Mark

14:12-25

Entering the promised land, 11:1-16:20

4. Victory, 14:1-15:39

ii] The last supper

It was the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread when Jews traditionally share in the Passover meal of roast lamb, unleavened bread, condiments and wine, to celebrate Israel's escape from their slavery in Egypt. Jesus had made arrangements for the use of an upper room in Jerusalem and he discretely has his disciples make preparations for their meal together. By this stage, the religious authorities were determined to end Jesus' disruptive ministry and so secrecy was essential. This explains the rather strange meeting with the man carrying a water jar.

That evening, Jesus and his disciples arrive at the room for the meal. While eating, Jesus points out that one of their number will betray him; "woe to that man ... it would have been better .... if he had not been born." Continuing on with the meal, Jesus takes some bread and wine, and after giving thanks he distributes it to his disciples as symbols of his body broken and blood poured out "for many." Jesus will not taste the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom comes in glory.

Jesus' death is the means by which the redemptive significance of the Passover is realised "for many".

i] Context: See Mark 14:1-11.

ii] Structure: The Last Supper

Preparation for the last supper, v12-16;

The last supper, v17-31.

iii] Background:

iv] Interpretation:

v] Synoptics:

vi] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage can be found in the pew-level sermon notes The Last Supper.

Jesus celebrates the Passover, v12-25: i] Preparations for the Passover, v12-16. In Mark's timing it is Thursday, the feast of Passover. The disciples want to make arrangements for the Passover meal that evening and so they raise the issue with Jesus. Given that the new day begins at sunset, the meal falls on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened bread. Both festivals celebrate Israel's escape from their slavery in Egypt. Jesus has obviously made prior arrangements for the meal and so he sends his disciples from Bethany, where they are staying, into Jerusalem to prepare for the meal. They meet the man carrying the water jar, just as Jesus said, and are taken to an upstairs room furnished and ready for their meal together.

τῃ πρωτῃ ἡμερᾳ dat. "on the first day" - [and] on the first day. The dative is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

των αζυμων [ος] gen. "of the Festival of Unleavened Bread" - of unleavened bread. The genitive is adjectival, partitive, although assuming "festival", the genitive would be idiomatic / identification, "the festival known as Unleavened Bread."

ὁτε "when" - when. Temporal conjunction introducing a temporal clause.

εθυον imperf. "it was customary to sacrifice" - [the passover lamb] was being sacrificed, slaughtered. Indefinite plural. "The Passover", accusative, with the nominative subject "they / people", durative / iterative (repeated action); "they used to sacrifice", Zerwick.

αυτῳ dat. pro. "him" - [the disciples of him said] to him. Dative of indirect object.

που + subj. "where" - where. The interrogative particle introduces an indefinite local clause. Presumably they are still in Bethany and so the disciples are asking where in Jerusalem Jesus wants them to go and make preparation for the Passover meal. Note Jesus' answer, v13, "go into the city." Presumably Jesus has organised the room for the meal beforehand.

απελθοντες [απερχομαι] aor. part. "to go" - having gone. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to prepare"; "to go and prepare."

ἱνα + subj. "for [you to eat]" - [we may prepare] that [you may eat the passover]? Introducing a purpose clause; "in order that."

και "and so" - and. Coordinative.

των μαθητων [ης ου] gen. "[two] of [his] disciples" - [he sends two] of the disciples [of him]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

αυτοις dat. pro. "[telling] them" - [and said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

εις "into" - [go] into [the city, town]. Spatial. As already noted, Jesus is obviously in Bethany and is telling his disciples to go into Jerusalem to make arrangements for their participation in the Passover meal.

βασταζων [βασταζω] pres. part. "carrying" - [and a man will meet you] carrying. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "man", serving to introduce a relative clause; "a man who is carrying a jar of water." It would be unusual for a man to be doing what was considered as women's work, although a slave would do women's work. It seems likely that this was a prearranged signal rather than a miraculous example of foreknowledge, so France, Edwards, .... It can be argued that Mark sees it as miraculous, serving "to emphasise the foreknowledge and authority of Jesus", Boring, and maybe he did, but he is true to his source and just records the arrangements without comment. Note the similarity of this story with Jesus' arrangement of a colt for his procession into Jerusalem, cf., the wording 11:2 / 14:13. Secrecy seems the likely reason for these arrangements, possibly keeping the site for the Passover meal secure from not only the religious authorities, but Judas as well.

ὑδατος [ωρ τος] gen. "of water" - [an earthen vessel, pitcher, jar] of water. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / content. "Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water", NJB.

ὑμιν dat. pro. "you" - Dative of direct object after the απο prefix verb "to meet, encounter."

αυτῳ "him" - [follow] him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to follow after."

ὁπου εαν + subj. "-" - [and] wherever [he enters]. Introducing an indefinite local clause; "wherever he enters say to the proprietor", Berkeley.

τῳ οικοδεσποτῃ [ης ου] dat. "[say] to the owner of the house" - [say] to the master of the house. Dative of indirect object. "Householder", REB.

ὁτι "-" - that [the teacher says]. Introducing a dependent statement, indirect speech.

που "where" - where. The interrogative particle serves to introduce a dependent statement expressing what "the Teacher" says / asks / wants to know, namely, "whether / if the guest room has been prepared where ....."

το καταλυμα [α ατος] "[my] guest room" - [is] the guest quarters [of me]. Nominative subject of the verb to-be. Guest quarters, or a large dining room, later described as αναγαιον μεγα "a large upstairs room", often a living room, or banqueting room, accessed by an external staircase or internal ladder. Jesus calls it μου, "my [room]", probably in the sense of the room he has arranged for his use - that it "implies Jesus' authority", Marcus, "a hint of messianic authority", Nineham, is a bit of a stretch. It seems unlikely that the owner of the room was a disciple since the word "teacher" could apply to any sectarian leader. "The teacher wants to know if you have a room where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples", CEV.

ὁπου + subj. "where" - where [i may eat the passover]. Introducing a indefinite local clause.

μετα + acc. "with" - with [the disciples of me]. Expressing association.

ὑμιν dat. pro. "you" - [and he will show] to you. Dative of indirect object.

εστρωμενον [στρωννυω] perf. pas. part. "furnished [and ready]" - [a large upstairs room] having been furnished [ready]. The participle, with the adjective "ready", is adjectival, attributive, limiting "the large upstairs room", "which is prepared and ready." This verb takes the sense "to spread, strew" and so is understood to mean "furnish"; "He will show you a big upstairs room, with everything ready, and with the couches spread with rugs. There make all the necessary preparations for us", Barclay.

ἡμιν dat. pro. "for us" - [and there prepare the passover meal] for us. Dative of interest, advantage; "prepare the meal for us there", Cassirer.

καθως "just as" - [and the disciples went out and came into the city and found everything] as, like, just as. Comparative.

αυτοις dat. pro. "[Jesus had told] them" - [he said] to them [and they prepared the passover]. Dative of indirect object.

ii] Jesus prophesies his betrayal, v16-21. Jesus shows no surprise with regard his revelation that he is about to be betrayed by one of his disciples. Such is in accord with scripture, v21a, and thus in the plan and foreknowledge of God. The scripture is not cited, but an allusion to Psalm 41:9 is evident in v18b.

γενομενης [γινομαι] gen. aor. part. "when [evening] came" - [and evening] having come. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "evening" for a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV.

μετα + gen. "with" - [he comes] with [the twelve]. Expressing association / accompaniment. Note that only the apostles are present for the Passover meal.

ανακειμενων [ανακειμαι] gen. pres. part. "while they were reclining" - [and they] reclining [ and eating, jesus said]. The genitive participles "reclining" and "eating" with the subject "them" forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV. "Reclining" is the normal posture for a meal, so for us, "sitting"; "when they had taken their places at the table", Barclay. By this stage, an eating in haste, ready to flee, was not the way the Passover meal was consumed, cf., Ex.12:11.

αμην λεγω ὑμιν "truly I tell you" - truly i say to you. The phrase always serves to introduce an important statement.

ὁτι "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Jesus says to his disciples.

εξ [εκ] + gen. "of [you]" - [one] from [you]. The preposition here serves in the place of partitive genitive.

παραδωσει [παραδιδωμι] fut. "will betray" - will betray, deliver over [me]. The verb takes the sense "to hand over" and is often used of God handing over Israel to her enemies, or of Israel's enemies being handed over to her. The Suffering Servant is handed over to death, Isa.53:12.

ὁ εσθιων [εσθιω] pres. part. "one who is eating [with me]" - the one eating [with me]. The participle serves as a substantive. Cf., Ps.41:9.

λυπεσθαι pres. pas./mid. inf. "they were saddened" - [they began] to be sorrowful, grieved, distressed, sad. This, and the infinitive "to say", is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to begin"; "they began to be sorrowful and to say", ESV. Describing a reaction of "grief, distress, anxiety, shock, dismay - the word has all these connotations", Boring. "Ambiguity provokes soul-searching in each disciple. The announcement provokes grief and protests", Edwards.

κατα "[one] by [one]" - [and say to him one] according to [one]. The preposition here "is used as an adverb distributively", Taylor, cf., BAGD εἷς p231, 5e, for the Semitic construction "one by one." "One after the other", Cassirer.

μητι "[surely you] don't [mean me]?" - not [i]? Gundry argues that the negation here is used in a question expecting a negative answer, as NIV, but it is possible that it expresses a negative protest, "Certainly not me!"

των δωδεκα gen. adj. "of the twelve" - [and he said to them, one] of the twelve. The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being partitive.

ὁ εμβαπτομενος [εμβαπτω] pres. part. "one who dips bread" - the one dipping. The participle serves as a substantive, standing in apposition to "one". It has been suggested that the article serves to particularise this "one" as if to identify a certain person. This seems unlikely. The articular participle is referring to one of those present for the meal and is not identifying any particular person. So not "that particular person who is eating with me now." The dipping refers to the custom of holding a piece of the flat bread between the fingers and dipping it into a common bowl of source or relish, a common dish in the centre of the table, a dipping bowl. The custom is still practiced in Eastern countries.

ἑν "-" - [into the] one [bowl]. Variant reading, emphatic; "into the same bowl." Opinion on originality is divided, eg. Marcus in favour, France against.

μετ [μετα] + acc. "with" - with [me]. Expressing association. Unlike John who has Judas leaving the meal at this point, Mark has him present throughout the whole meal.

μεν ......... δε "...... but ..." - indeed ............, but ..... Adversative comparative construction; "on the one hand ...... but on the other hand [woe to that man ....]"

ὁτι "-" - for. Possibly recitative, introducing a statement, or expressing reason, but probably not cause. That Judas is about to betray Jesus is not so much because the Son of Man, as the Suffering Servant, must die as a sacrifice, it it "is due to the fact that the Son of Man has been ordained to die", Culy. Judas has chosen to take part in the unfolding events that will lead to messiah's death rather than being preordained to play this role. The interplay of God's sovereign will and human free-will is a classic debate brought into sharp relief in Judas' betrayal of Jesus.

του ανθρωπου [ος] gen. "[Son] of Man" - [the son] of man. The genitive is adjectival, of relationship. A messianic title favoured by Jesus referencing Daniel's Son of Man, the man who attains divine sovereignty at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, cf., 2:10

ὑαγαι [ὑαγω] pres. "will go" - goes. A very old metaphor for death used in the ancient Near East.

καθως "just as" - as, like. Comparative, expressing alignment, in alignment to the scriptures. "As it is written" expresses "divine purpose or foreordination", Edwards.

περι + gen. "about [him]" - [it has been written] about, concerning [him]. Expressing reference / respect; "with reference to, concerning, about."

τῳ ανθρωπῳ [ος] dat. "[woe] to [that] man" - [but/and woe] to [that] man. Dative of interest, disadvantage. The disadvantage could be a curse, the pronouncing of judgment, "woe" = "a curse to / be upon that person", but better expressing deep sadness, sorrow, "a cry of commiseration", TH; "alas" = "how terrible it will be for that person."

δι [δια] + gen. "-" - through [whom the son of man is betrayed]. Expressing agency, "by", although more correctly intermediate agency, "through", given that God, rather than Judas / Satan, ultimately does the handing over. The preposition ὑπο would have better expressed ultimate agency, "by", if that were intended.

καλον adj. "it would be better" - better, good. Here used in the comparative sense "better", as NIV, and serving as a predicate nominative, "it would be better."

αυτῳ dat. pro. "for him" - to him. Dative of interest, advantage, "for him".

ει + ind. "if" - if [that man had not been born]. Introducing a conditional clause 2nd. class where the proposed condition is assumed not to be true; "if, as is not the case, [this man had not been born] then [it would be better for him]"; an is missing from the apodosis. "That man would be better off if he had never been born", CEV.

iii] Jesus explains the meaning of the shared bread and wine, v22-25. It was usual, during a Passover meal, to explain the significance of Israel's escape from their slavery in Egypt. Jesus does this, but applies the redemptive significance of the Passover to himself.

Taking a loaf of flat bread, Jesus brakes it and passes it to the disciples. As they eat, Jesus explains that the bread symbolically represents the offering of his body as a sacrifice. The new Israel is saved from the bondage of sin and death through the sacrifice of Christ. Mark assumes a repeated remembering of Jesus' Passover, while Luke makes it specific by adding "do this in remembrance of me". Jesus then takes a cup of wine and passes it to the disciples. As they drink, Jesus explains that the wine symbolically represents the offering, the pouring out, of his life-blood as a sacrifice. This sacrifice not only renews God's covenant with humanity, his promise of life in all its fullness, but actually realises it, fulfils it right now. Jesus adds that the new wine of heaven will not be shared until the full realisation of God's long-promised kingdom. Only then will Jesus share the new wine with his disciples. So, there will always be a sense where the shared bread and wine looks forward to the messianic banquet.

So, in line with the interpretative words offered at the Passover meal, Jesus offers new interpretive words for the celebration of Israel's redemption from slavery / Egypt. The redemptive significance is now focused on Christ's offering of himself, a sacrifice of his body and blood.

εσθιοντων [εσθιω] gen. pres. part. "while they were eating" - [and they] eating. The genitive participle and its genitive subject forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV.

λαβων [λαμβανω] aor. part. "Jesus took [bread]" - taking [bread and having blessed it]. Along with "giving thanks / blessing", attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to break / break into pieces." The "bread" is probably flat unleavened bread, so Jeremias. The "giving thanks / blessing" is not a consecration of the bread for special use, but a statement of praise or thanksgiving to God for the gift of food; a grace which those present would affirm by saying "Amen". The common grace of the time went something like "blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who brings forth bread from the earth." So also the cup, with the words "........ creation of the fruit of the vine."

αυτοις dat. pro. "[gave it] to his disciples" - [he broke it and gave it] to them. Dative of indirect object. "Gave" in the sense of "distributed".

λαβετε [λαμβανω] aor. imp. "take it" - [and said] take, receive. Matthew's additional word "eat" is assumed by Mark. The sense is "participate in", although the means of participation is unstated, as are the benefits. The intended sense of our participation in Christ's death, with the means, namely faith, and the benefits, namely life, are left for apostolic reflection in the epistles.

τουτο pro. "this" - this. It is interesting that the close demonstrative pronoun "this" is neuter, while bread is masculine. Edwards suggests that the use of neuter serves to point away from bread itself to Jesus' body.

εστιν [ειμι] pres. "is" - is. The verb to-be here may carry the sense "means"; "this represents my body", Williams, "symbolises", France. Edwards suggests that the original Aramaic would have been "this, my body." The supplied verb to-be does not help the nuance of the phrase which is more like "this bread means / conveys by body."

το σωμα [α ατος] "[my] body" - the body [of me]. Jeremias, in Eucharistic Words, suggests that it is likely that the Aramaic word for "flesh" lies behind the Gk. word "body"; "the bread that I give ...... is my flesh" - even stronger, "this is my corpse", Gundry. Edwards suggests that rather than "flesh" the Aramaic behind "body" is likely to be "self / being" = "my person"; "his self-offering for his disciples." That Jesus is referring to his sacrifice is certainly supported by Luke's / Paul's added words "which is given for you", including ὑπερ πολλων, "on behalf of many" for the wine, both references to Jesus' death, but of itself, Mark's words say little more than "that they (the disciples) somehow become participants in Jesus' own destiny, but this saying does not specify how this is to be", Boring.

λαβων [λαμβανω] aor. part. "then he took" - [and] having taken. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to give", "he took ..... and gave", or adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

ποτηριον [ον] "a cup" - a cup. "A cup containing wine", TH. It is interesting to note that reports of the Passover meal at the time refer to individual cups and yet Mark clearly describes the use of a common cup for the last supper.

ευχαριστησας [ευχαριστεω] aor. part. "and when he had given thanks" - and having given thanks. The participle is usually treated as adverbial, temporal; "he also took a cup and after thanking God he gave ...", Moffatt. If temporal, and this is supported by many commentators, eg., Schweizer, then it is obvious that Jesus' words do not affect the nature of the wine itself, given that the disciples have already drunk the wine before Jesus offers his words of interpretation. "A gracing", Jeremias, with the same meaning as ευλογησας in v22. "Each verb explains the other", Jeremias, Eucharistic Words.

εξ [εκ] + gen. "from [it]" - [he gave to them and everyone drank] from [it]. Expressing source / origin, as NIV. "They all drank some of its contents", TH.

Note Luke's wording: "this cup of wine, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in my blood." The preposition εν, "in", is probably instrumental, "by means of." Luke's "new" covenant probably reflects later usage, serving to emphasise Jesus' renewal of the covenant through his atoning sacrifice. There is only one covenant (the promise of life through faith), one agreement between God and his children, renewed on many occasions and finally realised in Jesus.

τουτο "this" pro. - [and he said to them] this. The demonstrative pronoun refers to the contents of the cup rather than the cup itself; "This cup of wine."

εστιν "is" - is. See above; "this means my life-blood", Barclay.

το αἱμα [α ατος] "[my] blood" - the blood. Predicate nominative of the verb to-be. In Semitic thought "blood" represented the life-force of an animal. The cup of wine means / represents Jesus' life poured out in sacrifice.

της διαθηκης [η] gen. "of the covenant" - of the covenant [of me]. The function of the genitive is not overly clear, more idiomatic than anything, but technically we may classify it as adjectival attributed, "the covenant of blood" = "the covenant which is established / ratified / renewed / realised through the life-blood which was poured out / offered in sacrifice by Christ." Decker suggests purpose, "the reason for Jesus' death was to provide the basis of the covenant." Luke gives us a clearer sense of Jesus' interpretive words, but Mark is bound by the phrase "blood of the covenant", Ex.24:8, cf., Jer.31:31-34. Unlike the bread, the benefit from Christ's inevitable death / the shedding of his blood, is spelled out, namely the covenant / agreement of God with his people - "you will be my people and I will be your God" - a community bound by divine grace "inaugurated by a sacrifice, and the blood shared among the people", France. "This is Mark's only reference to 'covenant'. While it is not a major theological category for him, the imagery places Jesus' death within the framework of God's eschatological saving event in which God's covenant with Israel is not nullified or superseded, but eschatologically renewed", Boring.

το εκχυννομενον [εχυννω] "which is poured out" - the blood being poured out. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "the blood", "the blood which is being poured out". Semitic idiom for death; "poured out" = "died".

ὑπερ "for [many]" - on behalf of [many]. Here expressing advantage / benefit, "on behalf of, for the sake of", although Decker argues for substitution, "in place of." The pouring out for the many alludes to the ministry of Isaiah's Suffering Servant and thus of Christ's shed blood, of redemption through his vicarious death. Note the link with 10:45, of the Son of Man's ministry intent "to give his life as a ransom for many", although αντι instead of ὑπερ. The πολλων, "many", is probably reflecting Semitic idiom where there is no word for "all" in the plural. The pouring out of Christ's life-blood is inclusive, it is for "all in contrast with one", Nineham; cf., MHT I, "many" = a group in its entirety.

The significance of this statement is unclear. It gives the last supper an eschatological frame, a frame which is reflected in the liturgy of the church. Of course, Jesus may be saying little more than "We'll meet again ....... some day soon....", but it is usually viewed with more significance; "when the fellowship of the parousia commences, this memorial table-fellowship ends", Dibelius. The "memorial" looks forward to the messianic banquet which will be celebrated at the time of the full realisation of the eschatological kingdom.

ὑμιν dat. pro. "[truly I tell] you" - [truly i say] to you. Dative of indirect object. The phrase serves to underline the following statement.

ὁτι "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of direct speech expressing what Jesus wants to tell his disciples.

ουκετι ου μη + subj. "[I will] not [drink again]" - [no longer] no no [may i drink]. An unusual package of three negative serving to introduce a subjunctive of emphatic negation; "I will never ever drink wine again."

εκ + gen. "from" - from. Expressing source / origin.

της αμπελου [ος] "of the vine" - [the fruit] of the vine. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / producer, product; "the fruit produced by a grape vine."

ἑως + gen. "until" - until [that day]. This construction serves to introduce a temporal clause, future time, of the transit of time up to a point.

ὁταν + subj. "when" - when. This construction serves to introduce an indefinite temporal clause, treated as definite, as NIV.

καινον adj. "new" - [i drink it] new. "This will be not merely a restoration of the status quo; rather, the wine will be καινον and the situation will be that of the kingdom of God", France.

εν + dat. "in" - in. Local, expressing space.

του θεου [ος] gen. "of God" - [the kingdom] of god. For "the kingdom of God" see Mk.1:15. The genitive may be treated as adjectival, possessive, although where the emphasis falls on dominion rather than domain, then verbal, subjective, would be a better classification.

Mark Introduction

Exposition

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