Snapshots of the Last Days pt3

The last 2 moments we looked at were public. This one is private. It is one of those moments rich with symbolism, both in what was about to happen, and what would need to happen with so many people afterwards.

Today, we are going to look at 2 parallel passages- one in Mark and one in John- and see what is happening in these moments before Jesus is with His disciples for the last tine.

Let’s look at the 2 passages on after another to start. Turn with me to Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8.

So he’s in the town of Bethany where his closest friends live- Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Remember him? Was dead, now alive. Yeah he’s still kicking.

And they have gone to the house of a guy named Simon, whose nickname if the leper.

Mark 8. The Anointing at Bethany (14:3–9)

“Simon the Leper” is not otherwise known. He possibly was a leper whom Jesus had healed

John 12–21 1. The Anointing for Death (12:1–8)

Some scholars, like Sanders, speculate that the host may have been a person named Simon to coordinate with the Synoptics and even suggest that such a Simon could be related to Lazarus to make the coordination easier

There is a lot of speculation about him. A lot of it is that he was a religious leader who got leprosy, and then Jesus healed him. No direct confirmation of this, but a good reminder that at this point Jesus’ ministry had been immense, and there were many who were happy to see Him as He came back to the area around Jerusalem.

So while they are eating, a woman- identified as Mary in John, unidentified in Mark, anoints Jesus- apparently on both His head and His feet.

John 12–21 1. The Anointing for Death (12:1–8)

touching the feet of someone was regarded by Jews as a very degrading experience and was normally reserved for slaves and others to whom little “honor” was due. The fact that Mary was willing to do this act at a meal in the presence of others communicates volumes about her elevated regard for Jesus

This is a HUGE gesture.

We have some expensive colognes and perfumes in our day, and this would be on the VERY expensive side.

Now I want you to catch something- Mark is specific. She broke it.

Mark 8. The Anointing at Bethany (14:3–9)

The “alabaster jar” was a flask with a long neck and no handles, and it was sealed to preserve the ointment. The fact that the woman broke the flask implies that she poured all of its contents on Jesus.

Church this was not something she was going to use a little bit of. It was a full commitment on her part. She could not recover what she did not use. She gave Jesus all she had.

This is the kind of commitment Jesus is seeking.

We are in a very commitment adverse season in our culture. People are hesitant to commit to anything. Whether it be serious or silly.

(Talk about TV shows)

And yet, in the middle of that we are quick to become addicted to short term fixes.

(Compare Tik Tok or Reels to a multi episode arc)

This is a the issue. We might be willing to dab a little perfume on Jesus’ feet and see if that fixes things. But commit? Break the bottle? Risk it all? That’s HARD.

Following Jesus is not about what we can get back. It is about what we can give away. When Jesus tells His disciples to take up their cross it is not an invitation to wear a necklace but to die. (mention how odd it is that crosses are a symbol of Christianity)

But that is the kind of commitment Jesus asks for.

And the alternative is to evaluate the ROI.

Look at vs 4-5 in Mark and vs 4-5 in John.

The person who speaks in Mark is identified as Judas Iscariot in John (we will get to his motivation in a minute)

But let’s just look at the statement first.

You could have done something better with that.

The investment did not pay off.

Mark 8. The Anointing at Bethany (14:3–9)

the Greek text has “three hundred denarii.” A denarius was a day’s wage for a common laborer; therefore the NIV is correct in its approximation “a year’s wages.”

John 12–21 1. The Anointing for Death (12:1–8)

His estimate of its worth was three hundred denarii (12:5; Mark even suggests “more than” three hundred at 14:5), which was the equivalent of a laborer’s annual wages (calculated at six days a week less festival days). Such an amount was very significant. Indeed, it could have served as an economic security blanket or, as I have suggested below, as a woman’s dowry. Judas’s suggestion that the money should have been given to the poor is regarded by the evangelist as a mere hoax or fraud in the mouth of the deceptive thief.

Church this is the wrong question. Following Jesus is not about investing. It’s about dying. We are engaged in being replaced when we follow Jesus.

Old habits, old ways, old sins, old gods, old wine, replaced by all things new.

We are learning a new kind of investment that may end with us poorer here, but rich in treasure that does not spoil or rust.

(Nana electricity convo)

Now let’s get to the why.

Why does Judas worry about the ROI?

He wants something for himself. Look at John 12:6.

We tend to hold back our all from Jesus for our own advantage. We keep a portion of what we have because we do not trust Jesus with it.

And when that happens a part of us dies a little bit. (Ananias and Sapphira)

And the more we do it, the more we get hardened to the promptings of the Spirit. We become numb to what God wants from us, until we give in to what He has already asked us for.

People ask “How could Judas have walked with Jesus for so long, see what he saw, and sell Him out?”

Because it was about what Judas wanted. He wanted it his way, not Jesus’ way.

We do the same thing.

So what happens when we do surrender. When we do give what God asks for?

Several things:

First, Jesus protects us

Second, we are used in ways we cannot understand (anointing for burial)

Mark 8. The Anointing at Bethany (14:3–9)

Whether the woman intended to anoint Jesus’ body prior to his death and burial is uncertain. The last part of the verse sets forth Jesus’ interpretation and application of what she did. It also suggests the importance of the passion to Mark’s understanding of messiahship: Jesus was anointed as king in connection with his death and burial

Third, our story is used for God’s Kingdom

Mark 8. The Anointing at Bethany (14:3–9)

This prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled when Mark and Matthew (26:13) recorded the statement and their Gospels began to be read widely. The story was told orally before that time

So the question for you this morning is will you surrender? Will you quit holding on and be fully in for Jesus?