Face to Face - The Woman With the Jar

Sermons Blog - Calvary

Mark 14:1-11

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PDF Manuscript: Face to Face - The Woman With the Jar

There was a short story written by O. Henry in 1905 called The Gift of the Magi. It’s about a young married couple, very poor but very much in love with each other. It was Christmas time and both Jim and Della were each secretly trying to find a way to afford a gift for the other. Della only had one dollar and eighty-seven cents. So, without enough money, she decided to sell what she prized the most—her hair. She had long, beautiful hair, and she knew it was beautiful. She was proud of it. But she loved Jim more, so she went and sold it. She chopped it off and was paid $20. She used the money to buy Jim a gold watch chain. Jim had a prized possession. It was a gold watch that had belonged to both his father and his grandfather. But he never had a chain for it.

When Jim came home that night from work, he was shocked to see that Della had cut her hair. It wasn’t because he thought her to be any less beautiful, but it was because he had sold his gold watch to buy her a set of expensive combs adorned with jewels for her hair. You see, each person had given the other all there was to give. Because when you love someone, when you’re devoted to someone, there really isn’t any other way to express it, is there? You give all that there is to give.

This morning, we turn our attention to a woman whose devotion to Jesus was displayed in such a remarkable way that our Lord said it will never be forgotten. Yet, Mark sandwiches this story in between those who want to kill Jesus. The contrast is explicit and intentional, and it begs a question: How much is Jesus worth to you?

In all of human history, there probably hasn’t been a dinner party quite like this one. This story also appears in John and Matthew. It’s in John’s account that we learn Lazarus is there. And if you’ve ever read John 11, you know that Lazarus was dead, and now he’s alive because of Jesus. As you would expect, there is a celebratory dinner that’s going on as a result. It took place in the home of a former leper, Simon. But of all the unique aspects of this dinner party, what’s most striking is what happens in the midst of it. At some point, a woman came and did something that took everyone off guard. In Mark’s account, we are not told her name. But in John’s account, we find that it is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She takes a costly perfume, anoints Jesus’ feet, and wipes them with her hair.