The Jewish Annotated New Testament (210 page)

14
:
Desolating sacrilege
, from Dan 11.31; 12.11 (“shiqquts meshomem”), the image of Zeus placed in the Temple by the Seleucids at the outbreak of the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. In Mark it may refer to Caligula’s image of himself that he intended to erect in the Temple; his assassination in 40 CE removed the threat.

19
–32:
Apocalyptic motifs are incorporated here (Dan 12;
1 En
. 8.2; 83.1), and accompanied by warnings to be alert.

19
:
Mark alters the apocalyptic prediction in Dan 12.1 (LXX from “until that day”)—looking into the future—to “until now” (cf. Mk 10.30).

22
:
Signs and omens
, see 8.11n.
Elect
refers to those predetermined to be saved.

24
–26:
Ps 68.4; see 1.9–11n.

26
:
Dan 7.13; see 2.10n.

27
:
See 3.7–12n.

30
:
Generation
, see 8.38n.

31
:
Isa 51.6; 54.10.

32
–35:
No one knows
is not necessarily a rejection of apocalyptic reasoning, but rather a further reason to
keep awake
; cf.
4 Ezra
4.52.

14.1
–2: Conspiracy to kill Jesus
(Mt 26.1–5; Lk 22.1–2; Jn 11.47–53). The three pilgrimage festivals—Passover, Shavuot (Weeks or Pentecost), and Sukkot (Booths)—brought crowds to Jerusalem and therefore heightened tension; the Romans consequently paid careful attention at the times of these events.
Passover
was especially explosive because of its association with the Exodus; each year at the festival the Roman governor moved troops to Jerusalem to discourage an uprising.

1
:
Passover
…
Unleavened Bread
, Mark’s phrasing suggests that he saw these as two separate events, but in fact, although they arose from different starting points—Passover as the celebration of release from bondage in Egypt, Unleavened Bread as the celebration of ripening ears of grain in the spring—they were combined into one festival with the sacrifice of the paschal lamb and eating of unleavened bread during the seven days following. Mark here and in v. 12 appears to count the days sunrise to sunrise, rather than the more typically Jewish method of sundown to sundown. This has been taken as evidence that Mark was not Jewish (see Introduction), but counting a day as sunrise to sunrise is found in some Jewish texts (
m. Pesah
. 5.1;
Ant
. 6.248,336).

14.3
–11. Anointment and prediction of betrayal
(Mt 26.6–16; Lk 22.3–6; Jn 12.1–8). Jesus is anointed; the action could be either that of anointing a king or of preparing a body for burial. Mark’s principle of irony would suggest both.

3
:
Alabaster jar
, a small, probably globular container of carved, translucent gypsum; its long neck would be broken so the contents could be poured out.
Ointment of nard
, ointment scented with the flower of spikenard, which grows in the Himalayan region.

9
:
The anointing will be retold
in remembrance of her
, but her name is not given. Perhaps the omission of her name is ironic: the unnamed “everywoman” understands him, while the named disciples, the authority figures of old (from the audience’s point of view), do not. She could also be like the unnamed centurion (15.39) who understands while the disciples again do not. In addition, she is contrasted to the three named women who attempt to anoint the body, but fail (16.1–8), just as the unnamed centurion is contrasted to the three named disciples who fail in Gethsemane (14.33). Women characters were also emphasized in the Jewish novellas of this period (Esther, Judith, Susanna,
Jos. Asen
.); they became central protagonists for the exploration of the religious concerns of the audience, as they would also in the centuries to follow in the Greek novels.

10
–11:
Only in Jn 12.4–6 are we told that Judas was the one who urged that the money be given to the poor.

14.12
–25: The Last Supper
(Mt 26.17–29; Lk 22.7–20). See 1 Cor 11.23–26. In Mark the Last Supper is the Passover meal (though not a Seder, which probably developed later, after destruction of the Temple in 70 CE), while at Jn 19.31 Jesus is crucified on the day of preparation for Passover. Deut 16.1–8 established that the Passover could only be eaten in Jerusalem.

22
–25:
Churches recite the words of the Last Supper as the Eucharist (Gk for “giving thanks”); it is also referred to in various Christian traditions as “Holy Communion” or “The Lord’s Supper.” It is treated here as a real meal, as also in 1 Cor 11.20–32. A different early Eucharist is found in the early Christian document
Did
. 9.1–10.15, which is more typical of Jewish meal prayers (
m. Ber
. 7.1–5) and theology, but the one here became dominant in the Christian tradition. Christians over the centuries have disagreed about whether Christ is literally or symbolically present in the bread and wine, whether the wine is to be consumed by priests alone while the congregation consumes bread only, whether alcoholic wine is used, or wafer or a loaf of bread is used. Various denominations have also differed about the meaning of this practice: whether, for instance, it participates in Jesus’ sacrifice of his life on the cross, or is a memorial of that event. The language of consuming Jesus’
body
and
blood
is perhaps deliberately shocking, since consumption of animal blood is forbidden for Jews (Lev 17.10–11).

22
:
Bread
, in keeping with Passover, this should be unleavened bread (Heb “matzah”).

24
:
The
covenant
is ratified by Jesus’ blood just as Moses ratified the Sinai covenant with blood (Ex 24.1–8; Zech 9.11). Mark’s language suggests a covenant renewal rather than a new covenant. Matthew explicitly adds “for the forgiveness of sins” (cf. 1 Cor 15.3; Heb 9.11–22; 1 Pet 1.18–19).

25
:
On the messiah’s future banquet, cf. Isa 25.6, taken up also at Qumran (1QM 2.11–22; cf.
1 En
. 10.18–19).

14.26
–31: Peter’s denial prophesied
(Mt 26.30–35; Lk 22.39).

26
:
The Passover
hymns
were Ps 114; 115 (
m. Pesah
. 10.6); 118, the Hallel psalms.
Mount of Olives
, see 11.1n.

27
:
Zech 13.7. Mark assumes that God is the agent of Jesus’ suffering; see 14.36n.

28
:
Go before
, see 16.7n.

14.32
–42: Prayer in Gethsemane
(Mt 26.36–46; Lk 22.40–46).

32
:
Gethsemane
means “oil press”; it is located on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22.39).

33
:
Peter, James, John
, see 9.2–13.

36
:
Abba
, Aramaic for father (not Heb for “daddy,” as some scholars have argued). Followers of Jesus, perhaps by his lead, emphasized their relationship to God as father (11.25; Mt 6.9; Lk 11.2; Rom 8.15–17; Gal 4.6–7). The image was infrequent, but not unknown, in the Hebrew Bible (Isa 63.16; 64.8; Jer 3.4,19; Ps 68.5; 89.26; 103.13).
Remove this cup
, see Isa 51.12,17, where God removes the cup of wrath from the people; see also 10.38n.
Not what I want
implies that Jesus resists God’s plan, much as Peter had resisted in 8.32; both Matthew and Luke omit this line.

37
–41:
In 13.37 the disciples were told to
keep awake
, yet here three times they are found sleeping. The three naps also anticipate Peter’s three denials.

14.43
–65: Jesus arrested and tried before the Sanhedrin
(Mt 26.47–68; Lk 22.47–71; Jn 18.2–11).

44
–45:
The
kiss
is an expected greeting (Lk 7.45; Gen 45.15), though ironic here. It was perhaps necessary as an identification of Jesus in the dark.

47
–52:
These provocative symbolic acts have not been convincingly explained. The attack on the high priest’s slave implies that Jesus’ followers were armed, thereby indicating that they anticipated an armed rebellion.
Young man
…
wearing nothing but a cloth
, perhaps a comment on the exposure of the followers as unfaithful.

53
:
Chief priests, the elders, and the scribes
constitute the Sanhedrin, or Jerusalem city council. It had authority over Jewish life in Judea, but Romans reserved control over some areas, especially capital punishment. For this reason, and because this trial is placed on Passover when such activities would be strictly forbidden by Jewish law (
m. Pesah
. 4.1,5–6 makes clear that one may work at most up until noon on the day on which Passover begins at sundown), the scene is of questionable historicity.

55
–59:
Biblical law forbade suborning perjury (Ex 20.16) and convicting based on conflicting evidence (Deut 19.15), so the proceedings are presented as violations of Jewish criminal procedure. Yet although the
testimony
is depicted as
false
, Mark previously stated that Jesus had predicted the destruction of the Temple (11.15; 13.2).

61
–64:
Jesus is
silent
like the suffering servant at Isa 53.7.
Blessed One
, the chief priest uses a circumlocution for God, similar to the rabbinic “Holy One, Blessed be He” (“Ha-Qadosh barukh hu”). The titles
Messiah
and
Son of the Blessed One
are not
blasphemy
, since a Jewish king could be both, but they are politically dangerous. However, according to Mark the high priest takes Jesus’ quotations of Ps 110.1 and Dan 7.13, and his identification of himself with the judging Son of Man, as blasphemy from the Sanhedrin’s point of view; see 2.6–7n.

14.66
–72: Peter’s denial
(Mt 26.69–75; Lk 22.56–62; Jn 18.17,25–27). By beginning the scene with Peter in v. 54 and completing it here, Mark ironically conveys that Peter’s “self-acquittal” is occurring simultaneously with Jesus’ conviction. Just as the witnesses against Jesus offered false testimony, so does Peter concerning himself. This incident culminates in a solemn denial of Jesus that is like the pronouncement of guilt by the high priest.