The Annointing at Bethany
Jesus Cleanses the Temple and spends some time there teaching. It is clear that he spent at least that Monday and Tuesday teaching in the Temple. While in the temple, Jesus gives a number of teachings (found most clearly in Matthew’s gospel).
These include the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Tenants, The Wedding Banquet, The Parable of the Ten Virgins, The Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. In the middle of these parables is a dissertation on the end times. Finally, in Matthew 26, Jesus tells his disciples again that he will be crucified after the Passover.
It is in this context, two days before the Passover (Tuesday) that he goes to Bethany and at Simon the Leper’s home he is anointed for burial by Mary.
This story is recounted in Matthew, Mark and John’s Gospel. Only Luke omits it.
Mark 14:3-9
While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 "She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 "Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
The Gospel of John adds some details and some conflicting information (which we will study in detail tonight).
Verse by Verse:
1. Verse 3 While he was in Bethany
a. At the home of Simon the leper & reclining at table
i. Jesus is eating dinner, and someone does something that is highly unusual and most likely, socially inappropriate.
b. There came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard;
i. The flask was of alabaster, a whie, semi-transparent stone, a carbonate of lime or sulphate of lime, white or yellow stone, named alabaster from the town in Egypt where it was chiefly found.
1. It was used for a phial employed for precious ointments in ancient writers, inscriptions and papyri just as we speak of a glass for the vessel made of glass. It had a cylindrical form at the top, as a rule, like a closed rosebud (Pliny).
2. Just the jar or flask itself was costly, used often as a decorative piece in the homes of the wealthy.
3. But the contents NARD were even more priceless.
a. Nard is an ointment from a plant found in the Himalayan Mountans.
b. "An alabaster of nard (murou) was a present for a king" (Bruce).
c. .
c. And she broke the vial and poured it over his head.
i. Here is a vital point: Once broken, it could not be reused. It had a long, slender neck that was designed to be broken. It was broken because there was no other way to get the NARD out of the jar.
ii. APPLICATION: Unless the outer vessel, our flesh and old man is broken, there is no way that our new man, the Spiritual Man, can become evident to the world. Brokenness is the only way the fragrance of Christ will come out of our lives to touch the world.
iii. We resist brokenness, (because it hurts) but it is the path to holiness and being used by God.
iv. I read of a pastor who tells of being asked to preach in a large church whose services are broadcast on television. On the way from the airport, the guest received these instructions. “People worship with us in order to feel good about themselves. Therefore, don’t mention the cross in your sermon. And don’t dwell too much on sin.” Shhhhhhhhh, don’t tell anybody about pain and brokenness.
v. The working illustration here was of the amount of brokenness that went into the making of a loaf of bread: the farmer planted the seed in the broken soil, with a heart of hope on its return. Later, the harvest was cut, the sheaves were broken apart to yield the grain, and the grain itself was still in need of breaking. The grain was put on a threshing floor or a millstone, broken up into flour, and later made into bread. Even the flour in the bread needed to be broken apart numerous times by kneading. And this produced a loaf of bread which, broken, could feed a family
vi. You see, you can’t actually mill the grain while it is fresh; that would be fruitless because the flour produced would spoil. Likewise, when we emerge from our growth experiences in life, it is not immediately that we find the brokenness that leads to helping others. This brokenness of submission, one which requires time, is of a different make-up. The grain needs to sit on the millstone or threshing floor and bake in the sun. It needs to have nearly all of the life squelched out of it until it is dried up. From there, it produces a high quality flour which will in turn produce a healthy bread called life
vii. The truth is, you can not offer anything to God that is not broken. Only the broken vessel has value in sacrifice. When you are broken, dried and ready to be poured out, then you will be miraculously used.
viii. The author CS Lewis says that “the Christian faith is a thing of unspeakable joy. But it does not begin with joy, but rather in despair. And it is no good trying to reach the joy without first going through the despair.”
2. Verse 4
a. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?
3. Verse 5
a. For this perform might have been sold for over 300 denarii, and the money given to the poor.
i. A year’s wages. An average worker made 1 denarii a day, so 300 denarii would be a year’s wages. Translate that into your salary for a year and imagine “wasting” that on someone.
ii. Think about their motivation:
1. What about all of the food we could buy for the poor?
a. What motivates a thought like that?
b. Well, they saw Jesus feed the poor twice…maybe they thought that was their mission?
c. Or perhaps Judas, who led the “benevolence committee” was feeling a little left out…after all, the attention is on Jesus instead of on his passion…taking care of the poor (which apparently included himself).
d. And had the disciples forgotten that Jesus had multiplied bread and fed thousands with his word as well as paid the temple tax by having Peter reach in and take a coin out of a fish’s mouth?
2. And the other element…the disciples eyes were fixed upon their works, their pet projects…they hadn’t even heard Jesus say (many times) that he was going to die soon. They were caught up in busy-ness and doing things.
b. And they were “scolding” her
i. enebrimwnto comes from a root word that means to “snort with anger” or “admonish”
ii. What people do when we show devotion to our Lord? They snort!
iii. They would rather do things than love Jesus.
1. How about you? Which do you prefer? Activity or Prayer?
2. Might you and I have snorted like the disciples had we been in their shoes?
3. Guess what…we are all of the time!
4. We have a choice given to us over and over again. Where is our priority?
4. Verse 6
a. But Jesus said, “let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me.”
i. Jesus’ reply is telling. She has recognized several things that that others have not.
ii. He is going to die. She heard it. She is responding to what he said. The disciples are in denial.
a. Have you ever had a loved one tell you that they are “getting old” or that they don’t have “much longer left?” Our response is often, “Oh…you have a lot of years left in that body.” Our reaction is one of denial.
b. So is the disciples. They cannot hear it. They won’t hear it. For either denial or simple preoccupation with their own agendas.
c. But Mary hears it.
i. She responds to this news EXTRAVAGENTLY.
2. Mary recognizes two things:
a. The Kingship of Christ. – the gift was fit for a king.
i. Remember, Nard was one of five presents sent by Cambyses to the King of Ethiopia (Herodotus, iii. 20).
ii. It also was used in funerals for royalty to prepare their bodies after death for burial
iii. Jesus had proclaimed himself as king when he entered Jerusalem.
iv. The question isn’t so much about then but now:
1. Is Jesus King in your life?
2. Does He own all you have?
3. Are you extravagant with Him?
4. Or are you preoccupied with your own agenda for life?
b. Priesthood of Christ – this is described as an “anointing.” OT Priests were anointed when they took office.
i. The priest had to offer the sacrifice for sin. Jesus would be both priest and sacrifice that week.
5. Verse 7
a. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have me.
i. As if they were more concerned about “rescuing the poor” from poverty (social gospel) than about the message Jesus had to share.
ii. The message here is that the Spiritual always takes precedence over the Social.
1. Social work and reform might alleviate some suffering and injustice, but they are temporary solutions that never cure the torment of men’s souls.
2. Social work cannot bring people into an eternal relationship with the living God.
3. Here as so often, it is used as a substitute for faith and devotion to the Savior.
4. Social work is often made an “issue” when someone wants to reject the Savior’s sacrifice for their sin.
5. Social work and reform will never last due to the condition of fallen man.
6. It has been said that if we redistributed all of the wealth of the nation, giving everyone the same amount of money, it would be back in the hands of the same people it had been taken from within a year.
a. Saver’s and Entreprenuers would figure out how to make more, while spenders would simply spend it until they had nothing left.
7. Social concerns are important, but they are expressions of the love of Christ and not a substitute for the knowledge of Christ.
8. To turn the gospel of the Savior into just a social gospel is to pervert the message of the cross. While we need to minister to people’s needs, if we do not lead them to a life changing relationship with Christ, we have failed to meet their GREATEST need.
6. Verse 8
a. She has done what she could; she has “anointed my body beforehand for the burial”
i. to prepare a body for burial, by the use of every requisite provision and funeral adornment, that is, baths, vestments, flowers, wreathes, perfumes, libations, etc.
ii. Imagine someone on their deathbed and the undertaker comes in and measures the body, while the person is yet alive. He puts on the funeral clothing onto the body, he begins to prepare the body even though it is still alive.
iii. That might not be so hard to imagine, but how about a person in perfect health, in the prime of their life, being visited, measured by the undertaker, dressed in his funeral garb and having been anointed with the spices for burial.
iv. This is the act of Mary. This is what Jesus wanted to get across.
1. But the disciples yet did not hear him clearly when he said he was going to die.
2. In fact, some of their hostility might even have been directed at her for bringing their attention to the fact that Jesus was facing his death.
v. Mary alone had heard.
1. Mary alone had the presence of mind to act on what she had heard him say.
2. With this act, she was mourning him before he had died.
7. Verse 9
a. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.
i. The word “memory” means “monument” and it is more lasting (as lasting now as the word of God) than any stone or concrete or bronze statue anyone can construct in someone’s honor.
ii. Her act is an act of faith of unselfish, dedicated devotion to her Lord.
iii. Her action is like that of a sheep. Ministering unto her Lord.
b. Mary turned her attention to Jesus. She gave witness to Him and His work.
c. But the disciples (and Judas) turned the issue away from Jesus. They looked at the “works” instead.
i. How about you? Which do you spend your time and attention on?
Sheep and Goats
Adjacent to this passage on the Anointing, is Jesus’ teaching on the Sheep and the Goats. You might think this to be a sermon within a sermon, but it is closely tied together. Just as the disciples focused on the work of the poor and Mary focused on the person of Jesus, so we see a parallel to the sheep and the goats. What makes them different?
The Judgment- Matthew 25:31-46
31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, `Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 `For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, `Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 `And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 `When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 "The King will answer and say to them, `Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, `Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, `Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 "Then He will answer them, `Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
1. Lessons
a. There are many lessons to be obtained from this passage, in fact, too many to cover here.
b. But one stands out and can burn holes in our hearts.
i. Do you hear “care for the needy” and see it as a call to “social action” to get “busy” with the work of the Christian life?
1. This passage has served as motivation for many people to minister to the social, physical needs of people. Great hospitals were built with this passage as their cornerstone.
2. Yet, we must never forget the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.
a. Paul expresses it this way: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
b. On the other hand, one must not forget the next verse. "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
c. On the one hand, most of us should be feeling pretty good: we’ve at least occasionally fed hungry people--either in our home or at the soup kitchen
i. We’ve offered thirsty people a drink, hungry people a bite to eat.
ii. We’ve all practiced hospitality.
iii. Not all of us have visited strangers in prison.
iv. We’ve donated clothes for people to wear. Some of us have worked in thrift stores that make clothes readily available for people who most need them.
v. We’ve cared for the sick and some of us here have visited people in jail.
vi. We can be pretty sure that given those criteria, we would likely qualify to be "sheep" and inherit God’s kingdom.
d. But, on the other hand, before we start munching away on that lovely kingdom pasture, if we were really honest with ourselves and with God during the prayer of confession, there have been times when (for any number of reasons) we have not cared for "the least of these."
e. And, according to the judgment, that must make us...goats--goats who according to the parable don’t scamper off to the good grazing land to feed on rich pasture; rather the "goats" are fed with justice as Ezekiel would say (Ez. 34:16), or in the extreme, they are punished forever as the writer of Matthew seems to indicate.
f. Is there any mercy for "good goats"? The thought of barbequed goat actually get’s mine.
3. This passage should actually make most Christians feel uncomfortable. What if I am a goat? What if I didn’t do enough? What if I wasn’t selfless enough?
a. Others may get smug, counting the hours they have served at the soup kitchen, visiting the sick in the hospital, etc.
2. Yet in all of this, there is one subtle message, one subtle word that is unique in this passage. It is the word “not.”
a. Not the word “knot” as in a rope you tie, but the word “not” as in “didn’t”, negative.
b. The not is the difference in the reply between the sheep and the goats.
i. The sheep never knew they were ministering to Jesus. They weren’t even aware of it. And they were rewarded.
ii. The goats, however, answered, “when did we not feed you.” They were keeping score. They were smug. They thought they had done enough to get in.
c. Remember Jesus’ words to the servant who after doing all His master’s bidding says, “I have only done my job.”
d. Remember Jesus’ exhortation to not let your left hand know what your right is doing?
e. The key between the two of these isn’t what they did, but how they did it.
i. The sheep’s actions were the fruit of a life lived in Christ. Their eyes, like Mary’s were on Jesus, not on their own actions.
ii. The goats actions were the life of earning merit, of buying God’s favor. And because they lived by the law, they also perished by it. If you are keeping score, your score must be perfect. And therefore, Jesus says to them, “whenever you DIDN’T DO IT to the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.” He points out the vacuum. And he sends them to eternal fire.
f. A final note about this passage and Mary’s actions:
i. Mary focused on Jesus…and her actions were the result of her attention to Him. Just as she once sat at His feet despite her sister’s criticism, she again gives Him her total attention. She understands the dynamics of devotion:
1. If your eyes are fixed on Jesus, you cannot help but obey.
a. Fruit is the result of a life firmly fixed and rooted in Jesus.
2. If your eyes are fixed on the work, you will continually struggle with obedience.
a. You will struggle with the so called “good intentions.”
b. You will make efforts that never seem to yield fruit.
Optional – depending upon the state of the congregation and time allowed:
3. And eternal fire is the second message here. It is the reason Jesus came. He does not desire that any should perish. He laid down His life so that you would not have to suffer eternal loss. He loved you that much. You have a choice. You can try to impress God, or you can learn to fall in love with Jesus for what He did for you. He’s not keeping score and neither should you. Your life will be a life of gratitude if you will receive his great gift.
4. Will you ignore the warning this morning? Or will you continue on your path?
A number of years ago, a flood carried away one of the bridges over the Brown River near Vicksburg, Mississippi. A salesman, taken unaware, was able to halt his car only on the last few feet of pavement that remained. In a state of shock, he got out of his car and stood a few moments transfixed by the boiling flood he had so narrowly escaped. Approaching headlights warned him of the danger to others, and he frantically tried to halt the drivers as several cars, one after another, ignored his desperate signals and plunged to destruction. A total of eight persons lost their lives before he could turn his car and blockade the road. Now was that salesman to be blamed for the death of those motorists who ignored his warnings and plunged into the river? No! And in exactly the same way, God cannot be blamed for the eternal punishment men shall certainly incur who ignore the divine warnings, reject the Saviour’s sacrifice, and plunge headlong into eternal death.
Let’s pray.
