CHAPTER 14

(A.D. 33)

THE PLOT

¹After two days was the Feast of the Passover (the greatest Feast of the Jewish year, celebrating the deliverance from Egypt; it lasted one day), and of Unleavened Bread (the Second Feast, which began on the day of the Passover, and continued for seven days; during that time no leaven was to be placed in bread or anything else; the Passover symbolized the price that Christ would pay on Calvarys Cross, and Unleavened Bread symbolized His Perfect Life and Perfect Body, which would be offered in Sacrifice): and the Chief Priests and the Scribes sought how they might take Him by craft (deceit), and put Him to death (in doing such, they would destroy themselves as well).

²But they said, Not on the Feast Day (Passover), lest there be an uproar of the people.

JESUS ANOINTED AT BETHANY

³And being in Bethany (a small village, actually a suburb of Jerusalem, to the east of the city) in the house of Simon the leper (a man whom Jesus had healed), as He sat at meat, there came a woman (probably refers to Mary, the sister of Lazarus [Jn. 11:1-2]) having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious (the Greek word, pistikos, is used, meaning that it was genuine, not imitation or adulterated; it was very costly.); and she broke the box, and poured it on His head (she broke the seal that kept the fragrance preserved; the pouring upon Him, spoke of her anointing Him for His burial; anointing Him now, which was generally done after death, testified to her belief in the Resurrection; she seems to have been the only one who did believe in His Resurrection before the fact).

⁴And there were some who had indignation within themselves (pertained to some, if not all, of the Disciples but with Judas Iscariot taking the lead), and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? (It is believed by some that this ointment would have been worth about $10,000 in 2003 currency. The truth is, nothing given to Christ is wasted, while much of the worlds resources used otherwise are, in fact, wasted.)

⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor (originated with Judas [Jn. 12:4-6]; he probably had other things in mind, such as stealing it). And they murmured against her (no case of murmuring has ever been justified or sanctioned by God in Scripture regardless of how right the cause; and to make matters worse, this cause wasnt right).

⁶And Jesus said, Let her alone (it appears from Jn. 12:7 that Jesus addressed Himself here pointedly to Judas); why trouble ye her? (Concerns the murmuring.) she has wrought a good work on Me (even though they didnt understand it, her action showed her Faith in His Resurrection).

⁷For you have the poor with you always (regrettably, portrays a condition resulting from the Fall in the Garden of Eden), and whensoever you will you may do them good (the two, Himself and the poor, are equivalent in His Sight [Mat. 25:40-45]): but Me you have not always (speaking of His present position, which was soon to change).

⁸She has done what she could (she had been moved by the Holy Spirit to do this): she is come aforehand to anoint My Body to the burying (His Body had been prepared by God for Sacrifice [Heb. 10:5]).

⁹Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world (a prediction that it would go throughout the whole world, which it has), this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her (this act is connected with her and will never be forgotten).

THE BETRAYAL

¹⁰And Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve (is noted by design by the Holy Spirit, in that all will know that it is Judas who did this, and that he forfeited one of the most important offices ever given to a human being in the history of mankind), went unto the Chief Priests, to betray Him unto them.

¹¹And when they heard it (the religious leaders of Israel), they were glad, and promised to give him money (that amount was thirty pieces of silver [Mat. 26:15]). And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him (the word, conveniently, refers to the fact that he would attempt to carry it out in a manner in which his part and activity would be concealed; however, it was not to be!).

PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER

¹²And the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover (the lamb was killed), His Disciples said unto Him, Where will You that we go and prepare that You may eat the Passover? (A place had to be prepared.)

¹³And He sent forth two of His Disciples (refers to Peter and John [Lk. 22:8]), and said unto them, Go ye into the city (Jerusalem), and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water (this was seldom done by men): follow him (in a spiritual sense, this man was a Type of the Holy Spirit).

¹⁴And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house (believed to have been owned by John Mark, or his family, who wrote the Gospel according to Mark), The Master says, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with My Disciples? (Actually says, My guestchamber.)

¹⁵And He (the owner of the house) will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared (was in a state of readiness): there make ready for us (has to do with the preparation of the Passover ingredients).

¹⁶And His Disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover (meant that Peter and John took the Paschal Lamb to the Temple where it was there killed, with the Priests officiating, with the blood poured out at the base of the Brazen Altar; the carcass of the lamb would have then been brought back to this house, where it would have been roasted and prepared by the Disciples).

THE LAST PASSOVER

¹⁷And in the evening He cometh with the Twelve (He would be arrested that night, after He had eaten the Passover).

¹⁸And as they sat and did eat (on the first Passover in Egypt, they were to eat standing, because they had not yet been delivered; now in the Promise Land, their inheritance, they were to eat sitting, signifying that the work had been done), Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eats with Me shall betray Me (the words, eat with Me, are not merely to point to the individual who would betray Christ, but to the enormity of the offense).

¹⁹And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

²⁰And He answered and said unto them, It is one of the Twelve, who dips with Me in the dish (all were dipping with Him in the dish, so that statement really did not tell them very much).

²¹The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him ([Ps. 22; Isa., Chpt. 51; Gen. 3:15], actually, the tenor of the entirety of the Old Testament points to Christ giving His Life as a ransom for many, even to which all the Sacrifices pointed): but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (This predestined purpose of God did not make the guilt any the less of those who brought the Saviour to His Cross. The woe is not of vindictiveness, or even in the nature of a curse, but rather, reveals a misery which love itself could not prevent.) good were it for that man if he had never been born (obedient to the Divine Purpose, Christ must die as a Sacrifice for sin, but that necessity did not excuse the free agent who brought it about).

THE LORDS SUPPER

²²And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them (this is typical of what the Lord has to do with us; He takes us, blesses us, and then breaks us, and only then can we be given to others), and said, Take, eat: this is My Body (the word is means represents).

²³And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it (signifies the shedding of the Saviours Blood at Calvary, and that which it afforded, Eternal Life, at least to those who will take Christ as Saviour).

²⁴And He said unto them, This is (represents) My blood of the New Testament (New Covenant), which is shed for many (for the whole world [Jn. 3:16]).

²⁵Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God (the coming Kingdom Age).

²⁶And when they had sung an hymn (Ps. 118), they went out into the Mount of Olives (where He would be betrayed).

PETERS DENIAL FORETOLD

²⁷And Jesus said unto them, All you shall be offended because of Me this night (referred to His betrayal, and subsequent arrest by the Romans; offended means to, find occasion of stumbling): for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered ([Zech. 13:7], all the Disciples would flee).

²⁸But after that I am risen (Resurrection again foretold, but still they didnt believe), I will go before you into Galilee (after the Resurrection, and two appearances in Jerusalem).

²⁹But Peter said unto Him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I (constitutes presumption on his part, and an insult toward the others).

³⁰And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, That this day, even in this night (means that Peter would not even have the strength to last out the night), before the cock crow twice, you shall deny Me thrice (three times).

³¹But he spoke the more vehemently (he kept on speaking, disavowing that he would ever fail Christ), If I should die with You, I will not deny You in any wise (Peter was so carried away by the fervor of his zeal and love for Christ that he regarded neither the weakness of his own flesh, nor the truth of his Masters Word). Likewise also said they all.

THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

³²And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane (a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives; Gethsemane means, the place of the Olive-press): and He said to His Disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray (if Jesus had to pray, what about us?).

³³And He took with Him Peter and James and John (the third time such a thing was done, in reference to the other Disciples), and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy (Swet says: The Lord was overwhelmed with sorrow, but His first feeling was one of terrified surprise; His foreseeing the passion was one thing, but when it came clearly into view, its terrors exceeded His anticipations [Heb. 5:7-8]);

³⁴And said unto them (to Peter, James, and John), My Soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death (means that grief, so overwhelmed Him that He was close to dying; in fact, Satan definitely tried to kill Him at this time!): tarry you here, and watch (regrettably, they didnt watch very well, but rather went to sleep, but probably from spiritual and physical exhaustion, more than anything else).

³⁵And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground (actually means that He fell on the ground repeatedly; it portrays the desperation of the struggle), and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him (continued to put forth the same petition, saying it over and over; the hour spoken of here pertains to the Cross, and His terrible Death in this fashion, which pertained to the bearing of the sin penalty of the world).

³⁶And He said, Abba, Father (is actually the expression of two languages; He thus in His agony cried to God in the name of the whole human family, the Jew first, and also the Gentile), all things are possible unto You (tells us that God could have affected the Salvation and Redemption of humanity in another way; such was possible!; but such was not His Will!); take away this cup from Me (if He had not offered this petition, He would not have been Who and What He was): nevertheless not what I will, but what You will (proclaims the principle of Faith for all Believers; His Will was subject to the Will of the Father as our wills must be subject).

³⁷And He comes, and finds them sleeping, and said unto Peter, Simon (addressing him by his old name), sleepest thou? (All of this was a part of the problem of Peter depending on self.) could not you watch one hour? (Pertains to the struggle between the flesh and the spirit.)

³⁸Watch ye and pray, lest you enter into temptation (this is not a suggestion, but actually, a Command!; prayer is imperative, if proper relationship is to be established). The Spirit truly is ready (the human spirit), but the flesh is weak (the flesh pertains to our own personal strength, ability, and will power; these things within themselves are insufficient for the task; unless the Believer properly understands the Cross; as it regards Sanctification, he will inevitably fall back on the flesh).

³⁹And again He went away, and prayed, and spoke the same words (many times we have to pray the same thing over and over; this is not a sign of lack of faith, but rather of great Faith).

⁴⁰And when He returned, He found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) (in the Greek Text means literally they were weighed down; their sleep was not deliberate, but the result of an oppressive sorrow) neither wist they what to answer Him (they couldnt account for their condition, so they said nothing).

⁴¹And He cometh the third time, and said unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest (said in irony): it is enough, the hour is come (this is the hour which had been planned even before the foundation of the world [Rev. 13:8]); behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners (the word sinners, expresses not only Judas, but the religious leaders as well).

⁴²Rise up, let us go (this was His hour and He was there to meet it); lo, he who betrays Me is at hand.

THE ARREST OF JESUS

⁴³And immediately, while He yet spoke, cometh Judas, one of the Twelve (speaks of their arrival, even while Jesus was speaking), and with Him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the Elders (sadly this was the Church of that day!).

⁴⁴And he who betrayed Him had given them a token (proclaims the scheme perpetrated by Judas and the religious leaders), saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely (proclaims the most perfidious act in human history; Judas had told his co-conspirators that the one he kissed would be Jesus [Ps. 109:5-20]).

⁴⁵And as soon as He was come, he went straightway to Him, and said, Master, Master; and kissed Him.

⁴⁶And they (the religious leaders) laid their hands on Him, and took Him (they only could do so, because He allowed them to do so [Jn. 10:17-18]).

⁴⁷And one of them who stood by (Simon Peter) drew a sword, and smote a servant of the High Priest, and cut off his ear (the servants name was Malchus; Luke is the only one who mentions the healing of the wound by our Lord [Lk. 22:51]).

⁴⁸And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are you come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take Me? (The Lord protests the manner in which this act is carried out. He was not a thief, so why were they treating Him as one?)

⁴⁹I was daily with you in the Temple teaching, and you took Me not (they did not take Him then, because they did not have any legitimate charge to bring against Him; as well, they feared the people): but the Scriptures must be fulfilled (the Holy Spirit through foreknowledge saw what would happen [Isa., Chpt. 53; Zech. 11:13; 13:7]).

⁵⁰And they all forsook Him, and fled (refers to the Eleven Disciples; not being allowed to fight, they fled; the flesh will fight or flee, but it will not trust).

⁵¹And there followed Him a certain young man (even though it is not known for sure, most think that this young man was Mark, who wrote this Gospel), having a linen cloth cast about his naked body (the linen cloth was not that which people of poor circumstances could have owned; therefore, he belonged to a family of means); and the young men laid hold on him (means the soldiers were setting about to arrest him):

⁵²And he left the linen cloth (in the struggle, his garment was pulled from him), and fled from them naked (probably means that he only had undergarments; there is no evidence that they pursued him).

THE TRIAL

⁵³And they led Jesus away to the High Priest (refers to Caiaphas; however, we learn from Jn. 18:13 that Jesus was first brought before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas): and with him (Caiaphas) were assembled all the Chief Priests and the Elders and the Scribes (proclaims the religious hierarchy of Israel).

⁵⁴And Peter followed Him afar off (the Holy Spirit delineates the afar off; the idea is meant to call our attention to the boasts of Peter, which this following at a distance occasioned), even into the palace of the High Priest (refers to the court of the palace where the guards and servants were assembled): and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵And the Chief Priests and all the Council (the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Israel) sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death (they were attempting to legalize their vile action); and found none (refers to the emptiness of their accusations).

⁵⁶For many bear false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together (proclaims such being contrary to the Law of Moses, which required a trial to begin with those things which would acquit the accused, instead of condemning Him).

⁵⁷And there arose certain (speaks of two men, as given in Mat. 26:60), and bear false witness against Him, saying (proclaims the Sanhedrin as thinking they finally had a proper accusation against Him; however, they were to see that this was false as well!),

⁵⁸We heard Him say, I will destroy this Temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands (they had added the words, that is made with hands, and I will build another made without hands; they tried to make it seem as if Jesus was talking about the Jerusalem Temple, when actually what He did say, was speaking of His physical body; He really said: destroy this Temple, and speaking of His Own body, and in three days I will raise it up).

⁵⁹But neither so did their witness agree together (the idea in the Greek Text is that they made repeated attempts to bring testimony that would warrant conviction, but without success).

⁶⁰And the High Priest stood up in the midst (this man had become exasperated by their inability to bring forth a credible witness, and sought to make up by bluster, the lack of evidence), and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? (He didnt answer, because they had no desire to hear the Truth.) what is it which these witness against You? (He demanded an answer from Christ concerning the accusations, but Jesus said nothing, at least to that charge.)

⁶¹But He held His peace, and answered nothing (He kept on maintaining His silence). Again the High Priest asked Him, and said unto Him, Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? (Actually means, Are You the Messiah?, namely, The Anointed of God.)

⁶²And Jesus said, I am (constitutes a bold declaration of who He was; the pronoun I is used for emphasis; it is, as for myself, in contradistinction to all others; His answer left absolutely no doubt): and you shall see (proclaims the fact, that the entirety of the Jewish Sanhedrin, would ultimately see that what Jesus had said was absolutely true) the Son of Man sitting on the Right Hand of Power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven (refers to the Great White Throne Judgment, and the Second Coming, the latter happening first).

⁶³Then the High Priest rent His clothes (this was a sign that he considered what Jesus said to have been blasphemy), and said, What need we any further witnesses? (In their minds this was the sought for evidence. The prisoner had incriminated himself.)

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy (proclaims the High Priest rendering his conclusion even before testing the claims of Jesus; consequently, it becomes more and more obvious that this farce of a trial was not convened to seek for Truth, but instead, to find any way to condemn Christ): what do you think? (Actually, this is the question of the ages, and a question, that every person must answer.)And they all condemned Him to be guilty of death (Joseph of Arimathaea, and Nicodemus, although members of the Sanhedrin, were not present; so the all pertained to those present, and not those absent).

⁶⁵And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His Face, and to buffet Him (the some included members of the Sanhedrin, as well as the Temple guards and soldiers. Actually, the evidence is that the latter did not join in these indignities until they observed the members of the Sanhedrin engaging in these vile acts), and to say unto Him, Prophesy (they now add spiritual abuse to the physical abuse): and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands (Isaiah, some eight hundred years before, had prophesied, His visage was so marred more than any man [Isa. 52:14]).

PETER DENIES JESUS

⁶⁶And as Peter was beneath in the palace (speaks of the porch of the palace; the trial of Jesus was held in an upper story), there cometh one of the maids of the High Priest:

⁶⁷And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And you also was with Jesus of Nazareth (the very fact that Peter was there, shows that he did not want to desert Jesus; however, his actions will show that he will not desire to stand up for Him either!).

⁶⁸But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what you say. And he went out into the porch; and the rooster crowed (Peters test came in an unexpected form, and discovered a weak point his lack of moral courage).

⁶⁹And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them who stood by, This is one of them (this is a different maid).

⁷⁰And he denied it again. And a little after, they who stood by said again to Peter, Surely you are one of them: for you are a Galilaean, and your speech agrees thereto.

⁷¹But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom you speak (this does not refer to profanity but rather to declare anathema or cursed; Peter thus declares himself subject to the Divine curse if he is not telling the truth when he disclaims all acquaintance with Jesus; in fact, what he did was much worse than the use of profanity).

⁷²And the second time the rooster crowed. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the rooster crowed twice, you shall deny Me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept (the word wept refers to racking sobs, which came from the depths of his being; in fact, this was the time of Peters Repentance, which is portrayed by a broken and a contrite heart [Ps. 51:17]).