“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” – Mark 14:9
In the opening part of this
series we defined passion as a driving force, a deep emotion in the heart, a
fire in the belly, a heart aflame. People have a passion for
many things, but how many have a passion for Jesus? We also said that passion
for Jesus based on popularity, politics, provision, self-promotion, or pride will
not stand the test of time; it will only be a Palm Sunday passion.
In the second part of the series we saw that a passion
for Jesus begins with falling at His feet in recognition of our depth and debt
of sin and that through faith in Jesus we can be forgiven. In part 3 we saw a passion for Jesus falls at
His feet aware of His living hope (power over death.)
In part 4 we will see that a
passion for Jesus is rooted in an awareness of His atoning death on the cross.
In this part we will look at the keystone segment of scripture in Mark 14:1-11.
Again we will see a woman’s passion for Jesus. This is an incredible picture of
a passion for Jesus. Here we will see something that is all too often lacking
in our walk with God and in amongst His bride the church. Let’s look at this
passage of passion.
After two days it was the
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and
the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to
death. 2 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an
uproar of the people.”
This incident happens on Passover, hours before Jesus would go to the
cross. The reason the chief priests and scribes are there is to find an
opportunity to arrest Jesus.
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the
leper,
Bethany was like is a small town suburb located a short distance from Jerusalem. It
was at Simon the Leper’s house not the house of Lazarus that this incident took
place. This incident is likely different from the one studied in part 3 of this
series in John 12.
as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very
costly oil of spikenard.
Again it is a woman who comes to Jesus with a
valuable anointing oil of spikenard.
Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
When you have a passion for Jesus there is
always a breaking involved. God will
do whatever it takes to bring you to Him. He will allow into your life whatever
it takes to bring you home to Him and light a fire of passion in your heart. That
involves breaking. Like a bucking bronco we have to be broken of our self-will,
self-reliance, self-centeredness, anything that challenges Jesus rule and
lordship in our lives. This is all illustrated in the broken flask. Just as
breaking the flask releases the costly oil; breaking us precedes the work of
the Spirit in and through us.
This woman poured the contents of the costly
anointing oil on Jesus’ head. It was a picture of Jesus anointing in the Spirit
for His redemptive mission to the cross.
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.
The critics posed as those more concerned with
being good stewards with these resources. Jesus approves of costly, passionate
acts of worship. 300 denarii was about a year’s wages. Costly! Lavish!
Extravagant! When was the last time you worshipped Jesus like this? Have you
ever been moved with passion for Jesus to this extent?
6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble
her? She has done a good work for Me.
“Let her alone” Jesus said just as He did
before. “Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work or Me.” Worship is
the work of the people. If you aren’t worshipping Jesus, you’re missing out on
one of His most favorite works. Worship is not merely singing on Sunday.
Worship is how you live your life. “Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of
holiness!” (Psalm 96:9). Are yo worshiping the LORD with the way you live?
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.
Jesus isn’t minimizing the importance of helping the
poor. He is maximizing the value of
worshipping Him.
8 She has done what she could.
Do all you can as often as
you can for Jesus. She did what she could. That was acceptable to Jesus. Jesus
only always asks us to do what we can do. If He asks us to do something, He
will enable us to do it.
She has come
beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
Here Jesus gives us a key
insight into the passion of this woman. “She has come beforehand to anoint My
body for burial.” This woman had the cross of Christ in view. While the
disciples were slow to understand the mission of Jesus – the atoning death of
Jesus on the cross – this woman apparently understood the redemptive path Jesus
was about to take.
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.”
Her act of passion for Jesus is connected by Him with the gospel. Why? Because:
She
brought her valuables to Jesus – She
gave something that cost her something. She
gave her relationships to Jesus - This flask of spikenard was probably her
dowry. In effect, with the poured out flask she was saying, “Here Jesus, I give
for You all my hopes of marriage and happiness; it’s all on You.” She gave her life to Jesus - This oil
may have also served as her own anointing oil should she die before marriage.
Therefore she is also saying, “With this oil Jesus, I give You my life.” She gave her all to Jesus - She was
giving her all to Jesus! That’s how people need to come to Jesus; giving their
all! That’s the only right response to the gospel. “But know this: Nothing that is given to Jesus is wasted.” [1]
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.
Judas, self-centered sinful Judas, just couldn’t take this
extravagant act of worship poured out on Jesus. This was what pushed him over
the edge to betray Jesus. For him, it was just too much.
How much is too much for you? What would it take to get you
to betray Jesus? When was the last time (if ever) you worshipped Jesus like
this woman? Does that describe you?
Or do you look at extravagant acts of worship as “a waste”? Have you given your
all to Jesus? Do you have such a passion for Jesus and His cross?
John Newton (1725-1807), the
author of Amazing Grace is known for
another poem that is appropriate to quote here:
In Evil Long I Took Delight
In evil long I took
delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopp'd my wild career:
I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fix'd His languid eyes on me.
As near His Cross I stood.
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopp'd my wild career:
I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fix'd His languid eyes on me.
As near His Cross I stood.
Sure never till my
latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seem'd to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke:
My conscience felt and own'd the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help'd to nail Him there.
Can I forget that look:
It seem'd to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke:
My conscience felt and own'd the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help'd to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what
I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave,
which said,
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may'st live."
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may'st live."
Thus, while His death
my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now if fill'd,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill'd!
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now if fill'd,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill'd!
Who or what do you have in
view?
The passion we are
speaking about has another name, Revival. Martyn Lloyd Jones described revival in the following way:
Revival, above
everything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
It is the restoration of him to the center of the life of the Church. . . . his
atonement, his death upon the cross, his broken body and his shed blood. . . .
You will find that in every period of revival, without exception, there has
been a tremendous emphasis upon the blood of Christ. . . . But in periods of
revival, she [the Church] glories in the cross, she makes her boast in the
blood. Because as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews puts it, there is
only one way in which we can enter with boldness into the holiest of all, and
that is by the blood of Jesus (see Heb. 10:19). This is the thing the Holy
Ghost honors.”[2]
A passion for Jesus is a revival passion. That is what we
need. Do you have a passion for Jesus?
This teaching can also be read on Pastor Claude’s blog at www.theshepherdofhope.blogspot.com
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