the end of jesus' ministry takes up most of the fourteenth chapter of mark's gospel. beginning with a brief statement of the desire of the "chief priests and scribes" to secretly arrest and kill jesus, this chapter goes on to tell of his anointing by a woman "in the house of simon the leper" in bethany, jesus' last meal with the disciples, his prayers in the garden of gethsemane, his betrayal by judas and arrest by "a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests," his trial before "the high priest, . . . the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes," and peter's denial of jesus.
the writer records that some of those who were in simon's house with jesus were disturbed that the woman who anointed jesus had poured expensive oil on his head, when the "ointment of nard" could have been sold to help the poor. jesus admonishes them, telling them that "you will always have the poor with you . . . but you will not always have me." he says that "she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial" and that she will always be remembered for this act. it seems that some of those who were followers of jesus are becoming disgruntled because jesus is not capitalizing on his popularity with the people and is failing to continue his challenge to the authority of the priests in the temple, and so they dare to criticize the woman in the presence of jesus for an act that pleased jesus.
just after this, judas goes to the chief priests and plots with them to have jesus arrested. apparently, judas is one of the group that is critical of the path that jesus is taking in jerusalem. perhaps he hopes to force jesus to use his powers to resist when he is arrested and cause the beginning of the insurrection that will defeat the romans and place jesus and his disciples in power in the coming kingdom that jesus has been talking about.
the next day, the disciples ask jesus where he wants them to prepare the passover meal. he gives them mysterious instructions about finding a man carrying a jar of water who will meet them in jerusalem. this man will lead them to a house where they are to ask where the "guest room" is "where i [jesus] may eat the passover with my disciples." when the disciples follow his instructions, they find everything just as jesus had said and prepare the meal. clearly, this has been prearranged without the knowledge of the disciples, indicating that jesus had a network of followers in and around jerusalem with whom he was in communication. maybe the disciples saw this as part of the groundwork for the conflict leading to the establishment of the kingdom.
as jesus and the disciples eat the passover meal, jesus says, "truly i tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." naturally, the disciples are upset and begin to question jesus about who his betrayer is. jesus assures them that it is one of the twelve who is eating with him. jesus then takes a loaf of breat, blesses it, breaks it, and divides it among them, saying "take; this is my body." next jesus blesses a cup of wine and all of them share the common cup. he says, "this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. truly i tell you, i will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when i drink it new in the kingdom of God." this statement reinforces the imminent arrival of the kingdom in the minds of the disciples.
as they leave the meal, jesus tells them that they will all desert him, but "after i am raised up, i will go before you to galilee." peter assures jesus that, even if everyone else deserts him, peter will not do so. jesus tells his that before "the cock crows twice" that same evening peter will deny jesus three times. peter says emphatically that, "even though i must die with you, i will not deny you." taking peter, james, and john with him, jesus goes to gethsemane to pray. jesus prays, "abba, father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not what i want, but what you want." arising from his prayer, jesus finds the three disciples sleeping and admonishes peter to stay awake and pray "that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak." does he address only peter because of peter's assertion that peter will not desert him? jesus returns to his prayers twice more and after each prayer he finds the disciples sleeping. After awakening them a third time, he tells them that the hour has come when "the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners . . . see, my betrayer is at hand."
just then, judas arrives with a show of force from the chief priests, scribes, and elders. going to jesus, judas addresses him as "rabbi" and kisses him, the agreed-upon sign that judas has given that will indicate which man is jesus. those with judas arrest jesus, but "one of those who stood near" draws his sword and cuts off the ear of "the slave of the high priest." jesus ridicules those who have arrested them, pointing out that they had opportunity to arrest already as he taught in the temple, but they have come armed with swords and clubs in the dark of night "to arrest me as though i were a bandit." as the disciples are fleeing, mark tells us that those arresting jesus attempt to catch "a certain young man" who appears mysteriously though jesus has taken only the three disciples with him to pray in gethsamane. the young man, who was "wearing nothing but a linen cloth," leaves the cloth behind and runs away naked. where did this young man come from? was he an unnamed companion of jesus who has been with him in the garden all the time, or did he follow those who came to arrest jesus to see what their intentions were?
jesus is taken to be tried before the religious authorities, who bring false witnesses against him. when the testimony of these witnesses is unconvincing, the high priest asks jesus if he claims to be the messiah. jesus replies, "i am; and you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven." hearing this, the high priest accuses jesus of blasphemy, and some of those assembled spit on jesus, blindfold him, and strike him, as they order him to "prophesy." the guards who are present take jesus and beat him.
as the trial takes place, peter is waiting in the courtyard. a servant of the high priest tells peter that she knows he has been seen with jesus. peter denies this, and as he does, a cock crows. the servant tells those around them that she knows that "this man is one of them." peter again denies it. one of the bystanders says, "certainly you are one of them, for you are a galilean." peter curses the man and says, "i do not know this man you are talking about." the cock crows for a second time, and peter remembers what jesus had told him. the chapter ends with peter weeping over his denial of jesus.
this day ended in a way that the followers of jesus did not expect. rather than the beginning of an armed revolt, jesus ends up in the hands of his enemies, and the disciples have abandoned him. even peter fails to defend the man who he believed to be the messiah. after having given up everything to follow jesus, the disciples must have wondered what would become of them. would they be pursued and arrested? should they return to their homes or wait in jerusalem in hiding to see how events would unfold?
may we see that things are not always as they seem, that life does not conform to our expectations. may we observe life unfold before us, open to its possibilities, even if those possibilities are not what we would have wished. may we see the weakness in each of us that allows us to do that which we later regret. may we forgive ourselves for those failings and learn from them. shalom.
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