Introduction
A. I heard the true story of a woman who took a number of children to see a movie.
1. Before going into the seating area, they stopped at the concession stand and the woman offered to buy popcorn for the children to share.
2. One of the children objected declaring, “I hate popcorn!”
3. When the child would not budge from their position of popcorn hatred, the women also bought some candy for the children to share along with the popcorn.
4. So into the theater they went and they sat down and began enjoying the snacks before the movie began.
5. Suddenly the woman noticed the child who hated popcorn was eating some of the popcorn and she said to the child, “Why are you eating popcorn? You said you hate popcorn!”
6. The child replied, “I like it, but I hate it.”
B. There’s an old saying, “there’s a fine line between love and hate” and it can be true in many different ways.
1. Today, as we move into Mark chapter 14, we notice how Mark places the themes of love and hate alongside each other to create a sharp contrast.
2. First, we will notice the hatred of the Jewish leaders towards Jesus which is immediately followed by Mary’s loving act of anointing Jesus, which is then followed by Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
3. The first group had only hate for Jesus, Mary only had love, and Judas had some kind of mix of the two.
4. Every person must decide about their own reaction to Jesus – whether it be love or hate – but the results of that decision and the trajectory of a person’s life based on that decision, couldn’t be any more different.
I. Scene #1: The Hatred of the Jewish Leaders (Mark 14:1-2)
A. Mark wrote: 1 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a cunning way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.” (Mark 14:1-2)
1. Mark began his Passion narrative by setting the stage, telling us the time, the tenor, and the circumstances of Jesus’ final days in Jerusalem.
2. The time was the time of Passover.
a. Mark said that there were only two days left before the Passover began.
b. During the time of Passover, Jerusalem would burst it seams with people as every Jewish male within 15 miles of Jerusalem was required to attend the feast in Jerusalem.
c. In addition to those living close to Jerusalem, Jews scattered around the world made it their goal to attend the Passover celebration in Jerusalem at least once in their lifetime.
d. Josephus, the 1st century Jewish historian, said that the Passover brought as many as 3 million people to Jerusalem.
3. The Passover had the distinction of being the greatest feast of the Jews.
a. It was joined with the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.
b. The Passover meal and the seven days of unleavened bread that followed were both referred to as “The Passover.”
4. But this Passover was destined to be like none before or since, because God’s only Son was going to be offered as the true Passover lamb and His blood is the price of our redemption.
B. Meanwhile, Mark tells us about the attitudes and plans of the chief priests and the scribes.
1. They were aware that their time to deal with Jesus was drawing short.
2. If they were going to act, it had to be soon, but they didn’t want to execute Jesus during the Passover week because of His popularity with the crowds – the last thing they wanted was a riot.
3. The control of the crowds at the Jewish feasts was always a concern for the Romans and the Jewish leaders.
4. To contend with the tension of the masses during the Jewish feasts and to squelch possible rebellions, reinforcements by the Romans were brought in and were stationed at strategic spots around the city.
C. But why did the Jewish leaders have such hatred for Jesus?
1. Jesus’ three year ministry had been growing in its influence and impact on Jews and Gentiles.
2. His teachings and miracles often rode roughshod on the Jewish leaders’ traditions and exposed their hypocrisy.
3. And then, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem with its Messianic overtones, His cleansing of the temple, His parables that plainly characterized their rejection of the Messiah, and His prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, something had to be done.
4. In their mind, they had only two choices: Destroy Jesus or be destroyed by Him.
5. You know which one they chose.
II. Scene #2: The Love of Mary (Mark 14:3-9)
A. In sharp contrast to the chief priests and scribes, Mark tells of an incident that occurred in Bethany.
1. Mark wrote: 3 While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head. 4 But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her. (Mk. 14:3-5)
2. Before we consider Mary’s anointing of Jesus, let’s pause and consider how wonderful and amazing Jesus is - I hope we never stop being amazed by Him.
a. Here He was, just days away from being crucified for the salvation of mankind, and just hours away from leaving Bethany for the last time and how did He choose to spend His last free hours? He went to a dinner party!!
b. No dark cloud of dread appeared to hang over Jesus, rather here we see Him enjoying a good meal with some good friends.
3. Mark tells us that the gathering took place at the home of Simon the leper.
a. We know nothing else about Simon other than he had once been a leper.
b. Had Simon still been a leper, then he could have not lived in the village, nor could he have had guests into his home.
c. Simon must have been one of the lepers who Jesus had healed.
d. Perhaps this dinner served as a reunion for the close friends of Jesus who had been touched and changed by Jesus in one way or another.
B. Everything seemed to be going well at the dinner party until a woman’s act of love bursts the boundaries of propriety.
1. Mark did not name the woman, but the parallel account in John’s Gospel tells us that it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, Jesus’ close friends from Bethany.
2. According to custom, it was proper to show hospitality and honor to a distinguished dinner guest by sprinkling their head with a drop or two of perfume, but Mary’s gratitude toward Jesus didn’t fit within those boundaries.
3. Consider how much Jesus had personally done for Mary – He had set her free from the demons that possessed her and had given her new life and purpose, and Jesus had brought her brother Lazarus back from the dead – that’s a lot to be thankful for.
a. Yet as great as those things are, they pale in comparison to what Jesus was about to do not only for her, but for all the rest of us – He was about to give His life to redeem us from sin.
b. Even though Jesus had declared numerous times about what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, it appears that only Mary realized that someone needed to anoint Jesus before His death.
4. Mary walked directly to where Jesus was as He reclined at the table, and she broke off the narrow neck of the jar and poured all the perfume on Jesus’ head.
5. Mary didn’t have to break the flask and pour out all of the perfume on Jesus, but her love and appreciation demanded an extravagant gift.
a. There are times when an ordinary gift or act doesn’t suffice to express one’s feelings, and an extraordinary show of love is in order – and this was one of those times.
C. As the guests witnessed her gesture, some may have looked on with appreciation, but we know that others looked on with criticism.
1. Mark reported that some expressed indignation saying: “Why has this perfume been wasted? It could have been sold for more than 300 denarii” (1 years wages for a common person)
2. Mark didn’t identify who the critics were, but John informs us that Judas was the first to criticize Mary’s seemingly wasteful action (Jn. 12:4-6).
3. This is certainly characteristic of what we know about Judas.
a. John tells us that Judas kept tract of the money and that he helped himself to it when he wanted to.
4. Judas may have led the charge in criticizing Mary, but he wasn’t alone as Mark wrote: “And they began to scold her.” (vs. 5)
5. Have you noticed that there are some people who always try to place a monetary value on everything?
a. People like that seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
6. This is representative of the eternal clash between the earthly mind and the spiritual mind.
a. The earthly mind weighs things only in dollars and cents, but the spiritual mind weighs things by the measure of love and eternal value.
b. I believe that God would have us use both mind sets in their proper place and balance, for there is value in both.
D. Thankfully, Jesus came to Mary’s defense and offered her and eternal tribute.
1. Mark wrote: 6 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. 7 You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Mk. 14:6-9)
2. When Jesus defended Mary the way that He did, He offered insight into the ways that we can express our love for God and others through our actions.
3. First, we can do beautiful things.
a. The word that the Christian Standard Bible translated “noble thing” is rendered in other translations as “beautiful thing” and “good deed or good work.”
b. The beauty of her action lay in its extravagance and impracticality.
c. When she broke the neck of the jar, she made it impossible to be used again so she had to use all of its contents right then.
d. She poured out her devotion in an unmeasured quantity – she gave it all – how good, beautiful, and noble is that?
e. How often do we find ourselves going through life keeping our jar intact and measuring out our love and devotion with a medicine dropper?
f. But Jesus declares that a far more beautiful way to live life is to break our jar wide open and pour out our love and devotion without measure.
4. Second, we can do timely things.
a. When Jesus said that you will always have the poor with you, He wasn’t telling us to be insensitive to or unconcerned about the poor, but was saying that there is a time for everything.
b. There are opportunities which come in life and they must be seized at the moment because they may never happen again.
c. Mary somehow sensed that – sensed that this was the moment and if not done right then there wouldn’t be another opportunity.
d. There are so many special opportunities and moments that must not be missed.
1. It is a timely thing to be there for your children’s births or be there for their first victory or defeat.
2. It is a timely thing to be with someone at the time of their death or to stand beside a friend in tragic circumstances.
3. It is a timely thing to make a phone call or write a note or a text when you feel prompted by the Holy Spirit.
4. It is a timely thing to speak to the person who seems to be in a bad place or to share the Good News of Jesus when there is an opening.
5. So, let’s be alert for those momentary opportunities that cannot be recaptured once they are past.
e. We must not miss Jesus’ solemn declaration: “You will not always have me.”
1. The disciples’ opportunity to serve Jesus and stand with Jesus was soon to pass; time was of the essence.
2. Likewise, our opportunity to put our faith in Jesus and to serve Him with our lives also will come to an end and none of us know when it will be too late.
3. We must seek Jesus and serve Him now in the present for our future is not guaranteed.
5. Third, we can do what we can.
a. Jesus’ praise of Mary is that she did what she could.
b. Unfortunately, doing what we can is often the last thing we care to do.
1. We dream of doing great and amazing things way beyond our abilities.
2. God might allow us to do those kinds of things, but that doesn’t minimize simply doing what we can.
3. If you have a common skill or ability, like cooking, cleaning, lawn mowing or home repair, then use it – do what you can to serve others.
c. And although we can’t help everyone, we can help some.
1. We may not be able to feed the world’s poor, but we can feed one or two.
2. We may not be able to lift every broken heart, but we can lift one or two.
3. We may not be able to covert the world, but we can share the good news with a friend.
4. We may not be able to give 50 million or 50 thousand dollars to give, but we may be able to give 500 or 50 or 5 dollars.
5. Doing what we can is far better than doing nothing at all, and if we are faithful in little ways and with little things, then God may give us opportunity and ability to do more.
6. Fourth, we can do insightful things.
a. Jesus said that Mary prepared His body for burial.
b. Time after time, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to be killed, but nobody seemed to believe or accept that fact except for Mary.
c. The Jewish custom was to anoint the body for burial after death, but that was not going to be possible – criminals were not allowed to be anointed – and in Jesus’ case, He needed to be buried quickly because the sabbath was about to begin.
d. But what a comfort and blessing it must have been for Jesus to know that Mary understood what was going to happen to Him and that she wanted to prepare Him for it.
e. It takes effort to pay attention to what others are going through and to anticipate or figure out what might be helpful to them.
f. But that kind of insight from others is always a big blessing!
7. Finally, we can do memorable things.
a. Jesus said that what Mary did for Him would be told forever in her memory.
b. Today, 2000 years later we continue to fulfill those words.
c. Stories about us and our service to the Lord may not be remembered and told on this side of eternity, but God has promised us that our service will not be forgotten.
d. Hebrews 6:10 says: For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.
e. Revelation 14:13 says: Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”
III. Scene #3: The Treachery of Judas (Mk. 14:10-11)
A. Consistent with Mark’s design of this chapter, he immediately contrasts the story of Mary with the story of Judas.
1. I hesitate to say that Judas hated Jesus, because I don’t really know what Judas was thinking or what were his motives, but his actions were clearly treacherous.
2. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is surely one of the saddest narratives in all of human history.
3. Mark needed only two sentences to record the treachery of Judas: 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him. (Mk. 14:10-11)
B. So, why did Judas do it?
1. Why did Judas betray Jesus, his friend and his teacher?
2. Some people try to excuse Judas by saying that he was simply mistaken.
a. They suggest that Judas was still expecting an earthly kingdom and that he was trying to force Jesus into a confrontation with the Jewish leaders and Romans, to force Jesus into miraculously escaping their grasp and carrying out His kingdom plans.
3. That theory doesn’t jive very well with other Biblical texts that suggest that Judas was looking for money and power.
a. Matthew tells us that Judas bargained with the Jewish leaders until they arrived at a certain price for Jesus. (Mt. 26:15)
b. John mentions that Judas had a long habit of stealing from the common purse of Jesus’ disciples.
4. Nevertheless, both John and Luke state that he did this because the devil had entered him.
a. The sobering thing for us to realize is that this betrayer was once a devoted disciple.
b. Satan can bring anyone down and that means that any of us can fall prey to him.
5. In spite of the fact that Satan was involved, Judas was fully to blame for his bad decisions and his wicked deeds, just as all of us are.
a. Judas’ greedy soul must have given Satan the entry point into Judas’ heart and life.
b. Each of us must be aware of our own personal weaknesses and vulnerabilities and take the proper safeguards to protect ourselves from these entry points.
c. For some it is money or gambling, for others it is alcohol or gluttony, lust, loneliness, pride, boredom, anger, disappointment, and the list is endless.
6. Mark tells us that the Jewish leaders were glad when Judas approached them.
a. We can imagine their sheer glee when one of Jesus’ own disciples offered to find a “convenient” time to betray Jesus.
b. This development must have been way beyond their wildest expectations.
Conclusion:
A. As we bring today’s sermon to a close, let’s be reminded of the way that Mark laid these three events side by side in contrast to each other.
1. The plot of the chief priests and scribes was prompted by their hatred of Jesus, the anointing by Mary was prompted by her love for Jesus, and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was prompted by something else.
2. Beauty and ugliness are vividly contrasted in the actions of these people whose decisions and motives made history.
3. Each participant made a voluntary decision, acted out of internal motivation, and left a lasting memorial to their honor or dishonor.
B. The same is true for each one of us – our decisions and motivations lead to either beauty or ugliness.
1. And each of us is held accountable for our decisions and motivations – especially those decisions and motivations in reference to Jesus.
2. Never did a man love more than Jesus loved, and yet never was a man hated more than He.
3. What is or what will be each of our responses to Jesus – have we or will we respond to Him with love or with hate?
4. I hope we will be like Mary who loved Him unashamedly and extravagantly.
a. I pray that we will offer ourselves to Jesus as broken vessels who pour ourselves out completely to Him and for Him.
5. I pray that none of us will be like the religious leaders who hated Jesus and wanted nothing to do with Jesus.
a. And I pray that none of us will be like Judas who once loved Jesus but betrayed Him and turned from Him in the end.
6. I pray that all of us will love Jesus and serve Him to the very end.
7. But let me put in a word of caution to those who may be on the fence or who have not yet made their decision about Jesus.
a. Ultimately, indecision about Jesus is a decision against Jesus.
b. If you are not for Jesus, then you are against Jesus.
c. If you are not in Jesus, then you are outside of Jesus.
d. If you are not under the grace of Jesus, then you are outside of the grace of Jesus.
8. Satan says: “Take your time, there’s no hurry!” But I hope you won’t listen to him.
a. The Bible says: Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. (James 4:14)
b. The Bible says: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call to him while he is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive. (Isa. 55:6-7)
9. Have you already decided to love Jesus and live for Jesus? Then continue to do so.
a. If you haven’t made that decision, then I pray that you will decide to love and live for Jesus today.
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• The Fine Line Between Love and Hate, Sermon by David Owens
• Mark, The Communicator’s Commentary, David McKenna
