Talk 41 Mark 14:1-11 Mary’s Extravagant Worship Welcome to Talk 41 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. We’ve now reached Chapter 14 which records the events immediately before the crucifixion of Jesus which Mark describes in Chapter 15. Today we'll be looking at Mark 14:1-11 where we read how: 1. the Jewish leaders are still looking for a way to arrest Jesus and kill him (vv1-2), 2. a woman anoints Jesus with a very expensive perfume which Jesus says she has done to prepare for his burial (vv3-9), 3. and Judas goes to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them (vv10-11). We’ll be concentrating on verses 3-9 and considering what we can learn from this woman’s extravagant devotion and how we can apply it to our worship today. But first, to put this passage in its context, it will be helpful to outline the contents of the rest of the chapter: 12-26 The Last Supper 27-31 Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him 32-42 Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane 43-52 Jesus is arrested 53-65 Jesus is tried before the Sanhedrin 66-72 Peter denies Jesus. So today’s passage is firmly set in the context of Jesus’ imminent death on the cross: 1. Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2. "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot." 3. While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as 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. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 10. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Bearing in mind the frequent references to the Jewish leaders’ constant hostile attitude to Jesus (e.g. Mark 3:6, 8:11, 10:2, 12:13), we’re not surprised that they are looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him (v1), and that they are delighted to hear of Judas’ willingness to betray him (vv10-11). Whatever their different motives, Judas and the Jewish leaders were all looking for their opportunity (cf. vv1 and 11). How different was the motivation of the woman, who wanted to express her devotion to Jesus while she still had the opportunity. In John 12 she is identified as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and as I read this passage I am challenged by the extravagance of her worship. I trust you will be too. 3. While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as 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. Bethany lies on the opposite slope of the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. You may remember that in Chapter 11 Jesus and his disciples were staying in Bethany and travelling into Jerusalem each day. The day of Passover, the day when Jesus was crucified, was only two days away, and Mary expresses her love for Jesus by breaking open a jar of perfume worth more than a year’s wages (v5) and anointing Jesus with it. In doing so, she was showing how much Jesus meant to her, and that is surely what should lie at the heart of our worship. We are telling Jesus how much we love him. From this one verse there is so much we can learn about worship. Our worship should be motivated by love In John’s account the story of Mary’s worship comes at the beginning of Chapter 12 immediately after the raising of Lazarus in Chapter 11. We need look no further for a reason why Mary acted in the way she did. Jesus had shown his love for her by raising her brother from the dead. Of course she was grateful. Of course she loved him. 1 John 4:19 tells us that we love (him) because he first loved us. Our worship should be uninhibited Mary was not concerned about what others might think about her. There is almost an abandoned recklessness about her actions. Who cares about what it cost? Who cares what others might think? Who cares what they might say? She loved Jesus, and nothing and nobody ...
