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Last Experiences
Christ's Final Week "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles" (Mark 10:33). Homer Montague The final five chapters of the Gospel of Mark detail the last week of Christ’s earthly ministry beginning with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem where he would present himself as the Jewish Messiah in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Zechariah 9:9). Mark 11 reveals that after two of his disciples secured a colt, Jesus sat upon and rode it into the great city of Jerusalem over a carpet of clothes and palm branches. Onlookers hailed him as King with shouts of ‘Hosanna,’ an exclamation of praise, after which he entered the temple, looked around and returned to Bethany for the evening. The following day en route to Jerusalem, Jesus saw a fig tree and proceeded to determine whether it had any fruit. He found only leaves and so he cursed it. A lesson from this incident is that Israel was likened to a fig tree (Hosea 9:10). The tree with only leaves pictured only professions of faithfulness to God but as a nation, it would not manifest true fruitage until after the completion of the church, the fullness of the Gentiles (Romans 11:25-27). Jesus subsequently returned to the temple and began to overturn the tables of the moneychangers and the stalls of those who sold doves thereby defiling its religious sanctity. These actions engendered fear in the hearts of the scribes and the chief priests who then took counsel as to how they might destroy him. On the morning following his cursing of the fig tree, Jesus gave his disciples a lesson to emphasize the power of prayer through the exercise of their faith. Jesus taught that seemingly impossible things could be accomplished if they were in harmony with God’s will (Mark 11:20-26). After he reached the temple once again, the elders, chief priests and scribes questioned Jesus as to his authority for doing various acts such as riding triumphantly into Jerusalem and cleansing the temple. Instead of answering them directly, Jesus questioned them concerning the baptism of John as to whether it was from heaven or of man. The religious leaders recognized that if John’s ministry was authorized by God they should have heeded his exhortation to repent. If they stated his ministry was of men, they risked animosity on the part of the common people who considered John to be a prophet of God. Because of this dilemma, they would not answer the Lord’s question. Jesus therefore refused to indicate his authority for committing the acts which they had questioned (Mark 11:27-33).Chapter Twelve This chapter begins the last week of our Lord’s ministry with Jesus’ stinging indictment of the Jewish religious leaders through the use of parables. They were guilty of rejecting him as the Son of God and even though he spoke to them in figurative stories, the religious leaders knew their interpretations. "And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded [him] in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours" (Mark 12:1-7). In the foregoing passage, it was God who planted the house of Israel and provided the divine law as well as the testimony from various prophets to keep the nation separate from all the surrounding heathen influences. Thus, it should have been expected that with such tender care and supervision, through gratitude and obedience, the Jews would have been prepared to accept Jesus as their Messiah. The same hardness of heart which caused the nation to reject God’s law and the warnings issued by righteous prophets, also would lead to the rejection and crucifixion of Christ which Jesus accurately predicted. It was evident that the Jewish leaders understood the meaning of the Lord’s words. We read: "And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way" (Mark 12:12). Jesus also encountered opposition from the Sadducees, a group of well-educated Jews who did not believe in the resurrection. They referred to a stipulation in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) whereby if a man died childless, his brother should marry the widow in order to maintain the family name and property interests. In posing a hypothetical case, the Sadducees asked Jesus if a woman married seven brothers who died one after the other, whose wife she would be in the resurrection. Not only did Jesus assert that God had the power to raise the dead but also that marriage then would no longer exist, evidently the original design of the earth being fully populated having been fulfilled by that time. Additionally, as further proof of a future resurrection, Jesus reminded the Sadducees that when appearing to Moses at the burning bush, the heavenly Father revealed himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob which if there were no hope of a resurrection no such assertion would have been given. A scribe who had heard the Master’s response to the Sadducees appreciated his answer and then inquired of Jesus what was the greatest of all commandments. Our Lord then quoted again from Moses whom no scribe would dispute as an authority (Deuteronomy 6:4, 5, Leviticus 19:18). This scribe manifested sincerity of heart and agreed with Jesus that the supreme worship of God with one’s entire heart, soul and strength as well as loving ones neighbor as himself would be the most important things anyone could do. Jesus acknowledged his right attitude of heart by saying "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). The scribes were generally outwardly religious but took advantage of widows to enrich themselves and recited lengthy prayers as a professed demonstration of piety. They gave sizeable donations to the temple but Jesus commended a widow who contributed two mites which was all that she possessed as representing a true sacrifice as opposed to those who gave larger amounts out of their abundance. (Mark 12:38-44). Chapter Thirteen Following Jesus’ departure from the temple, one of his disciples expressed admiration for its architectural magnificence. "And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2). It was not long after this time that both the temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed. Christ’s real focus in his answer related to the end of the Gospel age and his return to earth’s atmosphere even though many centuries would pass before that occurred. Jesus also gave a lengthy description concerning various trials as well as deceptions that would take place before his second presence. Among the signs of Christ’s return would be "great tribulation" upon the earth that would lead to the destruction of the human race were it not for divine intervention at the appropriate time. Christ’s second presence is for the purpose of establishing a reign of righteousness and blessing for all the families of the earth. The reestablishment of Israel (fig tree) in her own homeland is evidence that we are presently living at the time when God’s promised Kingdom is imminent. Believers are exhorted to be watchful for evidences which describe where we presently stand on the stream of time (Mark 13:3-37). Chapter Fourteen This chapter contains several noteworthy events including Jesus’ anointing at Bethany, the Lord’s Supper, the Gethsemane experience, Christ’s appearance before the Sanhedrin and Peter’s denial of the master. Jesus and his disciples met in the home of Simon the Leper when an unnamed woman, probably Mary, used a vial of expensive perfume to anoint the Lord’s head. Some of the guests, probably led by Judas, murmured that this was wasteful and the precious commodity could have been sold to aid the poor, John 12:3 -6. Jesus rebuked their complaining attitude and expressed appreciation for the kindness rendered towards him indicating it would be memorialized throughout history.Subsequently, Judas went to the chief priests and made a covenant with them to betray Christ. On the night of the Passover Supper, he sat with the master and the other disciples but departed from them before the Memorial of Christ was instituted. After that solemn service ended, Jesus, along with his faithful followers, traveled to Gethsemane, desiring to enter into personal communion with the Father. He admonished Peter, James and John to be watchful while he went further into the garden. "And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:35-38). After Jesus returned from communing with his Father two additional times, he returned to find the disciples asleep. Finally, Judas led a crowd, including Roman soldiers into the Garden of Gethsemane and kissed the Lord so that he could be identified and arrested. The kiss was a sad symbol of betrayal. Jesus was then taken to Annas for questioning after which he was bound and sent to his son -in-law Caiaphas, the high priest (John 18:12-16, 19-24).In utter disregard for the rules under which they operated, the Sandhedrin conducted an illegal "night court" to charge Jesus. "Since it was contrary to the Jewish law to hold a session of the Sanhedrin for the trial of capital offences by night, and this being the night of the paschal supper, making it still more objectionable, it is clear that this was an irregular meeting of this assembly of the nation’s representatives, drawn together by common consent to participate in the crime of condemning their Messiah, Jehovah’s Anointed" (Reprints 1809). False accusations were made against Jesus but in fulfillment of prophecy, he did not open his mouth to refute them (Isaiah 53:7). However, upon direct questioning, Jesus affirmed he was the Christ after which he was accused of blasphemy, condemned to death, spat upon and then struck by the temple guard. The next recorded event in this chapter related to Peter who was standing in the courtyard below and was identified by one of the high priest’s servant girls as being a follower of the Master. After three denials by Peter complete with cursing, the cock began to crow and Peter wept as he recalled that Jesus had predicted this experience. Chapter Fifteen Chapter fifteen mentions a morning meeting of the Sanhedrin. From other accounts it seems that Jesus appeared before Pilate, then Herod, and then Pilate a second time (John 18: 28 -38, Luke 23:5-11). "And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they winess against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled" (Mark 15:2-5).It was customary for the Roman Governor to free one of the Jewish prisoners during the time of the Passover Feast and it was in Pilate’s power to free Jesus. Additionally, Pilate recog nized that the Jews had no valid case against Jesus. However, due to the envy of the religious leaders against Jesus and their stirring-up of the people’s animosity, he freed Barabbas and delivered Jesus over to the soldiers. The people mocked Jesus before he was led to Golgotha where the location had been prepared for his crucifixion, much of the subsequent cruelty toward Jesus and his suffering is curiously omitted by Mark. This account does mention the darkness that came upon the land for three hours, the final seven words uttered by Jesus before his death, rending of the temple’s veil from top to bottom and a centurion’s acknowledgment that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Finally, before the Sabbath commenced, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus secured the body of Jesus, embalmed it and placed it in a new tomb hewn out of rock.Chapter Sixteen Chapter sixteen declares Jesus’ resurrection and vindicates his earlier claim of being the Son of God. "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great" (Mark 16:1-4). As devoted followers of the Master, the two Marys and Salome wanted to pay homage to Christ’s memory by anointing His body with spices. How astonished they must have been to find the stone that sealed the tomb was no longer in place and they were able to enter the sepulcher. However, they were informed by an angel dressed in white that Jesus was not there but had risen. Furthermore, the celestial visitor commissioned the women to proclaim this truth to the disciples, especially to Peter, and to inform them that the risen Lord would meet them in Galilee. With a sense of great amazement and trembling, they hastened to fulfill the angel’s bidding (Mark 16:5-8). Concerning the words found in the balance of this chapter, we note the following: "The oldest and most authentic Greek manuscripts (the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS.) do not contain these verses at all, but end at verse. It seems evident that Mark’s gospel was originally incomplete and that someone undertook to finish it for him about the fifth century; for the Alexandrine MS., written in the fifth century is the oldest Greek MS which contains the last twelve verses" (Reprints 1998). While there are Bible translations that include the entire Mark account through verse 20, we believe these verses are not part of the original text. While some of the events noted are also mentioned in the other three gospels, the alleged promise to believers that they could drink any deadly thing without harm is inconsistent with the overall tenor of the Bible. A concise narrative of the closing week of Jesus’ ministry is preserved for us in the Gospel of Mark. It is a great blessing to all who study its words carefully and appreciate the faithfulness and devotion of our blessed Redeemer in fulfilling God’s plan for the human family.
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