Read: Mark 14:12-15:15
Interestingly, Mark doesn’t give us any of Jesus' activities during the daylight hours on Wednesday or Thursday. We only see what is happening at night. Perhaps Jesus continued the same line of teaching in the temple, drawing crowds and infuriating the religious leaders in the process. Or, perhaps He’s resting in preparation for the long night of tribulation that He is about to face.
Either way, Jesus sends two of His disciples to prepare for the passover. Once again, He gives them an experiential lesson. All of the details fall into place, just as He had predicted. Have you ever had an experience like this? It’s reassuring that Christ is in control of our circumstances and He brings all things together for our good.
The next time we see Jesus, He’s in the upper room with the disciples. This begins the final countdown until Jesus' death on the cross. Mark records the events of this Maundy Thursday in three acts: The Passover, the garden, and three trials.
The Passover
The Jewish Passover was a ceremony remembering the tenth and final plague in Egypt that preceded the exodus. God warned the people through Moses that He was going to take the life of the firstborn in every household. In order to avoid this tragedy, they needed to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood over the doorway so that the Lord would pass over their homes.
For over a thousand years, the people of Israel had celebrated this feast with carefully laid out requirements as a way of remembering that God had spared them. Yet, the Passover was simply a foreshadowing of the ministry of Jesus and what He would ultimately accomplish for us on the cross. His blood would satisfy the wrath of God.
Jesus takes two of the elements of the Passover meal and deviates from tradition. He takes the bread and declares that this is His body. He then takes the cup of wine and says that it is His blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. Through these two elements, Jesus is demonstrating what He will do on the cross. The breaking of the unleavened bread symbolized that Jesus, who was sinless, would bear the punishment for our sin and judgment. The wine represented the blood that seals our covenant with God so that we can be adopted as children and joint heirs with Christ.
Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Table, we remember Jesus' death, until He comes again. But Jesus will not drink this cup again until His kingdom is completed. When we partake in communion, we are looking in two different directions. We are remembering what Christ has done on the cross, and we are looking forward to the promise of His return.
The Garden
In the Garden of Gethsemane, or perhaps on the way, Jesus tells His disciples that they will all fall away. Peter is emphatic that even if everyone else denies Jesus, He will not. Then Jesus tells him that Peter will renounce Christ three times before the rooster crows twice.
When they arrive at the garden, Jesus asks His disciples to pray with Him. He is seeking their companionship and support in His darkest hour. Yet, three times Jesus finds that the disciples have fallen asleep. This demonstrates the loneliness of Jesus’ struggle. No one will be able to walk with Him down this path.
Notice specifically what Jesus prayed. He cried out to God to remove this cup from Him. This is the cup of God’s wrath. Jesus knew what this meant. He would bear the punishment for the sins of the whole world. Jesus pleaded with the Father. Surely, if there had been any other solution, the Father would have granted His beloved Son this one request. But there is no other way for man to be saved. Jesus would drink this cup to the last drop.
Then, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, one of the twelve, who identifies Jesus to the angry mob with a greeting and a kiss. The disciples would have put up a fight, one even lashed out at the mob and cut off an ear, but Jesus gave Himself up willingly.
His words cut to the malevolence of His captors, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled” (Mark 14:48-49). If Jesus was truly guilty of a crime, why was He being arrested in secret? This was a conspiracy.
Following His arrest, all of the disciples scattered, leaving Jesus alone as He had predicted. There’s even this unique insert of an unnamed individual who barely escaped capture by stripping down naked and running through the woods. Scholars think that this might be Mark himself. The point, however, is clear. Everyone had abandoned Jesus.
Three Trials
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
Jesus’ first trial was a sham. They couldn’t find anyone who could accurately testify against Him without conflicting testimonies. They twisted Jesus' words and said that He would destroy the temple and raise it up again in three days. When asked about this, Jesus refused to answer. So the high priest asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” This is an important question, and one that was not a criminal offense if it was true. The high priest is asking if Jesus is the Messiah. Even the religious leaders were waiting for the prophecy to be fulfilled. The term, “Son of God,” does not necessarily mean that Jesus was deity. It was a term used to describe anyone who had a special relationship with God.
The religious leaders had plenty of opportunities to ask this question when Jesus was in the temple, but they were afraid of His answer and the response from the crowds. They had already decided that they weren’t going to follow Jesus because He had not signed off on their agenda.
Jesus’ answer is crucial here. He says, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). Jesus affirms that He is the Messiah, but He goes even further. He declares that He is the “Son of Man.” This is not a synonym of the “Son of God.” The “Son of Man” was an Old Testament term referring to Jesus as the right hand of God, coming to execute judgment. This is not simply an earthly king in the line of David. This is a heavenly being. Jesus is God.
This answer was so provocative that it caused the high priest to rip his garments. Jesus gave the council exactly what they were looking for. Claiming to be God would have been blasphemy had it not been true. This was more than enough for the council to condemn Jesus to death.
Peter’s Trial
At the same time, another trial was taking place. Peter, who had been following Jesus from a distance, had infiltrated the courtyard. Three times He was recognized for being a follower of Jesus, but Peter vehemently denied it. Each subsequent lie grew with intensity, ultimately culminating in calling down a curse on himself. After his third denial, He heard the rooster crow, and suddenly he remembered the words of Jesus.
Jesus Before Pilate
With the rooster’s call, morning had dawned, and the mob then took Jesus to Pilate in order to sentence Him to death. After interrogating Jesus, Pilate finds no fault in Him. Seeking a way to resolve the issue, Pilate takes another prisoner, Barabbas, who was actually guilty of insurrection, and offers the people a choice. Who would they rather have released?
The religious leaders stir up the people and they call for Barabbas to be set free. Then Pilate asks what they should do with Jesus, and the crowd calls for His crucifixion. “Why?” Pilate asks, “What evil has He done?” But the people are hungry for blood and they won’t settle for anything less. With no way out, Pilate gives the people what they want.
This is the third set of three chances that demonstrate the betrayal of Jesus. The disciples had failed to pray with Jesus and fallen asleep three times. Peter had denied Jesus three times. Now the people were given three chances to have Jesus released from these trumped up charges, but they call out for His crucifixion. These three examples demonstrate that Jesus was alone, betrayed, and rejected by humanity.
If we read the account of Jesus' betrayal without including the first story of Jesus instructing the disciples to prepare the room, we might get the impression that Jesus was a powerless victim. But Jesus was in charge of all of these events. He bore His own witness that got Him sentenced to death. His treatment was a fulfillment of prophecy. He would lay down His own life. No one could take it from Him.
The seed of the word has spread widely now. Judas has betrayed Jesus. The religious leaders have rejected Him. Pilate doesn’t know what to do. The disciples are scattered and in hiding. Peter has openly denied Christ. How could anything good come from any of these soils?
What lessons can we learn from the various people who have had the chance to interact with Jesus in these events? Have we failed to meet up to our own expectations? Surrender to the grace of God and take comfort that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. We can rest in Him.