Please turn in your Bibles to Mark. Mark chapter 14, turning to the Gospel of Mark. Are you ready for the Gospel tonight? Amen. Mark chapter 14, now hear the Word of our God. 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, Jesus, by stealth and kill him. For they said, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people. 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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, why was this ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. But Jesus said, leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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. Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, let us behold wonderful things out of your word. And leave not a heart unchanged here, Lord. We pray for your grace. We pray for your spirit. We pray that you help us to love Jesus more. And we do pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. There's no beating around the bush when you preach this text. Jesus' point to his disciples is crystal clear. Jesus says, do not miss this. Do not miss this beautiful thing this woman has just done to me. Jesus says in verse 9, 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. Jesus says, truly there at the very beginning to get our attention, In the Greek, it's amine, from which we get the word amen, so be it. King James, I remember verily, we hear verily, verily. Jesus reserves use of this word to times when he wants his hearers to attend to something with all their hearts. Jesus says, truly I say to you, this beautiful act of love will go everywhere my gospel goes. Anywhere the gospel is proclaimed, the gospel of salvation throughout the world, Her part will be remembered. Which means faithful gospel ministers had better be proclaiming this in 21st century America. There's no doubt this woman acts, act, pleases Jesus greatly. This anonymous woman actually receives greater praise from Jesus Christ than anybody else in this gospel. And Mark even arranges his material to further magnify what she has done. You'll see on your bulletin, we have another one of these Mark and sandwiches at the top. This woman's beautiful act of preparing Jesus for death is sandwiched right in the middle of another story where sinister men are seeking to do the same. Mark could have kept the religious leader scheming and Judas then coming alongside them as a single unit. But he splits it in order to place this woman's anointing, this beautiful act, right in the middle. Of course, Mark knows that connecting them will reinforce just how imminent Jesus' death now is. We're getting to this time in Mark where, you know what, the time is drawing near. But he also places this love story against this backdrop of evil to enhance its beauty like a diamond set against black felt. The glory of this woman pouring out such a costly gift shines brilliantly when set against the shadowy backdrop of evil men plotting to take Jesus' life. It's only further darkened by a betrayer who has been so intimate with Jesus for years. Is your heart struck by the extravagance of the love this woman gives to Jesus, what she shows? Our text is driving us relentlessly to appropriate, to take in her amazing love for Jesus, so that we too will be compelled to shine, to give our best to Him. And we need to not only take the magnitude of her gift as she sells out to Jesus, but we also need to consider the smiling face of our Savior as He receives it and is so pleased. If the Holy Spirit is starting to convict you right now of how small your love for Jesus is, that conviction is actually a good place to start, but not where the Spirit wants you to finish tonight. Because as amazing as her love is, as costly as her gift is, there's a far greater love to take in in this text, a gift, a far more costly gift, right here in this scene, and it's not given to those worthy of it. but to those who are unworthy yet greatly loved. Jesus came in our flesh so that you might discover a love that will never let you go, so that you might take hold of the costliest gift ever given in history, himself. Mark wants us to see that Jesus is offering his life here to make us his forever. And if you believe and receive this gospel, glory will follow. No matter how bad life has been, no matter what odds seem stacked against you right now, your salvation and future glory will come to pass if you simply believe and receive this. How can I say that with such certainty? Well, I can say that because everything is contained within the framework of God's sovereign plan. And there's not anybody who can mess up God's plan of salvation. That's why I added that second layer to Mark's sandwich there, with these time references to the Passover. In verse 1, Mark tells us that the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we're drawing near. And you'll notice, if you actually look to the next passage, in verse 12, the Passover has arrived, which is the time God has chosen for His Son to die. But notice, it's not the time chosen by those who are opposed to God's plan. We're told that the chief priests and scribes are plotting to arrest and to kill Jesus secretly. They've been planning actually for some time, but now they're really putting their heads together. These guys are really frustrated. That's because Jesus arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of this week to pick a fight with them, a fight he planned to lose. On Monday, Jesus came into the temple and began flipping tables over and calling these leaders out for making God's house into a den of robbers. Then he returns on Tuesday These religious leaders were then ready for a fight, and six different groups of them. They try to trap Jesus or embarrass Him, and one after another, He dispatches with each and every one. Jesus showed them all to be hypocrites, ignorant of Scripture and of God's power. And the whole time Jesus is doing this, you've got to remember, there's this huge Passover crowd watching and cheering Him on. That's why in chapter 14, they're saying, Jesus has gone too far now. We have to silence Him. They know that his popularity makes it unwise to try and do this while all these huge Passover crowds are here. So as they scheme, they're saying, anytime but the Passover. Anytime but the Passover. Which is pretty funny. Because the very thing they don't want to do, they end up doing. Do not miss out that the secret plans of men are no match for the sovereign plan of our God. They want to kill Jesus later, but you see, God's world operates on God's timetable. As Judas shows up, giving them the opportunity they need. And before they know it, things are progressing faster than they can even help. So today, we also need not fear, as the rich and powerful of our own age hatch their schemes. As we look around and we see growing hostility to the gospel. or even the overt plans of those who don't come out openly against Jesus, yet you can see they are seeking to do away with the gospel of Jesus Christ bit by bit. See, our world is like a canvas with men as the actors who cannot escape being inside the picture frame of God's eternal decree. That's why I like the Passover bracketing each side of this. This is God's timetable. And no one can keep God from accomplishing His salvific purposes in history, including your salvation because it is his story. He longs to save each and every one of us. These guys to a man are saying Jesus can die anytime but the Passover, but God sent Jesus to Jerusalem to bring Passover to its fulfillment. We all recall that the Passover was a commemoration of God's mighty act of delivering his people from Egypt. the slain blood of the Passover lamb resulted in Israel finally being set free. That all along it was pointing forward to when the Lamb of God would come and die for the sins of the world and set us all free. Mark has been showing us in his gospel that Jesus came to bring a new exodus to deliver his people from the land of the dying and usher in the kingdom of God. And the only way this can happen as if He dies on the cross, taking upon Himself the wrath and curse that we so rightly deserve as sinful men. That is why sinful men will act believing they're writing history, but they're not. They're writing His story. As Peter on Pentecost will say, after Jesus has been raised, that Jesus was delivered over according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. And here in Mark, Jesus, knowing God's plan, has been telling this to His disciples. In chapters 8, 9, 10, He's been repeatedly telling them, I'm going to Jerusalem to be handed over, to be killed, and to be raised from the dead. And yet, over and over, we see these thick-headed disciples don't get it. Though, actually, it does now seem something's starting to sink in. they finally do see an approaching storm coming. Right before this scene, Jesus had warned them of the coming destruction of the temple. Jesus' alive discourse was a terrifying vision of the end times. Mark 13, an ominous forecast that it seems these disciples seem to take in to some degree. Then Mark 14 shifts from the future vision back to present reality and the storm clouds are already here, but they're moving in on Jesus. Yet these 12 disciples remain oblivious to this. There's one person who understands, one person who gets it and feels called to action for such a time as this. Verse three, 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. I would suggest this resembles the scene in Esther, when Queen Esther hears that time is running out if she doesn't act. And Mordecai encourages her to bravely act. He says to her, who knows if you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Jesus is staying in a Bethany house near Jerusalem, belonging to a guy named Simon the leper. And Jesus, the twelve, and some other men are reclining at table. This is a meal. And also remember, this is the ancient Near East. There would be no women allowed to recline at this table. And suddenly this woman boldly approaches this table with a beauty all her own. Mark describes her gift actually in great detail. An ointment of pure spikenard. This is no cheap knockoff perfume you'd find at Walgreens. This is a rare product that you would only find in the Himalayas. A family might actually keep this as a savings account or hold onto it as an heirloom. 300 denarii, that would be equal to maybe about $50,000 today. And as she approaches with her flask of precious, costly ointment, she's going to make a real scene here. She doesn't uncork it, you know, quietly and give Jesus a little bit of, a few drops so he'll smell nice. Mark says she breaks the flask and pours all of it out over Jesus' head. Mark's language actually describes a deluge here. Can you imagine being one of the guys sitting at this table? To see this woman boldly walk up to the master with this treasure box, to watch and to hear it snap and pour out the whole thing, the whole flask, drenching Jesus and then overwhelming the whole house. Can you imagine the perfume? What would be your response to this? See this bold woman proclaim, I'm not worried about tomorrow or how any of these men are going to react. I'm all in Jesus. I'm all in. I'm placing all my chips on you, Jesus. Notice the response in this room. For there are some who said to themselves indignantly, why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her." This woman's act, it prompts all kinds of anger. Folks are fuming mad here. Some are really laying into you. What in the world were you thinking? How dare you act so wastefully when there's so many needy folks out there? I think they're assuming Jesus is on their side here. Some may remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus, and he said, sell all and give it to the poor. I'm in a shock to hear Jesus, completely covered in her gift, jump to her defense. Jesus says, leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you could do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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. First thing you need to see here is that when you're all in for Jesus, you need not worry what others tell you, because Jesus is for you. And you also need to see that bold love for Jesus is going to make some folks around you squirmy. They might even ridicule you by acting like they can take the high ground here. But you see, this actually reveals the problem in their own heart when this happens. When folks don't like others giving their best to Jesus, it actually reveals a whole other kind of poverty. That's why Jesus says, are you blind to what's going on? This is a beautiful thing. I know what Deuteronomy 15 says about the poor. But you do not always have me. How can this be a waste? Do you not see that I am worthy of this? Don't miss it. Jesus is saying, I am more important than the poor here. Jesus exalts himself over the needs of the poor. And as the Lord, he should. Jesus is saying we have to keep first things first, and we can never exalt our service over our Savior. We can't exalt our service over our Savior. Mark hammered home in the temple scene that love for God is more than sacrifice. Relationship with God is more than ritual. God wants our hearts before he wants our service. That does not mean we don't go out and love the poor and help them. Jesus told the scribe in the temple that love of neighbor was akin to love of God. But we love neighbors because our devotion is to the one in whose image they're made in. Every Monday, I go to the pantry and help serve some of the poorest people in Elkhart. But my devotion is not first for them. My quest is not to solve Elkhart's poverty. My mission is not to make the poor like the rest of us. If my devotion was to the poor, I would soon find pouring myself out to be a waste. I might do a little good for a few folks for a little while, but I'm not really fixing anything. Because Jesus says that until the end of this age, we will always have the poor among us. I think proof of that is Elkhart's economy. It took off recently. We made national headlines. You could find a job like that in Elkhart, good paying, and guess what? When unemployment was at 2%, we had pretty much the same number of people in poverty, same number of people coming to the pantry. Actually, a whole bunch of churches who contribute all got together to inquire why all the pantries still had the same needs. If my devotion was first to Elkhart's poor, believing my efforts should be changing folks, or that the economy should help, I would get really disappointed because Elkhart's poor cannot bear the weight of my idolatry. And neither can I bear the weight of theirs if my service is lifted up as first and most important. Because I'm not Jesus. My service is never enough. I am not anybody's Savior, nor can I be. I and all the wonderful people that I serve with every Monday cannot bear the weight of Elkhart's poor even for one day. That is why my calling at The Pantry is to love Jesus and to encourage others to orient their devotion around the true Savior, Jesus Christ. My calling and yours is to love Jesus because Jesus is the one not only worthy of our devotion, But as the Son of God, He can bear the weight of others' poverty and ours too. And though He was the Son of God, He became poor in order to save us. And bearing our flesh, He said to all who are weary to come devote themselves to Him, and He would give them rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. And knowing I'm yoked to the one I'm devoted to makes my service both bearable and a great privilege. as I get to point to the one who became poor to end our true poverty. As this woman is doing in this scene, pointing to Him. Do you realize there's a great irony in this text here? They're mad because this gift could have been given to the poor. And it was being given to the one who had become the poorest of all ever. That's why Jesus commends her devotion as a beautiful thing. Especially for such a time as this. Her response of love towards Jesus is the only one in a text full of all kinds of human opposition. One that I think Jesus really needed at this moment. We may feel uncomfortable saying Jesus, who is fully God, needed something. Because we do right to emphasize the truth that need is a creature word, inapplicable to God. If God needed anything outside Himself, there'd be something greater than Him. In this sense, it's wrong to say that Jesus needs men or anything we can give Him. But in the Incarnation, Jesus entered our world as a helpless baby needing His mother's milk. God ordained that Jesus need folks to come alongside Him to help Him in His purpose. And though God didn't need to need us at all, He chose to allow us to come alongside Him. especially this woman, because Jesus needs someone to love and comfort him in this most difficult time. Move along in this chapter. Jesus will say to his sleepy disciples at Gethsemane that his soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay awake and watch. And to a man, each and every one of them fail him repeatedly. And when Jesus is betrayed, when Jesus is arrested, all of them scatter, leaving Jesus alone to be accused, beaten, rejected, shamed, and sent to the cross in total isolation. Consider, Jesus is going to face agony from every direction, every sense. There at the cross, arms held back. He can't stop the blood from dripping down into his eyes, blurring his vision. All that would touch His burning lips would be sour wine, leaving a bitter taste. And the ringing in His ears, all it would be was jeers and mocking. And all He would feel is every single nerve receptor going into shock, screaming pain. Then add to that the emotional and spiritual anguish as the Father turns His face away. Yet through it all, through every bit of that, There remains something communicating love for his person. All the way up to that very last gasp of air. You know what's still there in that last gasp of air? Perfume. Perfume. This woman's love gift. From the anguish of Gethsemane, to the arrest, to the mock trial, to his painful death, Jesus, with every breath, can take in a whiff and recall, when he's utterly abandoned by everyone, Jesus can take in this woman's love, this gift that she drenched him with as she poured out her all onto him. Beautiful. There's a singularity to her gift No other human can ever match. You see how truly beautiful this is from the moment this drenching happens? We sang Psalm 41 earlier where verse 9 says, even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. That psalm, it told Jesus that the one eating at the table with him right now, a close friend who had lived with him 24-7, for years was with him, was about to betray him. I bet that was tough to swallow. But at the moment of the drenching, I suspect Psalm 23 might have started to go through Jesus' mind. As Jesus looked across the table at his betrayer, he suddenly receives an anointing. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. Jesus sees that his father was being his shepherd, even as our good shepherd was becoming the lamb about to be slain. Ready to take that journey through the valley of the shadow of death for you and I. What an aid to our Savior, as he lifted up that overflowing cup of the new covenant, knowing that goodness and covenant love would follow him into the resurrection life. What a beautiful gift this woman has given to Jesus, our Savior. She's the one person in the room who understands the cross that Jesus Christ has to bear for us. Jesus says she anointed his body for burial. That's really a primary use of this spike nerd. That's why she pours it all out, despite the cost, because she may not have another opportunity. She alone realizes that Jesus' time is drawing to an end. She sees the storm clouds coming in. Although it seems Someone else is seeing those storm clouds about now too. Verse 10, then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. This woman's beautiful act becomes the catalyst for Judas' betrayal, his act of betrayal. At this point, there's been no indication that any of the disciples really get the cross. When Judas hears that Jesus declares this gift is for his burial, he alone out of the twelve gets it and he says, I'm out. I'm out. Judas watches $50,000 getting poured over Jesus' head. And he realizes his stock is about to take a huge fall. His investment in Jesus is not going to yield the kind of returns that he was expecting. Jesus is willingly going to his death, and this is not what Judas had bargained for. And the cross becomes a stumbling block. As Judas sells his shares for all he can get, becoming the informant these chief priests need so they can arrest Jesus when he's alone and secluded. Wealth is a motivator here, but Mark points less towards Judas' greed than the other Gospels. Mark's Gospel amplifies the shame, the shamefulness of the cross. Shame that offended Judas. Judas was probably willing to die himself if Jesus had led a revolt seeking power. But the shame of following a cross-bearing Messiah proved to be too much. And with his act of betrayal, Judas, too, becomes remembered wherever the gospel goes. And we can shake our heads at this selling out of Jesus and the selling out of his message, but we're not immune, as our day is also one of betrayal. You may have heard the news of Josh Harris, a well-known and beloved Reformed pastor, who just announced he no longer considers himself a Christian. And many are left devastated as a result of this. And I don't know Josh Harris personally and all the details of his life that led him up to this point. Maybe suffering came, gradual compromises, selfishness. But what I do know is that at some point the cross became a stumbling block for him. And I pray and have been praying that Josh will not be remembered for that betrayal. but rather repent and return so that when he himself lies in his coffin, his swan song might be that of our dear sister Phyllis. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim. And I pray that you too see that we are not immune. So we need to be asking ourselves and asking one another, where are we not all in for Jesus? Is it when we're alone? When we're at our jobs? Is it in certain activities we're involved in? Where are we prone to compromise? Are there situations where we're ashamed of Jesus? Do we ever think that our service to God is adequate? Because all of these can become cancers that gradually make the cross seem less and less beautiful. and you'll slowly have less and less gratitude for what Jesus has done for you. And the greatest gift of love ever will begin to become shameful. We need to be ever looking at the glory of the shame of the cross, which is the power of God to salvation for those who believe, for all sinners who believe and receive it. Jesus came to die for men who were betrayers. of which we all are. Luther said we carry Jesus' nails in our very pockets, and I think that's right. Remember, it was not the nails that held Jesus to that cross. It was your sins and mine, every single act of betrayal, as you chose something other than God. Your betrayals this week held Jesus to that cross, and he did it willingly for you. And if the Father sent his best gift out of love for you, how can we even begin to believe that we can do less? Giving your best to Jesus is the least we can do, and it is what is pleasing in God's sight. It's a pleasing aroma. Jesus says of the woman, she has done what she could. Literally in Greek it means, she has done what she had. She did everything she had. Have you done what you have for Jesus? And not out of service, but out of love. This woman done what she had, and it's a pretty big gift, but that's not the point. Because actually on the other side of Mark 13, There's another scene with a woman that Jesus commends. The poor widow at the temple, another very bold woman who got in line with all these really rich folks, folks who are pouring in huge amounts of coins into these bronze offering funnels. Imagine the sound. One after another, Jesus is watching them go by. And she gets in line and she doesn't care what anybody thinks. She's going to do what she has, give what she has out of love for God. Two little mites. Two little mites. And when Jesus hears her offering, not the... Jesus gets up and says, that's what I'm talking about. He gets really excited and he actually gives another truly to get his disciples' attention. He says, truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. They all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on, which literally in the Greek means she gave her whole life. This woman gave her whole life. Jesus is saying the same thing about this poor widow. She has done what she had, even though no one else in the world is that impressed. This poor widow would be despised because she didn't have enough to give. The nameless woman in Mark 14 is despised because she gave too much. But Jesus is telling us the economics of the kingdom of God don't work like we tend to think. It's not about the value of the gift. It's about the heart of the giver. It's not about the size of what you bring. It's about the proportion of yourself that you're bringing to God. So let me ask you, have you done what you have? Have you gave your whole life knowing that the Son of God, the very Son of God gave his whole life for you? I know, don't these women make you feel that your love for Jesus is just far too small? It's okay. Then repent of your lack of love. Return to the cross and find forgiveness for all your sins and fall in love over again and keep doing it over and over again. There at the cross, you will find a wonderful reminder that the gospel does not begin with how we first loved God and then gave to him. No, the gospel tells us that God first loved us to set us free to love. We're the ones who sent Jesus to the cross, which is bad news. And we keep finding that we're in the same room with these 11 disciples who so easily miss it, right? But when you admit it, when you confess your sins, you open the door again to the good news every time. The gift that keeps on giving and becomes beautiful every single day all the way to glory. The gospel must first be bad news before it can be good news. I'll close with what John Stott wisely observed, until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for you. Praise be to Jesus Christ, amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, this is remarkable love that you would give the greatest gift ever, that you sent your son on a rescue mission to save folks such as us who would betray him and continue to betray him. This truly is love, love that we do not find in this world but can only come from out of this world. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your wonderful gift at Calvary. Thank you for continuing to call us to yourself. And Lord Jesus, we ask and pray that you will pour out your spirit even now as we lift up our voices and our thoughts to you. Fill us with your spirit that we may leave this place and compromise less, feel less secure in our service, but more greater in our love. Heavenly Father, we come to you and ask and pray that you will continue to fill us with the spirit of the risen Christ. We pray this because we don't love enough. So we close with this.