This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Jesus is anointed in Bethany.

In the Old Testament, anointing
was a sign of consecration

before a prophet, priest, or
king would begin their service.

But right before and after
this story, Mark tells us

that the Pharisees plot to kill Jesus
and Judas agrees to betray him.

Jesus isn’t about to begin his ministry—
he’s about to end it.

This drama builds as Jesus gathers
his disciples to share Passover.

This symbolic meal remembered
how God saved Israel from Egypt

and spared their families from death
by the blood of a sacrificial lamb.

For centuries, Jews had observed this
meal and remembered that first salvation.

But Jesus takes the bread and the wine
and says that the feast is about him.

Jesus knows he’s about to die.

He goes to a garden with his disciples and prays,
feeling the crushing burden of what’s to come.

He returns from his prayers to find the disciples
asleep, and Judas arrives with a mob of soldiers.

In this crucial moment,
his disciples flee.

Even Peter follows at a distance but
then denies knowing Jesus three times.

Jesus is left alone.

Jesus is condemned as
guilty and deserving of death,

even though the Jewish court
cannot find a fair charge against him.

Finally, they ask him
directly if he is the Christ.

Jesus responds by saying “I am,”
and calling himself the “Son of Man”.

In a blind rage, the priests accuse
Jesus of blasphemy and tell Pilate

to execute him for claiming
to be the King of the Jews.

Pilate leaves the decision to the crowd,
who begin shouting “Crucify him!”

Jesus is handed over, dressed as a mock king,
beaten, spit upon, and hung on a cross.

Jesus was anointed just before the
crowning of his ministry—his death.

But his coronation was a sham:
his crown was made of thorns,

his robe was mock reverence,
and his throne was a cross.

Nevertheless, Jesus was the King,
the Son of Man, the I AM, and the Passover lamb

whose blood delivers us from eternal
death and frees us from the power of sin.

Before his death, Jesus is
left alone and abandoned.

And this is good news, too.

Jesus knows what it’s like to feel
isolated and betrayed.

When Jesus goes to the cross, he proves he
never leaves or forsake those who trust in him.

And when Jesus said,
“I am… the Son of Man,”

he proved he has the authority and
power to save us from death and sin.

The title “Son of Man” comes from
Daniel, where a human is killed only to

rise up and sit next to
God to rule and judge.

Jesus is the Son of Man from Daniel.

And he has all power and authority
to comfort those who are suffering and
save sinners from death.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see
the God who frees us from our slavery to sin.

And may you see Jesus as the one who covers
our guilt with his blood and declares us innocent.