Mark 14:12-26 A Meal Worth Remembering

Mark 14:12-26

A Meal Worth Remembering

Outline |

vv. 12-16 - The Preparation

vv. 17-21 - The Pronouncement

vv. 22-26 - The Promise

Introduction |

Go get the car ready, we are going to be leaving in a few minutes.

Then you find week old Chik-fil-a bags, Starbucks cups that look like a science experiment, and masks that have been lying in the floor since March of 2020.

If you’re like me you are angered that the owner of the car did nothing to prepare for the journey, but has left all of the work for you.

This morning we will see that this is not the case with God and his children.

But, before we start in our text today we need to remember a few things from last week.

Remember, Mary worshiped Jesus in the face of Judas’ denial of the sovereign plan of God in Jesus .

As a result of Mary’s worship, Jesus said that “wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Her worship and devotion, in the face of opposition, would be celebrated!

Today we transition from Mary’s worship to the preparation and partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Interestingly, Paul refers to the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance that should always be done by the church “in remembrance of Him.”

Mary’s act of worship would be remembered wherever the gospel is proclaimed.

Greater still, in our text today, Jesus act of obedience is to be remembered wherever the gospel is seen in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.

The Preparation (vv.12-16)

The time had come for Passover, and the disciples knew the amount of preparation that went into such a celebration.

In fact, many of them would have been in charge of the preparing their households for this amazing feast.

The head of the house played the special role of teacher/guide in the Passover meal.

To highlight the focus put on preparation we can’t overlook that they word “prepare” is used three times in these first few verses.

This was not a celebration to be observed casually, but with reverence, intentionality, and expectation.

The disciples were used to following Jesus lead at this point, so they ask him “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

They knew that the meal could not be observed in Bethany, since according to the Law it must be done within the walls of Jerusalem .

v. 13 - Jesus tells them to go into the city and there you will find a man carrying a jar of water.

The detailed sovereignty of God is on display here.

Remember the city of Jerusalem would have been several times more populated than normal due to Passover, and yet Jesus tells them to find a man with a jar of water.

Now, this should seem impossible, but there are a few things that could be going on here that would make this task easier

Women normally carry the water.

Jesus could have made arrangements for this meeting to happen.

Regardless of the how, the what is the amazing part. What Jesus is doing makes it possible within the cultural and religious expectations of the day for the Passover meal to be observed.

vv.14-16 - You see, the man would know exactly what they needed. In fact, he would have a guest room, a large upper room in his house, prepared. Mark records, “it was furnished and ready.”

This may be the first Air BnB.

v.16 - And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Friends, the word of the Lord is always proven to be true, and it always invites us to respond.

Application 1 - May we be constantly preparing our hearts and lives as we consider the goodness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This simply means taking inventory of our lives based on the gospel. Ask yourself, “Am I living in every area of life with Christ-honoring focus?”

The Pronouncement (vv. 17-21)

v.17 - When evening came Jesus and the disciples arrive to enjoy the Passover meal.

This was in keeping with the religious requirement that the meal must be observed at night after sunset, but it had to be finished before midnight.

v.18 - The pronouncement is given that one of the disciples would betray Jesus.

This caused them all to stress! As you can imagine they began to look around and notice that others where looking at them.

So they each said, “Surely not I?”

Each of the disciples were sure they could never deny Jesus, but in fact in time they all would (v.27).

Picture the scene. Jesus is leading the disciples through the Passover meal , and after the blessing and drinking of the first two cups of wine he declares that he will be betrayed.

The first cup of wine is the cup of redemption. The story of the exodus and redemption from Egypt would have been told at this time.

The second cup included the blessing and breaking of bread too. This bread was dipped in a bowl of bitter herbs and stewed fruit.

This is the bowl that Jesus refers to in v.20.

v. 21 - Jesus then explains the horror of what is about to happen by describing his situation up against the betrayer.

For the Son of Man, it goes according to Scripture. It is as it was prophesied, no detail left unturned, there was no mystery in the fate of Christ - it was exactly as God had intended.

Calvin - We now perceive what is intended by the words of Christ. It was, that the disciples, knowing that what was done was regulated by the providence of God, might not imagine that his life or death was determined by chance. But the usefulness of this doctrine extends much farther; for never are we fully confirmed in the result of the death of Christ, till we are convinced that he was not accidentally dragged by men to the cross, but that the sacrifice had been appointed by an eternal decree of God for expiating the sins of the world. For how do we obtain reconciliation, but because Christ has appeased the Father by his obedience?

But, woe to the betrayer! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born!

Application 2 - This is the pronouncement of the gospel today. Woe to those who turn from the good news of the gospel, from the perfect work of Jesus, and look to their own gain. But, blessed is the one whose name is written in the lambs book of life.

The caution we see in the life of Judas is that it is not enough to be near the kingdom of God, one must be in the Kingdom of God to enjoy His eternal blessing.

The Promise (vv. 22-26)

We’ve seen the importance of living with gospel preparedness, and the caution of just being near the kingdom of God.

In this last section Jesus brings the Passover meal to its climax. All that they knew about the elements of the meal were about to be seen with gospel clarity.

Jesus would declare that the bread was his body, and the wine his blood.

Up to this point the disciples understood bread to be a symbol of life and salvation for the Israelite people, but there is nothing in the Seder service that corresponds to Jesus declaration.

But, here the Passover meal recedes into the background, as does their nationalistic pride, their entire religious paradigm is shifting.

When Jesus invites the disciples to drink of the cup of the new covenant the reality of his sacrifice becomes extremelt clear.

He states, “This is my blood.”

This is the third cup of the Passover meal, and it should be followed by a fourth, but Jesus says “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink in new in the kingdom of God” (vv.24-25).

The time of feasting in which Jesus had announced in Mk. 2:18-20 was now to be replaced with fasting.

In what seems like a solemn moment, it is important to see the promise Jesus gives.

This new covenant promise assumes that Jesus will be resurrected. The possibility of Jesus’ drinking new wine in the kingdom of God is possible only if he is alive.

Mark (The Bread and the Wine (14:22–26))

Thus, the day when Jesus drinks the wine anew in the kingdom of God marks the time when the tension between the old and new no longer exists. That will be the day when the new has come completely and the old has passed away. This meal is a forerunner of another festal meal at which the triumph of the new will be celebrated. It is a preliminary event, a sign pointing from the betrayal of Jesus to the eventual disappearance of the old. It is supremely ironic that the death of Jesus, which from one point of view marks the victory of the old, is actually the institution of a new covenant that guarantees the demise of the old.

Jesus’ promise to his disciples would not have been fully understood, but it would give them comfort in the coming days as they witnessed his death, burial, and resurrection.

But on this day they worshipped by singing a hymn. Most likely Ps. 118:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Conclusion |

Now, you may remember that earlier I mentioned four cups of wine in the Passover meal, but we’ve seen that Jesus only had three.

The four cups represent the four-fold promise of redemption given to Israel in Ex. 6.

“I will bring you out.”

“I will free you from bondage.”

“I will redeem you.”

“I will take you for my people and I will be your God.”

This last cup, the cup of consummation, is the cup that Jesus will drink with redeemed sinners in the Kingdom of God.

Revelation 3:20 (ESV)

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 19:9 (ESV): Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Friends, may we prepare our hearts daily for the day when we will eat and drink with our savior in the Kingdom of God. Remember his promise, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3).