The death of Jesus is very close now. Mark tells us, "Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him. 'But not during the festival,' they said, 'or the people may riot.'" (Mark 14:1-2) Jerusalem is a crowded city to begin with, but at Passover it nearly bursts at the seams with the pilgrims pouring into it, for the law requires that all Jewish males who live within a fifteen mile radius attend Passover at Jerusalem each year. It was common for men living much farther away than fifteen miles to attend Passover because it was an honor and a privilege to celebrate the holiday in Jerusalem. Each man who attended usually brought his wife and children along with his extended family whenever possible.
We can see why the religious leaders don't want to seize Jesus at Passover, with so many citizens of Judea believing He is the Messiah or at least a great prophet. A riot is the last thing Jesus' enemies want, especially at Passover when a riot could mean hundreds of thousands or even a million men might rise up. Not only would this put the lives of the chief priests and teachers at risk, but it would garner unwanted attention from Rome, who would assume a rebellion against the government was afoot. But God is going to have His way, and in Matthew's gospel we are told Jesus says, "As you know, the Passover is two days away---and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." (Matthew 26:2) Jesus' enemies aren't going to be able to hide their dark deed, or as the Apostle Paul said while speaking before King Agrippa, "It was not done in a corner." (Acts 26:26) Jesus Christ, the perfect and spotless Lamb of God, is to be sacrificed at Passover according to the will of God. He is to be executed publicly for all the world to see. The last thing His enemies want is a public spectacle, but a public spectacle is what they are going to get, The Messianic prophecy of Psalm 22 will come true, "Dogs surround Me, a pack of villains encircles Me; they pierce My hands and My feet. All My bones are on display; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide My clothes among them and cast lots for My garment." (vv. 16-18)
During His final days, the Lord Jesus spends time with friends. "While He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head." (Mark 14:3) Bible scholar David Guzik points out, "Jesus rode into Jerusalem as King---shouldn't He be anointed?" It was customary for a king of Israel to be anointed with oil at his coronation. The anointing was normally done by a priest, but the priesthood has rejected Jesus, so this woman does the honors. Jesus is a rabbi like no other, for He teaches women and He grants women privileges not commonly granted in His patriarchal society. A woman will even be the first to see Him when He rises from the dead! Jesus values men and women equally. He believes both men and women should have the same opportunity to learn the Scriptures. He grants the same honors on both men and women who work for His kingdom. My work for the gospel of Christ, as a woman, is just as valuable as the work a man does for the gospel of Christ. What matters is what's in our hearts, not what gender is written on our birth certificates.
Not everyone thinks what this woman does is a beautiful thing. "Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 'Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor.' And they rebuked her harshly." (Mark 14:4-5) Some of the men standing there say, "How wasteful of you, woman! If you were willing to part with this costly perfume, why did you not sell it and donate the money to help the needy? Instead you poured the whole bottle out on the head of Jesus. What use is that? How does that help anyone?" She has made a huge sacrifice. Alabaster jars were used for only the finest of perfumes, and some of the commentaries I studied indicate that these jars were often passed down from generation to generation. She could have kept the perfume for its sentimental value. She could have held onto it in case hard times come when she will need to sell it in order to put food on the table. She could have donated it to the poor, as some of her detractors point out. But she wants to give all she had to Jesus, and this alabaster jar and the perfume it contains represents the most valuable material item she possesses. Her sacrifice of it symbolizes the fact that she is giving Him something far more valuable: her heart.
Jesus doesn't approve of the criticism of her actions. "'Leave her alone,' said Jesus. 'Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have Me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare for My burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.'" (Mark 14:6-9) Jesus valued her devotion so much that He ensured her act of devotion would still be studied by us over two thousand years later. She has grasped something the disciples are still struggling with: she understands and believes that Jesus will be put to death and that He will rise from the dead. She's done all she knows to do, which is to bring her whole heart to Him along with the most valuable item she owns. The pouring out of the ointment stands for the pouring out of herself, for her submission to Him as Lord, and for her willingness to be used to build His kingdom.
It's at this point that Judas Iscariot makes up his mind. When he first began following Jesus he probably viewed Him as a political Messiah. He expected Jesus to lead a rebellion against Rome and reestablish the Jewish monarchy. He thought Jesus would be King of Israel and that the kingdom would be renewed to its former glory. But for some time now Jesus has been talking about establishing a heavenly kingdom through His own death. Judas now sees clearly that Jesus is not going to lead an uprising or be crowned King of Israel at Passover. Jesus intends instead to provoke the religious leaders into handing Him over to the Romans to be crucified. There is no room in Judas' Messianic theology for such a thing. He's not interested in the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah which portray a Suffering Servant of God. He's only interested in the prophecies of the conquering King who will rule the world from David's throne. Disappointed and disillusioned, Judas comes to a decision. "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand Him over." (Mark 14:10-11)
In tomorrow's study we are going to take a closer look at Jesus' betrayer. We will discuss who Judas was, where he was likely from, and what his motivations might have been. We will also talk about whether or not the soul of Judas was lost.
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