Mark Reading Plan – W14D1
Week 14 | Day 1 | Mark 14:1-11
Check out all the previous readings here.
Pray
Ask God to open your heart to His word today.
Bible Reading (read these verses three times slowly)
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.”
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.
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.
“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 any time 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.”
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.
Reflection & Questions
Passover was a time of massive celebration for the people of Israel. It was a celebration of how God had redeemed Israel from slavery to the Egyptians during the time of Moses. Read about that here.
How tragic that it is during this celebration of liberation, that the religious leaders are planning murder and are delighted with Judas’ offer of betrayal. How far had Israel fallen from following God!
But, into these scenes of plotting and betrayal, a beautiful act of worship. A woman does “what she could” and pours out very expensive perfume on Jesus. Anointing like this was done in the coronation of kings, but also in the preparation of the dead for burial. What an amazing picture – Jesus declared king and prepared for His death at the same time. This is our Servant-King, born to die. And it is no coincidence that this happens just before Passover. Just like the lambs that were sacrificed during the first Passover to rescue the Jews, so the Lamb of God, Jesus, would be sacrificed to rescue those who trust in Him.
Those at the meal with Jesus considered the woman’s action a waste, but Jesus received it as a worship. Whatever we do for King Jesus in worship is never a waste. He is our servant King and He is worthy of all our allegiance, all of our lives.
- How can you worship Jesus today? (It may be through loving your enemy, giving your time or money, trusting Him against all odds, etc)
Pray
Praise God for His gift of Jesus to rescue us and confess any ways you have not been giving Jesus the worship He is worthy of.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading
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.”
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.
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.
“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 any time 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.”
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.
Reflection and Questions
Did you know that all of this was happening during the Passover? If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry! It’s a tradition that most of us have never done before. But to the people back then, Passover was a time of massive celebration for the people of Israel. It was a celebration of how God had saved Israel from Egypt, and now they were free!
So it’s pretty sad that during this time of celebration of being freed by God, Judas goes and betrays Jesus, the son of God! During the passover!
But even though this betrayal was happening, something beautiful was going on. A woman ‘annoints’ Jesus with very expensive perfume, which is a BIG sign of respect, and also is telling everyone that she believes Jesus is king! What an amazing picture – Jesus declared king and prepared for His death at the same time. It is no coincidence that this happens just before Passover. Just like the lambs that were sacrificed during the first Passover to rescue the Jews, Jesus would be sacrificed to rescue those who trust in Him.
Those at the meal with Jesus considered the woman’s action a waste, but Jesus saw it as a worship. Whatever we do for King Jesus in worship is never a waste. He is our King and He is worthy of all our following, all of our lives.
- How can you worship Jesus today?
Prayer
Praise God for His gift of Jesus to rescue us and confess any ways you have not been giving Jesus worship
Bible Reading
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.”
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.
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.
“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 any time 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.”
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.
Devo Focus
She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Vs. 8
Devo
Did you know that worship is not just singing together at church? That’s a wonderful way to express your love and gratitude to God, but there are numerous ways to worship God. Read on to find out how one woman expressed her worship of Jesus in a timely and meaningful way. Passover was a time of massive celebration for the people of Israel. It was a celebration of how God had redeemed Israel from slavery to the Egyptians during the time of Moses. Read about that here https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-Passover.html How tragic that it is during this celebration of liberation, that the religious leaders are planning murder and are delighted with Judas’ offer of betrayal. How far had Israel fallen from following God! But, into these scenes of plotting and betrayal, a beautiful act of worship. A woman does “what she could” and pours out very expensive perfume on Jesus. Anointing like this was done in the coronation of kings, but also in the preparation of the dead for burial. What an amazing picture – Jesus declared king and prepared for His death at the same time. This is our Servant-King, born to die. And it is no coincidence that this happens just before Passover. Just like the lambs that were sacrificed during the first Passover to rescue the Jews, so the Lamb of God, Jesus, would be sacrificed to rescue those who trust in Him. Those at the meal with Jesus considered the woman’s action a waste, but Jesus received it as a worship. Whatever we do for King Jesus in worship is never a waste. He is our servant King and He is worthy of all our allegiance, all of our lives.
- How can you worship Jesus today? (It may be through loving your enemy, giving your time or money, trusting Him against all odds, etc)
Prayer
Praise God for His gift of Jesus to rescue us and confess any ways you have not been giving Jesus the worship He is worthy of.