Mark 14 - Introduction
CHAPTER 14. THE PASSION HISTORY.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 14. THE PASSION HISTORY.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦν δὲ τὸ π.: the first hint that the visit of Jesus to Jerusalem took place at passover season. τὸ πάσχα καὶ τὰ ἄζυμα : full name of the feast, which consisted of the passover proper beginning on the 14th Nisan, and the seven days of unleavened bread. Mt. and Lk. give each only one of the designatio... [ Continue Reading ]
_Introduction_ (Matthew 26:1-5; Luke 22:1-2).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔλεγον γάρ is a more difficult reading than ἔλ. δὲ of Mt., hence the correction in T.R. The γάρ presupposes that the murder of Jesus during the feast was from the first regarded as out of the question, and the clause following partly makes that fact explicit, partly assigns a reason for it. They wan... [ Continue Reading ]
_The anointing in Bethany_ (Matthew 26:6-13).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὄντος αὐτοῦ, κατακειμένου αὐτοῦ : two genitive absolute clauses whereof Weiss makes critical use (Marcus-Evang.); in which Schanz sees simply an instance of Mk.'s helplessness in style. The first indicates generally the time and place, the second the position of Jesus (at table) when the woman appro... [ Continue Reading ]
τινὲς, certain persons; who, not indicated; Mt. says the disciples, John singles out Judas. τοῦ μύρου γέγονεν : these words omitted in Mt. Observe the repetition in Mark 14:5, τοῦτο τὸ μύρον ([127] [128] [129], etc.). Mt. simply has τοῦτο (so here in T.R.). Mt. more elegant in style, but Mk. truer t... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπάνω, etc., for above three hundred pence. The cardinal number is here in the genitive of price after πραθῆναι. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 ἐπάνω is followed by a dative depending on ὤφθη.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ἐμοί, in me (_cf._ Matthew 17:12), for the more usual εἰς ἐμέ (in Mt., and imported into Mk. in T.R.).... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ὅταν θέλητε, etc., and when ye wish ye can do them a kindness; a thought implied in the previous clause (the poor ye have always), and probably an expansion by Mk. (_cf._ Mt.), yet not superfluous: suggesting the thought that expenditure in one direction does not disqualify for beneficent acts i... [ Continue Reading ]
ὃ ἔσχεν (suppl. ποιεῖν), what she had to do she did; the reference being not to the measure of her power (wealth) but to her opportunity: she did what lay to her hand, and could only be done _then_. προέλαβε μυρίσαι, she anticipated the anointing; the latter verb here only, the former in 1 Corinthia... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς ὅλον τ. κ. for ἐν ο., etc., in Mt.; a _constr. praeg._, the idea of going to all parts of the world with the gospel being understood.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Judas offers to betray his Master_ (Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐχάρησαν, they _rejoiced_; when one of the twelve companions of Jesus unexpectedly turned up ready to deliver his Master into their hands. A most vivid feature omitted by Mt. in his summarising way. Well might they rejoice, as but for this windfall they might have been totally at a loss how to compa... [ Continue Reading ]
τῇ π. ἡμέρᾳ τ. ἀ. ὅτε τ. πάσχα ἔθυον : again a double note of time, the second clause indicating precisely that by the first day is meant the 14th Nisan. Schanz, following the Greek Fathers, takes πρώτῃ in the first clause as = προτέρᾳ, yielding the same sense as πρὸ τ. ἑορ. τ. πάσχα in John 13:1. π... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arrangements for paschal feast_ (Matthew 26:17-19; Luke 22:7-13). Mk. is much more circumstantial in this section than Mt., his apparent aim being to explain how Judas did not find his opportunity at the paschal supper, the place of celebration being carefully concealed beforehand.... [ Continue Reading ]
δύο : more exact than Mt.; of course all the disciples would not be sent on such an errand. Lk. names the two. ὑπάγετε, etc.: the instructions in Mk. are sufficient to guide the messengers. Mt.'s πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα is manifestly too vague, and could not have been spoken by Jesus. ἄνθρωπος : water-carryi... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸ κατάλυμά μου, _my_ guest chamber. This μου of the best texts is interesting as suggesting a previous understanding between Jesus and the householder. It is not necessary to import the miraculous into the narrative.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνάγαιον (ἀνά, γαῖα = γῆ), a room above the earth, an upper room. μέγα, large, enough for the company. ἐστρωμένον, furnished with table-cushions. ἕτοιμον, perhaps a synonym for ἐστρωμένον = furnished, all ready; possibly pointing to the removal of leaven (C.G.T.).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔρχεται : after sunset _He cometh_ to the place appointed for the feast, presumably after the two who had been sent to make arrangements had rejoined the company.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The presence of a traitor announced_ (Matthew 26:20-25; Luke 22:21-23).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ ἐσθίων μετʼ ἐμοῦ : this clause, omitted in Mt., is designed to indicate, not the culprit, but the gravity of his offence = one of you, _one who eats bread with me, a table companion_.... [ Continue Reading ]
εἶς κατὰ εἶς, one by one = εἶς ἕκαστος in Mt.; κατὰ is used adverbially, and hence is followed by εἶς instead of ἕνα. For other instances of this usage of late Greek _vide_ John 8:9; Romans 12:5, and _cf._ Winer, § xxxvii. 3.... [ Continue Reading ]
To the anxious questioning of the disciples Mk. makes Jesus reply: one of the _Twelve_; he _who dippeth with me in the dish_. A repetition of the original declaration with variations: the _Twelve_ for _you_, and _dipping in the dish for eating_; the former bringing out the gravity of the fact, the T... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅτι, assigns a reason for the fact just stated. To fulfil Scripture (Psalms 41:9) the Son of Man must go from the earth through betrayal by an intimate. This verse contains an instance in Mk. of the construction μὲν δὲ (again in Mark 14:38 and in Mark 16:19-20). καλὸν αὐτῷ, good for him, without the... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐσθιόντωνα., while they were eating, as in Mark 14:18; a very general indication of time. This and the announcement of the betrayal are for Mt. and Mk. the two _memorabilia_ of the paschal feast of Jesus with His disciples, and all they know is that they happened during feast-time. λάβετε, take, wit... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord's Supper_ (Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:19-20), _vide_ notes on Mt.'s account, to which Mk.'s closely corresponds.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἔπιον, etc., and they drank of it, all. In Mt.'s account Jesus bids them drink, as He had previously bidden them eat. Mk.'s version strikes one as the more primitive; Mt.'s as influenced by liturgical usage.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ εἶπεν : while they drank the cup (not after they had drunk it, De Wette: nor before they began to drink, as Mt.'s narrative by itself would suggest), Jesus explained to them the symbolic import of the cup. The important point in Mk.'s account of the words, as compared with Mt.'s, is the omission... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark 14:26, exactly as in Matthew 26:30, states that after singing the paschal hymn the company went forth towards the Mount of Olives.... [ Continue Reading ]
_On the way to Gethsemane_ (Matthew 26:30-35; Luke 22:39).... [ Continue Reading ]
πάντες σκανδαλισθήσεσθε, ye all shall be made to stumble; absolutely, without the addition of ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ imported into the text from Mt. in T.R. It was a startling announcement in broad general terms that the disciple-circle was about to experience a moral breakdown. The announcement... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀλλὰ μ.: stronger than Mt.'s μ. δὲ = ye shall be offended, _but_ (be of good cheer) after my resurrection I will go before you, as your Shepherd (προάξω ὑμᾶς) into Galilee.... [ Continue Reading ]
It is the former part of the Master's speech that lays hold of Peter's mind; hence he promptly proceeds to make protestations of fidelity. εἰ καὶ, etc.: even if (as is likely) all the rest shall be offended (the future, because the case put is conceived to be probable), _yet certainly_ (ἀλλʼ strongl... [ Continue Reading ]
To this over-confident ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐγώ of the disciple, the Master returns a very pointed and peremptory reply: I tell thee that _thou_ (σὺ emphatic) _to-day_ (σήμερον), _on this night_ (more precise indication of time), _before the cock crow twice_ (still more precise indication of time), shall deny m... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκπερισσῶς, abundantly in matter and manner, with vehemence and iteration; a ἅπαξ λεγ. ἐλάλει, kept saying: that he would not deny his Master even if he had to die for it. ὡσαύτως, a stronger word than Mt.'s ὁμοίως = in the same way, and probably in the same words. But the words of the others were s... [ Continue Reading ]
_In Gethsemane_ (Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:40-46).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἤρξατο, introduces the description of our Lord's awful experience in the garden. ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι, to be amazed; in Mk. only, first in Mark 9:15, where see remarks on its meaning. Though Jesus had long known, and had often with realistic plainness spoken of, what was to befall Him, yet the vivid sense o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔπιπτεν ([130] [131] [132], ἔπεσεν T.R. as in Mt.), imperfect: He fell again and again on the ground. It was a protracted desperate struggle. καὶ προσηύχετο ἵνα : Mk. first indicates the gist of Christ's prayers (= that if possible the _hour_ might pass from Him), then reports what Jesus said (Mark... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ : in the parallels simply πάτερ. In the Apostolic Church the use of the double appellation among Gentile Christians was common (_vide_ Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6), Ἀββά having become a proper name and πατὴρ being added as its interpretation = God our Father. Mk. imparts into the prayer... [ Continue Reading ]
τῷ Πέτρῳ : to the disciple who had been so confident of his loyalty, but also from whom Jesus expected most in the way of sympathy. Σίμων : the old, not the new, disciple, name; ominous.... [ Continue Reading ]
This exhortation to watch and pray is given in almost identical terms in Mt. and Mk. It looks like a secondary version of what our Lord actually said.... [ Continue Reading ]
Mk., like Mt., divides the agony into three acts, but he reports the words spoken by Jesus in prayer only in the first. Mt. gives the prayer of Jesus in the second act, as well as in the first, generalising in the third, where he repeats the formula here used by Mk.: τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον εἰπών.... [ Continue Reading ]
καταβαρυνόμενοι, “their eyes were very heavy”; R. V [133], weighed down with irresistible sleep. καταβαρύνω, here and occasionally in the Sept [134] = the more usual καταβαρέω (from the simple verb βαρέω comes βεβαρημένοι in T.R.). καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν, etc.: this remark recalls the experience of the sam... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀπέχει, “it is enough,” A. V [135] = _sufficit_ in Vulgate; one of the puzzling words in Mk.'s vocabulary to which many meanings have been given. Beza, in doubt as to Jerome's interpretation, was satisfied at last by a quotation from Anacreon coming into his mind, in which the poet, giving instructi... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐθὺς, etc. (ἰδοὺ in Mt.), straightway, even while He is speaking, appears Judas, who is carefully defined by surname and position as one of the Twelve. At what point of time the traitor left the company on his nefarious errand is not indicated. According to Weiss (in Meyer) the evangelist conceives... [ Continue Reading ]
_The apprehension_ (Matthew 26:47-56; Luke 22:47-53).... [ Continue Reading ]
δεδώκει : the pluperfect, but without augment, _vide_ Winer, § xii. 9. σύσσημον (neuter of adjective σύσσημος : σύν, σῆμα): a sign previously agreed on (σημεῖον in Mt.), a late word severely condemned by Phrynichus, p. 418, here only in N. T. In Sept [136] for נֵם an “ensign” (Is. Mark 5:26). ἀσφαλῶ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐλθὼν εὐθὺς προσελθὼν = arrived on the spot he without delay approaches Jesus; no hesitation, promptly and adroitly done. Ραββί : without Mt.'s χαῖρε, and only once spoken (twice in T.R.), the fervour of false love finding expression in the kiss (κατεφίλησεν, _vide_ notes on Mt.) rather than in word... [ Continue Reading ]
εἷς τ. παρ., one of those standing by, _i.e._, one of the three, Peter according to the fourth gospel (John 18:10). τὴν μάχ., _the_ sword = his sword, as if each disciple was armed; _vide_ on Mt. ὠτάριον = ὠτίον, T.R., diminutive of οὖς; the use of diminutives for the members of the body was common... [ Continue Reading ]
_Attempt at rescue_.... [ Continue Reading ]
On this and the following verse _vide_ notes on Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἵνα πληρωθῶσιν αἱ γ.: this may be a case of ἵνα with the subjunctive used as an imperative = let the Scriptures be fulfilled. _Cf._ 2 Corinthians 8:7, last clause, and consult Winer, § xliii. 5 d.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἀφέντες, etc., and deserting Him fled _all_ (πάντες last, _vide_ above): the nine with the three, the three not less than the nine all alike panic-stricken.... [ Continue Reading ]
introduces a little anecdote peculiar to Mk., the story of an unknown friend, not one of the Twelve, who had joined the company, and did not fly with the rest. συνηκολούθει α., was following Jesus; when He was being led away, and after the disciples had fled. περι βεβλημένος σινδόνα ἐπὶ γυμνοῦ : thi... [ Continue Reading ]
γυμνὸς ἔφ., fled _naked_, in the literal sense, whereon Bengel remarks: “on a night not without a moon; fear conquers shame in great danger”. (A few years ago a young wife chased a thief, who had been stealing her wedding presents, through the streets of Glasgow, in the early hours of the morning, i... [ Continue Reading ]
συνέρχονται α. πάντες, etc.: again all the three orders of the Sanhedrists are named, who have been summoned to meet about the time the party sent to apprehend Jesus might be expected to arrive.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Before Caiaphas_ (Matthew 26:57-68; Luke 22:54; Luke 22:66-71).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ Πέτρος : the story of Peter's denial begins here, and, after being suspended by the account of the trial, is resumed at Mark 14:66. ἀπὸ μακρόθεν, from afar (ἀπὸ redundant here as elsewhere), fearful, yet drawn on by love and curiosity. ἕως ἔσω εἰς : a redundant but expressive combination, suggesti... [ Continue Reading ]
μαρτυρίαν : Mt. has ψευδομαρτυρίαν, justly so characterised, because the Sanhedrists wanted evidence for a foregone conclusion: evidence that would justify a sentence of death.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The trial and condemnation_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἴσαι, equal, to the same effect, as the testimonies of true witnesses would, of course, be. Grotius takes the word as meaning, not equal to one another, but equal to the demands of weighty evidence and justifying condemnation. Elsner agrees, arguing from the use of the word again, in reference to th... [ Continue Reading ]
τινες, some, for which Mt. has the more definite δύο, the smallest number necessary to establish a matter.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅτι, etc.: Mk.'s version of the testimony borne by the witnesses differs in important respects from that of Mt.; _viz._, by the insertion of the words τὸν χειροποίητον and ἄλλον ἀχειροποίητον. Mt.'s form doubtless comes nearest to what the witnesses actually said. Mk.'s puts into their mouths, to a... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς μέσον : a graphic feature in Mk., suggesting that the high priest arose from his seat and advanced into the semi-circle of the council towards Jesus the action of an irritated, baffled man. οὐκ ἀποκρίνῃ : on the high priest's question _vide_ notes on Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐσιώπα καὶ, etc.: one of Mk.'s dualisms, yet not idle repetition = He maintained the silence He had observed up to that point (imperfect), and He answered nothing to the high priest's pointed question (aorist). πάλιν : the high priest makes another attempt to draw Jesus into some self-condemning utt... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἐγώ εἰμι. On Christ's reply to the high priest affirming the Messianic claim, _vide_ notes on Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
τοὺς χιτῶνας, his tunics, or undergarments, of which persons in good position wore two.... [ Continue Reading ]
τί ὑμῖν φαίνεται, what appears to you to be the appropriate penalty of such blasphemous speech? = τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ in Mt. Nösgen denies the equivalence, and renders Mk.'s peculiar phrase: what lies for you on the hand, what is now your duty? with appeal to Xenophon, Anab., v., 7, 3.... [ Continue Reading ]
τινες : presumably Sanhedrists. περικαλύπτειν : Mt. says nothing of this, but he as well as Mk. represents them as asking Jesus to prophesy. Mt.'s version implies that Jesus was struck from behind, Mk.'s in front. οἱ ὑπηρέται : following the example of their masters. ῥαπίσμασιν αὐτὸν ἔλαβον, receive... [ Continue Reading ]
κάτω ἐ. τ. α., _below_ in the court, implying that the trial of Jesus had taken place in a chamber on a higher level. ἔρχεται μία, etc., cometh one of the maids of the high priest a servant in his palace, on some errand that night when all things were out of their usual course. That a maid should be... [ Continue Reading ]
_Peter's denial_ (Matthew 26:69-75; Luke 22:54-62).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδοῦσα : Peter, sitting at the fire, catches her eye, and she sees at once that he is a stranger. Going closer to him, and looking sharply into his face in the dim fire-light (ἐμβλέψασα), she comes at once to her conclusion. καὶ σὺ, etc., thou also wert with the Nazarene that Jesus; spoken in a cont... [ Continue Reading ]
οὔτε οἶδα, etc., I neither know nor understand, _thou_, what thou sayest. οὔτε - οὔτε connect closely the two verbs as expressing inability to comprehend what she means. The unusual emphatic position of σὺ (σὺ τί λέγεις, smoothed down into τί σὺ λ. in T.R.) admirably reflects affected astonishment.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡ παιδίσκη : the article naturally suggests that it is the same maid, and probably but for harmonistic interests there would have been no doubt on the subject. Yet the fact that Mt. makes it another obliges us to ask whether Mk.'s expression necessarily means the same person. Grotius, whom Rosenmüll... [ Continue Reading ]
Now, it is the bystanders who persecute Peter with the charge of being a disciple. ἀληθῶς : they are quite sure of it, for two reasons (1) the maid's confidence not specified but implied in the καὶ γὰρ, which introduces an additional reason; (2) Γαλιλαῖος εἶ = you are (by your speech) a Galilean. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀναθεματίζειν : used absolutely, to call down curses on himself in case he was telling lies. Mt. has καταθ., which is probably a contraction from καταναθ. (in T.R.).... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐθὺς : omitted in the MSS. which insert a first cock-crow in Mark 14:68, as implying that this was the first crow at that hour, as in Mt. ἐκ δευτέρου (omitted in [141] [142] because apparently implying a first cock-crow during the denial, which they omit) must be understood with Weiss as referring... [ Continue Reading ]