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Commentary on Mark 14 verses 1–11
We have here instances,
I. Of the kindness of Christ's friends, and the provision made of respect and honour for him. Some friends he had, even in and about Jerusalem, that loved him, and never thought they could do enough for him, among whom, though Israel be not gathered, he is, and will be, glorious.
1.Here was one friend, that was so kind as to invite him to sup with him; and he was so kind as to accept the invitation, Mar 14:3. Though he had a prospect of his death approaching, yet he did not abandon himself to a melancholy retirement from all company, but conversed as freely with his friends as usual.
2.Here was another friend, that was so kind as to anoint his head with very precious ointment as he sat at meat. This was an extraordinary piece of respect paid him by a good woman that thought nothing too good to bestow upon Christ, and to do him honour. Now the scripture was fulfilled, When the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof, Sol 1:12. Let us anoint Christ as our Beloved, kiss him with a kiss of affection; and anoint him as our Sovereign, kiss him with a kiss of allegiance. Did he pour out his soul unto death for us, and shall we think any box of ointment too precious to pour out upon him? It is observable that she took care to pour it all out upon Christ's head; she broke the box (so we read it); but because it was an alabaster box, not easily broken, nor was it necessary that it should be broken, to get out the ointment, some read it, she shook the box, or knocked it to the ground, to loosen what was in it, that it might be got out the better; or, she rubbed and scraped out all that stuck tot he sides of it. Christ must have been honoured with all we have, and we must not think to keep back any part of the price. Do we give him the precious ointment of our best affections? Let him have them all; love him with all the heart.
Now, (1.) There were those that put a worse construction upon this than it deserved. They called it a waste of the ointment, Mar 14:4. Because they could not have found their hearts to put themselves to such an expense for the honouring of Christ, they thought that she was prodigal, who did. Note, As the vile person ought to be called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful (Isa 32:5); so the liberal and bountiful ought not to be called wasteful. They pretend it might have been sold, and given to the poor, Mar 14:5. But as a common piety to the corban will not excuse from a particular charity to a poor parent (Mar 7:11), so a common charity to the poor will not excuse from a particular act of piety to the Lord Jesus. What thy hand finds to do, that is good, do it with thy might.
(2.)Our Lord Jesus put a better construction upon it than, for aught that appears, was designed. Probably, she intended no more, than to show the great honour she had for him, before all the company, and to complete his entertainment. But Christ makes it to be an act of great faith, as well as great love (Mar 14:8); "She is come aforehand, to anoint my body to the burying, as if she foresaw that my resurrection would prevent her doing it afterward." This funeral rite was a kind of presage of, or prelude to, his death approaching. See how Christ's heart was filled with the thoughts of his death, how every thing was construed with a reference to that, and how familiarly he spoke of it upon all occasions. It is usual for those who are condemned to die, to have their coffins prepared, and other provision made for their funerals, while they are yet alive; and so Christ accepted this. Christ's death and burial were the lowest steps of his humiliation, and therefore, though he cheerfully submitted to them, yet he would have some marks of honour to attend them, which might help to take off the offence of the cross, and be an intimation how precious in the sight of the Lord the death of his saints is. Christ never rode in triumph into Jerusalem, but when he came thither to suffer; nor had ever his head anointed, but for his burial.
(3.)He recommended this piece of heroic piety to the applause of the church in all ages; Wherever this gospel shall be preached, it shall be spoken of, for a memorial of her, Mar 14:9. Note, The honour which attends well-doing, even in this world, is sufficient to balance the reproach and contempt that are cast upon it. The memory of the just is blessed, and they that had trial of cruel mockings, yet obtained a good report, Heb 11:6, Heb 11:39. Thus was this good woman repaid for her box of ointment, Nec oleum perdidit nec operam - She lost neither her oil nor her labour. She got by it that good name which is better than precious ointment. Those that honour Christ he will honour.
II. Of the malice of Christ's enemies, and the preparation made by them to do him mischief.
1.The chief priests, his open enemies, consulted how they might put him to death, Mar 14:1, Mar 14:2. The feast of the passover was now at hand, and at that feast he must be crucified, (1.) That his death and suffering might be the more public, and that all Israel, even those of the dispersion, who came from all parts to the feast, might be witnesses of it, and of the wonders that attended it. (2.) That the Anti-type might answer to the type. Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us, and brought us out of the house of bondage, at the same time that the paschal lamb was sacrificed, and Israel's deliverance out of Egypt was commemorated.
Now see, [1.] How spiteful Christ's enemies were; they did not think it enough to banish or imprison him, for they aimed not only to silence him, and stop his progress for the future, but to be revenged on him for all the good he had done. [2.] How subtle they were; Not on the feast-day, when the people are together; they do not say, Lest they should be disturbed in their devotions, and diverted from them, but, Lest there should be an uproar (Mar 14:2); lest they should rise, and rescue him, and fall foul upon those that attempt any thing against him. They who desired nothing more than the praise of men, dreaded nothing more than the rage and displeasure of men.
2.Judas, his disguised enemy, contracted with them for the betraying of him, Mar 14:10, Mar 14:11. He is said to be one of the twelve that were Christ's family, intimate with him, trained up for the service of the kingdom; and he went to the chief priests, to tender his service in this affair.
(1.)That which he proposed to them, was, to betray Christ to them, and to give them notice when and where they might find him, and seize him, without making an uproar among the people, which they were afraid of, if they should seize him when he appeared in public, in the midst of his admirers. Did he know then what help it was they wanted, and where they were run aground in their counsels? It is probable that he did not, for the debate was held in their close cabal. Did they know that he had a mind to serve them, and make court to him? No, they could not imagine that any of his intimates should be so base; but Satan, who was entered into Judas, knew what occasion they had for him, and could guide him to be guide to them, who were contriving to take Jesus. Note, The spirit that works in all the children of disobedience, knows how to bring them in to the assistance one of another in a wicked project, and then to harden them in it, with the fancy that Providence favours them.
(2.)That which he proposed to himself, was, to get money by the bargain; he had what he aimed at, when they promised to give him money. Covetousness was Judas's master - lust, his own iniquity, and that betrayed him to the sin of betraying his Master; the devil suited his temptation to that, and so conquered him. It is not said, They promised him preferment (he was not ambitious of that), but, they promised him money. See what need we have to double our guard against the sin that most easily besets us. Perhaps it was Judas's covetousness that brought him at first to follow Christ, having a promise that he should be cash-keeper, or purser, to the society, and he loved in his heart to be fingering money; and now that there was money to be got on the other side, he was as ready to betray him as ever he had been to follow him. Note, Where the principle of men's profession of religion is carnal and worldly, and the serving of a secular interest, the very same principle, whenever the wind turns, will be the bitter root of a vile and scandalous apostasy.
(3.)Having secured the money, he set himself to make good his bargain; he sought how he might conveniently betray him, how he might seasonably deliver him up, so as to answer the intention of those who had hired him. See what need we have to be careful that we do not ensnare ourselves in sinful engagements. If at any time we be so ensnared in the words of our mouths, we are concerned to deliver ourselves by a speedy retreat, Pro 6:1-5. It is a rule in our law, as well as in our religion, that an obligation to do an evil thing is null and void; it binds to repentance, not to performance. See how the way of sin is down-hill - when men are in, they must be on; and what wicked contrivances many have in their sinful pursuits, to compass their designs conveniently; but such conveniences will prove mischiefs in the end.
For the fawn amongst the stags ever comes back to his couch, that is, the Son, obedient to the Father even unto death, seeks for obedience from us.
Again in a mystic sense, Simon the leper means the world, first infidel, and afterwards converted, and the woman with the alabaster box, means the faith of the Church, who says, My spikenard sendeth forth its smell. It is called pistic nard, that is, faithful, and precious. (Cant. 1:12). The house filled with the smell of it is heaven and earth; the broken alabaster box is carnal desire, which is broken at the Head, from which the whole body is framed together, whilst He was reclining, that is, humbling Himself, that the faith of the sinner might be able to reach Him, for she went up from the feet to the head, and down from the head to the feet by faith, that is, to Christ and to His members. It goes on: And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this loss of the ointment? By the figure synecdoche, one is put for many, and many for one; for it is the lost Judas who finds loss in salvation; thus in the fruitful vine rises the snare of death. Under the cover of his avarice, however, the mystery of faith speaks; for our faith is bought for three hundred pence, in our ten senses, that is, (denarii i. e. ten asses.) our inward and outward senses which are again trebled by our body, soul, and spirit.
He says also, She hath wrought a good work on me, for whosoever believes on the Lord, it is counted unto Him for righteousness. For it is one thing to believe Him, and to believe on Him, that is, to cast ourselves entirely upon Him. It goes on: She hath done what she could, she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
To him [Judas], it seemed to be wasting the ointment because the jar is broken, but, for us, it was a great good because the perfume spread throughout the world. Why are you indignant, Judas, because the alabaster jar is broken? God, who made you and all the nations, is blessing us with that precious perfume. You wanted to keep the perfume sealed up so that it would not reach others.
(de Con. Evan. ii. 79) I however think that nothing else can be meant, but that the sinner who then came to the feet of Jesus was no other than the same Mary who did this twice; once, as Luke relates it, when coming for the first time with humility and tears she merited the remission of her sins. For John also relates this, when he began to speak of the raising of Lazarus before He came to Bethany, saying, It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. (John 11:2) But what she again did at Bethany is another act, unrecorded by Luke, but mentioned in the same way by the other three Evangelists. In that therefore Matthew and Mark say that the head of the Lord was anointed by the woman, whilst John says the feet, we must understand that both the head and the feet were anointed by the woman. Unless because Mark has said that she broke the box in order to anoint His head, any one is so fond of cavilling as to deny that, because the box was broken, any could remain to anoint the feet of the Lord. But a man of a more pious spirit will contend that it was not broken so as to pour out the whole, or else that the feet were anointed before it was broken, so that there remained in the unbroken box enough to anoint the head.
(de Con. Evan. ii. 78) It may appear to be a contradiction, that Matthew and Mark after mentioning two days and the Passover, (John 12:1) add afterwards that Jesus was in Bethany, where that precious ointment is mentioned; whilst John, just before he speaks of the anointing, says, that Jesus came into Bethany six days before the feast. But those persons who are troubled by this, are not aware that Matthew and Mark do not place that anointing in Bethany immediately after that two days of which he foretold, but by way of recapitulation at the time when there were yet six days to the Passover.
(ubi sup.) The Lord when about to suffer for the whole world, and to redeem all nations with His blood, dwells in Bethany, that is, in the house of obedience; wherefore it is said, And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman.
(ubi sup.) He says of Simon the leper, not because he remained still a leper at that time, but because having once been such, he was healed by our Saviour; his former name is left, that the virtue of the Healer may be made manifest.
(ubi sup.) Alabaster is a sort of white marble, veined with various colours which is often hollowed out for boxes of ointment, because it keeps things of that nature most uncorrupt. Nard is an aromatic shrub of a large and thick root, but short, black, and brittle; though unctuous, it smells like cypress, and has a sharp taste, and small and dense leaves. Its tops spread themselves out like ears of corn, therefore, its gift being double, perfumers make much of the spikes and the leaves of the nard. And this is what is meant by Mark, when he says spikenard very precious, that is, the ointment which Mary brought for the Lord was not made of the root of nard, but even, what made it more precious, by the addition of the spikes and the leaves, the gratefulness of its smell and virtue was augmented.
(ubi sup.) And in that he says, And they murmured against her, we must not understand this to be spoken of the faithful Apostles, but rather of Judas mentioned in the plural.
(ubi sup.) To me, indeed, He seems to speak of His bodily presence, that He should by no means be with them after His resurrection, as He then was living with them in all familiarity.
(ubi sup.) As if the Lord said, What ye think is a waste of ointment is the service of my burial.
(ubi sup.) Observe also, that as Mary won glory throughout the whole world for the service which she rendered to the Lord, so, on the contrary, he who was bold enough to reprove her service, is held in infamy far and wide; but the Lord in rewarding the good with due praise has passed over in silence the future shame of the impious.
There were some who were indignantly saying among themselves, "Why has this waste of ointment been made? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." Mark, like Matthew, speaks synecdochically, using the plural for the singular. For John, speaking more distinctly, testifies that Judas said this, and that out of greed, because he was a thief and had the money box and carried what was put in it. It can also be understood that other disciples either thought this or said it, or were persuaded by Judas saying it, and Matthew and Mark expressed the will of all in words, but John said it of Judas because he was a thief, while the rest rejoiced for the sake of the poor. John, however, wished to mention only him who from this occasion believed he should intimate his habit of stealing. And what follows:
And they rebuked her harshly. I do not believe it was said of the good and diligent apostles who loved Christ, but rather of the one who, under the plural number, was proven neither to have adhered faithfully to the Lord nor to his disciples, nor to have cared for the poor.
Nevertheless, Christ Himself had determined for Himself the day of His Passion; for He wished to be crucified on the Passover, because He was the true Passover.
But although the four Evangelists record the anointing by a woman, there were two women and not one; one described by John, the sister of Lazarus; it was she who six days before the Passover anointed the feet of Jesus; another described by the other three Evangelists. Nay, if you examine, you will find three; for one is described by John, another by Luke, a third by the other two. For that one described by Luke is said to be a sinner and to have come to Jesus during the time of His preaching; but this other described by Matthew and Mark is said to have come at the time of the Passion, nor did she confess that she had been a sinner.
Or as is said in Greek, of pistic nard, that is, faithful, because the ointment of the nard was made faithfully and without counterfeit. (Matt. 26:2)
Or else, it appears to be aptly implied that many disciples murmured against the woman, because they had often heard our Lord talking of alms. Judas, however, was indignant, but not with the same feeling, but on account of his love of money, and filthy gain; wherefore John also records him alone, as accusing the woman with a fraudulent intent. But he says, They murmured against her, meaning that they troubled her with reproaches, and hard words. Then our Lord reproves His disciples, for throwing obstacles against the wish of the woman. Wherefore it goes on: And Jesus said, Let her alone, why trouble ye her? For after she had brought her gift, they wished to prevent her purpose by their reproaches.
For she is come aforehand as though led by God to anoint my body, as a sign of my approaching burial; by which He confounds the traitor, as if He said, With what conscience canst thou confound the woman, who anoints my body to the burial, and dost not confound thyself, who wilt deliver me to death? But the Lord makes a double prophecy; one that the Gospel shall be preached over the whole world, another that the deed of the woman shall be praised. Wherefore it goes on: Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
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SUMMARY
Mark 14:4 captures the indignant reaction of some of Jesus' disciples to an extraordinary act of devotion: a woman anointing Jesus with costly perfumed oil. Their immediate response reveals a profound misunderstanding of the spiritual significance of her worship, viewing the extravagant expenditure as a "waste" that could have been better utilized for charitable purposes, thereby highlighting a clash between worldly pragmatism and sacrificial love for the Messiah.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Mark employs several literary devices in this passage. The most prominent is Contrast, setting the selfless, extravagant devotion of the woman against the pragmatic, critical indignation of the disciples. This contrast highlights the differing values and perspectives concerning Jesus and His mission. There is also an element of Irony, as those who were ostensibly closest to Jesus, His disciples, fail to understand the profound spiritual act unfolding before them, while an unnamed woman demonstrates extraordinary insight and love. Furthermore, the disciples' focus on "waste" provides Foreshadowing of the ultimate "waste" (in the eyes of the world) of Jesus' life on the cross, an act of supreme sacrifice that many would also deem foolish or unnecessary, yet it is the very means of salvation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Mark 14:4 profoundly challenges our understanding of worship and the value we place on Christ. The disciples' indignation, rooted in a utilitarian mindset, starkly contrasts with the woman's unreserved devotion, which Jesus Himself commends. This incident teaches that true worship is not always economically efficient or logically pragmatic from a worldly perspective; rather, it is often extravagant, sacrificial, and born of a heart that recognizes the supreme worth of Jesus. The "waste" in the eyes of men is seen as a "beautiful thing" by God, demonstrating that our most precious offerings, given out of love for Christ, are never truly wasted but are eternally significant. This passage calls believers to examine their own hearts: are we quick to judge acts of radical devotion, or do we embrace the call to give our best, even our "costliest," to the One who gave His all for us?
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The indignation expressed in Mark 14:4 serves as a powerful mirror for our own hearts, challenging us to consider how we perceive and respond to acts of radical devotion to Christ. In a world that often prioritizes practicality, efficiency, and measurable returns, the woman's "wasteful" act stands as a testament to the unquantifiable value of extravagant love for Jesus. Are we, like the disciples, prone to judging others' expressions of worship or generosity by our own limited, often materialistic, standards? Do we sometimes withhold our "costly ointment"—our time, talents, or resources—from Christ because it seems "too much" or could be used for other seemingly more "practical" purposes? This passage reminds us that true worship is not about what makes sense to the world, but about what honors and glorifies Christ. It encourages us to cultivate a heart that is willing to pour out its best for Him, recognizing that His worth far exceeds any earthly calculation, and that such acts of devotion are never wasted in God's economy.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who were "some" that had indignation, and what was their real motivation?
Answer: While Mark's account is general, stating "there were some," the parallel accounts in Matthew 26:8 specify "his disciples," and John 12:4-6 explicitly names Judas Iscariot as the primary instigator, adding that he "said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it." This reveals that while others might have genuinely (though misguidedly) thought of the poor, Judas's motivation was rooted in personal greed and a desire to profit from the sale of the ointment.
Why did they consider the anointing a "waste"?
Answer: They considered it a "waste" because they viewed the valuable ointment solely in economic terms. Mark 14:5 states that it "might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor." From their perspective, pouring such a costly substance on Jesus' head was a squandering of resources that could have been converted into a substantial sum of money and used for what they deemed a more practical and charitable purpose. They failed to grasp the spiritual, prophetic, and worshipful significance of the woman's act, seeing only the lost monetary value.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The indignation of the disciples in Mark 14:4 serves as a poignant backdrop against which the supreme worth and ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ are illuminated. Their earthly, economic calculus of "waste" stands in stark contrast to the divine economy of salvation, where the "waste" of Christ's own life on the cross becomes the greatest act of love and redemption. The woman's extravagant anointing, though misunderstood by many, prophetically points to Jesus as the Messiah, whose impending death and burial would be the ultimate "fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2). Her act, deemed "wasteful" by human standards, was a beautiful outpouring of devotion upon the One who would soon pour out His own blood for the sins of the world (Matthew 26:28). The disciples' failure to comprehend the spiritual significance of the anointing foreshadows the world's ongoing inability to grasp the profound value of Christ's atoning work, often viewing faith and devotion as impractical or irrational. Yet, it is precisely this "foolishness of God" that is wiser than human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25). The woman's worship, therefore, becomes a Christ-centered act, recognizing His unique identity and destiny, and affirming that He alone is worthy of such unreserved, costly, and beautiful devotion.