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Journey With Jesus: Love The Lord
Mark 14:1-9
Introduction
What is the most expensive perfume per oz in the world? The ingredients impact high cost of a perfume. Natural and rare ingredients, such as the musk from certain animals or specific flower oils, can be very expensive to obtain and process. For instance, Joy by Jean Patou is costly because it requires 28 dozen roses and 10,600 jasmine flowers to produce a single bottle, reflecting the labor and resources involved. Sometimes the bottle is the source of the cost. DKNY has a million dollar bottle of their fragrance Golden Delicious with a variety of precious stones including a 2.43-carat yellow Canary diamond and a 7.18-carat oval sapphire. The most expensive perfume by the ounce is Clive Christian No. 1 Imperial Majesty Perfume – $12,721.89 per ounce. (Do you feel poor now?). Perfume plays an important role in our text today.
In our journey with Jesus we have studied…
The foundation of the disciple’s life, the Beatitudes.
The source of authority, Jesus is Lord.
The divine help we receive, the Holy Spirit.
The life of service in imitation of Jesus.
Today, we seek to grow in our love for the Lord.
In our text Jesus is facing some difficult days.
-There are religious leaders who are plotting for his death.
-He has to deal face-to-face with his critics and enemies.
In between these, Mark tells of Jesus going to Simon the leper’s house. Read Text.
Mark 14:1-9, NIV
Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.
2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of 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.
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.
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.
8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.
9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Mark allows the woman to remain anonymous. John tells us that it is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 12). Perhaps Simon was their father? Hughes wonders what the conversation was at the table. “Lazarus, what did you see on the other side?” Sanders: The context of the action highlights the joy and comfort it must have brought to the Lord when the shadow of the cross loomed so near.” Barclay: The poignancy of this story lies in the fact that it tells us of almost the last kindness that Jesus had done to him.
Reactions! The reaction of those present
Akin: The disciples not only demeaned the woman; they also demeaned Jesus. To honor Christ in this manner, they said, was a waste. Judas raised the complaint about the money spent. He was the treasurer of the Apostles. They didn’t just feel this way - they scolded her. Note that all the men in the room were appalled and rejecting of Mary’s act. Except one.
What Jesus Thought About Mary’s Gift …
1. Beautiful. “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (14:6)
Barclay: It was the custom to pour a few drops of perfume on a guest when he arrived at a house or when he sat down to a meal … She broke the flask and anointed him with the whole contents! He was a ware of her loving motive. Hughes: “Love makes our gifts pleasing to God.”
Hughes: Those things done from simple, real love for Christ become his treasure. … Those things without it are futile. Mary’s beautiful gift came from a beautiful heart.
Akin: Nard was a sweet-smelling perfume from a rare plant found only in India. Swindoll notes that Mark goes out of his way to explain how expensive the perfume was. This concentrated oil could have been diluted to make many other perfumed products, but it was pure. John tells us that a powerful and beautiful fragrance filled the room so that everybody could smell it.
2. Sacrificial. She is loving Jesus while he is present. (14:7 “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.”)
We know Jesus lived life among the poor and exalted the poor. This was not an instruction to ignore the poor!
Sanders: “In His ministry Jesus had demonstrated abundantly that He was not indifferent to the plight of the poor. He was constantly ministering to their physical as well as their spiritual needs.”
This was a very valuable, extravagant gift. Barclay: It would have cost an ordinary man almost a year’s pay to buy the flask of ointment. Hughes suggests it could have been a family heirloom, for they would have had a hard time buying it. Sanders recognized her options:
-She could have sold it and done something with the cash.
-She could have saved it as a provision for her old age.
-She could have used it on herself to enhance her beauty in the Lord’s eyes.
-She could have left it until too late!
Mary recognized that this was the moment to offer this gift. How often do we suffer from the reality of good intentions … or we are ‘tomorrow’ people … procrastinating service. As long as we are always waiting for the right moment, we will never act. Mary took advantage of this moment as she serves the Lord. Jesus accepted her gift. Do what you can for Jesus now! Say kind words while people can hear them. Send flowers while people are
alive. Act now: tomorrow may be too late. Jesus commends her for putting him above all else.
Hughes: “Complete sacrifice is the only adequate expression for a life which has been redeemed by God. That is what Paul meant when he wrote: ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)
3. Heartfelt. “She did what she could.” (14:8a)
She didn’t let the critics stop her. AMPC: “And they censured and reproved her.” (Vs. 5) Hughes says the Greek term indicates that they snorted their indignation like angry horses. Sanders: “It must have hurt Mary deeply when they so harshly rebuked her.”
There will always be critics. Some are expert complainers. Many specialize in finding fault. Many are always worry
about the cost. (We must be wise, but also have faith!). She didn't count the cost! She felt he was worth the cost!
She wanted to give her best!
Sanders: “To Mary it was the supreme moment of her life, the moment when she avowed her pure love for her Lord.”
4. Prophetic. “She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”
Jesus spoke often of his coming death, though this seemed to escape the disciples. Did Mary hear what the apostles could not? Kernaghan suggest, “He viewed what she had done as the sort of thing people do when someone they love has died. At that time no expense is too great to express their sense of loss.”
Hughes: “She realized that when tragedy came she would not be able to do anything, so she did it while she could. This explains the passion of her devotion.”
Conclusion
1. Mark 14:9 “I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” - Something he didn’t say about any of the Twelve.
2. Phillip Keller via Swindoll: The delicious fragrance ran down over His shining hair and thick beard. It enfolded His body with its delightful aroma. Even His tunic and flowing undergarment were drenched with its enduring pungency. Wherever He moved during the ensuing forty-eight hours the perfume would go with Him: into the Passover, into the Garden of Gethsemane, into the high priest’s home, into Herod’s hall, into Pilate’s praetorian, into the crude hands of those who cast lots for His clothing at the foot of the cross.
3. Sanders: "The fragrance from that broken jar has reached us two thousand years later. … Have we ever offered a gift, done an act, emptied our jar of perfume out of pure love for Him alone? This He treasures more than all our service, for it is the love behind the service that makes the fragrance.”
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Discussion Questions
1. Our text begins with the enemies of Jesus. Why were the chief priests and scribes plotting to kill Jesus in secret? What does this reveal about their character and motives?
2. Mark specifically mentions that the events take place at Simon the leper’s home. How were lepers treated in the culture of that time, and how does this contrast with Jesus’ actions in the passage?
3. To be honest, if you were in the room when Mary anointed Jesus with the expensive oil, would you have reacted like the disciples did? Can you think of some other situations where we might scoff at someone’s sacrifice for Jesus? Is there anything wrong with being wise and frugal?
4. How do we compare to the woman who gave the expensive gift to Jesus. One writer said, “Sadly, we are good at giving Jesus our leftovers and hand-me-downs.” What are some ways we can offer gifts to Jesus that express our love?
5. Why do we sometimes let critics stop us from serving Jesus as we would like to?
6. The theme of fragrance is a large one in the Bible.
- What aroma term is used in Exodus 5:21 as the children of Israel complained about Moses making their life harder?
- How does God use the image of aroma in Ezekiel 20:41?
- What old hymn comes to mind from Psalm 45:8?
- What does Ephesians 5:2 say about fragrance?
- How does Paul use the idea of aroma to speak of our influence in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16?
- In Song of Solomon 4:11 how does the young man express his delight in the woman he loves?
7. How can we show love and devotion to Christ in our lives today? What might be our ‘alabaster jar of perfume’ that we can offer to Jesus?
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Resources
Akin, Daniel L. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark. Holman, 2014.
Barclay, William. The Daily Study Bible Series: Mark (Revised).
Westminster Press, 1975.
Hughes, R. Kent. Mark, Volume Two: Jesus, Servant and Savior.
Crossway, 1989.
Kernaghan, Ronald. J. IVP New Testament Commentary Series:
Mark. InterVarsity Press, 2007.
Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Discipleship. Moody Press, 1994.
Swindoll, Charles R. Living Insights: Mark. Tyndale, 2016.
