The Anointing October 22
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
A woman anoints Jesus with a costly aromatic oil. She breaks the alabaster stone perfume bottle, and pours its contents over Jesus’ head.
Samuel anointed David with oil after God had rejected Saul for disobedience. This was symbolic of the Holy Spirit being given to David in preparation for his kingship (1 Sam. 16:1-13).
John 12:3 identifies the woman as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Simon (formerly “the leper”) may have been their father or another close relative. John’s is similar to Luke’s story (Luke 7:36-51), in which Mary pours the oil on Jesus’ feet and uses her hair to wipe them.
If the ceremony were the washing of feet, water and a towel would have served the purpose. The use of expensive oil and using her hair on his feet constitute an offering both of greater monetary value and humility.
This is not a wealthy household. The expensive oil may well have been the equivalent of the widow’s mites (Mark 12:41-44), an offering at the limit of greatest possibility. The widow’s eyes saw her offering go into the trumpet of the courtyard, but her spirit saw it lifted up before God. Mary felt her offering touch the body of God, for her spirit knew He must soon be gone.
Jesus values a widow’s mite and a costly bottle of perfume the same. And it is also true that he values the motive for these donations equally. Every act reflecting love for Christ is exalted.
The Scolding October 23
Mark 14:4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
Proper perspective is necessary for understanding.
Mary’s act done for a nameless person with no context does lend itself to the charge that this fragrant oil was “wasted.” The speaker(s), Judas in John 12:4, or the disciples in Matthew 26:8, criticize what they do not understand. A monetary value is placed on the oil, but no value is placed on the act of reverence.
The widow’s mites thrown into the treasury of the Temple made absolutely no difference to any visible aspect of the building or its contents. Had she not given them, absolutely no one would have noticed…except the widow. Her offering had almost zero monetary value, but immense spiritual value.
The anointing of Jesus’ head could have been accomplished with olive oil, a much cheaper but equally acceptable alternative for anointing. Mary could have saved money and used the cheaper oil. No one would have thought of the low cost…except Mary.
As with the widow’s mites, the monetary value of the oil is irrelevant. The spiritual value of the act is our focus.
Criticizing is often easier than examining the context and our own hearts. We must seek first to understand.
Another Scolding October 24
Mark 14:6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.”
“She has done a good work for Me.” Think about that statement.
What is love but emptying oneself in order to fill another, lowering oneself to lift another up? A simple act of agape love for another person is what the disciples have witnessed. Mary has lowered herself that Jesus might be lifted up.
This was not a transaction, an equal exchange. This was not, “You do this for me, and I will return equal to you.” She gave, but was given nothing. Perhaps more accurately, she does not appear to have received anything in return.
Mary has done what she could, given what she has. And the gift is anointing Jesus for His burial. Their Master hits them again with the foretelling of His soon death, a warning they have yet to heed seriously.
The disciples are stuck in the world as they have known it, as if they have travelled a parallel universe beside Jesus as He preached and taught the people.
Jesus is showing them the world as it should be, as it can be. This vision is about to collide with their limited reality, and the world of the future will be changed.
The Poor October 25
Mark 14:7 “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.”
The argument that many of the poor could have been fed a single meal is a “no brainer.” Obviously, the money could have bought a lot of food, but instead was wasted on an expensive oil poured out onto Jesus.
Jesus fed five thousand without spending a penny. Would the contents of the alabaster box have fed so many?
The five thousand who had been fed had needed food again many times during the period that now seems so long ago. If the contents of the alabaster box had been traded for food, how soon would those same people be hungry again?
Perhaps we do need to think about what is best rather than dismiss the question. Bringing the brain (and perhaps even the heart) into the calculation, a way might be found to feed more people for longer periods of time.
To provide food to support the physical bodies of the masses into the future is a task beyond comprehension. Jesus sees a cornucopia of physical food as possible only when the people have been filled with the spiritual food of love and mercy and are unified in service to one another.
Mary has shown compassion. She did not pour just oil, but opened the floodgates of agape love, poured herself out for another.
As her spirit is duplicated, the doors to the barns holding life for all will be opened. When giving and receiving are weighed on the scales of justice, they will always be in balance. The amount the scales can hold is infinite, but we can limit the weight they hold to nothing by holding tightly to what we believe to be ours alone.
A Memorial October 26
Mark 14:9 “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Mary may not be conscious of anointing Jesus for burial. Rather it is a gift, a balm to freshen Him and to lift Him up. She is giving Him a blessing. This is a reflection of her regard for Him as a person, a child of God, as each of us is.
The valuation placed on Mary’s gift by others is irrelevant. As with the widow and her mites, the cost is not reckoned in gold but in faith and love. Mary’s more extravagant gift has been memorialized, held up as an example of selfless love, on a par with the widow’s gift. Neither act required a corresponding gift, or even a word of thanks.
Mary’s example gives us pause to consider.
We are each an example of something, often of many things, to all who see us. What example do we show others in our exchanges with them during the course of our work, or friendship, or family time?
Mary knows Jesus is more than just a man. She also knows that He is a physical being with limitations. She sees how ministering to Jesus may be a way to minister to all in need.
Giving to Him multiplies like a basket of loaves and fish, and she is filled.
Judas October 27
Mark 14:10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
Jesus has just rebuked the disciples, Judas in particular according to John 12:4, concerning Mary’s anointing of Jesus with expensive oil. This appears to be the last straw for Judas. Jesus has not taken advantage of the outpouring of support as He entered Jerusalem. And Jesus has allowed numerous other opportunities to leverage the support of the masses to pass unused.
Judas has an agenda he deems more important than that of Jesus. He will provoke Jesus into asserting His rightful political position through confrontation. Or perhaps Judas is simply frustrated that his own desire for riches and power is not coming into fruition.
Judas agrees to betray Jesus in the absence of the multitude to the religious authorities (Luke 22:6). This solves the authorities’ problem and brings Judas’ frustration with Jesus’ political inaction to a conclusion.
Matthew is good at relating the details of events through the lens of the testimony of the prophets. He sets the price at 30 pieces of silver, the price of a servant (Ex. 21:32).
This is the amount offered as a wage to Zechariah for his service, the Christ-like role of delivering the people of Israel from false teachers and evil rulers. When the people reject the prophet, he takes the wages, ironically called "that princely price,” and throws it into the house of the Lord for the potter (Zech. 11).
Satan has entered Judas’ heart. (Luke 22:3).
A Place for Us October 28
Mark 14:12 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
A reservation previously arranged appears obvious. Jerusalem would be so crowded with people visiting the holy city for the high holy day that there would be no room in the inn, so to speak. The unidentified owner is most likely a follower of Jesus.
The disciples ready the furnished room for the Passover feast, obtaining the unleavened bread, water, and wine for the Seder meal.
The passage seems straightforward except for a miracle in the details. How does it happen that the correct servant is carrying water at the precise moment for the disciples to see him and follow him to the correct house? The timing cannot have been planned in advance.
Small miracles occur in daily life, often attributed to chance, but mostly unnoticed.
Next day
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
A woman anoints Jesus with a costly aromatic oil. She breaks the alabaster stone perfume bottle, and pours its contents over Jesus’ head.
Samuel anointed David with oil after God had rejected Saul for disobedience. This was symbolic of the Holy Spirit being given to David in preparation for his kingship (1 Sam. 16:1-13).
John 12:3 identifies the woman as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Simon (formerly “the leper”) may have been their father or another close relative. John’s is similar to Luke’s story (Luke 7:36-51), in which Mary pours the oil on Jesus’ feet and uses her hair to wipe them.
If the ceremony were the washing of feet, water and a towel would have served the purpose. The use of expensive oil and using her hair on his feet constitute an offering both of greater monetary value and humility.
This is not a wealthy household. The expensive oil may well have been the equivalent of the widow’s mites (Mark 12:41-44), an offering at the limit of greatest possibility. The widow’s eyes saw her offering go into the trumpet of the courtyard, but her spirit saw it lifted up before God. Mary felt her offering touch the body of God, for her spirit knew He must soon be gone.
Jesus values a widow’s mite and a costly bottle of perfume the same. And it is also true that he values the motive for these donations equally. Every act reflecting love for Christ is exalted.
The Scolding October 23
Mark 14:4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
Proper perspective is necessary for understanding.
Mary’s act done for a nameless person with no context does lend itself to the charge that this fragrant oil was “wasted.” The speaker(s), Judas in John 12:4, or the disciples in Matthew 26:8, criticize what they do not understand. A monetary value is placed on the oil, but no value is placed on the act of reverence.
The widow’s mites thrown into the treasury of the Temple made absolutely no difference to any visible aspect of the building or its contents. Had she not given them, absolutely no one would have noticed…except the widow. Her offering had almost zero monetary value, but immense spiritual value.
The anointing of Jesus’ head could have been accomplished with olive oil, a much cheaper but equally acceptable alternative for anointing. Mary could have saved money and used the cheaper oil. No one would have thought of the low cost…except Mary.
As with the widow’s mites, the monetary value of the oil is irrelevant. The spiritual value of the act is our focus.
Criticizing is often easier than examining the context and our own hearts. We must seek first to understand.
Another Scolding October 24
Mark 14:6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.”
“She has done a good work for Me.” Think about that statement.
What is love but emptying oneself in order to fill another, lowering oneself to lift another up? A simple act of agape love for another person is what the disciples have witnessed. Mary has lowered herself that Jesus might be lifted up.
This was not a transaction, an equal exchange. This was not, “You do this for me, and I will return equal to you.” She gave, but was given nothing. Perhaps more accurately, she does not appear to have received anything in return.
Mary has done what she could, given what she has. And the gift is anointing Jesus for His burial. Their Master hits them again with the foretelling of His soon death, a warning they have yet to heed seriously.
The disciples are stuck in the world as they have known it, as if they have travelled a parallel universe beside Jesus as He preached and taught the people.
Jesus is showing them the world as it should be, as it can be. This vision is about to collide with their limited reality, and the world of the future will be changed.
The Poor October 25
Mark 14:7 “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.”
The argument that many of the poor could have been fed a single meal is a “no brainer.” Obviously, the money could have bought a lot of food, but instead was wasted on an expensive oil poured out onto Jesus.
Jesus fed five thousand without spending a penny. Would the contents of the alabaster box have fed so many?
The five thousand who had been fed had needed food again many times during the period that now seems so long ago. If the contents of the alabaster box had been traded for food, how soon would those same people be hungry again?
Perhaps we do need to think about what is best rather than dismiss the question. Bringing the brain (and perhaps even the heart) into the calculation, a way might be found to feed more people for longer periods of time.
To provide food to support the physical bodies of the masses into the future is a task beyond comprehension. Jesus sees a cornucopia of physical food as possible only when the people have been filled with the spiritual food of love and mercy and are unified in service to one another.
Mary has shown compassion. She did not pour just oil, but opened the floodgates of agape love, poured herself out for another.
As her spirit is duplicated, the doors to the barns holding life for all will be opened. When giving and receiving are weighed on the scales of justice, they will always be in balance. The amount the scales can hold is infinite, but we can limit the weight they hold to nothing by holding tightly to what we believe to be ours alone.
A Memorial October 26
Mark 14:9 “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Mary may not be conscious of anointing Jesus for burial. Rather it is a gift, a balm to freshen Him and to lift Him up. She is giving Him a blessing. This is a reflection of her regard for Him as a person, a child of God, as each of us is.
The valuation placed on Mary’s gift by others is irrelevant. As with the widow and her mites, the cost is not reckoned in gold but in faith and love. Mary’s more extravagant gift has been memorialized, held up as an example of selfless love, on a par with the widow’s gift. Neither act required a corresponding gift, or even a word of thanks.
Mary’s example gives us pause to consider.
We are each an example of something, often of many things, to all who see us. What example do we show others in our exchanges with them during the course of our work, or friendship, or family time?
Mary knows Jesus is more than just a man. She also knows that He is a physical being with limitations. She sees how ministering to Jesus may be a way to minister to all in need.
Giving to Him multiplies like a basket of loaves and fish, and she is filled.
Judas October 27
Mark 14:10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
Jesus has just rebuked the disciples, Judas in particular according to John 12:4, concerning Mary’s anointing of Jesus with expensive oil. This appears to be the last straw for Judas. Jesus has not taken advantage of the outpouring of support as He entered Jerusalem. And Jesus has allowed numerous other opportunities to leverage the support of the masses to pass unused.
Judas has an agenda he deems more important than that of Jesus. He will provoke Jesus into asserting His rightful political position through confrontation. Or perhaps Judas is simply frustrated that his own desire for riches and power is not coming into fruition.
Judas agrees to betray Jesus in the absence of the multitude to the religious authorities (Luke 22:6). This solves the authorities’ problem and brings Judas’ frustration with Jesus’ political inaction to a conclusion.
Matthew is good at relating the details of events through the lens of the testimony of the prophets. He sets the price at 30 pieces of silver, the price of a servant (Ex. 21:32).
This is the amount offered as a wage to Zechariah for his service, the Christ-like role of delivering the people of Israel from false teachers and evil rulers. When the people reject the prophet, he takes the wages, ironically called "that princely price,” and throws it into the house of the Lord for the potter (Zech. 11).
Satan has entered Judas’ heart. (Luke 22:3).
A Place for Us October 28
Mark 14:12 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
A reservation previously arranged appears obvious. Jerusalem would be so crowded with people visiting the holy city for the high holy day that there would be no room in the inn, so to speak. The unidentified owner is most likely a follower of Jesus.
The disciples ready the furnished room for the Passover feast, obtaining the unleavened bread, water, and wine for the Seder meal.
The passage seems straightforward except for a miracle in the details. How does it happen that the correct servant is carrying water at the precise moment for the disciples to see him and follow him to the correct house? The timing cannot have been planned in advance.
Small miracles occur in daily life, often attributed to chance, but mostly unnoticed.
Next day