Mark 14:1-9

Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.

Read Mark 14:1-9 imagining yourself at the table with Jesus as fragrant oil is poured over him.

This passage marks a turning point in Mark’s Gospel. It is now only two days before Israel’s highest of holy days and the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission is at hand. In the next few days, the Messiah will be arrested, tortured, crucified and buried and then will rise again to new life.

From the accounts of the prophet Samuel, we know that oil was poured over the head of the chosen king of Israel as a sign of his anointing (1 Samuel 10:1, 16:1). In the house of Simon the Leper, it is a woman who takes the role of the prophet and anoints Jesus as king, but according to Jesus, this anointing is not for the triumphant seizing of a throne, but for his burial. The woman alone seems to understand what he has so clearly explained over and over.

Remembering the social order of first century Jewish Palestine, read Mark 14:1-9 again from the perspective of a Jewish man.

It seems the dinner guests’ sudden concern for the poor may be a cover for what they are really thinking and feeling. The people at the table are not Pharisees or scribes, they are most likely disciples and close followers of Jesus gathered in the home of a former outcast whom he healed. What do you imagine sparks their outrage at the act of the woman?

The Greek words for “expensive perfume” indicate that the contents of the woman’s jar consisted of a costly fragrant anointing oil. Her selfless act is a revelation of what she values most.

What do you value most?

If given the opportunity to honor Jesus or play a part in fulfilling his mission in the world, would you be willing to give up the thing you most value in order to serve him?

Costly material objects will ultimately decay and be forgotten but this woman’s act will always be remembered. How do you want to be remembered?

Spend some time talking these questions over with Jesus. If you sense him inviting you to do something, make a plan to take the first step.

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