How Can We Avoid Abandoning Jesus? (PM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Wholehearted devotions are wholeheartedly followed.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 14:1-11
1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
We would have looked at this passage together this morning, but I wanted to give Pat King as much time as he needed to share about the awesome ministry of the Gideons. I am always blessed by the Gideons, and Pat is someone I have long admired as a man of God, as well. Therefore, today, I was doubly blessed, and pray each of you were, as well.
So, on that note, we’re going to begin looking at chapter 14 of Mark this evening. This is the longest of the remaining chapters and will take us a few weeks to get through. It leads us to the central pillar of the Christian faith--the crucifixion of Christ. Just flipping through the headings in most modern Bible translations will give you a pretty clear picture of the driving theme of this chapter. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Mark is not just randomly recording events; he has a clear purpose. Just before the most important event in history, Jesus is abandoned by His followers. Specifically, much attention is given to Judas and Peter (and that comparison will likely come up in later conversations).
This opening block sets the stage. Again, we’re faced with a sandwich passage (one passage placed inside another to demonstrate that they’re meant to be taken together. The passage opens with the Pharisees wanting to kill Jesus and closes with Judas providing them with their means. In the middle? A beautiful picture of a woman doing exactly the opposite--and an event which was likely, and ironically, the last straw for Judas*.
This is probably a very familiar passage. An event like this is recorded in each of the Gospels. Some of the events are identical to this one, which points to them being the same event, and some have variations, which points to something like this happening to Jesus more than once. This event seems to line up most closely with the ones in Matthew and John’s accounts, which means that this woman is most probably Mary the sister of Lazarus, as named in John. And, again, this is a familiar character. And it makes sense that we would be familiar with this. Jesus Himself says in this passage that “9b wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Why? Because what happens here is a big deal and has a lot to teach us about following Christ.
On that note then, what happens here? We’re told the Pharisees want to kill Jesus, but they don’t want to do it during the feasts because they don’t want to stir up the people. This is one of the biggest celebrations of the year for the Jewish people. It would be like causing a riot on Christmas. After being told this, we’re taken to the house of Simon the Leper. We know nearly nothing about who this man is, though many speculations have been made. Either way, what is important to note here is that Jesus and His disciples are dining with, at least, this family. It’s in this setting that Mary comes and anoints Jesus with this very costly nard. The perfume fills the house--as does indignation. From whom? The disciples, who claim it was a waste of money. Jesus then condemns them and commends her. Immediately afterwards were told Judas decides to sell out Jesus to the Pharisees. Now we’re full circle--or to the bottom slice of bread on our sandwich☺.
So, what is the gist for us tonight? Given that the context of the entire chapter is the abandonment of Jesus, what does this sandwich teach us about not abandoning Him? In short, wholehearted devotions are wholeheartedly followed.
I. THE FILLINGS OF DEVOTION TO CHRIST (3-9)
Let’s break this down by looking at the sandwich backwards. We’ll start without the bread--a low carb sandwich if you will ☺. This is the part of the sandwich we want to immulate. So, what’s going on here. Let’s try and answer this by looking at three questions: 1. What did this symbolize?, 2. What did this cost her?, and 3. Why is she commended?
1. What did this symbolize?
1. Jesus' Worth. When you think about anointings happening in the Old Testament, they are always signs of honor. While this can sometimes be done in more commonplace settings, like a host honoring a guest...etc., the official use of anointing seems to have been reserved for your three major offices--offices which Jesus Himself came to ultimately fulfill: prophets (1 Kings 19:16), priests (Exodus 30:23-33--interesting prohibition against anointing anyone else with costly oil), and kings (1 Samuel 9:16)! (See Smith’s Bible Dictionary) So either way you slice this, it was a sign of respect and honor. She is treating Him like the prophet, priest, and king that He is--she is anointing the Messiah!
2. Jesus’ Unanointed Death. There has been speculation about whether or not she understood this point, but trying to figure that out seems a bit of a moot point to me. She has been around Jesus, so she has heard Him speak of His coming death and resurrection. I see no reason to assume that she, like the disciples, did not believe or understand what He meant. Maybe she understood it completely. Either way, Jesus says, “7b...she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.” He is about to die. It was customary to anoint dead bodies to help with the smell of decomposition. So this points not only to the fact that He will soon die, but that when He dies he won’t need this anointing. John tells us Nicodemus anointed the body at burial, but because of the Sabbath, the women who followed Him and wanted to anoint Him were unable to go to the tomb. By the time they came to prepare His body, He didn’t need it! Therefore, this not only points to His death, but to to His resurrection which brought our salvation! Did she fully understand this? I do not know. But Jesus did.
2. What did this cost her? A lot. Let’s look at it under two headings
1. Her Future Security. Financially, this nard was very costly (nearly a year’s wages). Unless you possessed extravagant wealth, which there is no indication that was the case, it would be nearly impossible to replace this by earthly means in your lifetime. The study notes in your Bibles might even tell you that this was likely imported from India; it was precious. This is the kind of item that would have been kept as a dowry for an unmarried woman, and if the woman remained unmarried would have been either passed down the family line or used to anoint her own body in burial. Do you see what she’s doing here? She’s putting her future on the line. She’s sacrificing her security for Jesus. (We could just stop there, right?)
2. Her Social Acceptance. There are several points to note here. If this is indeed the same account as recorded in John, which it appears to be, we’re given even more of this picture. Look at John 12:3, “3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
She is stepping over several social lines to make this sacrifice. 1. It is possible that she shouldn’t have even been at the table. If this were an evening meal, which seems to be indicated in John’s account, women were not allowed to recline at the table with the men, but were expected to be serving. 2. She is revealing her hair in public. In this culture, hair is considered a woman’s “crown and glory”, her dignity. To show it to anyone but her husband was considered immodest. 3. She touches His feet with her hair. Touching feet was considered degrading. (Remember the staggering example Jesus gave the disciples when He washed their feet while they were unwilling to do it for each other?) However, she not only touches His feet, but wipes them with her hair, her dignity, her pride, her glory. (A Youth Worker's Commentary on John Volume 2)
Do you see the sacrifice here?
3. Why is she commended? Let’s take this in two points, as well.
1. Jesus is not anti-poor. This is more of a side note, I guess, but it is sometimes taken out of context, so we need to address it. The pretext the disciples use for complaining against this woman is that her waste could have been used to do great good for the poor. “6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.” Jesus is not saying we shouldn’t help the poor. In fact, He’s quoting Deuteronomy 15:7-11 which says the opposite. He’s telling them they should always be concerned for the poor, and I think it’s safe to take the implication that this had not been the case--so He’s calling their bluff (John says as much about Judas in John 12:6 “He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.”) Nonetheless, while you will always have the poor to serve, you will not always have the opportunity to serve Me. She’s not missing her chance to do something beautiful, were they? Well, we’ll see that in the weeks to come.
2. She is commended for her wholehearted devotion. Let’s just take Jesus’ words here (always the best route!) She did what she could, and it was a beautiful thing! Jesus commends her because, like the widow with her mite, she gave everything for Him! I love Spurgeon’s comments on this passage, “When lives are lost in Christ’s honor, or strength is spent in His service, there is no waste. It is what life and strength are made for—that they may be spent for Him.”
II. THE BREAD OF SELF DEVOTION (1-2, 10-11)
Now, let’s look at the bread. Don’t worry, this point won’t be near as long as the first ☺. In fact, let’s just look at one question here.
1. Why were they seeking His death? Again, we don’t have to search or speculate. Just look at the sandwich! “2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”” They want to kill Him, but are doing it in secret to save face. We’ll see this reiterated in the passages which follow, but it has been clear up until this point, as well. The Pharisees want to kill Jesus because they’re jealous of His impact and afraid of losing their authority.
What about Judas? Well, it’s basically the same thing, right? Again, back to the sandwich! “4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her…” John calls out Judas on this, but Matthew says it was the disciples! So, Judas might have started these grumblings, but others joined in. These are people who should have known better. Like we noted before, Jesus’ response seem to hit on this. “7... you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me…” Despite this condemnation, possible because of it, “10 ...Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.” Why? Following Jesus removes financial benefits. Following Jesus demands giving up selfish desires. Bottom line: following Jesus is too costly.
Remember, this is a sandwich, so we’re supposed to see these together. Not only does the filling point to why and how the bread would be accomplished, but it also provides a contrast. From this point forward, we will see several people abandon Jesus. Every time, it is because devotion to self wins out. Yet, this woman demonstrates how not to fall away: be devoted to Christ instead of self. The point is simple. The application is difficult. But we have to remember our wholehearted devotions are wholeheartedly followed. So→
TAKEAWAYS
1. To what are you wholeheartedly devoted? Ponder these questions this week: What do you value most? What are you not willing to sacrifice? What have you done that was reckless for the Lord? We’re not called to be irresponsible, but we are called to follow Him, even if that seems foolish to the world. Think about your decision making process. What’s your check-list? Whatever you have to check off first, that’s your priority. If it’s not: does this honor Christ, or does it give me an opportunity to better serve Him?, pray that God forgive and redirect.
2. Are you quick to condemn or quick to serve...even if it’s costly?
Charles Spurgeon said, “Whenever a man is very quick condemning gracious men and women, you may be quite as quick in condemning him. He is usually a Judas.” What’s your attitude toward the service of others? Are you quick to condemn and gossip or are you quick to just serve Jesus?
Look at Mary’s example again. She sacrifices security and social acceptance. Where’s her self-defense here? Where’s her outcry for vindication? Nowhere. Jesus vindicated her. He stood in her place. She just served. Do you see the implications for us today?!
3. Are you doing what you can...or what you want?
I’m going to be honest, that question hurt to type. I know most people look at ministers and think of them as a “level above” the rest of the world in terms of Christian service. You guys are likely not so deceived, but in case you are, let me assure you, I do not always do all that I can. There are times that Christian service is just flat inconvenient. Why? Because I have a fallen heart. Though I have been bought with the ultimate price, I am still a victim to selfish desires.
Wholehearted devotions are wholeheartedly followed. Oh, Lord, may I be wholeheartedly devoted to You!
*Side note: The Gospel writers were less concerned with chronology than content. Therefore, it is likely that these events are being connect more in theme than strict time period. I only make this note because it has been cited than John’s account and this account seem to take place several days apart. However, there is no reason to assume the Pharisees wanting to kill Jesus two days before the feast, and Mary anointing Jesus in Simon’s house had to have happened on the same day.
No comments:
Post a Comment