Mark 14:1-9: Something Beautiful for Jesus

INTRODUCTION

You can probably all think back to a time when someone did you such a kindness that you will never forget it.

Maybe there was a time when you showed someone your love in such a way that they were surprised and pleased.

It was 1968. I was teaching seventh grade in a junior high school in Lawrence, Kansas. It was a difficult year. That was a time when there were riots about the Vietnam War and we also had racial strife in our town. A bomb went off destroying the computer center at the university. Riots occurred throughout the country.

There was so much danger that someone had to stand at the door checking the children as they came into the school building to make sure someone didn’t have a pipe up his sleeve. Teaching school that year was stressful.

The children often misbehaved.

It was an especially difficult time for our African American students. There was a lot of hate. Sometimes our African American students would act out their hostility. The white students were also rowdy. We teachers had a hard time keeping the lid on.

But one day when I walked into my classroom I was surprised to find that my students had arranged a party for me. The most surprising thing about it was that the organizer of the event was a big boisterous African American girl named Delores, who had made my life difficult on several occasions.

But this day, when I walked into my classroom, everyone clapped. Delores presented me with a birthday card. It said, “To a wonderful friend and teacher.” Delores had organized the party.

Under the verse she had written this: “I know it’s not your birthday, but it’s almost like your birthday.”

And all the children in the class had written their names under hers. Do I need to tell you that I still have that card?

I felt honored—and loved.

The story we are going to consider today is the story of a friend of Jesus who did an extravagant and beautiful thing for him that will be remembered forever.

Here is the story, from Mark 14:1-9:

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; for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people.”

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment, of pure nard, very costly. And she broke the jar and poured it over his head.

But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment thus wasted? For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they reproached her.

But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burying. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Jesus said. “Wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

And that is what we are going to do today. We’re going to tell the story again in memory of her.

I. It was Wednesday. He would die on Friday.

A. As Mark tells it, it is the story of “Love in a Frame of Hate.”

The first paragraph of chapter 14—that we just read—is an account of the malignity of Jesus’s enemies. They have decided to kill him.

Following this story, we read an account of the treachery of Judas, one of Jesus’s closest friends.

Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus to them—for money.”

So this beautiful story is framed by two stories of hate.

B. Bethany was a little town, less than two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus had friends in Bethany sometimes he visited that little village and enjoyed their hospitality.

Today he was at the house of Simon the Leper. I assume that this was a person who Jesus had healed of his disease. Other friends were there. We read in John’s gospel that Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were also at the table.

Jesus was in a sorrowful mood. He knew he would die soon. He had told his disciples about this several times, but they didn’t understand. It was a time in Jesus life when Jesus’s soul was troubled.

As they were reclining at the table—as they did in those days—a woman came in with an alabaster jar of costly ointment and anointed Jesus’s head. According to John’s gospel it was Mary.

In those days anointing was a very meaningful act.

Kings were anointed.

High priests were anointed.

Sometimes when someone wanted to greatly honor someone they loved, they would anoint them like this.

Do you remember in the 23rd Psalm: “Thou anointest my head with oil…?” The writer of the psalm is telling how much the Lord has honored him.

Precious ointment was also used in burying. We use flowers at funerals. They used fragrant ointment. Remember that. That’s important in our story.

II. Mary’s heart was overflowing with her love.

A. She thought to herself, “How can I honor my friend in some very special way?”

And she remembered that she had this jar of ointment saved up for some special occasion. It was her most valuable possession.

It would be just the thing.

Nowadays perfume is cheaper than it was then. Chemists have all kinds of ways to make various wonderful scents. But in those days, perfume came from rare plants that grew in far-away countries.

And it was a smelly world they lived in. Soap hadn’t been invented. They had no indoor plumbing, and animals were everywhere. So perfume was a big deal for them.

Some of the guests scolded Mary. They said, “Why was the ointment wasted? It might have been sold for more than 300 denarii, and the money given to the poor.”

(One denarii was a day’s wages for a working man. Three hundred denarii would have been a year’s wages! That’s a lot of money.)

If I had been there, I might have agreed. What a waste!

B. I am sure that this woman didn’t neglect Christ’s poor. One who is generous toward Christ, is generous to the poor. But this was a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to express to Jesus her devotion.

This grumbling must have hurt her. But Jesus defended her. He told her detractors: “She has done a beautiful thing to me! …She has done what she could!”

I don’t think this woman knew that in a few days Jesus would die—but Jesus knew, and he told the guests that she had anointed his body for its burial.

The woman didn’t know the full significance of what she was doing, but Jesus did.

She let her heart lead her, and her loving action had a greater significance than she intended.

Jesus’s thoughts were filled with the forebodings of his terrible death. This woman’s kindness was balm to his aching soul. That is why he praised her so highly, and who he held her up as an example of faithful love.

When she poured that precious ointment out on Jesus’s head, Mary was pouring out her heart in love to her Lord.

That is why Jesus said, “She has done a beautiful thing to me” (v6).

That is why Jesus said, “Wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she had done will be told in remembrance of her.”

In the King James Bible we read, “That she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.”

Great men and women have memorials. We have seen the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. Mary’s memorial is this beautiful story.

CONCLUSION

When we love deeply we want to do something extravagant to express our love.

That is why lovers buy flowers for their sweethearts.

That I why I bought a diamond ring for Charlotte when we were engaged that cost $125!

A set of pans would have been more practical, but when you are in love, you don’t think about practical.

And because it’s just pretty—and useless—a diamond ring seems to be a fine way to express love.

When I took French in college, one of our assignments was to read a little book by the French author, Antoine St. Antoine-de-Saint-Exupery. The title of the book in French is Le Petit Prince, In English it is The Little Prince.

The Little Prince lived by himself on a tiny planet somewhere far away in the sky. On his planet, the little prince had a rose bush whom he dearly loved. She—the rose bush—had told him that she was unique in all the universe. He tenderly cared for her, watering her regularly, picking caterpillars off her, and sometimes putting a glass globe over her to protect her.

In the story, the Little Prince traveled throughout the universe, visiting various planets, having various adventures, and finally coming to earth. Here, on earth, to his great disappointment, the Little Prince saw an entire garden of roses. His rose had told him that she was unique in all the universe, and she had lied. In his disappointment, the Little Prince lay down on the grass and wept.

It was then the fox came to teach the Little Prince wisdom.

The fox told him that when you make someone your friend, that friend becomes unique in all the world.

The fox said, “Here is my secret, a very simple secret: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. … It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

The Little Prince repeated, so he would be sure to remember: “It is the time I have wasted for my rose that makes her so important.”

And he was happy.

In our church in Lawrence, Kansas, someone paid to have a florist bring an arrangement of flowers to the church every Sunday morning and place them in the front of the sanctuary for everyone to enjoy.

We never knew who ordered and paid for the flowers. All we saw was the florist coming each Sunday with the flowers and placing them on the table.

What a waste! But how beautiful! Someone was showing in an expensive way that they loved their church, that they loved Jesus, and they loved God’s people.

Jesus said, “She did what she could.”

I want to tell you about a young friend of mine who also did what she could.

Her name is Hannah, and at the time this happened, she was 14-years-old.

Hannah’s church had collected money to dig a well in Africa.

Hannah got interested in Africa. She read books about Africa.

She learned that many children in Africa don’t have schools to go to. They have no opportunity to learn to read. They have no opportunity to learn the skills they need to get a good job and have a good life.

She learned that it cost $400 to support a school in Africa for a year—to hire a teacher and buy the books and supplies.

Hannah had some money saved up from her babysitting and from birthday and Christmas money.

She had almost $400. She kept saving and when she had $400 saved up, she sent it to a mission that serves Africa.

She made it possible for some African children to go to school that year.

Like the woman in our story, “She did what she could.”

Jesus doesn’t ask us to do what we can’t, but what we can.

Many of you here have loved and served your Lord Jesus for many years. You have done what you could, and Jesus is pleased.

He is waiting to honor you.

You didn’t anoint Jesus’ body in the literal way Mary did so long ago.

But when you did what you could for love of Jesus, you were doing something beautiful—something beautiful for Jesus.

And you still have that opportunity to do what you can—to do something beautiful for Jesus.

2 Samuel 7:1-3 and 1 Kings 8:18: Heaven Is for Those Who Have Failed on Earth

INTRODUCTION

When King David began to reign over Israel, the shrine at which the Israelites worshiped was called the Tent of Meeting (or Tabernacle). The Israelites believed that God was everywhere, but it was at this Tent of Meeting that they especially felt the nearness of God.

The priests offered the sacrifices in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It was in this courtyard that the Levites played their trumpets and harps and cymbals and sang their songs of praise. It was here that the Israelites gathered to celebrate their holy festivals.

But inside this sacred tent, in an inner room, called the “Holy of Holies,” was the holiest object in the world: The Ark of the Covenant. It was a large box, covered with gold. On the top of the ark were two golden winged cherubim and inside were the two tables of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments.

The only person ever to enter this inner room was the high priest, and he came in only once each year on the Day of Atonement. He would enter with a bowl of blood from the sacrifice and pour out the blood on the lid of the Ark, which was called the “Mercy Seat.”

By the time of King David—Israel’s second king—more than 200 years had gone by since the Israelites had settled in their homeland, but the precious Ark of the Covenant was still in the tent that had been its home during their days of desert wandering.

I. King David had won many battles and the country had become prosperous.

A. But King David’s conscience accused him. He had built himself a grand palace, but the Holy Ark was still in this old tent.

In 2 Samuel 7.1-3 we read,

Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See how, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”

And Nathan said to the king, “Go do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.”

I suppose David went to bed at night planning that glorious temple. By building a glorious Temple he would express his love for the God who had done so much for him. It would encourage the people to worship their God.

B. But then David’ plans were upset. The word of the Lord came to Nathan the prophet, with a message for King David.

God told Nathan to tell the king that he was not to build the Temple. David’s son would have that honor.

But there’s something else that God told David—This message is recorded in 1 Kings 8:18. God told David, in effect, “You are not to build the Temple—but you did well that it was in your heart.”

During the rest of his reign, King David gathered timber and stone for building, and iron for nails and hinges, and gold and silver for adornment (1 Chronicles 22). David was determined that it would be magnificent—even though he would never see it.

II. So it was Solomon who had the privilege of building the Temple, but God honored David for his intention. He said, “You did well that it was in your heart.” And that is the point of my sermon.

A. You know the proverb: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And that is true. But it is also true that good intentions are some of the surest stepping stones to heaven.

Sometimes we try with all our might to serve God in the way we believe he has given us and we fail.

The good news is that God recognizes our efforts and sincere intentions and rewards them as if we had been successful.

When I was a teacher, sometimes I would give a student a little higher grade than he or she had really earned because that student had tried hard. I reasoned this way: “Life is like that. In life, effort counts too, not just brains.”

Well, God grades entirely on effort. God looks at our hearts and judges our hearts and rewards us according to our intention to please him.

That’s what the saying means: “Heaven is for those who have failed on earth.”

III. Here are some examples of what I am trying to tell you:

A. During that last week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion he went to the temple. (Luke 21:1-4)

He watched the rich men putting handfuls of gold and silver coins into the Temple treasury. Then he saw a poor widow put in two tiny copper coins.

“Look!” said Jesus, “she put in more than all of them—because she put in all that she had.”

Her little coins did little to help the poor, but God was pleased with her generosity. That poor widow didn’t think anyone had noticed her generosity. I’ll bet she surprised when she got to Heaven and found out that she had a place in Scripture as an example for all generations!

B. Here’s my second example:

In 1912 a missionary doctor named Dr. William Leslie and his wife Clara went to live and serve tribal people in a remote corner of the Congo.

It was a wild country, infested by leopards. Some of the natives were still cannibals. Dr. Leslie worked hard. He used his medical skills. He told Bible stories to the children. He founded schools.

After 17 years he returned to the United States. He had worked and sacrificed much, but he hadn’t made an impression on the people he came to serve.

Some of the tribal leaders had asked him to go home and not return.

He was discouraged. He was a failure.

But in 2010, another group of missionaries entered the region and made a shocking discovery. They found a network of thriving churches, scattered like diamonds in the dense jungle in which Dr. Leslie had worked 81 years before.

The missionaries found eight thriving churches. Each village had its own gospel choir. They wrote their own songs and had singing competitions from village to village.

The missionaries were surprised to find a 1000-seat “cathedral” in one of the villages. This church had become so crowded that the members planted churches in the surrounding villages.

Dr. Leslie had thought he was a failure, but the legacy he left is huge.

(http://blog. godreports.com/)

C. None of us have been missionary doctors. Maybe none of us have been outstanding in any way. But Dr. Leslie’s story tells us that we don’t always know what good we do when we attempt to serve God.

God uses mediocre people. In fact, most of the people God has used to spread faith in the world have been ordinary people—like us.

Someday you may find—and I think you will find—that something you have done, or something you have said, has blessed someone and made a difference you didn’t imagine.

CONCLUSION

I have told you that during the three years we lived in Japan we taught a weekly Bible study at a Japanese high school. I don’t believe that the students came because they were especially interested in the Bible; they just wanted to hear English spoken.

We had a good time. Sometimes we invited the students to our house for parties. We became friends.

We returned to the United States in 1960. About five years later I was surprised to receive a four-page letter from a young man who had attended our Bible study. He had now graduated from a university in Tokyo.

I had written him after our return but five years later I had no memory of this student. I didn’t remember writing him, but all these years later he wrote back.

He wrote, “I happened to find your old letter. Happiness means that unexpected things come with a sudden shock. But the things which we seemed not to have expected and thought of, are often the true things which we are hoping for a long time.”

He mentioned a visit to our house in Japan where I had corrected a speech he had written for English class. He mentioned the happy welcome he and his friends received at a second, unexpected visit to our house.

At the end of his letter he wrote, concerning his recollections upon discovering the old letter: “I seem to have been touched by some sacred moment.”

The astonishing thing to me was that I had no recollection of this young man. I remembered the Bible study, the high school, and at least one party we invited the students to at our house. I couldn’t remember distinctly any of these young people who had come to this class. We had pleasant memories of the class but had no reason to believe that our efforts had actually blessed anyone.

That was a lesson to me.

Nothing is wasted that is done for God. God remembers our efforts, and he blesses our efforts, even when we can’t see any results.

And someday we may be surprised when he welcomes us into Paradise with the words: “Well, done, good and faithful servant.”

You have loved God and served him by serving others. And maybe you think your efforts were wasted. Maybe you can’t point to success.

Maybe you have taught Sunday school and the children didn’t pay attention. You wondered whether they learned anything at all.

You have done generous things for people who have not appreciated your efforts—or even said “thank you.”

You have loved people and prayed that they would turn to God and they didn’t.

Maybe the career your heart was set on—and in which you hoped to do great things for God—didn’t work out.

Take heart. God will not forget your efforts.

In God’s eyes, you have not failed.

In God’s eyes, you have succeeded because God looks at your heart. He looks at your intentions.

And maybe—and I think, probably—you have been more successful than you think. If you have been faithful, someday you may be surprised.

Because “Heaven is for those who have failed on earth.”