The cross and resurrection

Enter the story

Read about the leaders’ plans, and remember what Jesus has already said about what awaits him.

Commentary

There are two days left until Passover. The chief priests and the teachers of the law are looking for a way to arrest Jesus by deception and kill him. But they say: Not during the festival, or there will be an uproar among the people.

I notice how shrewd the plan is. No one wanted a revolt. No one wanted blood in the streets during the festival. They wanted to do it quietly, without witnesses, when it suited them.

There is something frightening about how rational evil can be. It does not shout. It calculates. It waits for the right moment.

But it did not happen as they planned. It happened during the festival itself, in the midst of Passover, when the lambs were slaughtered. They thought they controlled the timing. But another hand held it.

Look closely

What do the leaders want to do, and what do they want to avoid?

Reflect

What comfort is there in holding on to God when other people’s plans cause turmoil?

Together

How can we support people who suffer injustice?

Live it out

Pray for someone living under pressure, and offer practical support.

Enter the story

Watch the woman who comes with the perfume, and listen to the different judgments about what she does.

Commentary

In Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman comes in with an alabaster jar. She breaks the jar and pours the costly nard perfume over Jesus’ head.

Some of those sitting there become indignant. Why this waste? The perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

I understand them. It is a reasonable argument. I have used it myself. But Jesus says: Leave her alone. She has done a good thing for me.

She breaks the jar. She holds nothing back for later. I think of everything I have saved, everything I have held back because it might come in useful another time. She gave everything at once, and it was the right time.

She did what she could, Jesus says. She has anointed my body for burial beforehand.

I do not think she knew it herself. She simply did what love asked of her. And then her action took on a meaning she had not seen.

Wherever the gospel is preached in the world, what she did will be told. We do not know her name. But we remember her. And I read her story as a reminder that love which does not calculate has a place in the gospel.

Look closely

What do the others say, and what does Jesus say about her action?

Reflect

What am I holding back that love calls me to give?

Together

How can we value an act of love even when it does not fit our calculations?

Live it out

Do something good that you have put off until a more convenient time.

Enter the story

Mark names Judas as one of the twelve. Read about his action immediately after the story of the woman.

Commentary

Immediately afterwards Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, goes to the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them. They are delighted and promise him money.

Mark says nothing about why. He gives us no explanation. I have read many theories, about greed, about disappointment, about a plan that went wrong. But the text is silent.

What I notice is the little phrase: one of the twelve. He was no stranger. He had walked with Jesus for three years. He had gone out, two by two, and preached. He had seen the girl rise and the bread be shared.

And immediately after a woman has given everything she has, he goes and sells Jesus for money.

I dare not see Judas as someone entirely different from me. I think the most dangerous thing about him is that he was so close. And that there is a possibility of becoming Judas in everyone who has walked with Jesus for a long time and stopped expecting anything from him.

Look closely

What does Mark tell us Judas does, and what does he leave unexplained?

Reflect

How can I keep my companionship with Jesus alive when so much has become routine?

Together

How can we help one another be honest about what draws us away from Jesus?

Live it out

Set aside time for an honest prayer about what you want or feel disappointed about.

Enter the story

Jesus sends two disciples to prepare the meal. They find a room that is ready.

Commentary

The disciples ask where they should prepare the Passover meal. Jesus sends two of them into the city. There they will meet a man carrying a water jar. Follow him, he says.

It is a curious little detail. Men seldom carried water. So it was a sign that was easy to see, but that no one else would notice.

They find a large upstairs room, already arranged. I have always liked that. Someone has made things ready. A room with cushions and tables, lamps and dishes. Someone whose name we do not know has opened their home.

I think of all those who have opened their homes to me throughout my life. Those who prepared a room, put out food, let me sleep under their roof. They seldom appear in history books. But without them the gospel would never have gone anywhere.

And Jesus calls it his room. Where is my guest room? he asks. That room, which a stranger has prepared, is his.

Look closely

What does Jesus ask them to do, and what do they find?

Reflect

What room is there in my life for hospitality and practical service?

Together

Who does the quiet preparation in our fellowship, and how can we support them?

Live it out

Make room for someone, or help with a practical preparation.

Enter the story

At the meal Jesus speaks of betrayal by someone eating with him. Read the disciples’ reaction.

Commentary

In the evening they sit down at the table. And during the meal Jesus says: One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.

They become sorrowful and begin asking him, one by one: Surely not I?

I am glad they asked it that way. They do not point at one another. They do not look around the table for the guilty person. Each asks about himself.

I think it is the most truthful question we can ask at the Lord’s table. Not: Who else has failed? But: Is it I?

Jesus does not answer directly. He simply says: It is one of the twelve, one who dips into the dish with me.

It was one of them. But in a certain sense it was all of them. Before the night was over, every single one had deserted him.

Look closely

What do they ask, and what does Jesus answer?

Reflect

Am I more concerned with finding other people’s faults than with looking at my own life?

Together

How can we help one another examine ourselves honestly without becoming suspicious of one another?

Live it out

Ask God to show you something you need to take responsibility for yourself. Take a step towards repentance.

Enter the story

Jesus takes the bread and the cup and gives them to the disciples. Pause over his words about his body, the blood of the covenant and the meal to come.

Commentary

While they are eating, Jesus takes a loaf of bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them. Take it; this is my body.

Then he takes the cup, gives thanks and gives it to them, and they all drink from it. This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

I have received the bread and wine more times than I can count. In large churches and small homes, in languages I understand and languages I do not understand. And every time the words are the same.

What I notice in Mark is how simple it is. He takes, gives thanks, breaks, gives. These are the same four verbs as at the miracle of the bread in the wilderness. He does what he has always done. But now it is himself he gives.

And then he says he will not drink of the fruit of the vine until he drinks it new in the kingdom of God. It is a farewell. But it is also a promise. There will be a new meal.

I think that is why the Lord’s Supper has always held both sorrow and joy for me. I remember a body that was broken. And I wait for a table with him sitting at its head.

Look closely

What does Jesus give, and what does he say about what will come in the kingdom of God?

Reflect

What does it mean to me to receive Jesus’ gift of himself?

Together

How can the Lord’s Supper help us towards gratitude, fellowship and hope?

Live it out

Thank Jesus for his gift. Take these words with you the next time you share the Lord’s Supper with your fellowship.

Enter the story

Peter and the others make great promises. Jesus knows what will happen and still promises to go ahead of them to Galilee.

Commentary

They sing the hymn and go out to the Mount of Olives. And on the way Jesus says: You will all fall away. I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

But then he adds: After I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

Peter does not hear the last part. He hears only the first. Even if everyone else falls away, I will not.

I think he meant it. I think he loved Jesus as much as he could. But he did not know himself.

Jesus answers: Tonight, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

And Peter says it even more strongly. Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And all the others say the same.

I have said things like that myself. Great promises in moments of faith, which I have not managed to keep. It moves me that Jesus does not reject Peter for it. He simply knows. And he has already said that he will go ahead of them to Galilee, even after they have failed.

Look closely

What does Peter say, what does Jesus say about their failure, and what promise comes before it?

Reflect

Where do I need help to trust Jesus rather than my own strong promises?

Together

How can we support one another after a failure?

Live it out

Ask for help with something you have thought you could manage on your own.

Enter the story

In Gethsemane Jesus prays amid anguish and sorrow. The disciples are called to watch and pray.

Commentary

In Gethsemane Jesus says to the disciples: Sit here while I pray. Then he takes Peter, James and John with him, and he is overcome with anguish and distress.

My soul is sorrowful to the point of death, he says. Stay here and keep watch.

He goes a little further, throws himself to the ground and prays: Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Abba. It is the most intimate word a child can use for their father. In the midst of the deepest anguish, this is the word he chooses.

I have never faced what he faced. But I have prayed prayers where I received no answer. I have prayed for something to be taken from me, and it was not taken. And I have learned, slowly, that the prayer has not failed if it ends with: Not what I will.

When he returns, they are sleeping. Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?

Three times he goes and prays. Three times he returns and finds them sleeping. They do not know what to answer.

I recognise myself in them too. Wanting to keep watch, but falling asleep. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He does not say it as an accusation. He says it as someone who knows what we are like.

Then he says: Enough. The hour has come. Get up, let us go.

Look closely

What does Jesus pray for, and how does he lay his will before the Father? What does he say to the disciples?

Reflect

Can I bring both my desire and my surrender before the Father?

Together

How can we watch and pray with people going through something difficult?

Live it out

Set aside some time to pray for someone who is suffering. Be there with them too, if they would welcome it.

Enter the story

Jesus is arrested, and the disciples flee. Remember the promise about Galilee as you read.

Commentary

Immediately Judas, one of the twelve, arrives, and with him a crowd carrying swords and clubs. He has arranged a signal: The one I kiss is the man. And he goes up to Jesus and says: Rabbi! and kisses him.

I find it painful to read. The kiss is intimacy turned into betrayal. There is nothing more painful in the whole story.

One of those standing there draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus says: Every day I was with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.

And then it says: Then everyone deserted him and fled.

Everyone. Those who had said they would die with him. Those who had promised. Those who had walked with him for three years.

Finally Mark tells of a young man who followed, wearing only a linen cloth around his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth and fled naked. Some think it was Mark himself. I do not know. But I see the picture. Someone who wanted to be there, but lost everything he was wearing as he fled.

That is how the night in the garden ends. Jesus stands alone. Everyone has gone. And I know that if I had been there, I too would have run.

But I remember what he said on the way out: After I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. He knew they would flee. And he had already said that he would wait for them.

Look closely

What happens when Jesus is arrested, and what does he say about the Scriptures?

Reflect

What do I do with my fear of standing with Jesus when it costs me?

Together

How can we help one another stay faithful under pressure?

Live it out

Support someone who is facing something difficult alone.

Enter the story

The council looks for testimony. Jesus is silent until the question of who he is is asked directly. Read his whole answer in the Bible too.

Commentary

They take Jesus to the high priest, and the whole council is assembled. They look for testimony that will justify a death sentence, but find none. Many give false testimony, but their accounts do not agree.

Jesus is silent. He does not defend himself. I have thought a great deal about that silence. I myself have felt the need to explain myself, clear up misunderstandings, have the last word. He lets the lies stand there until they collapse on their own.

Then the high priest asks directly: Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?

And Jesus, who throughout the gospel has asked people to keep quiet about who he was, now says: I am.

It is strange. The lies could not condemn him. It was the truth that did.

Some begin to spit on him. They cover his face, strike him and say: Prophesy! And the servants receive him with blows.

I read it slowly. The one who restored sight to the blind is blindfolded. The one who spoke truth is mockingly told to prophesy. And he is silent again.

Look closely

What goes wrong with the testimony, and what does Jesus answer when asked whether he is the Messiah?

Reflect

What do I learn from Jesus standing by the truth even when it costs him?

Together

How can we strengthen one another to be truthful without answering evil with evil?

Live it out

Choose a truthful and calm approach in a conversation where you feel misunderstood.

Enter the story

Peter sits by the fire while Jesus is questioned. Read the three denials and what happens when he remembers Jesus’ words.

Commentary

While this is happening, Peter sits below in the courtyard, warming himself by the fire. A servant girl looks at him. You too were with the man from Nazareth.

Peter says he does not know what she is talking about. He goes out into the entrance courtyard. She sees him again and says to the others: He is one of them. He denies it again. A little later those standing there say: You must be one of them; you are from Galilee.

Then he begins to curse and swear: I do not know this man you are talking about.

And immediately the rooster crows for the second time.

I have always noticed that it was not soldiers or chief priests who made Peter fall. It was a servant girl and some people standing there warming themselves. It is seldom the great threats that make us fail. It is the small questions, in everyday life, when above all we want to belong.

Peter remembers what Jesus had said. And he breaks down in tears.

I am glad Mark included those tears. I do not think they were the end. I think they were the beginning of something new. The man weeping there in the courtyard would later hear his name mentioned at the empty tomb.

Look closely

Who questions Peter, what does he answer, and what makes him break down in tears?

Reflect

Where is it easy for me to hide that I belong to Jesus?

Together

How can our fellowship make room for repentance and a new start?

Live it out

Be honest with God about a failure or something you have kept hidden. Ask for help to take responsibility.

Enter the story

Jesus stands before Pilate. Around him there are many accusations, but he answers only briefly.

Commentary

Early in the morning they bind Jesus, take him away and hand him over to Pilate.

Pilate asks: Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus answers: You say so.

These are the only words he says to Pilate. The chief priests accuse him of many things. Pilate asks again: Are you not going to answer? See how many things they accuse you of. But Jesus says nothing more, and Pilate is amazed.

I have thought about the effect of his silence in this story. Everyone around him speaks. They accuse, they ask, they demand. And he stands quietly in the midst of it. It is not helplessness. It is a calm that refuses to be drawn into the game.

I would like to have a little of that calm. Not to stay silent when I ought to speak, but to be free from defending myself where there is nothing to gain. To stand in the truth without having to win the argument.

Look closely

What does Pilate ask, and what amazes him?

Reflect

When do I need to speak, and when can I let go of having the last word?

Together

How can we help one another maintain calm and integrity in conflict?

Live it out

Pause and pray before answering in a difficult conversation. Choose words that serve truth and peace.

Enter the story

A guilty man is set free, and Jesus is handed over for crucifixion. Notice too what drives Pilate.

Commentary

At the festival Pilate usually releases a prisoner, the one the people ask for. There is a man in prison called Barabbas, who has committed murder during a revolt.

Pilate asks: Do you want me to release the king of the Jews? He knows the chief priests have handed Jesus over out of envy. But the chief priests stir up the people, and they shout for him to release Barabbas.

What, then, shall I do with the one you call the king of the Jews? Crucify him! What evil has he done? And they shout even louder: Crucify him!

Pilate wants to satisfy the people. He releases Barabbas, has Jesus flogged and hands him over to be crucified.

I have often thought of Barabbas. The guilty man goes free. The innocent man takes his place. I do not know what became of him. But I think I stand there with him. I have been allowed to go free, and another has borne what was mine.

And I see Pilate too. The man who knew what was right but wanted to satisfy the people. I recognise him. It is easy to judge him. It is harder to see how often I myself have chosen what was easiest.

Look closely

What does Pilate know, and why does he nevertheless satisfy the people? Who goes free?

Reflect

What gratitude does it awaken in me that Jesus bore what was mine?

Together

How can we help one another do what is right when the pressure increases?

Live it out

Thank Jesus for the freedom he has given you. Make a right choice you might otherwise have avoided to please others.

Enter the story

The soldiers mock Jesus as king. Read slowly through what they do, and remember who he is.

Commentary

The soldiers take him into the courtyard and gather the whole company. They dress him in purple, weave a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Then they greet him: Hail, King of the Jews! They strike his head with a reed staff, spit on him, kneel down and worship him.

I would rather not linger over this. But Mark lingers, and so I do too.

They play at making him king. Everything is wrong: the robe is borrowed, the crown pierces, the sceptre is a reed, the kneeling is mockery. And yet it is true. He is king. They did not know it, but they said it.

It is a strange truth that the only coronation Jesus received in this life was a mock coronation. And that he accepted even that, without saying a word.

Then they take off the purple robe, dress him in his own clothes and lead him out to be crucified.

Look closely

What do the soldiers use in their mock coronation, and what do they call Jesus?

Reflect

What does it mean to me that my king has endured humiliation?

Together

How can we stand alongside people who are mocked or belittled?

Live it out

Refuse to take part in an action or conversation that humiliates someone. Show that person respect.

Enter the story

Simon is forced to carry the cross. At Golgotha Jesus is crucified between two robbers.

Commentary

They force a man coming in from the fields to carry the cross. Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

I have always been fond of that man. He was on his way home from work, completely unaware. And then he was drawn into the greatest thing that has ever happened. Mark names his sons. That suggests they were known in the church. Perhaps that was the day everything began for that family.

I think of all the times I have been drawn into other people’s burdens without choosing it myself. And I think that perhaps it is precisely there that Jesus meets me.

They lead him to Golgotha. They offer him wine mixed with myrrh, but he does not accept it. They crucify him and divide his clothes by casting lots. Above him is the charge: The King of the Jews. And on either side of him is a robber.

People passing by mock him. He has saved others, but he cannot save himself.

What they say is true, but not in the way they mean it. He could not save himself, because he wanted to save them. He could not do both.

Look closely

What does Mark tell us about Simon? What do those who mock Jesus say about what he has done for others?

Reflect

What burden can I help someone else carry?

Together

How can we make practical care part of following Jesus?

Live it out

Help someone with a particular burden or task this week.

Enter the story

Darkness falls, Jesus cries out to God and breathes his last. Read also about the curtain, the officer and the women.

Commentary

From the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out loudly: Eloí, Eloí, lemá sabaktáni? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I have never been able to read those words without feeling something shake inside me. He who said Abba in the garden now cries My God. He who had always been close to the Father feels forsaken.

I have no final explanation. Nor do I think I am meant to have one. But I believe there is comfort in the fact that he cried out like that. When I have felt forsaken myself, when prayer has gone unanswered and the darkness has been deep, I know he has been there before me. He has cried out the same words. And he still cried them to God: My God.

He cries out loudly and breathes his last.

And the curtain in the temple tears in two, from top to bottom.

The officer standing directly in front of him, who sees how he dies, says: Truly, this man was the Son of God.

It is an outsider, a Roman soldier, who says what none of the disciples said. And he says it after watching him die.

Some women stand watching from a distance. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome. They had followed him in Galilee. They had not fled. They stood there.

Look closely

What does Jesus cry out, what happens to the curtain, and what does the officer say? Who stands watching?

Reflect

What comfort is there in knowing that Jesus has cried out to God from the darkness?

Together

How can we be present with people who feel forsaken, without rushing to offer explanations?

Live it out

Listen to someone carrying grief or pain. Pray a simple prayer together if they would like you to.

Enter the story

Joseph dares to ask for Jesus’ body and sees to his burial. The women watch where Jesus is laid.

Commentary

It was the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the council, dared to approach Pilate and ask for the body.

I notice the word dared. It cost him something. He was one of those who held power. And now he came forward and attached his name to a crucified man.

Pilate is surprised that Jesus is already dead. He calls the officer and has it confirmed. Then he gives Joseph the body.

Joseph buys linen, takes him down, wraps him in it and lays him in a tomb cut into the rock. Then he rolls a stone across the entrance.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses see where he is laid.

It is a quiet story. No words. Just hands doing what needs to be done. I think of all the funerals I have attended. The quiet care for a dead body. Laying someone to rest. It is one of the last acts of love we can offer.

And the women watch. They note the place. They will return.

Look closely

What does Joseph do, and how is Jesus’ death confirmed? What do the women note?

Reflect

What quiet care can I offer when words are not enough?

Together

How can we support people after a death and in the practical tasks that follow?

Live it out

Offer practical help or quiet encouragement to someone who is grieving.

Enter the story

The women go to the tomb with oils and an unresolved practical question. Read the message they receive, especially the words about Peter.

Commentary

When the Sabbath was over, the women bought fragrant oils to anoint him. And early on the first day of the week, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb.

They ask one another: Who will roll the stone away from the entrance for us? It is such a practical question. They had not worked out how they would do it. They went anyway.

I like that. How often have I gone towards something without knowing how it would work out? And found that the stone had already been rolled away.

For it has. The stone is gone. They enter and see a young man dressed in white, and they are alarmed. He says: Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.

And then: But go and tell his disciples and Peter: He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.

And Peter. I read these two words as some of the most beautiful in the whole Gospel. The one who denied him is mentioned by name. He has not been written off. He has not been forgotten. He is called to come.

The women leave and flee from the tomb. They are trembling and beside themselves. And they say nothing to anyone, because they are afraid.

I have long wondered why the passage ends like this. With fear and silence. But I think I understand it better now. Mark leaves it open, like an invitation. The women were silent. But we, who have read the whole story, cannot remain silent. We are the ones who must tell it on.

And he still goes ahead, to Galilee, to everyday life, to where it all began.

Look closely

What do the women hear about Jesus, and what are they to tell the disciples and Peter?

Reflect

What does it mean that the one who failed is mentioned by name and called to come?

Together

How can we help people hear that they have not been written off?

Live it out

Share an encouragement about Jesus’ grace with someone who needs a new start.

Enter the story

Read about the risen Jesus meeting the disciples, sending them out and working with them. Let this ending carry your reading into the mission.

Commentary

In newer Bibles this longer ending appears either in brackets or as a footnote. That is because some of the oldest manuscripts do not contain these verses. Some biblical scholars believe that this longer ending was written later. Since the passage is part of the Textus Receptus and has substantial support, I regard it as God’s Word.

This ending shows that Jesus was with the disciples as he had promised. It includes several more accounts: Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, to two on the road and to the eleven at the table. He sends them into the whole world. And he is taken up into heaven. This agrees with the other Gospels.

But I am glad that both the short and the long ending have been allowed to stand. The short one lets me see the women at the tomb, trembling and silent. The long one lets me see what happened afterwards: those who did not believe were allowed to see, and they went out.

I notice that in the long ending Jesus rebukes the eleven for their unbelief. And then he sends them anyway. It is the same pattern as throughout the Gospel. He calls those who do not understand. He goes ahead of those who have failed. And he sends out those who were afraid.

The last sentence says that they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them.

I have gone out myself, many times, to many places. I have not always understood. I have failed. I have been afraid. But I have known him working with me.

And perhaps this is what I want to say at the end, after walking through the whole of Mark: He went ahead. He still goes ahead. And he still confirms his Word with the signs he promised would follow those who believed and took the mission seriously.

Look closely

Whom does Jesus meet, what mission does he give them, and what does the last verse say about the Lord’s work?

Reflect

What courage does it give me that Jesus sends people who have been afraid and have not understood?

Together

Which people and places are we called to reach with the gospel? How can we pray and go together?

Live it out

Take a practical step to share the gospel. Pray for those you meet, including for healing and God’s help, trusting that the Lord works with you.