Mark 14
Go Deeper
This chapter has to be the saddest in the entire Bible. In it, we see Jesus deserted by His very closest friends. Friends that He has spent the previous three years traveling with, teaching, pouring into, and loving all desert Him in His hour of need. It starts with Judas, full of greed, who agrees to betray Jesus to the chief priests in exchange for 30 pieces of silver (a value of around $200 today). His disciples then betray Jesus by falling asleep while they’re supposed to be praying, and then, once the chief priests come, they all scatter. One follower of Jesus even flees naked rather than be caught! Finally, Peter, the last disciple to stay with Jesus, ends up denying Him three times, just as Jesus predicted. At the end of this chapter, Jesus is all alone.
It’s painful to read, even more painful to imagine. Not only was Jesus about to withstand the physical torture and pain that would end up taking His life, but first He was rejected from the very people who were supposed to be with Him to the end. And why? Because they were afraid. They loved being with Jesus for the healings and miracles, for the walking on water, but the moment it got hard, they scattered. They were afraid to be seen with Him, because they didn’t want to have to endure the pain He was about to go through. But before we judge the disciples, what would we have done? Do we only follow Jesus in the good times, when life goes our way? The second the seas get choppy, do we abandon ship? While following Jesus does guarantee us eternal rest and happiness and joy forever in Heaven, in this world Jesus promises us that we will have trouble (John 16:33). When trouble comes, let’s be people who follow Jesus into it, through it, and beyond it, because trouble with Jesus is still better than anything without Him.
Questions
What is the first thing that stands out to you about the character of Jesus in this passage?
In verse 8, when Jesus is defending the woman who anointed Him with oil, He says, “She has done what she could.” Could Jesus say the same about you right now? In what ways are you/aren’t you doing all you can to serve Him?
When things get tough, what is your tendency–to follow Jesus or abandon Him? In what ways has God remained faithful to you even in the hard times?