Extravagant Worship (or, “Crazy Love”)
Mark 14:1-11
Introduction: Valentine’s Day is just a couple of
weeks away, a day when we especially celebrate love. Usually, it is not in some
vague generalities, but specifically focused on a special someone! Men, not
only that day, but always, the Apostle Paul has a word for us: “Husbands,
love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
(Eph 5:25)! That reminds us that love is not just an emotion, it shows itself
in action. OK, you have two weeks to think about it! And what about our love
for God? He has shown us His love. How then should we live? I read this quote…
“The main difference between
Christians and others is that we take God seriously and they do not. We really
do believe that He is the central reality of all existence…” [And so,] “…we order our lives in response to that reality and not some other…”
If we know God, we will love Him. If we love Him, we will live
differently. The Christian life is not an event, it is a process. I heard a
sermon by a well-known pastor lamenting the fact that he had gone for his
annual physical, and, to his chagrin, his height was 5 feet and ten inches. The
problem was that last year he was 5’ 10 ½”! He had lost a half inch in height! He
was shrinking! He then made the point that physically speaking, that will
happen, it is pretty much inevitable. But what about spiritually? Have we
plateaued in our spiritual life, or even worse, are we shrinking? Even into
old age, we can, and we should, continue to grow. At the heart of spiritual
growth, is growing to know Christ more intimately, because to know Him
is to love Him. What would it look like in our lives, in our church, and
how might it impact our community, if together we really determined to keep
growing in the knowledge of God, and to love Him with all our heart, mind,
soul, and strength? Can we give our best to the Master? Will we? We’ll
see in our passage today in Mark 14, an example of whole-hearted devotion to
Christ.
The BIG Idea: Whole-hearted love for Christ is the
proper response of a forgiven sinner, whose heart is captivated by the love of
God.
I. The Day had arrived: Passover was at hand, and the leaders were planning to kill
Jesus at an opportune time (1-2).
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, for they said, "Not during the feast,
lest there be an uproar from the people."
Being the shortest of the Gospels, Mark may not get the attention of the
other accounts of the life of Jesus, but I appreciate more and more how
masterfully he tells the story of Jesus. Here Mark serves us a literary
“sandwich” as he has the “bread” of the treachery of the leaders (vv. 1-2) and
Judas (vv. 10-11) surround the “meat” of an exemplary act of devotion, even
worship, as an unnamed woman pours out on Jesus what must have been a treasured
possession (3-9). The first two verses set the context, reminding us who Jesus
is and why He came. He is the Passover-King, the Lamb on the throne, who
alone could save us, by His blood, from the wrath we deserve. Passover is at
hand, and the evil intentions of the leaders are coming front and center in the
story.
But Jesus will be no victim. He came
willingly, to give His life so that we could be reconciled to God. He is guiding
the story, things would unfold according to God’s tiplan. God would show us His
love (I Jn 4:9). God the Son giving His life for sinful humans. How do we
respond? That is the Big Idea: Whole-hearted love for Christ is the proper
response of a forgiven sinner, whose heart is taken captive by the love of God.
II. The Devotion of a woman: Extravagant, Crazy, or Whole-hearted devotion (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…
We see the setting in 14:3, They had left the Mount of Olives and come to
Bethany. John’s Gospel tells us that when this happened in the house in Bethany,
Mary, Martha and Lazarus were present (Jn 12:1ff). Mark gives us an
additional detail, mentioning the house of “Simon
the leper.” For a dinner party on the eve of high holy day to be
happening there, we must assume that Simon was a former leper, perhaps someone who had been healed by Jesus. Was he
the father of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, or just a friend in who’s house they
all gathered? [BTW, We are reminded by the mention of “leprosy” of why Jesus
came. All is not right in the world. Since the Fall, sickness, spiritual
separation, the consequences of sin are all around us. He came to undo the
Fall, to make possible the reconciliation of fallen humans to Holy God. By His stripes, we are healed,
spiritually, and one day, physically. That is grace that requires a response!].
Some of you will recognize in the alternative title of the sermon the
title of the best-selling book by Francis Chan, Crazy Love. He tries in that book to give us a glimpse of the
majesty of God, and the wonder that such an awesome God would so love us. When
we try to describe God we use words like “omniscient” (all-knowing) and
“omnipotent” (all-powerful) so casually we are hardly impacted by what we are
saying. The Hubble telescope now has expanded our view of the universe, “astronomically.”
Billions of galaxies? I can’t even think about numbers like that. The God who
made all of that, who spoke it all into existence, knows my name? And loves me?
He even knew me from before the foundation of the world? Can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He
for me who caused His pain, for me who him to death pursued? You get the
idea? How should we respond to Him? Listen to David’s heart in Ps 63:1-7,
O God, you are my God; earnestly I
seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and
weary land where there is no water. 2
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and
glory. 3 Because your
steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I
live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my
mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6
when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the
night; 7 for you have been my
help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
That is the kind of love and devotion that this woman seems to express
in Mark 14. From the other gospels we can conclude that this was Mary, the
sister of Martha and Lazarus. She takes this precious possession, a sealed
flask of precious perfume, something worth a year’s salary for a day-laborer, so
valuable that it was perhaps a family heirloom, and she breaks it open, and
pours it over the head and body and feet of Jesus. We don’t have any
information about her motives, no explanation of this extravagant, seemingly worshipful
act. From John’s Gospel we know what this family has seen and heard of
Jesus. Lazarus was dead and buried, four days in the grave, and Jesus raised
Him to life! Jesus said on that occasion, “I am the resurrection and the life…” “I AM!” He had used that
phrase before! And who has power over life and death? Could it be that she was
grasping something about who Jesus is, and even why He came?
In Mark 14:3, Mary did what
she could, she gave Him her best. And John tells us that when she poured
out the perfume, the house was filled with the aroma. Everyone knew what
she had done. We’ll see that not everyone agreed with her actions or understood
her motives. *Whole-hearted love for Christ is a proper response from a heart
taken captive by the love of God, and by the awareness of how much we have been
forgiven.
III. The Dullness of those at the table: Or was it a pragmatic concern
(4-5)?
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.
We are not told by Mark who those were who were indignant at the
wasteful action of the woman—just some who were present. John gives the
detail that one who took exception was Judas (we know his motives [cf. Jn 12:6!]), but since Mark says “some” it seems
likely that some of the other disciples had the same reaction! They were
just trying to be practical, right? After all, think of all the good that could
have been done had the unopened flask been sold, and the proceeds used to help
the poor. They were indignant! What a waste! Or was it? What would we give to
Jesus? Would we give Him our lives, willingly putting Him and His mission ahead
of our comfort and security?
Some of those who were raising objections were being practical, perhaps,
at least from a human perspective. The Bible says a lot about the poor and
about the need for showing compassion and seeking to help. After all, giving to
the poor is one way of giving to God. So, this expensive perfume, poured out
all at once on the teacher seemed wasteful. Couldn’t it have been put to better
use? If He was just a teacher, they probably would have been right.
Who is Jesus, after all? Who was this rabbi who reclined at table
with them? They still didn’t understand—not even the disciples. Oh, they had
moments when they were almost there it seems, when they were getting a glimpse
of His messianic identity. But what did that mean? They still did not
understand fully His identity, His dual nature as the God-Man. This was the
great I AM reclining at table, God the Son, the Word made flesh, the Redeemer,
our promised Rescuer, our Creator. God, incarnate! If they had understood, would any act of
devotion to Him seemed too extravagant, too extreme, too “crazy”? Wholehearted
love for Christ is a proper response from a heart taken captive by the love of
God, and by the awareness of how much we have been forgiven.
IV. The Direction of Jesus: Leave her alone, she
has done a beautiful thing (6-9)!
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."
“Leave her alone, why do you
trouble her…” Remember when the parents were bringing their children to
Jesus for blessing, and the disciples tried to stop them? Jesus’ response: let them come, don’t forbid them! Here
this act of devotion, this response of worship, seems too extreme, too
extravagant to some. And so, they are indignant about the waste. But if they really
understood who it was that reclined at the table with them, would anything be
too extravagant?
Jesus says, “She has done a
beautiful thing to me…” There will be ample time to do good to the poor.
But Jesus would not always be there, at least not physically. The time of His
departure was fast approaching. Jesus says, “She has anointed my body for burial…” He had been telling His
followers repeatedly that He would soon be betrayed, handed over, and put to
death. But even His closest disciples didn’t seem to understand what He was
talking about. That day was at hand. It
is not clear if Mary perceived what would soon happen, but in effect, Jesus
said this anointing was for His burial. It does seem she had begun to grasp
that this Jesus was more than a prophet and teacher. He has more than a “son of
David.” This “crazy love,” this extravagant worship, was offered to Him who
was, and is, the Son of God. So, she gave Him her best, perhaps her most
precious and cherished possession. She broke open the flask.
Jesus said that this woman’s act of devotion would be recounted, told
over-and-over again through the ages, in her memory. The idea seems to be that
this is what devotion to Christ should look like… total commitment. Think of
who He is, and what He came to do. *The Big Idea: Whole-hearted love for Christ
is the proper response of a forgiven sinner, whose heart is taken captive by
the love of God.
V. The Decision of Judas: the last straw (10-11)?
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.
We are not told by Mark that there was a specific connection, but you
can’t miss how the woman’s action, and the words Jesus, led immediately to
Judas going to the religious leaders with his plan to betray Jesus. As the fragrance of the costly perfume filled
the room, it seems a stench, treachery, welled up in the heart of Judas. This
was the last straw. Judas goes out to chief priests. Think of the contrast! The
beautiful act of devotion by Mary, the fragrance filling the house, and the
lack of understanding from others at the table, and worse, the evil in the
heart of Judas. But God had a plan. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16,
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal
procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him
everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who
are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a
fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who
is sufficient for these things?
Judas had walked with Jesus and the other disciples. He had heard the
teaching. He had seen the miracles. Still, it seems, Jesus did not live up to
his expectations. Instead of worship, as expressed by Mary, it seems Judas’
disappointment leads to rejection and betrayal. Judas’ unbelief is exposed.
Among those who are perishing, a fragrance of death to death. But some hear the
truth and believe, and His Word, and our testimony of His grace, becomes to
them a fragrance of life to life! Remember the response of Michal as David
danced and celebrated as the Ark was brought into the city (2 Sam 6)? She
despised him. We shouldn’t judge the heart of another worshipper. After all…
What is God saying to me in this passage? Wholehearted love for Christ is a
proper response from a heart taken captive by the love of God, and by the
awareness of how much we have been forgiven.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) By now many of you have made your
plans for Valentines Day – but showing your love is not something reserved for
special days or occasions, right? “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved
the church.” God showed us His love, and He shows us the loving care
of a Shepherd, of a Father, every day and with every breath we take. The
Apostle John said “We love, because He first loved us.” The love that
John is speaking about is not just a sentiment or a feeling, it is a choice.
How do we express that? Maybe joining a small group, or attending a
Sunday School class, or our virtual Bible Study would be a context where
you can grow in knowing God. Even 15 minutes a day reading the Bible and
praying is a place to start. If you miss a day just pick up where you left off.
No pressure! Is that too extravagant? After a while, you’ll really look forward
to it—and over time, you’ll realize that your relationship with God is
deepening, you are coming to know Him better. To know Him is to love Him.
2) The woman in the house
in Bethany poured out on Jesus her best, her action showed her love and
devotion. Let’s not give God our leftovers, let’s give our best, our all. Let’s
be faithful stewards, materially yes, and of our time and our gifts.
3) Crazy love—He has shown us what it looks like. A Roman scourge. A crown of thorns. A Cross. For
us. How then should we live? 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is
love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.” That is the heart of the Gospel.
The people in the house could see and smell what she did,
the place was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. What would it look like
if we determined to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength?
How would the fragrance spill over in our neighborhood, in our families, among
our friends? May we be people who spread the fragrance of knowledge of God as go
through life! God will be glorified, AMEN.
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