A DEVOTED WOMAN AND A DEVIOUS MAN

A DEVOTED WOMAN AND A DEVIOUS MAN Mark 14:1-11 March 21, 1999 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory In many ways, Mark’s writing in the past couple of chapters has been a study in contrasts. Those who want to be first will end up being last; and those who are willing to be last at first, will end up being first. It’s not the grown up religionists who are the kingdom-type people, but it is little children. People who focus on doing religious behaviors correctly but have impure, unconverted hearts always lose out to those who have pure hearts towards God, even if their behaviors are unrefined. There was the contrast between the crowd’s Hosanna at Jesus’s triumphal entry and their “Crucify him” before Pilate. The widow’s tiny contribution of her last two coins merited high marks from Jesus, but the large donations of the rich were, by contrast, insignificant in the estimation of the Lord. In chapter 14 we encounter another interesting contrast: that between an act of unrestrained love and an act of shocking treachery. Join me for a few moments as we look at two characters whose very different treatments of Jesus are in stark contrast: Mary & Judas. I entitled this message, “A Devoted Woman and a Devious Man” as is printed in your bulletin. Would you believe it? One woman who read the title came up and asked me privately, “I noticed the interesting title, ‘A Devoted Woman and a Devious Man.’ You’re not preaching about my marriage this morning, are you?” The Narrative - A Study in Contrast MARK 14:1-2 - Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to arrest Jesus and kill him. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.” Following the scene at the Temple just a couple days ago, when Jesus angrily overturned the money-changers’ tables, and His now consistent public teaching which has drawn attention to the hypocrisy of the religious establishment, the chief priests and scribes have had all of Jesus they can take. And the plot to kill Jesus is coming to a head. MARK 14:3 - While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Jesus, just hours before His betrayal and arrest, is relaxing in a home in a suburb of Jerusalem. Simon the Leper was probably one of the lepers Jesus had healed, but was still known as “the leper”--a good way to keep your testimony alive, huh? How do you think it might help our testimony if we each one kept a nickname that instantly told people what we were before Christ brought us healing and salvation? Luke the Licentious Lecher; Perry the Pompous Politician; Chester the Child Molester; Steve the Thief; McIntyre the Liar; Peter the Wife-beater; Rich, the . . . ; Mary, the . . .; Dave, the . . .! Jesus is incredibly cool in this difficult time, isn’t He? In the time of highest stress, He has taken time out to have a meal with some friends. He and the disciples are gathered in Simon’s house sharing a meal. Maybe they are recalling the day when Jesus stretched out His hand and touched the volatile, contagious, leprous skin of His host and pronounced him clean, and how on his way to the priest to be checked out he was healed as he walked. I can hear him admitting embarrassed a little, that when Jesus told him to go and show himself to the priest, he didn’t know why he was going, because at that point he wasn’t healed yet and he felt foolish. In the middle of their conversation a woman enters through the door carrying a jar with a long skinny neck. It was made of alabaster--very expensive--this was the kind you could only buy at a jewelry counter at Plaza Frontenac, because it was always filled with very expensive perfume--the best--pure nard from India. The place gets quiet as she makes her way over to Jesus and stands looking down at Him. Jesus was reclining at the table, the way the men ate in those days--resting on their left elbow, eating right handed. Jesus and the disciples did recognize her--she was Mary, a good friend and the sister of Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead. But it was still a surprise to have her walk in on their meal. And what was she doing with that high-priced jar a perfume? No one spoke, and she knelt down near Jesus and snapped off the top of the fragile flask. The men in the room were amazed--with this expensive perfume you normally just used a few drops. But she was literally pouring this oil over Jesus, anointing Him, blessing Him, sure, but This is such a waste! I understand there are perfumes on the market today that are comparably about as expensive. Can you imagine buying a quart of Soulimane perfume from Paris at the going rate of about $35,000, tearing off the mister spray head and dumping it on someone?! This is about how outrageous it seemed to the disciples. MARK 14:4-5 - Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. During the Feast it was common practice to be especially generous to the poor people. The disciples were incensed at such a waste when they knew they would meet dozens of beggars on the way into Jerusalem tomorrow. John’s account tells us it was Judas who was most upset about the situation and made the comment about the poor. But John also adds this editorial comment, “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” Jesus then comes to Mary’s defense with a brief commentary on the difference between practical, utilitarian faith that is always economical, measuring, careful and prudent, and extravagant worship, which is also, at times, appropriate. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout all the world. what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” How does it feel to have just fulfilled prophecy? We just told the story of Mary just like Jesus said we would. Are you as surprised as I am that Jesus would condone such immoderate use of such expensive perfume? Whatever else can be learned from this story, we know this--there is a sharp contrast between the lavish, carefree worship of Jesus on the part of Mary, and the tightfisted, money-hoarding attitude of Judas. And Jesus makes it clear that, once again, Mary has chosen the better part. There are times when it is fitting to pour out our riches before the Lord. They are, after all, His riches, and worship comes in other forms besides the single-dimensioned care that we “not spend the Lord’s money frivolously.” It would be foolish and unscriptural of me to suggest that we should likewise act impulsively and recklessly with our resources on a regular basis. But, if the Holy Spirit chose to record this special occasion in all four of the gospels, we might be wise to consider the value of some well-timed extravagance for the Lord. MARK 14:10-11 - Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Then, following the Last Supper, when Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer, the group goes out to pray in Gethsemane Garden, and Judas secretly steals away to strike his deal. MARK 14:43-46 - Just as Jesus was speaking [to His sleepy-headed disciples], Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. So Mary squandered her valuables in worship; and Judas earned blood money in betrayal. Mary, so candid and open in her expression of thanks to the Lord; Judas, so crafty and deceitful he had to work under cover of darkness. One loved Jesus; and one left Jesus. Two famous people. Just as Jesus said she would, Mary has been remembered for two thousand years as a worshiper and Judas, too, made a name for himself, didn’t he? Yet today, there is hardly a greater insult than to call someone “Judas.” His infamy is history--he is the Benedict Arnold of the centuries. Do you know any couple who ever named their son “Judas?” Exhortation on our devotion to Jesus The line between Mary and Judas is the line drawn between two positions --full devotion to Jesus, and anything less than full devotion. Let me urge you in our closing minutes to check your devotion to the Lord just now. True, full devotion to Jesus will be marked by three qualities that Mary had and Judas did not have. 1. Extravagant generosity - Most of the people Jesus hung around with were not wealthy people, and Mary was no exception. But she was a generous person--she lived to give. So thankful was she that Jesus had raised her brother from the grave and that Jesus had chosen her as His friend, she was moved to release probably the most valuable thing she owned in worship. How effectively does your thankfulness open your wallet? To be an extravagantly generous Christian we will need to have a healthy attitude toward possessions. The Christian must learn to hold possessions loosely. That is, to be ready at any moment to get recklessly generous with our resources, whether in an act of worship or in response to a need (which is also worship, by the way). They used to catch monkeys by leaving closed cages in the clearing in the forest. In the cage the trappers would leave a half-peeled banana. The monkey would approach the cage, slip his hand between the bars of the cage (there was just enough room), grab the banana and then try to pull its closed fist and banana back out of the cage. But the closed fist could not fit through where the open hand had gone. So enamored with the banana, the monkey would keep holding it until the trappers would simply walk up and capture him. A Judas-type greed, evidenced by a closed fist, will lead you into a captivity as well. Learn to hold your possessions and your money loosely, available to the Lord when He asks you for it. The other notable thing about Mary is how genuinely she loved Jesus. When you love someone, when you are grateful to them for their care and friendship for you, you are always ready to be generous with them. Here’s an otherwise useless bit of trivia--did you know that Americans spend more annually on dog food than they give in church contributions?! Which one of us would admit we love our dog more than we love the Lord--but would your spending habits in other similarly-petty ways incriminate you? Something that Mary learned was when you are generous toward God and whatever He leads you to support, God is generous toward you. “Give and it will be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over. For with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Augustine once said, “God wants to give us something, but He can’t because our hands are already full.” Hold your possessions loosely because it’s all God’s anyway, and an open hand gives and receives more easily than a fist. 2. Open-hearted Worship - More than the value of the perfume, the real issue with Mary is that she was a worshiper. It didn’t matter what the rest of the people in Simon’s dining room thought of her, Mary had one thing on her mind--she was going to express her intimate love and gratitude to Jesus whatever it took. Judas had his private agenda and he slinked around trying to fool people into believing he was an OK disciple. Mary knew nothing about deceit or hiding her true feelings--she walked right in and worshipped. She didn’t care what anyone else thought they saw in her actions, nor what they thought of her. This is the heart of worship--the felt need to express thanksgiving and praise and wonder before the one who alone deserves it. On more than one occasion lately, Joni has surprised us with some comments that are new to her repertoire and totally unexpected. Just the other day she said to Charlotte and me: “I love you. Thanks for being a good mom and dad to me!” For just a moment I wondered, “What has she done wrong?” But the spontaneity of those thoughtful words were like breaking open a flask of expensive perfume and voluntarily offering extravagant words of admiration and appreciation. When ordinary acts of kindness and love won’t do, an extraordinary expression is in order. And to those who criticized Mary for the way she worshipped, Jesus said some of His harshest words. He evaluates Mary’s apparent excess as beautiful, not wasteful. You know, when you take the wrong approach, there is a lot that’s wasteful, isn’t there? Birthday and anniversary gifts are wasteful. Going out of your way to call a friend whom you have missed - wasteful. Wedding rings are wasteful. Smiles, sunsets, saying “God bless you after someone sneezes”- wasteful. There are a lot of wasteful, extravagances around us, but who wants a life without them? Jesus said of Mary, “She has done what she could.” He told the disciples just what those ingrates needed to hear “You have not yet given your all and done what you can do. Don’t criticize someone who has.” There is a real danger in criticizing the extravagance of someone else’s worship, because behind our protective screens where we stand when we attack others, we hide our own failures to give the Lord extravagant and appropriate expressions of worship. 3. Unconditional Commitment - Have you thought lately about Judas, the betrayer? He started out fully devoted to Jesus. In fact, when he began to follow the Lord he probably gave up more than you or I have ever given up! But, because he let a weakness in him go unhealed for a long time, he fell into the temptation of greed. And it wasn’t just the money he embezzled from the kitty, nor the money he got from the priests -- it was his obsession to see the kingdom of God come the way he thought it ought to come--through force. Jesus just wasn’t living up to his expectations. For Judas, Jesus was just a cause, an ideal, a means to get done what he wanted to get done. It’s one thing to say, “I try to follow the teachings of Jesus.” It’s quite another to say, “I’m a follower of Jesus. False expectations kept Judas at a cool distance from Jesus, detached, aloof and not fully committed. Mary, on the other hand, was fully engaged in relationship with the Lord--she had nothing to hide--she had admitted her sins and been forgiven and now she could live freely, honestly and worship openly, extravagantly. Judas wanted to see that expensive jar of perfume sold and the money given to others not so much out of concern for the poor, but frankly, because he was embarrassed by that kind of worship. that kind of emotional devotion to Jesus was too extravagant for him to watch because it painfully reminded him of the intimate relationship with Jesus that he no longer had. So he ducked out of the picture, stayed on the fringes. And he began increasingly to try to find his peace and happiness in personal wealth, political prestige and power. But those things never satisfy, do they? Jesus said, “I will give you peace--not as the world gives--my peace I give to you.” The real mystery of Judas is not why he betrayed Jesus. The mystery to me is why he never let Jesus in. Jesus had hand-picked him, not only as a follower, but as one of the elite Twelve. He prayed over him, taught him in private, trusted him with the group’s finances, washed his feet at the Last Supper. He did everything He could to say to this man, “Open your heart to me.” And the mystery is that he said “No.”.         [Top]