Today, we will discuss the story about Jesus being anointed by a woman with a very costly ointment (Spikenard). In Marks version, her name is not mentioned but in John’s gospel, the woman is identified as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus who lived in Bethany. What she did stands as a testimonial to her love for Jesus and of honoring His coming burial.
In this story, we are first told that it was to be after two days that the Passover (Day of Preparation) would be observed followed by the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. There were many people who had come to Jerusalem from all over to celebrate. Many arrived early and bought their Passover lambs in the Temple with the Levite priests slaughtering the lambs early on the Day of Preparation and the people would then take and roast the lambs and at sunset they would begin eating their meals at the start of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, a seven day celebration which always started with a special Great or High Sabbath day. If the following day was the 7th day of the week, then a normal Sabbath day would be observed as well and the next day after that would be the normal first day of the week, a Sunday.
Note that in these times, the Jewish day began and ended at sunset. Passover was a date on their calendar and from year to year, the day of the week when it was observed changed, much like our Christmas day being on December 25th but not on the same day year to year.
There is quite the theological controversy over exactly which evening Jesus held the Last Supper. Matthew, Mark and Luke write that the Last Supper was the Passover meal which would have been on the Great or High Sabbath day on the first day of the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread,
However, John writes that Jesus was crucified on Preparation Day which was the day before. It could be a matter of semantics between the Gospel writers as Passover was the Day of Preparation (of the Lamb for the Passover meal) but the meal wasn’t eaten until after sunset which marked the beginning of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
John’s version makes sense because the Great Sabbath day marking the beginning of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread was to begin at sunset on the Day of Preparation so with Jesus being crucified and the other men with Him were hurriedly taken down from the crosses and buried before sunset that day because of the High Sabbath. John’s version makes the better sense considering that this happened.
Jewish Christian theologians insist that Jesus was arrested on the evening marking the beginning of the Day of Preparation and in the morning, delivered to Pontus Pilate and crucified during the day and taken down from the cross and buried before sunset at the start of the Great Sabbath marking the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They conclude that Jesus was crucified while the Passover Lambs were being slaughtered as John’s Gospel states.
And when you think about the meaning of Passover, it was the celebration of God passing over the children of Israel when He brought death to Egypt’s firstborn thus saving them from death. In a similar way, Jesus’ shedding of his blood on the cross (symbolic of the wooden doorposts and lintel) and his death (slaughtering of the Passover Lamb) caused God to Passover the death that we all deserved thus saving us. It was only fitting and biblical that Jesus died on the Day of Preparation!
But what of the symbology of the unleavened bread? In God’s Word, leavened bread represents sin and corruption, as seen in passages like Exodus 12:15, where unleavened bread symbolizes obeying God and also the haste of the Israelite’s’ preparations for escape from Egypt. Since a little leavening makes the entire lump leavened, just one sin makes us complete sinners. We also know that the number seven represents completeness so the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is symbolic of putting away our sins completely. When Jesus died for us before the Day of Preparation ended, He took away our sins symbolic of the unleavened bread eaten with the Passover meal and now when we come to believe in Jesus, we put away our leavened sinful nature completely.
In order for Jesus to be in the tomb for 3 days as it is written that he would be, the Day of Preparation (Passover day) must have been on a Thursday and before that day ended, Jesus died on the cross and was hurriedly buried before sunset because the Great Sabbath day was to begin at sunset marking the beginning of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, a Friday. It was as this time that the Israelite’s ate their Passover meal. The following sunset began the regular 7th day Sabbath on Saturday with Jesus arising from the grave on the following day, Sunday which was the first day of the week and the beginning of the Firstfruits Festival. Take note of the term “Firstfruits” as that was the day that Jesus’ was resurrected. He is referred to by the Apostle Paul as the Firstfruits of the resurrection and it coincided with the beginning of the Firstfruits Festival as he well knew.
Now, back to our story. We are told of the plans of the religious authorities to arrest Jesus and how they sought to avoid it being done publicly on the day of the Passover preparations due to fear of the people’s response. They knew the Romans would be quick to extinguish any sort of riot and it could lead to people being indiscriminately killed. Nevertheless, plans were being made to find the right opportunity to arrest Jesus.
In this era, the Sanhedrin, which was made up of a group of men from the Temple and Synagogue elders led by the high priest Caiaphas considered Jesus to be nothing more than a troublemaker who was fomenting rebellion and unrest among the people and they wanted him dead; but why? It was primarily for a political purpose, even though these leaders would use their religion as the means to spin matters to accomplish their evil intent.
It is within this backdrop and Jesus knowing what was to happen to him shortly that we find Jesus and some of His disciples venturing to nearby Bethany (a Jerusalem village suburb) and the story of Him being anointed with expensive perfume occurs.
Now Jesus, who knew all men’s hearts and their thoughts was aware of what was about to happen and He considered the ointment poured upon him a good work towards His own death and burial.
We know from this story that the ointment was very costly and would have received a large sum of money. It seemed an enormous waste to those witnessing it as it could have been used to help the poor but Jesus responded in a way that makes us understand that it wasn’t the cost that should have meant something to those watching but rather the love, self-sacrifice and self-denial Mary demonstrated in parting with something so valuable in honor the Lord’s soon to come death and burial.
This story seems to be of little consequence considering what is about to happen to Jesus but it’s told in all four of the Gospels so it must have a special message and significance for us.
Let’s read the story in Mark 14:1-9
1 Now after two days was the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety, and kill him:
2 for they said, Not during the feast, lest haply there shall be a tumult of the people.
3 And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head.
4 But there were some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made?
5 For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6 But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have the poor always with you, and whensoever ye will ye can do them good: but me ye have not always.
8 She hath done what she could; she hath anointed my body beforehand for the burying.
9 And verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Mary’s show of love, self-sacrifice and self-denial are the way of the Children in the Kingdom of God and Jesus recognized it in her and said in doing what she could, it would be a memorial to this woman forever and as an example for us all.
Jesus clarified the path to godly self-sacrifice in Luke 9:23, saying, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
The kind of self-sacrifice and self-denial that pleases the Lord is the natural result of having taken up our cross (of suffering) to follow Jesus. We don’t look to this world to satisfy our desires but rather toward the world to come with Jesus as our Lord and King. In a way, we are suffering in a world full of sin with many people only living to satisfy their own desires. The fallen world sees those who believe in God as a reminder of their not meeting God’s standards and not wanting to think about that, hate them for it.
In God’s Word, references to taking up the cross always represents suffering and sometimes death. So, in order to take up our cross, we must be willing to die to ourselves, our agendas and our own desires. When we crucify our natural selves (lust of the eyes, the flesh and pride of life), we begin to take on the mind of Christ and make decisions based on what Jesus would have us to do.
In these two verses below, for example, the Apostle Paul relates how Jesus’ cruxification on the cross relates to our own dying to self and being raised or born again as a new creature.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
Galatians 5:24
24 And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
Biblical self-sacrifice is being willing to set aside oneself and our own desires for the good of others and in obedience to God’s commands about how we are to live a life pleasing to Him. We talked before about asking ourselves if we could ask for God’s blessing in what we are about to do and when we are keenly aware of this, it’s someone else’s needs that we naturally seek to tend to.
What self-sacrificial work can we do in the service of our Lord?
- Letting go of Self-priorities: setting aside one’s own priorities for the good of others when a need arises, foregoing something we planned to do for ourselves and serve others instead.
- Acceptance of Suffering: Being willing to be ridiculed and punished for believing in God and His Son Jesus Christ.
- Offering your Mind: As a spiritual offering to God – let’s focus our thoughts by spending time reading and meditating on God’s Word to allow it to change our hearts and minds to align with God’s will. It means doing away with sinful thoughts too.
- Giving into a Contrite spirit: Showing your love for God by humbling yourself and in prayer, repenting of your sins, daily if necessary.
- Expressing gratitude and love: Showing your love for God through gratitude in what He has provided and in doing so, never coveting things or coveting what others have. Our treasurers are in heaven.
Self-denial is the willingness to deny oneself possessions, status or time, in order to grow in holiness and commitment to God.
What are some self-denial things can we do in the service of our Lord?
- Fasting: Giving up food or drink for a period of time leads to humility, repentance, and a deeper connection with God, allowing us to clear our minds and seek His guidance and strengthen our faith
- Generosity: Giving away time, money, or other resources to those in need
- Forgiveness: Bearing with one another to avoid disputes and letting go of offenses done to us or others. It’s ok to become angry at times but let it lead to introspection and then to forgiveness.
- Prayer: Pray for others first and focus our prayers on God’s will (after all, we pray in the “name of Christ Jesus”). Praying allows us to focus on what’s really important.
- Living modestly: In choosing to live a simpler life, it’s easier to prioritize what’s truly important while allowing us to give more generously.
- Avoiding Self-conceit: Consider others better and more important than ourselves and recognizing that we are not the center of our existence – others are.
- Giving up complaining: Being thankful in all circumstances. God has promised us that He works for the good of all those that believe in Him. Recall the many stories in God’s Word where something evil was intended but God made it turn out for good.