Introduction
The Passion begins. Beginning now through the end of chapter 15, we may as well title the section, “The Death of Jesus,” for every 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 recorded in 2:7 where the teachers of the law accuse him of blasphemy. From then on all encounters with the religious leaders were antagonistic – the Pharisees’ annoyance that he would dine with people of low reputation (2:13-17); what seemed to them his flaunting of Sabbath rules (2:23-3:6); and their initial plotting to kill him (3:6). The teachers of the law accused him of being possessed by the prince of demons and he warns them of blaspheming the Holy Spirit (3:22-30). They criticized his negligence of ritual washing practices, and he retorted that they set aside the commandment to honor one’s father and mother (7:1-13). They demanded signs, and he warned his disciples to beware the yeast of the Pharisees (8:11-15). His clearing out the moneychangers in the temple area especially galled all the leaders – the priests, teachers of the law, Pharisees and Sadducees. For the second time, Mark reported plotting to kill Jesus (11:18). Then the questions designed to shame and discredit him – by what authority did he clear the temple (11:27-33)? should taxes be paid to Caesar (12:13-17)? what about marriage after the resurrection (12:18-27)? And they only grew more angry as each time he turned the tables on them and publicly shamed them.
No one had more bitter enemies than Jesus. Even though they were antagonistic towards one another, they hated no one like him. Enemies can get along by recognizing the role each other plays in balancing the status quo. The chief priests, teachers of the law and Pharisees, and Sadducees may not have liked one another, but they acknowledged each other’s role in protecting their own interests and the welfare of the Jewish people under Roman rule. Don’t forget – Israel was an occupied country. And the Jewish leaders must keep peace to avoid destruction, which was especially hard in a country filled with religious zeal. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees hated Jesus because he had made them appear foolish and harsh with their traditions; the Sadducees hated him because he embarrassed them; and the chief priests hated him for his presumed authority to run amuck in the temple grounds. They all feared him because of his popularity with the people, and they regarded him 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 clear that the inevitability of Jesus’ death lay not in the rising anger of his enemies, but in the sovereign plan of God. Beginning in chapter 8, he records a number of Jesus’ statements about his suffering and dying. After Peter makes his famous confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, Jesus begins to teach more clearly what he has come to do.
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again (8:31).
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer 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 will kill him, and after three days he will rise” (9:31).
They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise” (10:32-34).
Jesus was not acknowledging the power of his enemies; he was speaking of his mission which was to die. As the spiritual Christmas carol puts 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 give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
It is important to understand this point as we enter into the Passion narrative, because it establishes the right perspective for all the sad and tense scenes we will cover. Though what 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 been defeated but precisely because 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 were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
For your information the Feast of Unleavened Bread followed Passover every year. For seven days no one could eat bread with leaven in it. Mark starts the Passion narrative with this scene of Israel’s religious leaders and teachers plotting Jesus’ death. He starts by presenting evil intent.
He then presents the only act of devotion to Jesus we will see until his death. Mark does not get enough credit for his artistry. At the end of the text will be a description of betrayal. He breaks up these two records of wickedness with a beautiful depiction of pure devotion.
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
If you recall, Jesus commuted back to Bethany each night while he was in Jerusalem. Bethany was just a couple of miles out of the city. It very well could be that he stayed in the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Undoubtedly he was an honored guest in 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’ feet intently listening to him. The second reference is at the death of Lazarus whom Jesus then raised from 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 alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. Nard was an aromatic oil imported from India. The alabaster jar was a small flask, holding just enough oil for one application. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century, noted that the “best ointment is preserved in 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 Mary came into ownership, we do not know. Some speculate that it was an heirloom passed down from generations. It certainly is a lavish gift to use on Jesus.
She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. The jar has a long narrow neck, which is to be broken to release the full aroma of the perfume. She then pours the oil on Jesus’ head, which would be taken by everyone as a token of great honor. This is the type of stuff for royalty.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
And that is precisely what bothers some of the guests, which we know from Matthew includes the disciples. No one, especially the 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 good quality. But to lavish on him an unnecessary luxury – that was going to far.
The flask of oil was worth more than 300 denarii. Consider that a laborer’s day wage was one denari and you compute that it was worth a year’s worth of wages for the common laborer. In our society, it would be the equivalent of about $15,000. Mary does seem to be overdoing it, doesn’t she? Instead of 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 act to honor Jesus. Even then, 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 Master would 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? What did Jesus say to the rich young man who wanted to know the way to eternal life? “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). What did he say about the poor?
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out… (Luke 12:32).
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed (Luke 14:13).
Is this the kind of teacher who 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 say forget about it, but he would be pleased inwardly that they made an important statement.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.”
These disciples just can’t win. What is with Jesus? It would 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 least she has good intentions.” Jesus is not excusing Mary; he is praising her. She did do the right thing. But how could Jesus say that? How could he pit himself against the poor whom he has consistently championed?
Actually, Jesus is not pitting himself against the 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 practical approach to giving to the poor. Our intent is to bring people out of poverty. Indeed, our ultimate goal is to eradicate poverty. We give to get results in the people we help. For the Jew of Jesus’ day, as well as in Islam, giving to the poor, i.e. almsgiving is itself a religious act that 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 get results for himself – merit from God. Almsgiving is an act of righteousness.
Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry 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 really is 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 what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Did Mary know? Did she mean for her tribute to be a burial anointment? We can only speculate. As one of Jesus’ closer friends and followers, it is likely that she knew of his comments about his death in Jerusalem. We know from Luke that she sat at his feet listening intently to his teaching. How difficult would it be in those last days to observe a solemnity in Jesus, if one was willing to look? Mary knew something. Why that particular night? Why not earlier in celebration of Jesus raising her brother Lazarus from the dead? Why not later when the feasts would be ending and Jesus leaving again?
Whatever the reason, Mary did the right thing and she offered to Jesus the one act of 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 way that actually fits what he is about to do.
Jesus said of Mary, 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.
Brothers and sisters, in the time of our Savior distress, when he felt all alone as he began his greatest trial, let us take comfort that someone blessed him. 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 what she could, and she did just the right thing. Let us remember her for acting on our behalf to show honor to our Savior who died for us.
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
One of the Twelve betrayed Jesus. One the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus to be his closest companions and to be his apostles for the gospel – Judas Iscariot betrayed his Lord for some silver coins. He schemed with 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’ greatest distress his disciples will abandon him and his most ardent follower will 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 occurred to 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’ feet and listen to him speak, but you can read his words in the Bible. You cannot watch his 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 longer faces death, but you do. And each day you wait to make a decision for him, you squander another day of missed opportunities to bless him.
For you, his followers, let the disciples be an example of how even Jesus’ closest followers can miss 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 listened and observed well; because she did what she could do when the opportunity came to bless her Lord.
