Mark Chapter 14 Verse 1

• Passover was the first of the seven Jewish feasts and folks get all up in arms about Mark saying, “after two days it was the Passover,” because John in John Chapter 12 places this scene, “six days before Passover,” but don’t you get all confused and feisty. The Passover is a week-long feast, some Jews celebrate it for 8 days and even other Jews double the first and the last days just to make sure they have it right in terms of the original calendar! The point is that different days hold different actions, (different things), and yet they are all part of the Passover feast and so Mark could be pointing to Passover beginning at Sundown or twilight on the 14^th day of the month of Nisan while John could be pointing to the killing of the actual Passover lamb. At any rate, discussion after discussion, hours upon hours wasted talking about the timing of the Passover and not the Passover Himself, who is Jesus Christ.
• Now there are seven feasts of the Jews in total and they all point to events that occurred in the history of the nation Israel but they also are all prophetic (or were prophetic) when they were instituted by God in Leviticus 23. Why do I say “were prophetic?” Seems like a contradiction…well I say that because four of the seven are fulfilled. In other words the events they looked forward to have come to pass. And yet three remain.
• First, the Feast of Passover. This feast commemorated the Jews release from Egypt in which God had the nation of Israel, each household…bring a lamb into their home and sacrifice it and then mark their doorposts with the blood of the lamb. And then when the final plague went through Egypt in which the first borns were killed by the angel of death, the angel of death passed over the homes that were marked by the blood of the Lamb. That feast was fulfilled where? You got it! At the cross. We are about to come to this scene in our text but just as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple on the Passover, Jesus would be upon the cross. Fulfilled.
• Second. The feast of Unleavened Bread which for the Jews occurs at the same time or in the same week as the Passover when they would remove the leaven, or yeast, a symbol of sin, from their houses and they would bake unleavened cakes. This pointed to Jesus being without sin, or the Messiah’s sinless life, making Him a perfect and acceptable sacrifice or atonement for mankind. Fulfilled.
• Third. The Feast of First Fruits. Jesus became the first fruit of all mankind unto God. 1 Cor 15, James Chapter 1 speaks to that and points to the resurrection of the Messiah. The first alive after death…fulfilled.
• Fourth. The Feast of Pentecost which really was tied to First Fruits and occurred fifty days after the Passover was completed (thus the title Pentecost.) This is where they would take those first fruits of their harvest and they would offer a portion to the Lord first before they could buy or consume themselves. Before they could be filled or fill others. This points of course to what happened on Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The Holy Spirit being poured out on men and NOW they can go tell it and turn the world upside down! Fulfilled.
• Fifth. The Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah. Spoiler alert. Not yet fulfilled. The first of the fall festivals. Very interesting. This feast the Jews celebrated at the beginning of the end of the year. A period of time that included the Feast of Atonement that ultimately led to the Feast of Tabernacles! This is where the nation Israel would do some introspection and repent and ready themselves for atonement and then tabernacling or chilling with God. This points to and will be fulfilled in the coming Rapture of the church!
• Sixth the Feast of Atonnment. Or Yom Kippur. Where sin is done away with. And this points to what? The second coming of Christ! Not yet fulfilled!
• Then finally the Feast of Tabernacles where the people are made clean and dwell with God. This points to The Kingdom Age of course and ultimately the New Heaven and the New Earth. Not yet fulfilled! But exciting to see this very clear and precise parallel.
• So the Jewish males over the age of 20 where to come to Jerusalem for the three major feasts each year being Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (very interesting – because there is a pattern there) and so the place is teaming with activity, maybe even upwards of 3 million Jews and the haters wanna take Him now but they have a problem…they fear men…losers. (They’re evil (you know what else is evil? My iPhone – it tried to delete my Bible app!)   HA!)

Mark Chapter 14 Verse 2

• So check this out. It doesn’t matter what they say! They aren’t in control. They have no power. Jesus will be taken and killed during the feast because that’s what that feast is and was all about. Jesus giving His life for ours. His blood chasing off death for anyone who would have the faith and the guts to mark they lives with it man…So man is overruled by God’s Word…and we all cry hoorah! Hazza! But the tough pill to swallow is so often our own…that man God’s Word trumps us…it will always be as God has written…it will always work out that way.
• We have such an advantage. We can read the Word, understand the heart of God and get out ahead of terrible crisis of faith and crisis of panic and consequence in our own lives if we would quit being so reactive and surprised by life and surprised by how they treated me and surprised by what they did and surprised by how I can’t get up from it…God is never surprised! God would have us not be reactive but to lead out…beyond proactive and straight to predictive in terms of the world, sin, the flesh and the enemy! And then guess what, you and I become the offensive!!!

Mark Chapter 14 Verse 3

• More controversy here in terms of Bible expositors because this account is given in Mark, John, and Matthew however there is a scene in Luke Chapter 7 where Jesus is anointed in a similar fashion by a woman with a jar of perfume. Many argue all four gospels describe the same scene but I disagree. It appears to me, due to timing, setting, and details of the accounts that Jesus was anointed twice, by two different women. Once in the house of a Pharisee much earlier in His earthly ministry and the second time is this scene here in Mark 14, also given to us in John 12 and Matthew 26, by Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha in Bethany (as described by John).
• And people argue this and argue this and argue this…well here’s the main problem with that…get on to the reason for the anointing! Jesus’ burial! Man the enemy would love nothing more than for God fearing Bible believing real deal Christians to battle over insignificant details like this…And so you can look into it on your own…I have studied it exhaustively, I believe this scene to parallel Matthew and John and not Luke. If you disagree then write it on a post it note, seal it in a coke bottle and toss it out to sea…HA!
• Mary enters the scene, her brother sitting there with Jesus, and she gives Jesus her all…What does giving your all look like? Saving nothing, holding nothing back, no contingency plan, no plan B, nothing more than every ounce of hope…Link gave his all in a toy punt the other night…landed squarely on his bottom when he missed! No thought of balance, no cognizance of anything else, certainly not the hard floor consequence if he whiffed…he was all in on the kick…Mary is all in on Jesus…watch this…

Mark Chapter 14 Verses 4 – 5

• We see the words, “Some,” and “They,” here but John tells us it was Judas…why would Mark write, most likely Peter remember…others…because misery loves company man…One person can pull a group right into a pit…be on the offense against sin so that not only you don’t get dragged into it but you also put a stop to the dragging!

• A couple of things to see here. A denarii was one day’s wage. So this was a year’s worth of value. A year! I wonder if that was 10% of Mary’s increase? See what I’m saying? Argue about is the tithe biblical or not…I’ll tell you what is biblical! A year’s wage…step right up! HA!
• And Mary doesn’t just pour it out upon Jesus, notice she breaks the flask! It’s all yours Lord! The container, event the contents, mean nothing…Jesus means everything! And this was probably her dowry! Her hope for marriage. Her hope for a future…a woman and her father if he was still living would have something of value to offer a potential suitor to incentivize marriage…this was probably it for her…(just think about the sinner in Luke too! Man, how did she come by hers? Sin most likely…yet it becomes worship! Why? Because it is cast at the feet of Jesus!)
• Judas and his cronies say, “It’s wasted.” Judas was the waste…How do you think that made Mary feel to hear that? Her livelihood, her marriage, her hope, her future, her intelligence, her decision…”You’re a waste…” Jesus steps in…

Mark Chapter 14 Verses 6 – 7

• Not being indifferent to the poor or unmerciful, just being factual. There will always be poverty on this earth until the Kingdom Age…just a fact…now one of my favorite lines in this chapter…

Mark Chapter 14 Verses 8 – 9

• Jesus says, “She has done what she could.” I love that. Mary wouldn’t be able to save Jesus. Isn’t that an oxymoron…sounding at least…save Jesus…wow.
• She wouldn’t be able to stop the scribes, the elders, the priests, the Sanhedrin from falsely accusing Him, the crowds from mocking Him, the soldiers from crucifying Him, but she could give Him her heart. “Jesus, I am with You. I am for You. I belong to You. My life I entrust to You. My eternity I place my hope in You. You are Lord. More specifically, You are MY Lord…” That she could do.
• You may not be able to speak in front of crowds, the idea of preaching might make you sick with panic. You may not be able to lead worship or bake a meal to share with someone. But what can you do? Can you make a hospital visit? Can you make a phone call? Can you help someone move? We won’t show up in heaven and have the checklist of humanity waiting there to be measured against…I will have the checklist of Matt, Chin will have the checklist of Chin, Scott will have the checklist of Scott, April will have the checklist of April…
• Get off this, “I can’t do what they do” lie…what can you do? Mary did what she could do…it was her all…Jesus defended her. There’s not a soul in the room that is unable to give their all to God…I wonder are you just unwilling? If you knew Him, if you would open your heart to Him so that He could make Himself known…and you saw…you would be as Mary is…all in.