12:36 by the Holy Spirit: Jesus affirms the divine inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:2021). Although David wrote the Psalm, the Holy Spirit authored divine words of prophecy through him. declared: Scripture itself exposes the inadequate understanding of Israel's leaders. Although the scribes were rightly aware that the Messiah would be a royal descendant of David (12:35; 2 Sam 7:12-14), they overlooked the Messiah's lordship over David in Ps 110. This leaves them with a dangling question: How can David's son and successor also be David's superior? • In Ps 110, David foresaw the greatness of the Messiah by calling him Lord, a title associated with Israel's kings (1 Sam 24:6; 26:19; 1 Kings 1:37). Accordingly, David's successor becomes his superior once the Davidic heir is crowned and enthroned by the Lord. Jesus stakes out this royal claim for himself (14:62; 16:19). • Theological reflection yields another solution to this puzzle. Jesus is the son of David in his humanity, and thus David's successor (Lk 1:32; Rom 1:3), while he is also the divine Son of God, and thus David's superior Lord (CCC 202, 668). Back to text.
12:42 copper coins: The smallest unit of currency in circulation. a penny: Worth one sixty-fourth a laborer's daily wage. Back to text.
12:44 out of her poverty: Jesus points to a paradox: the poor widow (12:42) gave more to the Temple treasury than the rich people (12:41), despite her minuscule donation. Unlike them, she offered to God her whole livelihood with pure intentions and a generous spirit (2 Cor 9:7). Back to text.
13:1-37 Commonly called the Olivet Discourse or "Little Apocalypse", in which Jesus teaches his disciples at length about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (A.D. 70). This coming catastrophe will mark the expiration of the Old Covenant and bring God's vengeance on those who have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. The Temple's demise is also a prophetic sign of the end of the world (CCC 585-86). See essay: End of the World? at Mt 24. Back to text.
13:1 what wonderful stones: Herod the Great began rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple about 20 B.C., and the project was still in progress during Jesus' ministry (Jn 2:20). Several of its marble stones measured almost 40 feet in length, some weighing nearly 100 tons. Its massive platform spanned more than 170,000 square yards, and the wall facing the Mount of Olives to the east towered more than 300 feet in height. To the senses, the Temple was an impregnable fortress that appeared indestructible by every earthly standard. Back to text.
13:2 one stone upon another: Jesus' words were fulfilled in A.D. 70, when Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and brought the Old Covenant to a dramatic and violent end (Lk 19:41-44). More than one million Jews perished in the catastrophe. • Jesus forecasts the Temple's doom, much as the OT prophets predicted the devastation of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. (Jer 26:6; Mic 3:12). Back to text.
13:3 Mount of Olives: See note on 11:1. opposite the temple: Jesus symbolizes his opposition to the Temple's corruption by standing over against it. Once sacred and revered, it had now become a "den of robbers" (11:17). Back to text.
13:6 Many will come: According to Acts 5:35-39 and extrabiblical sources, several self-proclaimed Messiahs appeared in Israel in the first and second centuries A.D. Back to text.
13:10 to all nations: The missionaries of the early Church must spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire and eventually the world. Much of the Roman world was evangelized by the middle of the first century, just before the onset of Jerusalem's judgment in A.D. 70 (Rom 1:8; Col 1:6, 23; 1 Thess 1:8). Back to text.
13:12 brother . . . father . . . children: The demands of Christian discipleship outweigh even the sacred duties of family unity and loyalty (Lk 14:26). • The scenes of family strife recall Mic 7:6, where the prophet condemns Jerusalem for her rampant injustices (Mic 6:9-7:10). Although families were suffering internal division (Ezek 22:7), Micah assures Israel that the faithful will be vindicated by God. Jesus evokes this oracle to paint a similar portrait of Jerusalem in his own day: disciples may suffer persecution, but they will be vindicated and delivered in the end (13:13). Back to text.
13:14 the desolating sacrilege: A recurrent expression in Dan 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. • The desolating sacrilege in Daniel refers to the Temple's desecration in 167 B.C. by the villainous Antiochus Epiphanes IV. He sacked the Jerusalem Temple and erected within it an idol of the Greek god Zeus (1 Mac 1:31, 54). According to Jesus, this tragic event prefigures the final profanation of Jerusalem's Temple by the pagan armies of Rome (Lk 21:20). those . . . in Judea flee: Jesus forewarns Christians (13:23) to evacuate Jerusalem when its demise draws near (13:29) and to resist every temptation to defend the city. See note on Mt 24:16. Back to text.
13:19 such tribulation: Great calamities will precede the Old Covenant's termination (Dan 12:1). Back to text.
13:24-25 Jesus speaks of cosmic disturbances in the manner of the prophets. • These are not literal predictions of heavenly convulsions or an atmospheric meltdown, but they evoke OT oracles of judgment that foretell the downfall of pagan kingdoms (Is 13:9-10; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 8:9). Visions of heavenly chaos serve to underscore the magnitude of God's dreadful judgment, i.e., it will be a "world-shaking" event. Jesus turns the language of these prophecies toward Jerusalem to condemn its pagan ways and forecast its coming doom. Back to text.
13:26 the Son of man: Jesus identifies himself with the royal figure of Dan 7:13. • Drawing from the details of its original context, Jesus implies that he will be enthroned with the Father and receive a worldwide "kingdom" and "everlasting dominion" (Dan 7:14; cf. Mt 28:18). The oracle foretells his heavenly Ascension (16:19) as well as his Second Coming in glory (Acts 1:11; CCC 673). See essay: Jesus the Son of Man at Lk 17. Back to text.
13:27 the angels: Or, "the messengers". This may denote the apostles and their missionary work (cf. Mk 16:15). See note on Mt 24:31. Back to text.
13:30 this generation: These words of Jesus were fulfilled with Jerusalem's demise in A.D. 70, within the lifetime of his contemporaries (Mt 10:23; 16:28). His words are thus more reliable than the stable universe itself (13:31). See note on Mt 24:35. Back to text.
13:32 nor the Son: Jesus describes the general signs preceding Jerusalem's destruction (13:6-23), but does not disclose the exact day or hour of judgment appointed by the Father (CCC 672-74). See note on Mt 24:36. Back to text.
13:34 It is like: A short parable to promote vigilance. • Allegorically (St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Evan. 9): the parable outlines the responsibilities of the Church before the Second Coming. The man signifies the human nature that Christ assumed in the Incarnation and took into the far country of heaven at his Ascension. Christ then imparts the Holy Spirit to his servants, enabling them to fulfill their duties in his absence. The pastors of the Church are the doorkeepers, guarding against the intrusion of the devil until Christ's glorious return. Back to text.
13:35 Watch therefore: The command to be vigilant operates on several levels. (1) The earliest Christians, still worshipping in the Jerusalem Temple (Lk 24:52), must be prepared to flee the city before its downfall (13:14-16). (2) Everyone must be ready for his personal judgment by God (2 Cor 5:10). (3) The Church must persevere in holiness while awaiting Jesus' Second Coming at the end of time (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 1:10). The Gospels elsewhere focus on similar themes of watchfulness and accountability (14:32-42; Mt 24:45-51; 25:1-13; Lk 19:11-27; CCC 2612, 2849). evening . . . midnight . . . cockcrow . . . morning: Names for the four "watches" of the night between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M. See note on Mk 6:48. Back to text.
14:1 the Passover: The yearly Jewish feast celebrating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). Paschal lambs (14:12) were sacrificed in the Temple courts the afternoon before the feast. At sundown families or small groups would gather to eat a Seder meal of lamb, unleavened bread, wine, and herbs. Combined with the festival of Unleavened Bread, the liturgical celebrations ran seven days, from the 15th of the month (Mar/ Apr) until the 21st of the month (Lev 23:4-8; Num 9:1-14). Passover was one of three pilgrim feasts that required Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem (Deut 16:16). Back to text.
14:2 the people: Jerusalem's normal population of approximately 50,000 swelled to several hundred thousand with the influx of Passover pilgrims. This made the Jerusalem leaders think twice about arresting a popular figure like Jesus, since provoking such unmanageable numbers could easily incite a violent reaction from the Jews and ultimately bring Rome's reprisal upon the city. Back to text.
14:3 Bethany: See note on Mk 11:1. a woman came: According to Jn 12:3, she was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Jn 11:1-2). pure nard: An aromatic perfume probably imported from India. It is mentioned also in the OT (Song 1:12; 4:13-14). Back to text.
14:5 three hundred denarii: Equivalent to 300 days' wages. See note on Mk 6:37. Back to text.
14:7 you always have the poor: Jesus is neither insensitive nor unsympathetic toward the poor. His ministry is marked, rather, by a deep concern for them (Mt 19:21; Lk 4:18; 14:714). His words are only meant to underscore the inestimable worth of his presence among the disciples. Back to text.
14:8 beforehand for burying: It was customary to withhold burial ointments from the bodies of executed criminals. The woman's gesture remedies this deficiency in anticipation of Jesus' impending death as a falsely accused enemy of Rome. See note on Mt 26:12. Back to text.
14:11 give him money: Judas was given "thirty pieces of silver" (Mt 26:15). His betrayal of Jesus for personal profit contrasts sharply with the woman's generous gift in the preceding episode (14:3-9). Greed blinded Judas from seeing Jesus' true identity and worth. Back to text.
14:13 a man . . . jar of water: An unusual sight in the context of Jewish culture, since women customarily assumed the task of drawing and carrying water (Gen 24:11; Ex 2:16; Jn 4:7). Back to text.
14:18 one who is eating with me: According to Matthew and John, Jesus discreetly identifies Judas Iscariot as the traitor (Mt 26:25; Jn 13:26). • His words allude to Ps 41:9, which foretells the Messiah's betrayal by a close and trusted friend (Jn 13:18). Back to text.
14:22 took . . . blessed . . . broke . . . gave: Mark uses this same language to recount Jesus' multiplication of the loaves (6:41). See note on Mk 6:35-44. this is my body: Jesus identifies the unleavened bread of the Passover feast with his own flesh (Jn 6:51). This gift of his humanity in the sacrament is inseparable from his self-offering on the Cross (14:24; Heb 10:10), since together they constitute a single sacrifice in which Jesus is both the priest and sacrificial victim of the New Covenant (CCC 1363-65). • Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum): Jesus' actions signify the mystery of his Passion. In breaking the bread, Christ pre-enacts the breaking of his body on the Cross. Likewise as Jesus gives himself voluntarily in the Last Supper, so his Crucifixion will be a death he freely accepts, not the end result of hostile forces beyond his control. See note on Mt 26:26-29. Back to text.
14:24 blood of the covenant: An allusion to Ex 24:8. • As the Old Covenant between Yahweh and Israel was sealed through sacrificial blood at Mt. Sinai, the New Covenant between Christ and the Church is sealed through his own blood poured out in the upper room on Mt. Zion. This new and perfect sacrifice enables us to enter a covenant of communion with the Father through the forgiveness of our sins (Jer 31:3134; Rom 5:9; Heb 9:22). The blood of Jesus is forever a sacrament of his divine life for those who receive him in the Eucharist (Jn 6:53; CCC 610, 1392-93). Back to text.
14:26 sung a hymn: Probably Ps 115-118. This was the completion of the Hallel Psalms (113-118) that were sung during the course of the Passover liturgy. Back to text.
14:27 strike the shepherd: A reference to Zech 13:7. • Zechariah foresaw the messianic shepherd of Israel struck down, leaving his sheep temporarily without leadership. The prophet sees this as a deliberately planned scenario to identify and purify the faithful of the Lord's flock (Zech 13:8-9). Jesus' arrest sets this time of trial in motion, causing his disciples to scatter in fear (14:49-50). Back to text.
14:30 before the cock crows: This may refer to the "cockcrow", or third watch of the night, between 12 and 3 A.M. (13:35). Others interpret it more generally to mean "before morning". See note on Mk 6:48. you will deny me: Mark often notes Jesus' foreknowledge of significant events (2:20; 8:31; 10:33-34; 11:1-2; 13:6-9; 14:9). Back to text.
14:32 Gethsemane: A Hebrew name meaning "oil press". It is a garden area facing Jerusalem on the western slope of the Mount of Olives (Jn 18:1). Back to text.
14:36 Abba: An Aramaic word meaning "Father". Jesus uses it to address God the Father and underscore their intimate relationship (Mt 11:27). Paul preserves this title for God in Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6. • The divine Fatherhood of God is a familiar teaching from the OT, where Yahweh is called the Father of Israel (Deut 32:6; Ps 103:13; Jer 31:9) and the Father of David and his royal successors (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). remove this chalice: Jesus fears his impending Passion and Crucifixion (Heb 5:7). See notes on Mt 26:39 and Mk 10:38. what you will: Jesus fully embraced the plan of salvation and so surrendered his human will perfectly and continuously to the Father's divine will (Jn 6:38; 8:29; Phil 2:8). Back to text.
14:38 into temptation: Prayer and watchfulness are necessary to withstand the attacks of Satan (Col 4:2; 1 Pet 5:8-10). Jesus here refers to man's inner struggle, where the flesh, wounded by sin, is constantly at war with the spirit (Rom 8:1214; Gal 5:19-24). The graces we need to overcome our weaknesses must be sought through persistent prayer (1 Thess 5:17; Heb 4:16). Although the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to live victoriously, the struggle is not minimized or made easy. God's ready assistance during temptation is also the subject of the final petition of the Lord's Prayer (Mt 6:13; Lk 11:4; CCC 2849). Back to text.
14:45 he kissed him: Normally a gesture of affection in the Bible (Lk 7:45; Rom 16:16; 1 Pet 5:14). Judas Iscariot contorts this kiss into one of betrayal (Prov 27:6). Back to text.
14:47 Mark leaves both the bearer of the sword and the injured slave unidentified. It is John who specifies that "Peter" reacted violently with the weapon and identifies the victim as "Malchus" (Jn 18:10). Luke further notes that Jesus healed the man's ear (Lk 22:51). Back to text.
14:51 a young man: An unnamed witness that many scholars identify as Mark. If this is the case, the evangelist chose to remain anonymous in light of the episode's embarrassing details. Ultimately, how we identify this individual has little bearing on the tradition that Mark wrote the second Gospel as a summary of Peter's preaching, since he could have witnessed the arrest of Jesus without being an eyewitness to his three-year ministry. Back to text.
14:53 the high priest: Caiaphas, who officiated in Jerusalem from A.D. 18 to 36. While in office, he also presided over the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin. See note on Mk 14:55. Back to text.
14:55 the whole council: The Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, which convened in Jerusalem (15:1; Acts 5:27; 23:1). Its origin is traced to the second century B.C., and its primary role was to enforce Jewish law and custom. Fully assembled, the Sanhedrin probably consisted of 71 members: (1) the reigning "high priest", who headed the court, (2) the "elders" of Jerusalem's leading families, (3) "chief priests" who had held the office of high priest, and (4) "scribes", or professional lawyers who were experts in the Law of Moses. Several members were also aligned with the Pharisees or Sadducees (Acts 23:6-10). Under Roman rule, the Sanhedrin retained considerable freedom to regulate the civil and religious affairs of Jewish life. Only the right to administer capital punishment was denied them (Jn 18:31). Back to text.
14:58 destroy this temple: False witnesses misconstrue the cryptic statements recorded in Jn 2:19 and the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24:2; Mk 13:2; Lk 21:6). In the former passage Jesus foretold his Resurrection in terms of rebuilding his crucified body, and in the latter context he was predicting the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Only shades of his intended meaning filter through this accusation, since Jesus never claimed he would reconstruct the Jerusalem sanctuary after its downfall (13:2). The scandal of the false indictment is twofold: (1) Jesus claims he will erect a new sanctuary in the course of a weekend when the Jerusalem Temple has been at that time 46 years in the making (Jn 2:20), and (2) he claims he will build it without hands, while an army of manual laborers are still at work erecting the existing Temple. See essay: Not Made with Hands at 2 Cor 5. Back to text.
14:62 I am: Jesus unambiguously accepts the charge that he is the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel. See word study: Christ.
the Son of man: Jesus expects the Father will vindicate him soon after he is condemned. His words evoke the majestic imagery of Ps 110:1 and Dan 7:13. • The specific contexts of these OT passages are linked together by common images: the Messiah of Ps 110 and the Son of Man in Dan 7 both stand before God in a royal throne room (Ps 110:1; Dan 7:9), and both triumph over their enemies (Ps 110:2, 5-7; Dan 7:23-27). Merging the two texts into a single self-portrait, Jesus claims that God himself will overturn the death sentence of the Sanhedrin by raising him from the dead and enthroning him in glory (CCC 664). See note on Mt 26:64 and essay: Jesus, the Son of Man at Lk 17. Back to text.
14:63 tore his clothes: The Bible often associates this gesture with overwhelming sorrow or distress (Gen 37:29; 2 Kings 19:1; Ezra 9:3). Here the high priest disregards the Mosaic Law, which forbids priests to tear their vestments (Lev 10:6; 21:10). • Mystically (St. Bede, In Marcum): the drama of Caiaphas tearing his vestments signifies the termination of the Old Covenant priesthood. In contrast, the seamless vestment of Jesus is not torn but remains intact (Jn 19:23-24), signifying that the new priesthood of Christ will endure forever (Heb 7:23-24). Back to text.
Word Study
Christ (Mk 14:61)
Christos (Gk.): "the Anointed One". It translates the Hebrew word for "Messiah". Since kings (2 Sam 2:4; 1 Kings 1:34), prophets (Ps 105:15), and priests (Ex 29:7; Lev 8:12) were anointed with oil for their respective ministries, it was expected that the Messiah would take all these ministries upon himself as a covenant representative anointed by the Spirit (Is 61:1). Most linked the Messiah with an ideal king from the line of David (Mk 12:35). He would be born in David's hometown of Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), rule over the restored Davidic kingdom (Is 9:7; Mk 11:10), and enjoy a unique relationship with God as his son (2 Sam 7:14). The OT also hinted that the Messiah would suffer the scorn and rejection of his enemies (Ps 2:2; 89:38-51; Dan 9:26). All of this is fulfilled in Jesus. Anointed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38), he is the Son of God (Mk 1:1; Jn 1:49) and the Son of David (Mt 1:1; Lk 1:32-33), hailed by Christians as the Messiah (Jn 1:41).
14:64 blasphemy: The Sanhedrin charges Jesus with the capital crime of Lev 24:16. They register his claim to a heavenly enthronement as an insult to God's name. In their eyes, he has no credentials to be Israel's Messiah and king, much less one who will rule the universe in the presence of God (15:32; Jn 10:36). Back to text.
14:72 the cock crowed: Possibly a bugle call that signaled the end of the third watch (3 A.M.) of the night (13:35). See note on Mk 6:48. Peter remembered: He presumably recalled both the prophecy of Jesus (14:30) and his own rash overconfidence (14:31). Back to text.
15:2 Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea (A.D. 26-36). He was stationed in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. See note on Mt 27:2. King of the Jews?: The Jewish leaders give Jesus a title with obvious political overtones, fully aware that Roman law punishes the crime of sedition by death (Lk 23:2; Jn 19:12). The accusation dominates the subsequent narrative (15:9, 12, 18, 26). Back to text.
15:11 Barabbas: An Aramaic name that literally means "son of the father". Aramaic-speaking Christians surely detected the tragic irony: the guilty Barabbas is released in place of Jesus, the truly innocent Son of the Father (1:1, 11; 3:11; 9:7; 15:39). Back to text.
15:15 to satisfy the crowd: Pilate remained unconvinced of Jesus' guilt throughout the trial (15:14; Lk 23:4; Jn 19:4). Nevertheless, he lacked the integrity to release Jesus and crumbled instead beneath the pressure of the Jerusalem mob. As the Roman magistrate, Pilate alone had the authority to execute Jesus, since the Jewish leaders were powerless to enforce the penalty of capital punishment without him (Jn 18:31; 19:10; CCC 596-97). Back to text.
15:16 the praetorium: Pilate's official residence in Jerusalem, built by Herod the Great. the whole battalion: A military cohort of up to 600 men. Back to text.
15:17-19 The soldier's mockery of Jesus is surrounded with paradox and irony. They remain unaware in their ridicule that Jesus is truly a king (Jn 18:36). Adorning him with a purple cloak and a crown and kneeling in false homage, the soldiers unwittingly bear witness to the royal identity of Jesus (Lk 1:32-33; Rev 19:16). Back to text.
15:21 they compelled: Roman garrisons in NT Palestine claimed the right to recruit Jews for temporary service (see Mt 5:41). Mark designates Simon of Cyrene as the individual forced to assist Jesus. His son Rufus may have been a well-known member of the early Roman Church (Rom 16:13). Back to text.
15:22 Golgotha: The Aramaic word for skull. The popular term "Calvary" is derived from the Latin Vulgate translation (Lat. Calvariae). Located outside Jerusalem's walls (Jn 19:20), Golgotha may have acquired its name as a common site for criminal executions. Back to text.
15:23 wine . . . with myrrh: A narcotic painkiller. Jesus refuses it, choosing instead to bear the full weight of suffering for man's sin (10:45; 1 Pet 2:24). Back to text.
15:24 they crucified him: A form of Roman execution adopted from earlier Persian practice. Crucifixion was torturous, degrading, and reserved for the most heinous criminals—usually insurrectionists. The victims' feet were nailed to an upright stake and their wrists to a wooden crossbeam (Ps 22:16). Death came slowly from a combination of blood loss and asphyxiation, a process that could be hastened by breaking the criminal's legs (Jn 19:33). Corpses were often left hanging for days as a public deterrent against criminal activity and a powerful symbol of Rome's domination of Palestine. • Christian tradition sees in Jesus' physical death on the tree (Acts 10:39) the antithesis of Adam's spiritual death at the tree of good and evil (Gen 3:6, 17-19). Whereas Adam's sin brought death to the entire human family, Jesus' death rescues man from sin and gives him new life in the family of God (Rom 5:12-19). divided his garments: The collection of spoil by the execution squad recalls the messianic prophecy of Ps 22:18. This text is explicitly quoted in Jn 19:24. See note on Mk 15:34. Back to text.
15:25 the third hour: About 9 A.M. on Friday morning of Passion Week (15:42). See note on Mt 20:1. Back to text.
15:29 derided him: Literally, "they were blaspheming him". • By slandering and shaking their heads at Jesus, the angry crowd unwittingly fulfills messianic prophecy from Ps 22:7. Back to text.
15:33 sixth hour . . . ninth hour: i.e., from noon until 3 P.M. Luke's account may suggest that the darkness was caused by an extended solar eclipse (Lk 23:45). • The OT associates such dreadful darkness with divine judgment on sin (Ex 10:21-23; Is 13:10-11; Amos 8:9). See note on Mt 27:45. Back to text.
15:34 Elo-i, Elo-i: Jesus quotes the opening line of Ps 22 in Aramaic (CCC 603, 2605). • Psalm 22 forecasts both the Messiah's suffering and his eventual deliverance. The full context of Ps 22, in light of its hopeful outcome, rules out the possibility that Jesus succumbed to despair (Lk 23:46). See note on Mt 27:46. Back to text.
15:38 the curtain: Two veils hung in the Jerusalem Temple to symbolize God's inaccessibility to sinners (Heb 9:8). One was visible, as it separated the outer courts from the sanctuary proper, and the other was invisible to all but the priests, as it hung inside the sanctuary in front of its most sacred chamber, the Holy of Holies (Ex 26:31-34; Heb 9:3, 7). Although the evangelist does not specify which of the two veils was torn, the lesson to be learned is clear: access to the Father is now open through Jesus, who as high priest has entered on our behalf (Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19-22). Moreover, as the curtain ripped from top to bottom, the barrier between the face of God and his people was removed, and the termination of the Old Covenant was prophetically announced. was torn: Mark uses the same Greek expression at 1:10 to describe God "tearing" the heavens at the Baptism of Jesus. If a connection is being made between these two events, as seems likely, it may have been the outer veil draped in front the sanctuary that was rent in two, since history testifies that it was embroidered with images of the heavens and the cosmos (Josephus, Jewish War 5, 212-14). Back to text.
15:39 centurion: A Roman commander of 100 soldiers. Son of God!: A confession of faith that stands in contrast to the taunting cries of the mob (15:14, 18, 29-30, 31, 32, 36). It marks a high point in Mark's Gospel, as it crowns the theme of Jesus' divine Sonship developed throughout (1:1, 11; 3:11; 9:7; CCC 444). It likewise adds more irony to Mark's narrative: a non-Jewish soldier was the only one to profess faith in the "King of the Jews" at the Cross (15:26). Similar faith is exhibited by a Gentile centurion in Mt 8:5-13 and Lk 7:1-10. Back to text.
15:43 Joseph of Arimathea: A wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. According to Luke, he withheld his consent from the court's condemnation of Jesus (Lk 23:51). His courage as a "disciple of Jesus" (Jn 19:38) helped him to arrange the burial (Mt 27:57-60) and so risk his reputation as a respected leader in Israel. See note on Mk 14:55. Back to text.
15:46 in a tomb: Located in a garden near Jerusalem (Jn 19:41-42). The site had to be close by, since the Sabbath rest began at sunset and all labor would have to cease by then (15:42). See note on Mk 1:21. Back to text.
16:1-20 Easter morning marks the day of Christ's victory over death and the devil. Jesus himself foresaw this triumphant outcome of his Passion (8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 14:28). Back to text.
16:1 the sabbath was past: It was after 6 P.M. on Holy Saturday. See note on Mk 1:21. Back to text.
16:2 first day of the week: Sunday morning. Christians commemorate this weekly as the "Lord's day" (Rev 1:10). It is a day set apart for worship, rest, and the celebration of the Eucharist as an assembled Church (Acts 20:7; CCC 2174-77). Back to text.
16:5 a young man: Matthew calls him an "angel of the Lord" (Mt 28:2). Back to text.
16:6 He has risen: The Resurrection of Jesus is the greatest miracle of history. The NT describes it as a glorious accomplishment of the Trinity: the Father (Rom 6:4), Son (Jn 10:17-18), and Holy Spirit (Rom 1:4) were together active in bringing about Christ's Resurrection, glorification, and heavenly Ascension (CCC 648-50). Back to text.
16:7 Peter: Simon is singled out as the leader of the apostolic band and the head of the New Covenant Church (Mt 16:17-19; CCC 642). The summons to meet Jesus indicates that Peter's cowardice has been forgiven (Lk 22:31-32). In John's Gospel, Peter three times affirms his love for Jesus as personal restitution for his threefold denial (Jn 21:15-17). Back to text.
16:9-20 Ancient manuscripts of Mark's Gospel differ in their conclusions after 16:8. Two important fourth-century manuscripts simply end at 16:8. Other versions of Mark include a "short ending" of two sentences after 16:8. The majority of Marcan manuscripts, however, include this "longer ending" (16:9-20). According to the Council of Trent, the canon of Scripture corresponds to everything included in the Latin Vulgate edition (Sess. 4, Dec. 1). This official translation includes 16:9-20 as part of the inspired Gospel. Back to text.
16:14 the Eleven: Mark makes no mention of Judas Iscariot's suicide (Mt 27:3-5) but implies his elimination from the ranks of the Twelve (3:14; 14:10, 43). Back to text.
16:15-16 Mark's account of the Great Commission stresses that the apostles must spread the Christian faith by (1) evangelization (preach) and (2) the administration of the sacraments (baptized; CCC 977, 1253, 1257). The apostles' mission to the whole creation includes all the nations of the world (Lk 24:47). See note on Mt 28:19. Back to text.
16:17-18 The power of the gospel is displayed through the miracles of those who preach it. In the early Church, the apostles drove out demons (Acts 16:16-18), spoke in new tongues (Acts 2:4-11), sustained the sting of serpents unharmed (Acts 28:1-6), and healed infirmities by placing their hands on the sick (Acts 3:6-8; 28:8; CCC 434, 670). Although these signs are not ends in themselves, they can be motives of credibility that lead unbelievers to embrace the gospel and likewise lead believers to see the reasonableness of their faith. Back to text.
16:19 taken up into heaven: Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his Resurrection (Acts 1:3). He is now enthroned as King and Judge at the Father's right hand (Col 3:1; Heb 12:2; CCC 659, 663). See note on Mk 14:62.
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