The Annointed Messiah

Introduction

Last week we covered chapter 13 which was about the end times. Our main takeaway was that we should be on guard and ready for Christ to return and usher in his millennial kingdom here on earth. His return will result in one of two things for us, eternal glory or eternal punishment. It is only through faith in Jesus that we can obtain eternal glory.

This week we have a bit of a transition in the story. Verses 1 and 2 act as this transition and introduction into what is coming in Mark, this smaller section in the book we will call the passion. This section is a bit smoother than the rest of Mark in that it offers a more complete narrative.

We will call this section a scriptural sandwich which occurs often in the book of Mark. Verses 1-2 and 10-11 act as the bread where the verses in between are the meat. We are going to get filled up on that middle section but we must not forget the other 2 because without them it is not a sandwich.

I hope you are hungry for some of the truths of scripture. Let’s start tonight by reading Mark 14.1-11.

Mark 14:1–11 ESV

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, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” 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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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.” Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The first part here we see there is the desire to kill Jesus and there is a sense of urgency to it. While they plan the how we see an interesting event where Jesus and his disciples were reclining at a table and a woman comes and pours an expensive ointment over Jesus’s head. Some of the people there did not like this because of the great value of this ointment, it was worth an estimated 300 days wages. Jesus defends her actions saying that they will always have the poor to serve but that they will not have him forever. He then says that she has anointed him for burial. The story then turns back to bad side where one of the twelve, Judas, begins his betrayal.

In this scripture sandwich we see two things that we would classify as bad around something that Jesus himself deems beautiful.

These events are major ones in the storyline of Jesus, they let us know that it is going down, they let us know how it is going down, and they let us know that Jesus knows it’s going down. Tonight I want to look at each of these sections with our focus being on his anointing.

Let’s pray then we can begin looking at the plot to kill Jesus.

The Plot

Mark 14:1–2 ESV

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, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”

The plan to kill Jesus is escalating. There is a sense of urgency for the chief priest and the scribes here. They were trying to be smart about it but they desired to do it soon.

These two verses begin to plunge us into the crucifixion of Jesus. These men are acting out of the evil of their heart but as we now know what they meant for evil God is working for good. This is a theme that we see throughout the Bible, God works is all things for his good.

The good that he is working is the salvation of all who would believe in him. Salvation is fully accomplished upon the cross that these men plan to put Jesus on. This evil leads to my salvation, it is a beautiful picture of how God will accomplish his purposes.

One thing to think about in this though is which side are we on. God is still working today. God is going to accomplish his will, are we on the right side of this though?

The Anointing

Mark 14:3–9 ESV

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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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.”

From the plot of our scriptural sandwich we move to this story where Jesus is anointed. There are a lot of things to unpack in this occurence and it truly is a beautiful scene.

This woman comes with this very expensive ointment and begins to pour it over the head of Jesus. Jesus says that she has anointed him for burial. He knew what was coming and he knew it was coming soon. He also knew what his death would accomplish.

That leads to the second major part to unpack in this scene and that is verse 9. It says wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world her story will be told. These words get really interesting in the original language because it is pointing to the fact that the gospel will be proclaimed in the whole world and her story will be told as it is being proclaimed. Jesus is telling them that this is a gospel of global proportions. It is not just some story that is there for Israel.

Through both of these things we can know that Jesus is going to die for our sins and this will be proclaimed over the whole world. We in our lives can see this! I did some measurements and from where you are sitting is 6,946.78 miles from the cross where Jesus was crucified. This gospel is going over the whole world and that is a testament to it’s power. This should motivate us to live lives worthy of the gospel and to continue it’s spread.

Jesus has been symbolically anointed for burial showing that the time is near and he knows it, he also knows what will be accomplished because of what he is going to go through and he knows that it is worth it.

The Betrayal

Mark 14:10–11 ESV

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The last part of our scriptural sandwich goes back to the bad side of things but we will see that God will be working through this. It is the beginning of the betrayal. One of the 12 turns his back on Jesus for financial gain.

It is likely that he did this because he thought Jesus was supposed to launch a political rebellion and he is not doing that. This once again points towards a poor understanding of scripture. This I am sure made the religious authorities happy though because they truly needed him to make their goals we saw earlier happen. Think about it, if they were going to be sneaky about it they would have to move at night and since this is ancient times they did not have tracking, phones, or even flashlights. They would need someone who knew him and knew where he would be.

We should look at Judas and pray that we will not be the same. So many do the right things and look the part all to find out that they aren’t getting what they want out of it so they turn their backs on it.

Conclusion

The stage is set for Jesus to be crucified and it is coming quick. There is plotting and betrayal happening but in the midst of it there is wholehearted devotion to Christ.

Today people still plot and betray the bride of Christ that is the church. They try to undermine it and do whatever they can to stop it. But still in the midst of that there are those that are fully devoted to Christ. May we be those people.

The first step to be one of those people is to have a relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This is done by putting your faith in him and turning away from your sins. Jesus is set up in Mark right now to accomplish salvation but let me tell you this, the story is finished and salvation is accomplished. Now all that is left is for you to respond in faith and repentance. This is trusting in Jesus and his death for salvation and turning away from your sins. This is how you can accept the forgiveness that Jesus made available there on the cross.