Mark 14:19
in Mark 14They began to be grieved and to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I?
KJV
And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
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This verse in Mark 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIf the eleven apostles were of good conscience, having not in any way betrayed their teacher, why were they grieved, as though it might have been that he was speaking of one of them? I think that each of them knew from Jesus' teaching that human freedom is infinitely changeable and may easily be turned toward evil. It may happen, in the struggle against principalities and powers and rulers of this world of darkness, that one may fall quite unexpectedly into evil, either being deceived or overcome by demonic powers.
This site's exposition
They began to be grieved
on Mark 14:19-21
They began to be grieved, each questioning himself, none accusing another. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. Scripture fulfilled and Judas’s guilt stand together.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(ubi sup.) Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.
The Medieval Church4 voices
But they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, "Is it I?" And surely the eleven apostles knew that they were not contemplating anything like this against the Lord, but they trusted the teacher more than themselves; and fearing their …
Although they were free from this sin, they were nevertheless troubled, for they believed God, who knows their hearts, more than they believed themselves.
All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, Is it I, Lord? as Matthew testifies.
But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him who knows all hearts, rather than themselves. It goes on: And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they began to be sorrowful,.... And were so, all but Judas, at this saying of Christ's: and to say unto him, one by one; even till it came to Judas himself, is it I? that shall betray thee; and another said, is it I? This clause is wanting in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and in two of Beza's copies; and indeed seems to be redundant, since the disciples are said before to express themselves in this manner, one by one; See Gill on Mat 26:22.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And another said, Is it I? - This clause is wanting in BCLP, seventeen others, Syriac, Persic, Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and four of the Itala. Griesbach leaves it doubtful: others leave it out.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
These verses contain Mark's account of the institution of the Lord's Supper. The simplicity of the description deserves special observation. Well would it have been for the Church, if men had not departed from the simple statements of Scripture about this blessed sacrament! It is a mournful fact that it has been corrupted by false explanations and superstitious additions, until its real meaning, in many parts of Christendom, is utterly unknown. Let us however, at present, dismiss from our minds all matters of controversy, and study the words of Mark with a view to our own personal edification.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses contain Mark's account of the institution of the Lord's Supper. The simplicity of the description deserves special observation. Well would it have been for the Church, if men had not departed from the simple statements of Scripture about this blessed sacrament! It is a mournful fact that it has been corrupted by false explanations and superstitious additions, until its real meaning, in many parts of Christendom, is utterly unknown. Let us however, at present, dismiss from our minds all matters of controversy, and study the words of Mark with a view to our own personal edification. Let us learn from the passage before us, that self-examination should precede the reception of the Lord's Supper . We cannot doubt that this was one object of our Lord's solemn warning, "One of you who eats with me shall betray me." He meant to stir up in the minds of his disciples, those very searchings of heart which are here so touchingly recorded — "They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I?" He meant to teach His whole Church throughout the world, that the time of drawing near to the Lord's table should be a time for diligent self-inquiry. The benefit of the Lord's Supper depends entirely on the spirit and frame of mind in which we receive it. The bread which we there eat, and the wine which we there drink, have no power to do good to our souls, as medicine does good to our bodies, without the co-operation of our hearts and wills. They will not convey any blessing to us, by virtue of the minister's consecration, if we do not receive them rightly, worthily, and with faith. To assert, as some do, that the Lord's supper must do good to all communicants, whatever be the state of mind in which they receive it, is a monstrous and unscriptural figment of imagination, and has given rise to gross and wicked superstition.
How the passage was read
On Mark 14:12-26On Mark 14:12-26
The meal on the table
Mark dates the meal precisely: “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.” Passover (Pesach) was then a Temple feast: the lamb slain in the courts that afternoon, eaten that night with unleavened bread (matzah) and wine, in a room inside Jerusalem, in company: exactly the arrangements the disciples are sent to make. The hymn sung on the way out (14:26) would by long custom have been from the Hallel, Psalms 113–118, the Passover psalms: which means “the stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22) was likely on His lips that night.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 10 (the meal's order) · Psalm 118:22 (the Hallel's rejected stone)
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἤρξαντο | erxanto | They began | G757 → | 85 times |
| λυπεῖσθαι | lupeisthai | to be grieved | G3076 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| λέγειν | legein | to say | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| εἷς | heis | one | G1520 → | 343 times |
| κατὰ | kata | by | G2596 → | 468 times |
| εἷς· | heis | one; | G1520 → | 343 times |
| μήτι | meti | surely not ever | G3385 → | |
| ἐγώ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
ἤρξαντοThey began
erxantoG757 →85 times
λυπεῖσθαιto be grieved
lupeisthaiG3076 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
λέγεινto say
legeinG3004 →1325 times
αὐτῷto Him
autoG846 →5565 times
εἷςone
heisG1520 →343 times
κατὰby
kataG2596 →468 times
εἷς·one;
heisG1520 →343 times
μήτιsurely not ever
metiG3385 →
ἐγώI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 13:22The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant.
it leads to
- Luke 22:23
Then they began to question among themselves which of them was going to do this.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 26:22
They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”
- Genesis 42:1
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
- Luke 22:23
Through
Matthew 26:22They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”
it leads to
- John 13:22–25
The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant.
- Mark 14:19–20
They began to be grieved and to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I?”
- John 21:17
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,”…
- John 13:22–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies23
- The Son of Man in 1 Enoch
- Abba, Father
- The Major Prophets
- Daniel the Prophet
- Gethsemane (The Garden Called the Oil Press)
- Jesus on Himself
Show the next 6 titles
About Mark
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 50; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.