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Sunday, September 9, 2007

In Memory of Her (Mark 14:1-9)

Sermon by: Robert Austell

September 9, 2007


This is the last sermon of the summer series from Hebrews 12:1. We have been looking at the lives of faithful men and women of scripture in order to gain encouragement and direction as we run after Jesus Christ, avoiding the entanglement of sin as we do.


Today’s story is a vivid and moving picture of focused and extravagant love of Jesus. It is so focused and direct that even the very, very important ministry of caring for the poor (i.e. loving neighbor) is temporarily put on hold for this act of worship. It demonstrates to us the foundational importance of a personal and worshiping relationship with God through Jesus Christ as the center and basis for a faithful life.


There are many reasons to think this is the same story told in John 12. If so, then this woman is Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. It would take us down a long rabbit trail to explore why or why not it is the same story, and in any event, it would not change the lesson of the story. So, today we will focus on the woman in Mark 14, unnamed there, anything but forgotten.


This is such a vivid story. Told in only seven verses, you feel like you were there when you hear it. It is set right smack in the middle of political intrigue and plotting. (This may account for the differences between this version and John’s. Mark may be telling the story for thematic purpose rather than chronological accuracy.) The Passover feast was on and many, including Jesus, were coming to Jerusalem for the week-long religious observance.


Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.” (vv. 1-2)


It’s clear at this point that they are out to get Jesus… they want to kill him. In the previous chapter in Mark, Jesus has told his followers to be on the alert for what is to come (mostly talking about the 2nd coming). The other gospels tell us it is at this same time that Jesus starts predicting his own death at the hands of the religious leaders.


Right after the story we read of Judas’ betrayal. What a contrast, then, to read of this extravagant act of love and worship. On one hand are all those, far and near, who are plotting to kill Jesus. On the other hand, close by, is this woman who honors him and anoints him as Messiah and King. It is an act of devotion and love, though Jesus recognizes and explains that it will serve to anoint him for his burial.



What Happened to “Love Your Neighbor”?


All of that sets the stage for this scene, but there are two actions that dominate the story. One is the pouring of perfume on Jesus’ head. We’ll get to that. The other is the reaction from the disciples. It is almost a scene-stealer, because if we think about it for even a moment, it is so easy to identify with the disciples.


On one hand, we think, “Oh, she put some perfume on Jesus and they made a big deal about it.” But, surely each of us would have protested with them! Here’s why:


…this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor. (v. 5)


It’s not just that Judas was greedy and made a big deal about it (John records these words as coming from his mouth). From every earthly perspective, she really had “wasted” this expensive perfume, as accused in v. 4.


A denarius was a coin worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. “Over three hundred denarii” was about a year’s wage. What would that be today? $25,000? $30,000? $40,000?

Imagine it…


“Pastor Robert, I’ve sold my car and have moved in with my parents, and I’ve saved all my paychecks for the past year. I’d like to have a huge birthday party for Jesus this Christmas and I’d like to have the church host it.”


“Dad, I’ve decided to drop out of college this last year, but I’d like to use that last year’s tuition to rent out Blumenthal and hire the Charlotte symphony to play the Doxology in honor of God. No tickets, no other program… just come together to honor God and go home.”


Are you starting to see the crazy extravagance of what she did? I know it’s Jesus, but surely, surely, there are better… more GODLY uses of our money. Surely something even Jesus would approve of!

To me, if you actually understand what this woman did, the disciples’ reaction is the most normal part of this story. Any one of us would have said the same.


And here’s the shocking part: Jesus told them to shut up.


Is that too strong? Listen…


Let her alone; why do you bother her? (v. 6)


And he goes on… if their jaws hadn’t hit the floor yet, then this probably did the trick:


She has done a good deed to me. (v. 6)


While I usually prefer our New American Standard translation, in this case the NIV has it right… she has done a “beautiful thing” to Jesus.


“But Jesus, you always talk about loving our neighbor. And we’re supposed to care for the poor. Especially at Passover, we always give special alms to the poor.”


And Jesus responds:


…you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have me. (v. 7)


Something has trumped love of neighbor and care of the poor. Jesus is not saying that these are not important. In fact, he spent much of his teaching and ministry demonstrating how important these are. But, there was something even more important that she got right. It had to do with who Jesus was. It had to do with timing. And it had to do with worship as an expression of love, response, and service.


Something about her action was extremely important, not only because Jesus declared it the right thing, but because he then said this:


Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her. (v. 9)


Let’s try to understand, then, what it is that she did and whether it is something we can and should participate in as we seek to be faithful to Jesus.



Love the Lord Your God


Commentators note that this act was not completely arbitrary for two reasons. It was a common practice to anoint people with oil or a bit of perfume at Passover time. It was also the practice of the Hebrew people to anoint their kings for service.


It is likely that the woman knew of both practices, but there was even more going on. If this was in fact Mary the sister of Lazarus (cf. John 12), then we already know of her inclination to prioritize being with Jesus even over serving Jesus. We also know from the lavish use of costly perfume that this act was one of extravagant love.


I’d like to suggest that what all of this adds up to is an act of extravagant and intensely direct worship. And I’d like to break this act of worship out into four parts.


Recognition


First, worship is recognition of the subject and object of our worship.


The prophets of old would anoint a king for service. Was Jesus a King? Surely he was, for he was the promised and expected Messiah. And this woman recognized him as such. It was a common practice to pour perfume on the head or feet of a guest, especially during Passover when so many traveled and stayed in homes near Jerusalem. Was Jesus an honored guest? Yes, he was, and much more. He was to become the new Passover Lamb, sacrificed once and for all.


The woman recognized Jesus as Lord, King, and Honored Guest; that recognition led to her act of worship.


Adoration


Her act was one of worship because it was a selfless act of adoration. It was more than selfless, even; it was sacrificial. She offered this extraordinarily costly perfume in what can only be described in human terms as wasteful.


There is a contemporary scholar named Marva Dawn who has written a book on worship called A Royal Waste of Time. While the stakes are not as high as seemingly pouring $30,000 down the drain, consider what you are doing when you come here to worship God. You spend anywhere from one hour to half of your Sunday here doing what? Singing, praying, listening to someone talk about God. You could be sleeping. You could be playing. You could be making good money. Many people choose those things over what you are doing right now. And many look at what you are doing and say the same thing the disciples said in v. 3, “What a waste!”


I remember going back to my old high school, where I was in the top of my class. I was talking with one of my old teachers and responding to their question about what I was doing now. When I told her I was a pastor, she made this tiny gesture with her head, kind of wagging it as if to say, “What a waste.”


Offering God true worship and adoration will always carry a sense of absurdity to those who do not know God. Even to us, it is easy to hear that nagging voice that says, “Maybe all this is a waste of time.”


The same might be said of two people in love. How they seem to “waste” so much time, money, and attention on each other. The same is true of God, if we know Him personally. It is then the “natural” thing to do to offer God adoration and praise, even extravagantly so.


Anticipation


There is also a sense in which worship is anticipation. We anticipate God’s promises and God’s sovereign wisdom and power for the future. Whether the woman made all the connections or not, Jesus certainly connected her action with an anticipation of his impending death and burial. In a similar way, when we come to the Lord’s Supper for communion, we not only remember and look back, and experience God’s grace in the present, we anticipate and look forward to the banqueting table God has set for us in Heaven.


Celebration


Finally, worship is celebration. This ties together recognition, adoration, and anticipation because we are celebrating who God is as well as what He has done, is doing, and is going to do. And no one who is truly celebrating another scrimps on the party. The woman went all out, even if it seemed extravagant and over the top to the others present. God is worth celebrating. Worship is celebration!



…And Love Your Neighbor


So what about the poor? What about those who haven’t heard the Good News? What about our mission and God’s mission to the world? Aren’t all those things really important?


Yes, they are. That’s why Jesus put them together. What is the greatest commandment?


The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength… and to love your neighbor as yourself. (cf. Mark 12:30-31)


Jesus had just taught this. Perhaps Mary even heard it. There it is – Jesus didn’t omit it… we are to love our neighbor. We are to feed the poor. We are to build houses for Habitat and support missionaries to those who haven’t heard. We are to love our enemies and join in God’s mission the world. But here’s the point: those things don’t matter if we don’t love God with all we are and all we have.


You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who is more gung-ho about God’s mission, whether that be ministries of mercy or sharing the Good News. But if I haven’t made this clear, then hear it clearly now, as taught in this passage:


All the love in the world is wasted without first loving the God who is the author and creator of that world and of love itself.


Want to talk about waste? There’s a statement to chew on.


All the love in the world is wasted without first loving the God who is the author and creator of that world and of love itself.


What Jesus taught is that loving God with all we have and all we are cannot but result in love of neighbor. Jesus taught that a lot! But the opposite is not true. Love of neighbor does not automatically result in loving or even knowing God.


And this woman – Mary – got it right.


That’s why wherever the Gospel – the Good News – is proclaimed, what she did will be remembered. It is because what she did was worship God with all she was and all she had, with heart, soul, mind, and strength. And where the Gospel goes and people respond, they too will come to know what it means to worship and serve the Lord.


The prophet Isaiah said, “Seek the Lord while He may be found.” (55:6) This blessed woman demonstrated both the wisdom and the beauty of doing just that. Amen.



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