What Jesus Did

Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, "Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?" But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"

—Mark 14:60-61 NLT

Key Thought​

In fulfillment of the description of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, Jesus did not open his mouth. If the totality of his ministry had not been enough to silence his...

 

Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony [against Jesus]: "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.'" But even then they didn't get their stories straight!

—Mark 14:57-59 NLT

Key Thought​

Yes, Jesus did say something like this accusation. Yes, it was confusing to those who heard it, even his closest followers. But, Jesus never said such a thing about the literal Temple...

 

Inside [the high priest's home], the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn't find any. Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other.

—Mark 14:55-56 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus' opponents found liars they could "rent" for the duration of Jesus' trial (Matthew 26:59-60). This behavior reminds us once again of two terrible realities:

1. Religious people can...

 

[The soldiers and Temple guards who arrested Jesus, took him] to the high priest's home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest's courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

—Mark 14:53-54 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus was brought before the leaders of the Jewish people, but Peter — the leader of Jesus' followers — stayed at a...

 

One young man following behind [when Jesus was arrested] was clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked

—Mark 14:51-52 NLT

Key Thought​

While Mark 14:50 is one of the most heart-wrenching passages of the Bible, these verses are some of the most intriguing. Some have suggested that this reference is to John Mark, who wrote this gospel — these verses don't occur elsewhere — and that this is his signature...

 

[When Jesus was arrested,] all his disciples deserted him and ran away.

—Mark 14:50 NLT

Key Thought​

For me, this is one of the saddest verses in all of the Bible. Jesus is completely left alone by those whom he had loved, trained, warned, and prepared. The Son of God will now face the pent-up fury of those who have hated him. He will bear unspeakable brutality and have no one to stand with him in his time of agony. He will be condemned to death alone. Because he has faced...

 

[To the armed mob that came to arrest him, Jesus said,] "Why didn't you arrest me in the Temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me."

—Mark 14:49 NLT

Key Thought​

Just as Jesus used a question in the previous verse to confront his accusers about their injustice (Mark 14:48), he confronted their fear and treachery in this verse. They came to arrest him at night in his place of prayer away from the...

 

Jesus asked [the armed crowd], "Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me?"

—Mark 14:48 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus' questions — in this verse and those that follow — help underscore the crucial travesty of the whole story of Jesus' Passion (arrest, trials, and crucifixion): Jesus didn't deserve what happened to him. He is holy, righteous, compassionate, and loving. Why should he be treated so unfairly? Why would the religious and political...

 

[After Judas betrayed Jesus to the mob,] one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest's slave, slashing off his ear.

—Mark 14:47 NLT

Key Thought​

Peter and the apostles had all agreed that they would die with Jesus if necessary (Mark 14:31). Yet their thoughts seemed locked into a wrong way to view their Lord as Messiah. Apparently they thought he would be a military and political deliverer. So in what seems like an attempt to start the battle of...

 

The traitor, Judas, had given [the armed men] a prearranged signal: "You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard." As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. "Rabbi!" he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.
Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.


—Mark 14:44-46 NLT

Key Thought​

How sadly ironic! With a kiss, Judas betrays the one who loves him most. For everyone whose heart has been broken by someone he...