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Mark | 1 -7 | 8-12 | 13:1-13 | 13:14-27 | 13:28-37 | 14:1-9 | 14:10-21 | 14:22-31 | 14:32-52 | 14:53-72 | 15:1-20 | 15:21-41 | 15:42-47 | 16 | PDF |

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Mark 14 Bible Study – A Sacrifice That Echoes Across Time

Discussion Questions

• What was the Feast of the Passover for? Unleavened bread?
• Why did they seek to have Jesus killed in stealth?
• How were lepers generally treated in that culture?
• How did Jesus treat them?
• What happened while they were visiting?
• Was perfume commonplace then, like it is now?
• What is the significance that this was a very expensive perfume?
• What can we learn about the woman through her actions?
• What can we learn about Jesus?
• What can we learn about the other people there through their reaction?
• How much is 300 denarii?
• What lessons can you learn from this passage?
• How can we show similar love and affection for Christ?
• What can you give to Him?

Cross-References

Luke 10:27 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.

1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us.

Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Matthew 6:19-21 – Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. The Feast of the Passover –

Mark 14:1 – It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt and had finally been freed after more than four hundred years of oppression. Through incredible miracles, God brought them out of Egypt. They left Egypt in such a hurry that they could not even wait for the bread to rise. Thus, they took unleavened (no yeast) bread. Since then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated during the Passover to commemorate their liberation from Egypt through God’s power. The unleavened bread didn’t taste as good as typical bread, but it was a reminder of how their ancestors had left Egypt in haste.

2. The chief priests and scribes sought to kill Jesus –

Mark 14:1-2 – 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 an uproar from the people.”

Their desire to kill Jesus is not new news. For much of the book of Mark, we can see their hatred for Jesus intensifying. They had been scheming to kill Jesus since Mark 3.

Mark 3:6 – The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Now we see that they are not willing to wait much longer, wanting to finish him off before He grew any more popular. While they looked down on the common people, they also feared them because they were not always easy to control.

Many of the common people believed in Jesus and the leaders were afraid of the backlash if they arrested Jesus publicly. Thus, they sought to capture Jesus in secret. Later, they welcomed Judas’ offer to help them do just that (Mark 14:10-11).

It is a reminder that sin loves the dark. Many things that are done in secret are shameful. They are done by guilty people who seek to hide their actions.

Ephesians 5:11-14 – Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

Application – If someone asks you to do something in secret, ask them why. Let us live in the light.

3. Jesus was visiting with friends in Bethany –

The picture we get of Jesus is very different than the picture of the priests and scribes. Uneasy and fearful, they schemed and plotted in secret. Jesus, on the other hand, was out in the open. Even though He knew the day of His death was near, He still was at peace, spending His last days in the company of those closest to Him.

He was “reclining at the table.” The image is a very relaxing one. Although Jesus would die soon, He didn’t let it affect Him. He didn’t go into the bedroom and sulk. He didn’t waste His time on self-pity. He wasn’t brooding. Throughout His life, we see that He is a “people person,” giving of His time and energy to help others. He was focused not on being served, but on serving others (Mark 10:45). He continued in this habit right up until the very end.

Application – When you are unwell or facing a trial, do you want others to serve you? Even when things are going poorly, God wants us to be other-centered.

4. Jesus associated with outcasts –

Jesus was not at the home of Simon the silversmith, Simon the noble, or Simon the quarterback. He was at the home of Simon the leper. Lepers were outcasts in society. When you saw them on the street, you would turn the other way. And yet Jesus didn’t treat people this way. He had likely healed Simon. Even though others may have avoided Simon even after healing, Jesus valued him both when he was sick and when he was healthy.

Reflect – Why did Jesus treat people like that?

Like every person, Simon was created in the image of God. His soul had inherent value. Jesus loved him regardless of what he looked like.

From one perspective, man is nothing. We are dust. Yet from another perspective, God ascribes to us great value, even to the point of sending His son to die for us.

Psalms 8:4-5 – What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Application – Do you treat all people as if they are God’s image bearers? How might you treat people differently if you realized that?

5. The woman –

Mark 14:3 – 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.

We know that perfume in those days was a luxury item, even more so than it is today. Perfume was rare. Factories didn’t crank it out by the ton. Ingredients were hard to come by and it was hand-made.

What was the perfume originally intended for?

We don’t know, but it is safe to assume that it would have been saved for the most special of occasions, such as a wedding. In the passage, people conclude that it could have been sold for 300 denarii. That is roughly what a well-paid worker would have made in an entire year. A denarius was equal to one day’s wages.

This was no small gift! It is interesting to consider this gift in comparison with the widow’s gift in the last chapter. While one gift was tiny and the other huge in numeric value, both touched Christ’s heart and were deeply valued by Him.

Reflect – What can we learn from this woman?

A. We should give our very best to Christ –

She did not hold back. This perfume was probably being saved by her for a very special event. To her, this was the perfect event. Jesus was special. He was more important to her than anything else in her life and was worthy of this kingly gift because He is the King of Kings.

Reflect – What is Christ worth to you?

He is the King of Kings. We should give our very best to Him without holding back. This means sacrificial giving, giving that costs us. But as we learned from the widow in the last chapter, it is not only about the amount. It is about the heart. Both the widow and this lady had the right heart attitude. They loved Christ from their heart and showed this love through action.

Romans 12:1 – I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We should daily offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. Most of the time, God does not require our death, but our life and that is much harder to give.

B. She had tunnel vision when serving Christ –

Some might have expected to receive praise after such a costly and selfless gift. But she was scolded rather than praised. While we can’t know for sure what she was thinking at the time, she didn’t seem to care what other people thought, but only cared what Jesus thought. Our goal should also be to please God rather than man.

Many worldly people will say we are foolish for serving Christ. But don’t listen to them. Would you rather some random people think you are foolish or the Creator of the universe think you are foolish?

There are many idols that may tempt us. One of those is the approval idol. We desire recognition, affirmation, and gratitude. Criticisms hit us hard because we want to be well-liked and popular. If we are not thanked for acts of service, we are disappointed.

As this woman did, we should get rid of the approval idol by only seeking God’s approval.

Galatians 1:10 – For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Application – Spend some time to prayerfully evaluate the approval idol’s hold on you. If you have been seeking the approval of man, confess it to the Lord and ask Him to help you let go.

C. She was radical in her service to Christ –

This lady went far above and beyond the call of duty to show her love to Christ. It seems illogical to “waste” such an amount of money on this anointing that would wear off in a short period of time. But it is the most logical thing in the world. The chief end of man is to glorify God. That is what she was doing. She was doing what she was created to do. Christ has the highest position in the universe and He therefore deserves the best that we have. To the world, this is radical. But in this case, radical is the right response. Anything less is insufficient.

Application – What is one way you can radically serve Christ?

6. The people scolded her –

Mark 14:4 – There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that?

According to John 12, one of these people was Judas. He objected because he helped himself to the funds and was thinking about the opportunities he would have had to pilfer the proceeds of the sale. Matthew mentions that some of the disciples were also indignant.

Judas objected for selfish reasons, but the others were logical, albeit with earthly wisdom. They were counting out in their minds how many poor people could be helped with this sum of money. But they missed the point that Jesus, the Son of God, was right in front of them. There is no better use of that money than to give it to Christ.

Think of what Jesus was about to go through. He was about to suffer a gruesome death, separation from the Father, and the punishment of sins for the past, present, and future. Is it too much to give Him such comfort and encouragement before He faced that darkest hour alone?

7. Jesus commended her – Jesus’ response tells us all we need to know about her decision. He commends her because she made the right decision. Other people scolded her, but Jesus praised her. Which is better, to please people or to please Christ?

Application – Each of us will surely face situations where we have to choose pleasing people or pleasing God. We cannot always do both. What will you choose?

8. Jesus’ view of the poor –

Mark 14:6-7 – But Jesus said, “Leave 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 want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.

Some look at these verses and wonder how Jesus could so easily dismiss the poor. But notice that Jesus never says you should not give to the poor and implies that it is good to look out for them. His own life demonstrated this. While the religious leaders looked down on the low and out, Jesus always cared for them and gave them time when no one else would.

Throughout the Bible, we see many verses about caring for the poor and we should do it (Proverbs 19:17, Deuteronomy 15:11, James 1:27). But Jesus’ point is that He would be with them for only a very short time. He was preparing to die for the sins of the world, so she was not remiss in showing her love and affection to Him directly.

Imagine that your adult son comes from far away for a short visit. You may put his needs above your spouse’s since you don’t see him often. That might mean making food that your son enjoys, even if your spouse does not. You do this not because you do not care for your spouse anymore, but because there is a limited time to show your love to your son and you want to capitalize on it. Then, after your son leaves, you may do something special for your spouse.

This is similar to the idea that Jesus shared with them, with the exception that the relationship with Christ is the most important and fundamental one. The brevity of His time on earth only highlights that more.

Reflect – Are there areas of your life where you are placing a higher priority on a person than Jesus?

9. Prepare my body for burial –

Mark 14:8 – She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.

It is unlikely the woman intended to do this. More likely, she intended to “anoint” Him like kings were anointed, showing her belief that He was the King of Israel and the Messiah. But Jesus applied this to His upcoming burial as a foreshadowing of what was going to happen.

10. This will be spoken of in memory of her –

Mark 14:9 – 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.

Jesus’ prophecy came true. Most people who lived in the first century have been forgotten. Their deeds and words have been lost. No one remembers them. But this woman’s actions are still spoken of, preached on, and talked about. Think about that. One act of service made this woman’s legacy, which still resonates across time. In ten trillion years, her sacrifice will still be remembered.

Reflect – What legacy will you leave behind? Will your actions make an eternal impact or will you leave the world without leaving a mark for Christ?

Application – Consider a practical way to live out the truth that Jesus is King of Kings and deserves your service and sacrifice. Write it down and pray for strength to do it this week.

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