Gospel-of-Mark-14.2.pptx

THE GOSPEL OF
MARK
Chapter Fourteen
Part 2

Opening Prayer
O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist,
and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel,
grant, we pray, that we may so profit from his teaching
as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Source Material
■ New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
■ Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
■ Catholic Christianity, Peter J. Kreeft
■ The Gospel of Mark, Mary Healy
■ The Synoptic Gospels, Keith F. Nickle

Summary of Last Week
■ The Anointing at Bethany
– We noted the significance of its placement right before the
events of the Passion
– Jesus was anointed – an act typically carried out after death,
the anointing serves here as a preparation for his sacrifice
– Reminiscent of the OT in which only priests, prophets and
kings were anointed, signifying here that Jesus is the true
Prophetic Messianic King and High Priest, who will reconcile
all people to the Father through his sacrifice.
■ The Betrayal of Judas
– In contrast to the loving gesture of devotion by the woman
who anointed Jesus, what follows is the evil conspiracy
between the religious leaders and one of Jesus’ own disciples
– the opposite of devotion.

Summary of Last Week
■ The Last Supper
– The announcement of the betrayer
– The institution of the holy Eucharist, the ordination of the
first priests and the celebration of the first holy Mass
– Jesus’ own body will be ‘broken’ just like the bread, and the
remembrance at Mass of this action will serve as a perpetual
memorial and “making present” of his sacrifice
– Jesus establishes a new covenant with a new people in a new
‘temple’, as he said in the parable of the tenants. It is a
covenant ratified in his own blood which is to be shed for the
‘many.’

Peter’s Denial Foretold (14:26-31)
■ Here we see that after foretelling the failure of one of the
disciples (Judas), Jesus now predicts the failure of them all
– Though he softens it a bit with a further reflection – that he
will rise and will see them again back in Galilee.
– Thus even their most grievous sin of abandoning the Lord
will be forgiven them, a fact that was certainly not lost on
many in Mark’s original audience, who would face a similar
temptation (or had already themselves similarly denied
Christ).
■ “Deny me three times”
– Peter in particular (as usual) boldly proclaims his
steadfastness, even above that of the other disciples
– It was such a devastating prediction that Peter refused to
believe it.

Peter’s Denial Foretold (14:26-31)
■ In a horrible and chilling twist, Peter will do the exact opposite
of what a disciple is supposed to do
– “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take
up his cross and follow me.” (Mk 8:34) We are supposed to
deny ourselves, not Jesus!
■ Reflection
– It’s easy to scoff at Peter’s bravado, but let’s be humble about
it and use his example of cowardice (which will be on full
display in this chapter) to examine the extent of our own
faith.
– Perhaps all of us would like to think we would never deny the
Lord under any circumstance, but that’s exactly what the
disciples themselves said!
– When we pray, “lead us not into temptation,” this is one of
those tempting situations we pray to avoid, that of
abandoning our faith in a moment of trial.

The Agony in the Garden (14:32-72)
■ Jesus had predicted on many occasions his suffering and death
(8:31, 9:31, 10:33). Now the hour has arrived.
– At this point, Mark will begin to show us the “human side” of
Jesus in a most heart-wrenching and dramatic way
– Here Jesus must bring his fear and terror about what is to
happen, and the natural human instinct for self-preservation,
under control of his will and submit himself to the will of his
Father
– We rightly meditate upon this hour in the Garden with great
solemnity, love and gratitude to Christ.
■ The Garden is still there on the slope of the Mount of Olives. It
looks exactly like you think it does from the movies.
– It is easy to picture Jesus there praying
– You can see the way they must have taken him across the
valley to the High Priest’s residence

■ ”Sit here while I pray”
– This is the third time in Mark that Jesus is portrayed praying
and by far the most personal and dramatic
– He brings Peter, James and John a bit further into the Garden.
These three are like the ‘core group’ of disciples, present with
Jesus for the raising of Jairus’ daughter (5:37) and the
Transfiguration (9:6).
– Now in this supreme moment, he seeks out the solace and
presence of his closest friends.
■ Note that all three have pledged to share Jesus’ sufferings.
James and John had promised to ‘drink the cup’ that Jesus
will drink (10:39), and Peter had just before promised not to
deny him (14:31)
■ Imagine Jesus’ sorrow when he found them asleep.

■ “Troubled and distressed”
– The original Greek has a connotation of anguish. We call it his
‘agony’ with good reason, when the hour has come and the full
weight of what will befall him bears down on his human soul
– Don’t ever think that Jesus doesn’t understand human suffering!
■ “Abba, Father”
– An intimate form of address, like “dad”
– Such an intimate address is found nowhere in the OT, nor does the
OT more than rarely use the word Father to describe God
– The fact that Jesus teaches us to call God ”our Father” not only
reveals his care and concern for his creatures, but also reveals the
intimacy to which he calls us in Christ
– Indeed, through baptism, we become sons and daughters of God by
adoption and thus rightly call God “Abba, Father” just like Jesus.

– In this defining moment of his earthly life, he is alone with his
Father, and we are given insight into exactly what he says to
him
– Jesus acknowledges that everything that is about to happen
is completely in the control of his Father, that the Father has
the power to change it if he desires.
– This is precisely what Jesus asks the Father to do in order to
spare Jesus the suffering in store for him
– Jesus had previously said at the Last Supper that his blood
will be shed for the “many” (meaning the multitudes) for the
forgiveness of sins, so he knew that his sacrifice would bring
incalculable blessings to humanity,
■ But he naturally is repulsed in horror at what it will cost him.
■ As we said, Mark is showing us the “human side” of Jesus.

– We can understand his prayer and his final determination to
offer himself not as mere resignation to his horrible fate, but
as absolute trust in and love for his Father, a point we will
make again in chapter 15.
– Jesus surrenders his will completely to that of his Father –
“not my will but yours” – and thus reverses the sin of Adam
(in another garden!)
– Thus, it was the absolute love of his human heart and the
complete surrender of his human will, perfectly manifested
on the cross, that brings about the redemption of humanity
– Only a human being could atone for the sin of human beings.
Only as the sinless Son of God could he offer that perfect
atonement.

■ Reflection
– The disciples fell asleep three times and Peter will soon deny
Jesus three times
– This should be enough to convince us that, as Jesus said, “the
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” What is needed is
constant vigilance, continued prayer and humble honesty
about our weakness without the grace of God.
– Let these examples show us that we cannot remain faithful
without God’s help and spur us to continually ask for that
help every day…

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus (14:43-52)
■ We notice a change in the way Jesus acts from now on. Before
he was more authoritative in his speech and actions – leading,
teaching, healing, rebuking, etc.
– Now that he has firmly resolved to follow the Father’s will, he
is more passive, allowing himself to be led and rebuked. It is
a physical sign of his absolute trust in his Father’s plan
■ At some point – Mark does not say when – Judas had slipped
away from the group and met up with his co-conspirators.
(John tells us that Judas left during the Last Supper)
– Since Judas knew where Jesus would be, he was able to lead
them right to him. It was perfect for them – at night, quiet
and away from the crowds
– Mark again notes that Judas was one of the Twelve, as if to
emphasize how monstruous his betrayal was

■ “Kiss”
– The pre-arranged kiss (which was a typical and respectful
greeting) reveals that those in the arresting party may not
have known Jesus by sight, so this signal was planned
– The fact that Judas betrayed him with a kiss makes it even
more chilling
■ “One of the bystanders”
– The violent and pointless attempt to rescue Jesus by ‘one of
the bystanders’ goes nowhere. Mark does not identify this
person, though John reveals that it was Peter and gives other
details of what happened.
– Perhaps Mark wanted to shield Peter from this action
(though he will give full details of Peter’s denial later)

■ “Robber”
– Jesus rebukes the cohort for their overt show of force and for
their treacherous methods, asking why they were treating
him as a robber
■ Interestingly, Jesus had previously call out the religious
leaders for turning the Temple into a ‘den of robbers’ (11:17)
■ Barabbas was a robber, who would be released in place of
Jesus
■ Jesus will be crucified between two robbers
■ Thus, Jesus is already standing in the place of sinners
■ ”They all left him and fled”
– A sad moment, just as Jesus had earlier predicted (14:27)
– Even Peter, despite having just swore fidelity, abandoned him
as well, though as we’ll see, he follows at a distance.

■ The young man
– Only Mark mentions the presence of the young man wearing
just a linen cloth.
– Some traditions identify the man as Mark himself, whose
house may have served as the location of the Last Supper, but
we can’t know for sure.
– The detail of him being seized and struggling to get free,
leaving behind his clothes and running away naked, gives us
an idea of the violent and chaotic scene
■ To the High Priest’s residence
– From the Garden to Caiaphas’ palace is about a mile or two,
down the valley and up the other side.
– At this point, Jesus would have been bound and led away.
This would be Holy Thursday night.

Excursus: The Sanhedrin
■ The Sanhedrin (Greek: “sitting together”) was the ruling body of
the Jews, made up of the High Priest, who by this time in history
was a political appointee, and various other priests, scribes and
elders.
■ It was composed of 70 such men, who despite the Roman
occupation, were able to govern the religious life of the Jews
■ Notably, they lacked the authority to sentence a criminal to
death and would need to get the Romans to carry out such a
sentence – this is why Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, was
involved in these events
■ Usually the High Priest served a four-year term. Caiaphas
served for 18 years (18-36AD), revealing that he was probably
well-liked by the Romans and/or a well-connected politician.
■ Recall that Peter and John (Acts 4:5), Stephen (Acts 6:12) and
Paul (Act 22-23) also stood trial before the Sanhedrin and
Caiaphas just as Jesus did.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin (14:53-65)
■ Once again we have a ‘sandwich’ technique by Mark, placing the
account of Jesus’ trial in the Sanhedrin between two stories of
Peter’s denial.
– We will see a stark difference between Peter, who denies the
truth, and Jesus, who bears firm witness to the truth, even at
the cost of his life.
■ It was unusual for the Sanhedrin to meet at night. This tells us
how motivated they were to be rid of Jesus, how resentful they
were after their three-fold failure to trip him up (12:13-17,
12:18-27, 12:28-34) and how frightened they were of the
crowds (11:18)

The denial of Peter, part 1
■ We begin with the first half of Peter’s denial. Mark tells us that
Peter followed Jesus at a distance, sneaking into the high
priest’s courtyard. What must have been going through his
mind during this time?
– Pastoral note: See how Peter wants to be a disciple, he wants
to be loyal, but he remains at a distance, afraid to get too
close to Jesus. What a lesson!

The trial
■ The trial is obviously rigged, though they try (as rigged trials
always do) to provide a veneer of justice and objectivity.
■ They bring in a number of people prepared to perjure
themselves in testimony against Jesus. (A more grievous
violation of the 8th commandment cannot be conceived.
Imagine bearing false witness against the Son of God!)
– We recall Ps 35:11, “Malicious witnesses rise up, accuse me of
things I do not know. They repay me evil for good; my soul is
desolate.”
– Jewish law required at least two witnesses to establish facts
in a trial such as this, though the Sanhedrin appeared to have
trouble with this, as the witnesses could not agree

The trial
■ “I will destroy this Temple”
– Jesus did not actually say this. He did prophesy that the
Temple would be destroyed (13:2) but not that he would do
it.
– In John 2:19, Jesus said, “destroy this Temple, and in three
days I will raise it up,” but there he was explicitly talking
about the Temple of his body. But again, he never said that
he himself would physically destroy the Temple.
– Jesus also mentioned in Mark that the Father would raise up
a new Temple, not made with human hands, of which Jesus
would be the capstone (12:10)
– Remember that three times he predicted his resurrection
– Both the Gospel of John and the letters of Paul make more
explicit the notion of Jesus as the new Temple himself, the
place of right worship

The trial
■ All together, these words of the Lord prophesy the new Temple
of the Church, born of the resurrected Christ, which will carry
out the Father’s will and bear him good fruit. This is the true
meaning of everything Jesus was talking about and had summed
up in the parable of the tenants.
■ The false charge that he would destroy the Temple appears to
be the main accusation against him. It will be repeated when he
is on the cross (15:29)…
– ”Aha! You who would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in
three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross.”
■ We have a sense of how threatening Jesus was to the Temple
establishment and how anxious the authorities were to be rid of
him.

The trial
■ “Are you the Messiah”
– After the confusion of the false witnesses, Caiaphas asks him
directly, “are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?”
– Note that these are the two titles that Mark gives Jesus in 1:1,
“the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (‘messiah,
anointed one’), the Son of God.”
■ “I am”
– A hugely significant response
– Note that this is the only time in Mark in which Jesus directly
affirms is identity. In all four Gospels, this is the most direct
and explicit revelation of himself as the Messiah and the
divine Son of God
– Made even more explicit in his response: “I am,” the divine
name itself, first revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex
3:14)

The trial
■ “I am”
– Jesus had frequently commanded his disciples and others to
remain silent about who he was, but now is the hour when
his identity can be revealed. There will be no doubt about
what it means for him to be the Messiah
– He further identifies himself, quoting Daniel 7, as the
messianic “Son of Man” who will sit at the Father’s right
hand and come in judgment upon the clouds
■ “Tore his garments”
– This was a cultural gesture of grief or great distress (Gen
37:34, 2 Sam 1:11)
– The High Priest did this upon hearing Jesus’ supposed
blasphemy in calling himself God, but in reality, Jesus had
finally given them what they needed – an unambiguous way
to put him to death.

The trial
■ “Tore his garments”
– Blasphemy is the misuse of God’s name (watch out for that
one!) or taking to oneself the divine prerogative. The
scriptural punishment for blasphemy was death (Lev 24:10-
16)
– So although Caiaphas tore his garments as an outward sign
of his grief and distress at Jesus’ supposed blasphemy,
inwardly he must have been triumphant that Jesus had
himself confessed his ‘guilt.’
– The confused witness testimony about the Temple can be set
aside. “What further need have we of witnesses?”
– Once Jesus’ supposed guilt is firmly established, he
immediately begins to suffer the consequences – they begin to
beat him, spit upon him and mock him, actions that will
continue up until his death.

■ We now return to Peter, who has been outside in the courtyard
this whole time. What he was hoping to do we don’t know.
There was obviously love and devotion to Jesus and a desire to
be near him (but not too near!), but these will soon crumble
completely.
■ If the first duty of a disciple is to be with Jesus (3:14), here
Peter denies that
■ Note again the contrast in Mark’s ‘sandwich’ technique,
between Jesus, who just affirmed the truth, and Peter, who now
denies it.
– Moreover, Jesus speaks the truth to the most powerful Jews in
the land, while Peter lies even to a lowly servant woman.
■ After his first denial, notice that Peter moves further away,
showing us how sin leads us further and further from Christ.
– The next sin will be easier to commit than the first, and so
on…

■ Peter denies his association with Jesus a second time, and then
once again he is confronted as being a disciple – his regional
accent from Galilee gives him away.
■ He curses and swears, making an oath that he does not know
Jesus, (apparently Peter truly did not know him) and
compounding his fault
■ With the cock crow, Peter realizes the enormity of what he has
done and leaves to weep with bitter remorse
■ Note that since only Peter is present here, it is likely that Peter
himself is the source of this account. Neither he nor Mark try to
cover over this one. Mark certainly had his audience in mind,
many of whom were pressured to deny Christ and likely had
already done so.
– Perhaps it encouraged such people to repent as Peter did,
and it was also an exhortation to “watch and pray” they they
not be put to the test – and fail, as Peter did.

End of Chapter 14
■ Next week – Chapter 15
– Jesus before Pontius Pilate
– The Way of the Cross
– The Crucifixion
– The Death of Jesus
– The Burial in the Tomb
■ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as
it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without
end. Amen.

Gospel-of-Mark-14.2.pptx

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