Marcos 14

BLIVRE · Chapter 14/16

1E dali a dois dias era a Páscoa, e [a festa] dos pães sem fermento; e os chefes dos sacerdotes, e os escribas buscavam um meio de prendê-lo através de um engano, e o matarem.

2Diziam, porém: “Não na festa, para que não aconteça tumulto entre o povo.”

3E estando ele em Betânia, na casa de Simão o Leproso, sentado [à mesa] , veio uma mulher, que tinha um vaso de alabastro, de óleo perfumado de nardo puro, de muito preço, e quebrando o vaso de alabastro, derramou-o sobre a cabeça dele.

4E houve alguns que em si mesmos se indignaram, e disseram: “Para que foi feito este desperdício do óleo perfumado?

5Porque isto podia ter sido vendido por mais de trezentos denários, e seria dado aos pobres.” E reclamavam contra ela.

6Porém Jesus disse: “Deixai-a; por que a incomodais? Ela me fez boa obra.

7Porque pobres sempre tendes convosco; e quando quiserdes, podeis lhes fazer bem; porém a mim, nem sempre me tendes.

8Esta fez o que podia; adiantou-se para ungir o meu corpo, para a sepultura.

9Em verdade vos digo, que onde quer que em todo o mundo este Evangelho for pregado, também o que esta fez será dito em sua memória.”

10E Judas Iscariotes, um dos doze, foi aos chefes dos sacerdotes, para o entregar a eles.

11E eles ouvindo, alegraram-se; e prometeram lhe dar dinheiro; e buscava como o entregaria em tempo oportuno.

12E o primeiro dia dos pães sem fermento, quando sacrificavam [o cordeiro da] Páscoa, seus discípulos lhe disseram: “Onde queres que vamos preparar para comerdes a Páscoa?”

13E mandou dois de seus discípulos, e disse-lhes: “Ide à cidade, e um homem que leva um cântaro de água vos encontrará, a ele segui.

14E onde quer que ele entrar, dizei ao senhor da casa: O Mestre diz: Onde está o cômodo onde comerei Páscoa com meus discípulos?

15E ele vos mostrará um grande salão, ornado e preparado; ali fazei os preparativos para nós.”

16E seusdiscípulos saíram, e vieram à cidade, e acharam como havia lhes dito, e prepararam a Páscoa.

17E chegada a tarde, veio com os doze.

18E quando se sentaram [à mesa] , e comeram, Jesus disse: “Em verdade vos digo, que um de vós, que está comendo comigo, me trairá.”

19E eles começaram a se entristecer, e a lhe dizer um após outro: “Por acaso sou eu?” E outro: “Por acaso sou eu?”

20Porém ele lhes respondeu: “[É] um dos doze, o que está molhando [a mão] comigo no prato.

21Em verdade o Filho do homem vai, como está escrito sobre ele; mas ai daquele homem por quem o Filho do homem é traído; bom lhe fosse ao tal homem não haver nascido.”

22E enquanto eles comiam, Jesus tomou o pão; e bendizendo, partiu-o, deu-lhes, e disse: “Tomai, comei, isto é o meu corpo.”

23E tomando o copo, e dando graças, deu-lhes; e todos beberam dele.

24E disse-lhes: “Isto é o meu sangue, o do novo testamento, que é derramado por muitos.

25Em verdade vos digo, que não beberei mais do fruto da vide, até aquele dia, quando o beber novo no Reino de Deus.”

26E depois de cantarem um hino, saíram para o monte das Oliveiras.

27E Jesus lhes disse: “Todos vós falhareis comigo esta noite; porque está escrito: Ferirei ao pastor, e as ovelhas serão dispersas.

28Mas depois de eu haver ressuscitado, irei adiante de vós para a Galileia.”

29E Pedro lhe disse: “Ainda que todos falhem, eu não [falharei] .”

30Jesus lhe disse: “Em verdade te digo, que hoje, nesta noite, antes que o galo cante duas vezes, me negarás três vezes.”

31Mas [Pedro] , insistindo, dizia: “Ainda que me seja necessário morrer contigo, em maneira nenhuma te negarei.” E todos diziam também da mesma maneira.

32E vieram ao lugar, cujo nome era Getsêmani, e disse a seus discípulos: “Sentai-vos aqui, enquanto eu oro.”

33E tomou consigo Pedro, Tiago, e João, e começou a ficar muito apavorado e angustiado.

34E disse-lhes: “Minha alma totalmente está triste até a morte; ficai-vos aqui, e vigiai.”

35Então ele foi um pouco mais adiante, e prostrou-se em terra. E orou, que se fosse possível, afastasse dele aquela hora.

36E disse: “Aba, Pai, todas as coisas te são possíveis; passa de mim este copo; porém não [se faça] o que eu quero, mas sim o que tu [queres] .”

37Depois veio de volta, e os achou dormindo; e disse a Pedro: “Simão, estás dormindo? Não podes vigiar uma hora?

38Vigiai, e orai, para que não entreis em tentação; o espírito em verdade [está] pronto, mas a carne [é] fraca.”

39E depois que se foi novamente, orou, dizendo as mesmas palavras.

40Quando voltou, achou-os outra vez dormindo; porque os olhos deles estavam pesados, e não sabiam o que lhe responder.

41E veio a terceira vez, e disse-lhes: “Ainda estais dormindo e descansando? Basta, chegada é a hora. Eis que o Filho do homem é entregue em mãos dos pecadores.

42Levantai-vos, vamos; eis que o que me trai está perto.

43E logo, enquanto ele ainda estava falando, veio Judas, que era um dos doze, e com ele uma grande multidão, com espadas e bastões, da parte dos chefes dos sacerdotes, dos escribas, dos anciãos.

44E o que o traía lhes tinha dado um sinal comum, dizendo: “Ao que eu beijar, é esse; prendei-o, e levai-o em segurança.”

45E quando veio, logo foi-se a ele, e disse-lhe: “Rabi, Rabi”, e o beijou.

46Então o agarraram, e o prenderam.

47E um dos que estavam ali presentes puxou a espada, feriu o servo do sumo sacerdote, e cortou-lhe a orelha.

48Jesus começou a lhes dizer: “Viestes me prender com espadas e bastões, como [se eu fosse] um bandido?

49Todo dia eu estava convosco no templo, ensinando, e não me prendestes; mas [assim se faz] para que as Escrituras se cumpram.”

50Então todos o deixaram, e fugiram.

51E certo rapaz o seguia, envolto num lençol sobre o [corpo] nu. E os rapazes o agarraram.

52Mas ele largou o lençol, e fugiu deles nu.

53E levaram Jesus ao sumo sacerdote; e ajuntaram-se a ele todos os chefes dos sacerdotes, os anciãos, e os escribas.

54E Pedro o seguiu de longe até dentro do pátio do sumo sacerdote, e ficou sentado com os oficiais, esquentando-se ao fogo.

55E os chefes dos sacerdotes, e todo o supremo conselho buscavam [algum] testemunho contra Jesus, para o matarem, e não [o] achavam.

56Porque muitos davam falso testemunho contra ele, mas os testemunhos não concordavam entre si.

57E alguns se levantavam e davam falso testemunho contra ele, dizendo:

58“Nós o ouvimos dizer: Eu derrubarei este templo feito por mãos, e em três dias construirei outro feito não por mãos.

59E nem assim o testemunho deles era concordante.

60Então o sumo sacerdote levantou-se no meio, e perguntou a Jesus: “Não respondes nada? O que estes testemunham contra ti?”

61Mas ele ficou calado, e nada respondeu. O sumo sacerdote voltou a lhe perguntar: “És tu o Cristo, o Filho daquele que é Bendito?”

62Jesus respondeu: “Eu sou. E vereis o Filho do homem sentado à direita do Poderoso , e vindo com as nuvens do céu.”

63E o sumo sacerdote, rasgando suas roupas, disse: “Para que mais necessitamos de testemunhas?

64Vós ouvistes a blasfêmia. Que vos parece?” E todos o condenaram como culpado de morte.

65E alguns começaram a cuspir nele, e a cobrir o rosto dele; e a dar-lhe de socos, e dizer-lhe: “Profetiza”. E os oficiais lhe davam bofetadas.

66E, enquanto Pedro estava no pátio abaixo, veio uma das servas do sumo sacerdote.

67Quando ela viu Pedro, que estava sentado esquentando-se, olhou para ele, e disse: “Também tu estavas com Jesus, o Nazareno.”

68Mas ele negou, dizendo: “Não [o] conheço, nem sei o que dizes.”; e saiu para o alpendre. Então o galo cantou.

69A serva o viu outra vez, e começou a dizer aos que ali estavam: “Este é um deles”.

70Mas ele o negou de novo. E pouco depois, outra vez os que ali estavam disseram a Pedro: “Verdadeiramente tu és um deles; pois também és galileu”, e a tua fala é semelhante”.

71Então ele começou a amaldiçoar e a jurar, [dizendo] : “Não conheço esse homem de quem dizeis.”

72O galo cantou a segunda vez. E Pedro se lembrou da palavra que Jesus havia lhe dito: “Antes que o galo cante duas vezes, tu me negarás três vezes.” Então ele retirou-se dali e chorou.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus is anointed in Bethany, celebrates the Last Supper instituting the bread and the wine, prays in anguish at Gethsemane, is betrayed by Judas, arrested, tried before the Sanhedrin, and denied three times by Peter before the rooster crows.

Explanation

The anointing with pure nard, an expensive perfume likely imported from India, was an extravagant act of devotion that Jesus interprets as symbolic preparation for his burial, defending the woman against the criticism of those present. The Last Supper, celebrated during the Jewish Passover, takes on new meaning when Jesus links the bread to his body and the wine to his shed blood, a reinterpretation that would become central to later Christian practice. The anguished prayer at Gethsemane, with the request that the 'cup' pass from him, reveals the genuine emotional intensity of Jesus in the face of imminent death, even as he maintains his submission to the Father's will. Mark's unique detail about a young man who fled naked, leaving his linen garment behind during Jesus' arrest, is often linked by scholars to the gospel's own author, Mark, discreetly signaling his presence at the scene.

Fun facts

  • The young man who fled naked when seized (verses 51-52) is a detail unique to Mark, with no parallel in the other gospels, leading many scholars to speculate that it is a discreet signature of the author himself within the narrative.
  • 'Gethsemane' means 'oil press,' a fitting name for an olive grove at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where oil was pressed from olives harvested in the area.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Marcos 14:1Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were treated almost as a single seven-day period — the religious leaders needed to act by stealth precisely because Jesus' popularity made an open arrest too risky.
  2. Marcos 14:2Their fear of an uproar came from Jerusalem being packed with pilgrims during the feast, which multiplied the risk of a public backlash if the arrest happened there.
  3. Marcos 14:3The alabaster jar was made for a single use: breaking its neck to pour out the costly imported spikenard was an irreversible gesture, generous to the extreme.
  4. Marcos 14:4The indignation from some there is a practical, understandable reaction: that perfume was worth a fortune, and pouring it all out at once looked like quite a waste.
  5. Marcos 14:5The ointment of pure spikenard, kept in an alabaster jar, was an extremely costly perfume imported from far away, usually reserved for very special occasions. Three hundred pence equaled almost a year's wages for an ordinary worker, which explains the indignation at what looked like a huge waste poured out all at once.
  6. Marcos 14:6Jesus defends the woman without any hedging, calling her act directly a good work, not an excess out of place.
  7. Marcos 14:7Jesus is not dismissing care for the poor; He is only pointing out that the chance to anoint His body in person, right then, was unique and time-limited, unlike helping the poor, which would always remain possible.
  8. Marcos 14:8Jesus reinterprets her act as a symbolic anticipation of His own burial, even though the woman may not have been thinking of that specifically when she did it.
  9. Marcos 14:9This promise is striking in its reach: an unnamed woman in this account would be remembered anywhere in the world the gospel was preached — one of the few times Jesus promises anyone lasting remembrance.
  10. Marcos 14:10The sentence is short and blunt, but heavy: Judas, described as “one of the twelve,” is the one who goes to the priests to hand Jesus over — the betrayal comes from inside the innermost circle.
  11. Marcos 14:11The priests' delight and their promise of money show that the betrayal was negotiated in advance, not an impulsive decision made at the moment of arrest.
  12. Marcos 14:12The Jewish Passover recalled the exodus from Egypt, and during the week of Unleavened Bread families ate bread without yeast in memory of the haste of that departure. Tradition called for sacrificing a lamb and eating this meal in Jerusalem, which is why Jesus and the disciples needed to arrange a specific place in the city for the supper.
  13. Marcos 14:13Carrying water was typically women's work at the time, so a man doing it would be easy to spot in the crowd — a prearranged sign, similar to the scheme used to fetch the colt before the entry into Jerusalem.
  14. Marcos 14:14The message for the homeowner follows the same pattern of a prearranged signal, without the text explaining exactly how that arrangement had been made.
  15. Marcos 14:15Furnished upper rooms were used for larger gatherings at the time; this one was already prepared, a sign that arrangements for that meeting had been made ahead of time.
  16. Marcos 14:16Everything happens exactly as Jesus had described, confirming the prior arrangement for that Passover meal.
  17. Marcos 14:17The coming of evening marks the start of the supper, with Jesus gathered together with the twelve for the Passover meal.
  18. Marcos 14:18Announcing the betrayal during the meal itself carries more weight than it seems: eating together implied a strong bond of trust in that culture, which makes betrayal by someone at the table even more serious.
  19. Marcos 14:19The disciples' reaction is not mutual accusation but genuine self-doubt — each one asks about himself, without pointing a finger at the others.
  20. Marcos 14:20Dipping bread in the same dish was a common custom of shared meals, so this answer alone still did not reveal exactly who the traitor was.
  21. Marcos 14:21The statement holds two ideas together without an easy resolution: the Son of man fulfilling something already written, and at the same time real guilt falling on the one who betrays Him.
  22. Marcos 14:22This was the Passover meal, with fixed elements like bread and wine that had already been part of Jewish ritual for centuries. Jesus reinterprets these familiar elements of the supper, linking the bread to His own body, in a reading the disciples there would only truly understand after the crucifixion.
  23. Marcos 14:23The cup is shared by everyone at the same time, a collective gesture that reinforces the group's unity around the same meal.
  24. Marcos 14:24Calling the wine His “blood of the new testament” recalls the scene at Sinai, when blood sealed the old covenant, and the prophetic promise of a new covenant still to come.
  25. Marcos 14:25The vow not to drink wine again until the kingdom of God ties this meal to an expected future banquet, putting off the next toast until after a greater fulfillment.
  26. Marcos 14:26The hymn sung before they went out was likely the psalms of praise traditionally recited at the close of the Passover meal.
  27. Marcos 14:27The quotation comes from the prophet Zechariah, about a stricken shepherd and scattering sheep — a direct prediction of the collective abandonment the disciples would carry out that very night.
  28. Marcos 14:28Even while predicting their abandonment, Jesus already points ahead to a reunion after the resurrection, a promise that resurfaces later at the empty tomb.
  29. Marcos 14:29Peter sets himself apart as the exception to this prediction, confident he would hold firm where the others would fail.
  30. Marcos 14:30The prediction is quite specific, down to the detail of the rooster crowing twice — a detail that appears this way only in Mark's account among the gospels.
  31. Marcos 14:31All the disciples repeat the same overconfident vow of loyalty, not just Peter, making clear that the excess of confidence was shared by the group, not just his.
  32. Marcos 14:32Gethsemane means “oil press,” a name that comes from the site's use for pressing olives, a garden on the slope of the Mount of Olives.
  33. Marcos 14:33Peter, James, and John, the same trio who had seen the transfiguration and the raising of Jairus's daughter, now witness the opposite: Jesus overcome with deep anguish.
  34. Marcos 14:34The statement about His soul being exceeding sorrowful unto death uses language of lament similar to that of some ancient psalms, a raw expression of extreme emotional suffering.
  35. Marcos 14:35Falling prostrate on the ground, not just kneeling, shows the depth of anguish behind this request that the hour, if possible, might pass from Him.
  36. Marcos 14:36“Abba” is an informal Aramaic word used at home, closer to “Daddy” than to a solemn title, and Mark keeps it in the original before translating it. It is one of the few direct records of the intimate way Jesus addressed God in prayer, in a moment of extreme anguish in the garden.
  37. Marcos 14:37Jesus calls Peter by his original name, Simon, not by the nickname Peter — a detail that sounds like a subtle reminder of the overconfident vow of loyalty made minutes earlier.
  38. Marcos 14:38This saying about the spirit being willing but the flesh weak describes exactly what is happening there: the disciples' intentions were good, but physical exhaustion won out.
  39. Marcos 14:39Jesus repeats nearly the same prayer word for word, showing that the inner struggle remained the same, without any quick resolution.
  40. Marcos 14:40Finding them asleep again, not even knowing what to say, shows the disciples' embarrassment at a second failure in the same night.
  41. Marcos 14:41The tone shifts the third time: instead of rebuking them, Jesus accepts that the moment has come — the hour of His betrayal had finally arrived.
  42. Marcos 14:42The transition is immediate: the prayer has barely ended before it is time to act, with the betrayer already drawing near.
  43. Marcos 14:43The crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the very priests who feared acting in public, shows the choice of a nighttime ambush over an open arrest.
  44. Marcos 14:44Using a kiss, a common gesture of respectful greeting between teacher and disciple, as the prearranged signal of betrayal makes the act even more twisted than a plain denunciation.
  45. Marcos 14:45Repeating “Master, master” before the kiss reinforces the false closeness: an appearance of affection covering what was, in practice, a calculated betrayal.
  46. Marcos 14:46The arrest happens in a direct, physical way, with no ceremony: hands laid on Him, and He is taken.
  47. Marcos 14:47The reaction of one of those present, cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant, is an impulsive act of violence, with no order or plan behind it.
  48. Marcos 14:48Jesus contrasts the excess of this armed operation with how openly available He had always been, never once requiring force to be found.
  49. Marcos 14:49Jesus points out the inconsistency: He taught openly in the temple every day without being arrested, and only now, hidden by night, do they decide to act — a pattern He ties to the fulfillment of something already written.
  50. Marcos 14:50The disciples' collective abandonment plays out exactly as Jesus had predicted hours earlier that same night.
  51. Marcos 14:51This unnamed young man appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as quickly, fleeing without the garment he was wearing so as not to be caught. It is such a specific detail with no obvious purpose in the story that many scholars think it only makes sense as a personal memory of someone who was there that night.
  52. Marcos 14:52This unnamed young man, fleeing naked after dropping the linen cloth, is such a specific detail with no clear purpose in the story that many scholars think it only makes sense as a personal memory of someone who was there.
  53. Marcos 14:53Gathering the chief priests, elders, and scribes all at once, even in the middle of the night, sets up a formal session of the religious council, even under conditions outside the normal hours.
  54. Marcos 14:54Following “afar off” is already a sign of Peter's hesitation — he neither flees for good nor draws openly near, staying in a middle ground that sets up the denial scene.
  55. Marcos 14:55The council had already decided the verdict before even hearing any testimony — what they were looking for was just a formal justification for a sentence already settled.
  56. Marcos 14:56The law required witnesses' testimony to agree, and the fact that theirs did not already exposes the weakness and irregularity of the whole proceeding.
  57. Marcos 14:57The next attempt at a formal charge also comes loaded with distortion, as the text makes clear right after.
  58. Marcos 14:58The charge likely twists something Jesus actually said about destroying and rebuilding the temple in three days, words another gospel ties to His own body, not to the physical building.
  59. Marcos 14:59Even this specific charge fails to agree among the witnesses, exposing once again the weakness of the case built against Jesus.
  60. Marcos 14:60With the witnesses' testimony falling apart, the high priest tries a new tactic: provoking Jesus into incriminating Himself by answering directly.
  61. Marcos 14:61Jesus stays silent in the face of the provocation, and only responds when the question shifts tone: “the Blessed” was a respectful way of referring to God without pronouncing the name directly.
  62. Marcos 14:62Jesus' answer joins two well-known biblical references — a psalm about sitting at the right hand of power and Daniel's vision of one coming with the clouds — in the most direct claim He makes about His own identity anywhere in Mark's gospel.
  63. Marcos 14:63Tearing one's own clothes was a traditional gesture of mourning or horror at hearing blasphemy, a dramatic public signal. The high priest does this on hearing Jesus identify Himself with language reserved for God alone, and the gesture formally marks the charge that leads to His condemnation.
  64. Marcos 14:64The charge of blasphemy comes directly from that answer: claiming that kind of position and identity sounded, to the council, like a direct offense against God.
  65. Marcos 14:65Demanding that He “prophesy” while they blindfolded and beat Him was a cruel mockery: the challenge was to guess who struck Him without being able to see, a way of ridiculing the idea that He was really a prophet.
  66. Marcos 14:66The scene shifts from the formal trial inside down to the courtyard, where Peter is warming himself by the fire, still unaware of what is coming.
  67. Marcos 14:67It is a servant girl, someone of low social standing, who first recognizes Peter — not a priest or a soldier, but a young woman who worked in the house.
  68. Marcos 14:68The denial comes together with flight: Peter goes out to the porch, and it is at this moment that the rooster crows for the first time, fulfilling part of the prediction made hours earlier.
  69. Marcos 14:69The same servant girl persists, this time speaking to those standing nearby, not letting Peter escape suspicion.
  70. Marcos 14:70Peter's Galilean accent gives him away for good: Galileans had a recognizable way of speaking, different from how people talked in Jerusalem, which makes the denial even harder to keep up.
  71. Marcos 14:71The final denial comes with oaths and curses, Peter's most desperate reaction yet, determined to convince everyone he did not know Jesus.
  72. Marcos 14:72The rooster's crow before dawn served as a natural way to mark the time, with no need for a clock, and Jesus had predicted this exact detail hours before. Peter remembers the prediction at the very moment it is fulfilled, and that is when this scene becomes his lowest point in the gospel.

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