"1 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." ~ Mark 14:1-5
Today, we begin our study of Mark 14 where Mark does what he has done frequently throughout this Gospel; he brings together certain events and themes which occurred at various times during this week and deliberately places them side by side so that we might see the contrast between being with God or being against Him.
Emphasized in today's passage is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who poured costly perfume over the head of the Lord Jesus. Mark does not give her name, but John tells us in his gospel, it was Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who seized this occasion to anoint the head of the Lord Jesus.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 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.'"
These events took place during "the Passover week." Passover was immediately followed by the the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The two celebrations were typically lumped together. So, sometimes those terms are used interchangeably because it speaks of an entire week of festivities.
In this context, the religious leaders were so enraged, they looked feverishly for opportunities to kill the Lord Jesus. But, as the Scriptures reveals, this was the unfolding of God's plan to redeem hopeless man. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the apex of redemptive history and the ratification of the new covenant.
The cross was in view of the Passover lambs that were slaughtered in Egypt, whose death and blood provided protection from God's judgment. The cross of the Lord Jesus is explicitly prophesied in detail in the Old Testament, even down to the very things that happened to the Lord Jesus and the very words He said while on the cross.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "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."
Simon the ex-leper was one of the people whom the Lord Jesus had healed. While gathered at his house, Mary was so grateful for the Lord Jesus that she sacrificed a jar of perfume. The alabaster flask was a hand-carved bottle made from soft marble. It contained oil of spikenard which came from India. Spikenard is a plant that has a root between three inches and twelve inches long. The smell of spikenard is earthy, spicy, and sweet. It was very hard to come by, so it was very expensive. Mary was so appreciative for all the Lord had done for her, especially raising her brother Lazarus from the dead, she had saved the spikenard for this event.
Again, the backdrop to this precious display of love from Mary was the hatred of the religious leaders of Israel which had reached its boiling point. The subtle message here is that liberation is experienced and accessed through our choice of recounting what the Lord Jesus has done for us and subsequently choosing to worship Him. If we have not experienced the Lord Jesus person and power, like Mary, we will not be worshippers of Him.
Worship shows up in our lives in many ways. It is ascribing worth to the Lord Jesus by valuing how He defines things and how He has worked in our lives. Worship is allowing Him to define us. Mary took a pound of very costly Indian perfume and poured it on the Lord Jesus.
Mary's heart was so filled with love, joy and gratitude that she broke the expensive jar full of perfume and pours it upon the Lord Jesus until its fragrance filled the whole house. According to the other gospel accounts, she anointed his head first, and the perfume ran down along his body until it covered his feet. A picture of the Old Testament sacrificial lamb six days before it was sacrificed at Passover. Then she unbound her hair and wiped up the excess perfume with it.
Mary had experienced love from the Lord Jesus through the raising of her brother from the dead. This drilled down deeply into her heart. As a result, she was deeply appreciative of the deep love of the Lord Jesus. So, she expressed her deep love to the Lord Jesus by pouring this expensive perfume on Him.
She spared no expense, she cared nothing for the customs of the day, entering into a supper where women were usually not welcome, letting down her hair in public, an unthinkable act in that culture, and openly expressing her love for the Lord Jesus. But that's how love acts. It is uncaring of cost and expense.
In v.4-5 of today's passage we read, "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."
The religious leaders who did not worship the Lord Jesus, were continually looking for a way to do away with Him. They were motivated accordingly because the Lord Jesus was a threat to their kingdom. They were their own gods. On the other hand, Mary was looking for a way to worship the Lord Jesus because she had experienced His goodness and kindness.
The religious leaders unknowingly cooperated with God’s plans. As always, God achieves His best purposes in the midst of the worst evil. Some in the group who gathered at Simon's house that evening complained about the actions of Mary. The perfume was worth about a year’s wages. They reasoned Mary could have devoted her resources to the poor, a more worthy cause in the minds of some of the disciples. In John's Gospel, we are told that it was Judas who raised objection, and, some of the other disciples agreed. Judas illustrates a very important principle: A man sees in his eyes that which is in his heart.
There will always be people who place a monetary value on things. They know the price of everything but the value of nothing. They think money is the answer. It is not! The Lord Jesus is the answer to all of our needs and wants. All of this underscores: what we love, we worship.
True worship is defined by the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. True worship is a matter of the heart expressed through the choices we make, allowing God to define us. When we encounter Him, He marks us, and He makes us more hungry for Him. Worship is a heart transformed expressing itself regardless of the cost. The transformation of heart included the pain of losing. Simon had lost all of his feeling due to his leprosy. Mary and Martha had lost their brother to death. Lazarus had gotten sick and died. This is what it looks like to have a personal relationship with God! This is worship!
