A Woman in Bethany

We have come to a tipping point in the Gospel of Mark. A sequence of events is about to begin that will lead to the death of Jesus. The religious leaders are plotting to kill Him. Judas is about to betray Him. The cross is just days away. And right in the middle of all this darkness, Mark gives us this moment of pure, beautiful worship.

Notice how Mark uses a storytelling technique called a “sandwich” – he places one story in between two others to highlight a contrast. Here, he sandwiches this sweet, tender act of loving worship between the plotting and politics of the religious leaders and the evil deal they make with Judas Iscariot.

What this shows us is two completely opposite responses to Jesus. On one side, you have these powerful religious leaders calculating how to kill Him; on the other side, you have Judas calculating how to profit from Him; and right in the middle, there is this woman who just wants to worship Him. And she’s willing to sacrifice everything to do it.

Please find Mark 14:1-9.