Mark 14:42-72

Context
14:42 Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer¹ is approaching!”

Betrayal and Arrest

14:43 Right away, while Jesus² was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived.³ With him came a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and experts in the law⁴ and elders. 14:44 (Now the betrayer⁵ had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him and lead him away under guard.”)⁶ 14:45 When Judas⁷ arrived, he went up to Jesus⁸ immediately and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed⁹ him. 14:46 Then they took hold of him¹⁰ and arrested him. 14:47 One of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the high priest’s slave,¹¹ cutting off his ear. 14:48 Jesus said to them, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw?¹² 14:49 Day after day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, yet¹³ you did not arrest me. But this has happened so that¹⁴ the scriptures would be fulfilled.” 14:50 Then¹⁵ all the disciples¹⁶ left him and fled. 14:51 A young man was following him, wearing only a linen cloth. They tried to arrest him, 14:52 but he ran off naked,¹⁷ leaving his linen cloth behind.

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

14:53 Then¹⁸ they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law¹⁹ came together. 14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He²⁰ was sitting with the guards²¹ and warming himself by the fire. 14:55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything. 14:56 Many gave false testimony against him, but their testimony did not agree. 14:57 Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him:²² 14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days build another not made with hands.’” 14:59 Yet even on this point their testimony did not agree. 14:60 Then²³ the high priest stood up before them²⁴ and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 14:61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him,²⁵ “Are you the Christ,²⁶ the Son of the Blessed One?” 14:62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand²⁷ of the Power²⁸ and coming with the clouds of heaven.”²⁹ 14:63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 14:64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?”³⁰ They all condemned him as deserving death. 14:65 Then³¹ some began to spit on him, and to blindfold him, and to strike him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat³² him.

Peter’s Denials

14:66 Now³³ while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls³⁴ came by. 14:67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked directly at him and said, “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus.” 14:68 But he denied it:³⁵ “I don’t even understand what you’re talking about!”³⁶ Then³⁷ he went out to the gateway, and a rooster crowed.³⁸ 14:69 When the slave girl saw him, she began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 14:70 But he denied it again. A short time later the bystanders again said to Peter, “You must be³⁹ one of them, because you are also a Galilean.” 14:71 Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 14:72 Immediately a rooster⁴⁰ crowed a second time. Then⁴¹ Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.⁴²

[14:42] ¹tn Grk “the one who betrays me.”

[14:43] ²tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:43] ³tn Or “approached.” This is a different verb than the one translated “arrived” in Matt 26:47 and below in v. 45, although in this context the meanings probably overlap.

[14:43] ⁴tn Or “from the chief priests, scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[14:44] ⁵tn Grk “the one who betrays him.”

[14:44] ⁶sn This remark is parenthetical within the narrative and has thus been placed in parentheses.

[14:45] ⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:45] ⁸tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:45] ⁹sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.

[14:46] ¹⁰tn Grk “put their hands on him.”

[14:47] ¹¹tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[14:48] ¹²tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist,” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

[14:49] ¹³tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) is elastic enough to be used contrastively on occasion, as here.

[14:49] ¹⁴tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.

[14:50] ¹⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:50] ¹⁶tn Grk “they”; the referent (Jesus’ disciples) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:52] ¹⁷sn The statement he ran off naked is probably a reference to Mark himself, traditionally assumed to be the author of this Gospel. Why he was wearing only an outer garment and not the customary tunic as well is not mentioned. W. L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 527-28, says that Mark probably mentioned this episode so as to make it clear that “all fled, leaving Jesus alone in the custody of the police.”

[14:53] ¹⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:53] ¹⁹tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[14:54] ²⁰tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:54] ²¹sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

[14:57] ²²tn Grk “Some standing up gave false testimony against him, saying.”

[14:60] ²³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:60] ²⁴tn Grk “in the middle.”

[14:61] ²⁵tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”

[14:61] ²⁶tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[14:62] ²⁷sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. This is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[14:62] ²⁸sn The expression the right hand of the Power is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[14:62] ²⁹sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.

[14:64] ³⁰tn Grk “What do you think?”

[14:65] ³¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:65] ³²tn For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.

[14:66] ³³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:66] ³⁴tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

[14:68] ³⁵tn Grk “he denied it, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[14:68] ³⁶tn Grk “I do not know or understand what you are saying.” In the translation this is taken as a hendiadys (a figure of speech where two terms express a single meaning, usually for emphatic reasons).

[14:68] ³⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:68] ³⁸tc Several important witnesses (א B L W Ψ* 579 892 2427 pc) lack the words “and a rooster crowed.” The fact that such good and early Alexandrian witnesses lack these words makes this textual problem difficult to decide, especially because the words receive support from other witnesses, some of which are fairly decent (A C D Θ Ψ^c 067 Ë^1,13 33 [1424] Ï lat). The omission could have been intentional on the part of some Alexandrian scribes who wished to bring this text in line with the other Gospel accounts that only mention a rooster crowing once (Matt 26:74; Luke 22:60; John 18:27). The insertion could be an attempt to make the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in 14:30 more explicit. Internally, the words “and a rooster crowed” fit Mark’s Gospel here, not only in view of 14:30, “before a rooster crows twice,” but also in view of the mention of “a second time” in 14:71 (a reading which is much more textually secure). Nevertheless, a decision is difficult.

[14:70] ³⁹tn Grk “Truly you are.”

[14:72] ⁴⁰tn This occurrence of the word ἀλέκτωρ (alektwr, “rooster”) is anarthrous and consequently may not point back explicitly to the rooster which had crowed previously in v. 68. The reason for the anarthrous construction is most likely to indicate generically that some rooster crowed. Further, the translation of ἀλέκτωρ as an indefinite noun retains the subtlety of the Greek in only hinting at the Lord’s prediction v. 30. See also NAB, TEV, NASB.

[14:72] ⁴¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:72] ⁴²tn Grk “he wept deeply.”