Betrayal Begins
Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. Mark 14:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Passover was just two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and have Him killed.
The most sacred time on Israel's calendar became the backdrop for the most unjust plot in history. The darkness was closing in.
Mark sets the scene for the Passion narrative.
The countdown has begun. While the city prepared to celebrate God's deliverance, the leaders planned to destroy God's Son.
Mark provides the temporal setting — two days before Passover and Unleavened Bread — as the chief priests and scribes conspire to arrest and kill Jesus through stealth (Greek: dolos, 'deceit').
Passover commemorated Israel's liberation from Egypt; the irony is that the religious leaders use this festival of freedom as the backdrop for plotting the Messiah's death.
Mark narrates the conspiracy of the chief priests and scribes.
The Passion narrative formally begins with the intersection of sacred time (Passover) and murderous conspiracy, creating the dramatic framework for Jesus' final hours.
1Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him.
2“But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
3While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
Read all of Mark 14 — A woman anoints Jesus with costly perfume while Judas negotiates his price. The Last Supper, Gethsemane, and Peter's denial unfold in rapid succession.
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