Sermon for Palm/Passion Sunday
She Has Anointed My Body Beforehand for Burial
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus
Christ! Many people encounter Jesus in today’s lengthy Gospel. ONLY ONE PERSON
actually listened to Him and took to heart what Jesus said. God will use this
one person as a way of giving you several great blessings in your own life,
especially as you repeatedly join this one person and listen to Jesus.
While He [Jesus] was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He was
reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure
nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over His head.
Dear Christian friends,
THIS WOMAN AT BETHANY IS THE ONLY ONE WHO LISTENS TO JESUS IN TODAY’S GOSPEL
1. The chief priests and the scribes were not listening to Jesus. “The chief
priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him [Jesus] by stealth”
(14:1). You might say the chief priests and scribes only wanted to hear things
they may hold against Jesus, as if they were reading Miranda Rights to Him:
“Anything You say can and will be held against You, Jesus!”
2. Simon the leper’s guests (14:4) were not listening to Jesus. Forget about
the death that Jesus kept talking about; that is, the death that would soon
spell forgiveness and life for the whole world (1 John 2:2). What about the
ointment of pure nard? “This ointment could have been sold… and given to the
poor”—as if giving to the poor is the main point of Jesus’ Words.
3. Judas Iscariot (14:10) was not listening. Judas already heard everything he
wanted to hear, and now took matters into his own hands.
4. Was Peter listening to Jesus? Like the chief priests and scribes, Jesus’
Words certainly entered Peter’s ears. Also like these others, Peter refused
Jesus’s Words. Peter wanted to focus upon his own supposed courage:
“Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will
deny Me three times.” But he [Peter] said emphatically, “If I must die with
you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same (14:30-31).
5. “And they all said the same.” None the disciples were listening to Jesus,
either. Like everyone else in today’s Gospel, the disciples refused to listen,
both to the Scriptures that prophesied their abandonment (Psalm 38:11,
Zechariah 13:7) and to the Christ who preached God’s Scriptures to them!
6. Pilate appeared to listen (15:1-5), but Jesus knew Pilate better than that.
Because Jesus knows what goes on inside all people (John 2:25), Pilate was an
opened book for Jesus. Pilate gave the impression of wanting to listen when he
asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (15:2), but God cannot be mocked
(Galatians 6:7). Seeing through Pilate, Jesus “made no further answer” (15:5).
7. Apparently, even God the Father plugged His ears to the voice and Words of
our Lord: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (15:34).
Among all the people who are named this narrative of our Lord’s suffering and
death, only one person listened to Jesus.
While He [Jesus] was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He was
reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure
nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over His head.
JESUS’ WORDS PRODUCED A GOOD AND BLESSED RESULT INSIDE THIS LISTENING WOMAN.
Jesus has good reasons commending and praising this woman’s act when He says,
“What she has done will be told in memory of her.” This woman is the ONLY
PERSON in today’s Gospel whose actions reflect and mirror the Words of Jesus,
rather than opposing and denying the Words of Jesus!
• As Jesus carefully explained, this woman did not act on her own when
she poured out ointment upon His head. Rather, this woman acted as a result of
the powerful and miracle-producing Word that had been preached to her. “She has
anointed My body for burial,” said Jesus. Where everyone else was ignoring
Jesus’ several sermons about His impending crucifixion and death, this woman
was listening! Where everyone else was pursuing their own agenda, either trying
to kill Jesus for all the wrong reasons or attempting to prevent His death
because they refused to believe its necessity, this woman’s poured-out oil
proclaiming, “I have heard Your Words, Lord. Indeed, You must die. Without Your
death, I cannot live.”
• “She has anointed My body for burial,” said Jesus. Faith miraculously
sprang forth in this woman’s heart and mind—faith produced by the Words Jesus
had first preached to her—and faith produced its good work within her. “Why was
the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold… and
given to the poor.” Stated another way, the foolishness of what Jesus preached
(1 Corinthians 1:21) miraculously produced the equally foolish action of faith:
“She broke the flask [of pure nard, very costly] and poured it over His
[Jesus’] head.”
JESUS’ WORDS PRODUCE MANY SIMILAR RESULTS IN YOUR LIFE!
Jesus declares to you and to me and to all Christians everywhere, “Truly, I say
to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done
will be told in memory of her.” With these Words, Jesus is saying to us that He
wants us to notice this woman, to learn from this woman, and to take seriously
this woman’s example. For example,
• This woman stands as an indictment against all those who will not
listen to Jesus—both those who openly reject Jesus’ Words, as the chief priests
and the scribes did, AND those who only pretend to be listening, like Pontius
Pilate. HERE IS THE BENEFIT FOR YOU: We each must take this woman’s example as
a solemn and serious warning, so that we may never join those who do not
listen; but rather, that we may repent of giving Jesus’ Words anything less
than our full ear and unblinking attention.
• Jesus makes this woman a blessed example for all believers, including
you and me, when He says of her, “She has done a beautiful thing… She has done
what she could.” Happier Words can hardly be imagined! Jesus does not demand a
certain level of performance from this woman. Jesus does not even seem to
notice the quality of the gift. Jesus only sees the powerful result His Word
produces. HERE IS THE BENEFIT FOR YOU: Jesus does not judge this woman’s gift
any more than He judges your gifts! Pure nard or pennies from under the seat of
your car: Your best gift is your best gift, no matter what its size or value.
Jesus praises and delights in WHATEVER proceeds from the gift of faith that He
has given. What Jesus says about this woman may also be said about you and all
who allow God’s Word to do its good work within them: “Leave her alone… she has
done what she could.”
• This woman remains focused on Jesus’ death and burial, which Jesus had
previously preached to her. Jesus had been repeatedly declaring to all who
would listen, “The Son of Man will be delivered… over to the Gentiles.
They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise” (Mark 10:34, cf. 8:31
and 9:31). Having heard this Word preached to her, this woman now confessed the
faith, as Jesus explains: “She has anointed My body for burial.” By pouring out
this ointment of pure nard, this woman was saying to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, you
must die. I take no joy in Your death, but You must die. Without Your death I
cannot live.” HERE IS THE BENEFIT FOR YOU: Whenever you confess the
faith—either when you speak the creeds or when you do good works as this woman
did—whenever you confess the faith, you also are saying, “Jesus must die.” What
is the result of Jesus death? Forgiveness of sins, life and salvation FOR YOU,
for your dearest loved ones, and for ALL who will listen to Jesus!
It is very important for you to notice, listen, and take to heart the way Jesus
praises this dear woman in today’s Gospel! This woman paints for us a picture
of what it means to worship Jesus: Worship means listening to Jesus’ Words, as
this woman listened to Jesus. Listening to Jesus is, in fact, the highest form
of worship that we, or anyone else, can give to God. Listening to Jesus means
that the living and powerful Words of God enter into your ears and go to work
for you. Jesus’ Words produce everything for you. Jesus’ Words…
• cleanse your sins;
• chase away the shadow of your death;
• create a living and precious faith for you; and even
• produce within you good and praiseworthy results. The results of
hearing Jesus’ Words are never wasted, no matter what they might cost. “Pure
nard, very costly… what she has done will be told in memory of her.” As with
this woman, so also with you and with all who believe: you shall be remembered
and never forgotten, on account of the life-giving Words that Jesus has spoken
to you.
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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