Mark 14

¹After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.

²But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

³And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

⁴And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

⁶And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

⁷For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

⁸She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

⁹Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

¹⁰And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.

¹¹And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

See this passage explained in Mt 26:1-16

Verse 1. And of unleavened bread. So called because that at that feast no other bread was used but that which had been made without leaven or yeast.

By craft. By subtilty, (Matt.;) that is, by some secret plan that would secure possession of him without exciting the opposition of the people.

³And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

Ointment. This word does not convey quite the proper meaning. This was a perfume: it was used only to give a pleasant odour, and was liquid.

Of spikenard. The nard, from which this perfume was made, is a plant of the East Indies, with a small slender stalk, and a heavy, thick root. The best perfume is obtained from the root, though the stalk and fruit are used for that purpose.

And she brake the box. This may mean no more than that she broke the seal of the box. so that it could be poured out. Boxes of perfumes are often sealed, or made fast with wax, to prevent the perfume from escaping. It was not likely that she would break the box itself when it was unnecessary; and when the unguent, being liquid, would have been wasted, when it was very precious. Nor from a broken box or phial, could she easily have poured it on his head.

⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Three hundred pence. About 41 dollars 40 cents.

⁸She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

She hath done what she could. She has showed the highest attachment in her power; and it was, as it is now, a sufficient argument against there being any real waste, that it was done for the honour of Christ.

¹²And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?

¹³And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

¹⁴And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

¹⁵And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

¹⁶And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

See Mt 16:17-19

Verses 12,13. They killed the passover. The paschal lamb, which was slain in keeping the passover.

Go and prepare. Go and prepare a lamb, have it roasted, and properly prepared with the usual things to eat with it.

The city. The city of Jerusalem. They were now in Bethany, about two miles from the city.

A man bearing a pitcher of water. This could have been known only by the infinite knowledge of Christ. Such a thing could not have been conjectured, nor was there any concert between him and the man, that at that time he should be in a particular place to meet them, for the disciples themselves proposed the inquiry. If Jesus knew a circumstance like that, then he, in the same way, must have known all things. Then he sees all the actions of man; hears every word, and marks every thought. Then the righteous are under his care; and the wicked, much as they may wish to be unseen, cannot escape the notice of his eye.

¹⁴And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

The goodman of the house. This signifies simply the master of the house. The original word expresses nothing respecting his character, whether it was good or bad.

The guestchamber. A chamber for guests or friends--an unoccupied room.

¹⁵And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

A large upper room. The word used here denotes the upper room devoted to purposes of prayer, repose, and often of eating. Mt 9:2.

Furnished and prepared. Literally, spread and ready. Spread with a carpet, or with couches, such as were used in eating. Mt 23:6.

³¹But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

More vehemently. More earnestly, more confidently.

³⁶And 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.

Abba. This word denotes father. It is a Syriac word, and is used by our Saviour as a word denoting filial affection and tenderness. See Rom 8:15.

⁴⁰And when he returned, he found them asleep again,(for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.

Neither wist they, etc. Neither knew they. They were so conscious of the impropriety of sleeping at that time, that they could not find any answer to give to the inquiry why they had done it.

⁴¹And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

It is enough. There has been much difficulty in determining the meaning of this phrase. Campbell translates it, “All is over;” i.e., the time when you could have been of service to me is gone by. They might have aided him by watching for him, when they were sleeping; but now the time was past, and he was already, as it were, in the hands of his enemies. It is not improbable, however, that after his agony some time elapsed before Judas came. He had required them to watch, i. e., to keep awake, during that season of agony. After that, they might have been suffered to sleep, while Jesus watched alone. As he saw Judas approach, he probably roused them, saying, It is sufficient--as much repose has been taken as is allowable--the enemy is near, and the Son of man is about to be betrayed.

⁴⁵And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

Master, master. As if expressing great joy that he had found him again.

⁵¹And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:

A certain young man. Who this was, we have no means of determining. That he was not one of the apostles is dear. It is probable that he was of one of the neighbouring villages or houses, and was roused from sleep by the noise made by the rabble, and came to see what was doing; nor is it known why this circumstance is recorded by Mark. It is omitted by all the other evangelists. It may have been recorded to show that the conspirators had instructions to take the apostles as well as Jesus; and supposing him to be one of them, they laid hold of him to take him before the high priest.

A linen cloth cast about his naked body. He was roused from sleep, and probably threw around him what was most convenient. They slept in linen bedclothes commonly, and he seized a part of the clothes, and hastily threw it round him.

The young men. The Roman soldiers, They were called young men because they were made up chiefly of youth originally. This was a Jewish mode of speaking. See Gen 14:24, 2Sam 2:14, Isa 13:18.

Laid hold on him. Supposing him to be one of the apostles.