Mark 14:12 - Meaning and Application

In these verses we see Christ eating the Passover with his disciples on the night before he died. The comfort and joy of that holy meal helped prepare him for the sorrow that was coming. Even with the cross before him, he was not too troubled to take part in that sacred ordinance. We should learn from this that fear of trouble, whether near or far off, should not keep us from attending worship when we have the chance.

Christ ate the Passover at the usual time, along with the other Jews, as Dr. Whitby showed, not the night before, as Dr. Hammond thought. It was on the first day of the feast, which, counting all eight days, was called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day when they killed the Passover (Mark 14:12). He then told his disciples where to find the place where he planned to eat it. This showed again his perfect knowledge of things far away and things yet to come, things that seem uncertain to us.

He told them, “Go into the city,” because the Passover had to be eaten in Jerusalem. “There you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water.” This was likely a servant sent to get water for cleaning rooms in his master’s house. They were to follow him, ask for his master, the owner of the house (Mark 14:14), and ask him to show them a room. Jerusalem likely had rooms prepared for rent during Passover, for pilgrims coming from the countryside. Christ used one of those rooms, not a friend’s house or a place he had often used before.

He may have chosen a place where he was not known, so he could eat quietly with his disciples. It is also possible he used a sign to hide the place from Judas, who should not know until they arrived. In that sign, we may also see a hint that Christ will dwell with a clean heart, one washed as with pure water. Wherever he means to come, a pitcher of water must go before him, as in the call to wash and be clean (Isaiah 1:16-18).

He ate the Passover in an upper room that was furnished, or laid with carpets, as Dr. Hammond says. It seems to have been a fine dining room. Christ did not seek any show of wealth in his ordinary meals. He often chose simple, plain settings, even sitting on the grass. But when he kept a sacred feast, he was willing to have as good a room as he could get for that purpose.

God does not look at outward splendor. He does look at the signs of inward respect for his holy ordinances. Those who refuse even decent arrangements in worship, only to save money, may be lacking that reverence. Christ ate the Passover with the twelve, who were his family. This reminds those who lead households, whether of children, servants, or students, to keep religion alive among those under their care and worship God with them.

Judas was there too, though at that time he was plotting to betray his Master. The next verse shows clearly that he was present (Mark 14:20). He did not stay away, because that would have made him suspect. If his place had been empty, people might have said of him what Saul said of David, “He is not clean” (1 Samuel 20:26). Hypocrites know they take a risk, yet they still crowd into special worship to protect their reputation and hide their secret sin.

Christ did not keep Judas away, though he knew his wicked heart, because Judas had not yet become openly and shamefully evil. Christ was preparing to give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to men, who can judge only by outward appearance. So he was training and encouraging them to admit people to his table when they make a credible profession, since they cannot see the root of bitterness until it breaks out.

While they ate the Passover, Christ spoke with his disciples. They were likely talking, as was the custom at that feast, about Israel’s rescue from Egypt and the sparing of the firstborn. They had probably been enjoying one another’s company, as they often did on this occasion, until Christ said something that mixed fear with their joy.

They were glad to be with their Master, but he told them they would soon lose him. “The Son of Man is betrayed.” They knew what that meant, because he had often told them the rest of the story. If he is betrayed, then the next news will be that he is crucified and killed. God had planned it, and Christ agreed to it. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him (Mark 14:21). It was written in God’s purpose and in the prophecies of the Old Testament, and none of that can fail.

They were also enjoying one another’s fellowship, but Christ clouded that joy by telling them, “One of you who is eating with me will betray me” (Mark 14:18). He said this, if possible, to stir Judas’ conscience, wake him up, and turn him back from the edge of ruin. It was not too late for him to repent. Yet from all we can see, the one most warned was the least moved by it.

The others were deeply affected. They began to be sorrowful. The memory of past sins, and the fear of falling again, often take away much of the joy from spiritual feasts. In that sense, there were bitter herbs mixed into this Passover feast. They also began to suspect themselves. One after another they said, “Is it I?” They are worthy of praise for this charity, because they were more ready to question themselves than one another.

That is what love does, it hopes for the best (1 Corinthians 13:5-7). Since we know ourselves so well, we have good reason to suspect more evil in ourselves than in our brothers. They are also to be praised because they accepted Christ’s word. They trusted him more than their own hearts. So they did not say, “I am sure it is not I,” but, “Lord, is it I?” They wanted him to show them whether there was any evil way in them, any hidden root of bitterness, so they could pull it up and stop that path.

In answer, Christ said something that would comfort the innocent among them. “It is not you, or you, but the one who is dipping with me in the dish.” The enemy was Judas, that wicked man. But Christ’s words also should have troubled Judas greatly. If he continued in what he had begun, he was standing on the edge of disaster. Woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. He would be ruined, body and soul. His sin would soon catch up with him. It would have been better for him never to have been born than to live such a miserable life and face such a terrible end.

It is very likely that Judas encouraged himself with this thought: his Master had often said that he must be betrayed. “If it must happen, surely God will not blame the one who does it, for who has resisted his will?” That is the kind of argument Paul answers in Romans 9:19. But Christ shows Judas that this will not protect him or excuse him.

The Son of Man does indeed go, as Scripture says of him, like a lamb to the slaughter. Yet woe to the man by whom he is betrayed. God’s decree to allow human sin, and to bring glory from it, does not force anyone to sin, choose sin for them, or excuse the sin. It also does not lessen the punishment. Christ was delivered by God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, but even so, he was crucified and killed by wicked hands (Acts 2:23).

The institution of the Lord’s supper comes next. It was given at the end of a meal, after they had been fully fed with the Passover lamb. This shows that the Lord’s supper is not meant to be a bodily meal. To turn it into that would be to bring back Moses in that way. It is food for the soul only, and for that reason a very small amount of what belongs to the body is enough, as long as it serves as a sign.

It came at the close of the Passover meal, which was fulfilled in the gospel and then set aside. Much about the Lord’s supper is explained by the law of the Passover (Exodus 12). Old Testament practices do not bind us now, but they still teach us when we read them through the light of the gospel. Since these two ordinances stand so close together here, it is worth comparing them. We can see how much shorter and simpler the Lord’s supper is than the Passover was.

Christ’s yoke is lighter than the yoke of the ceremonial law, and his ordinances are more spiritual. It was also instituted by Christ’s own example. It was not introduced with the formal language of a law, as baptism was after his resurrection (Matthew 28:19), backed by the authority given to him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Instead, it was given by the practice of our Master himself, because it was meant for those already made his disciples and brought into covenant with him. Still, it has the force of a law, and it was meant to remain in full power until his second coming.

It was also instituted with blessing and thanksgiving. Common gifts from God’s providence should be received that way (1 Timothy 4:4-5), and how much more should special gifts of grace be received with thanks. He blessed the bread (Mark 14:22) and gave thanks over the cup (Mark 14:23). At his other meals, he often blessed and gave thanks in this same way (Mark 6:41; Mark 8:7), so much so that people recognized him by it (Luke 24:30-31). He did the same at this meal.

The supper was also given as a memorial of his death. That is why he broke the bread, showing how it pleased the Lord to crush him. He called the wine, which comes from the blood of the grape, the blood of the New Testament. Christ died a bloody death, so Scripture often speaks of his blood, his precious blood, as the great price of our redemption. Blood is life, and it was used to make atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11-14). The pouring out of his blood was the clearest sign of the pouring out of his soul (Isaiah 53:12). Blood also has a voice (Genesis 4:10), so Scripture speaks of it often, because it was meant to speak (Hebrews 12:24).

It is called the blood of the New Testament because the covenant of grace became, in effect, a testament, and it took effect by the death of Christ, the one who made it (Hebrews 9:16). It is said to be shed for many, to justify many, that is, to count them righteous before God (Isaiah 53:11), and to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). It was enough for many, because its worth is infinite, and it has already been of use to many. We read of a great crowd no one could number, all washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-14). It is still an open fountain. How comforting this is for poor, repenting sinners, that the blood of Christ was shed for many. If for many, why not for me? If for sinners, even Gentile sinners and the chief of sinners, why not for me?

The supper was also meant to seal the covenant made with us in Christ, and to show that the benefits bought by his death are truly given to us. So he broke the bread and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat” (Mark 14:22). He gave them the cup and told them to drink from it (Mark 14:23). We must apply the teaching of Christ crucified to ourselves and let it be food and drink for our souls. It strengthens, nourishes, and refreshes us, and it supports and comforts our spiritual life.

It was also given with heaven in view. It is meant to be a promise and a foretaste of that joy, and to turn our taste away from all the pleasures of the senses (Mark 14:25). “I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine,” he said, meaning as a bodily refreshment. “I have done with it.” No one who has tasted spiritual joys will quickly long for physical ones, because he says, “The spiritual is better” (Luke 5:39). But everyone who has tasted spiritual joys soon longs for eternal joys, because those are better still. So let us hear his words: “I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine.” It is dry and flat to those who have been made to drink from the river of God’s pleasures. Yet we also say, “Lord, hurry the day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God,” where it will be forever new and perfect.

The supper ended with a hymn (Mark 14:26). Even though Christ was in the middle of his enemies, he did not leave out this sweet duty of singing psalms out of fear. Paul and Silas sang when the prisoners heard them. This was a gospel song, and the Old Testament often speaks of gospel times as times of joy and praise, expressed in singing. This was Christ’s swan song, sung just before he entered his agony, likely one of the psalms commonly sung from Psalm 113 through Psalm 118.

Then comes Christ’s talk with his disciples as they returned to Bethany by moonlight. When they had sung the hymn, they went out at once. It was near bedtime, but our Lord had his heart so set on his suffering that he would not lie down to rest, nor give sleep to his eyes, while that work remained to be done (Psalm 132:3-4). The Israelites were told not to leave their houses on the night they ate the Passover, because of the destroying angel’s sword (Exodus 12:22-23). But Christ, the great shepherd, was to be struck, so he went out on purpose and exposed himself to the sword like a champion. They avoided the destroyer, but Christ overcame him and brought destruction to a permanent end.

Christ now foretells that, in his suffering, all his disciples would abandon him. “You will all be made to stumble because of me this night.”

I know you will (Mark 14:27), and what I tell you now is only what Scripture has already said: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Christ knew this ahead of time, yet he still welcomed them at his table. He sees the falls and failures of his disciples, and still he does not turn them away.

We should not stay away from the Lord’s Supper because we fear we may fall into sin later. The greater our danger, the more we need to strengthen ourselves through careful and sincere use of holy practices. Christ tells them they will be offended in him, meaning they will begin to wonder if he really is the Messiah when they see him overpowered by his enemies. Until now, they had stayed with him in his temptations. They had sometimes offended him, but they had not been offended in him or turned away from him.

Now the storm would be so strong that they would all lose their grip and be in danger of shipwreck. Some trials are personal, like (Revelation 2:10), where “the devil will throw some of you into prison.” Others are general, like an hour of testing that comes on the whole world (Revelation 3:10). When the shepherd is struck, the sheep are often scattered. So when rulers, ministers, or heads of households, as shepherds over those under them, are troubled, the whole flock suffers and is put at risk.

Still, Christ encourages them with a promise that they will gather again and return to both duty and comfort (Mark 14:28). “After I am risen, I will gather you again from all the places where you have been scattered,” as in (Ezekiel 34:12). “I will go ahead of you into Galilee,” where they would see their friends and enjoy one another again.

He also predicts that Peter, the leading disciple, will deny him in a very personal way. As they went out toward the Mount of Olives, we may think they had already lost Judas, who slipped away from them. Then the others may have started to think too well of themselves, because they stayed with their Master when Judas left. But Christ tells them that even if his grace keeps them from Judas’s betrayal, they still have no reason to boast about their loyalty.

Even when God keeps us from being as bad as the worst, we should still be humbled that we are not better than we are. Peter is sure he will not fail as badly as the others (Mark 14:29). “Even if all these others are offended, I will not be.” He thinks he is not only stronger than the others, but so strong that he can face a temptation completely on his own, standing firm even if no one else does.

That is common to human nature. We tend to think well of ourselves and trust our own hearts. Christ tells Peter that he will do worse than any of them. The others will all desert him, but Peter will deny him, and not just once, but three times. It will happen quickly, before the rooster crows twice, when Peter will deny that he even knows Christ, acting ashamed and afraid to admit him.

Peter still stands by his promise: “If I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” No doubt he meant what he said. Judas said nothing like that when Christ told him he would betray him. Judas sinned with planning, while Peter sinned through surprise. Judas planned evil (Micah 2:1), while Peter was caught in this fault, as in (Galatians 6:1).

It was wrong for Peter to argue with his Master. If he had instead prayed with fear and humility, “Lord, give me grace not to deny you. Do not lead me into this temptation. Deliver me from this evil,” it might have been prevented. But they were all too sure of themselves. The ones who had said, “Lord, is it I?” were now saying, “It will never be me.”

Once they felt safe from betraying Christ, they grew careless. But the one who thinks he stands must be careful not to fall. And the one who puts on armor should not boast as if the battle were already over.