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Mark 14:9,
"Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the
whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of
her."
This morning, man spends much time raising monuments and other such things to
commemorate his existence and cement his "legacy" for years to come. Natural man
decidedly desires to have some portion of him live on even when his natural
existence is over. Kings in days gone by wanted more than anything to have a
male heir to carry on the family throne but also that a portion of them would be
carrying on in that position of power. God's children should devote decidedly
more time looking to serve God today rather than be concerned about being
remembered tomorrow. Yet, on some occasions, men and women of faith will be
remembered in days to come after their lives are past and gone: Hebrews 11 is a
good example of such testimonies after people are dead. Yet, one thing that
usually confounds man is this point: people are more apt to remember the legacy
of those that did not strive for it. Those that spend a lot of time and energy
so that others will remember them, what they did, and how they did it will often
be less remembered than those who simply lived their lives and did the best that
they could.
Our study verse presents some very interesting language. The setting for the
verse is that Christ is dining in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. He is
a mere days away from His great suffering and ultimate victory at Calvary. While
eating, a woman enters with precious ointment to anoint the head of Jesus
Christ. Since this ointment is presented as being great and costly, there is an
immediate uproar among those that sat at meat. Their thought was that the
ointment was wasted when the money spent on it could have been given to the
poor. Now, let us consider that thought a moment. Noble intent is it not? Giving
to the poor of this world is certainly a selfless act of charity. Yet, when put
side-by-side with the Master, the poor fade from the picture rather fast.
Christ immediately rebukes those that would trouble this woman and makes the
obvious point that is not obvious to many today. Christ plainly states that the
poor will ALWAYS be in this world. He hearkens their attention to an Old
Testament principle (Deuteronomy 15:11) that poor people will always exist. It
would do well for us today to consider that no matter the effort put in poverty
will never be extinct from this earth. Poverty will always plague this
sin-cursed world, and while we should do good to those less fortunate, we cannot
hope to eliminate it completely. The greater point that Christ makes is that
since they are ever present, the ability to give to their need will be available
in the future. What about this woman's ability to give of herself to the Saviour?
In the way that she has shown her love and devotion to Him, that time was
drawing close to an end, and therefore her work on Him met with His approval.
Christ further bolsters the point and importance of her work in that she
anointed His body to the burying. By doing what she did, she showed forth what
great things He would suffer for His own in that He would die (hence be buried).
Finally, one last point before we get to our verse. While what she did was quite
costly by worldly standards and met with the disapproval of the disciples and
others, her work was quite small in comparison to being put to death for the
sins of God's family and going to the grave. Yet, Christ commended her noble
work by saying is was what "she could." She did not have the ability to do
Christ's work, but she did what she could. We do well to heed to that principle
today. We may not be able to do what Christ did or even rise to the level of
doing what others may do (such as not being called to preach), but our purpose
in serving Christ is to do what we are able to do.
Getting to our study verse, we see that Christ declares that this situation
would be spoken of often whenever the gospel went forth. What this woman did
would be a testimony to her efforts. Now, let us ask a simple question. In all
the years you may have been in the church, listening to the gospel proclaimed,
and hearing brethren discuss the Bible, just how often is this account brought
up? Christ says that wheresoever the gospel is preached, this would be spoken
of. What she did would be remembered for generations to come. Have men failed
through the centuries to speak of this account often? While there is certainly
no harm in preaching from this passage as there are many rich nuggets in it,
Christ's point is somewhat bigger than that.
I remember as a young boy reading I Corinthians 2:2 thinking that every sermon
had to talk about the crucifixion. When I realized that was not the case, I came
to realize that every sermon should have Christ contained therein with the
understanding that without Him, nothing else matters or is worthwhile. This
passage contains something very similar to that. While we may not necessarily
preach from this passage all that often, the heart of the passage is preached on
a regular basis. This woman, Christ declared, wrought a good work upon Him. Her
anointing of His body showed her love and devotion to Him and a willingness to
part with natural things to show it.
Today, we do not have the physical body of Christ to go to, but by His Spirit,
we assemble together, meet with Him in spirit and in truth, and as an assembly,
represent or typify the body of Christ. Each of us are members in particular of
a local assembly or body, and each congregation comes together to crown her Head
and King Jesus. When this woman broke that box of ointment all over His head, we
see an action that shows an understanding of His kingship. Old Testament kings
were anointed with oil on their head as a sign to the right to the throne.
Christ did not need this action from her to make Him King, but it shows an act
of faith that she worshipped Him as King.
As our voices raise in song, prayers ascend on high, and preaching sounds forth
in our courts, we attempt in our efforts to crown Him Lord of all. In so
crowning Him in our efforts, the body of Christ is benefited and anointed as
well. This ointment that she used was identified as being worth three hundred
pence. That fiscal amount equated to much more than the amount the apostles
mentioned to feed the 5,000 with a crumb or two apiece. (John 6:7) Depending on
one's occupation, three hundred pence could equate to a whole year's wages.
Therefore, knowing the magnitude of the monetary things that she sacrificed, how
much ointment was there? That much ointment probably had the same effect that
Aaron's did, in that it ran down from his head to the bottom of his skirts.
(Psalm 133) As the body of Christ had ointment running down everywhere, so the
blessings today in His service run down from the Head to every member that is
there united.
As this woman, our efforts may seem small in comparison to His. To many today,
giving up a year's worth of wages would be mighty indeed, but it is still small
in comparison to the Master. Our hearts may say, "I cannot do the things that
others do such as preach." Yet, God has given each member of the body honour and
uses that benefit the entire body. As the ointment ran down, the whole body was
benefited, and as we serve Christ and one another today, the whole body is
benefited.
Now to the last two points, which are the testimony and the primary focus.
Christ said that what this woman did would be a memorial of her, and she did it
aforehand specifically for His burying. Today, people who see the saints of God
gathered in His courts selflessly serving their Master with love, devotion, and
care one to another it is a testimony that the same care this woman had for the
Master's physical body, we have today for the body of the Lord's bride. She did
it looking forward to the burying of that body in death, and we do it today
commemorating that death, burial, and resurrection that was the only thing to
bring us unto God. Truly, as the ages of time have rolled on, the truth of this
majestic work has been faithfully honoured and proclaimed, and the people that
gloriously worship and crown that effort have been some of the most loving and
selfless people the world has ever known. Their efforts seem strange to others,
wasted by more, and foolish to most. Yet, no matter what anyone standing by
thinks, the peace which passeth understanding in our heart and soul, "Well done,
you did what you could" from His still, small voice makes the effort worthwhile.
In Hope,
Bro Philip |