Today you should read: Mark 14:1-31
What a rich passage to read today!
In it we learn about:
- The woman with the alabaster jar
- Judas deciding to betray Jesus
- The Last Supper
- Peter’s denial of Jesus
I hope you enjoyed reading it – if you haven’t read the passage yet – stop and do that now. God’s Word is WAY more important than my thoughts.
There’s so much I could say today for Mark 14, but I was most moved by the story of the woman in the beginning of the chapter. The priests and religious leaders were trying to capture and kill Jesus and He knew it. They were sneaky – but you can never outsmart Jesus.
Jesus went to Simon’s house – the Bible tells us this is the Simon who was cured of leprosy by Jesus. Leprosy, as you know, was a terrible, incurable disease. Jesus had healed Simon and they were undoubtedly celebrating this.
While Jesus is there, a woman anoints Him with an alabaster vial of costly perfume – pure nard. This was painstakingly imported and used for burial on dead bodies. It had value because of its characteristics and rarity. According to the text, it could have been sold for 300 denarii or about $50 (no small sum for the poor in Jesus day). Immediately Jesus’ critics (and Judas Iscariot) start in – “why wasn’t this sold and the money given to the poor,” they said. They didn’t care about the poor – this was simply a vain argument to accuse Jesus.
Jesus defended the actions of the woman – “leave her alone” – He said. She’s done a good thing. Others will hear of her action and her heart.
This story brings up some questions for us to ask ourselves today:
- What have we given to Jesus recently that cost us something great?
- Are we quick to criticize others for their costly gifts rather than focus on ourselves?
- Jesus obviously had the advantage – He could see into this woman’s heart. What does Jesus see in your heart today? Selfishness? Love? Passion? Frustration? Love for God?
By: Tim Parsons — Lead Pastor
JumpstartCPC.com 
” You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me.” This verse had been on my heart earlier this week. I think that often as Christians we get so caught up in the “Christian-y things we ought to be doing” that we neglect to just spend time with Jesus and get to know him. The world will never be short of needs to be filled, but there are times in life where God just asks us to chill a bit and re-center ourselves.
Thanks John. Right on. Knowing is more important than doing. Philippians 3
Good questions today Pastor Tim! You’ve given me much to think about. Like the disciples who followed Jesus, I’m prone to making bold statements about my devotion to Jesus….. only to fall back when the going gets tough. My prayer today is that I will follow Him no matter the costs. Thanks again for the good word today!
Thanks Mike. I appreciate your kind and gentle heart.
The anointing of Jesus with ointment reminds me a lot of the anointing with oil of David as the true king of Israel!
The woman who was anointing Jesus was just ministering to Him out of her love for Him. She didn’t know that she was preparing Him for burial. No one really understood about His coming death regardless of what He told them. I wonder about being able to minister to Jesus. He just wants our love. We can minister to Him. And what things are we preparing for in our lives and the lives of others just by pouring out our love on Christ? I want my focus as I walk in this world to be ministering to Jesus because I love Him. This passage does make me reflect on the day-to-day motives of my heart.