The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
CHRIST ANOINTED FOR BURIAL
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
CHRIST ANOINTED FOR BURIAL
Golden Text: “She hath done what she could.” (Mk. 14:8)
Lesson Plan:
1. The Conspiracy (vs 1, 2)
2. Jesus and His Disciples Entertained at Bethany (v 3)
3. Mary the Heroine of Bethany and Her Immortal Deed (v 3)
4. The Money Bag of Judas vs. The Alabaster Box of Mary (vs 4, 5)
5. Mary Vindicated by Jesus (vs 6-9)
6. The Contrast (vs 10, 11)
Lesson Setting:
Time: Tuesday afternoon or evening, April 4, A.D. 30.
Place: Bethany, in the house of Simon the
leper.
Research and Discussion: The first anointing of Jesus in Luke 7:37-50. The three visits of Jesus to the home in Bethany; Luke 10:38-42; John 11:20-44; Mark 14:1-11. Mary’s object in anointing Jesus. What did the fault-finding of Judas reveal about his character? Would this act of love to Jesus affect the amount of gifts to the poor?
Introduction: An old Scottish preacher was once asked how he made his sermons and he replied, “I cannot make a sermon. I receive messages from God through the Bible, nature, history, current events, human beings, and my own soul. When I receive one of these messages, I turn my heart into a garden of the Lord, and plant the message in it, focusing always on the central theme of all my sermons, Jesus Christ. I brood over it with my mind, pray about it, and most of all try to live it. By and by it grows, and blooms, and when the time comes for me to preach, I simply walk into that garden of the Lord and pluck one of the blooming plants and take it with me into the pulpit and ask the people to enjoy its beauty and fragrance with me.” Such is a good suggestion to begin our present lesson.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:1, 2 (see also Matt. 26:1-5 and Lk. 22:1, 2)
1. The Conspiracy
Jesus had completed His day-long labors on Tuesday, seeking to convince the rulers that He was the Messiah, thus saving the nation. That evening He had gone to Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Our Tuesday evening was, by Jewish reckoning, the beginning of Wednesday.
v 1 ... “After two days,” Wednesday (from sunset of Tuesday to sunset of Wednesday), and Thursday (from sunset of Wednesday to sunset of Thursday). After sunset Thursday, that is the beginning of Friday, was “the feast of the Passover” which is also call the feast “of unleavened bread” because during the Passover week only bread that was unleavened could be used. It was on this Thursday evening, the beginning of Friday, that Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples, and instituted the Lord’s Supper. The nearness of the Passover is mentioned to show why it was proposed to delay their plans to kill Jesus.
v 1 ... “Sought how they might take him by craft [by stratagem, in some underhand, secret, tricky way], and put him to death.” This had been determined before.
v 2 ... “Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar,” which would bring the Roman authorities down on them. For there were great multitudes of Jews not only from Galilee, but from every part of the world, present in Jerusalem. Hence they proposed to leave Jesus unmolested during the seven days of the feast, and after that to kill Him, when the great number of His Galilean friends and sympathizers had returned to their homes.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:3
2. Jesus and His Disciples Entertained at Bethany
This is the second anointing of Jesus, the other being recorded in Luke 7:37-50.
Picture the scene: (a) “The house of [‘belonged to’] Simon the leper” (v 3), apparently one of the leading men of the village, who had been a leper, but had been cured of his leprosy by Jesus – “and yet men called him Simon the leper still. You see how old names, like old reputations, stick. There would be many who could never talk of Simon, but they would add, ‘Of course, you have heard that he was a leper once?’ And yet I think that Simon loved his name” (G.H. Morrison). (b) The guests. Jesus was the guest of honor, and His disciples were with Him. Next to them the central figures were the Bethany family – Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead, as Simon had been cured of leprosy, Mary who had once sat at the feet of Jesus to learn of Him, Martha who seems to have had the entire supervision of the feast. But it was a public tribute and others bore a part in it, as was often the case; friends, neighbors, acquaintances, at least looking on and listening to the conversation. There is something remarkably attractive in a gathering around the table of such guests, much more than a feast of reason and flow of soul. Eating together can transfigure the physical to spiritual, making mealtime a special blessing for the family. Such togetherness turns a loving family into a training school for saints, a university- extension course for mind, morals and spirit. (c) In this scene we look upon a low, Eastern table, surrounded on three sides by couches or cushioned divans, on which each guest would recline, feet stretching back toward the ground, so that it was easy for Mary to anoint the feet of Jesus. The Banquet of the Wise: This gathering at Bethany was much more important than that of the Greek writer Athenaeus who represents a number of the most eminent men of the time, gathered as guests in the house of learned man of Rome, at a banquet prolonged for seven days. He called it
“The Banquet of the Wise,” where the learned guests poured forth an unbroken stream of quotations, extracts from the great Alexandrian Library of Egypt.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:3
3. Mary the Heroine of Bethany and Her Immortal Deed
v 3 ... “There came [unto Him] a woman.” This woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Jn. 12:3).
v 3 ... “Having an alabaster box,” rather, a cruse or flask. Literally, an alabaster, just as we call a drinking vessel made of glass, a glass. These alabasters were usually made of the Oriental or onyx alabaster, with long, narrow necks, which could easily be broken. The shape and material varied.
v 3 ... “Of ointment of spikenard,” literally, “ointment of pistic nard,” “pistic” meaning either “genuine” or “liquid.” It was pure nard, like Attar of Roses, unadulterated, in full strength, thus very costly. The oil was derived from the nard plant, which was native to India. Spikenard (spiked-nard) was a plant closely allied to valerian, and now found in the Himalayan region. It has been used by the Hindoos as a medicine and perfume from a very remote period. The odor is described as resembling that of a mixture of valerian and patchouli. It was so strong that it filled the whole house with its odor (John).
v 3 ... “Very precious.” Horace offers to give a cask of wine for a very small box of it (‘Odes,’ IV, xii). Matthew says it was “exceeding precious.” Judas estimated its value as more than 300 silver pence or denarii, worth about a year’s work. In ‘The Spell of France’ (1912) we are told that in the rose gardens of Grasse in S.E. France 3,000,000 roses are required to make 22,000 pounds of roses, which is required to make one pound of Attar of roses. From these gardens we find two or three suggestive facts: (a) “Is the rose du Mai pretty?” “Not pretty, but very sweet.” (b) In the rose gardens “the air is loaded with exquisite odor, subtle, penetrating, an ecstasy of fragrance.” (c) For each kind of flower there is a particular hour when its perfume is at its best, for some it is before sunrise, for other after sunset, or three hours after sunrise. (d) Elsewhere it is stated that “the odor is agreeable only when diffused.”
v 3 ... “She ... poured it on his head,” R.V. ‘over His head.’ John adds that she also anointed the feet of Jesus with the precious nard, wiping His feet with her hair. Anointing the feet was unusual, and expressed the most tender, most humble, and most reverential affection. “The fondness of Orientals for all kinds of perfumery is very remarkable ... The garments of the richly dressed ladies who pass along the streets of an Oriental city all ‘smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia.’ ... It is the custom at feasts and various social entertainments for servants to enter the banquet hall bearing censers smoking with burning perfumes, while others, holding in their hands sprigs of sweet basil or some other plant, dip them in perfumed water, and sprinkle it over the guests. The water also, with which the guests wash their hands before and after eating, is highly perfumed” (Dr. Albert Long, written to the S.S. Times from Constantinople). Another writer from Syria says: “I have seen bridegrooms, brides, and their parties sprinkled with it and other perfumes from the roofs of friendly neighbors, as a mark of respect and affection for those sprinkled.”
Mary’s Purpose: This act of Mary’s was the expression of her love and devotion to her Savior. No words could express her feelings. No common deed could tell Him how deep was her gratitude, how strong her desire to honor Him, how loving her sympathy, how great her faith in Him, as the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. “Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, Nor other thought her mind admits But, he was dead, and there he sits, And He that brought him back is there. “Then one deep love doth supersede All other, when her ardent gaze Roves from the living brother’s face, And rests upon the Life indeed” (Tennyson). Sacrifice of the Magic Books for Jesus’ Sake – “This woman’s giving up her alabaster box of precious nard reminds us of the burning of the magical books at Ephesus when the sorcerers turned away from their arts and came to Christ for pardon” (C.D. Robinson).
Savonarola’s Bonfire of Vanities: About five hundred years ago the great reformer Savonarola had an immense “Bonfire of Vanities” in the Piazza, the great square in Florence. The youth of the city, in white robes, with olive crowns on their heads, went from house to house gathering all the vanities of life – the apparatus for gambling, pictures that incited to vice, worldly musical instruments, rouge pots, false hair, perfumes, powders, mirrors, bad books, and many things that were perfectly innocent, but regarded as worldly. These were piled in a huge “Pyramid of Vanities” sixty feet high, crowned with a symbolic figure of the old debauched Carnival. Within were an abundance of fuel and gunpowder. This pile was set ablaze in the evening to the sound of trumpets, and the old Carnival tumbled into the flames amid the songs of reforming triumph.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:4, 5
4. The Money Bag of Judas vs. The Alabaster Box of Mary
Judas acts as if he has found poison in Mary’s flask of sweet odors: “There were some [including some of the disciples, Matthew] that had indignation within [or ‘among,’ R.V.] themselves” (v 4). The ringleader and spokesman, according to John, was Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. Judas was the treasurer of the disciples’ meager funds, and no doubt now saw a chance for a sizable treasure, from which a thief could easily gain riches beyond any previous opportunity. He was not interested in the poor. The plausible arguments of a positive man, wearing a mask of virtue, and speaking on behalf of some of the very principles their Master had enforced, he had brought some of the disciples into more or less sympathy with his feeling and indignation. It is easy to see how it might seem a useless waste, as perhaps some today think that money spent on a church building, mission-work, caring for orphans and widows might better be given to the poor.
v 4 ... “And said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?” Think of throwing away a whole year’s income on perfumes that would fall on one person and last only one evening. When the poor whom Jesus fed, the blind and the sick and the lepers, whom Jesus spent His days relieving, must go without the aid which the sale of this ointment might bring.
v 5 ... “And they murmured against her.” The Greek word translated “murmured” has also a much stronger meaning. The Int. Crit. Com. translates it “were very angry.”
What Is Waste? – That is wasted which is “expended without valuable return;” or which brings small returns where it might bring great: which fails to accomplish the purpose for which it is designed. Food is not wasted if it strengthens the body, but used gluttonously it is wasted, for while it brings some pleasure it also brings disease of body and stupidity of mind. “‘Waste’ means, literally, perdition. There is something almost terribly suggestive in the fact that our Lord repeats the self-same word when He describes Judas as a ‘son of perdition’ (waste) [Jn. 17:21]. He had wasted that which was more precious than the ointment of spikenard, even the gift of eternal life which had once been within his reach” (Plumptre). The simple question was whether the best, the most enduring use was made of this ointment.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:6-9
5. Mary Vindicated by Jesus
The Master proves that her use of the precious ointment, so far from being a waste, was the most effective use she could possibly have made of it.
v 6 ... “And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her?” Judas’ words were very rude and discourteous to Mary, even impudent, thus criticizing one of the ladies of the house where he had just been entertained. The gentle Mary must have been shocked by this criticism, overwhelmed, mortified, prostrated, and abashed. Perhaps, as Maurice says, “She could not herself have answered Judas Iscariot’s complaining question.”
Jesus answers with a sharp rebuke of indignation, as any gentleman would under the circumstances, and it was especially fitting from One who knew the hypocrisy of Judas:
(A) “She hath wrought a good work on me” (v 6). The Greek implies something more than “good,” a noble, honorable work. The manifestation of such loyal devotion and love gave comfort, strength, encouragement to Jesus during this trying time. No doubt it was especially comforting in the face of the depressing effect of the lack of character and self-serving conduct of Judas. “That spontaneous, uncalculating devotion of hers came to Him in a crucial moment. His human nature was yearning for a sympathetic atmosphere of fellowship ... She wrought a beautiful deed. The motive made it radiant, put it altogether out of the cash-value class” (Bib. World). The spirit which offers precious things simply because they are precious is a good and just feeling, and as well pleasing to God and honorable to men, as it is beyond all dispute necessary to the production of any great work in the kind with which we are at present concerned. In the Levitical sacrifice, costliness was generally a condition of the acceptableness of the sacrifice. That costliness must be an acceptable condition in all human offerings at all times – an external sign of their love and obedience, and surrender of themselves and theirs to His will. It is not the church we want, but the sacrifice; not the emotion of admiration, but the act of adoration; not the gift, but the giving (Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture).
(B) “For ye have the poor with you always” (v 7). They would have plenty of opportunities to aid them, because the more they did for their Master, the more they would do for the poor. It is through the poor that the increased love of the Master is expressed. Mary’s gift expressed the spirit of love to Jesus, in a way that made it the fountain and source of good to the poor. Giving to the poor is of no great value without this spirit of love. But with the spirit of love, it is an act of the highest and noblest part of our nature, building up and edifying the giver’s soul. While working to satisfy physical needs, we sometimes fail to focus on and provide for their hunger for something to satisfy mental and spiritual longings. It is beginning to be more widely understood that the poor and sick need to be treated more as Jesus treated them, giving spiritual life and health, new opportunities to help themselves, uplifting toward God.
(C) “She hath done what she could” (v 8). The poor were not there at the time; but Jesus was there and here was her one opportunity “to anoint my body to the burying” (v 8). (R.V., ‘anoint my body aforehand for the burying’) Whatever she did personally for Jesus must be done then, for “Me ye have not always.” Later there will be abundant opportunity to help the poor.
(D) “Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world” (v 9). This story has been told for over 2000 years, and is now being told in many hundreds of different languages, and to every great nation on earth. No monument is more enduring. She is still pouring out the precious nard in an endless living stream; its fragrance still is filling human hearts and lives all over the world. Like Abel, “being dead she yet speaketh.”
v 9 ... “For a memorial of her.” By which her deed shall be remembered; not to glorify her, but to continue her usefulness, giving immortality to her character and influence.
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:10-11
6. The Contrast
Mary’s beautiful deed is set in contrast with that of Judas Iscariot, who, angered and disappointed, began immediately to plan another way of getting money, by betraying Jesus to the Jewish rulers. Judas betrayed Jesus because he had never learned to be lavish, uncalculating, and extravagant in his love for Jesus.
A Chorus of Odors from Mary’s Flask: Several years ago, in the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition), we are told that Dr. Septimus Piesse “endeavored to show that a certain scale or gamut existed among odors as among sounds, taking the sharp smells to correspond with high notes, and the heavy smells with low ... He asserted that properly to constitute a bouquet, the odors to be taken should correspond in the gamut like the notes of a musical chord – one false note among the odors, as among the music, destroying the harmony.” Mary’s noble act has become such a chorus of heavenly odors, a whole cathedral choir, filling the centuries with their music of heavenly fragrance.
(A) Memorial monuments like this to Mary of Bethany have had a power vastly beyond the cost incurred. The three hundred Spartans who perished defending the pass of Thermopylae were a costly defeat to Greece, but the inspiring power of that patriotic deed inspired many thousands of soldiers. The granite monuments of great and good men are a power for blessing worth far more than money cost. They are abiding teachers of youth. Æschines in the second greatest oration in Greek history warns the Athenians that in granting crowns they judged themselves and were forming the characters of their children. It is not only the music, the gymnasium, or the schools that mold young men and women. It is also our public proclamations, our public examples. If we lift up one whose life has no high purpose – one who mocks at morals – and publicly crown him or her, then every young person who sees it is corrupted. The character of a city is determined by the character of the men it crowns. We tend to become like those who are crowned in our hearts.
(B) The gift of Mary direct to Christ did a hundredfold more for the poor than if she had given the same amount directly to them. It is the lack of love, not the lack of money that allows the poor to suffer. Therefore all gifts to Christ which increase our love will increase the gifts to the poor. Occasionally someone computes the cost of great expenditures in religion, as if the expense actually lessened by so much the gifts to the poor. Instead far larger gifts are inspired. What a world this would be if we were all inspired to give and work enthusiastically for great causes for the strengthening and betterment of mankind.
(C) The measure of a gift lies not in the gift’s largeness, but in the largeness of the love and sacrifice it expresses. It is not the size of the gift, but the cost to the giver; not the number of the sheaves, or the measures of fruit, but the love, gratitude and faith filling them. And in that great day when we present our fruits at the judgment seat, some large sheaves will grow larger by that measure, and some will shrink into a handful of half-grown stalks; and pebbles which the gatherer blushes to present as the only fruit from barren fields, will grow into gems and gold; and homely plants will be transformed into blossoms of Paradise; and the widow’s mite will become a harp of gold; and a handful of grain become the seed of the Tree of Life.
(D) It is a great blessing to have the love to God that longs to express itself in gifts. It is a great privilege to give freely, abundantly to the Lord in expression of that love.
(E) One of the greatest blessings of life is to have an ever living Savior, so great, so good, so attractive, so victorious, as to be worthy of the most costly expressions of our love and honor.
(F) Expressions of feelings deepen and strengthen them – not increasing the mere emotions, but cherishing and enriching the character and nature from which they flow. The tree cannot grow unless it expresses its life in leaves. We learn from this how to increase our graces. There is great value in these expressions to those receiving them. Sympathy with the poor expressed by gifts is worth many times the same gifts without the sympathy. There is great hunger in the world for expressions of affection; and the world would be vastly happier if the affection really existing between parents and children, husbands and wives, shepherds and flock, teachers and students, were more often and more fully expressed. The sweetest perfume that the home circle ever knows rises from deeds of living service which its members do for each other.
Illustration: Dr. William Harrison wrote: “To the best of her ability mother preached the gospel of brotherly kindness. In her last letter, written a few days before leaving this earth, mother wrote, ‘Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead, but fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving and cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier by them. The kind things you will say after they are gone, say before they go. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins, send now, and brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them. If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of fragrant perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body, I would rather they would bring them now in my weary and troubled hours, and open them, that I may be refreshed and cheered, while I need them and can enjoy them. I would rather have a plain coffin without a flower, and a funeral without an eulogy, than a life without the sweetness of love and sympathy. My son, learn to anoint your friends before their burial. Post-mortem kindness cannot cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers on a coffin shed no fragrance backward over the weary way loved ones have traveled.’”
