The Anointed One Mark 14:1-9

Mark 8:27–30

[27] And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” [28] And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” [29] And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” [30] And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. (ESV)

-Jesus is God’s Anointed Servant who is worthy of our worship

I. The Scribes and Priests Reject Jesus vv. 1-2

In our passage for tonight, Jesus is only two days away from His crucifixion

The religious leaders, both priests and scribes have completely turned against Him and are actively plotting His demise

They are working in stealth and want to act quickly, because they know that this act will cause an uproar, especially if it takes place during the feast

The timing is important; Jesus is going to be killed at Passover

He is the lamb who dies for the sake of the people

The image is a powerful one!

Back in the Exodus, when the time came to leave Egypt, God sent a final plague

In this plague, God killed the firstborn of every family in the entire kingdom

The only way to keep the angel of death away from a home was to kill a lamb and spread its blood over the doorway

The lamb’s blood signalled the angel to “pass over” the home; a death had already occurred there

Jesus is the Passover lamb

Our sin is judged in Him

However, the religious leaders reject the one who could save them!

If we reject Jesus, we are rejecting our salvation!

Mark 12:10–11

[10] Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

[11] this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (ESV)

II. The Unknown Woman Identifies Jesus v. 3

That makes the contrast with the unknown woman that much greater.

The Gospels identify 3 different times that Jesus is anointed

One takes place in a completely different time and location, by a woman who is showing gratitude for the sins that Jesus has forgiven

One takes place in Bethany 6 days before the Passover and His feet are anointed

This one takes place in Bethany 2 days before the Passover and the woman anoints His head

This is also powerfully symbolic:

The woman who is doing this is showing great love to Jesus

It was customary to give a bit of oil for the head to guests; she pours out the whole bottle on Him

It is an expensive gift, contained in alabaster and giving it in this fashion is an extravagant show of her care

This is an act that is fit for a king!

In fact, this is exactly how a king would be anointed

A king was anointed as a demonstration of God’s presence and power over the new leader; it shows His choice of a servant

Jesus is being anointed because He is God’s anointed servant!

We must also understand who Jesus is and we must submit ourselves to Him!

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott A Viking King Humbled by the Sea

Knut Sveinson (son of Fork-Beard) invaded England from Denmark in 1015 and became king of England in 1016. For twenty years he brought peace, order, and justice to England. The famous story of his trying to resist the sea first occurs in Henry of Huntingdon’s Historia Anglorum (c. 1130). Knut “gave orders for his throne to be placed on the seashore as the tide came in” (traditionally at Bosham Beach near Chichester). He then addressed the rising tide: “ ‘You are within my jurisdiction. No one has ever resisted my command with impunity. I therefore command you not to rise over my land and not to presume to wet the clothes or limbs of your lord.’ But the sea rose as usual, and wetted the King’s feet and legs without respect.”

Henry of Huntingdon goes to make a moral out of it, viz. that King Knut intended his court to see the waters disobey him. Jumping back onto dry land he said: “ ‘Be it known to all inhabitants of the world that the power of kings is empty and superficial, and that no one is worthy of the name of king except for Him whose will is obeyed by Heaven, earth and sea, in accordance with eternal laws.’ And with that he took off his golden crown and never put it on his head again.”

III. Some Disciples Diminish Jesus vv. 4-5

This display of devotion causes a controversy

We don’t know exactly who or how many, but some of the folks present, began to complain loudly

This felt like too much, an impractical waste

John tells us that in the earlier anointing, Judas specifically complains about this

The complaint seems very reasonable

Jesus had a lot to say about our care for the poor, and there are a lot of poor people that could have been helped with the money that was spent on the oil

It turns out that even in the innermost circle of Jesus, there are some that still don’t get it

Jesus is completely worthy of our devotion

There is nothing that we could give to the Lord that would be too much

It turns out that a gift to the Lord as an act of worship to Him is never a waste

Instead, it is a recognition of who He is!

How do you respond when you see someone worship, serve, or give in ways that feel extreme?

Do you respect it and are you inspired by it?

Or, do you want to scold people for their actions?

What does that say about your view of Jesus?

We must beware of the danger of the pocket-sized Jesus! We don’t need a little Jesus, we need the whole of Jesus and to recognize Him as Lord!

IV. Jesus Praises the Woman’s Extravagant Worship vv. 6-9

It’s far less important how the disciples or the crowd view her actions, though. How will Jesus view this?

Jesus praises her and her beautiful action:

There are infinite opportunities to serve the poor; in fact, these men can serve the poor any time that they want

This woman has one brief moment to be with the Lord and it is worth the extravagance

Then, Jesus throws a wrench into things:

Jesus reinterprets the anointing

While it was initially intended as a blessing and we can view it as a sign of God’s blessing and favor, Jesus points us in a new direction

Her work is a preparation for burial. The time of His death is at hand and He is not just a king but also a sacrifice, fulfilling the promise of the Passover lamb

This act, it turns out, will remain forever.

Our worship and service are never a waste, even if it seems impractical to someone else

Is your life a life of devotion to the Lord?

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Christianity Not the Religion of Jesus but Christ-Worship

“All other religions are independent, to a certain degree, of their founders, because these founders were nothing more than their first confessors. But Jesus was not the first Christian; He was or is the Christ. He is not the subject, but the object, of religion. Christianity is not the religion of Jesus … but Christ-worship.”

SOURCE: Herman Bavinck, The Philosophy of Revelation (Longmans, Green, 1908), 227.