Extravagant Love-Mark 14:1-11

As we begin this morning, please turn in your copies of God’s Word to the Gospel of Mark chapter 14. We will reading verses 1-11 shortly, so please have the passage marked and ready.

I would like to thank Pastor Allen for preaching last Sunday morning for me. It enabled me to just enjoy our time at the Village Missions Conference, without needing to take the time to prepare for a Sunday morning message. It is a privilege to have Allen and Diane as a part of our church family, for many reasons, but one is to know that we have someone to cover the pulpit, that knows and loves this church, having served here for more than 32 years.

2 Sunday’s ago, when we last looked at the Gospel of Mark, we finished chapter 13, which was a look at the Olivet Discourse. The Olivet Discourse came about as Jesus answered some questions His disciples presented to Him concerning the end times. Really, as we look at the Olivet Discourse, Jesus emphasizes 3 basic Action Points throughout, as we think about End Times. First, we are to Be On Guard, our enemy, the devil, is the great deceiver and he will lead many astray, his deception is already taking place. As we are faced with the deception of the enemy, we are to stand firm in the truth’s of God’s Word, no matter what is taking place. He, and He alone can save, He and He alone provides our redemption, and that redemption is declared in the pages of this, His Word. We must stand firm in the truth’s of His Word. The second action point is we are to Keep Awake/To Stay Alert. Since we have no idea when His return will take place, we must be attentive to what is taking place, so that when He does return, we will be ready. That is what we are doing when we stand firm in the truth’s of His Word. We are taking the needed steps to stand strong and alert, attentive to the leading of the Lord as well as the attacks of the enemy. Which enables us to accomplish the last action point, which is of monumental importance as we are in the midst of the last days: We Have A Job To Do. Time is of the essence for us to share His Good News with those He places before us. We must faithfully and boldly proclaim His life changing message until we see Him face to Face. We do not know how long we, or those He brings us in to contact with, have until God brings down the gavel of His judgement. That is the message of the Olivet Discourse.

As we move into chapter 14 of Mark, Mark begins by jumping to some point in time the next day of Passion Week, to Wednesday.

Pause

You know, I am a big fan of grilled cheese sandwiches, of course my favorite grilled cheese sandwiches are made with Velveeta cheese, and from time to time I enjoy them with sliced jalapeno peppers. As a teen, there were times I had, what seemed like, an appetite that could never be satisfied. As a result, I learned how to make grill cheese sandwiches. Unfortunately, there were times I attempted to multitask while making a grill cheese sandwich, which far to frequently resulted in burning the toast of the sandwich black. I found out that you can take a butter knife and scrape off the burned sides of the toast, which is a big deal when you have perfectly sliced Velveeta cheese and the ideal number of sliced jalapeno peppers. You see, it is what is in the inside of the sandwich that is most important. In some ways, that is what we see taking place in this morning’s passage.

In the first 11 verses of Mark 14, we have another of Mark’s Markan sandwiches. You may recall that we have talked about this in the past. A Markan sandwich is when Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit, sandwiches one story in the middle of another, or one theme in the middle of another. In each case of these Markan sandwiches, it is what is in the middle of the sandwich which is most important. In this instance, the outer edges of this Markan sandwich are spiritually dark, far darker than any over cooked grill cheese sandwich, but right in the middle of these 2 spiritually dark slices, we see one of the more beautiful stories of Extravagant Love.

Keep that in mind as we look at this morning’s passage. With that, would you please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word? Again, we will be reading: Next Slide

Mark 14:1–11 ESV

1 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, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” 3 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. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 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. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 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.” 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word, please be seated. Next Slide

Burnt Toast with No Butterknife in Sight. Vs. 1-2 & 10-11; Mt. 26:3-4 & 14-16; Lk. 22:1-6

As I mentioned a moment ago, this morning’s passage begins and ends with utter darkness.

To a certain degree, we are given no indication what Jesus does on Wednesday of Passion Week. My guess is that He spent a lot of time in fasting and prayer, seeking the Face of His Father, but it also appears He spent some time preparing His disciples for what was to come. What He was about to be faced with was beyond description. One of the first things we see taking place is the chief priests and scribes meeting together to make plans to secretly arrest Jesus and have Him put to death. According to Matthew, this meeting took place in the palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest. But pay close attention to what is recorded in verse 2, where we read;

Next Slide

Mark 14:2 ESV

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

Jerusalem was busting at the seams with Jewish visitors from all over Israel. As many as 2 million or more were there for the Passover Celebration. Many of those were from the region of Galilee, which was know for its volatility. James and John weren’t the only Sons of Thunder from Galilee. Galilee was also a region that had embraced Jesus more than any other area. The chief priests and scribes were fearful that if they arrested Jesus while the huge crowds were in town, a riot would ensue, that would bring down the wrath of the Roman government, and soon they would loose everything. But they weren’t the only ones fearful of the crowd. We learn in Luke 22:6 that Judas was also fearful of the crowd. It seems very clear that the plan was to arrest Jesus sometime after the Passover Celebration, when the crowds had dissipated and the danger of a riot greatly diminished.

This is where the sovereignty of God comes into play, you see, the chef priests and scribes, the Sanhedrin....they were not in charge, and Judas would move at a time preordained by the Hand of God Himself. While they may have wanted to avoid all of this taking place during the Passover Celebration, in God’s perfect plan, that is exactly when it would take place.

The Passover Celebration was the most important of the Jewish festivals. It marked the beginning of the Exodus of the Nation of Israel from their 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Which all culminated with the initial Passover. This was to be a night when God would bring His death angel, and angel of His judgement throughout all of the land of Egypt. This angel moved throughout Egypt killing every first born son, and the only thing that prevented him from bringing death to the first born son, was seeing blood on the doorpost of a home. The Jews were instructed to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and paint it’s blood on the sides and top of the door posts. And as the angel of death moved through the land, he would passover any home where he saw the blood of the lamb. Ever since that time, the Nation of Israel celebrated the Passover on the anniversary of that great night. In time, as the Levitical sacrificial system was established, the blood of the unblemished lamb came to represent a picture of the blood of The Lamb covering the sins of the people. But it was all a foreshadowing of what was to come, when the Ultimate Spotless Lamb was sacrificed to cover, Once and For All, the sins of all mankind. That Lamb was none other than Jesus Christ.

As a result, the sovereign Hand of God moved onto the landscape of the pages of, what is now history, and moved those who thought they were in control, to accomplish His perfect plan in His perfect timing. As a result, Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, Who’s blood takes away the sins of the world, would die at the exact moment when the passover lambs were being sacrificed.

So, despite the utter darkness of verses 1-2 and 10-11, God moves in as only He can, and changes the landscape from darkness to light. Because He is in complete control! That is a thought we must take hold of tightly. Our God is sovereign. He is in complete control. No matter how dark it may look, we can trust in Him, He is in control.

Now that we have looked at the burnt toast, that God has graciously scraped clean for us, let’s move the the best part of the sandwich. Next Slide

Velveeta Cheese and Jalapeno Peppers. Vs. 3-9; Mt. 26:6-13; Jn. 12:1-8

I only used this title to fit the title of the first slide, but the truth is, this middle portion of this Markan sandwich, is one of the more powerful stories of extravagant love in all of Scripture.

As is sometimes the case with Markan sandwiches, what takes place in verses 3-11 are not chronological with verses 1-2. Mark, as well as Matthew, sandwich an event that took place 4 days earlier between the darkness of bread of the sandwich with the extravagant love of what we read in verses 3-9. I love what John MacArthur wrote regarding this, he writes:

Though this episode is out of chronological order, its theme fits perfectly in the final section of Mark’s gospel, where the focus is on the final preparations for the death of Christ. It is a window of love in a wall of hate. (John MacArthur-New Testament Commentary-Gospel of Mark)

Allow me to use my imagination for a moment, this is what I picture may have taken place.

Here we are the Saturday night before the Triumphal Entry. Jesus and His disciples had just arrived in Bethany after a long hard day of walking. They arrive at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, wanting to rest their weary legs and just enjoy a quiet evening with their good friends. Well, no matter where Jesus went, the news got out of His arrival, and that is exactly what happened in this instance. You have to imagine that Jesus and the disciples where pretty exhausted, non-the-less, they received an invite to have dinner at Simon the lepers home. The truth of the matter was, this was not an accurate title for him. Had he been a leper, no one would have ever eaten with him, the Levitical Law prohibited this from taking place. This meant that he was actually Simon the former leper. But that creates a problem, you see at that point in history, leprosy was incurable. Which means that in all likelihood, Jesus had healed him. How cool would that be, to break bread with the One Who cleansed you from an incurable decease! Can you imagine the conversation at that table?

“Wow Simon, you’re looking good!”

A big smile forms on Simon’s face. He holds up his right hand.

“You see this thumb? It was gone.” He then slides up his sleeve to show his arm. “This arm was covered with white scale like scabs. And I had almost no feeling anywhere in my body. I was missing one ear and the other was almost gone. My feet were nothing but stubs and it had been 2 years since I had ever touched my wife and children. Then one day I heard Jesus was in town. I knew almost nothing about Him, but I did hear He was a miracle worker. So I quietly made my way to where I heard He was going to be. I saw Him walking in the distance. As He drew closer, the crowd realized I had leprosy and quickly scattered with shouts of ‘Unclean!’ I feared my opportunity for cleansing had vanished with the scattered crowd. But while the crowd scattered, Jesus made His way towards me. Me, Simon the leper! He looked deep into my eyes as He spoke; ‘Simon, do you want to be clean?’ Tears ran down my face......I couldn’t even speak. I just nodded my head in affirmation. Then....then He did the unthinkable, it wasn’t just unthinkable....it was reckless! In His reckless love He reached out His hand and touched me…right here, on this very hand, missing finger and all....in a moment, less than a moment…I was whole, cleansed by the touch of the Master’s Hand. In His extravagant reckless love, He had cleansed me! I can tell you one thing for certain, there is no one more grateful than me!”

Everyone at the table laughed joyously as their eyes moved from Simon, the former leper, to the smiling face of Lazarus, the former dead man!

The extravagant and sometimes reckless love of Jesus was on full display every where Jesus went.

You know, if we allow it to, extravagant love has a way of being contagious. Oh, it doesn’t have to, we can certainly quickly move past extravagant love as if there was nothing special about it at all, but really, it ought to change us. That is exactly what we see moving forward. Next Slide

The Extravagant Love of Mary. Vs. 3; Mt. 26:7; Jn. 12:3

Based on what we know of customs of the time, Mary and Martha were not reclining at the table with the men. Keep in mind, not too long ago, Jesus raised Mary’s brother, Lazarus from the dead. His extravagant love for she and her family had a profound affect on her. Quietly and with humble reverence, she walks into the room, holding something in her hands. This would have likely caught the attention of no one, thinking she was just serving some food or wine. That is until they heard the cracking of the neck on the alabaster jar she held. This is where the picture of her extravagant love came into focus. You see, an alabaster jar like this was supposed to last and last for years, even for life. Generally you gently remove the cork, use a little and save the rest for the next big occasion. That is not what Mary does, she breaks the neck of the jar, making it very clear, her intent was to use every drop. We find out as we read on that it contained pure nard oil imported from India. Based on today’s figures, its value as between $ 30-45,000. Mark only mentions her pouring some of the contents onto His head, but John adds that she also poured in onto His feet and proceeded to wipe His feet with her hair. John then tells us the whole “house filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

From there we move to: Next Slide

The Not So Extravagant Love of His Disciples. Vs. 4-5; Mt. 26:8-9; Jn. 12:4-5

Based on this account in the Gospel of John, the ring leader of this complaint came from Judas, who was about to betray Jesus. But I find it interesting that neither Matthew of Mark mention his name. Of course theologians tell us that Mark was written from the perspective of Peter. And I wonder if, as Peter is dictating this account to Mark, if maybe Mark didn’t stop Peter and ask; “Peter, can I ask you a quick question?” You mention ‘There were some who said to themselves indignantly’. Who was it?”

Peter thought for a moment before answering, then said; “You know, who said it doesn’t really matter. The fact is, he said exactly what was on my mind.”

Peter understood that his love was weak, at best, at that time.

Next we see: Next Slide

The Scolder’s are Scolded. Vs. 6-9; Mt. 26:10-13; Jn. 12:7-8

Beautifully, Jesus comes to her defense. We really don’t know if Mary had a complete understanding of what she was doing, but Jesus did. My guess is, she may have had a greater understanding of what was coming for Jesus as did the men that were present that night. Women often grasp these things more quickly than men. In Jesus chastisement of the others, He states that she not only had “done a beautiful thing” but was “anointing” his “body beforehand for burial”. In verse 7, He also stated “For you will always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have Me.” Please don’t misunderstand His statement here. He is not telling the disciples to ignore the poor. In fact the Old Testament passage He was quoting was a challenge to take care of the poor. Plus, He had taught on many occasions of caring for the poor. He was simply stating that she had a unique opportunity to worship extravagantly, that she would never have again, and she seized upon that opportunity.

I was trying to think of a way to give you a picture of this, about the only thing I could come up with was this. (Pick up the Corvette Model from Brittany). Pam and I were both working 2 jobs at the time and barely keeping our head above water when we got this. It was the week approaching Father’s Day and Pam had taken Brittany, who was probably 4 at the time, to shop for a Father’s Day present. For some crazy reason, Pam took Brittany to Town Center Plaza to shop. Town Center Plaza happened to be a high end retail strip Mall in Leawood KS. Currently, the average home price in Leawood KS is $550,000, but there are many that are valued at 2-3 million and more. Not long after they walked into one store, This car caught Brittany’s attention. It was this model Corvette, a Corvette umbrella, Hat and bottle of cologne shaped like…well a Corvette. It was way out of our price range, so Pam told Brittany “No”. They went back out to our vehicle and began to leave the parking lot when Brittany speaks up from her car seat; “Well he is My Dad!” Pam turned the van around and now I have this Corvette. Honestly, it is a treasured possession to me. If our house was on fire and I only had a short time to escape, this is one of the possessions I would look for.

That is just a fraction of what is taking place here. Somehow Mary has somewhat of an understanding of the fact that Jesus was about to die, and His love for her had been extravagant. In return, she took what was her treasure of highest value, and poured it on Him as a fragrant offering of worship. Extravagant love received, extravagant love given.

What about you this morning, what about me? Where do we fit in this passage? You know, not a single disciple had an extravagant love for Jesus at that moment, but history tells us that their weak love was transformed by the extravagant love of Jesus, and in the end, they laid it all on the line extravagantly.

May that be our story as well, starting this very day.

Let’s close in prayer.

Heavenly Father, I am overwhelmed at Your extravagant love. I think Cory Asbury described it well when he wrote “When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me. You have been so, so good to me. When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me You have been so, so kind to me. Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99. And I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away. Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God.” Oh Jesus, I thank you for Your extravagant, reckless love. Love that touched the hand of the leper. Love that brought You to the cross, to pay our debt. May we be moved to love you extravagantly. In the extravagant Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.