Breaking Our Flask

Henry Ward Beecher once said, “In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.”(1) Our passages of Scripture for this morning speak of sacrifice. One definition of sacrifice is “to offer to God in homage or worship,” and another one is “to destroy, surrender, or suffer to be lost for the sake of obtaining something.”(2) Sacrifice, in terms of the believer, is suffering loss for the sake of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, with the hope of gaining eternal rewards. The “here and now” is not where our treasure is supposed to lie. Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20); and in order to do as He said, we must make sacrifices while still on this earth.

We are going to begin our message this morning by reading through two passages of Scripture – Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8. We will examine both passages for the very reason that the account is told by more than one gospel writer and with different details in each account. By looking at both testimonies we can gain a fuller picture of the event, and see exactly what each writer deemed as important to emphasize. Our message this morning looks at a woman named Mary who made a costly sacrifice in order to express her love to Jesus; and from her one act of worship we can learn something about how God requires us to live our lives for Him each and every day.

Please stand with me at this time in honor of the reading of God’s Word, as I first read Mark 14:3-9:

3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Please remain standing as we seek to honor the Lord’s Word, and turn with me now to John 12:1-8:

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

From these two passages I have derived six points that will help us understand how to live a life of sacrifice to God. Some of these points will also allow us to see how we often tend to act in ways that are contrary to a life of sacrifice. I wish to encourage you to listen to the spiritual application, and not get distracted by debating whether these two accounts are actually related.

Point #1: Our Flesh Must Be Broken (Mark 14:3)

Point number one is that “Our Flesh Must Be Broken.” Mark 14:3 tells us, “A woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.” This woman, whom John identifies as Mary (John 12:3), broke an alabaster flask. Alabaster is a white, yellow, or brown calcium deposit found mainly in limestone caverns and it can be quarried and carved into vessels.(3)