Jesus was exalting a woman vol. 2

JESUS WAS EXALTING A WOMAN VOL. 2
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
MARK 14:3-9 3 Whilehe was in Bethany, recliningat
the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman
came with an alabasterjar of very expensive perfume,
made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the
perfume on his head.
A. MACLAREN
THE ALABASTER BOX
‘And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good
work on Me. . .. 8. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehandto
anoint My body to the burying. 9. Verily I sayunto you. Wheresoeverthis
gospelshall be preachedthroughout the whole world, this also that she hath
done shall be spokenof for a memorial of her.’—Mark xiv. 6-9.
John’s Gospelsets this incident in its due framework of time and place, and
tells us the names of the actors. The time was within a week ofCalvary, the
place was Bethany, where, as John significantly reminds us, Jesus had raised
Lazarus from the dead, thereby connecting the feastwith that incident; the
woman who broke the box of ointment and poured the perfume on the head
and feetof Jesus was Mary;the first critic of her actionwas Judas. Selfishness

blames love for the profusion and prodigality, which to it seemfolly and
waste. The disciples chimed in with the objection, not because they were
superior to Mary in wisdom, but because they were inferior in consecration.
John tells us, too, that Martha was ‘amongstthem that served.’The
characteristicsofthe two sisters are preserved. The two types of character
which they respectivelyrepresent have greatdifficulty in understanding and
doing justice to one another. Christ understands and does justice to them
both. Martha, bustling, practical, utilitarian to the finger-tips, does not much
care about listening to Christ’s words of wisdom. She has not any very high-
strung or finely-spun emotions, but she can busy herselfin getting a meal
ready; she loves Him with all her heart, and she takes her own way of showing
it. But she gets impatient with her sister, and thinks that her sitting at Christ’s
feet is a dreamy waste oftime, and not without a touch of selfishness,‘taking
no care for me, though I have gotso much on my back.’And so, in like
manner, Mary is made out to be a monster of selfishness;‘Why was not this
ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?’She could not
serve, she would only have been in Martha’s road if she had tried. But she had
one precious thing which was her very own, and she caughtit up, and in the
irrepressible burst of her thankful love, as she saw Lazarus sitting there at the
table beside Jesus, she poured the liquid perfume on His head and feet. He
casts His shield over the poor, unpractical woman, who did such an utterly
useless thing, for which a basin of waterand a towelwould have servedfar
better. There are a greatmany useless things which, in Heaven’s estimate, are
more valuable than a greatmany apparently more practicalones. Christ
accepts the service, and in His deep words lays down three or four principles
which it would do us all goodto carry with us into our daily lives. So I shall
now try to gatherfrom these utterances of our Lord’s some greattruths about
Christian service.
I. The first of them is the motive which hallows everything.

‘She hath wrought a goodwork on Me.’Now that is pretty nearly a definition
of what a goodwork is, and you see it is very unlike our conventionalnotions
of what constitutes a ‘goodwork.’Christ implies that anything, no matter
what are its other characteristics, that is ‘on’ Him, that is to say, directed
towards Him under the impulse of simple love to Him, is a ‘good work’;and
the converse follows,that nothing which has not that saving salt of reference
to Him in it deserves the title. Did you ever think of what an extraordinary
position that is for a man to take up? ‘Think about Me in what you do, and
you will do good. Do anything, no matter what, because youlove Me, and it
will be lifted up into high regions, and become transfigured; a goodwork.’He
took the bestthat any one could give Him, whether it was of outward
possessionsorof inward reverence, abjectsubmission, and love and trust. He
never said to any man, ‘You are going over the score. You are exaggerating
about Me. Stand up, for I also am a Man.’ He did say once, ‘Why callestthou
Me good?’not because it was an incorrectattribution, but because it was a
mere piece of conventional politeness. And in all other cases, notonly does He
acceptas His rightful possessionthe utmost of reverence that any man can do
Him, and bring Him, but He here implies, if He does not, as He almost does,
specificallydeclare, that to be done for His sake lifts a deed into the regionof
‘good’ works.
Have you reflectedwhat such an attitude implies as to the self-consciousness
of the Man who took it, and whether it is intelligible, not to sayadmirable, or
rather whether it is not worthy of reprobation, except upon one hypothesis—
‘Thou art the everlasting Sonof the Father,’and all men honour God when
they honour the Incarnate Word? But that is aside from my present purpose.
Is not this conception, that the motive of reverence and love to Him ennobles
and sanctifies everydeed, the very fundamental principle of Christian
morality? All things are sanctifiedwhen they are done for His sake. You
plunge a poor pebble into a brook, and as the sunlit ripples pass over its
surface, the hidden veins of delicate colourcome out and glow, and the poor

stone looks a jewel, and is magnified as well as glorified by being immersed in
the stream. Plunge your work into Christ, and do it for Him, and the giver
and the gift will be greatenedand sanctified.
But, brethren, if we take this point of view, and look to the motive, and not to
the manner or the issues, or the immediate objects, ofour actions, as
determining whether they are goodor no, it will revolutionise a greatmany of
our thoughts, and bring new ideas into much of our conventionallanguage. ‘A
goodwork’is not a piece of beneficence orbenevolence, stillless is it to be
confined to those actions which conventionalChristianity has chosento
dignify by the name. It is a designationthat should not be clotted into certain
specifiedcorners of a life, but be extended over them all. The things which
more specificallygo under such a name, the kind of things that Judas wanted
to have substituted for the utterly useless,lavishexpenditure by this heart that
was burdened with the weightof its own blessedness, come, ordo not come,
under the designation, according as there is presentin them, not only natural
charity to the poor whom ‘ye have always with you,’ but the higher reference
of them to Christ Himself. All these lower forms of beneficence are imperfect
without that. And instead of, as we have been taught by authoritative voices of
late years, the service of man being the true service ofGod, the relation of the
two terms is preciselythe opposite, and it is the service of God that will
effloresce into all service ofman. Judas did not do much for the poor, and a
greatmany other people who are sarcastic upon the ‘folly,’ the ‘uncalculating
impulses’ of Christian love, with its ‘wastefulexpenditure,’ and criticise us
because we are spending time and energy and love upon objects which they
think are moonshine and mist, do little more than he did, and what
beneficence they do exercise has to be hallowed by this reference to Jesus
before it canaspire to be beneficence indeed.
I sometimes wish that this generationof Christian people, amid its
multifarious schemes ofbeneficence, with none of which would one interfere
for a moment, would sometimes let itself go into manifestations of its love to

Jesus Christ, which had no use at all except to relieve its own burdened heart.
I am afraid that the lower motives, which are all right and legitimate when
they are lower, are largely hustling the higher ones into the background, and
that the river has got so many ponds to fill, and so many canals to trickle
through, and so many plantations to irrigate and make verdant, that there is a
danger of its falling low at its fountain, and running shallow in its course. One
sometimes would like to see more things done for Him that the world would
call ‘utter folly,’ and ‘prodigal waste,’and ‘absolutely useless.’Jesus Christ
has a greatmany strange things in His treasure-house—widows’mites, cups
of water, Mary’s broken vase—has He anything of yours? ‘She hath wrought
a goodwork on Me.’
II. Now, there is another lessonthat I would gather from our Lord’s
apologising forMary, and that is the measure and the manner of Christian
service.
‘She hath done what she could’; that is generally read as if it were an excuse.
So it is, or at leastit is a vindication of the manner and the direction of Mary’s
expressionof love and devotion. But whilst it is an apologia for the form, it is a
high demand in regard to the measure.
‘She hath done what she could.’ Christ would not have said that if she had
takena niggardly spoonful out of the box of ointment, and dribbled that, in
slow and half-grudging drops, on His head and feet. It was because it all went
that it was to Him thus admirable. I think it is John Fosterwho says, ‘Power
to its lastparticle is duty.’ The question is not how much have I done, or
given, but could I have done or given more? We Protestants have indulgences
of our own; the guinea or the hundred guineas that we give in a certain
direction, we some of us seemto think, buy for us the right to do as we will
with all the rest. But ‘she hath done what she could.’ It all went. And that is
the law for us Christian people, because the Christian life is to be ruled by the

greatlaw of self-sacrifice,as the only adequate expressionof our recognition
of, and our being affectedby, the greatSacrifice that gave Himself for us.
‘Give all thou canst!High Heaven rejects the lore
Of nicely calculatedless ormore.’
But whilst thus there is here a definite demand for the entire surrender of
ourselves and our activities to Jesus Christ, there is also the wonderful
vindication of the idiosyncrasyof the worker, and the specialmanner of her
gift. It was not Mary’s mé´©er to serve at the table, nor to do any practical
thing. She did not know what there was for her to do; but something she must
do. So she caught up her alabasterbox, and without questioning herself about
the act, let her heart have its way, and poured it out on Christ. It was the only
thing she could do, and she did it. It was a very useless thing. It was an
entirely unnecessaryexpenditure of the perfume. There might have been a
greatmany practical purposes found for it, but it was her way.
Christ says to eachof us, Be yourselves, take circumstances,capacities,
opportunities, individual character, as laying down the lines along which yon
have to travel. Do not imitate other people. Do not envy other people; be
yourselves, and let your love take its natural expression, whateverfolk round
you may snarl and sneerand carpand criticise. ‘She hath done what she
could,’ and so He accepts the gift.
Engineers tell us that the steam-engine is a very wastefulmachine, because so
little of the energyis brought into actual operation. I am afraid that there are
a greatmany of us Christian people like that, getting so much capacity, and
turning out so little work. And there are a greatmany more of us who simply

pick up the kind of work that is popular round us, and never consult our own
bent, nor follow this humbly and bravely, whereverit will take us. ‘She hath
done what she could.’
III. And now the lastthought that I would gather from these words is as to the
significance and the perpetuity of the work which Christ accepts.
‘She hath come beforehand to anoint My body to the burying.’ I do not
suppose that such a thought was in Mary’s mind when she snatchedup her
box of ointment, and poured it out on Christ’s head. But it was a meaning that
He, in His tender pity and wise love and foresight, put into it, pathetically
indicating, too, how the near Cross was filling His thought, even whilst He sat
at the humble rustic feastin Bethany village.
He puts meaning into the service of love which He accepts. Yes, He always
does. Forall the little bits of service that we can bring get workedup into the
greatwhole, the issues ofwhich lie far beyond anything that we conceive,
‘Thou sowestnot that body that shall be, but bare grain . . . and God giveth it
a body as it hath pleasedHim.’ We castthe seedinto the furrows. Who can
tell what the harvest is going to be? We know nothing about the greatissues
that may suddenly, or gradually, burst from, or be evolved out of, the small
deeds that we do. So, then, let us take care of the end, so to speak, which is
under our control, and that is the motive. And Jesus Christ will take care of
the other end that is beyond our control, and that is the issue. He will bring
forth what seemethto Him good, and we shall be as much astonished‘when
we get yonder’ at what has come out of what we did here, as poor Mary,
standing there behind Him, was when He translated her act into so much
higher a meaning than she had seenin it.

‘Lord! when saw we Thee hungry and fed Thee?’We do not know what we
are doing. We are like the Hindoo weavers that are said to weave their finest
webs in dark rooms; and when the shutters come down, and not till then, shall
we find out the meanings of our service of love.
Christ makes the work perpetual as well as significantby declaring that ‘in
the whole world this shall be preached for a memorial of her.’ Have not ‘the
poor’ got far more good out of Mary’s box of ointment than the three
hundred pence that a few of them lost by it? Has it not been an inspiration to
the Church ever since? ‘The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.’
The fragrance was soondissipatedin the scentless air, but the deed smells
sweetand blossoms for ever. It is perpetual in its record, perpetual in God’s
remembrance, perpetual in its results to the doer, and in its results in the
world, though these may be indistinguishable, just as the brook is lostin the
river and the river in the sea.
But did you ever notice that the Evangelistwho records the promise of
perpetual remembrance of the actdoes not tell us who did it, and that the
Evangelists who tell us who did it do not record the promise of perpetual
remembrance? Nevermind whether your deed is labelled with your address
or not, Godknows to whom it belongs, and that is enough. As Paul says in one
of his letters, ‘other my fellow-labourers also, whosenames are in the Book of
Life.’ Apparently he had forgottenthe names, or perhaps did not think it
needful to occupy space in his letter with detailing them, and so makes that
graceful, half-apologetic suggestionthat they are inscribed on a more august
page. The work and the workerare associatedin that Book, and that is
enough.
Brethren, the question of Judas is far more fitting when askedofother people
than of Christians. ‘To what purpose is this waste?’may well be said to those
of you who are taking mind, and heart, and will, capacity, and energy, and all

life, and using it for lowerpurposes than the service of God, and the
manifestation of loving obedience to Jesus Christ. ‘Why do ye spend money
for that which is not bread?’ Is it not waste to buy disappointments at the
price of a soul and of a life? Why do ye spend that money thus? ‘Whose image
and superscription hath it?’ Whose name is stamped upon our spirits? To
whom should they be rendered? Betterfor us to ask ourselves the question to-
day about all the godless parts of our lives, ‘To what purpose is this waste?’
than to have to ask it yonder! Everything but giving our whole selves to Jesus
Christ is waste. It is not waste to lay ourselves and our possessions atHis feet.
‘He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that losethhis life for My sake, the
same shall find it.’
JOHN MACARTHUR
Players in the Drama of the Cross, Part2
Sermons Mark 14:3–16 41-72 Apr 10, 2011
A + A - RESET
Well, let’s turn back to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospelof Mark.
Fourteenth chapter of the GospelofMark. With the beginning of this chapter,
we enter into the events that lead up and include the crucifixion and the
resurrection. This, as I said this morning, is the sectionin Mark’s gospelthat
we would call the Holy of Holies. This is where we go behind the veil, as it
were, into the place where the blood is shed and sprinkled, this time not
symbolically, but genuinely to satisfy God and provide redemption for all who
would ever believe. This part of the life of our Lord, these final hours of his
life, really are the Holy of Holies of Scripture. All of the Bible has led up to
this point, and all redemptive history, beginning in eternity past, with God’s
plan to slay His Sonas a lamb comes to its high point, its fruition here.

So, from chapter 14 on through chapter 15, into chapter 16, is going to occupy
our attention and keepit focusedon the death and resurrectionof Christ, the
long-awaited, glorious atonement, and sacrifice, and ransom, and redemption
provided for sinners.
Now, as this scene unfolds all the waythrough the resurrection, the director of
the drama is God Himself. And He’s really behind the scenes in this unfolding
drama. Looking at the stage, you don’t see God. Christ is the main character
in this drama, obviously. There are a number of bit players. They are “walk-
ons” you might say; they have a short role to play in the drama. That includes
the enemies of Jesus, friends of Jesus, betrayerof Jesus, andfollowers of
Jesus. Theyall play a minor role orchestratedby the providential, sovereign,
mighty, purposeful hand of God. God is the unseenpower in everything that is
going on. He literally controls the behavior of the enemies, the friends, the
betrayer, and the followers of Jesus to affectexactly what He has planned and
purposed to be accomplishedin the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, in our messagethis morning, we took a look at how Godworks behind
the scenesto accomplishHis goal. His goalis that Jesus woulddie as a
sacrificiallamb on Friday, at 3:00, on the Passover, exactlyat the time when
lambs will be slain on that Friday Passoverafternoon. He will die when the
lambs begin to be slaughteredat 3:00 on Friday, and He will be the true
PassoverLamb.
In fact, by the purpose and plan of God, Christ will die as the sacrificialLamb
at preciselythe time when His enemies would not want Him to die. They
didn’t want Him to be a public issue. In verses 1 and 2 of chapter 14, they
were meeting, you remember, in the courtyard of Caiaphas. Theyknew they
had to kill Him. Caiaphas said, “You must kill Him and save the nation.” And
so, they beganto plot His arrestby stealthand His murder. But the one thing

they did not want was to do it, as verse 2 says, during the
Passover/UnleavenedBreadfestival;otherwise there might be a riot of the
people who, in their estimation, were drawn to Jesus with massive attachment.
“Theywere afraid of the people,” Luke puts it. In spite of their fears, it was
God’s determination that not only would He die during the eight-day period,
which started with the Passover, followedby sevendays of the Feastof
Unleavened Bread, when Jerusalemwould have been swelledby hundreds of
thousands of more people. Not only would He die during that festival, but at
the most unlikely and, from their viewpoint, inappropriate and threatening
moment, and that was in the afternoonof Friday, when the Passoverlambs
themselves were being killed, and the mass of the population was in and
around the very temple area, not far from the hill of crucifixion.
But God’s schedule was the only schedule that mattered, and God’s purpose
would be unfolded. They would never have planned to have Jesus arrested,
tried, crucified, and dying on that very Friday, but that was whathappened,
because that was God’s plan.
So, the leaders, while they play their little petty games are merely pawns in
the purposes of God. They’re guilty; they’re culpable for their hatred and
their rejection. They are also to be held responsible for the murder of the Son
of God. They are accountable to God everlastinglyfor their unbelief, but they
do not determine what happens or when it happens. Our Lord will die by the
predetermined foreknowledgeand purpose of God. He Himself is directing
everything by His providence even though it is invisible to everybody except
the Lord Himself.
So, we see he invisible hand behind everything. We saw it this morning in
looking at the first group of bit players in the drama: His enemies, the
Sanhedrin who are described in verses 1 and 2, the chief priests and the
scribes.

Now we want to move from His enemies to His friends, one I particular. One
in particular, a worshiper, verses 3 through 9. “While He was in Bethany at
the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman
with an alabastervial of very costlyperfume of pure nard; and she broke the
vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one
another, ‘Why has this perfume been wasted? Forthis perfume might have
been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.’
And they were scolding her.
“But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; who do you bother her? She’s done a good
deed to Me. Foryou always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish
you cando goodto them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what
she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I sayto
you, wherever the gospelis preachedin the whole world, what this woman has
done will also be spokenof in memory of her.’”
Matthew records this, Matthew 26. John gives us further detail in John 12.
Here is a woman who is a true worshiperof Christ. She is preparing for
Christ’s death by an act of loving worship intended to anoint Him for His
burial, in a sense, the only way she can at the moment, even before His death.
And by the way, as a footnote, Luke chapter7, verses 36 to 50, has a story
about another woman, in another place, on another occasion, anointing Jesus’
feet. That event occurredin the house, interestingly enough, of a Pharisee also
by the name of Simon. This was a sinful woman. The Simon there was a
Pharisee. Thatis a different story on a different occasion. Bythe way, there
are 10 Simons mentioned in the New Testamentand 20 more mentioned by
Josephus. A very, very common name so that someone who was named Simon
doesn’t necessarilymean it’s the same event. And pouring perfume on people

was a routine kind of function. If nothing else, it was a precursorto the
modern use of deodorant. It was a common courtesy.
It also was a way in which, because it was necessary, in a world of heatand
perspiration, without the kind of accessto bathing and perfumes that we have
today, it was a gesture of kindness not only to the person, but to everybody in
proximity to the person. This was commonly done. And perfume was kept
around for such purposes.
In this case, it is not a sinful woman. We know who the woman is, though
Mark doesn’t tell us who the woman is, and Matthew doesn’t tell us. John
does. John tells us, in chapter 12 of his gospel, in verse 3, that it is no other
than Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. So, this is a gesture not by a
sinful woman, i.e., a prostitute, but by a devout woman, Mary the sisterof
Martha and Lazarus.
Now, you notice in verse 3, there’s a certain vagueness as this story is told.
“While He was in Bethany” – while He was in Bethany. Well, that doesn’ttell
us anything, because He’s been in Bethany - since when, do you remember? –
Saturday when He arrived to celebrate the Passover. He came the previous
Saturday. So, since Saturday, He has been spending His time in Bethany. He
spent Saturday there; He spent Sunday there; and even when He came into
JerusalemMonday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, He would go back to Bethany
and spend the night.
John gives us the identifying day. John 12:1 says, “Six days before the
Passover.” Passover’s onFriday; that puts it back to Saturday. So, what you
have describedin verses 3 through 9 is a flashback to Saturday. It takes you
back to Saturday – Saturday night. It is out of chronologicalorder, but it is an
event that speaks to the preparation for the death of Christ. God, we saw, is

the main force in the preparation. The enemies of Jesus have their
preparation, as they seek a way to arrestHim and kill Him. And here is a
worshiper of Jesus who provides preparation for His death and burial in her
own way.
And so, it is the gesture of preparation that causesMark to fit it in here, even
though it occurredsix days earlier on Saturday. And that chronologyis
perfect because that’s the day that He came to Bethany. This occurs, we are
told in verse 3, at the home of Simon the leper. He would be a former leper or
he wouldn’t be having a dinner party. You do understand that? Lepers were
outcasts. Right? Theywere outcasts. Theydidn’t interact with people at all.
They were societalrejects.Theywere put out of societyin very way, and
people keptas far from them as possible, fearing the contagionofsuch a
disease.
Likely, then, this is a man who has been healed by Jesus. And that was
something Jesus did all over the land of Israelduring His ministry. It is not a
stretch to assume that this man named Simon, who had been healedby Jesus,
planned this meal knowing that Jesus was coming to Bethany to be with His
friends and to be there for the Passoverto saythanks. It would have been
Him, Mrs. Simon, if there was sucha woman, and all the little Simons. It
would have been the Twelve, and it would have been Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus. So, anywhere from 15 up. Notincluding his family, 15. And other
friends and his family would swellthe number.
It is a typical meal in that it is an evening meal. Reclining is the posture. You
lounge, in a sense, in a reclining position. That means you’re going to be there
awhile. That’s how meals were takenin those days. They were really
prolonged conversations – prolongedconversations.This is a normal posture
for the prolonged conversationalmeal. This would be the antithesis of drive-
thru fast food.

At that meal, it says, “There came a woman.” And as I said, John tells us this
is Mary – Mary of the family of Martha and Lazarus. Why does John name
her and Matthew and Mark not name her? Well, I don’t know that there’s
any particular reason. The focus is not necessarilyon her, but it may just be a
thought, as I think about it. Matthew and Mark were written very early in the
life of the church. Mark maybe very early. Matthew maybe the earliest. But
they’re written very early, in the ‘50s and ‘60s. John’s gospelisn’t written
until the ‘90s, and maybe Matthew and Mark were just being sensitive not to
mention the names to protect the family. John would have no need of
protecting the family. They very likely were not an issue, maybe even gone 30-
40 years later. But John does give us the name, and that’s very, very helpful.
It was a common custom at a meal to washfeet. If you were in a reclining
position, that would be of greatbenefit because as you recline, your feet
necessarilyappearin some way. And so, anointing feet, washing feet, we see
that – didn’t we? – in John 13, where Jesus washedthe disciples’ feet.
So, this was a normal thing. Even putting perfume on feetwas somewhatof a
tradition or a custom;it was a courtesy. In this case, this act by Mary is way
beyond common courtesy, way beyond sort of normal custom because what
she does is lavish. She has an alabastervial of very costlyperfume of pure
nard. Matthew says, “A very precious perfume.” This marble bottle typically
would have a long neck. A long neck and perhaps some kind of small plug
from which small drops of this perfume could be poured out, sprinkled. This
kind of bottle would contain this perfume, and the perfume might last a long
time. It is said here that the value of it was 300 denarii. That’s a year’s wages.
Can you imagine spending a year’s salary on a bottle of perfume? First of all,
you say, “Who would do that?” People would do that who needed to do that
because eventhough it costthat much, it could be stretchedout and used over
a very long period of time because a small drop would satisfy the socialneed.

And she has an alabastervial, a very costly perfume of pure nard. Nard is a
plant from India. Pure nard means it’s undiluted. Now, you ladies know the
difference betweenperfume and cologne and toilet wateror whateverthey call
all that stuff; I don’t know. But the perfume is the undiluted, pure form. And
by the way, nard is still – nard from India is still used for perfume. She does
something that wouldn’t ever be done. She doesn’t drop a drop out; she
breaks the neck of this vial and it says, “Pouredit over His head.” And John
adds, “Thenanointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair.” She
has dumped a year’s value of perfume on His head and on His feet. And John
adds – this would be obvious – “the house was filled with the fragrance of the
perfume.” You can understand that. You spray a little on you and you can
smell it through the house. This dowsing of a year’s worth of perfume all over
Jesus would have dominated the environment. This is lavish love. This is
profound, sacrificialaffection.
The response is interesting. Some were indignant, and so they remarkedto
one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?” Youknow, Mark is a little
vague here, too. He says “Some were indignantly remarking.” Well, the truth
is it was Judas. John tells us it was actually Judas Iscariot. John says, in the
same accountthat he gives of this event – John 12:6 – “It was Judas Iscariot
who was intending to betray Him.” By the way, even on Saturday he was
intending to betray Him. He didn’t come up with that in the middle of the
week;he was ready to betray Him on Saturday when they arrived. He had
been ready a long time before that. It was Judas, according to John’s gospel,
who said, “Why has this perfume been wasted?” And then some others
chimed in. This reveals whatmotivated Judas: money. “Forthis perfume
might have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to
the poor.”
A year’s wages. Wow, whatlavish love, supreme actof adoring, generous
affection. You know, she symbolizes all who love the Saviorwith all their

hearts and hold nothing back, doesn’t she? It’s a beautiful gesture. She can’t
just drop a few drops on Jesus;her heart won’t restrain her. Her heart loves
lavishly. And “they were scolding her” means to be indignant – the verb to be
indignant, an expressionofanger. They were angry, and the angerwas simply
picked up off Judas. And they come up with this thing that Judas really was
the one who authored it, “It could have been given to the poor.” All of a
sudden, they’re so concernedabout the poor now. Judas had no real interest
in the poor, by the way. John 12:6 says this, “Now he said this, not because he
was concernedabout the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the
money box, he used to stealwhat was in it.” Huh. How long had he been doing
that? Huh, all along. All along he was embezzling the money out of the little
bit that this group had. Money that was provided for them by many of the
women in the group. He was a thief. “He was a devil,” Jesus said. And he
wanted the money in the box because he stole it. And now, of all times, as he
comes to the end of this thing, he wants all the money he can get. And he is
unmasked. “We could have soldthat and put it in the box” – and I could have
stolenit.
Our Lord is kind; He doesn’t expose Judas at the moment. Verse 6, “Jesus
said, ‘Let her alone;why do you bother her? She’s done a gooddeed to Me.”
She’s done excellently. She’s done beautifully. This is not a waste. Lavish love
on Me is not a waste.
And then He says this, “Foryou always have the poor with you, and whenever
you wish you can do goodto them; but you do not always have Me.” You
always have the poor with you. That’s borrowed, by the way, from
Deuteronomy 15:11. Deuteronomy15:11 says, “You always have the poor of
the land.”
What’s going on here? Just a simple principle if I might. Adoring worship of
Christ is the ultimate priority. Did you get that? Giving to the poor has a

place. Deuteronomy15:11 says give to the poor. “You always have the poor of
the land; make sure you care for the poor and you give to the poor.” That’s a
priority. But the ultimate priority is to worship Christ. Isn’t it? The ultimate
priority is to worship Christ. Care for the poor is important; worship of the
Lord is more important. And Jesus wasn’tgoing to be there very long.
We should give for needs. We should minister to the poor. But far more, we
should worship our Lord sacrificially. You give to the poor; it doesn’t really
have a lasting value. But when you worship the Lord, that has an eternal
impact.
She had her priorities right. “Poorpeople will always be around,” Jesus said,
“but I will not always be around. Charity is good;charity is necessary.
Worship is always better. And true worship will leadto charity. This is a very
devoted lady. Do you remember the story in Luke chapter 10, when Jesus
went to the house of Mary and Martha? What was Martha doing? Martha
was serving, serving, busy, busy, busy. What was Mary doing? Sitting at the
feet of Jesus, learning, hanging on every single word He said. She sat at His
feet.
Listen, His enemies knew that He said He would die and rise. They knew that.
His enemies knew He said He was going to die and rise. He was going to die,
be buried, rise from the dead. His enemies knew that. I have to assume that
Mary also knew it, understood it, and believed it. And she would have good
reasonto believe it because He had raisedher brother from the dead. She just
had the recent experience of anointing her brother for his death and burial.
And He was raised from the dead by Jesus. I think Mary really understood
things. And that’s exactly what Jesus says in verse 8, “She’s done what she
could” – she can’t stop My death – “but she’s anointed Me – My body
beforehand for the burial.” Amazing.

I think the disciples fought againstthe idea of Jesus’death, didn’t they? But
Mary had a firsthand resurrection experience living in her house every single
day. She couldn’t stop His death, but she could show her love in a lavish,
lavish anointing for the burial that she knew was coming, because that was the
right and proper and dignified and honorable thing, and that was an
expressionof her love.
She must have thought, “What can I do? What canI do for my Lord from
whom I’ve learned so much?” And by the way, He was in their house a lot,
and I’m sure she was always sitting and learning. She said, “I can anoint
Him,” and that’s what she did. She knew that He would die, but she also
believed that He would rise. But she did what she could do. What could she
do? Jesus said, “She did what she could do. And truly” – verse 9 says –
“whereverthe gospelis preachedin the whole world, what this woman has
done will also be spokenof in memory of her.”
We’re doing it tonight, aren’t we? Two thousand years have gone by. The
testimony of her adoring, sacrificial, selflessworship, her gesture is a
memorial. Her actof grateful love, looking to the cross and the burial and
resurrectionof Christ, is a lessonofworshiping love that is extravagant,
lavish, unselfish, grateful. So, againstthe ugliness of the enemies of Jesus and
againstthe ugliness of the betrayer of Jesus is the beauty of the love of Mary.
I think she saw in the eyes of Jesus and heard in the words of Jesus the cross –
the shadow of the cross. And her actstands as a tribute to love.
The next personwe need to look at, after we have consideredthe enemies of
Jesus and a worshiper of Jesus, is the betrayer. Verses 10 and 11, “ThenJudas
Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve, wentoff to the chief priests in order to
betray Him to them. They were glad when they heard this, and promised to

give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune
time.”
Judas is one of the Twelve. Here He comes from behind the curtain, Judas
Iscariot. Judas is a Greek form of Judah. And the root of that is either
“Jehovahleads” or“one who is to be praised.” He had a very noble name.
Iscariotmeans he’s from the village of Kerioth, 23 miles south of Jerusalem.
He is the only non-Galilean among the apostles. He joined the group for
selfish, proud, materialistic reasons;for goods and glory. And when that
kingdom dream – that dream of goods and glory beganto collapse, the
uncured, malignant cancerin his wretchedsoul metastasizeduntil it
corrupted his brain totally. He wanted out, but not without compensationfor
three wastedyears. He wanted a kingdom, not a cross.
So, he went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. After the
Saturday supper, I suppose, at Bethany, he went to the Sanhedrin that night
and setit up. He knew it all week long and started on Saturday. He had it in
his heart the whole week. He knew the plan was in motion because the details
had already been established.
Jesus said, “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen, but it
is that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats My bread has lifted up his
heel againstMe.” Jesus quotes Psalm41:9, a prophecy concerning Judas.
“From now on, I’m telling you before it comes to pass so that when it occurs
you may believe that I am He.” Jesus predicts His own betrayal. The one who
eats bread with Him lifts up his heel againstHim.
Luke 22:6, by the way, says that Judas, from this time on, beganlooking for
an opportunity to betray the Lord – quote – “in the absence of the crowds.” In

the absence ofthe crowds. He, too, was fearful like the leaders were that it
wouldn’t be a goodidea to do it in the crowds.
So, while Jesus is going through the week, Judas is looking for the bestway to
hand Him over to the Sanhedrin for money. A deal already done. And
Matthew 26:15 says he agreedto do it for 30 pieces ofsilver. Thirty pieces of
silver. According to Exodus 21:32, that’s the price of a slave. The prophet
Zechariah actedout a drama in Zechariah 11 that depicts this transactionand
even refers to the 30 pieces of silver. So, behind everything is the plan of God.
And Judas knew when everything was going the direction He didn’t want it to
go, that he just wanted to getas much money as he could possibly getand run.
He knew that when Jesus was arrested, the disciples would be in disarray and
chaos, and he would have the money, and he would disappearwhile the rest
scatteredin fear.
So, for one whole week, he lookedfor his moment, much to the pleasure of the
Sanhedrin, verse 11, “Theywere glad when they heard this, and promised to
give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune
time.” By the way, Judas didn’t operate alone. Luke 22:3 says “ThenSatan
entered Judas.” Notjust demon possessed, Satanpossessed. Satanwas moving
on him. John 13:27 says, “Satanwentinside.” Satanoperatedthrough Judas,
the unregenerate, unbelieving, greedy man. Satanfully possesses Judas.
What is Satan trying to accomplish? What is he trying to get done here?
What’s he after? Some people have said, “Well, you know, Satanwants to kill
Jesus.” Really? That’s the opposite of what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to
kill Jesus. Satandidn’t want to put Jesus on the cross because Satanknew
what the cross meant. He was not seeking Christ’s crucifixion.

Do you remember, back in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus said, “I’m
going to die”?
And Petersays, “No, no, no, Lord. You’re not going to die.”
And Jesus says to Peter, “Getbehind Me, Satan.”
Satanwanted to keepChrist from the cross. KeepChrist from the cross, halt
the plan of God. Did he know that He was going to be the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world? Of course. Did he understand all the Old Testament
prophesies? Perfectlywell. Did he understand all Levitical sacrifices point to
the death of the one sacrifice, the Sonof God? Did he know he came to save
His people from their sins? Did he know the shadow of the cross was overHis
entire life? Of course. Did he know that that was the satisfying atonementthat
God had planned? Yes. Did he know that if Jesus died on that cross, his
kingdom and dominion would be forever destroyed? Yes.
It was God who wantedJesus dead. It was Satanwho wantedto stopit. Then
the question is why does he move on Judas to betray Jesus? The answer’s
pretty simple. If he can getJudas to betray Jesus, and he can get the
Sanhedrin to move fast and arrestJesus, the crowd will rise up and stopthe
crucifixion. That’s what Judas feared. That’s what the leaders feared. That’s
what Satanwanted. He had no desire to see Jesus ona cross.
I don’t think – I don’t know what Satanthinks; I’m not particularly
interestedother than to speculate from the strategy. It seems to me that Satan
was moving Judas to betray Jesus to start a riot. And the people would
prevent the murder of Jesus. He’s againstthe cross. He wants to create the

scenario whichwill halt the direction of Christ to the cross. So, he moves into
Judas.
The saddestthing about Judas, by the way – verse 10 – “who was one of the
Twelve” – is that not sad? Twenty-four/sevenwith Jesus forthree years, and
he turned out like this. The most heinous crime committed by a man with the
greatestprivilege and opportunity that anyone could ever have, walking and
talking with the living Godevery day, living in His glorious, holy, pure
presence and experiencing His truth, and beauty, and power, and wisdom,
and fellowship. And he violated Him monstrously. Judas makes Faustlook
like a children’s bedtime story. The sin of Judas has no equal, but the closest
parallel to the sin of Judas is the sin of Adam because Adam walkedand
talkedwith God. The two are easilythe most heinous crimes ever committed.
So, once Satanmoved in, Judas moved on the plan.
And there’s other elements to this, as you study the gospels, otherdetails that
come into play. But it’s so hard to imagine a betrayer among the Twelve. But
in spite of that, God was in complete control. The betrayer was fulfilling
Scripture. Jesus evensays, in the Gospelof John, “I’ve not lost any of you
exceptthat son of perdition, that betrayer, that Scripture might be fulfilled.”
The greatestillustration of wastedopportunity. Judas plays a role. A betrayal
happens at a time when Judas didn’t want it to happen, at a time when the
rulers didn’t want it to happen, but I think at a time when Satandid want it to
happen, potentiating a riot. And they all underestimated the fickleness ofthe
crowd.
Finally, one more group take the stage. We’re going to look at this in the next
few minutes, verses 12 to 16, and this would be the followers. We’ve seenthe
enemies;we’ve seenthe friends, the betrayer, and the followers, the disciples.

“On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passoverlamb was being
sacrificed, His disciples” – that would be the first day meaning Passover,
which was really kind of synonymous with the feastthat followed – “His
disciples said to Him, ‘Where do you want us to go and prepare for You to eat
the Passover?’” Where do you want us to have this? You know, they all are
without a home. Where do we do this?
The Lord has a plan. There has to be a PassoveronThursday night. The Lord
knows that. Jerusalemis crowded. They need a private room where 12 of
them plus Jesus cango. I think this is something Judas excitedly anticipated
because this would be a perfect place to have Jesus arrested. Why? It’s at
night, private room, only the Twelve plus Jesus. No one in the streets late that
night. A fixed, specific place, a location - easyto tell the leaders, easyto let
them in, and easyfor Judas to gethis cash.
Our Lord knows Judas’thoughts. So, verse 12, they askedthe question,
“Where are we going to have this?” Judas is listening, I’m sure. Once he
knows where they’re going to have it, that’s it. That’s just too goodto pass up.
He would know what the future is, and he wants the money, and he wants it
now because he wants out fast. Thoughhe had fearof the crowd, this was a
way to waylay that fear: do it at night, do it in a private room.
Our Lord knows this, so, “He sent two of His disciples” – and this is Peterand
John, by the way, the two of them – “and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a
man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water;follow him.’” Now, that’s
pretty sneaky. First of all, carrying a pitcher of waterwas women’s work. So,
to find a man carrying a pitcher of waterwould be rather unusual and that’s
what they needed. They neededa sign and a signalthat was unusual. “‘Go,
and you’ll find a man carrying a pitcher of water.’” He sends His two most
infinite confidants, Peterand John. And this is very, very important. He must

have the Passoverwith His disciples. Why? BecauseHe must transform the
Passoverinto the Lord’s Table. Furthermore, He has a lot of intimate
teaching that He needs to do with them. And all of it is recordedin John 13 to
17. He must die – listen – Friday, around 3:00, when the Passoverlambs are
being slaughtered, but He must also celebrate the Passoverwith His disciples
so that He cangive them final instruction, His last will and testament, if you
will, and so that He caninstitute His Table, playing off the Passover.
And it has been suggestedthat He must also fulfill all righteousness, and
therefore, He must celebrate the Passovercommandedby God because it
hasn’t been negated, and it won’t be negateduntil this Passoveras finished.
For that to happen, He must not be arrestedthat night. He can’t be arrested
until afterwards. So, this is how He did it.
“He sent two of His disciples and said, ‘Go into the city, and a man will meet
you carrying a pitcher of water;follow him.’” Just go where he goes. And
that’s exactly what they did. “‘Whereverhe enters, sayto the owner of the
house, ‘The Teachersays, “Where is My guestroom in which I may eat the
Passoverwith My disciples?”‘”Whatdoes that tell you? It tells you that the
man was familiar with Jesus and the Teacher. Theydon’t even say the word
“Jesus”just in case somebody’s listening. They don’t want anybody to know
where this is going to be. You just follow the man with the pitcher on his head.
This tells us that our Lord had prearrangedthis. Either actually, or
supernaturally. “He says, ‘Follow the man, and when you getto the house, the
ownerof the house, say, “The Teachersays, ‘Where is My guestroom in
which I may eat the PassoverwithMy disciples?’”‘” You know, this is a
believer of the Teacher. Ho didaskalos – The Teacher. It has to have been
someone who knew Him, loved Him, believed in Him. So, go find Mr. So-and-
so, follow him. Verse 15 - “‘And he himself will show you a large upper room
furnished and ready; prepare for us there.’” Why all the secrecy?Why all the
mystery? Why all the intrigue? Why not just say, “Hey, guys, we’re all going
to meet over on Sixth Streetat set time. It’s easilyrecognizable, the address

number is so-and-so, and we’re all going to be there”? Can’t do that. Why?
BecauseJudas will know. When Judas is hungry for the money, and even
though he’s trying to avoid the crowds, he’s not going to postpone this any
longerthan he has to. He just wants the money; he wants it fast. This is
perfect. The perfect place, awayfrom the crowd, and the leaders cancapture
Jesus who will be alone with His helpless disciples. Jesus cannotlet that
happen. Cannotlet it happen. And so, that’s why there’s all the intrigue.
And by the way, “The disciples went out and came to the city” – just a
footnote, apparently Peterand John never came back. On this Thursday –
this is Thursday – they went, followedthe man, got to the house, were shown
the room, and they made the preparation so that the restof the disciples went
out from where they were, came to the city – probably back in Bethany like
they had been every night – and found it just as He had told them; and they
prepared the Passover.
They didn’t know where they were going till they gotthere. And by the time
they gotthere – listen – Judas couldn’t leave, couldn’t go report where they
were or he would have been revealed. The Lord covers eversingle detail
because ofthe urgency and importance of His time with His own.
There is a very interesting footnote, and I’m not going to drag it out because
it’s a little bit of scholarly work. There actually were two different evenings
when the Passoverwas celebrated. I’ll just leave it at this. The northern
people in the Galilee celebratedit on Thursday evening, while the Judeans –
the Sadducees andthe people in the South – celebratedit on Friday evening.
This is perfect so that Jesus cancelebrate the Passoverwith His friends from
Galilee when they celebratedit on Thursday, and still die as the Passover
Lamb on Friday at the time that the southern Judeans were slaughtering their
lambs for their Passover.

So, there are actually two times – on Thursday for those in the North, and on
Friday for those in the South. And that’s an important reckoning because
there are texts, in John’s gospelin particular, that make it necessaryto
understand that. It’s an absolutelyastounding array of persons that are all
moving around in this scene. Right? All these people doing what they’re
doing, and our Lord moving inexorably to the cross as Goddirects everything.
Maybe in summation we can say He borrowedhuman life for 33 years. He
was born in a borrowed manger. He lived in borrowedhouses all through His
ministry. He entered Jerusalemon a borrowed animal, borrowedlodging
from friends in Bethany, borroweda room for Passover, borroweda Roman
cross for a few hours, and borrowed a grave while He actuallyowned
everything. That’s His condescension, isn’t it?
Father, we thank You for the Word. How refreshing, how enriching it is when
people come togetherseeminglyat random to do what they want to do, You
powerfully orchestrate everything for Your own purposes. Everybody, all of
us on the stage of life, playing out what we think are our own little dramas are
functioning inside a great sovereignand supernatural plan to accomplish
Your purposes and Your will.
We see the almighty hand of divine providence in the scenes evenin the
preparation for the death of the Savior so that all would be according to Your
perfect plan. This is wondrous for us. This speaks ofthe divine authorship of
Scripture, as well as the divine hand in every event in history, especiallythis
one. How encouraging it is, Lord, again we see the truthfulness of Your Word.
What a gift is the truth. We thank You for Your precious Word, even that
passagewhichhas been open to us tonight. And we look forward with
eagerness to what lies ahead, thankfully, in Christ’s name, amen.

F. B. MEYER
Mark 14:6
But Jesus said, Let her alone.
The lovers of Jesus are often misunderstood. Those who judge only by a
utilitarian standard refuse to acknowledgethe worth of their deeds. You
might as welldespise the electric light because it makes no registeron a gas-
meter. But when the voices of criticism and jealousyare highest, Jesus steps in
and casts the shield of his love around the trembling, disconcertedsoul,
saying, Let him alone. So He speaks still:—
To Satan. — The adversarystands near to resistand tempt. As Judas
criticisedMary, so the Evil One seems attimes to pour a perpetual stream of
chilling criticism on all we say and do; or he meets us at every turn with some
evil suggestion. But Jesus is on the watch, and He will not allow us to be
tempted beyond what we are able to bear; but when heart and flesh fail, He
will step in and say, Let him (or her) alone.
To sorrow. — We must pass through the fire, and be subjectedto the
lapidary’s wheel;we must drink of His cup, and be baptized with His
baptism; we must bear our cross after Him. But He is always on the alert. And
wheneverthe feeble flesh is at an end of its power of endurance, He will step
in and say, Let be — it is enough.

To human unkindness. — Some of us are calledto suffer most from our
fellows;our foes belong to our own household; our brother Cain hates us. It is
hard to bear. To have one’s motives misunderstood and maligned; to lose
one’s goodname; to be an outcast — all this is hard. But God has planted a
hedge about us, and none may pass through it, except He permit. Even Satan
recognizes this, as we learn from the Book ofJob. Meyer, F. B. Our Daily
Homily.
Mark 14:3-9 It’s Beautiful! - Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble
her? She has done a good work for Me.” —Mark 14:6
After being away on business, Terry wanted to pick up some small gifts for his
children. The clerk at the airport gift shop recommended a number of costly
items. “I don’t have that much money with me,” he said. “I need something
less expensive.” The clerk tried to make him feel that he was being cheap. But
Terry knew his children would be happy with whatever he gave them, because
it came from a heart of love. And he was right—they loved the gifts he
brought them.
During Jesus’lastvisit to the town of Bethany, Mary wanted to show her love
for Him (Mark 14:3-9). So she brought “an alabasterflask of very costlyoil of
spikenard” and anointed Him (v.3). The disciples askedangrily, “Why this
waste?”(Matt. 26:8). Jesus told them to stop troubling her, for “she has done
a goodwork for Me” (Mark 14:6). Another translation reads, “She has done a
beautiful thing to Me.” Jesus delightedin her gift, for it came from a heart of
love. Even anointing Him for burial was beautiful!

What would you like to give to Jesus to show your love? Your time, talent,
treasure? It doesn’tmatter if it’s costlyor inexpensive, whether others
understand or criticize. Whateveris given from a heart of love is beautiful to
Him.
Nothing I could give You, Father, could repay You for Your sacrifice. ButI
want to give You what You would think is beautiful. I give You my heart
today in thankfulness for Your love. By Anne Cetas
A healthy heart beats with love for Jesus.
INSIGHT: The accountof the woman who anointed Jesus with oil is preceded
by the Pharisees’plotto kill Him (14:1-2) and is followedby Judas agreeing to
betray Him (vv. 10-12). The events relating to those who plotted to kill Jesus
are given only brief and cursorytreatment (two verses each), while the
accountof the womanwho anointed Jesus with perfume is given a full and
detailed description (sevenverses). Clearlythis woman’s actions will be
remembered (v. 9).
RICH CATHERS
:3-9 ExtravagantWorship
:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he satat meat,
Bethany – Bethania – a village at the Mount of Olives, about two miles (3 km)
from Jerusalem

This was the town where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived. This was the town
that knew about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus has been staying
in Bethany eachevening, commuting during the day to Jerusalem
Simon – John’s accountof this event can give you the impression that Jesus
was at the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. But if you read it clearly, it
doesn’t saythat. It only says that they were at this dinner and that Martha
was serving.
:3 there came a woman
woman – John tells us that this was Mary, the sisterof Martha and Lazarus
(John 12)
Mary is found in three places in the gospelstory.
(Luke 10:38-42 KJV) Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a
certain village:and a certain woman named Martha receivedhim into her
house. {39} And she had a sister calledMary, which also sat at Jesus'feet, and
heard his word. {40} But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and
came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sisterhath left me to
serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. {41} And Jesus answeredand
said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art carefuland troubled about many
things: {42} But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosenthat goodpart,
which shall not be taken awayfrom her.
Martha was so caught up and worried about her serving. But Mary had
learned where the best place was. At the feet of Jesus. Listening to His Word.
There’s a place for serving. Serving the Lord is wonderful. But it ought to
start from a place of sitting at His feet. When we only serve without serving,
we’ll get stressed.
(John 11:31-32 KJV) The Jews then which were with her in the house, and
comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out,
followedher, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weepthere. {32} Then when
Mary was come where Jesus was, andsaw him, she fell down at his feet,
saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

This was not too long before our current story. It was a time of greattragedy
and grief. Both Mary and Martha felt as if the Lord had let them down. But
again, Mary learned where to go, to the feet of Jesus.
Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead, and now a couple of weekslater
Mary is back at Jesus’feet, now anointing Him with this expensive perfume.
:3 having an alabasterbox of ointment of spikenard very precious;and she
brake the box, and poured it on his head.
alabasterbox – alabastron– Alabasteris whitish, translucent, fine-grained
gypsum, imported from Egypt, that was often carvedinto vases or bottles for
perfume. It would have a long thin neck that would be broken to pour out the
contents.
spikenard (1) – nardos – a fragrant oil made from the root of a rare plant. It
was imported from the hills on the banks of the Ganges Riverin India.
spikenard (2) – pistikos – trusty, faithful, here it carries the idea of “pure,
unadulterated nard”
very precious – poluteles – precious; very costly;excellent, of surpassing value
John tells us that Mary had a “pound” of the perfume (John 12:3). We think
it was about a pint of perfume.
poured it on his head – John records that Mary not only poured it on Jesus’
head, but also His feet (John 12:3).
This is the secondtime that Jesus was anointedwith perfume from an
alabasterbox. Earlierin his ministry (Luke 7:36-50), Jesus was ata Pharisee’s
house when a “sinnerwoman” came up to him. She was weeping and washing
His featwith her tears. Then she also poured the fragrance onJesus’feet.
:4-5 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said,
Why was this waste ofthe ointment made? {5} For it might have been sold for
more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they
murmured againsther.

had indignation – aganakteo (“much” + “grief”) – to be indignant, moved
with indignation, be very displeased
John fills in some detail for us:
(John 12:4-6 KJV) Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,
which should betray him, {5} Why was not this ointment sold for three
hundred pence, and given to the poor? {6} This he said, not that he caredfor
the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put
therein.
Judas was one of those complaining, but he wasn’t alone. There were
apparently others that complained.
Judas’ reasonfor complaining was because this gift might have been
something that he could have gotten his hands on. He was greedy.
Some have suggestedthat since it was the Passover, it would have also been a
time to be helping the poor. Since the apostles weren’texactly rolling in the
dough, some of the disciples liked the way that Judas’complaint sounded.
They could have helped a lot of people with what that perfume have sold for.
I think it’s kind of sad to think that it’s possible that some of the disciples
were jumping on this complaint bandwagonwith Judas, when Judas’ motives
were all out of line. You might make a case fortheir motives being better than
Judas’, but they were still out of touch with what was going on.
waste – apoleia – destroying, utter destruction
It’s interesting that Jesus would use a form of this word to describe Judas,
calling him the “sonof perdition” (John 17:12)
three hundred pence – denarion – the “denarius”, a Roman silver coin
equivalent to a day’s wage. Three hundred would be roughly a year’s wages.
What was Mary doing with such a costlygift? One suggestionis that this
might have been her “dowry”, the gift she would present to a husband at
marriage. If this is the case,we see a picture of a person willing to give up all
her dreams for the sake offollowing Jesus.

murmured – embrimaomai – to be very angry, sternly to charge;from
brimaomai (to snort with anger), the snorting of horses
Lesson
Not everyone understands worship
What Mary did was give an incredible, extravagantgift to Jesus.
We callthis worship. The actof worship does not just consistin the songs we
sing on Sunday morning, though that might be a part of our worship.
Worship consists ofthe things we give to Jesus, outof love for Him.
Mary gave lavishly and lovingly. She was not ashamedto show her love for
Christ openly.
And she was criticized for it.
2Sam. 6 – David was known as the “sweetpsalmistof Israel” and a “man after
God’s own heart”. But he was criticized for his extravagantworship as well.
When he brought the Ark of the Covenantinto Jerusalem, he put together a
huge parade of worship – there was much sacrificing, music, dancing, and
food.
(2 Sam 6:20-23 NKJV) Then David returned to bless his household. And
Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How glorious
was the king of Israeltoday, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids
of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelesslyuncovers himself!" {21}
So David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of
your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the
LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. {22} "And I
will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.
But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held
in honor." {23} Therefore Michalthe daughter of Saul had no children to the
day of her death.
The people around us may not always understand our need to be extravagant
with Jesus.

Our extravagance maybe giving up a week of vacationto serve in Mexico. It
may be taking an afternoon to bake a cake fora neighbor. It may be finally
learning to lift my hands in worship to my King.
Please don’t let any of the critics stop you from lavishing love on your Master.
Note: Worship is done “before the Lord” (2Sam. 6:21), in God’s presence.
Do I even realize that I’m in His presence? How should I react in God’s
presence? It’s easierto be extravagantwhen you have your eyes on Jesus.
Worship comes from realizing all that Jesus has done for us, all that He is,
and giving Him adoration.
Illustration
Don Vicars, an Oregonpolice officer, was on his way to California for a
Harley Davidsonconvention when a constructionzone causeda group of
motorcycles to stop suddenly. Don had to lay his motorcycle down at high
speedand was left with a broken shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsedlung.
A passerbystopped to aid Vicars. She told him her name, Sally, and said she
was a registerednurse. She cradled him in his pain and assuredhim that help
was on the way. When paramedics arrived, Vicars was airlifted to a hospital
where he spent 10 days.
Now he is intent on finding and thanking Sally.
“When I woke up [on the pavement],” he says, “she was holding my head. She
very calmly talked to me and calmed me. Afterward, she just walkedoff. ...
It’s important to me to find her and thank her.”

Vicars’ wife says her husband’s need to find Sally is “almostan obsession.”In
a newspaperarticle in The Oregonian(10/15/98), Vicars askedthat anyone
who knew Sally would contacthim.
Thanksgiving is a goodobsession.
-- Curtis Buthe. Leadership, Vol. 20, no. 2.
We’ve been helped far more than Sally helped Don. Jesus has done so much
for us. Am I aware of just how much He’s done for me? And we really
shouldn’t have a problem finding Him. He’s here right now. The question is
do I recognize His presence? And how will I respond?
Illustration
A STORYFROM ENGLAND
One day while walking with some children and palace attendants, Queen
Mary was caught in a sudden thunderstorm. The queen quickly took shelter
on the porch of a home. To avoid attracting a crowd, she disguised her
appearance by putting on a hat that partly coveredher face and a plain coat
she borrowedfrom one of her attendants. The queen then knockedat the door
and askedto borrow an umbrella. “I’ll send it back tomorrow,” she told the
unfriendly woman who answeredthe door. Despite the assurances about
returning her umbrella, the womandid not want to lend her bestumbrella. So
she retrieved an old umbrella stored in the attic. One rib was broken, and
there were severalholes in it. With a haughty attitude and scornful words, she
handed it to the unrecognizedmonarch. The next day the woman had another
visitor—a man with gold braid on his uniform and an envelope in his hand.
“The queen sentme with this letter,” he said, “and also askedme to thank you
personally for the loan of your umbrella.” The woman was stunned, and then

brokenhearted. She burst into tears. “This is just horrible—I missed an
opportunity to give my queen my very best!” she sobbed. “And my attitude
was shameful,” she added.
If we only realizedwho was in this very room.
:6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a
goodwork on me.
Let her alone – aphiemi – to send away;to let go, let alone, let be; to let go,
give up a debt, forgive, to remit
good– kalos – beautiful, excellent, choice, precious, useful, suitable
We canbecome quite critical of one another in the church. We don’t always
understand why people are doing things, but when they don’t do them the
way that we think they should be done, we “trouble” them.
Jesus’instructions to the disciples was to let it go. In a sense He was telling
them to “forgive” her. He was teaching them to be gracious to her.
They thought that her “worship” was wasteful. Jesusthought it was beautiful.
:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoeverye will ye may do
them good:but me ye have not always.
:8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to
the burying.
:9 Verily I sayunto you, Wheresoeverthis gospelshallbe preached
throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spokenof for
a memorial of her.
Lesson
Worship’s Impact
The Lasting Impact.

Mary’s worship didn’t just affectthat one dinner, it has had an impact for
two thousand years as we continue to talk about it.
Whether it’s through song or in how you live your life, true worship affects
others. They catcha whiff of the fragrance that is on Jesus and on you.
(John 12:3 KJV) Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very
costly, and anointed the feetof Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the
house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
The house was filled with the fragrance. Everyone in the house could smell
the fragrance. Everyone in the house was impacted by Mary’s worship.
Yet only two people had the fragrance actually on them – Jesus and Mary
When Jesus and Mary left the house, the fragrance would diminish in the
house and the onlookers inthe house would eventually no longersmell it.
But the fragrance would stay on two people – Jesus and Mary.
Are you one of those in the “house”, enjoying the sweetsmellof the perfume
that others have? Or are you one of the extravagantworshippers, breaking
out your own alabasterbox and staining yourself and Jesus with perfume?
Does the perfume go home with you?
Lesson
Worship’s Cost
True worship doesn’t come cheap.
Mary’s worship touched Jesus, andit costa lot.
When David was considering a piece of land to build an altar, at first he was
offered the land for free. But he replied,
(2 Sam 24:24 NKJV) Then the king saidto Araunah, "No, but I will surely
buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my
God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor
and the oxen for fifty shekels ofsilver.

Sometimes we can getto thinking like the disciples, that this thing about
loving Jesus is getting a little expensive, that it’s beginning to costme a little
too much.
But what are we talking about? Jesus didn’t considerus too expensive when
He died on the cross for us. He didn’t say, “GoshFather, I don’t think these
people are worth it.”
What can I give to Jesus? Itstarts with giving my life, my entire life.
Mark 14:1-11 An Act Remembered
12/30/01 D. Marion Clark
Introduction
The Passionbegins. Beginning now through the end of chapter15, we may as
well title the section, “The Deathof Jesus,” forevery scene is about his
inevitable death.
From early on Mark had intimated Jesus’death, building the tension as his
story progressed. The first indication of trouble was recordedin 2:7 where
the teachers ofthe law accuse him of blasphemy. From then on all encounters
with the religious leaders were antagonistic – the Pharisees’annoyance thathe
would dine with people of low reputation (2:13-17); what seemedto them his
flaunting of Sabbath rules (2:23-3:6); and their initial plotting to kill him
(3:6). The teachers ofthe law accusedhim of being possessedby the prince of
demons and he warns them of blaspheming the Holy Spirit (3:22-30). They
criticized his negligence ofritual washing practices, and he retorted that they
setaside the commandment to honor one’s father and mother (7:1-13). They
demanded signs, and he warnedhis disciples to beware the yeastof the
Pharisees (8:11-15). His clearing out the moneychangers in the temple area
especiallygalledall the leaders – the priests, teachers of the law, Pharisees and
Sadducees. Forthe secondtime, Mark reported plotting to kill Jesus (11:18).
Then the questions designedto shame and discredit him – by what authority
did he clearthe temple (11:27-33)? shouldtaxes be paid to Caesar(12:13-17)?

what about marriage after the resurrection (12:18-27)? And they only grew
more angry as eachtime he turned the tables on them and publicly shamed
them.
No one had more bitter enemies than Jesus. Eventhough they were
antagonistic towards one another, they hated no one like him. Enemies can
get along by recognizing the role eachother plays in balancing the status quo.
The chief priests, teachers ofthe law and Pharisees, andSadducees may not
have liked one another, but they acknowledgedeachother’s role in protecting
their own interests and the welfare of the Jewishpeople under Roman rule.
Don’t forget – Israelwas an occupiedcountry. And the Jewishleaders must
keeppeace to avoid destruction, which was especiallyhard in a country filled
with religious zeal. The teachers ofthe law and the Pharisees hatedJesus
because he had made them appear foolish and harsh with their traditions; the
Sadducees hatedhim because he embarrassedthem; and the chief priests
hated him for his presumed authority to run amuck in the temple grounds.
They all fearedhim because ofhis popularity with the people, and they
regardedhim as dangerous for his potential to incite rebellion and bring the
wrath of the Roman military on their nation.
As the tension builds it becomes inevitable that something must happen. But
Mark makes clearthat the inevitability of Jesus’deathlay not in the rising
angerof his enemies, but in the sovereignplan of God. Beginning in chapter
8, he records a number of Jesus’statements about his suffering and dying.
After Petermakes his famous confessionthat Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah,
Jesus begins to teachmore clearly what he has come to do.
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer manythingsand
be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, andthat he must
be killed and afterthree days rise again (8:31).
Jesus replied, “Tobe sure, Elijahdoes come first, and restores all things. Why
then is it written that the Son of Man mustsuffer much and be rejected?” (9:12)
He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.
They willkill him, and afterthree dayshe willrise” (9:31).
They were on their wayup to Jerusalem,withJesusleadingthe way, and the
discipleswereastonished, whilethose whofollowed wereafraid. Againhe took
the Twelveasideand told them whatwasgoing to happen to him. 33 “We are

going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man willbebetrayed to the
chief priests and teachers of the law. Theywillcondemn him to death and will
hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who willmock him and spiton him, flog him
and kill him. Three days later he willrise” (10:32-34).
Jesus was not acknowledging the power of his enemies; he was speaking ofhis
mission which was to die. As the spiritual Christmas carolputs it, he “had
come for to die.” Why? Had he come to be a martyr? No. He had come to
be a Redeemer. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to givehis life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
It is important to understand this point as we enter into the Passionnarrative,
because it establishes the right perspective for all the sadand tense scenes we
will cover. Thoughwhat happens to Jesus is terrible, understand that never
does he lose control of the situation, even in his most grievous moment in
Gethsemane. The pain, the sorrow, and the agony are real, but they result,
not because Jesus has beendefeated but preciselybecause he is carrying out
exactly his and his Father’s plan. He, not his enemies, has the upper hand
despite what seems the opposite.
Text
Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread wereonlytwo days away,
and the chief priests and the teachers of the law werelooking for some sly wayto
arrest Jesus and killhim. 2 “Butnot during the Feast,” they said, “or the people
mayriot.”
For your information the Feastof Unleavened BreadfollowedPassoverevery
year. Forsevendays no one could eatbread with leaven in it. Mark starts the
Passionnarrative with this scene ofIsrael’s religious leaders and teachers
plotting Jesus’death. He starts by presenting evil intent.
He then presents the only actof devotion to Jesus we will see until his death.
Mark does not getenough credit for his artistry. At the end of the text will be
a description of betrayal. He breaks up these two records of wickednesswith
a beautiful depiction of pure devotion.
3 Whilehe wasin Bethany, reclining atthe tablein the home of a man known
as Simon the Leper, a womancamewithan alabasterjar of very expensive

perfume, madeof pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfumeon his
head.
If you recall, Jesus commuted back to Bethany eachnight while he was in
Jerusalem. Bethanywas just a couple of miles out of the city. It very well
could be that he stayedin the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary.
Undoubtedly he was an honored guestin town and this but one of the dinners
held in his honor. He literally is reclining at the dinner table, following the
Roman style of dining. He is probably lying on his side on a cot with the head
facing the table either directly or at an angle. We know from John that the
woman is Mary of whom both John and Luke mention in their gospels. Once,
at their home, Martha had become upset with her while they were
entertaining Jesus at dinner. Martha, evidently, was doing the brunt of the
serving while all Mary could do was sit at Jesus’feetintently listening to him.
The secondreference is at the death of Lazarus whom Jesus then raisedfrom
the dead. In that story Martha greets Jesus respectfully;Mary falls at his feet
in tears.
But Mark does not identify Mary. His focus is not on who she was, but what
she did. Let’s follow that carefully. She brought an alabasterjar of very
expensiveperfume, madeof pure nard. Nard was an aromatic oil imported
from India. The alabasterjar was a small flask, holding just enoughoil for
one application. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century, noted that the
“bestointment is preservedin alabaster.” This is not perfume sold at J. C.
Penny’s. It is afforded only by the most wealthy and would be used only for
the most important of occasions. How Marycame into ownership, we do not
know. Some speculate that it was an heirloom passeddown from generations.
It certainly is a lavish gift to use on Jesus.
She broke the jar and poured the perfumeon his head. The jar has a long
narrow neck, which is to be brokento release the full aroma of the perfume.
She then pours the oil on Jesus’head, which would be takenby everyone as a
tokenof greathonor. This is the type of stuff for royalty.
4 Someof those present were saying indignantlyto one another, “Why this waste
of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wagesand the
moneygiven to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
And that is preciselywhat bothers some of the guests, whichwe know from
Matthew includes the disciples. No one, especiallythe disciples, begrudge

Jesus being honored. After all, the dinner itself is held in his honor. But this
is too much. It would have been fine for Mary to anoint Jesus with oil and
that of goodquality. But to lavish on him an unnecessaryluxury – that was
going to far.
The flask of oil was worth more than 300 denarii. Considerthat a laborer’s
day wage was one denari and you compute that it was worth a year’s worth of
wages forthe common laborer. In our society, it would be the equivalent of
about $15,000. Marydoes seemto be overdoing it, doesn’t she? Insteadof
selling the oil and helping to feed and care for many poor people in a
significant way, she uses it all up in one brief actto honor Jesus. Eventhen,
instead of it leading to further praise for him, she stirs up controversy. What
a waste.
The disciples are not angry with Jesus. He did not ask for this wasteful
display of devotion. And they knew that he wouldn’t; indeed, they know that
they are stating what their Masterwould be to polite to say. Oh these foolish
women! They just don’t think! Jesus is a godly man; he is a man of the
people. Can’t Mary see that her extravagancy would merely embarrass
Jesus? Whatdid Jesus sayto the rich young man who wanted to know the
way to eternal life? “Onething you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you
have and giveto the poor, and you willhavetreasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21).
What did he say about the poor?
Do not be afraid, littleflock, for your Father has been pleased to giveyou the
kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and giveto the poor. Providepurses for
yourselves that willnot wearout… (Luke 12:32).
But when you givea banquet, invitethe poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14
and you willbeblessed (Luke 14:13).
Is this the kind of teacherwho then wants people to lavish expensive gifts on
him that he does not even have use for? This is one time the disciples know
that in their rebuking they have Jesus on their side. They may have blown it
about the children and others they got angry with, but not this time. At best
Jesus might sayforget about it, but he would be pleasedinwardly that they
made an important statement.

6 “Leaveher alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a
beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you willalwayshavewithyou, and you can
help them any timeyou want. Butyou willnot alwayshaveme.”
These disciples just can’t win. What is with Jesus? Itwould have been
understandable if he had said something like this: “Leave her alone. Why are
you bothering her? She may not be thinking right, but at leastshe has good
intentions.” Jesus is not excusing Mary; he is praising her. She did do the
right thing. But how could Jesus saythat? How could he pit himself against
the poor whom he has consistentlychampioned?
Actually, Jesus is not pitting himself againstthe poor. It is the critics who
have devised this false competition of wasting money on Jesus versus helping
the poor. You need to understand the different perspective of Jesus’culture
towards helping the poor versus our American perspective. We have a very
practicalapproach to giving to the poor. Our intent is to bring people out of
poverty. Indeed, our ultimate goalis to eradicate poverty. We give to get
results in the people we help. Forthe Jew of Jesus’day, as well as in Islam,
giving to the poor, i.e. almsgiving is itself a religious actthat earns merit. Yes,
the giver wants to help the poor, but he is not actually thinking about bringing
the poor out of poverty. Rather, he gives to getresults for himself – merit
from God. Almsgiving is an actof righteousness.
Jesus is saying, “Don’tworry about missing an opportunity to bless the poor.
You will always have opportunity to do so. What you have little time left to do
is to bless me.” Jesus reallyis about to die. All those times that he said he
must suffer in Jerusalem…well, he is in Jerusalem. The time has come. And
only Mary has been perceptive enough to do something.
8 She did whatshe could. She poured perfumeon mybody beforehand to prepare
for my burial. DidMary know? Did she mean for her tribute to be a burial
anointment? We canonly speculate. As one of Jesus’closerfriends and
followers, it is likely that she knew of his comments about his death in
Jerusalem. We know from Luke that she satat his feetlistening intently to his
teaching. How difficult would it be in those lastdays to observe a solemnity in
Jesus, if one was willing to look? Maryknew something. Why that particular
night? Why not earlierin celebrationof Jesus raising her brother Lazarus
from the dead? Why not later when the feasts would be ending and Jesus
leaving again?

Whateverthe reason, Mary did the right thing and she offered to Jesus the
one actof devotion and blessing that meant so much to him. No one else does
and no one else will before he dies. No one will honor him in a waythat
actually fits what he is about to do.
Jesus saidof Mary, 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached
throughout the world, whatshe has done willalsobetold, in memoryof her.
Brothers and sisters, in the time of our Saviordistress, when he felt all alone
as he beganhis greatesttrial, let us take comfort that someone blessedhim. It
should have been one of the chief priests that anointed our Lamb; it should
have been one of the Twelve;but according to God’s will the one who should
have did do it. Mary did whatshe could, and she did just the right thing. Let
us remember her for acting on our behalf to show honor to our Saviorwho
died for us.
10 Then JudasIscariot, one of the Twelve, wentto the chief priests to betray Jesus
to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to givehim money. So
he watched for an opportunityto hand him over.
One of the Twelve betrayed Jesus. One the twelve disciples chosenby Jesus to
be his closestcompanions and to be his apostles for the gospel – Judas Iscariot
betrayed his Lord for some silver coins. He schemedwith the chief priests
who were entrusted with the spiritual welfare of the people and prepare them
for the Messiah– he schemed with them to bring Jesus down.
Thank God for Mary. In Jesus’greatestdistress his disciples will abandon
him and his most ardent followerwill deny him. No one will understand what
he warned them about. But he took heart at Mary’s act and would himself
remember what she did.
Conclusion
The challenge for us is to be like Mary – to do what we can for Jesus. He is
not here anymore in the flesh. We thank God Mary took the opportunity
when she had it to bless him. Nevertheless,we are to do what we can in the
time that God has given us.
What are you to do? I don’t know. It never would have occurredto me to
advise Mary to do what she did. I think she knew because she was attentive to

Jesus and listened well. You cannot sit at Jesus’feetand listen to him speak,
but you can read his words in the Bible. You cannot watchhis face, but you
can meditate on his word, pray, and listen.
I’ve learned not to ask God for opportunity to serve him; instead, I ask him to
open my eyes to the opportunities around me. If the disciples had opened
their eyes they would have known that Mary was doing the right thing and
would have done what they could in those final days. You have got to take
time with God. You have got to develop an attitude of listening to what his
Word says to you, and you must have the courage and zeal to respond.
For you who may still be on the outer circle still trying to figure out what you
make of Jesus, don’t miss your opportunity. Jesus no longerfaces death, but
you do. And eachday you wait to make a decisionfor him, you squander
another day of missedopportunities to bless him.
For you, his followers, letthe disciples be an example of how evenJesus’
closestfollowerscanmiss opportunities to show their devotion for their Lord.
And let Mary be your example of one doing the right thing at the right time
because she listenedand observedwell; because she did what she could do
when the opportunity came to bless her Lord.
Poured Out
Mark: Who Do You Say That I Am?
Mark 14:1-52
PastorJoshBlack
March 15, 2015
Worth it
When I was in seminary I was basicallythe oldeststudent in my class. I was
32 when I started. So,
most of my classmateswere 10 years youngerthan me. One of the things I
learned from them was
new slang. I won’t confuse you with all of the new words and phrases I
learned. I’ll simply share one
of them with you. I regularly heard my classmatesuse the phrase “worth it.”
It was often used in an
ironic or sarcastic way.

For example when a group of guys would make a decisionto go to the city and
hang out insteadof
studying they might say, “Worth it!” But clearly sacrificing your studies is not
worth it if your
educationis that important to you. Or maybe a guy would want to show off by
taking the “blazing
challenge” atBuffalo Wild Wings. The blazing challenge is insane. You have
six minutes to eat
twelve of their hottesthot wings. These wings are said to be 60 times hotter
than a jalapeno pepper.
Buffalo Wild Wings promotes the challenge by saying, “All that stands
betweenyou and fame is the
blazing challenge.”When a guy takes this challenge he might say, “Worthit!”
But obviously
sacrificing the lining of your stomachit’s not worth it if you value your health.
You getthe point. The phrase “worth it” is often used ironically. It’s used to
describe a ridiculous
form of sacrifice.
What are the sacrifices youmake on a regular basis? Are they “worth it,”
truly worth it? Or are they
ridiculous forms of sacrifice?
 Some guys sacrifice their time with their families to work a lot of overtime.
Is it worth it?
Many sacrifice their financial wellbeing by going into huge amounts of debt to
buy nice
things. Is it worth it?
 Others sacrifice their time to spend serving others. Or sacrifice their hard
earned money to
give generouslyto those in need. Is it worth it?
 Some sacrifice their precious sleepin order to spend time in the Word and
prayer. Or their
popularity in order to stand up for Jesus. Is it worth it?
All of us make sacrifices everyday. Are the sacrificeswe make worth it? Are
they worth our time?
Are they worth our money? Our reputation? Our comfort levels?
Please openyour Bibles to Mark 14. This morning we come to a challenging
text. Last week our text
was theologicallychallenging. We lookedatthe end times and the return of
Christ. This week our

text is challenging in a different way. It challenges us to evaluate whether or
not we think Jesus is
worth our sacrifice. And it shows us how we have often sacrificedthe wrong
things.
I’m only going to read and comment on part of our text this morning. We’ll
read verses 1-11 and
verses 17-31. All of the verses I skip this morning will be a part of our Good
Friday service in a
couple of weeks. I hope you’ll make plans to attend that service.
2
Mark 14:1-11, 17-311
1
It was now two days before the Passoverand the Feastof Unleavened Bread.
And the chief priests and the scribes
were seeking how to arresthim by stealthand kill him, 2
for they said, “Notduring the feast, lest there be an uproar
from the people.”
3And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was
reclining at table, a woman came with an
alabasterflask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask
and poured it over his head. 4There were
some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wastedlike
that? 5Forthis ointment could have been
sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they
scoldedher. 6But Jesus said, “Leave her
alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7For
you always have the poor with you, and
wheneveryou want, you cando goodfor them. But you will not always have
me. 8
She has done what she could; she has
anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9And truly, I say to you, wherever
the gospelis proclaimed in the whole world,
what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10ThenJudas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in
order to betray him to them. 11And when
they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought
an opportunity to betray him.
17And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And as they were
reclining at table and eating, Jesus said,

“Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
19Theybeganto be sorrowfuland to say to
him one after another, “Is it I?” 20He said to them, “It is one of the twelve,
one who is dipping bread into the dish
with me. 21Forthe Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that
man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
22And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and
gave it to them, and said, “Take;this is
my body.” 23And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to
them, and they all drank of it. 24And he
said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
25Truly, I sayto you, I will not drink
againof the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom
of God.”
26And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
27And Jesus saidto them, “You will all fall
away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheepwill be
scattered.’28Butafter I am raised up, I will go
before you to Galilee.” 29Petersaidto him, “Eventhough they all fall away, I
will not.” 30And Jesus saidto him,
“Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the roostercrows twice, youwill deny
me three times.” 31Buthe said
emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said
the same.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Our text this morning is divided into two scenes:The scene with the woman
and the scene at the
Last Supper. These two scenes parallelone another. And they both use a
sandwichstructure.
In verses 1-11:
A. The Sanhedrin plots to kill Jesus (vv. 1-2)
B. The womanpours out ointment for Jesus body (vv. 3-9)
A.’ Judas plots to betray Jesus (vv. 10-11)
In verses 17-31:
A. Jesus predicts he will be betrayed (vv. 17-21)
B. Jesus pours out his blood and gives his body (vv. 22-26)
A.’ Jesus predicts his disciples will fall away(vv. 27-31)

1 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, EnglishStandard Version®
unless otherwise noted.
3
Notice there’s an elementof sacrifice in every section. In all four “A” sections,
faith is sacrificedfor
one reasonor another.2 The Sanhedrin sacrifices faithin Jesus forpower.
Judas sacrifices faith for
money. The other disciples sacrifice faith for safety. Power, money, and safety
were worth more
than following Jesus.
There is also an element of sacrifice in both “B” sections. The woman
sacrifices hercostlyointment
because she finds Jesus worthit. And Jesus ultimately sacrificeshis ownbody
because he thinks
we’re worth it.
The contrastis stunning. These two scenes give us a moving picture of
discipleship and the gospel.
I’d like to spend the rest of our time this morning looking at these two scenes
separately.
THE SACRIFICE OF FAITH (vv. 1-11)
In the first scene we see the sacrifice of faith. Like I said, the Sanhedrin and
Judas sacrifice faith in
Jesus for money and power. The woman in the story sacrificesher money for
her faith. Their
treacheryis contrastedwith her faith.3
I surrender all
The setting of this scene is in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany (v. 1).
Jesus is at the dinner
table. And a womancomes in.
It was not normal for a woman to interrupt male table fellowship unless they
were serving food.4
So
this woman’s already going out on a limb to break up this party. But it’s what
she does next is truly
amazing. Look at verse 3. “A woman came with an alabasterflask ofointment
of pure nard, very
costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.”
Mark is going out of his way to emphasize the value of this ointment. We’re
told in verse 5 that it

could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii. That is the
equivalent of about a year’s
wages.
5 Think for a moment what a year’s wageswouldbe in your world. Not many
of you even
have access to that kind of cash.
This ointment is very valuable! And for this woman it’s even more valuable.
Scholars tell us that
women in that culture weren’tgenerally allowedto work and make money. So
this ointment was
probably a family heirloom.6
It’s all that she has of any value.
And what does she do with it? She sacrifices it. She breaks it and pours it over
Jesus’head.
Some of the men present were indignant (v. 4). They thought the woman
wastedthe ointment. The
ointment could have been soldand given to the poor (v. 5). But this woman
didn’t think it was a
waste. She believed Jesus was worthit.
What did Jesus think? Look at verses 6-8 again. Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Why do you trouble
her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with
you, and whenever
2 Stein, RobertH. Mark. Bakerexegeticalcommentaryon the New
Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: BakerAcademic, 2008.
3 Edwards, James R. The GospelAccording to Mark. The pillar New
Testamentcommentary. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2002.
4 Edwards
5 Edwards
6 Edwards
4
you want, you can do goodfor them. But you will not always have me. She has
done what she could;
she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.”
Jesus thought she did a beautiful thing. He didn’t think what she did was
wasteful. He thought her
sacrifice was worthit. He said, “She has done what she could.” In the Greek
this sounds almost
identical to what Jesus said about the poor widow in chapter 12:43.7

“She has put in everything she
has.” Forthe poor widow that was only two small copper coins (Mk. 12:42).
For Mary it was a flask
of perfume worth a year’s wages. Butthe sacrifice was the same for both.
They both gave all they
had.
And why? BecauseMarybelieved Jesus was worth it. When Jesus says, “You
always have the poor
with you,” he’s not saying he doesn’t care about the poor. And he’s not saying
that we shouldn’t care
about the poor. We know that Jesus values the poor and wants us to as well.
That’s what makes her
gesture so amazing. Even though the poor are so valuable in the eyes of God,
Jesus is even more
valuable.
This woman understood this. She did a beautiful thing. She gave everything
she had. She sacrificially
poured it all out for Jesus. With the hymn writer, she could say, “I surrender
all, I surrender all; all to
Thee, my blessedSavior, I surrender all.”
And this is what all of Jesus’disciples are calledto do. Simon and Andrew left
their livelihood to
follow Jesus. James and John left their family to follow Jesus. Theylet goods
and kindred go. Levi
left the tax booth to follow Jesus. Jesus calledthe rich man to selleverything
he had and to follow
him. He didn’t do this. But the poor widow gave everything. And Mary gave
everything.
This is what Jesus’disciples are called to do.
Like Paul, we’re calledto “count everything loss because ofthe surpassing
worth of knowing Christ.
For his sake we are to count all things rubbish, in order to gain Christ” (Phil.
3:8).
“The kingdom of heavenis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found
and coveredup. Then
in his joy he goes andsells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44).
This is the picture of discipleship. We’re not merely calledto give up the
things that are precious to
us. We’re called to sacrifice everything because Christis worth it!

We all make sacrifices everyday. Are the sacrifices you’re making worth it?
Have you let go of the
things of this world because youbelieve Jesus is worth more?
A picture of the gospel
At the end of the incident with the woman, Jesus says, in verse 9, “And truly, I
say to you, wherever
the gospelis proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in
memory of her.”
Why does Jesus saythis? Some have said it’s because she understoodthat
Jesus was the Messiahand
that the Messiahwould have to suffer and die in order to save us.8
I’m not sure she understood all of
this. I don’t know how she could have. I think Jesus says this woman will be
remembered when the
gospelis preachedbecause heractions are a picture of the gospel.
7 Edwards
8 Edwards
5
She did what Jesus did. She poured out all that she had. Jesus poured out all
that he had. The one
who was rich became poor for us (2 Cor. 8:9). The God-man poured out his
blood for us on Calvary
because he thought we were worth it.
Discipleshipis doing what Jesus did. This woman sacrificedwhatshe could.
She couldn’t make
atonement for the sins of God’s people, but she could anoint Jesus with a jar
of costly perfume.
Jesus did what he could. He gave his life as a ransom for many (Mk. 10:45).
What about you? We’re calledto sacrifice everything if we believe Jesus is
worth it.
THE SACRIFICE OF DEATH (vv. 17-31)
And that brings us to the secondscene in our passagethis morning, in verses
17-31. Here we see
Jesus’sacrifice ofdeath.
In Bible study, context is king. In this scene there are two types of context: the
literary context and
the historicalcontext. They’re both critical for understanding this passage.
The historicalcontext

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