What does the act of the woman with the perfume tell us about her? What does Jesus’ betrayal by Judas tell us about Judas? What do Jesus’ words at the last Supper tell us about Him?

School is almost done for the disciples. The next three days are going to be crazy. Buckle up.

Here is the video link:

Mark 14:1-31… A woman, her perfume, and a meal with a side of betrayal

The audio links for Spotify and iTunes are to the right.

Here is the transcript I used for this podcast:

Mark 14

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, 

These two distinct festivals are celebrated together in annual remembrance of Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Exod 12). Passover relived the climactic night of God’s mighty deliverance with families sharing in the meal of the sacrificial lamb, whose blood protected Israel’s firstborn males from the destroying angel (Exod 12:1–27). The Festival of Unleavened Bread, following directly for the next seven days after Passover, recalled Israel’s hasty departure and the need for purity 

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

Jerusalem’s population increased five- or sixfold during the festival. Combined with the Jewish tradition that anticipated Israel’s future deliverance on Passover and a correspondingly increased Roman presence, this made for a highly volatile situation. A riot would bring down swift and violent Roman intervention.

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

 

They weren’t necessarily afraid of the crowds hurting THEM, necessarily. They WERE afraid however of the Roman response to disorder and rioting  – namely to use harsh crowd control tactics to break up the riot. The leaders wanted Rome’s attention focused on Jesus, not the Jewish people.

What a Woman Thought of Jesus

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

the unnamed woman was likely not an invited guest. nard. Highly prized and probably the most expensive perfume mentioned in the Bible (Song 1:12; 4:13–14); made from a plant whose oil was imported at some expense from India.

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Jesus accepts this woman’s actions as uninhibited devotion to his person; its very excess intuiting something of his true identity. If he is indeed God’s presence among his people, then while one must love one’s neighbor, her loving him with all her heart is indeed (lit.) “a good work”. 

In light of Jesus’ Messianic behavior, anointing his head might seem a royal or priestly identification. But this is perfume not oil, the act is offensively excessive, and “poured” is the usual word for anointing not kings but corpses—as Jesus then goes on to explain. Her act is an anticipatory preparation of Jesus, the divinely authoritative yet soon-to-be-crucified Son of Man, for his entombment

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

 

I don’t know if she entirely knew what she was doing or even WHY she was doing this, i.e. anointing Him for burial, or what led her  – an uninvited guest – to enter the home and anoint Him… but Jesus accepted this act for what it was – an act of worship, born out of the impulsivity of the Holy Spirit at work in this woman’s life.

Sometimes God calls us to be extravagant in our worship and in our actions. This has brought back memories of the times my wife and I felt led to give away our furniture… and even once our car. Neither of those things were things we could afford to give – we have NEVER been wealthy – but in looking back, life went on, uninterrupted… so I guess we COULD afford to be extravagant, after all.

The extravagance of her gift hints at her thoughts concerning Jesus. I wonder if she had a better grasp on Who He was that ran deeper than what His disciples felt at this time.

 10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

This happens before the Last Supper. He makes the agreement to betray Jesus, which He does after the Last Supper.

The Last Supper

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

The Betrayal

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Mark does not share as much detail as Luke did in his gospel. Here is what Luke says in Chapter 22:

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

And Matthew adds to the narrative in Matthew 26:

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

What Judas and the Other Disciples thought of Jesus

One side thought from Matthew’s passage… the other disciples addressed Jesus as “Lord”, and Judas addressed Him as “Rabbi”. I wonder if that is an indicator of Judas’ estimation as to Who Jesus was.

 Here are the definitions of the two words:

Lord:

κύριος kyrios, n. lord, master. This can be a title of address to a person of higher status, “lord, sir”; a master of property or slaves; or a NT translation of the Hebrew 151 “Lord” or 3378 “LORD,” that is “Yahweh,” the proper name of God in the OT:– Lord

Rabbi:

ῥαββί rhabbi, l.[n.] Rabbi, a title of a teacher:– rabbi (15)

What you believe is demonstrated by what you do (See the epistle of James for more information). My wife once said to me after I had not carried through on something that I had promised “If that had REALLY mattered to you, you would have done it.” Judas’ action to betray Jesus demonstrated his true belief – he believed Jesus was a teacher… but not the Messiah Judas wanted.

Judas was a member of a faction that looked to defeat Rome militarily. I can imagine him coming to the realization that WHATEVER Jesus REALLY was, He was not that military Messiah. As a result, I can see Judas recognizing Jesus as “just” a Rabbi – teacher – and therefore expendable to his (Judas’) cause.

22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Think of the enormity of what is happening here. Jesus is taking the most powerful and influential ceremony in Israel’s faith – the Passover meal – and making Himself the center of and the point of it all. This is an all-out declaration of His divinity, and there can be no doubt about Who Jesus thinks He is. Just as the lamb’s blood secured the salvation of Israel, so Jesus’ blood secures OUR salvation. This was almost the last lesson He would teach His disciples before His resurrection.

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’[d]

28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice[e] you yourself will disown me three times.”

31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Wow – pretty heavy last lesson He had for the Disciples. Hardly the pep-talk one might imagine Jesus giving just before His arrest. No “Rah! Rah! You can do it! You can make it through this!”. Instead He says plainly – “You will all desert me.” And with that, class is over. School is done… until three days from now.

We will save that for later.

In His Grip,

Paige