RSV ~ Mark 14 Notes
Mk 14:1 | ISB Notes
the Passover: The yearly Jewish feast celebrating Israelâs deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). Paschal lambs (14:12) were sacrificed in the Temple courts the afternoon before the feast. At sundown families or small groups would gather to eat a Seder meal of lamb, unleavened bread, wine, and herbs. Combined with the festival of Unleavened Bread, the liturgical celebrations ran seven days, from the 15th of the month (Mar/ Apr) until the 21st of the month (Lev 23:4-8; Num 9:1-14). Passover was one of three pilgrim feasts that required Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem (Deut 16:16).
Mk 14:2 | ISB Notes
the people: Jerusalemâs normal population of approximately 50,000 swelled to several hundred thousand with the influx of Passover pilgrims. This made the Jerusalem leaders think twice about arresting a popular figure like Jesus, since provoking such unmanageable numbers could easily incite a violent reaction from the Jews and ultimately bring Romeâs reprisal upon the city.
Mk 14:3 | ISB Notes
Bethany: See note on Mk 11:1.
a woman came: According to Jn 12:3, she was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Jn 11:1-2).
pure nard: An aromatic perfume probably imported from India. It is mentioned also in the OT (Song 1:12; 4:13-14).
Mk 14:5 | ISB Notes
three hundred denarii: Equivalent to 300 daysâ wages. See note on Mk 6:37.
Mk 14:7 | ISB Notes
you always have the poor: Jesus is neither insensitive nor unsympathetic toward the poor. His ministry is marked, rather, by a deep concern for them (Mt 19:21; Lk 4:18; 14:714). His words are only meant to underscore the inestimable worth of his presence among the disciples.
Mk 14:8 | ISB Notes
beforehand for burying: It was customary to withhold burial ointments from the bodies of executed criminals. The womanâs gesture remedies this deficiency in anticipation of Jesusâ impending death as a falsely accused enemy of Rome. See note on Mt 26:12.
Mk 14:11 | ISB Notes
give him money: Judas was given âthirty pieces of silverâ (Mt 26:15). His betrayal of Jesus for personal profit contrasts sharply with the womanâs generous gift in the preceding episode (14:3-9). Greed blinded Judas from seeing Jesusâ true identity and worth.
Mk 14:13 | ISB Notes
a man ⌠jar of water: An unusual sight in the context of Jewish culture, since women customarily assumed the task of drawing and carrying water (Gen 24:11; Ex 2:16; Jn 4:7).
Mk 14:18 | ISB Notes
one who is eating with me: According to Matthew and John, Jesus discreetly identifies Judas Iscariot as the traitor (Mt 26:25; Jn 13:26).
⢠His words allude to Ps 41:9, which foretells the Messiahâs betrayal by a close and trusted friend (Jn 13:18).
Mk 14:22 | ISB Notes
took ⌠blessed ⌠broke ⌠gave: Mark uses this same language to recount Jesusâ multiplication of the loaves (6:41). . this is my body: Jesus identifies the unleavened bread of the Passover feast with his own flesh (Jn 6:51). This gift of his humanity in the sacrament is inseparable from his self-offering on the Cross (14:24; Heb 10:10), since together they constitute a single sacrifice in which Jesus is both the priest and sacrificial victim of the New Covenant (CCC 1363-65).
⢠Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum): Jesusâ actions signify the mystery of his Passion. In breaking the bread, Christ pre-enacts the breaking of his body on the Cross. Likewise as Jesus gives himself voluntarily in the Last Supper, so his Crucifixion will be a death he freely accepts, not the end result of hostile forces beyond his control. See note on Mt 26:26-29.
Mk 14:24 | ISB Notes
blood of the covenant: An allusion to Ex 24:8.
⢠As the Old Covenant between Yahweh and Israel was sealed through sacrificial blood at Mt. Sinai, the New Covenant between Christ and the Church is sealed through his own blood poured out in the upper room on Mt. Zion. This new and perfect sacrifice enables us to enter a covenant of communion with the Father through the forgiveness of our sins (Jer 31:3134; Rom 5:9; Heb 9:22). The blood of Jesus is forever a sacrament of his divine life for those who receive him in the Eucharist (Jn 6:53; CCC 610, 1392-93).
Mk 14:26 | ISB Notes
sung a hymn: Probably Ps 115-118. This was the completion of the Hallel Psalms (113-118) that were sung during the course of the Passover liturgy.
Mk 14:27 | ISB Notes
strike the shepherd: A reference to Zech 13:7.
⢠Zechariah foresaw the messianic shepherd of Israel struck down, leaving his sheep temporarily without leadership. The prophet sees this as a deliberately planned scenario to identify and purify the faithful of the Lordâs flock (Zech 13:8-9). Jesusâ arrest sets this time of trial in motion, causing his disciples to scatter in fear (14:49-50).
Mk 14:30 | ISB Notes
before the cock crows: This may refer t
o the âcockcrowâ, or third watch of the night, between 12 and 3 A.M. (13:35). Others interpret it more generally to mean âbefore morningâ. See note on Mk 6:48. you will deny me: Mark often notes Jesusâ foreknowledge of significant events (2:20; 8:31; 10:33-34; 11:1-2; 13:6-9; 14:9).
Mk 14:32 | ISB Notes
Gethsemane: A Hebrew name meaning âoil pressâ. It is a garden area facing Jerusalem on the western slope of the Mount of Olives (Jn 18:1).
Mk 14:36 | ISB Notes
Abba: An Aramaic word meaning âFatherâ. Jesus uses it to address God the Father and underscore their intimate relationship (Mt 11:27). Paul preserves this title for God in Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6.
⢠The divine Fatherhood of God is a familiar teaching from t
he OT, where Yahweh is called the Father of Israel (Deut 32:6; Ps 103:13; Jer 31:9) and the Father of David and his ro
yal successors (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). remove this chalice: Jesus fears his impending Passion and Crucifixion (Heb 5:7). See notes on Mt 26:39 and Mk 10:38. what you will: Jesus fully embraced the plan of salvation and so surrendered his human will perfectly and continuously to the Fatherâs divine will (Jn 6:38; 8:29; Phil 2:8).
Mk 14:38 | ISB Notes
into temptation: Prayer and watchfulness are necessary to withstand the attacks of Satan (Col 4:2; 1 Pet 5:8-10). Jesus here refers to manâs inner struggle, where the flesh, wounded by sin, is constantly at war with the spirit (Rom 8:1214; Gal 5:19-24). The graces we need to overcome our weaknesses must be sought through persistent prayer (1 Thess 5:17; Heb 4:16). Although the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to live victoriously, the struggle is not minimized or made easy. Godâs ready assistance during temptation is also the subject of the final petition of the Lordâs Prayer (Mt 6:13; Lk 11:4; CCC 2849).
Mk 14:45 | ISB Notes
he kissed him: Normally a gesture of affection in the Bible (Lk 7:45; Rom 16:16; 1 Pet 5:14). Judas Iscariot contorts this kiss into one of betrayal (Prov 27:6).
Mk 14:47 | ISB Notes
Mark leaves both the bearer of the sword and the injured slave unidentified. It is John who specifies that âPeterâ reacted violently with the weapon and identifies the victim as âMalchusâ (Jn 18:10). Luke further notes that Jesus healed the manâs ear (Lk 22:51).
Mk 14:51 | ISB Notes
a young man: An unnamed witness that many scholars identify as Mark. If this is the case, the evangelist chose to remain anonymous in light of the episodeâs embarrassing details. Ultimately, how we identify this individual has little bearing on the tradition that Mark wrote the second Gospel as a summary of Peterâs preaching, since he could have witnessed the arrest of Jesus without being an eyewitness to his three-year ministry.
Mk 14:53 | ISB Notes
the high priest: Caiaphas, who officiated in Jerusalem from A.D. 18 to 36. While in office, he also presided over the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin. See note on Mk 14:55.
Mk 14:55 | ISB Notes
the whole council: The Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, which convened in Jerusalem (15:1; Acts 5:27; 23:1). Its origin is traced to the second century B.C., and its primary role was to enforce Jewish law and custom. Fully assembled, the Sanhedrin probably consisted of 71 members: (1) the reigning âhigh priestâ, who headed the court, (2) the âeldersâ of Jerusalemâs leading families, (3) âchief priestsâ who had held the office of high priest, and (4) âscribesâ, or professional lawyers who were experts in the Law of Moses. Several members were also aligned with the Pharisees or Sadducees (Acts 23:6-10). Under Roman rule, the Sanhedrin retained considerable freedom to regulate the civil and religious affairs of Jewish life. Only the right to administer capital punishment was denied them (Jn 18:31).
Mk 14:58 | ISB Notes
destroy this temple: False witnesses misconstrue the cryptic statements recorded in Jn 2:19 and the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24:2; Mk 13:2; Lk 21:6). In the former passage Jesus foretold his Resurrection in terms of rebuilding his crucified body, and in the latter context he was predicting the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Only s
hades of his intended meaning filter through this accusation, since Jesus never claimed he would reconstruct the Jerusalem sanctuary after its downfall (13:2). The scandal of the false indictment is twofold: (1) Jesus claims he will erect a new sanctuary in the course of a weekend when the Jerusalem Temple has been at that time 46 ye
ars in the making (Jn 2:20), and (2) he claims he will build it without hands, while an army of manual laborers are still at work erecting the existing Temple. See
essay: at 2 Cor 5.
Mk 14:62 | ISB Notes
I am: Jesus unambiguously accepts the charge that he is the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel. See word study: Christ. the Son of man: Jesus expects the Father will vindicate him soon after he is condemned. His words evoke the majestic imagery of Ps 110:1 and Dan 7:13.
⢠The specific contexts of these OT passages are linked together by common images: the Messiah of Ps 110 and the Son of Man in Dan 7 both stand before God in a royal throne room (Ps 110:1; Dan 7:9), and both triumph over their enemies (Ps 110:2, 5-7; Dan 7:23-27). Merging the two texts into a single self-portrait, Jesus claims that God himself will overturn the death sentence of the Sanhedrin by raising him from the dead and enthroning him in glory (CCC 664). See note on Mt 26:64 and essay: Jesus, the Son of Man at Lk 17.
Mk 14:63 | ISB Notes
tore his clothes: The Bible often associates this gesture with overwhelming sorrow or distress (Gen 37:29; 2 Kings 19:1; Ezra 9:3). Here the high priest disregards the Mosaic Law, which forbids priests to tear their vestments (Lev 10:6; 21:10).
⢠Mystically (St. Bede, In Marcum): the drama of Caiaphas tearing his vestments signifies the termination of the Old Covenant priesthood. In contrast, the seamless vestment of Jesus is not torn but remains intact (Jn 19:23-24), signifying that the new priesthood of Christ will endure forever (Heb 7:23-24).
Mk 14:64 | ISB Notes
blasphemy: The Sanhedrin charges Jesus with the capital crime of Lev 24:16. They register his claim to a heavenly enthronement as an insult to G
odâs name. In their eyes, he has no credentials to be Israelâs Messiah and king, much less one who will rule the universe in the presence of God (15:32; Jn 10:36).
Mk 14:72 | ISB Notes
the cock crowed: Possibly a bugle call that signaled the end of the third watch (3 A.M.) of the night (13:35). . Peter remembered: He presumably recalled both the prophecy of Jesus (14:30) and his own rash overconfidence (14:31).