MARK 14:1-2

MARK 14:1-2

Events now move on rapidly to the consummation, when our blessed Lord was to die on the cross as the great Sin-offering. In Matthew we have seen Him as the Trespass Offering, restoring that which He took not away (Ps. 69:4). Here He gives Himself up to death in order to meet all God’s claims against sin, viewed not only as actual trespass, but also as an innate principle in the heart of fallen man, hostile to God and manifested in acts of rebellion. The steps leading directly to the cross are all intensely solemn and deeply instructive.

These wily hypocrites who served the devil in the livery of heaven were too crafty to risk arresting Jesus openly on the feast day as there would be too many of the common people in Jerusalem for them to cope with at that time; so they plotted secretly, waiting for a propitious hour in which to carry out their nefarious plans.

Meantime a little group of those who loved Him sought to honor Him in a special way. The home at Bethany, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus dwelt, was, for our blessed Lord, one of the brightest spots on earth. It was one place where He was always welcome and where His mission was understood to a large extent. Mary, perhaps, entered into His thoughts better than the others, for she learned at His feet what may have been hidden from her busier sister, and even from Lazarus himself. To these three, the Lord Jesus could allow His affection to go out in a way He could not always do toward others. We read that Jesus “loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus” (John 11:5), and it is very evident that they appreciated and reciprocated that affection, for, when the brother was ill, the sisters thought it was quite sufficient to send a messenger to Jesus to say to Him, “He whom Thou lovest is sick” (John 11:3).

I know that some take it for granted that there are two women involved in the different accounts of the anointing of the Lord in Bethany, but to me this seems utterly preposterous in view of the fact that practically the same conversation is given in each account. In each instance the disciples object to the waste of the ointment, on the ground that it might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor; and in each case the Lord defends the woman for what seemed to them like waste and expresses His personal appreciation of this woman’s action. To me these words prove conclusively that it was Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed the Lord, and only she.

It is interesting to note how the Holy Spirit speaks of Bethany as “the town of Mary and … Martha.” Doubtless, many important people lived in that suburban city, so nigh to Jerusalem, and one might have identified it more naturally with them than with this quiet, unassuming family. But to God it was their town, because they loved and believed in His Son. May this not be more than a hint of the way the Lord looks upon our cities and villages today, valuing them, not as the places of residence of those great in the eyes of the world—whose names are prominent in political, scientific, or business circles—but rather as the place where some of His saints dwell who are numbered among the “quiet in the land” (Ps. 35:20), the poor of this world, rich in faith (James 2:5), unknown to men, yet well known to God (2 Cor. 6:9).