"Priorities"
[Mark 14:1-11]
October 15, 2006 Second Reformed Church
If we could view a movie of your life, what would we see as your priorities? What would be most important? Would you be pleased or disturbed that we could see what really matters to you?
Mark recorded history this morning in such a way that he bookends a glorious priority with actions concerning a repulsive priority. Mark begins and ends this morning's Scripture showing us human depravity and sin, yet, in the midst of it, he shows us that not all people always have sinful priorities -- sometimes, one has a glorious priority -- and it is this glorious priority that should be each and every one of our highest priority as Christians.
Chapter fourteen begins with the fulfillment of prophesy: Jesus told the disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified" (Matthew 26:2). Jesus had told the disciples that He would be betrayed and crucified after the Passover celebration, not before. And Mark tells us that it was two days before the Passover, and the high priests and scribes were plotting together, trying to find a way and an opportunity to trap and seize and kill Jesus. They were concerned that the method they used to have Him caught and put to death would not reflect badly on them. Therefore, they decided to wait until after the Passover celebration to implement their plots, because they knew that the people would be all the more enraged if Jesus was taken from them during the celebration. We understand that the chief priority of the high priests and the scribes, was their power and position -- they were willing to do anything to preserve and glorify themselves.
Verse three jumps back in time about three days, and John's Gospel fills in a few more details: Jesus and the disciples, with others, including Lazarus, whom Jesus had recently raised from the dead, and Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, were at the house of Simon the leper, presumably for a meal.
And at some point during their stay, Mary brought out an alabaster jar of pure anointing oil made from the spikenard plant. This was a very expensive anointing oil. And the jar contained about twelve ounces of it, John tells us.
And Mary took the jar and broke it open, and Mark tells us that she poured all of the oil over Jesus' Head. John tells us that she rubbed it into Jesus' Feet. And Matthew tells us that she rubbed it all over His Body. And John tells us, in addition, that she used her hair as the cloth with which to rub the oil into His Body.
What an act of humility and devotion She had taken a large amount of money -- possibly all of her money -- and she had bought one of the most expensive oils on the planet. And then she had lovingly, devotionally, humbly anointed Jesus from head to foot.
What had possessed her? Why did she do it? The text doesn't tell us what her motivation was, but we might guess: several days earlier, she had been at the funeral of her beloved brother, Lazarus, because of Jesus, Lazarus was standing among them, alive. She had seen Jesus weep and then heard Him cry out, "Lazarus, come forth!" And she had heard the discussion between Jesus and her sister, Martha, about the resurrection that will occur on the last day, and Jesus then revealed, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25a-b). And then Martha made her confession, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11:27).
It's not unreasonable to believe that Mary anointed Jesus because she had received her brother back from the dead, and more than that -- so much more -- she had come to know that Jesus is God, the Only Savior. Her priorities changed and she was now totally fixed on Jesus, on loving Him, on honoring Him, on glorifying Him. And we might well say, "Amen, Mary! And so it should be." But that's not what some of the disciples, and Judas in particular, did.
No, as John tells us, Judas, with some of the other disciples, confronted Mary and rebuked her, "How dare you! We could have raised over 300 denarii -- or more -- we could have raised over a year's pay -- and donated the money to the poor! How dare you waste the oil! You have ruined a great opportunity."
Mary was surely taken aback; and surely we hear the silent rebuke of Judas to Jesus, "How dare You allow her to waste this oil on You! You of all people -- the poor and meeting their needs matter more than Your feet and hair!"
Why were they angry? Yes, some of them were angry because they wanted to minister to the poor and that much money would have been helpful in performing their ministry. We can understand that. But John tells us this about Judas, "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" (John 12:6). Judas feigned love and desire for helping the poor, but his priority was not the poor, it was maximizing the amount of money he could steal -- and here he had lost a year's wages. Blind hypocrite.
And Jesus became angry, "Leave her alone! Why do you trouble her? She has done a great work for me. The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you want, you are able to do good, [but] you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. Amen, I say to you, whenever the good news is preached throughout the whole world, [and] what she has done will be told in memory of her."
What was Jesus' priority? Jesus' priority was glorifying Jesus. Jesus' priority is Jesus.
Here's an example of "what would Jesus do?" not giving us the correct answer. Since Jesus is God and worthy of all praise and glory; He rightly trains our eyes on Him. But we dare not focus our eyes on ourselves, sinners that we are.
Jesus told them that they should be focused on Him and His Gospel, not their greed and misunderstandings. And not even the poor -- first. First must be Jesus and His Glory.
And we might wonder: wasn't Jesus being callous? "The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you want, you are able to do good, [but] you will not always have me." The Law of God in Moses says, "There will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and the poor, in your land'" (Deuteronomy 15:11).
Jesus was telling them -- and us -- to get our priorities right -- to understand that Jesus is God, Jesus is Holy, Jesus is Glorious, and He is and was and is to be, always and forever, First and Last, the Center of All, the Beginning and the End, the Only Hope and Salvation. And He is right to direct us to glorify Him -- to make Him always our first priority -- because He is the only One deserving of it.
Jesus was not telling them or us to neglect the poor. On the contrary, again and again Jesus, in His Word and through His Actions call us to minister to the poor -- to provide for those who are unable to provide for themselves. But He tells us to get our priorities straight. They had the privilege to be in the presence and service of the Incarnate Almighty God, Who knew His time was very short, so Mary was right -- oh, she was right -- to break the alabaster jar and anoint Jesus from head to foot, covering Him with the oil, using her hair -- she was in the presence of the Resurrection and the Life, and her time with Him was very short. Anyone who had the slightest understanding would want to spend every moment before Him, listening to Him, being in His Presence, loving, worshiping, glorifying Him. It's how and why the martyrs throughout the ages have been able to stand firm as they were tortured and killed, as their families were tortured and killed before them. Their wives, husbands, children. They gave up all worldly good, because they understood that He is greater; He is worth more; He is Worthy.
If you've come into the presence of Jesus -- really come into His Presence -- there are only two responses -- two ways to set our priorities: we could see Him and be repulsed by Him -- like the scribes and the high priests and Judas -- we could have as our greatest desire that we be lifted up and He put out, sent away, killed Or we could see the Glory and respond, "Glory!" Jesus first, Jesus always -- lost in rapture, love and wonder -- willing to give up everything, to serve humbly and passionately...
And we do not worship Him and glorify Him for rewards, for a "get out of Hell free card," but because He is deserving. Yet the writer of Hebrews tells us "And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). What does that mean?
Mary sought Jesus. She sought to know Him and glorify Him. And Jesus promised, "Whenever the good news is preached throughout the whole world, [and] what she has done will be told in memory of her." Jesus rewarded her by this, that when we talk about having Jesus Christ as our highest and first priority, when we preach that there is salvation in none other but Jesus Alone, we will tell the history of this event in the life of Mary, as an example for us to follow.
There is another example: that of Judas and the high priests. Judas found being taught by God Almighty and knowing the Incarnate God to be too little, so he went to the high priests and told them that he was ready to sell Jesus out to them. And the high priests rejoiced ... and they sought a convenient place to deliver Him up...
What is your highest priority?
Let us pray:
Almighty and Glorious God, we are so easily distracted by fool's gold. Draw us close unto You. Teach us to see Your True Glory and have us be so enraptured by it that nothing else will satisfy but that You be our All. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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