Perhaps you are familiar with the expressions “the icing on the cake” or “the cherry on top.” They simply mean that something good is added to another good thing or the final touch or finish that makes something extra special. For me dessert is that final touch. Dessert can make even the most mundane meal special and certainly can make the most extravagant of meals more memorable.Today we join Jesus at the table for a similar story of extravagant love and dessert after dinner in Mark 14:1-9.
Our story must been understood in the context of all that is going on around the city. A Jewish celebration called the Passover is about to happen in the city of Jerusalem. It is the biggest annual celebration of the year - which means that the city has ballooned in size from 50,000 people to several hundred thousand. This event put a lot of stress on the city of Jerusalem, but it also brought incredible excitement. Everybody was fired up because this celebration was the high point in the Jewish calendar, a time when they celebrated God’s faithfulness in their past. Why there was even a spontaneous parade of sorts at the start of the week!
With all that is going on in the city, no wonder Jesus and his friends are in Bethany, just a few miles away from Jerusalem. This was a chance to get away from the crowds and perhaps enjoy some time with friends before all that the week ahead will bring. He is at the home of Simon - reclining by the table eating supper.
Mark tells us that as the meal continued a woman entered the room with a jar full of very expensive perfume and begins to pour it on Jesus as if she was anointing Him. She walks in front of all the men while they're eating which by the way was culturally unacceptable. In that culture, women prepared the meal and then went into the other room to eat by themselves. So she is out of line just by entering the room. She then lets down her hair to wash Jesus' feet. Women were never supposed to do that in public. Letting down your hair only happened at home, she was now breaking Jewish law.
But this is Mary - who was a friend of Jesus until the end - Mary who had once been a prostitute – Mary who was seemingly always at the feet of Christ – Mary who always eager to learn more - Mary whose life had been transformed by the grace and love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. It is that Mary who without hesitation or embarrassment takes the alabaster jar, breaks the seal, and extravagantly pours the contents on Jesus' head and feet. As she pours, the tears begin to fall - tears of overwhelming love for this Man who had made such a difference in her life.
In this simple and profound act of devotion, Mary gave everything. She gave her hope and her future. She gave her greatest earthly treasure and she gave her reputation and herself in humble devotion and worship to Jesus. By breaking the jar - she withheld nothing from Him and expected nothing in return. John says "The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." Think about that. This was the beginning of the last days of Jesus' life and the gift she gave - the fragrance of her perfume would go with Jesus. Wherever He would go, that fragrance would go with Him:
• To the garden of Gethsemene where He prayed
• To the court of the high priests
• To the presence of Pontias Pilate
• To the place where he was whipped and beaten
• the fragrance would be on the hands of those who gambled for His clothes at foot of the cross
Remember The expression the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. This act by Mary is the final touch for this evening at the table with Jesus. This is the extravagant dessert that will make this meal memorable – Jesus even says that this story will be told whenever the Gospel is presented. What this woman did is an essential part of the story of Jesus. Mary’s actions make this meal among friends so special that the story of her extravagance is still being told today. Why it is this action so important that this story has become part of the gospel message?
Mary had an intense affection and devotion for Jesus. We see that when she sits at Jesus' feet listening to him teach. She was a contemplative person who liked to think. In this action, she becomes an expressive person — expressive not in words but in actions. Her quiet nature did not prevent her from making a powerful statement. Her action becomes more powerful than words could have ever been.
But Mary’s action was not commanded. Nobody told her to do it. This was just something Mary took upon herself to do, and she did it out of love. Mary may have understood that Jesus was soon to die, but perhaps not. The disciples didn't understand that Jesus was going to die. If Mary had understood this, perhaps she would have saved the perfume for the actual burial. Instead, she seems to have poured the perfume on Jesus simply because she had an incredibly intense devotion to Jesus. She was overwhelmed with love.
Mary shows the heart we need for God is an intense personal devotion, a powerful dedication of ourselves to His service. This intensity of emotion is unusual, and like most unusual things, it is criticized. This kind of devotion was not within the ordinary range of acceptable behavior. Some people would call Mary eccentric, maybe even out of her right mind. Society says, “Don't get carried away with your emotions.” Mary did. Her social network criticized her. Jesus praised her. Society dictates, “Moderation in all things.” Mary was anything but moderate. Her cohorts criticized her. Jesus praised her. Her closest friends said this is wrong, but Jesus said, she is better than you all.
Many people today are concerned with right beliefs and right beliefs are good. We need them. Many people today are concerned with right behavior and right behavior is good. We need it, but we need something else, too, and that is something that Mary demonstrates for us. Mary reveals to us in her actions that our response is to Jesus is not to be rooted in what’s in our head, but rather what is in our hearts. Mary shows the heart we need for God is an intense personal devotion, a powerful dedication of ourselves to His service.
Now this was some incredibly expensive perfume and Mary could have sold it for a considerable amount. Mark tells us it was worth about one year's wages! Can you imagine one jar of perfume that cost that much? Now imagine taking that and just pouring it out? A year's worth of wages gone in an instant!
She knew what she was doing and how much it had cost her, but she did not care. Her love for Jesus was so great that she was not concerned about the cost. If she had sorrow, it was not about how much she was giving up, but that she had so little to give. Love is like that. It often expresses itself in self-sacrifice, with little thought for self.
If an offering is to be meaningful, it should cost us something, and it should be done out of our own free will. We should give up something that is of value to us. Worship involves sacrifice — sacrifice of money, time, pride, or all three. Maybe it requires everything we have, and everything we are. The disciples were concerned with self. They had already argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Mary was not concerned for self and what she would get. She was concerned for nothing but Jesus, and with that, she was already achieving greatness.
Mary's action was more than what was necessary - It was outrageous! Mary was not a calculating person who thought, what is the least I can do? How much do I have to give for it to be enough? What is my duty? What is my share? She was certainly not tied to tradition – What have I done in the past? Mary did not think, “How do other women show respect for a Rabbi?”
She was not afraid to do something out of the ordinary. Mary did not ask the disciples if it was OK. Mary broke with tradition. She broke the limits of what was acceptable. Mary just seized the opportunity, and did it. She did what she could to express her devotion to Jesus. Her love was so great that it called for an exceptional extravagant act of devotion.
The disciples didn't object to the anointing. They didn't object to perfume. What they objected to was the extravagance. This was just too much of a good thing. In fact it was way too much! This was ridiculous, wasteful, it was even sinful. But Jesus said, “Not so.” What she has done is a beautiful thing. It has value, like a beautiful work of art or a beautiful piece of music. It was a beautiful action that defied cost analysis. It is impossible to put a price on such devotion.
Of course, when something is done out of the ordinary, someone is going to complain about it. Someone is not going to understand the motive, or understand the beauty, or they are going to say, "That's not right. We don't do things that way." To them, it seems that “the norm” is better than an intense emotional response. But Jesus praises extravagance. God gave us an extravagant gift in the person of Jesus Christ. It was an outrageous gift. It was a gift worth far more than what we deserved.
It was a gift of grace and grace is by definition - extravagant. Jesus gave everything He had for us. He gave his very life. He gave even more than necessary — He died for the whole world, and yet the whole world did not accept Him. He died for those people who rejected Him. That was an act of extravagance!
So how do we respond to this story of devotion, sacrifice, and extravagance? Just like Mary.
We need to respond with a single-minded love that counts everything else loss but for Jesus. We need to respond with a love that does not ask “how little we can do to get by?” We need to respond with a love that is not worried about public opinion. We need to respond with a love that is no longer concerned about what is within the boundaries of normal devotion. We need to respond with a love that is willing to be extravagant.
Have you ever done anything extravagant for Jesus Christ?
Have you ever done anything so outrageous for Him that other people thought you were foolish?
Have you ever been so bold with your love for Christ that other people have criticized you for what you did?
Some of us have. Maybe it was a long time ago. Whenever it was, that act of love was the “icing on the cake” “the cherry on top.” Your action was a gift of a sweet-smelling fragrance offered to God.
So, how do you respond to The One who gave His life for You?
My hope is that you learn to respond like Mary did with Devotion, Sacrifice, and Extravagance.
No comments:
Post a Comment