Chapter Overview
Mark’s gospel moves swiftly toward Jesus’ arrest and trial. There is a powerful contrast between the woman who anoints Him with expensive oil and Judas who betrays Him for thirty pieces of silver. Both would be remembered for generations for very different reasons. Jesus proceeds to meet with the disciples and institute the memorial supper. He announces that a betrayer would come from among them. But He later tells them that, in the short term, they will all fall away. Peter, of course, denies this vehemently. Following this, Jesus prays in the garden, while Peter, James, and John fall asleep a short distance away. Jesus is then arrested and accused of blasphemy by Jewish leadership. In those moments, Peter falters in faith and denies Jesus three times. Peter then weeps in sorrow.
The potency of this chapter is in the characters around Jesus. The woman anoints Him with costly oil, demonstrating service and her understanding of His sacrifice. Judas, on the other hand, lets greed dominate his thinking. It has blinded him to true and selfless faith. We would do well to study them both and decide who we want to emulate. The rest of the chapter turns attention to Peter and his pride. He said he would never desert Jesus. While he certainly had a stronger faith than Judas, he did not prepare well to stand firm. He was overconfident and it cost him. We should learn humility from this story, to pray fervently, and to prepare for temptation.
Dear loving Father, who sent Your Son to die for our sins and redeem us to You. Thank You for His willingness to suffer and die for us. Some never understood the value of His death. Some even contributed to it. Others struggled to understand what it means to stand up for it. Lord God, help us to learn from all those people. Give us the gratitude to praise His sacrifice every day and help us develop the humility to spend time each day in prayer. Prepare us and encourage us to share in His suffering with selfless, faithful living.
Thought Questions
- 1Judas traveled with Jesus but harbored greed in his heart. How do you cultivate your heart to remain selfless and free from greed?
- 2The Lord’s Supper is important to Jesus and to Christians. How are you already preparing to partake on Sunday in fellowship with Jesus?
- 3Peter was a man of faith, but he had a lot to learn about humility, prayer, and facing temptation. What do you learn from his example?