It is a deep human instinct that we mark significant moments with significant meals. Sharing a meal, especially a festive one, binds together a family, a group of friends, a collection of colleagues. Such meals say more than we could ever put into words about who we are, how we feel about one another, and the hopes and joys that we share together. The meal not only feeds our bodies; it says something and it does something, actually changing us so that, after it, part of who we actually are is the people who shared that meal together, with all that it meant.
When was the last time you shared a meal with others that marked a significant moment?
Read Mark 14:1-11.
Perhaps the most significant meal in the Old Testament was Passover. It’s all about freedom. Every year, and still to the present day, the Jewish people tell the story of the exodus from Egypt, leaving the slavery of Pharaoh and coming through the Red Sea and the wilderness to the Land of Promise. Passover, in the midst of Roman occupation, is the setting Jesus chose for the final showdown with the temple and its hierarchy.
Why isn’t Passover time a good time for the Jewish authorities to arrest Jesus?
While the chief priests and lawyers are plotting against Jesus, an unnamed woman is anointing Him with valuable oil. How do the people present react to the woman’s worship of Jesus?
What is Jesus’ response to this woman?
What is Jesus saying about the poor in verse 7?
I don’t think it is entirely coincidence that held up here is an example of a woman getting it right while all around her men are getting it wrong.
This is a tough question to word just right and can easily be misconstrued or understand, but I will ask it because it is helpful to think about. How do we sometimes react when people seem to worship Jesus without inhibition—-pouring out their valuables, their stories, their singing—-in ways we haven’t or with passion we haven’t? Mind you I’m not referencing people who are worshiping in error.
Which group or individual do you identify with most in this scene and why?
Read Mark 14:12-25.
At Passover Jews not only told the story of how God liberated them but also ate a commemorative meal together. Celebrating Passover was a deeply religious act, and also, for the many centuries in which Jews have suffered oppression, a deeply political act. It says, loud and clear, despite appearances, we are God’s free people. It sustains loyalty; it encourages faith, hope, and love.
What do the disciples do to prepare for the Passover meal (vv. 12-16)?
Why does Jesus’ announcement upset the disciples (vv. 17-21)?
How does Jesus add new meaning to two of the Passover elements (vv. 22-25)?
This Passover-meal-with-a-difference is going to explain more deeply than words could ever do, what His action, and passion, the next day really meant; and, more than explaining it, it will enable Jesus’ followers, from that day to this, to make it their own, to draw life and strength fro m it. If we want to understand, and be nourished by, what happened on Calvary, this meal is the place to start.
How does this meal help us make sense of Jesus’ death and His kingdom?
This meal is described as the Lord’s Supper today, while others call it the Eucharist or Communion. How can your study of this chapter enrich your participation in it?
Trent Dean
dean008@gmail.com