Project 119: Mark 14:1-11
| Project 119 | Amy Hirsch
I love the word juxtaposition. Its basic definition is to place two things side-by-side for comparison or contrast. You hear the term often when it comes to decorating or design—people refer to the juxtaposition of certain colors or styles. Yet juxtapositions can also happen in literature, and here in Mark 14:1-11, we see the juxtaposition of two responses to Jesus: those who come to Him in reverent worship (Mark 14:3-9), and those who fear Him and seek to destroy Him (Mark 14:1-2, 10-11).
The main focus of this section (at least in terms of the number of verses) seems to be Mark 14:3-9. We meet a woman with an expensive bottle of perfume and a mission. The nard, which probably originated from India, would have been kept in a bottle with a long neck, and the only way to dispel its contents would be to break it. She broke the neck of the bottle and poured out the nard on the head of Christ in an act of pure love and devotion. When onlookers scorned her worship, protesting that the proceeds from selling that perfume could have been used to feed the poor, Christ quickly came to her defense. He will die soon, and she has unknowingly anointed Him for burial (Mark 14:8).
This woman, who was unnamed in Mark’s gospel but was likely Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (see Matthew 26:6-13, John 12:1-8), came to Christ with an act of extravagant worship. She recognized that Jesus was worth far more than the contents of that costly bottle. And yet I can’t help but think about the juxtaposition of her worship placed beside those who scolded her (Mark 14:4-5), and the chief priests and scribes (Mark 14:1-2), along with Judas (Mark 14:10-11). She recognized Christ’s worth and poured out all she had in worship, while the scribes and chief priests sought out how they might destroy Him (Mark 14:1-2).
The resolution of this passage always makes my heart fall. We see Judas, one of Christ’s own disciples, conspire with the chief priests and scribes on how they might trap and destroy Jesus. It seems so ironic, doesn’t it? Someone on the inside–in the inner ring of Christ’s circle, even–chose betrayal rather than worship. And as I sit in the heaviness of this passage, I can’t point my fingers at the offenders, because I too have betrayed Christ, time and time again, through my sin. The good news of the gospel, though, is that there is hope for Christ’s offenders, and that through the power of the cross, even enemies become friends! When we fully gather what Christ has done for us through the cross, our response ought to be the same kind of sacrificial praise we see displayed in this unnamed woman, giving Christ all the glory and adoration He deserves because of His goodness and grace.
Lord, we stand condemned in our sin and have rejected You, like the chief priests, scribes, and even Judas, but we trust that, when we confess our sin, You are faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And in response, we worship You, pouring everything we have out at Your feet in praise and abandon.
Mark 14:1-11 (ESV):
It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.