Mark 14:1-9

Bringing the sermon home:

In Mark 14:1-11, we encounter yet another “Markan sandwich”, meaning an example of the literary device of intercalation, where Mark inserts one account in the middle of another account for the sake of contrast or emphasis. Here, Mark inserts the account of a woman anointing Jesus with an extremely costly amount of ointment in the middle of the account of the chief priests and Judas plotting His death. The contrast is stark between those who receive Jesus as their Messiah (“anointed one”) and those who reject Him and seek to kill the Lord’s anointed. Several points are being highlighted here:

1. Evil deeds done in darkness cannot derail God’s purposes (vv.1-2).
   
   God the Father had purposed that His Son, the true Passover Lamb, would be killed on Passover, and so He was, despite the intentions of wicked men for it to occur at a different time. Take heart in knowing that God is at work to bring about His good purposes.
   
   
2. Jesus is worthy of all that we have to give (vv.3-5).
   
   Those who have been touched by Jesus are ready to be seen as fools in the eyes of others, and they can expect to be scolded by others for making such sacrifices to honor their King.
   
   
3. The priorities of the kingdom do not align with worldly wisdom (vv.6-9).
   
   Jesus declares that she has stewarded her resources well because she has utilized them to glorify Him. The complaint that sacrifices made to honor Jesus could have instead been given to the poor can be made about literally anything a church or an individual Christian might give their time or their money to other than serving the poor. May God grant wisdom regarding His priorities for our lives and resources.