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The Plot against Jesus
Mark 14 and Mark 15
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 It was now two days before the Festival of
Passover and Unleavened Bread.
The chief priests and the teachers of the Law
were looking for a way to arrest Jesus
secretly and put him to death.
2 "We must not do it during the festival," they
said, "or the people might riot."
Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany
3 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon,
a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin
disease. While Jesus was eating, a woman
came in with an alabaster jar full of a very
expensive perfume made of pure nard. She
broke the jar and poured the perfume on
Jesus' head.
4 Some of the people there became angry and
said to one another, "What was the use of
wasting the perfume?
5 It could have been sold for more than three
hundred silver coins and the money given to
the poor!" And they criticized her harshly.
6 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone!
Why are you bothering her? She has done a
fine and beautiful thing for me.
7 You will always have poor people with you,
and any time you want to, you can help them.
But you will not always have me.
8 She did what she could; she poured perfume
on my body to prepare it ahead of time for
burial.
9 Now, I assure you that wherever the gospel
is preached all over the world, what she has
done will be told in memory of her."
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve
disciples, went off to the chief priests in order
to betray Jesus to them.
11 They were pleased to hear what he had to
say, and promised to give him money.
So Judas started looking for a good chance
to hand Jesus over to them.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal
with His Disciples
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened
Bread, the day the lambs for the Passover
meal were killed, Jesus' disciples asked him,
"Where do you want us to go and get the
Passover meal ready for you?"
13 Then Jesus sent two of them with these
instructions: "Go into the city, and a man
carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him
14 to the house he enters, and say to the owner
of the house: 'The Teacher says,
Where is the room where my disciples and I
will eat the Passover meal?'
15 Then he will show you a large upstairs room,
fixed up and furnished, where you will get
everything ready for us."
16 The disciples left, went to the city, and found
everything just as Jesus had told them;
and they prepared the Passover meal.
17 When it was evening, Jesus came with the
twelve disciples.
18 While they were at the table eating, Jesus
said, "I tell you that one of you will betray
me - one who is eating with me."
19 The disciples were upset and began to ask
him, one after the other, "Surely you don't
mean me, do you?"
20 Jesus answered, "It will be one of you twelve,
one who dips his bread in the dish with me.
21 The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say
he will; but how terrible for that man who will
betray the Son of Man!
It would have been better for that man if he
had never been born!"
The Lord's Supper
22 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of
bread,gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and
gave it to his disciples.
"Take it," he said, "this is my body."
23 Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and
handed it to them; and they all drank from it.
24 Jesus said, "This is my blood which is poured
out for many, my blood which seals
God's covenant.
25 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine
until the day I drink the new wine in the
Kingdom of God."
26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the
Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
27 Jesus said to them, "All of you will run away
and leave me, for the scripture says,
'God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will
all be scattered.'
28 But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee
ahead of you."
29 Peter answered, "I will never leave you, even
though all the rest do!"
30 Jesus said to Peter, "I tell you that before the
rooster crows two times tonight, you will say
three times that you do not know me."
31 Peter answered even more strongly, "I will
never say that, even if I have to die with you!"
And all the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 They came to a place called Gethsemane,
and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while
I pray."
33 He took Peter, James, and John with him.
Distress and anguish came over him,
34 and he said to them, "The sorrow in my heart
is so great that it almost crushes me.
Stay here and keep watch."
35 He went a little farther on, threw himself on
the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he
might not have to go through that time of
suffering.
36 "Father," he prayed, "my Father!
All things are possible for you. Take this cup
of suffering away from me.
Yet not what I want, but what you want."
37 Then he returned and found the three
disciples asleep. He said to Peter,
"Simon, are you asleep?
Weren't you able to stay awake for even
one hour?"
38 And he said to them, "Keep watch, and pray
that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
39 He went away once more and prayed,
saying the same words.
40 Then he came back to the disciples and found
them asleep; they could not keep their eyes
open. And they did not know what to say to
him.
41 When he came back the third time, he said to
them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come!
Look, the Son of Man is now being handed
over to the power of sinners.
42 Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who
is betraying me!"
The Arrest of Jesus
43 Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of
the twelve disciples, arrived.
With him was a crowd armed with swords
and clubs and sent by the chief priests,
the teachers of the Law, and the elders.
44 The traitor had given the crowd a signal:
"The man I kiss is the one you want.
Arrest him and take him away under guard."
45 As soon as Judas arrived, he went up to
Jesus and said, "Teacher!" and kissed him.
46 So they arrested Jesus and held him tight.
47 But one of those standing there drew his
sword and struck at the High Priest's slave,
cutting off his ear.
48 Then Jesus spoke up and said to them,
"Did you have to come with swords and clubs
to capture me, as though I were an outlaw?
49 Day after day I was with you teaching in the
Temple, and you did not arrest me.
But the Scriptures must come true."
50 Then all the disciples left him and ran away.
51 A certain young man, dressed only in a linen
cloth, was following Jesus. They tried to
arrest him,
52 but he ran away naked, leaving the cloth
behind.
Jesus before the Council
53 Then Jesus was taken to the High Priest's
house, where all the chief priests, the elders,
and the teachers of the Law were gathering.
54 Peter followed from a distance and went
into the courtyard of the High Priest's house.
There he sat down with the guards, keeping
himself warm by the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Council
tried to find some evidence against Jesus
in order to put him to death, but they could
not find any.
56 Many witnesses told lies against Jesus, but
their stories did not agree.
57 Then some men stood up and told this lie
against Jesus:
58 "We heard him say, 'I will tear down this
Temple which men have made, and after
three days I will build one that is not made
by men.'"
59 Not even they, however, could make their
stories agree.
60 The High Priest stood up in front of them all
and questioned Jesus, "Have you no answer
to the accusation they bring against you?"
61 But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a
word. Again the High Priest questioned him,
"Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed
God?"
62 "I am," answered Jesus, "and you will all see
the Son of Man seated at the right side of the
Almighty and coming with the clouds of
heaven!"
63 The High Priest tore his robes and said,
"We don't need any more witnesses!
64 You heard his blasphemy. What is your
decision?"
They all voted against him: he was guilty and
should be put to death.
65 Some of them began to spit on Jesus, and
they blindfolded him and hit him.
"Guess who hit you!" they said.
And the guards took him and slapped him.
Peter Denies Jesus
66 Peter was still down in the courtyard when
one of the High Priest's servant women
came by.
67 When she saw Peter warming himself,
she looked straight at him and said,
"You, too, were with Jesus of Nazareth."
68 But he denied it. "I don't know ...I don't
understand what you are talking about,"
he answered, and went out into the
passageway. Just then a rooster crowed.
69 The servant woman saw him there and
began to repeat to the bystanders,
"He is one of them!"
70 But Peter denied it again. A little while later
the bystanders accused Peter again,
"You can't deny that you are one of them,
because you, too, are from Galilee."
71 Then Peter said, "I swear that I am telling the
truth! May God punish me if I am not!
I do not know the man you are talking about!"
72 Just then a rooster crowed a second time,
and Peter remembered how Jesus had said
to him, "Before the rooster crows two times,
you will say three times that you do not know
me." And he broke down and cried.
Footnotes
Mark 14:68 Some manuscripts do not have
Just then a rooster crowed.
Mark 15
Good News Translation (GNT)
Jesus before Pilate
1 Early in the morning the chief priests met
hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the
Law, and the whole Council, and made their
plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away,
and handed him over to Pilate.
2 Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king
of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "So you say."
3 The chief priests were accusing Jesus
of many things,
4 so Pilate questioned him again, "Aren't you
going to answer?
Listen to all their accusations!"
5 Again Jesus refused to say a word,
and Pilate was amazed.
Jesus Is Sentenced to Death
6 At every Passover Festival Pilate was in the
habit of setting free any one prisoner the
people asked for.
7 At that time a man named Barabbas was in
prison with the rebels who had committed
murder in the riot.
8 When the crowd gathered and began
to ask Pilate for the usual favour,
9 he asked them, "Do you want me to set free
for you the king of the Jews?"
10 He knew very well that the chief priests had
handed Jesus over to him because they were
jealous.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to
ask, instead, that Pilate set Barabbas free
for them.
12 Pilate spoke again to the crowd,
"What, then, do you want me to do with
the one you call the king of the Jews?"
13 They shouted back, "Crucify him!"
14 "But what crime has he committed?" Pilate
asked. They shouted all the louder,
"Crucify him!"
15 Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set
Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus
whipped and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus
16 The soldiers took Jesus inside to the
courtyard of the governor's palace and
called together the rest of the company.
17 They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a
crown out of thorny branches, and put it on
his head.
18 Then they began to salute him:
"Long live the King of the Jews!"
19 They beat him over the head with a stick,
spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed
down to him.
20 When they had finished making fun of him,
they took off the purple robe and put his own
clothes back on him.
Then they led him out to crucify him.
Jesus Is Crucified
21 On the way they met a man named Simon,
who was coming into the city from the country,
and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus'
cross.
(Simon was from Cyrene and was the father
of Alexander and Rufus.)
22 They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha,
which means "The Place of the Skull."
23 There they tried to give him wine mixed with
a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not
drink it.
24 Then they crucified him and divided his
clothes among themselves, throwing dice to
see who would get which piece of clothing.
25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when they
crucified him.
26 The notice of the accusation against him said:
"The King of the Jews."
27 They also crucified two bandits with Jesus,
one on his right and the other on his left.
28 (a)
29 People passing by shook their heads and
hurled insults at Jesus: "Aha! You were going
to tear down the Temple and build it back up
in three days!
30 Now come down from the cross and save
yourself!"
31 In the same way the chief priests and the
teachers of the Law made fun of Jesus,
saying to one another, "He saved others,
but he cannot save himself!
32 Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel,
come down from the cross now, and we will
believe in him!"
And the two who were crucified with Jesus
insulted him also.
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon the whole country was covered with
darkness, which lasted for three hours.
34 At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud
shout, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which means, "My God, my God, why did you
abandon me?"
35 Some of the people there heard him and said,
"Listen, he is calling for Elijah!"
36 One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it
in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick.
Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said,
"Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring
him down from the cross!"
37 With a loud cry Jesus died.
38 The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn
in two, from top to bottom.
39 The army officer who was standing there in
front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. (b)
"This man was really the Son of God!" he said.
40 Some women were there, looking on from
a distance.
Among them were Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of the younger James and
of Joseph, and Salome.
41 They had followed Jesus while he was in
Galilee and had helped him. Many other
women who had come to Jerusalem with him
were there also.
The Burial of Jesus
42-43 It was toward evening when Joseph
of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected
member of the Council, who was waiting for
the coming of the Kingdom of God.
It was Preparation day (that is, the day before
the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the
presence of Pilate and asked him for the
body of Jesus.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was
already dead. He called the army officer and
asked him if Jesus had been dead a long time.
45 After hearing the officer's report, Pilate told
Joseph he could have the body.
46 Joseph bought a linen sheet, took the body
down, wrapped it in the sheet, and placed it
in a tomb which had been dug out of solid
rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the
entrance to the tomb.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
Joseph were watching and saw where the
body of Jesus was placed.
Footnotes
Mark 15:28 Some manuscripts add verse 28:
In this way the scripture came "He shared
the fate of criminals"
(see Lk 22.37).
Mark 15:39 had died;
some manuscripts have
had cried out and died.
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by
Scripture Union
The Plot against Jesus
Mark 14 and 15
As we begin to accompany Jesus
through his passion, his enemies scheme,
the traitor volunteers,
but an unnamed woman carries out
an extravagant act of devotion.
Her devotion is not to a cause or a truth
but to Jesus himself -
and, as a consequence, to his mission.
Love for him is the heart of discipleship.
Judas changed his loyalties.
The disciples thought this woman should be more
sensible and have better priorities.
The woman did 'what she could' (v 8) -
all that she could - and to Jesus
that was and is beautiful:
something to be remembered.
If the woman had not acted then,
she could not have acted at all.
We know how the story ends and we understand
more than this early disciple could have done.
All four Gospels give priority to the
last week of Jesus' life and a particularly
large proportion of Mark's Gospel
is devoted to this period.
Most of Mark's Gospel is fast paced,
moving quickly from event to event,
but in the Passion narrative it
slows down and is more detailed.
Mark seems to invite us to read these
verses slowly, as we accompany
Jesus through his Passion.
Engage with what was really happening to Jesus.
Mark wants us to wait with Jesus,
just as Jesus asked the disciples
to wait in Gethsemane.
'He (Mark) wants us to feel Jesus' agony,
not explain it'.
Mark often emphasises Jesus' fulfilment
of Scripture and of his own predictions;
Although apparently the victim in this story,
Jesus is guided by the Scriptures and is,
in one sense, the one in dignified control,
as he fulfils the Father's plan.
The theme of the Temple occurs frequently.
Mark wants us to understand that
Jesus is replacing the Temple.
He was accused of plotting to destroy it,
though the witnesses failed to agree.
He was mocked about it while on the cross.
When he died,
the Temple curtain was ripped from top to bottom.
The accusations were false,
but Jesus was a real threat to
the regime running the Temple,
because the future lay with him
and not with them.
The directions Jesus gave his disciples
for the preparation of the Passover meal
seemed to be routine enough.
Where to go, who to see and what to say.
It all went without a hitch.
Eating together played a vital role
in Jesus' ministry. Meals were times of
deep spiritual significance -
sharing the gospel,
offering forgiveness and
opportunities for worship.
The disciples are now involved
in the final stages of preparing
for the feast of the Passover.
Sadly,
Judas is also prepared to betray his Master,
and he is warned about this during the meal.
Behind the scenes, God has been preparing
something unique and life-changing.
The disciples expected to eat the Passover lamb
to mark the Jewish escape from Egypt,
but God had planned to offer Jesus as
the Lamb of God who takes away the world's sin
and brings spiritual freedom to all who believe.
Jesus, therefore,
takes the bread as a mark of his broken body,
and the cup of wine symbolising his
blood poured out for many.
We are so familiar with the communion service
in our churches that we may not realise
the shock that the disciples must have felt
when Jesus told them to
eat his body and drink his blood -
absolute taboos for the Jews.
But then at the meal table,
Jesus dropped a bombshell.
There's a betrayer in their midst.
Notice the emotion. Sadness!
Not anger, nor real surprise.
Their protestations almost imply that
they all thought themselves capable of it,
but hoped when the moment came,
and it surely would,
that they would stand firm.
Luke and John tell us that Satan
was behind his betrayal.
Jesus recognised it but saw it
as the way in which,
despite the action of Satan,
God's plans would be fulfilled.
It soon became obvious to Judas that
whatever his intentions had been
he had got it wrong.
He attempted to salve his conscience
by returning the money,
but the priests had what they wanted
and were not interested
in the plight of Judas, although
they took the money and bought a field.
Mark does not depict an orderly arrest
by officers of the law,
but rather a messy grabbing of Jesus
by a motley crew from the Jewish leaders.
The indignity that Jesus will suffer has begun.
The section begins with the traitor's kiss
and ends with an anonymous
young man fleeing naked.
In the middle, someone attempts
an armed defence of Jesus.
The only person with real dignity
is Jesus himself.
Whatever is going to happen to Jesus,
it is part of God's purpose and plan.
They were troubled, but Jesus remained calm.
After all, he was about to fulfil his
purpose in coming,
so graphically and deliberately symbolised
in breaking bread and sharing wine.
It all had a sound of finality about it,
but if they didn't know what was going on,
Jesus certainly did.
The final act was nigh.
The cross beckoned,
and with it the healing of the world.
Time to go.
Roman flogging was so vicious
that victims sometimes died.
The pain was intense,
the blood loss considerable.
Jesus would have been a pitiable
figure by this point.
The rough mockery of the soldiers
simply adds to that.
How could such a figure be a king?
We can never underestimate the ability
of human beings to inflict suffering on others.
Those in a position of power like to oppress the weak.
We think again of the text of Isaiah 53:3
as he was despised and rejected -
and yet the very mockery focuses attention
again on the kingship of Jesus.
He is arrayed in a purple robe
and given homage.
In the mockery by the non-Jewish soldiers
we may see their contempt for
the whole Jewish people.
This bruised and afflicted figure they see
as an appropriate king of the Jews.
In all this we see the combined rejection
by Jewish and Gentile military, priestly
and political leaders: all reject him.
However, we know how different
appearances are to the reality.
This is the King of glory.
One day every knee will bow to him.
He has received a kingdom from
the Ancient of Days.
His victory is assured and so
is that of his followers.
The women may not understand,
but at least they are there,
showing solidarity with and concern
for their Lord.
It is they, not the twelve, who are the
witnesses of his death, burial, and,
initially, of his resurrection.
The centurion does not understand,
but he does have a profound insight.
The crowd hears the cry,
interpreting it as a call for Elijah to come:
Elijah, who was seen as the precursor
of God's coming to redeem his people.
Then Jesus dies.
Mark does not record the particulars of his
loud cry, but we know that his work is done.
Then two things happen. The veil of the Temple is torn.
The way into God's presence is open.
The holy place that only the high priest could enter,
bearing blood, once a year, is now opened
to all Israel for all time.
Even more powerful is the response of the pagan
centurion, who confesses Jesus as Son of God
The confession takes us to the first verse of the Gospel.
Here is the Good News of Jesus,
the Son of God.
We have reached the conclusion of the story.
God has come to visit and redeem his people.
Share with someone else your own conviction
about the identity of the crucified one.
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