Divergent Convergence

Mark 15:21-32

      Oil and water. They normally don’t mix. But some years ago scientists figured out some ways to make it happen. If you have milk in your house, chances are it is homogenized. The fat parts of the milk have been so broken up by passing through small holes that it stays separated. So instead of rising to the surface as fat normally would do, the fat stays suspended in the milk, making a creamier texture to the mouth and a longer shelf life. Milk is also normally pasteurized at some point in the process to kill most of the bacteria and germs.

      There are several elements of our text today that just seem out of place, like oil and water, they don’t seem to mix. Take for instance, Simon. He is just walking by as the soldiers begin their escort of Jesus from the Praetorium to Golgotha where Jesus will be crucified. He is just walking by, having been out in the country. Was he staying out in the country during the Passover? Was that where he found lodging during this peak season, as Jesus had found it in Bethany?

      He is just minding His own business, probably unaware of what was happening to Jesus, as most of Jerusalem would have been unaware. It was a late-night arrest, a night grand jury and an early morning trial. But Simon gets drawn into the middle of it, off-guard and unaware. He was probably there for Passover and not for cross-carrying. And yet the two get mixed.

      Jesus is on the cross and He is offered wine mixed with myrrh. What is this all about? We see in the movies that cowboys get offered whisky right before the emergency bullet removal, so we can understand the alcohol. But why add the myrrh? Myrrh has a numbing, analgesic quality to it. The cheap Roman wine vinegar was often mixed with some drug to dull the pain of crucifixion. Myrrh was also used in incense in the Temple, and for topical mixtures to heal wounds. But Jesus refuses to have His senses dulled. Dulled experience is no experience. Jesus was bearing the weight of our sin. He bore all of it, not just what felt good.

      And Jesus is crucified with two other people, both of them guilty of their crimes. The guilty were hanging on their crosses next to Jesus, the sinless, perfect God-man. What a combination! They deserved what they were getting. Jesus didn’t. But all three condemned to die together, no distinction between them, all labeled guilty. The innocent, the guilty but sorry, and the guilty and hardened, all hanging side by side, all condemned to die together, all preparing to suffer for crimes, some theirs and for Jesus, other’s crimes.

      And finally the Savior being told to save Himself! He came to give Himself, not save Himself. We live in such a selfish world that the concept of a selfless act seems so foreign. We are in a dog-eat-dog world. Everyone seems to be out for their own gain. We could blame the politicians, but we are the ones who voted them into office. And they came from us. They are not some foreign group of people, but people just like us, just like the two thieves who hung with Jesus. And Jesus stays there on the cross to save these two men, and us.

The Best Smell

Mark 14:3

      Have you ever had someone do something so nice, so thoughtful, and so kind, that there just weren’t words to express your gratitude and humility? The timing was perfect. It was just what you needed, and so much more. And yet it could have been something so small, so seemingly insignificant, that it could have gone unnoticed, if it weren’t so mindblowingly wonderful.

      You see, it isn’t the size of the gift that makes the difference. Sometimes it is that the gift fits the need perfectly. It was just what was needed at just the right time. I have had people offer me a small screw as I struggle to put something back together, and it meant so much. Or offer me a hand as I was slipping. Or give a smile and a knowing wink when things are going really well.

      Jesus has just such a gift given to him in our text. He is with His disciples at the home of Simon eating a meal. Hospitality was a large part of the culture of Jesus’ day. Normally the host would provide for the guests everything the guests needed. That was the job of the host. It came with the territory.

      When someone comes to our homes, we offer then something to drink and a place to sit. We don’t make them stand as we invite them into our homes. We try to make them feel like part of the family, like they are welcome, wanted. We might offer them a snack. We try to engage them in conversation that reinforces their worth. If we do these types of things, people will want to come back for a visit.

      The unnamed woman came into Simon’s house. We don’t know very much about her. We know more about Simon than we do her. Simon is called “the leper”, not the nicest term of endearment. Being a “leper” was like being HIV positive, or having Ebola. People who had leprosy were outcasts. They couldn’t have contact with other people. They had to live in separate communities, cutoff from their past life. Ordinary people didn’t have contact with lepers. They didn’t understand the disease process and infection control. They thought they would catch it.

      Something must have happened in Simon’s life to allow him back into His home, and back to a normal life. He must have been cured, and the name stuck. It can be hard to get rid of a reputation. Long after the name no longer fits, the name can stay. I think that is why the LORD sometimes changes people’s names, to give them a break with their past. Maybe Simon took joy in the change that had taken place. The old name reminded him of just where he had been, and where he was now.

      And into his house, comes a woman who has also been touched by Jesus. She is willing to put it all on the line. She takes something of great value and wastes it on Jesus, or at least that is how many of the people reacted to her act. She pours this perfume on Jesus head. Now before you freak out about having oil poured on the head, this was a common way to honor people. You would anoint a king by pouring oil on their heads. If we weren’t so hyper about clean hair, I think many people would love to have warm oil poured on the head. I can imagine it being very therapeutic.

      She breaks the jar. She knows she is going to use it all. It won’t get re-corked with any leftovers. She goes all out in her honoring of Jesus. She holds nothing back.

      When was the last time you went all out in your worship of Jesus? You didn’t care about what others thought, you just let Jesus know in no uncertain terms that He was first in your book. You poured your whole being into what you were doing, not expecting anything in return. You just gave. It was what you wanted to do, and you did it.

      Maybe we need to do more “wasting” like this!