Introduction: How do you react to stress? I’ve almost never
been under the stress of a situation in which my life was at
stake. My stress has been connected with the courtroom and
public speaking. A little stress is good for presentations.
An enormous amount of stress can be paralyzing. In our study
this week, Jesus’ disciples go from a pleasant dinner to the
stress of thinking they might be killed. Jesus knows that He
will be killed, yet He handles the stress confidently. Let’s
jump into our study of Mark and learn more!
I. Enemies and a Friend
A. Read Mark 14:1-2. Why do the Jewish leaders want
to “arrest [Jesus] by stealth and kill Him?” (Read
John 11:47-48. Their motive to kill is that they
believe Jesus will overshadow them. He is a threat
to the political system. Their motive for stealth
is because they are acting against the will of the
public. Using the “judicial” system against an
enemy outside the view of the public is typical of
tyrants.)
B. Read Mark 14:3. What is this individual women
doing in contrast to the Jewish leaders? (She is
honoring Jesus by pouring expensive perfume over
his head.)
1. Is this a good thing?
C. Read Mark 14:4-6. Jesus says it is a “beautiful
thing” that she has done. On what basis are others
scolding this woman? (The money could have been
given to the poor.)
1. Do you know of “scolds” today who make the
same kind of charges about how other people
use their money?
D. Read Mark 14:7-9. What does Jesus say to the
“scolds” and what does He say to the woman? (He
tells the scolds that they can contribute their
money to the poor any time they want. To the woman
He says she has anointed Him for burial and her
act will be famous.)
II. Last Supper
A. Skip ahead and read Mark 14:12-13, Mark 14:16-17,
and Mark 14:22-24. What is Jesus explaining about
Passover? (He is the Passover lamb. What they are
eating symbolizes His body and His blood.)
1. Why is Jesus making this explanation now? (He
wants His disciples to understand why He is
about to die. He wants them to understand how
He fulfills the symbolism of Passover. They
have resisted believing He would die.)
B. Read Mark 14:25. Why is this? (Among other things,
it is a promise of Heaven. Implicit is the
understanding that they will be there to drink
with Jesus in heaven.)
III. Betrayal
A. Read Mark 14:10-11 and Mark 14:43-46. We are going
to see that many of the disciples are disloyal to
Jesus. Does Judas’ act make any logical sense to
you? If Judas believed, as the other disciples did
(see Acts 1:6), that Jesus would set up a kingdom,
why would he sell this rich future for a small
amount of money? (I believe Judas betrayed Jesus
for money, but not the money given to him by the
chief priests. He had seen Jesus’ power, and He
thought he was forcing Jesus to take power now.
Jesus would thank him later.)
B. Read Mark 14:18-21. Why does Jesus point out His
betrayer? (He is giving Judas one last chance. I
think Jesus is telling Judas that he is not
helping Jesus’ kingdom, he is betraying Jesus.)
C. Read Mark 14:26-28. Will the rest of Jesus’
disciples also be disloyal to Him?
1. How would you feel if you were Jesus?
2. Is the betrayal of the other disciples
different than that of Judas?
D. Read Mark 14:29. Why does Peter think that he
alone will not betray Jesus? What does this say
about him?
E. Read Mark 14:30-31. Notice that the rest of the
disciples are listening. Does this embarrass
Peter?
F. Read Mark 14:32-37. How can a man who is willing
to die for Jesus not able to stay awake and pray
for Him? (Read Mark 14:38. Jesus’ answer is that
Peter is human. Jesus is generous to Peter.)
1. Have you been let down by “weak flesh?”
2. What is the cure for “weak flesh?” (Jesus
tells Peter “watch and pray.” We must rely on
God and we must pay attention to what is
important.)
G. Read Mark 14:39-42. Put yourself in Jesus’ place.
Three times His closest disciples have let Him
down on a very simple matter – praying for Him.
How would you feel entering into the most
difficult time of your life? (The lesson is that
we can only trust God. Others will let us down and
it might be unintentionally.)
H. Let’s skip ahead and read Mark 14:46-47 and read
John 18:10-11. When Jesus is first taken, Peter
draws his sword and tries to strike the head of
the servant of the High Priest. Was Peter serious
when he said he would die for Jesus? (He was
deadly serious. Drawing his sword could have
gotten him killed.)
I. Let’s continue with Peter. Read Mark 14:53-54 and
Mark 14:66-72. How do you explain Peter’s journey
from drawing his sword to swearing he does not
know Jesus? (Peter meant what he said. He drew his
sword, He disregarded his life to defend Jesus.
But Jesus did not join in the fight. Peter was
shocked that Jesus, who could control the
elements, did not fight back and take His kingdom.
Peter was willing to die for a winning cause. He
was not willing to die for a cause that had him
doubting the future.)
1. Why do you think Peter wept? (He had let Jesus
down. He could not trust himself and he could
not trust his future. His life was adrift.)
J. Let’s look at another deserter. Read
Mark 14:51-52. Is this a disciple? (No. Otherwise he would be
named.)
1. Why is he wearing only a linen cloth? (This
suggests he was sleeping, heard that Jesus was
about to be arrested, and ran to the scene
without properly dressing.)
2. Is he a supporter of Jesus? (The people coming
to arrest Jesus think so.)
3. Why is this included in Mark? (Many think Mark
is writing about himself. It may be his
confession that he, too, abandoned Jesus. If
this were not Mark, it would make no sense to
include it. The idea is that Jesus was let
down by all of His followers.)
IV. Jesus Our Rock
A. Read Mark 14:43-46 and Mark 14:48-49. What is the
answer to Jesus’ question about why they did not
arrest Him in daylight in the temple? (We know the
answer from Mark 14:2. They were afraid of the
people.)
B. Read Mark 14:53 and Mark 14:55-59. How is the
trial going for the religious leaders? (Terribly.
The false witnesses cannot agree on their story.)
C. Read Mark 14:60-61. How desperate is the High
Priest when he asks Jesus to condemn himself?
(Read Deuteronomy 17:6 and Deuteronomy 19:15. They
had an evidentiary rule that a person could not be
convicted on his own testimony. Jesus had the
right to remain silent.)
D. Read Deuteronomy 19:18-20. What should the High
Priest have been doing? (He should have been
closely examining the false witnesses. Guess who
had procured the false witnesses?)
E. Read Mark 14:61-64. Has the entire council decided
to ignore the evidentiary rules? Has Jesus been
denied due process? (No. We now have many
witnesses. The latest charge is blasphemy based on
Jesus saying that He is the Son of God. They all
heard it.)
1. Do you think Jesus had a moral obligation to
give the answer that He did?
F. Read Mark 14:65. Does this seem to you to be the
way a normal trial would go? (They truly hated
Jesus!)
G. Friend, not many reading this study have
experienced people who truly hated them because of
the gospel. That is changing in the Western world.
Hate is on the rise. What will you do when faced
with those who would take your freedom or your
life? Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a humble
confidence to remain true to Jesus.
V. Next week: Tried and Crucified.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
