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Since this is the week we celebrate our Lord's resurrection we are going to look at some of the events of the week that ultimately led to His death, burial and resurrection.
Mark 14:1; In the year Jesus was crucified, the Passover was on a Wednesday so according to way the Jews count days from sundown to sundown, the Passover started on the Tuesday at sundown and went to Wednesday at sundown.
Jesus would eat the Passover with His disciples on Tuesday just after sundown and the Jews would observe the Passover Seder the following evening at sundown on Wednesday. Lev 23:5; Net note 3 The Passover was the day of preparation for the Passover Seder and the First Day of Unleavened Bread that is the Sabbath day that is referenced in the context of His burial in the tomb.
For some reason most of the Christian churches do not recognize the difference between the Sabbath of the First Day of Unleavened Bread that occurred on a Thursday that week and the weekly Sabbath that occurs every Saturday. This is really unconscionable because of John 19:31;
Jesus was not on the cross on a Friday as is commonly taught he was on the cross between 9AM and 3PM on Wednesday the same day that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered and He was in the tomb at sundown on Wednesday so the Jews could go keep the Passover and eat the Passover lamb.
We see here that the political mob bosses of the Jewish government were looking for a way to seize Him and kill Him without the people knowing about it.
The Greek word translated "seeking" is the second person plural imperfect active indicative of "zeteo" that means they were constantly looking for a situation where they could catch Him so they could kill Him.
The Greek word translated "seize" is "dolos" that means with "bait" or "through deceit". They wanted to do it without the public knowing about it. This is how satanic deep state mobs operate.
Mark 14:2; Because they said "Not during the feast so the people won't riot." Net note 4
That year the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:5-8;) started on a Thursday just like it does in the year 2020 and according the Jewish calendar it starts at sundown on Wednesday with the Passover Seder so they had to secretly capture Him and kill him before sundown Wednesday.
Mark 10:1; tells us that that Jesus had started his journey from Peter's house, crossed to the east side of the Jordan and was on His way to Jerusalem and along the way that He had been accosted by the Pharisees with the divorce question.
Mark 14:3; explains that He has arrived in Bethany that is a suburb of Jerusalem on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives about 2 miles outside of Jerusalem where Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and Simon the leper lived. The Mount of Olives is a 2-mile long ridge on the east side of Jerusalem where many olive trees were planted.
While in Bethany they held a large dinner party at Simon the leper's house in Jesus' honor. This is a party where true love and pseudo love co-existed but it wasn't apparent at the beginning of the party.
Remember that this party was really built around death because that is why Jesus is there. The understanding of death gives capacity for life. Capacity for life is preparation for death, the principle of dying grace is that the one who lives well will die well. Phil 1:21;
Jesus Christ knows that in six days He will be bearing the sins of all mankind on the cross while dying the most horrible death in all of human history but he shares God's happiness because He has divine viewpoint.
Believers who share God's happiness know that God is in complete control of all things all of the time so they equate adversity and prosperity and living and dying and are always content and tranquil regardless of the circumstances. Heb 12:2;
No one has or ever will suffer more than Jesus did on the cross. His death is the maximum; it is unique, and yet here, six days before He knows He will be crucified and be judged for the sins of the entire human race, He is relaxed and having a good time at a dinner party.
While they were reclining at the table at the party a woman (Mary) took a very expensive vial of perfume, broke it and poured it over Jesus' head. Net notes 7,8,9. John 12:1-3; Net notes 5,6,7,8 provide additional details about this event.
Mary's expression of true love for Jesus that has been recorded in God's Word for eternity was the product of her doctrinal viewpoint but it made Judas who is operating in evil do gooder human viewpoint angry. John 12:4-6; Net notes 9,10,11,12,13,14. Mark 14:4-5;
Judas, the party pooper, is a reversionist do gooder hypocrite. He does not love Jesus Christ. He loves himself, and he loves the money that he feels he use can help himself.
Judas is a bleeding heart liberal who attacks the spiritual life. Judas wants to solve the world's problems with liberal socialist cosmic panaceas. Judas is functioning under the social gospel's hypocrisy of "Helping the poor."
Mary was spiritual; Judas was carnal. Mary was a mature believer with divine viewpoint. Judas Iscariot was a reversionist with human viewpoint who was also functioning under emotional revolt of the soul.
Mary was conservative; Judas was a liberal. Mary gave her love to Christ first. Judas betrayed Jesus because of his love for money.
Mary emphasized the Lord through doctrine. Judas emphasizes the poor through his hypocrisy. Mary carried a box of perfume. Judas carried the bag of money. Mary broke the box of perfume as a point of doctrine. Judas emptied the moneybag as a part of his lust.
We also see that Judas' emotional reaction caused the other disciples to become critical of Mary, This tells us to beware of herd-bound reaction to self-righteous hypocrites. The disciples did not have any facts but they were influenced by Judas' emotional revolt with the result that they had their own irrational emotional reaction to Mary.
We learn from this exchange that we must careful who we allow to do our thinking for us. The disciples were the victims of herd mentality because they didn't have enough doctrine to resist Judas' bad influence.
John 12:6; clearly states that Judas really didn't care for the poor at all he just wanted more money to be able to steal. As is the case with all liberals Judas was only out for himself.
Mark 14:6-10; John 12;7-8; Jesus defends Mary from the bullying of legalism and at the same time condemns Judas' legalistic judgment against her.
What Mary has done she has done as unto the Lord. She has done a right thing in a right way for the right reason at the right time and when someone does something right they have a right to privacy.
A part of serving the Lord is privacy and in any time in history when believers start to make public and brag and beat the drums for what they are doing for God, that is apostasy. The order of the day in living your life as unto the Lord is privacy.
Mary demonstrates that a person who has a capacity for love tends to be extravagant in their expression of their love so when Judas violated Mary's privacy the Lord Jesus Christ defended her.
He defends her from the bullying of legalism and from judging. Judas was critical, he was bullying her because he wanted to steal the money. The disciples were critical because they were stupid and followed a person that they respected who had wrong motivation.
In their ignorance they had the wrong emphasis. In their ignorance they emphasized the social gospel and social action. On the other hand with her knowledge of doctrine Mary emphasized the Bible Doctrine and the person of Christ.
As a result of this confrontation Judas decides to betray Jesus to the Jewish deep state mob.
Mark 14:10-11; We see that once Judas had agreed to betray Jesus to the Jewish deep state they got a better chance to capture Him in secret because now they had an inside agent working for them.
Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Him. Judas became the surveillance arm of the justice department aka the NSA, the FBI, or the CIA of the evil Jewish deep state lynch mob.
The word translated "seeking" in the NASB is the same imperfect active indicative of the Greek word "zeteo" that was used to describe what the Jewish government party lynch mob was trying to do( Mark 14:1).
So Judas while traveling with Jesus is constantly looking for an opportunity to call the gestapo in for the take down.
Mark 14:16-17; Just after sundown on Tuesday evening Jesus and the disciples gathered to eat the Passover. This is the evening before the Jews would eat it because Jesus would be in the tomb before the Jewish Passover seder that God commanded for Israel in Lev 23:5; to be eaten on the following evening when the First Day of Unleavened Bread starts.
Mark 14:18; During dinner Jesus announces that He will be betrayed by one of the twelve disciples. John 13:26-30; tells us it was Judas Iscariot who left to immediately to go to inform the Jewish lynch mob that they would soon have an opportunity to capture Jesus.
Mark 14:22-26; After Judas leaves to rat Jesus out to the mob bosses Jesus inaugurates the Lord's Table that is the only ritual for the Church Age. In the Old Testament they used the lamb to depict Christ but from now on believers will use the unleavened bread.
The blood of the lamb in the original Passover in Egypt was sprinkled on the sides and on the top of the doors. Then for a long time in the wilderness the Jews didn't have doors, and so in the second Passover and every subsequent Passover they used the cup.
The cup represents the sins of the world that are poured out on to Jesus Christ as He hung on the cross while He received the imputation and judgment for the sins of the world. On the cross Jesus Christ drank the cup. Our drinking of the cup represents Jesus Christ bearing our sins.
This is the covenant and only ritual mandated for the Church Age. Luke 22:19; The word translated "do" is the second person present active imperative of the Greek word "poieo."
Mark 14:27; Jesus tells the disciples that that night they will ALL desert Him. This is a prophecy from Zech 13:7; "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered"
Mark 14:29-31; All of the disciples and especially Peter insisted that they would never desert Him and in addition Peter vowed that he would die for Him.
Mark 14:32-36; Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus' humanity was under maximum duress contemplating His separation from His Father while He was being judged for the sins of the world on the cross.
The Greek word translated "deeply grieved" in the NASB is "perilupos" that means to be under heavy pressure, distressed or depressed. He was under pressure anticipating coming into contact with sin and being separated from God the Father.
We know that this was what He was thinking about because in the time before the cross there were six trials, and during those trials people struck Him, they spat on Him, they slapped Him, they lied about Him, and they scourged Him.
In addition to that, when He hung on the cross it was excruciating torture because the weight of His own body separated the bones from their sockets. He was in extreme physical pain, but during all of that time "as a lamb before the shearers is dumb so He opened not His mouth", He didn't cry out once.
It was not until twelve noon until three o'clock in the afternoon that He continually screamed and the screams were caused by the sins of the world being incrementally poured out on Him. So His sorrow came from His contemplation of the bearing of sin.
Even though He understood that the cross was in the predetermined decree of God He asked if it was possible for it to be done another way but "not my will but your will be done."