Mark 14:1-11, Preparations For Christ’s Death
Introduction:
In chapter 14 of the gospel of Mark, we have come to the last two days of Jesus. But instead of following the chronology of events, we have in this section of text some events out of order. According to John 12, the anointing of Jesus by Mary happened six days before the Passover. However, Matthew and Mark insert the anointing of Jesus in this chapter rather than earlier. It becomes clear that the gospel writers wanted their readers to make comparisons between the events that are being recorded. We will notice this morning that there are three different preparations being made for the last days of Jesus. It is how each of these people or groups of people prepared that Matthew and Mark cause us to focus on.
Chief Priests and Scribes Prepare (14:1-2)
Plotting Jesus’ death
Up to this point, Jesus had made three predictions concerning His death, each prediction giving more detail concerning the events of His last days. But now we are presented with the turning point of the story as things are going from bad to worse. Instead of having their minds focused upon the Passover, a feast to remember Israel ’s deliverance from Egyptian slavery, the leaders of the Jews are focused upon Jesus and how to arrest Him. The plotting of the Jewish leaders has gone on since chapter 3, but now the plotting in their minds is turning into action. The Matthew account tells us that the chief priests and the elders all assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was Caiaphas, to plot against Jesus. We also see from the language used in the text that the leaders did not perceive Jesus as a criminal who needed to be brought to trial. They had no charges to lay against Jesus, and thus would have to resort to deceit and trickery to arrest Jesus. Once they arrested Jesus, they would have Him put to death.
Problem with the plot
But there is a hitch in the plan of the Jewish leaders. Since it is the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, the city of Jerusalem had surged with people who had come to participate in the feasts, as required by the law of Moses. The population would surge to five times the normal population. Why did this matter? Jesus had gained the hearts of the Jewish people. Jesus had been healing the sick, teaching the will of God, and everywhere He went, throngs of multitudes followed Him.
According to the gospel of John, one reason everyone was following was because He had just raised Lazarus from the dead. Imagine the roar and chatter that occurred from this miracle. John tells us that the leaders feared that if this continued to go on, then all of Israel would follow after Him. So the leaders decide to arrest Jesus after the Passover and feast of unleavened bread. The irony is that the leaders had planned to delay the arrest, yet we know that it would be the following day that Jesus would be arrested. Why did their plans go wrong? Because Jesus had said that during the Passover He would be handed over to be crucified (Matthew 26:1-2). Jesus knew when His hour was, and His hour had come. The arrest and crucifixion of Jesus was not in man’s hands and was not merely man’s doing, but was the fullness of time, and fit in according to the plan of God before the foundation of the world. The leaders wanted to wait, but it was time for the Passover sacrifice, this time once for all.
Mary Prepares (14:3-9)
Mary’s act
Mark now reminds us of previous events that had taken place in Bethany . We need to set the scene in our minds concerning what was happening in the house of Simon. First, a dinner is being held in Jesus’ honor. John’s account tells us that in Simon’s house are the twelve disciples, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who had just been raised from the dead. Can you imagine the discussion around the dinner table as they are all reclining at the table eating? It would be hard for me to believe that they are discussing anything else but the resurrection of Lazarus. What else could one talk about in the presence of Lazarus, who just days ago was wrapped in linens and lying in a tomb dead! What questions would you ask someone who had been raised from the dead? I am sure some of their questions were like ours--like “What was it like?” and “What did you see?” We must also see the excitement that would be swirling around Lazarus, as all who saw him would be in awe of what happened. If healing a lame man stirred a discussion among the crowds and disciples, imagine what the raising of Lazarus from the dead did!
In the midst of their reclining at the table, a notable scene begins. The other gospel accounts tell us that Mary is the woman that Mark refers to and is the one who is going to cause an uproar. Mary takes an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard, broke it, and poured it on Jesus’ head. Now, the text is not kidding when it says that the alabaster jar of nard was expensive. We are told in the text that it could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, which is about one year’s wages. If you will, imagine spending one year’s wages upon fragrant oil of nard. Further, such a perfume bottle is not like ours today where you can use a little bit every day and make such an extravagant purchase last. Once the jar was opened, it had to be used immediately. Thus, Mary pours this out on Jesus’ head and then lets down her hair and washes Jesus’ feet. I imagine that the conversation stopped as Mary moved behind Jesus and was anointing Him. It was customary in those days to anoint the heads of important guests. Mary takes it upon herself to anoint the most important guest one could ever have and then goes a step further by using her hair to anoint Jesus’ feet.
In verse 4 we find that some of the people were expressing indignation to one another about what Mary has done. Mary has broken what was customary and traditional in Jewish times by doing this. Further, we learn from John’s account that Judas declares that the fragrant oil had been wasted since it could have sold for a year’s wages and given to the poor. While John pins these words on Judas, we see that he was not the only one who was thinking this and in agreement with Judas. John tells us that Judas was not really upset at how the poor could have had all this money. John tells us that Judas did not really care about the poor, but was a thief who was in charge of the money and helped himself to what was in the bag. Judas is upset because that oil could have sold and Judas could have taken his cut by stealing from the money bag. Therefore, the disciples begin to scold Mary for what she has done.
Jesus’ response
Now through all of this, Jesus has let this scene unfold before Him and has said nothing. One would imagine that the disciples who are saying these things are trying to score some spiritual points with Jesus, since Mary has clearly “one upped” them with this beautiful act. It is as if they are saying by their words, “We would have done this, but we were more concerned about the poor.” But Jesus is about to speak. Jesus is very direct to Judas and those who have joined him in scolding Mary. Jesus says, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her?” Jesus immediately sets those who are scolding Mary straight, for Mary had done a noble, beautiful thing. How could any scold the amazing act that Mary has offered? She has just spent a fortune in anointing Jesus.
Jesus now makes another direct statement, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.” Jesus was exactly right. There has not been a government program nor will there ever be a program that will end the poverty of the world. The poor will always be with us. But the time we spend with Jesus is absolutely critical. We can get caught up in programs and assistance to aid those who are less fortunate and needy. But we must remember that what is of first importance is Jesus. Yes, Mary could have sold the oil for the poor, but there was a great need to give this oil to Jesus now.
But now Jesus tells us why Mary has done this act. She has done what she could to anoint Jesus’ body in advance for His burial. We must be impressed by this statement Jesus makes about Mary. The disciples continued to not understand that Jesus was going to be killed and buried. Though Jesus had predicted His death, we have seen the disciples argue with Jesus about this fact and not believe that it could happen. But Mary understood what Jesus meant and believed when Jesus said He would be killed during the Passover. This should not surprise us since Mary devoted herself to be a student and disciple of the Lord. In Luke 10:39 we read of Mary’s sitting at the feet of Jesus learning, while Martha was consumed with taking care of the house. At the death of her brother Lazarus, she states that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. This, again, is a testament to the great faith that she had. So here we read about Mary’s great act of love toward Jesus, as she would break the alabaster jar of expensive perfume and anoint Jesus’ head. If this were not enough, she would let down her hair and also wash Jesus’ feet. It is a beautiful act, which Jesus says will be proclaimed throughout the world in memory of her.
Judas Prepares ( 14:10 -11)
Plots for betrayal
We move from the joy of the scene of Mary’s preparations for Jesus, to the preparations of Judas. In verse 10 we read that Judas goes to the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them. The Matthew account gives more detail about the cold heart that Judas had in this. Matthew 26 tells us that Judas went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” After his scolding of Mary and our realizing that Judas is a thief, we now see how engulfed in materialism he has become. Judas wants to know what he can get if he will turn over Jesus to the leaders. Here we see Judas’ cold, callous, and calculating heart, despite all that he had been through with Jesus the past three years. In the words of the gospel of Luke, Satan had crept into Judas’ heart. Judas had allowed sin to reign in his life. He was consumed by the lure of riches and the pull of materialism to the point that he would even turn over the Messiah. On the outside, Judas was a disciple of Jesus, following Him wherever He led them. But on the inside, we see Judas was a thief, corrupted by greed, with darkness in his heart.
The betrayal price
Thus, Judas asks how much he can get if he turns Jesus over to the Jewish leaders. The answer is thirty pieces of silver, which the chief priests, on the spot, count out and give to Judas. With the money in hand, Judas looks for the opportunity to betray Jesus. However, as we noted with the chief priests plotting against Jesus, this was not simply man’s plan. This was not man’s plan foiling what God was trying to accomplish. This was not God’s attempt at establishing a kingdom on earth going wrong. This was the purposeful plan of God. The prophet Zechariah had prophesied of this very event happening in Zechariah 13:12-13. The scene in the prophecy is that the Shepherd of God’s people has become detested by the flock. Therefore, the Shepherd has asked for His pay, for which He was paid thirty pieces of silver. The stage has now been set. Judas, one of the nearest to Jesus as His chosen apostle, has now been paid thirty pieces of silver to find the opportunity to turn Jesus over for arrest to the Jewish leaders. It would be the next day that Judas would fulfill his end of the agreement, turning over the Son of God into lawless hands.
Final Lessons
We also have a choice has to how we will prepare for Christ:
Crucify Him again (Hebrews 6:6)
We can choose to be like the chief priests and scribes who plotted to kill Jesus. According to the scriptures, we have the ability to crucify our Lord again. In Hebrews 6, after encouraging the readers to move on from the elementary teachings of Christ, the writer warns about turning back. In speaking about those who have already been saved, Hebrews 6:4, 6 says, “It is impossible…if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.” When we turn our backs on God, we need to see what we are really doing. Maybe if we saw the reality of our sins, it would help us keep from sinning and falling back. The writer of Hebrews describes our sinful ways and falling back from the Lord as crucifying the Son of God again and putting Him to public shame. What a terrible example and proclamation we make to the world when we put on Jesus Christ in baptism and then turn around and forsake Him. Let us not fall back and lose the hope that we have in Christ. Let us not fall back and become as guilty as the chief priests who looked for a way to arrest and kill our Lord.
Betray Him with false motives
We also can choose to be like Judas. Judas was a follower of Christ, and from the outside, no one could tell the difference. Everyone would have believed that he was an apostle and disciple of the Lord just like everyone else. Judas was even allowed to be the keeper of the money bag for the disciples. Clearly, all of the external attributes of being a follower of Christ were evident. But the inside of Judas told a different story. What was in Judas’ heart was the opposite of what the external showed. While he appeared to be a disciple of Christ, inwardly he was a follower of Satan. He has a thief and a betrayer consumed with money. His false motives were most evident when he scolded Mary about her extravagant act. He was only concerned about being able to steal his share from the proceeds that could have been made from that alabaster jar of fragrant oil. We can be the same way. We can put on the exterior that makes people believe we are a Christian, but our hearts are full of wickedness. Eventually, our actions prove what our hearts our made of. Eventually, everyone is able to know what is most important in our lives and who we have really put our faith and trust in--whether the Lord, ourselves, riches, or something else. We are no better than Judas the betrayer when we come up to our Lord and kiss Him on the cheek with lip service, but do not truly care to follow Him. Let us not have evil hearts, for if we do, we have fallen back and are lost.
Love Him fully
Or we can choose to be like Mary, who cannot be described any more than loving our Lord fully. The example of Mary is one so powerful that Jesus Himself says that what she had done would be remembered and proclaimed through the whole world. Consider what we learn from Mary.
--A desire to learn from Jesus. We see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, desiring to learn with all her heart. The other things in life were not as important as this one thing. While Martha worried about the house, Mary spent time with the Lord. We must have this dedication to be a true follower.
--A great faith in Jesus. We also see Mary showing great faith in Jesus. For her to say that if Jesus had been there, her brother Lazarus would not have died. She knew the power of God, and believed that it could work such that she put her full confidence and faith in Him. A true follower completely trusts in the Lord and believes that nothing is impossible with the Lord.
--A beautiful sacrifice for Jesus. Who of us would have been willing to part with a year’s wages for our Lord? We cannot even part with a fraction of that when we give as we have been commanded. Mary had no ties to the physical. The amount did not matter to Mary. What mattered to Mary was doing what she could for the Lord. She would sacrifice all she could to serve the Master. That is a true follower of Jesus. Let us choose to be like Mary and not like Judas and the chief priests.
