Mark 14:1-11- A Life Well Spent

This week, we’re diving into Mark 14:1-11, where we witness the unfolding of God’s sovereign plan just days before the cross. We’ll explore the contrast between a woman who poured out her costly ointment—her all—for Jesus, and those who schemed against Him for their own gain. This passage challenges us to ask: What are we exhausting our lives for? Is it for Christ or something far less? Join me as we unpack God’s unthwartable purpose and find comfort in His rule. Let’s dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

97 - Mark 14:1-11- A Life Well Spent

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 14 and find verse 1.
  • We once again step into the final days of the life of Christ, today we will take a look at what happened just two days before the cross.
• As you open your Bibles there I want to point out just how quickly things are getting ready to transpire…
  • Our text today will focus upon what happened on that Wednesday, according to Mark's account.
    • After that, the next section jumps to the preparation of the passover where Jesus shares a final meal with His apostles and where He institutes the Lord’s Supper.  
  • Before the end of the chapter we will see Jesus praying in the garden, getting arrested, and brought before the high priest.
    • We are just a chapter away from the crucifixion. 
  • It is important to keep that in mind as we step into our text, because what we begin to see unfold is the plan that the Father had set into motion from the very start.
• Let’s read our verses and step into the events of the Wednesday before the cross…

Mark 14:1-11

• Though this passage could be broken up into three different parts…
  • You have Vs. 1-2, where we see the plan of the religious leaders…
  • We have Vs. 3-9, where we see this story of this unnamed woman who poured out this ointment upon our Lord…
  • Then we see Vs. 10-11, where we find Judas agreeing to betray our Lord.  
• What I want to challenge us with today is to see these verses as one connected text that does two very important things…
  • First, it will serve as a reminder that the Father is Sovereign over His Creation.  
    • We will see again that the cross was not an accident but instead an intentional plan that played out just as God had predetermined it to play out.
  • Then, second, this story will serve as a challenge for us today as we will be confronted with the question…
    • What are we living for?
    • Or, maybe a bit more pointed, what are we exhausting our lives for the sake of?
• So with that in mind let us step into the first point as we are reminded of…

The Fathers Sovereign Plan

• It is true that Jesus has been speaking about the cross and telling His apostles about the cross for some time…
  • We could look back all the way to Mark 8 and find that Jesus was teaching His Apostles even then that He would suffer and be killed only to rise again three days later.
    • I point that out because it is important that we remember that Jesus is not going to be surprised by the turn of events that are about to unfold before Him.
    • He knew what was to come, He knew the suffering He would endure, He knew for that He would be laying aside His life for the sake of the church.  
  • The cross was the plan from eternity past and we even find a hint of that in the first two verses of this chapter.
• Look again with me at verse 1…
  • Vs. 1-2
• There are two things I would like to point out about these verses in regard to how the Father had planned the cross from the start.
  • First, consider the thoughts and plans of the priests and the scribes…
    • They had planned to arrest Him and kill Him by “stealth” or some translations say “craft”.
      • Really this word can point to both, it is a word that points to deception and treachery and slyness.
      • It is a word that seeks to conceal the darkness of one's actions so that their hands will still appear clean.
    • They desired to do away with Jesus but they did not want His blood upon their hands, at least not publicly.
      • This of course was not accomplished…
        • They are the ones who tried Jesus, and spat upon Him, and delivered Him over to Pilate, and who rallied the people against Him.
      • Though they desired craftiness it was clear they were the ones implicated in His death.
    • Take note at this point…
      • Though they sought to come out innocent their hands were forever stained with the blood of the Son of God.
      • They did not simply kill another man, that would have been bad enough, but they murdered God’s Righteous Son.
  • The second thing I would like for us to turn our attention to in these first two verses is when they desired for Jesus’ arrest and death to occur.
    • They said, there in verse 2,… “Not during the feast…”
      • It is true they wanted Jesus out of the picture but they were not stupid…
      • They knew He was popular with the people and did not want this to occur during the Passover fest.
    • This was because they did not want the people to turn against them…
      • Again, they wanted to keep their hands clean throughout this process.
      • They wanted to work in the shadows and pull the strings to accomplish their dark deed without the guilt of it falling upon them.
  • There was but one problem with this plan of theirs, one loophole they had not considered…
    • And it is this problem of theirs that is such a comfort for us as believers today.
    • Brothers and sisters, their problem and our comfort is found in the fact that…
• It was the Sovereign Plan of the Father to deliver Jesus over to death during this feast.
  • Though they wanted to be hidden and they wanted it to happen at another time, Jesus had been born for such a time as this.
    • He was born to go to the cross and bear the sins of man and offer man redemption.
  • These religious leaders did not understand this but we know…
    • That even when it comes to the first Passover as the Israelites were brought out of Egypt.
    • That it was all pointing ahead to the perfect Lamb that would once and for all die in place of man.
    • Year after year as they celebrated this feast it was to point ahead and to foreshadow the death of Christ upon the cross.
  • These verses remind us that God’s plans cannot be thwarted but will be carried out in His time, for His purpose, and for His Glory.
  • In this there exists a great comfort for the church, consider how this is expressed across other verses…
    • Job confesses this before God in Job 42, in the final words that were recorded of Job he begins by testifying…
      • Job 42:2 - “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
      • He confessed that he was a mere man and it was instead God who was in control.
    • Isaiah makes mention of this in…
      • Isaiah 14:27 - “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”
        • I do not want to simply read that verse…
      • Consider with me for just a moment those questions that Isaiah has asked, let us ask them again today…
        • Who can annul what God has purposed?
          • That is to ask, who can cancel what God has set forth…?
          • Is there anyone that can stand against His purpose and His plan?
          • Or, to ask it again…
        • Who can turn back the hand of the Almighty if His hand is stretched out?
      • Who are we as simple creations of this Great God to consider that we can somehow thwart His Purposes?
        • Oh but how often we think much of ourselves and how often we lift up our selves before this Great God.
      • Is that not what we find happening in these verses as the religious leaders as well as Judas seek to do Jesus harm?
    • I do not think it ever occurred to them that they were fulfilling something that had been set into motion even before the creation and fall of man.
  • Let us together marvel at the plan of God that unfolded all those years ago and be reminded that our God still rules and reigns even today.
    • Psalm 30:10-11 - “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.  11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”
  • Take heart, Christian, be comforted that our God still sits upon His throne and though man may plot and scheme…
    • The God in whom we serve is the One who is directing the nations.
  • Before we move on from this point I want you to see how this plays out in another place in scripture.
    • Please hold your place in Mark 14 and turn with me to Acts 4 and find verses 24.
    • As we consider God upon His throne I want you to know that…
• There is great comfort in the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty, especially as we look out at our world and see things that occur that are far outside of our control and greatly concerning to us.
  • Consider how this understanding of God shaped the Apostles in the first century when they were faced with the threat of death.
    • In Acts 4 we find Peter and John brought before the same men who condemned Jesus.
      • They were beaten, threatened, and commanded to no longer speak in the name of Christ.
    • Then as they were released and brought back to the rest of the believers and as they shared what had happened they all together lifted their voices in prayer.
    • It is this prayer we will not read together…
  • Acts 4:24-31 - Emphasis on the Sovereign Direction of the Father…
    • They prayed, “Sovereign Lord”, being reminded from the first of their prayer that God directs the nations.
    • They confessed that He is the Creator and therefore ruler of this world.
    • They went on to consider the Old Testament and how it pointed ahead to Christ.
    • They realized and confessed that though Herod and Pilate were raised up against Christ it was…
      • Vs. 28 - “to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”
    • Throughout this prayer there is a thread of trust and a resting upon God’s purposes and plans.
  • Even as they closed out their prayer and they asked their one request it is to continue to speak the Word with boldness…
    • This request is rooted in their  understanding that their lives were simply to be used in line with God’s plan and purpose.
    • Their lives were meant to be poured out and exhausted for the sake of this Glorious Gospel…
• As we think about that let us turn our attention back to Mark 14 and examine now the heart of this text.
  • We find in this story an unnamed woman who pours out this ointment upon the head of our Lord.
  • As we prepare to read these verses together again let us examine…

The Life well Spent

• Start reading with me at verse 3…
  • Vs. 3-9
• In our verses today we find two very different kinds of people, and because of that what we find is a natural contrast that is worthy of our attention today.
  • Let us first consider those who we have already talked some about, those who are planning and scheming to get rid of Jesus.
    • The chief priests, the scribes, and Judas as we learn from our final verses.
      • These men set their plans to stand against Jesus, we know this, but let us consider for a few moments, why?
    • To help understand “why”, let us first consider Judas Iscariot.
      • We learn from other Gospel accounts that he was the keeper of the money bag and liked to help himself to the funds…
        • We learn this in the Gospel of John and it is actually in a story that some would say is the parallel account of our passage today.
        • We find a very similar story in John 12 that tells of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus.
          • I have doubts that it is the same story because there are some notable differences, but that at the moment is not our concern.
        • Regardless of whether or not this is the same story it is worth seeing who Judas was and where his heart was at.
          • John 12:4-6 - “But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.”
        • In other words he was a thief…
      • John tells us that he cared not for the poor but instead for the money that was lost in this woman's actions.  
        • Motivated, it seems, by money he showed himself willing to do anything for the sake of what he could gain.
        • This, of course, included what happened in the final verses that we read…
          • Vs. 10-11
      • Of these verses Matthew Henry, a Bible commentator from the 17th century wrote of Judas…
        • “Covetousness was Judas’ master lust, and that betrayed him to the sin of betraying his Master; the devil suited his temptation to that, and so conquered him.”
      • These verses that we just read in Mark are the start of Judas giving himself over fully to the pursuit of the flesh.  
    • Yet it was not just Judas who lived for the fleeting pleasures of this world it was also the religious leaders…
      • They sought the life of Christ, for what cause?
        • Was it His teaching, His miracles?
        • No, it was because their power that they had over the people and with the Roman authorities was threatened by Jesus.  
      • They did not concern themselves with money as Judas did but their hearts were still consumed with greed of another kind.
    • What I want us to see when we consider these enemies of our Lord is that they were spending their lives for themselves.
      • Motivated by their stomachs, the god they worshiped looked much like themselves.
      • Paul writes of those who live for the passions of the flesh…
        • Philippians 3:18-19 - “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
      • Opposing Christ, living for this world, living for their own passions, and spending their lives for the sake of themselves.
    • Thankfully, they are not the only ones represented in this text.
  • Consider with me for a moment this unnamed woman who uses what is at her disposal for the sake of our Lord.
    • First, we must frame this up where we can understand just how big of a deal this was…
      • We are told that what was broken and poured out on Christ could have been sold for at least 300 denarii.
        • We know that a denarius was the wage for one day's work for a laborer.
        • Quick math to bring that into our day means that they valued this ointment at more than $17,000.  
          • I think we could all agree that $17,000 is a lot of money to simply pour out.
        • Knowing this can cause us to understand, at least in part, why the disciples were critical.
      • But consider with me that this perfume was likely far more valuable to the woman than just its monetary worth.
        • This type of flask containing such valuable ointment was likely a family heirloom.
          • Something that had been passed down over many generations.
          • People would not only be unlikely to sell it they would be unlikely to use it.
        • Which means that beyond simply being worth much money it quite possibly also held great personal significance to this woman and her family.  
      • Yet, in one motion, this woman not only poured out thousands of dollars but also poured out any personal significance as well.
        • Illustrating and testifying that she valued Christ of much greater significance than her family and her finances.  
    • Through this action we find the example of a life well spent for the Savior's purpose.
      • A life poured out to Christ…
        • Here are my earthly treasures, here is my family heritage, here is my all in all poured out to Jesus.
        • Though it is not word for word what we find our Lord saying in essence as He defends her, and says to her…
          • “Well done my good and faithful servant…”
          • Something that every follower of Christ desires to hear from Him one day as we step into Glory.  
• It is here that we must consider how this is not simply a story about an unnamed woman two days before the cross…
  • This text also is a challenge for us today regarding how we are going to live our lives as well.
  • So friend, how are you exhausting your life?
    • What are you living for?
    • What are you spending the days of your life on?
• I want to challenge us today as we consider these questions…
  • There is much in this life that we could pursue and spend our lives on, and I have to say if we are living for ourselves there will often not be much criticism.
  • However, if we are found living for Christ, exhausting our lives for His Glory and His Purposes, then much like this woman we will find criticism.
• It is not a new problem, I like how JC Ryle puts it regarding these verses…
  •  “If a man devotes his time, money, and affections to the pursuit of worldly things, they do not blame him. If he gives himself up to the service of money, pleasure, or politics, they find no fault. But if the same man devotes himself, and all he has, to Christ, they can scarcely find words to express their sense of his folly.—“He is beside himself.” “He is out of his mind.” “He is a fanatic.” “He is an enthusiast.” “He is righteous over-much.” “He is an extreme man.”—In short, they regard it as “waste.””
    • Pastor Ryle conintes…
  • “Let charges like these not disturb us, if we hear them made against us, because we strive to serve Christ. Let us bear them patiently, and remember that they are as old as Christianity itself.”
• Brothers and sisters there is much we can waste our lives on, the pursuits of the flesh and the passions of this world and I tell you we can have nice lives this side of eternity.
  • However if one day you desire to hear the One who died in your place to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”, then you will not waste your life on the things that perish.
  • Instead you will be found pouring out your life for the sake of Christ, and that, my brothers and sister, will not be a waste.

Closing

• As we close I urge you to consider the text and what we have observed today…
  • Find comfort in the God who directs the nations if you are found in His hand…
  • Examine your life and see what it is you are exhausting your life for…
    • It is either for Christ or it is for something of far less value.
  • Let us pray.