Mark 14:1-11

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

1Now 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."

3While 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.

4Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5It 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. 7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.



BACKGROUND READING:


Exodus 12:1-30


John 12:1-11



Dig Deeper

An interesting parallel that should not be missed is that the forces that Jesus described in chapter 13 that would be surrounding the Temple, are now swirling about Jesus himself in this chapter. Just as Jesus had become, in his vocation, the new Israel and the new Temple, he would now take on the same fate as Israel and the Temple. The forces of evil that would one day bring the Old Covenant to a close, were now closing in on Jesus.


From here on out, everything in the gospel of Mark is pointing to and leading up to the crucifixion. In this story we see several different events that are all speeding Jesus towards his ultimate end. The details of the chief priests plotting to kill and seize Jesus with the help of Judas, one of the Twelve, assisting them, are clearly pointing to the events leading to Jesus’ death. But what about the woman that anoints Jesus’ feet? This doesn’t, at first glance appear to be as dark and foreboding as the final verses in this passage. Yet, we will find after looking carefully, that they are all pointing towards the same thing.


This final week of Jesus’ life was, of course, Passover week. Passover time was when the Jews celebrated the culminating event of their time in Egypt, when the actions of the Lord led to their freedom and their march towards the final showdown at the Red Sea. Passover was to be the backdrop with which Jesus would have his final showdown. He had been acting somewhat like Moses up to this point by performing striking signs that God was about to work in a major way. Now it was time to face the Red Sea itself. This would be the week that his entire vocation as the Messiah would come to a rather unforeseen end.


The Jewish authorities who wanted Jesus arrested realized that Passover would not be the ideal time to be able to get Jesus. It would be rather difficult because they were afraid that if they attempted to arrest Jesus in front of the crowds it might cause a riot. They needed someone who knew the whereabouts of Jesus and could report his location when he was away from the crowds. That’s where Judas comes into play.


People have spent nearly 2,000 years speculating about Judas’ reasons for betraying Jesus, but we will never really know his real reasons. (Perhaps he was the only one that got the point that Jesus was determined to die a literal death, and figured he might as well make something off of it if it was going to happen anyway.) We do know that Judas was angry about this incident with the woman, but it seems unlikely that this was the sole cause of his betrayal. The gospel of John tells us that it was Judas who was the primary objector to what the woman does. It’s often that way when it comes to worshiping God. Those who are holding something back or hiding something tend to be the most critical about those who feel called to worship God unabashedly. They usually think that displays like this are shameful, embarrassing, and undignified. That’s exactly what Judas thinks about this display. Not everyone will be called to act in such a way, but if they are, the rest of us should respect and honor it.


Jesus’ response to them was probably a bit shocking considering the many other things he had said about the poor. This woman had, in their view, wasted nearly a year’s wages, yet Jesus seems unconcerned about that. Once again, he is trying to tell them something plainly that they just are not catching onto. She is preparing his body for burial, whether she realizes it or not. The whole problem for the disciples at this point is that they cannot fathom the vocation of Jesus in any way, shape, or form that would include a literal death. For Jesus, though, his vocation is meaningless and misguided if he doesn’t die in Jerusalem during this time of Passover. Jesus is not, by the way, implying that this woman somehow knows that Jesus is about to die. She is acting out of the overflow of her heart. She is allowing God to use her without really being aware of all that is going on. It is the men who are trying to think logically through the whole thing, and are really missing the boat entirely.


There are three responses to Jesus in this passage with which we can identify. It is worth considering these responses as we determine what our response to Jesus is. Are we like those who got upset because someone else is so exuberant and unencumbered in their devotion and worship of Jesus? Are we like Judas who perhaps see Jesus as an opportunity to better our own position? Or are we like this woman, ready to give up everything we have in a passionate display of emotion and reverence?



Devotional Thought

Which of the three responses to Jesus most closely resembles your response to him? If you are not like the woman in your worship of Jesus, why not? What can you do to have the kind of innocent and unabashed devotion to Christ that this woman had?