Extravagant Worship and Extravagant Betrayal
Truth Taught- Mary worships Jesus while Judas worships wealth
Pastoral Prayer
In Mark 14 and 15 we have the account of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion. The theme of Mark 14 is the abandonment of Jesus. Mark shows us an amazing contrast between the Chief Priests and Scribes and Mary’s great love for Jesus and then we see the introduction of Judas’ betrayal.
This is a classic Markan Sandwich. Mark shows us so much by the way he places certain events together to help us see things without Mark even saying a word. Here, as with the others, the center piece of the sandwich teaches the main point.
The religious leaders want to kill Jesus
The woman greatly loves Jesus
Judas seeks to betray Jesus
She offers a great some of money as the vial of perfume had a very large value.
Then on each side of this account we have hatred that manifests itself as the religious leaders are willing to give a great sum of money to kill Jesus and Judas will accept the great sum of money to betray Jesus.
Let’s watch as Mark unfolds this very important account of our Lord.
Please Stand in honor of God’s Holy, Inspired, and Inerrant Word
Father, bless Your Word to us as we read it and study it today. We ask the Holy Spirit would give us understanding and increase our love for Your Son Jesus.
Mark 14:1–1 (ESV)
1 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, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
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. 4 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. 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.”
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.
1. The Chief Priests and Scribes Seek to Arrest Jesus (14:1-2)
1 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, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
Mark begins this Chapter by telling us that it is two days before the Passover. I wonder if we can see by these two verses, the wonderful fulfillment to the Passover and then to the Passover Feast? The Bible makes things crystal clear to anyone who is paying attention.
What exactly was the Passover?
The Passover was the event that began Israel’s Exodus out of Egypt. The night before, each household was to sacrifice a male lamb without blemish and then eat it in haste ready to go at a moment’s notice.
The sacrificial lamb covered the sins of that household and they were to paint the doorposts and across the top with the blood of the lamb. When the death angel saw the blood, he would Passover that house. Any house without the blood painted on the door would suffer the loss of their firstborn. That night, Pharoah experienced firsthand the last plague of God as his firstborn son was killed.
The idea of being covered by the blood of the Passover Lamb really takes us straight to Jesus and the cross. It is still the method God uses for our salvation. We will not be judged for our sin if by faith, the blood of Christ is applied to us.
Now since the Exodus, God had commanded the Israelites to observe a Passover Feast every year beginning on 14 Nisan. They would sacrifice a lamb like the people did in Egypt and that evening they would eat it, like they did in Egypt. This Passover celebration had been going on for centuries. Mark tells us it was two days away.
The Bible teaches us something very special about the Passover and the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the once and for all Passover Lamb; He is God’s Passover Lamb.
John 1:29 (ESV)
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
There is a vital connection Mark desires that we make. The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread are two days away. What they did not know at the time but we know now is that the crucifixion of Jesus was also two days away.
I wonder if we see these two events coming together in a wonderful merger of prophecy and fulfillment?
Jesus’ crucifixion occurred at the time of the Passover Feast. Historical sources such as Josephus (“Antiquities of the Jews” 18.3.3) corroborate that the Passover was indeed one of the major pilgrimage festivals, drawing large crowds to Jerusalem, aligning with the scriptural accounts of Jesus’ final days.
In John’s Gospel, the crucifixion is specifically noted to coincide with the preparation day of the Passover (John 19:14).
John 19:14–16 (ESV)
14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
This highlights that, at the time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed, Jesus was being sacrificed for the sins of the world-fulfilling the deeper meaning of Passover and the fact that He is the ultimate and final Passover Lamb.
Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nisan, at the same time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed, fulfilling the typology of Him as the true Passover Lamb.
God had set the date when the Passover Lambs were being sacrificed and He sovereignly worked all things together so that Jesus, His only Son…Firstborn among many brethren was also sacrificed.
It was during this time that the Chief Priests and Scribes this is the ruling counsel (Sanhedrin) were seeking a way to entrap and kill Jesus. If their religion was to continue, Jesus had to die. They were willing to do anything even pay a large some of money to get rid of Jesus. 30 pieces of silver is a very large sum of money…
2. Mary’s Extravagant Worship (14:3-9)
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. 4 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. 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.”
As we read the various accounts from all four Gospels, we discover that this unnamed woman is Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Tradition has it that they are the children of Simon the leper. One evening while Jesus was staying with Lazarus and his sisters, they received an invitation from Simon. Now, Simon was one of the lepers that Jesus had healed at some point in His three-year ministry.
We see a former prostitute who had been indwelt with demons and a former leper throwing Jesus a party. This is what the Gospel looks like.
Think for a moment as to where we were prior to meeting Jesus. We were spiritually dead and sin had entangled us we were spiritual lepers. We were decaying and dying in our sin. We were also like Mary in that the evil dark forces of the devil had control of us. But the great news is, that’s who we used to be. That’s not who we are now. Praise Jesus we have been brought from death to life.
Mark’s focus is on Mary’s worship of Jesus and the value of the perfume she uses to anoint Him.
As we look at this section, Mark has it where he does so we can compare and contrast. It’s almost like he’s laid these accounts out for us side by side, if you will, for us to analyze.
We see that the religious leaders should be the holy ones. They should be the ones worshipping Jesus. They are dressed for the part and have been doing all the religious things within the temple. They were given the seats of honor and were greeted with respect wherever they went. However, they were the ones who were not worshipping Jesus but seeking to kill Him. Murder in the name of religion. That’s a very strange phenomenon.
Simon and Mary were the outsiders. They were the lowest of society, they were the known sinners and outcasts. Simon the leper was to be avoided at all costs. Mary was demon possessed and also in a hopeless condition…but Jesus loved them. He healed them and they were never the same. So, the ones who should have worshipped Jesus hated Him and the ones hated, loved Him.
The next twist Mark highlights is the fact that this very unlikely worshipper, Mary the harlot adorns Jesus with an extremely valuable perfume. She spends her life wealth on Jesus.
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.
Notice this great extravagance. She takes her flask of costly perfume and breaks it and pours it all on Jesus. The perfume is valued at 300 denarii or about a year’s salary for an avg worker. In the tens of thousands of dollars today.
So, she takes the tool of her former trade and breaks it and pours it all out on Jesus. She breaks it because she is never going back to her former way of life, as valuable as this is it has become a way now in which she can honor Jesus. Because of Jesus, she doesn’t need this anymore. She has been healed of her demon possession and all her sins are forgiven and she has life in His name. She pours out all her past, all her former way of sinning and all her wealth on Jesus. Mark’s point as it were, she has traded her money for Jesus. She would rather have Jesus than anything else.
3. Judas’ Extravagant Betrayal (14:10-11)
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.
Now we see the deadly exchange of money. The Jews will take tribute coins (30 pieces of silver) and use them not as they were intended, to worship God but take those coins and use them to murder God’s Son.
Mary in faith gave all she had. Judas, in love not with Jesus but this world, traded Jesus for money. He exchanged Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
We see Mark’s purpose now. His great contrast between Mary and her extravagant worship and Judas and his extravagant betrayal.
Mary loved Jesus. Judas loved money. For Mary, money was happily given because she had Jesus. For Judas, Jesus was happily given to gain money.
Another of Mark’s twists…
Jesus had told His disciples about His death even in some detail, in Mark 8,9 and 10.
Mark 10:32–34 (ESV)
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
They did not get it. They should have been making preparations for our Lord’s death. Here is Mary who has such great faith that what she does even serves another purpose…
she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.
When we look at this passage and consider the events that are coming very quickly the smell of Mary’s perfume would hang in the air during everything Jesus did. As He takes the Lord’s Supper with His disciples Mary’s perfume was there. As He prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mary’s perfume ascends along with Jesus’ prayer. As the great crowd came to arrest Jesus…Mary’s perfume was still in the air. As Jesus stood before the High Priest, as Peter denied Him, As Jesus stands before Pilate, as the crowd shouts Barabbas, as Jesus is mocked, beaten, crucified, and died, her perfume still lingered. What a wonderful gift she gave to Jesus that day.
According to Jesus, her faith is so great (and how she knew this we may never know) that she anoints His body for burial even before Jesus is dead.
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.”
For Judas things are very different. He thought money would bring him happiness. He gladly stood with the enemies of Jesus and even kissed Him to identify which one He was so the Romans could arrest Him.
All the disciples forsook Jesus not just Judas. Then what is even more sad. Jesus forgave all His disciples but Judas being so selfish killed himself and forsook the possibility of forgiveness.
Money was so important to Judas. John tells us he was the treasurer and a thief.
John 12:3–6 (ESV)
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 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.
In Mark’s wonderful Gospel we have portrayed before us what saving faith looks like. Mary’s great faith willing to give greatly and worship Jesus very extravagantly. Then, by contrast, we see Judas who worshipped his money very extravagantly giving as it were, the Lord of glory in exchange for a few silver coins.
Mark has placed these accounts together for comparison and now the Holy Spirit places us there as well. Which one are you? Which one are you?
Are you an extravagant worshipper of Jesus or do you see extravagance as wasteful and foolish.
Resources Used:
Mark by James Edwards
Words of grace
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