1 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.
2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”
3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.
4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”
5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.
in the morning (v.1) — perhaps they regathered to make the trial legal.
The delivering of Jesus to Pilate initiated the civil trial. Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea under the legatus of Syria from AD 26 to 36. Normally he resided in Caesarea but came to Jerusalem for the Passover season to ensure order at a time when national feeling ran high. He is represented in secular history as corrupt and cruel, but the Gospels seem to take a less unfavorable view of him. Mark’s account here does not hide the deplorable weakness of the man but, at the same time, seems designed to exonerate him as far as possible and to place the ultimate responsibility for the crucifixion upon the Jews. — Guthrie, page 883.
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Are you the king (v.2) — The crafty Sanhedrist put a political construction on the confession of Jesus. The Christ therefore is a pretender to the throne of Israel. This is the only one of the charges which the Jews brought against Jesus which Pilate notices (Luke 23:2). He is forced to deal with this one, since neglect on his part in this case would involved him in a dereliction of duty towards the throne of the Caesars, for Jesus was accused by the Jews of setting Himself up as a king in opposition to Caesar. — Wuest, page 277.
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Pilate investigated the charge, arrived at the correct judgment, and it only remained that he should release the innocent man. In reaching this conclusion, Jesus had given him the most prudent and skillful help, but as soon as the facts became clear, He resumed His impressive and mysterious silence. Thus, before each of his judges in turn, Jesus avowed Himself the Messiah and then held His peace. — Chadwick, page 419.
He answered nothing (v.3) — Isaiah 53:7
marveled (v.5) — John added that Pilate was afraid (John 19:8).
66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.
67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.
69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”
70 But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”
71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.
Also found in Matthew 26:69-75, Luke 22:55-62, and John 18:25-27.
courtyard (v.66) — the outer porch of the high priest’s house
looked (v.66) = gazed intently
curse and swear (v.71) = to declare anathema or cursed. The Jews had a practice of laying themselves under a curse (Acts 23:12) … Peter declares himself subject to the divine curse if he is not telling the truth when he disclaims all acquaintance with Jesus. … The English words “curse” and “swear” today usually are understood to mean that the person is using profanity. But the Greek text here shows that Peter was not guilty of that. — Wuest, page 275.
wept (v.72) — began to weep, and probably kept at it for a long time. Matthew 26:75 has, literally “burst into tears.”
From my notes on the passage in John — Most commentaries focus on what Peter did wrong. But perhaps the point is that we will fail but Christ won’t. The contrast in this passage is between Peter’s response to questions and Christ’s response to questions.It is not so much a focus on Peter but on the One who never fails.
53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.
54 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.
55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.
56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.
57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,
58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”
59 But not even then did their testimony agree.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”
61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?
64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
65 Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.
chief priests, the elders, and the scribes (v.53) — Together they made up the Sanhedrin, or council, a group of 70 men with religious and civil authority — but not the authority to use the death penalty. That had to come from Rome.
right into (v.54) — Literally, “Until within into.” A redundant but expressive combination, suggesting the idea of one stealthily feeling his way into the court of the palace, venturing further and further in, and gaining courage with each step. — Wuest, page 270.
servants (v.54) = members of the Levitical guard.
council (v.55) — The translation of sunedrion, from sun and edra, hence, a sitting together. The word was used in the Greek classics of any assembly of magistrates, judges, ambassadors, whether convened to deliberate or to pass judgment. The word here refers to the Sanhedrin, the great council of the Jews at Jerusalem consisting of seventy one members, scribes, elders, prominent members of the high-priestly families, and the high-priest, who was the president of the body. The most important causes were brought before this tribunal, inasmuch as the Roman rulers of Judea had left to it the power of trying such cases, and also of pronouncing sentence of death, with the limitation that a capital sentence pronounced by the Sanhedrin was not valid unless it was confirmed by the Roman procurator. — Wuest, pages 270-271.
Rather than judge the case on the merits, the court only looked to convict Jesus (v.55). When their evidence failed to convict, they manufactured evidence (vs.56-57). But even then they couldn’t produce evidence to convict Him (v.59). In Greek, the verbs indicate that they made multiple attempts to create testimony that could convict.
According to the law in Deuteronomy 19:15, two witnesses were required for conviction.
The false testimony in v.58 is a misquotation/misunderstanding of Jesus’ words recorded in John 2:19: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews had just asked for an attesting miracle which would prove to them that Jesus was all that He claimed to be. He offers His future resurrection, in the words, “You destroy this temple, (referring to His physical body), and in three days I will raise it up.” The words “that is made with hands” and “I will build another made without hands,” are evidently added to [falsely] make clear that Jesus was talking about the Jerusalem temple. — Wuest, page. 271.
stood up in the midst (v.60) — perhaps out of bluster because he was frustrated that he could not convict his prisoner, or out of anger, or both.
He kept silent (v.61) = He kept on being silent. The council wasn’t going to be convinced by anything He said. Any response would be an admission that the council was legal, which it wasn’t, both because of the timing and because of the false witnesses.
Are You the Christ? (v.61) — Are you the Messiah? Are you the Anointed of God?
the Blessed (v.61) — in context, a name of God
I AM (v.62) — In Greek, “As for myself, in contradistinction to all others, I am.”
The Lord responded to the high priest with two quotes — from Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13.
The words … were considered a claim to Messiahship by the Jews, as the Old Testament passages to which reference was made were looked upon as Messianic. … But the words of Jesus are also a solemn warning that His position and that of His judges would one day be reversed, and a final but ineffectual summons to repentance and faith … in that the Jewish leaders, instead of repenting of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah, and accepting Him as such, caused Him to be crucified. — Wuest, page 273.
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Without discussion of His claims, without considering that some day there must be some Messiah, (else what is their faith and who are they?) they will treat it as blasphemous and a capital offense simply to claim that title. — Chadwick, page 410.
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tore his clothes (v.63) — He tore asunder his chitonas, his tunics or undergarments, of which persons in good position wore two. The tearing of garments was on old sign of mourning or sorrow first mentioned in Genesis 37:29. The law forbad the high priest from rending his garments in the case of private troubles (Leviticus 10:6; 21:10), but when acting as a judge, he was required by custom to express in this way his horror of any blasphemy uttered in his presence.
In the words, “What need we any further witnesses?” the relief of the embarrassed judge is manifest. If trustworthy evidence was not forthcoming, the necessity for it had now be superseded; the Prisoner had incriminated Himself. — Wuest, page 273.
blindfold Him (v.65) — the symbol of the death penalty (Esther 7:8).
[They wrapped] a covering around our Lord’s head so as to blindfold Him. This was for the purpose of asking Him to identify the one who struck Him. The servants here were the Temple guard or soldiers. … Isaiah, 700 years before our Lord’s suffering, had a vision of His face after the rough and inhuman treatment of the frenzied mob. He said, “His visage was so marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14). … The literal rendering is terrible: “So marred from the form of man was His aspect that His appearance was not that of a son of man” — i.e. not human — the effect of the brutalities described in Matthew 26:67-68; 27:27-30. — Wuest, page 274.
43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”
45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.
47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?
49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
50 Then they all forsook Him and fled.
51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him,
52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
great multitude (v.43) — These were not the Temple crowds, but some who came from the Sanhedrin, members of the Temple police, and some of the regular Roman soldiers. There were also some personal servants of the High Priest, and members of the Sanhedrin. — Wuest, page 268.
as soon as he [Judas] had come (v.45) — Judas walked immediately to Jesus and gave Him a kiss to indicate to the mob which one they were to arrest. A kiss was a common form of greeting among friends, so Judas’ choice of that as a signal was hypocritical. He called Jesus “Rabbi” (teacher) rather than Lord.
kissed (v.45) — An emphatic form of the verb (kissed him much) is used, as though to suggest more than usual fervor and affection. — Guthrie, page 882.
one of those who stood by (v.47) — Peter (John 18:10)
servant of the high priest (v.47) — Malchus (John 18:10)
Peter’s intent was not to cut off the servant’s ear but to split his head open (v.47).
Jesus did not protest the fact of His arrest, but the manner (v.48). They were treating Him like they would a violent criminal.
Jesus had, in fact, spoke in the Temple three times that very week (v.49). They didn’t arrest Him then. But Judas’ betrayal and the secrecy of the proceedings occurred as they did to fulfill prophecy.
They all … fled (v.50) — fulfills the prophecy of Mark 14:27. “All” is emphatic in the Greek. Jesus was completely abandoned by His followers.
The account of the young man in vs.51-52 appears only in Mark, which means that the young man probably was Mark himself. If so, it’s the only place where Mark writes himself into the story, and it isn’t a very flattering portrait.
linen cloth (v.51) — This suggests that the youth, on hearing some sudden report, rose out of his bed and rushed out in his night-shirt, or being absolutely naked, hurriedly threw about his body, a loose cotton or linen sheet. — Wuest, page 270.
At least he probably didn’t have far to run naked.
The Bible doesn’t say why the Jews brought so many armed troops, so the reason isn’t important, but as a matter of conjecture …
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The Jews had attempted to arrest and kill Him before (Luke 4:29-30; John 10:39), and He had easily escaped. Perhaps they believed more people could handle Him.
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Perhaps they were afraid that His disciples would resist (as Peter attempted to do.
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Maybe they intended their show of force to convince Pilate that Jesus was indeed a threat.
32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.
34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.
36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?
38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.
40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.
41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
Also found in Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:40-46.
Sit here (v.32) — addressed to the eight apostles who did not accompany Him into the garden.
Began to be sore amazed and to be very heavy. The Lord was overwhelmed with sorrow, but His first feeling was one of terrified surprise. Long as He had foreseen the Passion, when it came clearly into view, its terrors exceeded His anticipations. His human soul received new experience—He learned upon the basis of the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), and the last lesson of obedience began with a sensation of inconceivable awe. With this there came another, that of overpowering mental distress (He began to be distressed)—the distress which follows a great shock, the confused, restless, half-distracted state which may be worse than the sharp pain of a fully realized sorrow. The three disciples are placed so that they can be witnesses of the agony. “Sore amazed … to throw into amazement or terror, to alarm thoroughly, to terrify, to be struck with terror. “To be heavy” … uncomfortable, as one not at home. It speaks of an experience of which one is not familiar, in which one does not feel at home, that is, at rest, and which distressed him. “Exceedingly sorrowful” … encompassed with grief, very sad. Grief enveloped Him, surrounded, saturated His consciousness. “Unto death” … “so that I almost died.” — Wuest, page 264.
a little farther (v.35) — about a stone’s throw (Luke 22:41). They could probably see Him and may have been able to hear Him.
fell on the ground and prayed (v.35) — imperfect tense. Kept on falling to the ground, kept on praying.
hour (v.35) — the cross
Abba (v.36) = Aramaic for “Father”
this cup (v.36) — There were two things in the cup from which our Lord naturally and sinlessly shrank. If He had not offered this petition, He would not have been who and what He was. One of them was to be made sin, to be charged by the High Court of Heaven with the guilt of all human sin. From that the holy Son of God drew back with all the infinite hatred of sin that was His. The other was the agony of being deprived of the fellowship of the Father for the time from nine o’clock in the morning to three in the afternoon (Psalm 22:1-2). The fellowship between Father and Son had had no beginning. For a sinner who has never known the bliss of the Father’s fellowship, to be deprived of it all through eternity, is bad enough. But for the holy Son of God who knew nothing else up to that moment, the loss of that fellowship meant infinite suffering. — Wuest, page 265.
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Man’s arch-enemy wrought sin and death by asserting his will against God (Isaiah 14:13-14); Jesus wrought salvation by submitting His will to God. Accepting the will of God is always victory, whereas self-will inevitably leads to defeat. — Guthrie, page 882.
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Peter is addressed as the first of the three (v.37); but the rebuke is partly personal, as Mark at least is aware. Mark has not used the personal name “Simon” since Peter’s call to the Apostolate (Mark 3:16), and its appearance here is certainly suggestive …For the time he is “Peter” no more, the new character which he owes to association with Jesus is in abeyance. He who was ready to die with the Master (Mark 14:31) has been proved not to possess the strength of will requisite for resisting sleep during the third part of a single watch. — Wuest, page 266.
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The flesh is man as belonging to the sphere of the material life, under the limitations of a corporeal nature, frail, mortal, and in fact impure (Genesis 6:12). The spirit [is] the vital force (Genesis 6:17) which in man is directly dependent on the Spirit of God (Genesis 2:7), and the organ of communication with God … In the Eleven, the human spirit was already under the influence of the Spirit of God through their intercourse with Christ (John 14:17). It was therefore willing and eager. But its willingness was not a match for the inertia of its colleague, the frail flesh. — Wuest, page 266.
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The time for watchfulness and prayer has gone by, and the injunction is not repeated: in place of it comes a permission to sleep. The permission is surely ironical; “sleep, then, since it is your will to do so; rest, if you can.” The Lord did not hesitate to use irony (compare Mark 7:9) when there was occasion for it; exhortation and reproof had in this instance failed, and no other means of rousing the three to a sense of duty remained. … On the words “It is enough”: The Lord breaks off the momentary play of irony—it is as if He would say, “This is no time for the lengthened exposure of the faults of friends; the enemy is at the gate.”
The disciples were still lying on the ground. Our Lord was standing. Judas and his party were approaching. Jesus went out to meet them. The words “let us go” meant, “let us go” to meet Judas and those with him. They did not mean that our Lord was contemplating flight. This was his hour, and He was there to meet it. — Wuest, page 267.
27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
30 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.
The quote in verses 27 is from Zechariah 13:7.
Our Lord predicts that all the disciples without exception will be offended because of Him, and He confirms His prophecy by an Old Testament prediction. The word “offended” [stumble] is skandalizo “to find occasion of stumbling” in another, “to see in another what I disapprove of and what hinders me from acknowledging his authority.” The disciples deserted the Lord and fled. This was their act of stumbling. The occasion for their stumbling was in the fact that our Lord’s arrest and treatment by Rome might involved them in the same kind of treatment. They were out to save their own skins. This announcement of the desertion by the disciples was not made as a reproach, but as a preface of better things, namely, an early reunion. The adversative particle alla (but) is used, contrasting the gloom of the immediate future with the hope of the resurrection. — Wuest, pages 262-263.
Right after Jesus told the apostles that they would stumble, deny Him, and be scattered, He said that, after He rose, He would meet with them in Galilee. In other words, “You will fail Me, but I will not fail you.”
crows twice (v.30) — The third of the four “watches” of the night (12:00 am to 3:00 am) was called “cockcrowing” (cf. Mark 13:35). The cock would crow early in this period and again toward the period’s end. In Mark’s account Jesus referred to the second crowing so as to be quite specific. Matthew records a reiteration of His prediction in more general terms, that is, he refers to only one crowing, the second, which was the more commonly known of the two. — Thomas,page 220.
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Peter’s boast is turned into a prophecy of a greater downfall. … To this overconfident “certainly not I” of the disciple, the Master returns a very pointed and peremptory reply: I thee thee that thou (emphatic), today [time], on this night (more precise indication of time), shall deny Me, not once, but again, and again, and again. — Wuest, page 263.
spoke (v.31) — tense is “he kept on speaking”
more vehemently (v.31) = abundantly in matter and manner, with vehemence and iteration
Peter gets the attention, but all the other disciples, all of whom also scattered, felt the same way.
22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
“Take ye” is a word of absolute assurance. Christ’s Body is not only slain, and His Blood shed on our behalf; He gives Himself to us as well as for us; He is ours. And therefore whoever is convinced that he may take part in “the sacrament of so great a mystery” should realize that he there receives, conveyed to him by the Author of that wondrous feast, all that is expressed by the bread and wine.
And yet this very word “Take ye,” demands our cooperation in the sacrament. It requires that we should receive Christ, as it declares that He is ready to impart Himself, utterly, like food which is taken into the system, absorbed, assimilated, wrought into bone, into tissue and into blood. — Chadwick, page 379.
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Like the bread, this cup was part of the traditional Passover meal among the Jews. It was the third of four times that participants took the cup during the meal. Traditionally the third cup related to the third of four promises of God to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment.” It becomes symbolic of the shedding of Jesus’ blood for redemption. The final cup, relating to the fourth promise, that of the restoration of Israel, will not be taken by Jesus until the establishing of the Kingdom of God. — Thomas, page 213.
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The First Testament (Hebrew 8:7) refers to the system of symbolic sacrifices known as the Levitical economy. The New Testament (Hebrews 8:8) speaks of the sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross, the fulfillment of the First Testament. The words “is shed” are present tense, durative action, “which is being shed,” our Lord looking upon His sacrifice on the Cross as imminent and regarded as already present. The prediction of verse 25 will have its fulfillment in the Millennial Kingdom when the Messiah and His cleansed restored Israel will drink in a new and glorious way the fruit of the Mystical Vine (John 15:1) in the world-wide kingdom where He will reign as a king upon the throne of His father David. … The particular word for “new” in verse 25 is not “new” as to time but “new” as to quality. The wine of the future Millennial Kingdom will be new in quality, spiritual, not material. — Wuest, page 262.
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The language [is] so constructed as to force the conviction upon us that His body and blood, His humanity, is the special gift of the Lord’s Supper. As man He redeemed us, and as man He imparts Himself to man. — Chadwick, page 381.
hymn (v.26) — probably one of the Hallel Psalms which were usually included in the Passover celebration.
12 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.
14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
17 In the evening He came with the twelve.
18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”
20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.
21 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Also found in Matthew 26:17-24 and Luke 22:7-16, 21-22.
These preparations came during the daylight hours on Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan. Lambs were customarily sacrificed in the afternoon in preparation for the Passover supper, which was eaten in the evening. … The Passover meal … took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, that is, Thursday evening after sundown. — Thomas, pages 206-207.
two of His disciples (v.13) — Peter and John (Luke 22:8).
guest room (v.14) — Jesus had apparently made arrangements with this man beforehand, but he wasn’t well-enough known to Peter and John that they could be sent directly to his house. The room was furnished with the carpets and couches used for meals and had been prepared, which probably included removing of all leaven, in keeping with the Passover.
prepared the Passover (v.16) — Supposing the lamb to have been already slain, and returned to the house, there still remained much to be done; the roasting of the lamb, the provision of the unleavened cakes, the bitter herbs, the four cups of wine, and preparation of the room and the lamps; and in the preparation of the food there were many ritual niceties to be observed. For instance, there was the making of a paste to resemble the mortar which was used in the laying of bricks in Egypt. The present day Jews make this paste by grinding apples, nuts, raisins, and mixing this with wine. — Wuest, page 259.
in the evening (v.17) — Jesus probably took this precaution to avoid being arrested before His time.
one of you (v.18) — Mark and Luke do not name Judas as the betrayer, but Matthew and John (John 13:26).
To the oriental, the fellowship of a meal was specially sacred, and hostile action against one with whom one ate bread was absolutely precluded (cf. Psalm 41:9). In this case Judas not only ate with Jesus; even more intimately, the dipped with Him in the dish. The dish was probably the bowl of sauce into which pieces of unleavened bread were dipped [during the Passover meal]. Verse 21 clearly states both the divine sovereignty and human responsibility, and places the latter squarely on the shoulders of Judas. The divine necessity for [Jesus’ death] was no excuse for the free agent who brought it about. — Guthrie, page 881.
Is it I? (v.19) — In Greek, it’s “It is not I, is it?” expecting a negative answer.
The reference [to dipping in the dish in v.20] is probably to a sauce made of dates, raisins, and vinegar, into which the master of the house dipped pieces of the unleavened cake with bitter herbs between them. These were distributed to the company The sign, indicating who the traitor was, consisted of our Lord’s dipping the unleavened cake into the sauce and handing it to Judas (John 13:26). The “woe” of v.21 is not a vindictive one, or of the nature of a curse, but reveals a misery which Love itself could not prevent. — Wuest, page 260.
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
From John we learn that this feast was given six days before the Passover. The other accounts postponed the mention of it, plainly because of an incident which occurred then, but is vitally connected with a decision arrived at somewhat later by the priests. Two days before the Passover, the council finally determined that Jesus must be destroyed. They recognised all the dangers of that course. It must be done with subtlety; the people must not be aroused; and therefore they said, not on the feast-day. It is remarkable, however, that at the very time when they so determined, Jesus clearly and calmly made to His disciples exactly the opposite announcement. “After two days the Passover cometh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2). Thus we find at every turn of the narrative that their plans are over-ruled, and they are unconscious agents of a mysterious design, which their Victim comprehends and accepts. — Chadwick, page 360.
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The ointment is described by Mark in three words, nardos referring to a perfume which came from India, well known to the Greeks and Romans, and procured from the hills on the banks of the Ganges River, pistikos, speaking of the fact that it was genuine, not imitation or adulterated, and poluteles, telling us that it was very costly. — Wuest, page 256.
more than three hundred denarii (v.5) — A denarius was a days wage, so the cost of the perfume was roughly equivalent to a laborer’s wage for the greater part of a year. It apparently was sold in a flask that had to be broken to be opened, so it was intended for a one-time use.
some who were indignant (v. 4) — John reports that Judas raised the objection. Mark says that the other apostles “had indignation among themselves,” exchanging remarks or looks which told of their sympathy with Judas. … They murmured against the woman. The word is embrimaomai “to be very angry, sternly to charge.” The verb in the imperfect tense, as it is here, is used in another connection, of the snorting of horses. — Wuest, page 256.
good (v.6) = goodness seen on the outside as it strikes the eye, a beautiful, pleasing goodness, possessing true moral beauty.
The Lord wasn’t contrasting service to Himself with service for the poor. He was only saying that service to the poor could (and should) be done at any time, but service to Him would soon be impossible.
Mary could not comprehend our Lord’s death, but she showed sympathy for Him, a thing which the others did not do. … The fragrant unguents were used for anointing the dead body after it had been washed, but this is to be distinguished from the process of embalming, which consisted of laying myrrh and aloes in the folds of the grave clothes. Mark relates that the women came to anoint the body of Jesus, but the resurrection prevented the fulfillment of their purpose. So the only anointing which the Lord received was the anticipatory one by Mary. — Wuest, page 257.
I get the idea that Jesus was notably down, anticipating His coming ordeal. He had attempted several times to tell the disciples what was about to occur, but they didn’t ( or wouldn’t) understand. In addition, Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray Him. Mary, and only Mary, knew the Lord was sad and did the best she could to comfort Him. Nobody else in the room understood this either, but the Lord knew and honored Mary for it.
This which Mary did shall be told while the world stands, as being among the few human actions which refreshed the lonely One, the purest, the most graceful, and perhaps the last. — Chadwick, page 363.
one of the twelve (v.10) — lit. “the one of the twelve.” The one who betrayed the Lord.
betray (v.10) = to hand over or alongside
glad (v.11) = an audible or visible expression of joy
1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.
2 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”
Also found in Matthew 26:1-5 and Luke 22:1-2.
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (v.1) — instituted in Exodus 12:1-20.
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread … was one feast. The word “passover” is the translation of pascha which means “a passing over.” The paschal lamb was the lamb for sacrifice which the Israelites were bidden to kill, the blood of which they were to sprinkle on the door-posts of their dwellings in Egypt so that the destroying-angel might pass over their homes without entering and taking the life of the first-born. The paschal lamb therefore was the slain lamb, the death of which was accepted in lieu of the life of the first-born child. Our Lord is the Paschal Lamb in the sense that His death was accepted by the High Court of Heaven as a payment for our sin. As the symbolic Passover was about to be celebrated in Israel, the actual Passover Lamb was entering Jerusalem to fulfill the type by dying on the Cross.
Representatives of each order of the Sanhedrin were gathered together in council convened, chief priests, scribes, elders, to discuss ways and means of putting Jesus to death. They were assembled in the house of Caiaphas, who had for some time been advocating the policy of sacrificing Jesus to the Roman power (John 11:49). There was no division of opinion now as to principle of as to the means to be employed. The point under consideration was the strategic, opportune, safe time to give Jesus over to the Roman authorities. He was too popular with the people, for the Jewish leaders to hand Him over to Rome on the feast of the Passover, they reasoned. — Wuest, page 255.
