohort”: At full strength, about 500 men. [ NOAB] These men were natives of Palestine and Syria, recruited by the Romans. [ NJBC]

15:21: “Simon of Cyrene”: It is not stated whether he was in Jerusalem as a pilgrim or as a permanent resident [ NJBC] “Cyrene” was the capital city of the north African district of Cyrenaica. The city had a large Jewish community. [ NOAB]

15:21: “Alexander and Rufus”: Probably also known to the Christians who first read Mark. A connection with the “Rufus” Paul greets in Romans 16:13 is possible but has not been established. [ NOAB]

15:22: “Golgotha”: In Jesus' time this place was outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The traditional name Calvary comes from the Latin word for skull, calvaria. [ NJBC]

15:23: “wine mixed with myrrh”: On the basis of Proverbs 31:6-7, the phrase is usually interpreted as a narcotic to ease the pain of the dying person. [ NJBC]

15:25: “nine o'clock in the morning”: Mark’s chronology and John’s differ: according to John 19:14, Jesus was crucified “about noon”. [ NJBC]

15:29: See also 13:2; 14:58; John 2:19. [ NOAB] The claim that Jesus promised to rebuild the Temple in three days distorts his prediction that he will rise from the dead after three days. The accusers confuse his identity with the fate of the Temple. [ CAB]

15:31: The quotation is Psalm 22:7-8. [ NOAB] The “chief priests” and “scribes” echo the charge in 14:61 that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. [ NJBC]

15:32: While here in Mark “those ... crucified” with Jesus “also taunt him, in Luke 23:39-43 one of the criminals acknowledges Jesus’ innocence and asks to be remembered when he comes into his kingdom. [ NJBC]

15:33-39: Jesus' death took place according to God's will made known in the Old Testament. [ NJBC]

15:33: “darkness came over the whole land”: The “land” is most likely Judea. The darkness has been variously interpreted as a sandstorm, an eclipse of the sun (see Luke 23:45, “while the sun's light failed”), or the fulfilment of Amos 8:9: “On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight”. [ NJBC]

15:34: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice”: After a loud cry, Jesus expelled his breath, which implies a voluntary action.

15:35: “he is calling for Elijah”: For Elijah as forerunner of the kingdom, see Mark 1:6; 9:11-13. [ NJBC]

15:36: Psalm 69:21 says “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”. The motive in offering the “sour wine” may have been to revive Jesus, thus prolonging the ordeal. [ NOAB]

15:38: The “curtain” closed off the holy place from the Holy of Holies (see Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 9:3), the sanctuary which represented God’s presence with his people. See also 2 Kings 19:14-15; 2 Chronicles 6:1-2, 18-21; Hebrews 10:19-20. [ NOAB] The rending of the “curtain” at Jesus' death suggests the end of the old covenant with Israel. [ NJBC]

15:39: “‘Truly this man was God's Son!’”: The centurion's confession echoes the opening words of the Gospel: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. [ NJBC]

15:40: “Mary Magdalene”: She saw Jesus die, knew where he was buried ( 15:47), and went to the tomb on Easter Day ( 16:1).

15:40: “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”: To CAB, “James the younger” may be James the son of Alpheus (see 3:18 and Acts 1:13) and “Joses” one of Jesus’ (half-) brothers (see 6:3; “Joseph” in Matthew 13:55). “Salome”, mentioned again in 16:1, is not mentioned in Matthew’s account. [ NJBC] To NJBC, “Mary” is not the mother of Jesus.

15:41: Luke 8:1-3 tells us that women travelled with Jesus and his disciples. Some of the women provided financial support; some had been cured by Jesus. [ NOAB]

15:42: i.e. late afternoon on Friday. [ NOAB] The Sabbath would begin at sunset.

15:46: Acts 13:29 tells us that as Paul tells those attending the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia about Jesus he says: “When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb”. [ NOAB]

15:46: “laid it in a tomb ...”: The area around Jerusalem in Jesus' time has been described as a gigantic cemetery. [ NJBC]