Jack Rendel

J & Z Publications

MARK: WORKING MESSIAH

SIXTH DIVISION: HOW WILL THE MESSIAH ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM? 14:1-16:8

FIRST SECTION: THE PREPARATION 14:1-16

(The corresponding PowerPoint® presentation is Mark 6^th Division 1^st Section PREPARATION or click on Mark Sixth Division Preparation PP or on the same title on the Mark studies home page.)

The Passover Lamb is Selected

(Jesus is out and about in public)

The Outline:

Introduction To 'The Preparation'
 

I. The Priests Plot Against Jesus 14:1, 2 

The Passover Was In 2 Days.

Looking For A Way To Kill Jesus.

A Riot?

Death At The Hands Of The Priests

II. A Woman Anointed Jesus 14:3-9 

A Woman Pours Expensive Perfume Over Jesus

For his Burial

Anointed By A Woman

III. Judas To Hand Over Jesus 14:10,11 

The Priests Offered him Money

Always Receiving, Never Giving                     

Judas Looks For The Right Moment

IV. The Disciples Prepared Jesus’ Passover 14:12-16

Two Disciples Go To Prepare

The Disciples Obey

A House For The Passover

Introduction To 'The Preparation'
 

In this section of the gospel are we are going to consider four stories. We find here, two groups of people who were in favor of Jesus and two against.

Two of them they were trying to find a way to betray and kill him; the other two treated him as the chosen of God and someone whom they should obey.

I. The Priests Plot Against Jesus 14:1, 2 

The Passover Was In 2 Days

A very special event for the Jewish nation was approaching. Jerusalem would be filled with a multitude of peoples from many lands, Jews and those converted to Judaism from all parts. Passover was a "center piece" for the nation. At the heart of this were the religious leaders of the nation.

Looking For A Way To Kill Jesus

What a shame to have religious leaders that went about trying to kill a good person! During the Middle Ages an ecclesiastical council was held at Lake Constance. They were deciding who should be the next pope and what powers he should have.

At the same time as the council at Lake Constance, the church was condemning John Huss, the rector of the University of Budapest, Hungary, to the flames for having translated the Bible into the common language, and for having written books that presented a more biblical faith. It was neither the first time nor the last time that religious leaders would kill a man of God, and even if John Huss were not a man of God, what is the church doing by executing people? The prelate of the western church who carried all this out had not even read one of Huss' books even in translation. (Vicars Of Christ, Peter de Rosa, “A Most Embarrassing Council”, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1988, 94-96.)

Yes, I know that in many cases it was the temporal authorities that carried out the sentence determined by the religious authorities. In fact this is what occurred in the case of Jesus. The priests sentenced him and the Roman governor executed him. The question remains, "What is the church, if it is the true church, doing by killing people?"  The case of John Huss was not unique. Thousands were tortured and executed under what came to be known as the Seat of the "Holy Inquisition".

A Riot?

The priests feared a riot amongst the people if they took Jesus in such a way that the people might be upset. The curious thing is that the priests, were supposedly representatives of God, but they had no fear of God. They feared the people more. If someone fears God and is sure of what he is doing, he does it. It does not matter if the people are against it. This truly is a man or a woman of God, the one who boldly carries out the will of God, without fear of the people.

The characteristics demonstrated here by the priests help us understand that they were not men of God. They occupied the place of the sons of Aaron, and they exercised certain powers, but without true spiritual authority.

DEATH At The Hands Of The Priests

In spite of these realities God used the priests to carry out the killing of the Lamb of God. They were accustomed to slaughtering the sacrifices in the temple, but this time it was the Son of God they offered up to death, and they did not realize they were offering up the sacrifice to fulfill all sacrifices. We know from what happened afterwards, that in spite of the priests' desires, Jesus died during the Passover. It is amazing to learn that after his resurrection many of the priests in Jerusalem were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).

The book of the Revelation tells us that in the plans of God, the Son of God was sacrificed from before the foundation of the world. The priests had their plans but God had his transcendental plan. The death of Jesus did not catch him by surprise.

II. A Woman Anointed Jesus 14:3-9

 

A Woman Pours Expensive Perfume Over Jesus

Jesus mixes with the people and in this scene he eats with a man called Simon the leper. During the meal a woman came and poured a costly perfume on the head of Jesus. She broke the flask of alabaster, which contained the perfume of nard. Now there were people present who complained that this was a waste, and that it would have been better to sell it and to give the money to the poor.

Let's stop and think about how ridiculous what they were saying was. If they had stopped to think about the sheer number of miracles Jesus had done, healing the blind, the lame, the deaf mutes, the paralytics; raising the dead; casting out demons; and teaching great moral and spiritual truths to the people, they would have realized how much they owed the Teacher of Galilee. But when did they ever stop to think about throwing him a party, or paying him for the huge number of things he had accomplished in favor of the people? Did the priests, or king Herod, or the Roman governor ever stop to think that they should raise a tax or contribute something of their own treasures and give it to Jesus for all his healings? I don't think so!

Not only did they not do these things but murmured against the woman. That is to say that, not only did they not give anything to Jesus for all he did, but they wanted to take away the little that someone like this woman gave him. What a sad world we live in! It is enough to want to grab the world and destroy it, something that God has every right to do. And I would be the first to be destroyed! My potential for evil is enormous!

In reality what they owed him was its praise and adoration. Some days earlier and better late than never, the people recognized him when he entered Jerusalem in that triumphant procession the week before. In fact they should have brought 1000 flasks of alabaster full of perfume of nard to pour over him. And that would have been too little.

For his Burial

We have meditated on the negative things that we find in this scene. We think now about the positive things. This woman poured the perfume on the head of Jesus. She identified with him. In the first chapters of the book of Leviticus we see how the Israelites put their hand upon the head of the animal that they brought as an offering. The animal fell under the judgment of God upon sin and the people escaped. The gospel does not tell us whether this woman knew what was going to happen to Jesus. The writer does not say whether she understood what the sacrifice of Jesus would mean for her. But we do see her giving her best and identifying with him. It is possible that the flask of perfume represented her life, her greatest treasure and said in this act that she was giving her life to the Master. For her to have the Master was better than possessing that flask of perfume of such great value. It was as if she were representing all the people identifying with the Lord, and choosing him as the most excellent sacrifice of God.

Jesus knew that his death approached and said that this woman was anointing him for his burial. And in a sense represented all those who truly love the Lord, and who identify with his sacrifice on their behalf. The priests offered the sacrifices but the people were the ones who identified with that offering that they brought by putting their hand on the head of the animal.

But Jesus did not despise the poor either. It was as though he were rebuking them just a little about the poor, because the poor were always with them. Who worked more than Jesus for the poor? Be that as it may or not, Jesus did stand up for the woman by saying that she had done a good work to him.

ANOINTED By A Woman

Some seek fame, at least good fame, and others knowing that the only fame they will ever achieve will be bad, they do what is infamous. Just think for a moment about two of the most famous of the twentieth century. One of them was Adolph Hitler, and another Stalin. Fortunately there were people of relatively good fame, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. This woman without seeking fame became famous through the Savior of the world!

III. Judas To Hand Over Jesus 14:10, 11 

Judas Offered Money

In the second scene of this section of Mark we have enjoyed the beautiful story of the woman who anointed Jesus with a costly perfume. Now we return to some sad realities. The woman who anointed Jesus did it from the heart, giving him the best that she had. In this scene see how Judas is promised money if he betrays Jesus. The worst thing about the case is that he is willing to do it even before he is promised the money. In any case he would receive money for his betrayal of Jesus.

If the people owed a lot to Jesus, Judas owed even more. He had been with the Lord three years watching, listening and receiving blessing after blessing. But the moment arrived when he saw that there will be no 'material' gain and chose to sell the Master.

Always Receiving, Never Giving

The one great difference between the woman, who anointed Jesus, and Judas was that she gave and Judas took. We can fall into the same trap as Judas, receiving and never giving. Let's choose to both receive and give. We should understand that we have received a great deal from the Lord and that we should give from the heart. Let's give to the Lord and to others.

Judas Looks For The Right Moment to HAND Him OVER

The text says that Judas sought the opportune moment to betray Jesus. We know that this caused the authority to arrest him during the feast, which they did not want to do for fear of the people. Again we see how the plans of the Master were developing.

IV. The Disciples Prepared Jesus’ Passover 14:12-16

Two Disciples Go To Prepare

Jesus sent to two of his disciples to prepare the Passover. He gives them clear, precise instructions. They had to go into the city and find a man that was carrying a pitcher of water. They were to ask him, Where is my room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples (14:14 NASB-u)? The water bearer would show them the place.

The Disciples Obey

Maybe what makes this portion so striking is that the two followers obeyed him. When God sent through Moses the order to sacrifice the lamb at Passover he expected the Israelites to obey. If not, the judgment of God would fall on them. The angel of God would kill the first born of each house if not they did not pay attention to God's command.

Another characteristic of one who loves Jesus is obedience. That person not only wants to give Jesus their best, their own life, but later wants to live for him, at his orders.

Those who are his enemies or indifferent to him want to get rid of him or to take advantage of him for their own material gain. This has been a scandal throughout the centuries that men have bought for their greater well being personally, goods and positions of authority in what has been called the church. Others have executed brothers and to sisters in the faith, that were faithful to a biblical gospel. May God pay them for all they have committed! In the meantime we leave these things in the hands of God knowing that we can fall into the same error, and that we should dedicate ourselves not to revenge but to the preaching of the gospel of mercy.

A HOUSE For The Passover

The Israelites had to eat the Passover lamb in their homes. This sacrifice, different from all the others that were eaten by the priests, had to be eaten by the people. Jesus did not have any house in Jerusalem, but someone in the city provided him with a room, an upper room, furnished and prepared. The author does not say who it was. Neither does Mark say who the woman was who came to pour the perfume upon his head. I believe that these two people represented the people who sacrificed and ate the Passover lamb in their homes in obedience to what God commanded.

Review: Mark 14:1-16

•      CHOSEN By The Priests To Die

•      IDENTIFICATION By Anointing By A Woman

•      To Be HANDED OVER By Judas

•      OBEYED By The Disciples

We must decide, will we kill Jesus or crown him with the best of what we have? Will we betray him or obey him, allowing him to come into our home?

Questions To Aid In The Study Of Mark 14:1-16

1. In these four stories we find four groups of people relating to Jesus, two of them in a positive way and two in a negative way. How were two of them positive and how were two negative? What can we learn from these four groups as to how to relate to Jesus and how not to relate to him?

2. What material thing became more important to Judas than the person of Jesus? Have we allowed material things to become more important than Jesus? What are these things and how did this happen?

3. In what ways have you learned to make Jesus more important than material things? In what ways have you learned to give to Jesus in the way that the woman who anointed him did?

4. Contrast the way the disciples obeyed Jesus and the way the priests plotted to kill him. In what way did the disciples take the place of the priests in God’s kingdom? Remember that this is not a Jewish versus Gentile situation. All of them, Jesus, the disciples and the priests were all Jews.

©Copyright 2006-2046 John (Jack) W Rendel. All rights reserved.

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