Anointing of Jesus' Head
Mark 14:1-9 show the two schools of thought on Jesus. The religious leaders - the chief priests and scribes - were plotting how they might go about killing Jesus without revealing they were involved. They decided they didn't dare do it on a feast day as there would be an uproar among the people. The passover and feast of unleavened bread was, after all, a major Jewish celebration where people came from all over to Jerusalem to celebrate and stayed for quite a while.
Meanwhile, one of the woman who realized Jesus was nearby brought an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard to anoint the head of Jesus. This was likely an import from the Himalayas and was costly. A pence was about the equivalent of a day's wage, so 300 pence would have required around a year of work, with some time off for good behavior...
Several around Jesus were put of by this waste of fine oil, feeling that it was better to sell it and to give the proceeds to the poor. There was much murmuring against her, but clearly Jesus didn't stop her, so they couldn't really complain to Him, could they. Then Christ replies that she had done a good thing because she was anointing him for burial. Everyone would remember her actions. Of course we do, but we also remember the grumbling of the disciples and others.
Christ also tells them that the poor will always be with them, but He would not be with them much longer. Whenever they wanted to, they could help the poor. His time on earth was running out.
We may not complain about anointing with oil today, but if you have been a Christian any length of time and are conscientious about supporting the church with tithes and offerings, it is very likely that there will have been murmurings in your family about your donations. Maybe your dedication to Christ's work will turn your kids against you. Maybe it will lead to divorce. At the least, there will be mutterings and murmurings against you. Things haven't changed much in the last 2,000 years.
You have to decide between you and God what you will give to His cause. He wants a cheerful giver. And I'm an absolute believer that you can't out give God. He may not compensate you financially. It's been pretty tough so far at the start of the Trump 47 realm. Stocks are falling, talk of recession, higher prices, and on and on. So I might not feel particularly blessed financially in continuing to give. On the other hand, I accidentally breathed in some saliva while lying in bed Monday morning and couldn't breathe. I finally got it cleared before I died. God helped me not to panic, and may have helped be breathe again. It wasn't financial, but what price do you put on a few more days of living?
God is good. All the time. His work needs your help, both financially, in prayer, in fasting, in witnessing, in ministering through the gifts of the Spirit, and in letting the fruit of the Spirit fill your presence. Putting Him first isn't the hardship many people think it is. He'll help you to do more with your 90% than if you try to do it on the full 100%. Trust in Him. Be thankful for what He does for you. I am, particularly this week.
Judas' Plot
Nobody knows whether the "waste" of the spikenard was what was the final push to make Judas Iscariot approach the priests to betray Jesus. I suspect that it was, but until we get to heaven, we probably won't know for absolute certainty. The chief priests and scribe were happy at the possibility of taking Jesus unawares. There are many traitors names that go down in history to be remembered forever. Judas Iscariot is one such example. The deal was struck in Mark 14:10-11, and would be carried out quickly.
First Communion
Mark 14:12-25 records Mark's account of the first communion. This became one of the major sacraments of the Christian faith. I suspect that even if Christ hadn't invited them to partake, and explained the symbolism, it would have been something that the church repeated since Christ was betrayed very soon thereafter.
There is much symbolism in the Passover meal itself that points to Christ. When I think of the story of the Passover itself, it is just so rich in symbolism itself that it is hard to express it all. The unleavened bread symbolically representing being free from sin, the cups of wine, the killing of the lambs, the sprinkling of their blood on the lintel and side posts of each door to keep the destroyer from killing the firstborn of the cattle and every family from the lowest criminal in the dungeon to the Pharaoh himself (Exodus 12:1-30), the fact that if any Egyptian (think Gentiles) had done as the Jews they would have been saved from the plague as well it's just magnificent foreshadowing of what was to come. And the fact that God chose the Passover celebration as when Christ would be the blood sacrifice for us is just fantastic. Do an internet search for "Christian Symbolism in the Passover" for more complete information about how the elements of the Passover meal point to Christ for more information.
But even though this is seen as a time of triumph of good over evil looking backwards, it was a very tough time for Christ. He knew that His time of trying to establish a church that Satan couldn't destroy was coming to an end. He also knew that one of those at the table was planning to betray Him. After all He had done for mankind, and all He was going to do in the next few hours, it must have been particularly hard for Him to know that one of the twelve closest disciples was a traitor. Each disciple asked if it was Him, not knowing that the betrayal was already in motion. Christ said that His plan was to carry out the will of the Father, regardless of the cost, but pronounced woe to the one who betrayed Him. He further said it would have been better if He had never been born.
I want you to think about that for a minute. We are born. We live a life that may be short or may be over one hundred years if we are lucky (or unlucky if our health fails badly at the end). Many today in the world would ask how can it be better to have never lived? The thing is that this life is just a drop in the ocean of eternity. When we die, we face God's judgment. If we have accepted Christ as Savior and repented of sin, then Christ's blood covers our sin and we can look forward to an eternity with God. If we haven't accepted Christ as Savior, then our eternity is in hell which was originally intended for the angels who sinned. No matter how great your life is, if you die without Christ as Savior, your eternity will be in hell. Indeed, it would be far better than you were never born at all than to have just a few years on Earth and then an infinite number of years in torment. Christ spoke the truth.
He then instituted the communion meal. The cup of grape juice or wine was symbolic of his blood which He would soon shed on the cross to save mankind. The bread was symbolic of His body that would die on that cross, be scourged and tortured for our healing, and would finally be resurrected in three days time to a glorious future. For anyone who was questioning how much time He had left, He ended the passage saying that he wouldn't drink of the fruit of the vine again until He was again in the kingdom of God.
Warning to Peter
Mark 14:26-31 records the bravery of Peter while it is light and the boss is around and seemingly still in control. I don't mean to make light of Peter's situation. Most all of us would probably feel as Peter did. We're all braver when in the company of greatness. Regardless, after they ate, they sang a hymn - I miss hymns - and proceeded to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus warned that during the coming night, everyone would be offended by Christ, fulfilling the prophecy that when the shepherd was smitten, the sheep would be scattered. He again told them that after He rose, He would go to Galilee before they got there.
Peter declares that he would never be offended by Jesus, but Jesus tells him that before the cock crows twice in the morning, Peter would deny Christ three times. Peter, and all the rest, just to be clear, all told Jesus that even if it meant death they would never deny Him in any manner. Words that they all had to reflect on for the rest of their lives. I'm sure that when Christ met them after the resurrection, the words echoed through each of their minds. It wouldn't be much different than for us.
One day, we'll probably be reminded of every promise we made God, every thing we swore we would do or not do, give up or press forward on, and we'll remember just how well we succeeded of failed. We can't do much about the past failures, but we can try to do the things He is asking us to do in the present and future, and whenever we can do some of the things He reminds us of in the past. In His work, there are times when late isn't good enough. Once someone has moved on, died, left the store, walked by on the street, or any similar occurrence, then however God wanted us to interact with that person is a lost chance. But many things can still be done later, even if they might not be as effective. Try to do what He calls you to do when He calls. It's the best plan.
Gethsemane
Mark 14:32-52 records Jesus time in the garden of Gethsemane and His betrayal to the chief priests. It's of note that the fall of man started in a garden (Eden), and the salvation of man also started in a garden (Gethsemane). The difference was that in the garden of Eden, man was talking to Satan and in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was talking to God. How much better history might have been if Adam and Eve had been talking to God in their garden instead of listening to the lies of Satan.
Jesus was weary and heavily burdened with the weight of the immediate future. He asked his disciples to stay awake while He went on to pray, hoping I'm sure, that they would spend some time praying as well. So there is a group of outer disciples who are instructed to wait, an inner group of Peter, James, and John, who are also asked to tarry and watch, and finally Christ himself praying. He prayed that if it was at all possible, this hour might pass from him. He asked God if there was another possible way. But in the end, He accepted God's will for His life. He came back and found the three sleeping and asked Peter if he couldn't have kept watch for even one hour. That will give you an idea of how long He prayed in His first communion with the Father.
He told Peter to watch and pray so that they wouldn't be tempted because the spirit is ready, but flesh is weak. That is still true for each of us today. Sometimes the spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. Like in the garden of Eden, the spirit might have been willing, but the flesh was weak and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil looked really tasty.
Jesus went again to pray and came back and found them sleeping. He prayed a third time, and came back finding them sleeping, and told them that the betrayer was at hand. His time was come. As He was speaking, Judas and a great multitude came with swords and staves. Judas kissed Jesus, as that was the token H'ed told the priests to look for as an identification of Jesus.
At least one of the disciples tried to defend Jesus and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Although not recorded here, Jesus has compassion on the man and heals him. That must have really shook the rest of those who had come to take Jesus to have Him love his enemy enough to perform a miracle to help him. That's good advice for us as well.
Jesus rebuked the people who came in the night to steal Christ away out of the eyes of the people. He told them that he was in the temple teaching daily, but they didn't take Him. All of the disciples took flight. One young man was grabbed by his clothes, and ended up fleeing naked to escape. The all men for yourselves happened quickly.
The Show Trial
In the closing portions of this chapter (Mark 14:53-65), Christ is taken first to the high priest for a show trial. They had already found Him guilty in their minds and hearts, but had to try to make it look official. They brought false witnesses to lie in order to give them a reason to pass a death sentence on Christ. But the false witnesses couldn't keep the stories they were supposed to tell straight so that didn't work out. In all of this, Christ was silent.
Finally, the high priest got frustrated and asked Christ if He was the Son of God? Jesus declared "I am" and told that they would see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven and sitting on the right hand of power (meaning God). All true as far as prophecy of the future was established.
Then the high priest said they didn't need any more useless witnesses because of what Jesus himself had said, and He was condemned to death. They began to spit on Him, beat Him, and mock Him. I don't know if any of them ended up realizing that He really was the Messiah they had been looking for and become Christian. There is at least some slight chance that one or two did. But imagine how you would be in either case. Either rejecting Christ and ending up in hell or having to go up to Christ and acknowledge your part in His horrible death in heaven. Every knee will indeed bow, one day. But just like Judas, I'll bet there were some really nervous priests if any actually made it to heaven.
Keep in mind that one sin is as bad as another in the eyes of God. It's all just black and white. Without the blood of Christ, our sin nature condemns us in the end. No matter how good a life we've lived (or how bad), one day we'll be before God. If Jesus is on our side, we will make it into heaven. If He isn't, we'll end up in hell, which is worse than the torment compartment of hades where those without Christ go now. So as you sin, if you sin, remember that one day, everything we've done, good and bad, will be put on display for all to see. Try your best to accept Christ as Savior, and then live the rest of your days following His will to the best of your ability.
Peter's Fear
The last section (Mark 14:66-72) recounts Peter's situation. Remember that Jesus had said Peter would join the rest in general denial of Jesus and in particular would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed two times. This section recounts the fulfillment of that prophecy. You'd have thought that after the first denial and cock crowing, Peter would have thought better of sticking around and left. But Jesus had seen Peter's future and knew that Peter wouldn't leave. Sure enough, Peter makes two more denials and the cock crows again. This time when Jesus hears it, he remembers what Christ had said and he wept, realizing what he had done.
I doubt I'd have been any stronger than Peter. I might not have even gone close to where the trial was happening to observe in the first place. But regardless, Peter turned his life around after this. He became one of the great founders of the Christian church. Great things are said about his ministry, and He testifies to the very same priests who were instrumental in killing Christ. He ends up losing his life for the cause of Christ, but what a strong Christian life he had.
If you feel like you have fouled up your Christian life so much that there is no salvaging it, think of Peter at this moment. He had a choice to make. He could have left the faith and faded into the woodwork and been lost forever, perhaps, or he could have faced his lowness, owned up to his mistakes, and moved ahead with Christ. God always wants up to make that later choice. He knows we're human. He knows us better than we even know ourselves. And He wants us to do great things with Him. No matter how low you feel, look up, for our salvation draws nigh and we have work to do. Whatever it is God wants you to do, do it with gusto! Put away the fear. Live your life for Him and rejoice in whatever you can accomplish. Rewards in heaven are better than any reward on earth, that's for sure.