Read: Mark 14:1-11
There is an interesting lesson here in Mark’s account of the night before Jesus was betrayed. We get to see a contrast of true worship against utter betrayal. He is using a literary technique, highlighting the central story by bookending it with the unfolding narrative of the Pharisees seeking to arrest Jesus.
Let’s examine the central point. While Jesus is reclining at a table, a woman comes with an expensive alabaster flask of pure nard ointment. She broke the flask and anointed the head of Jesus. This is the first picture of true, unadulterated worship that we have seen so far in the unfolding of Holy Week. Where the triumphal entry had seen thousands waving leafy branches, this image demonstrates the fruit of worship.
While Jesus was being interrogated by the religious leaders the day before, Mark tells us about a scribe who asked Jesus about the most important commandment. Jesus quotes the Shema: the summary of the law and the heart of the Ten Commandments, “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
Remarkably, the scribe acknowledged that Jesus was right and correctly unpacked its meaning, “You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:32-33).
Jesus responded to this scribe by saying something astounding, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). We don’t know who this scribe was, but he was right on track. Would he end up being one of those who became a follower of Christ after the resurrection?
To please God, we must first believe that He is. He is one, meaning that there is none like Him. He is the original. He is holy and completely separate from His creation. He commands us to love Him and to love one another. But the immensity of that love is truly important. We are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This cannot be accomplished simply through our sacrifices and offerings. We must give Him our lives. That is true worship and the only acceptable sacrifice we can offer to God.
That is what this woman was doing. Her sacrifice was not based on the value of the ointment, but her immeasurable love for Jesus. There is something that is compelling her and Mark doesn’t tell us what it is. Perhaps that is for the better. If we knew, we would miss the point. She is worshiping Jesus with all of her heart. That is what matters.
The disciples accuse her of wasting the ointment on Jesus. Like the religious leaders, they are distracted by “the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). They are right that it could have been sold and given to the poor. That is what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. But their response to the woman missed the point. They saw the financial value of the ointment. But the true intrinsic value was not in its market price, but in the motivation behind it. Jesus knew the meaning of this anointing. This was a prophetic action, signifying His impending death and burial.
Even as this woman was seeking to worship Jesus, the chief priests were seeking a way to arrest Him and kill Him. After witnessing this beautiful expression of worship, Judas goes seeking the religious leaders in order to betray Jesus for money.
From an external sense, Judas looked like a true follower of Jesus. He was in the right place. He was a part of the twelve. He had sacrificed three years of his life for ministry. Yet he lacked the necessary fruit. Jesus would go on to say that it would have been better had he never been born (Mark 14:21).
Have you ever truly worshiped Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? What is Jesus looking for in our sacrifices?