True Devotion

This morning, we pick back up in our study of the Gospel of Mark at another transition in the story. In chapter 13, Jesus finally took the gloves off and said the quiet part out loud. He declared open war against the religious leaders and the coming destruction of the Old Covenant. All that is left is fulfillment – to put an end to sacrifice, to usher in everlasting righteousness, and to establish an eternal kingdom. Jesus will accomplish all of this in the course of four days in his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. As we walk with him through this, today we come to a case study on true devotion. What does it look like to truly be devoted to Christ? To see that, let’s read Mark 14:1-9. From this text, we find three people who interact with Jesus: the Despising Leaders, the Deceitful Disciple, and the Devoted Woman.

First, from verses 1 and 2, we find the Despising Leaders. Mark tells us that the judgment that Jesus pronounced in chapter 13 had its effect. The religious leaders are so angered by it that they immediately make moves to arrest Jesus. Notice, though, that they do not openly confront Jesus as he had done with them. Instead, Mark says that they plan to do it “by stealth.” The Greek word used here means “deceit, treachery, or craftiness”. For over three years, Jesus has made clear who he is and what he has come to do, but the leaders of Israel choose to hide their intentions all the way up to the end. So, it is with those who are set against God. They are like the serpent, in the garden, who stealthily approaches the woman and sews deceit. They are like Cain, who hid in the field to kill his brother. They are like the enemies of Daniel, who created a new law just to persecute the faithful Jew. They are like Haman, who plotted with his family to commit genocide against the people of God.

The only thing that holds them back is their fear of the crowd. Verse 2 says that they held off on their plans because it might create an uproar among the people. Jesus is at the height of his popularity, and there is great anticipation that he will soon usher in the Messianic kingdom. So, to arrest him now would guarantee a riot. As we know, though, this attitude of the people will quickly change. It will only take a day for the crowds to turn on Jesus. Yet in this, see the plan of God. Had the priests moved at this moment to arrest Jesus, there would have been a riot, the leaders would have lost their position with the people, and the people would likely have tried to force Jesus to take the throne of David. God’s purpose was that his Son must first suffer as an atonement for the sins of the world, and so the leaders paused their plan.

The second person we see in this passage is the Deceitful Disciple, from verses 3-5. Mark says that Jesus went to a feast at the house of Simon the leper. It’s unclear who this Simon is, but most believe that he was a former leper who was healed by Jesus, and he is now showing gratitude to Christ for that miracle. During the meal, a woman comes in and anoints Jesus with an expensive oil. I’ll say more about this woman and her act in the last point. For now, I want to focus on the response of the disciples (and one in particular) to this act of worship. The disciples see this and complain that it is a massive waste of money. They point out that this ointment costed 300 denarii (in today’s money, that would be around $18,000). Ostensibly, their issue with this act is that the money could have been used for better purposes. It could have been used to help the poor. The motivations of the disciples and the response of Jesus teach us two important principles about the priorities of the Kingdom of God. First, at face value, the disciples’ objection seems reasonable, even godly. But, it is far from it. In John’s telling of this event, from John 12, he reveals that it was Judas Iscariot who objected to this act. John reveals his true motive in verse 6: “He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” Oh, there is so much that can be said here of the corruption of money in the church. Who hasn’t heard of the pastor who fleeced his congregation by manipulating them spiritually? What generation has not seen a church that was little more than a moneymaking scam? There is an ever-present temptation within the body of Christ to use spiritual authority for personal gain. Brothers and sisters, we should be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Sadly, when it comes to spiritual leaders, we tend to be easily manipulated. As long as a man says all the right things, puts on a show, speaks with conviction, we will hand over our checkbooks. Yet, there are some prudent protections that I’d encourage you to implement, both as individuals and as a church. For one, do not give your offering to an organization that is not a church (excepting your social giving to charities and civic institutions) – and even better, don’t give to a church that is not affiliated with a denomination. Many tele-evangelists set up a separate organization so that they have control over the money they receive. This removes any God-ordained accountability. And, in my opinion, non-denominational churches are problematic for this same reason. By their very definition, non-denominational churches have rejected any mutual accountability among other churches.

Second, as a church, we should be wary of men and groups who have established their own “ministry” disconnected from any church, or who come, hat in hand, expecting a fee for their ministry. You might have noticed that I tend to ask pastors from our own association to preach our revivals. I don’t go get the big names from the state convention, and I don’t invite famous evangelists. You might have wondered why, and this is it. My responsibility is to guard the flock, and so I do that by choosing preachers who are closely connected to our church and denomination. None of this is to say that all independent ministries or self-supported evangelists are charlatans. It’s not even to say that the majority are. Rather, my concern is that the whole practice of independent ministry, detached from the authority and discipline of the church, establishes an unhealthy pattern that can easily be abused.

Jesus’s answer to the disciples’ objection raises the other point about the priorities of the kingdom. In verse 7, Jesus says, “The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them.” Recognize in this that there is something that is more important than utility and pragmatism in the ministry of the church. It is popular, in our day, to justify a church’s ministry based on how many people are served or what “ministries” we have for the public. It is as though we believe that a church is not really alive unless we have a food pantry or a homeless shelter. All of that is good, and we should do those things if we are able, but what Jesus says here shows that there is a far more important priority for the church than caring for the poor. Faithful worship is the chief priority of the church. Proclaiming the name of Jesus should be the singular focus on the church.

With that, consider the last person in our passage – the Devoted Woman, from verses 3-9. At this feast, a woman comes in and begins anointing Jesus. We are told, in John’s Gospel, that this woman is a well-known disciple of Jesus: Mary, the sister of Lazarus. What Mary does is remarkable for a number of reasons. For one, the offering she gives to Jesus is extravagant. She anoints Jesus from an alabaster flask. This was a translucent jar that was sealed, making it a single-use vessel. In order to use its contents, you had to break the seal, meaning that the jar could never be used again. The oil within the flask was an extravagant gift, too. Nard comes from the Himalayan mountains of India and Nepal, making it rare and costly. As I mentioned earlier, this little flask would have cost $18,000 today.  

Her act is also remarkable because of what it means. There are two meanings we find here: one that is implicit in the oil, and one that is explicit in Jesus’s response. First, this oil was only used in a couple of cases because of how rare it was. It was used to anoint kings and priests. In this act, Mary is implicitly anointing Jesus as the Messiah and the High Priest of the New Covenant.

We also have the meaning that Jesus explicitly gives in verse 8: “she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.” Oh, what a marvelous statement! You see, the religious leaders were busy manipulating the Passover and the law to justify the arrest of Jesus. Judas was busy manipulating the priorities of the kingdom to make a profit.  Both were ignoring the customs of Israel. When an Israelite was buried, it was customary to anoint them with oil as a sort of last rite and a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who would bring about their resurrection one day. But, in the rush to bury Jesus before the Sabbath, no one would have time for this ritual. So, Mary is preemptively performing the custom, and in so doing she proves herself more faithful than the priests of Israel and the disciples of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, we exist to magnify the name of Jesus. Everything we do should have that priority in mind, even when it is meeting a physical need in the community. We are to be faithful to honor Christ, and we have just such a moment of faithfulness before us today, as we come to the table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.