Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47
Jesus began his ministry in a synagogue in Nazareth proclaiming a year of grace from the Lord (Luke 4:19). In a year of favor, the slaves were liberated and everyone could return to their land (Lev. 25: 10-12). According to the Gospel of Mark, the activity of Jesus lasted just one year, during which the sick were healed, sins were forgiven, demons were expelled, and the dead were brought back to life. This year of grace is the Good News of salvation. Today we witness the last act of the year of grace.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem reminded the people of the day when Simon the Maccabean entered the citadel in Jerusalem in 140 BC. The place was cleansed from pagan impurities and the people entered it carrying palm branches, singing hymns and songs, because “a great enemy was eliminated from Israel" (1 Macc. 13:51). Could Jesus’ entry not mean the same regarding the Roman occupation? "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David" (Mark 11:10). But in the eyes of God, Rome, like every empire, is “reckoned as dust on a balance" (Is. 40:15). The Church of God has a much more powerful enemy than the passing empires of the world. It is this enemy that will be crushed in a moment.
The longer version of today's Gospel narrates the events from Holy Thursday till Good Friday. An unknown woman anoints the Lord's body beforehand for His funeral. This deed is a profession of faith in the resurrection because, after the death of Jesus, there will be no such possibility. Women who went to anoint the Lord's body after the Sabbath did not found Him in the grave (Mark 16:1). In opposition to this woman stand the disciples. Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied Him, and the others fled.
On Thursday evening, our Lord institutes the Eucharist as the sacrament of the New Covenant, and then he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane where he is put to the test for the last time. Like Adam in Eden, Jesus is faced with a choice between the tree of life - the cross - and the tree of knowledge of good and evil - to follow one’s own will. Adam, who was foretold that by the sweat of his brow he would get his bread, and the earth would sprout thorns and thistles for him (Gen. 3:18-19). During His passion, Jesus’ sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44), and soldiers crown him with thorns (Mark 15:17). The first Adam, through his disobedience, brought ruin upon all of us; the new Adam by being obedient to death on the cross renewed humanity (Phil. 2:8).
The answer to the question of the High Priest, "Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?", sealed the fate of Jesus (Mark 14:62-63). A quote from the book of Daniel speaking of the Son of Man receiving the eternal kingdom from God Himself (Dan. 7:12-13), leaves no doubt as to the meaning of the Lord's statement. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. Then we have another contrast. Admitting the truth costs Jesus' His life. On the other hand, by denying his own identity as Christ’s disciple, Saint Peter avoids imprisonment.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says only one sentence from the cross: "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani". This is how Psalm 22 begins. It contains a call to God for deliverance from a tragic situation, and the plea is heard (Ps. 22:22c). In this prayer, we hear the voice of the Church of the time of persecution. Tradition considers the Gospel of Mark to be "the diaries of Saint Peter", and its final edition is set after the death of the two greatest apostles Peter and Paul (years 64-67). With her greatest shepherds gone, the young and persecuted Church could indeed feel abandoned.
The Gospel of Mark begins with a statement, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1) and it ends with a confession of faith: "Really this Man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39). The death of Jesus is not only the revelation of his divinity, but it also ends the old temple worship. Once a year the high priest could enter behind the curtain of the temple with the blood of animals as an atonement for his sins and the sins of the people. Jesus has entered the Holy of Holies in the heavenly temple with his blood and by the power of this blood, we have been purified from our sins. The veil separating us from God is torn in two and through Jesus Christ, we have free access to the Father.
Darkness covers the whole earth when Jesus dies for the sins of the whole world and so ends Mark's year of grace. For us, however, the year of grace from the Lord, the year of liberation lasts until the end of the world. We experience it in the liturgy, where heaven unites with earth in worshiping the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit for the salvation of the world.