The Passion Week of Christ: A Study from the Book of Mark
Week 4: The Servant Suffers - He Is Adored
Mark 14:3-9
I. Introduction
A. We're continuing in our Passion Week series, exploring the most important week in the history of man when God's Suffering Servant "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The past three weeks we have looked at The Servant's Arrival into Jerusalem: He Is King, He Is Judge, He Is Prophet. Over the next five weeks, we will continue to follow our Lord's footsteps during the hours of the last week of His life - In Bethany, In the Upper Room, In the Garden, Before the Council, Before Pilate. While thousands of Passover Pilgrims were preparing for the joys of the feast, Jesus was preparing for the ordeal of His trial and crucifixion. He has now set His heart to do the Father's will - to be "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
B. This AM, we find our Lord in Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper. It was a time of extravagant love shown to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, by a woman named Mary. Max Lucado once wrote, "There is a time for risky love. There is a time for extravagant gestures. There is a time to pour out your affections on one you love. And when the time comes - seize it, don't miss it." A time had come for risky love, for extravangant gestures, for pouring out affections on the One you love. Mary wouldn't miss it for the world! Let's look at The Demonstration, The Discouragement, The Defense of her extravangant love for our blessed Jesus.
II. Scripture Reading & Prayer
A. Stand with me to honor the reading of God's Word. Read Mark 14:3-9.
B. Pray - Father, love is a word that has been cheapened in our society; help us reclaim it's true meaning and true expression from that day your Son reclined at table in Bethany and was adored by Mary.
III. The Demonstration of Extravagant Love (Read and explain 14:3)
A. The Setting: 1) John tells us this took place six days before the Passover. This would place this event on Saturday. Whoa! Why does Mark backtrack from Tuesday to Saturday? Recall John Mark is writing as Peter recounts his eyewitness testimony to him. Both are telling a story, not writing a newspaper or Wikipedia article! And so Peter remembering and Mark writing (some 25-30 years later) how the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him and about to tell us exactly how that played out, say Hey, Wait! Remember that Saturday?! Let us share with you this story of what happened a few days back in preparation for Jesus' death and burial! It was a beautiful thing to behold! 2) Matthew & Mark tell us it was in the house of Simon the leper. John tells us that it was also home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus and names the woman in the story as Mary. Simon likely had been miraculously cured of his leprosy by Jesus, and may have planned this meal for Jesus in gratitude (which itself was an expensive undertaking). Who is Simon? He may well have been the father of the house, though still alive, was a leper, and control of the household had passed, for all practical purposes, to his children (Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26:21). 3) Jesus was reclining at table. They did not use chairs, but reclined at three low tables forming a horseshoe-shape, on their left elbow with feet behind them and ate with their right hands.
B. The Setting, The Sacrifice: It was custom then to anoint the forehead of a guest that came to a person's home with a few drops of perfume. This was done as a general custom of welcome as well as to give the person who might have traveled some distance a nice smell. The fragrant smell would cover the not so fragrant smell of the person from their journey. Yet, here came Mary with an alabaster flask - Alabaster was a fine variety of marble, quarried from Alabastron, a city in Egypt, which could be carved into delicate containers for storing costly perfumes. It would have been sealed, and once opened it could not be resealed. We often point to the price of what was in the flask, but the flask itself would have been very costly. In it is pure nard, a whole pound per John (12 oz). This oil was derived from the nard plant, a rare plant that came from far-off India. It had a VERY strong fragrance. "Nard has intense, warm, fragrant, musky notes, earthy, root like similar to the aromas of humus and is an excellent fixative when used in very small portions. It will enhance as a base other fragrances giving them strength and enduring power. Use too much and all you can smell is the spikenard." Thus when she broke the jar and poured it on His head, the house was filled with fragrance of the oil as John writes. Mark alone tells us that she broke the flask. This may simply have been so she could pour out the contents more quickly. Jesus, in light of His impending death, likely saw the ancient custom to first bathe and then anoint the bodies of the dead. After the body had been anointed, the flask in which the perfume had been was broken and the fragments were laid with the dead body in the tomb. Discuss Matthew & Mark (poured on His head) vs. John (anointed feet and wiped His feet with her hair). The Bible contains errors? NO! The answer? Yes and yes. Both are true. A whole pound would have been too much for just His head, but would easily anoint His whole body.
C. The Setting, The Sacrifice, The Statement: #1 Her commitment = broke the flask, whole pound vs. few drops; signals her sincere and total devotion to the Lord. Pig vs. Chicken at breakfast. Are we totally committed? #2 His value: = flask + oil ($20,000 alone for oil); life savings or marriage dowry. Are we willing to give up ALL we have? #3 Her humility = Only prostitutes seen in public with hair down + only slaves washed the feet of others; she doesn't give a flip what anyone else thinks of her devotion to the Lord. Do we? Is He worth more than our pride, especially you youth? Jesus Freak? #4 His worthiness = He had saved her from sin, raised her brother from the dead, few days go to the cross for her. He was worthy of worship. Also, it is important to note that the only other place Spikenard is mentioned is in the Song of Solomon 1:2; 4:13-14 as a symbol of the intimate nature of Bridal love. Thus it becomes a symbol of our Bridegroom recieving his bride's adoration and worship. What about our worship? We treat His house like worship attendance is optional. We come once a week and act like God ought to be honored that we even showed up. We throw a dollar in the plate and think we have given. We live our lives on our own schedule, by our own rules and say we are living for the Lord. We fuss, grip and complain about everything in the world and we want everyone to know what a committed Christian we are. We are hypocritical as the Pharisees!
IV. The Discouragement of Extravagant Love (Read and explain 14:4-5)
A. An Attack: There were some who said to themselves - Who is this some? John 12:4-5 identifies the main instigator and questioner as none other than Judas Iscariot. Yet, Matthew indicates that all the disciples followed Judas' lead. They were indignant - this word means "to snort with anger, like an angry horse." Over what?
B. An Accounting: For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii - One denarii = one day's wage for a common laborer; Jewish calendar is lunar, 354 days...subtract 52 Sabbaths and you have that this represented an entire year's worth of income! Hard to equate to today - one commentator = $20,000; U.S. stats = $28,000+ per year. Either way, A LOT!
C. An Accusation: The money from the sell of this ointment could have been given to the poor. It was customary to make donations to the poor during Passover. It's Passover Week, lest we forget. Jesus and His disciples used to give to the poor (cf. John 13:29). The disciples' conclusion about Mary's use of the ointment? It had been wasted. What about Judas? Read John 12:6. 11 of the disciples would have agreed to give this money to the poor, one, a thief masquerading as the treasurer of the Twelve, would have embezzled it! Judas no doubt sounded SOOO pious. Even in the Upper Room six days later, the disciples still thought he was concerned about helping the poor. This word wasted is "apoleia," meaning ruin or loss. Spoken of things: waste; spoken of persons: second death, perdition, exclusion from the Messiah's Kingdom. It's applied to Judas in John 17:12. Judas criticized Mary for "wasting money," but he wasted his entire life! What's it profit a man to gain the whole world...
D. An Application: What things (spiritually) make you snorting mad without cause? Do you consider time/talent/treasure poured out for Christ wasted? god > God? If you decide to live a life sold out to Christ, you WILL be criticized! Sometimes by your own brothers and sisters in Christ! Discuss Africa, becoming a pastor as a divorced man, quitting medicine to be a pastor, mine and Vicky's family. Let a talented young man or woman give themselves to a life of service to the Lord - full-ride academic or athlethic scholarship to college go to seminary or become a full-time missionary. "What a waste!" No! "Only one life, will soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." Read note on Ecclesiastes 1:3. Criticism WILL come, Jesus said to expect it. Read Luke 14:26. Who and what do you love the most?
V. The Defense of Extravagant Love (Read and explain 14:6-9)
A. We have to wonder what was going through Mary's head and heart? Maybe she wondered whether, after all, she had made a foolish mistake. Jesus likely saw the pained expression on her face and the hurt in heart from her fellow brothers in Christ. And so He says leave her alone. When Jesus gives a command, stuff happens! People come out of graves, they see for the first time in their life! Somebody is about to get a spanking! Jesus comes to Mary's defense and offers five statements in defending her act of extravagant love.
#1 She has done a beautiful thing to me - In Greek, there are two words for good - agathos (morally good) and kalos (not only good but lovely). A thing might be agathos, and yet be hard, stern, unattractive. But a thing which is kalos is captivating and lovely. The 19th century church historian Gavin Struthers used to say that it would do the Church more good than anything else if Christians would sometimes "do a bonnie thing." That's kalos - fine and attractive. That's what Mary did. Love does not only good things, but also lovely things! When was the last time you did a captivating, beautiful, lovely thing for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
#2 For you always have the poor with you...But you will not always have me - Jesus quotes Deut. 15:11 here. Is He saying give up, just accept poverty as an inevitable fact, and therefore do nothing to try to abolish it? No! Cole: "Here is the Christian scale of priorities, the ability to choose out of many pressing needs that which it is God's will that we should seek to meet at one particular moment." Love can see that there are things, the chance to do which comes only once. So it is here with Mary. This wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a once in an eternity opportunity to adore our Lord, anoint Him just days before He would go to the cross. When the time came - Mary seized it, and refused to miss it. Do we have our priorities in order - God, family, work? How much more lovely and loving would this world be if we fully seized advantage of the divine appointments God gives us? Send a letter of thanks, tell someone we love them, give a special gift, speak some special encouraging word? Do something totally crazy, totally nuts for Jesus?
#3 She has done what she could - Let's stop and ask ourselves, what does Jesus expect of us when it comes to giving? Pay attention, particularly you youth who probably feel like you have nothing monetary to give to the Lord for a long time to come - til have full-time job, etc. Read and explain 2 Cor. 8:3. 1st, giving is proportionate! "according to their means" 2nd, giving is sacrificial! "beyond their means" 3rd, giving is voluntary! Not out of compulsion, manipulation, intimidation. "their own accord" The best example in Scripture? Luke 21:1-4. Grade your giving A - F based on each on each aspect of 2 Cor. 8:3.
#4 She has anointed my body beforehand for burial - Mary did so probably without ever realizing what she was doing! But it was an act of pure worship, motivated by a heart full of love and sincere devotion to her Lord. Both at the beginning and end of Jesus' life, costly treasures were lavished on Him in acts of pure worship (cf. Matt. 2:11). I want to challenge you to reconsider your idea of what worship is! What is worship to us? Sunday AMs, the music program, for my/your benefit 1st and foremost or God's, a part of our lives or it IS our life? Then, do we by our conduct, our lifestyle honor or dishonor the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus that purchased our redemption, our freedom, our forgiveness?!?!
#5 What she has done will be told in memory of her - In six short days, it would seem like it was over, THE END, Jesus nailed to a cross would breathe His last breathe. Satan even thought he had won. The Son of God was dead. With the cross looming ahead, we see Jesus' invincible confidence and faith in His Father. He never believed it was the end. He believed this good news, the Gospel, would go all around the world. And with it would go the story of this lovely thing, done with reckless abandon and extravagance, done on impulse and with no care for what others thought, done out of a heart of love. You and I will not have anything we have ever done written down in Scripture obviously, but Jesus is keeping a memorial of what we have done. Dr. Jerry Vines says Jesus put what Mary did, what we do in "His memory box" to be opened on that Final Day of Judgment. Psalm 112:6 says "For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever." What's in Jesus' memory box? The widow's two mites, gold/frankincense/myrrh, the praise of the 10th leper, the testimony of the blind man, the faith of the dying thief and the Roman centurion, the gratitude of the woman bent over for 18 years/of the widow in Nain/of the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years. How about all the children saved from abortion by Crossway's offering last month, the 3 day VBS in Kibera, 1000s of patients bodies healed from the medical clinic we plan to start building within the next few weeks to months, the 25+ Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, the audible love from this past Wed night's meal? Hallelujah, yes, yes and yes! Jesus NEVER forgets!!! A day of remembrance and reward is coming! What of yours is in Jesus' memory box?! What about this time next year?! Live your life so your preacher doesn't have to lie at your funeral! Live it in such a way that on that day when Jesus opens His memory box you will hear your precious Lord say "Well done, well done! You good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your master."
VI. Conclusion
A. Let me ask you something - have you ever thought about why Jesus told the disciples after He was resurrected to meet Him in Galilee? It was the place where they first fell in love with Jesus. Discuss Pastor/Wives conference - Danny spoke on "Overcoming Occupational Hazards in Ministry." His advice for our ministries and marriages was that we MUST go back to Galilee. Back to where we fell in love with Jesus and our mate. Yet, too many of us are like the ole guy who said to his girlfriend - "Darling, I love you! I would climb the highest mountain for you! I would swim the deepest river for you! I would fight a jungle full of lions for you! I love you! And, if it doesn’t rain tonight, I will be over to see you.”
B. Too often, we love the Lord when it is convenient. We love Him when loving Him doesn’t get in the way of what we want to do, where we want to go and what we want to accomplish in life. We love Him to a point, but very few of us ever love Him with reckless abandon. Very few ever love Him with true extravagant love! As one pastor said, "It's time for the church to fall head over heels in love with Jesus once again." It's time for us to go back to Galilee and do just that! What greater example do we have than that of Mary?!
VII. Invitation and Benediction
A. Have you ever fallen in love with Jesus? Accepted His free gift of eternal life? Do you need to recommit yourself to Jesus this AM - fall in love with Him all over? Maybe your expression of love to Jesus this AM would be following Him in baptism, joining His church here at Crossway?
