Mark 14
Mark 14
Seemingly, as the time of Passover came around and the time of Jesus’s death approached, all the main players in this chapter, except Jesus, crumbled under pressure to some degree. The disciples couldn’t accept the imminence of His death, the Chief Priests and teachers of the law were itching to make the death imminent, and Jesus was ultimately arrested via betrayal and consequently experienced complete desertion from his closest friends. Nonetheless, even bitter moments like these are redeemable because of Christ and are of value in considering our place as His disciples.
The only person genuinely displaying their devotion to Jesus in this chapter is Mary, who dumps an expensive jar of perfume on Jesus’s head in preparation for His burial. This act is an intricate clash of cultural customs and messianic rituals and done so in understanding what would happen to Him. Clearly, still in disbelief of the coming death of Jesus, the disciples begin rebuking the girl harshly. Recognizing the monetary worth of the perfume, they think it is a waste. Enduring Word commentaries goes a step further, though to point out the disciples' response was most likely selfish, saying, “It’s easy to criticize those who show more love to Jesus than we do. We sometimes want to define a fanatic as someone who is more devoted to Jesus than we are” (Guzik, 2018).
This statement is intriguing, considering how often the disciples fall short in this chapter alone. After Jesus puts an end to the banter, defending the girl, it prompts Judas, one of the twelve, to go and betray Him. At the next dinner they have together, He lets them all know one of them betrayed Him, yet they all deny it. Then telling them they will all flee His side when the time comes, they deny it again, especially Peter. Sure enough, when one of Jesus’s disciples leads the party of accusers directly to Him for some money, the rest scatter. To say this chapter is a bad look for the disciples is an understatement.
Calmingly though, this doesn’t take our Savior off guard, as it is even prophesied in Scripture that this would be the case. Furthermore, Mark ensures Jesus’s sovereignty is not questioned, showing His hand is firmly in control of even the most tragic death in human history. On top of predicting His death (Mark 14:7-8), Jesus also tells the disciples to go ahead and find the place He chose for their last meal together via a sign He predicts beforehand (v.13-15), and even predicts Peter’s denial along with the moment Peter will realize his denial even happened (v.72). Though this whole episode and the one to come causes Him deep depression and anguish, He is resolved to the Cross; what He knows is going to take place. When the tension builds around Him and the people begin to fret, turning on their own beliefs, our Savior stays true.
God knows our flaws to the point of knowing when they will occur, yet He chooses us anyway. In Jesus, we have a savior who takes on our iniquities, accounts for our shortcomings, and extends grace in areas we wouldn’t think imaginable until they are happening. Praise God for this glorious gift of Christ because, between us, we aren’t too far away from the fleeing disciples or, should I mention, the murderous Pharisees. So instead of growing envious of others, and acting out of insecurities, let us consider Christ and the following questions:
What is God saying to you or drawing your attention to through this passage?
How can you turn to Christ when you are insecure, weak, or vulnerable?
How has God shown you grace for your shortcomings? Can you name anything within the last week?
