Players in the Drama of the Cross, Part 2

God is the unseen power in everything that is going on. He literally controls the behavior of the enemies, the friends, the betrayer and the followers of Jesus to effect exactly what He has planned and purposed to be accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Welcome to Grace To You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson. You know about Christ's betrayal, His scourging and beating, His gruesome death, and His miraculous resurrection. But there are parts of the story you may have missed, details that add profoundly to the Easter narrative. And today on Grace To You, John MacArthur looks at one of those lesser known events and what it has to teach you about serving and honoring Christ. It's part of a brand new series that can help you prepare for a worshipful Resurrection Sunday. We call it The Divine Drama of Redemption. This study comes from the gospel of Mark.

If you have your Bible, turn there now and here's John MacArthur. Well, let's turn back to the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark, fourteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark. With the beginning of this chapter, we enter in to the events that lead up and include the crucifixion and the resurrection. Now as this scene unfolds all the way through the resurrection, the director of the drama is God Himself. And he's really behind the scenes in this unfolding drama.

Looking at the stage, you don't see God. Christ is the main character in this drama, obviously. There are a number of bit players.

They are walk-ons, you might say. They have a short role to play in the drama. That includes the enemies of Jesus, friends of Jesus, betrayer of Jesus, and followers of Jesus. They all play a minor role orchestrated by the providential sovereign, mighty, purposeful hand of God. God is the unseen power in everything that is going on. He literally controls the behavior of the enemies, the friends, the betrayer and the followers of Jesus to effect exactly what He has planned and purposed to be accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He Himself is directing everything by His providence even though it is invisible to everybody except the Lord Himself.

So we see the invisible hand behind everything. We saw it in looking at the first group of bit players in the drama, His enemies, the Sanhedrin who are described in verses 1 and 2, the chief priests and the scribes. Now we want to move from His enemies to His friends, one in particular...one in particular, a worshiper, verses 3 through 9. While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial, a very costly perfume of pure nard and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, why has this perfume been wasted?

For this perfume might have been sold for over 300 denarii and the money given to the poor and they were scolding her. But Jesus said, let her alone, why do you bother her? She's done a good deed to Me, for you always have the poor with you and whenever you wish, you can do good to them.

But you do not always have Me. She has done what she could. She has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her. Matthew records this, Matthew 26, John gives us further detail in John 12. Here is a woman who is a true worshiper of Christ.

She is preparing for Christ's death by an act of loving worship intended to anoint Him for His burial in a sense the only way she can at the moment even before His death. Now you notice in verse 3 there's a certain vagueness as this story is told. While He was in Bethany...while He was in Bethany. Well that doesn't tell us anything because He's been in Bethany since when?

Do you remember? Saturday when He arrived to celebrate the Passover, He came the previous Saturday. So since Saturday He has been spending His time in Bethany. He spent Saturday there. He spent Sunday there.

And even when He came into Jerusalem Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, He would go back to Bethany and spend the money. John gives us the identifying day. John 12, 1 says six days before the Passover. Passover is on Friday, that puts it back to Saturday. So what you have described in verses 3 through 9 is a flashback to Saturday.

It takes you back to Saturday, Saturday night. It is out of chronological order, but it is an event that speaks to the preparation for the death of Christ. God, we saw, is the main force in the preparation. The enemies of Jesus have their preparation as they seek a way to arrest Him and kill Him. And here is a worshiper of Jesus who provides preparation for His death and burial in her own way. And so it is the gesture of preparation that causes Mark to fit it in here, even though it occurred six days earlier on Saturday.

And that chronology is perfect because that's the day that He came to Bethany. This occurs, we are told in verse 3, at the home of Simon the leper. He would be a former leper or he wouldn't be having a dinner party. You do understand that. Lepers were outcasts, right?

Likely then. This is a man who has been healed by Jesus. And that was something Jesus did all over the land of Israel during His ministry. It is not a stretch to assume that this man named Simon who had been healed by Jesus planned this meal knowing that Jesus was coming to Bethany to be with His friends and to be there for the Passover to say thanks. At that meal, it says, there came a woman.

John tells us this is Mary, Mary of the family of Martha and Lazarus. It was a common custom at a meal to wash feet. If you were in a restaurant, a reclining position, that would be of great benefit because as you recline, your feet necessarily appear in some way. And so anointing feet, washing feet, we see that, didn't we, in John 13 where Jesus washed the disciples' feet. So this was a normal thing. Even putting perfume on feet was somewhat of a tradition or a custom.

It was a courtesy. In this case, this act by Mary is way beyond common courtesy, way beyond sort of normal custom because what she does is lavish. She has an alabaster vial, a very costly perfume of pure nard. Matthew says, a very precious perfume. This marble bottle typically would have a long neck...a long neck and perhaps some kind of small plug from which small drops of this perfume could be poured out, sprinkled. This kind of bottle would contain this perfume and the perfume might last a long time. But she has an alabaster vial, a very costly perfume of pure nard.

She does something that wouldn't ever be done. She doesn't drop a drop out, she breaks the neck of this vial and it says, poured it over His head. And John adds, then anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. She has dumped a year's value of perfume on His head and on His feet. And John adds, this would be obvious, the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

You can understand that, you spray a little on you and you can smell it through the house. This dousing of a year's worth of perfume all over Jesus would have dominated the environment. This is lavish love.

This is profound sacrificial affection. The response is interesting. Some were indignant and so they remarked to one another, why has this perfume been wasted? You know, Mark is a little vague here too.

He says, some were indignantly remarking. Well the truth is, it was Judas. John tells us it was actually Judas Iscariot. John says in the same account that he gives of this event, John 12, 6, it was Judas Iscariot who was intending to betray Him.

Our Lord is kind, He doesn't expose Judas at the moment. Verse 6, Jesus said, let her alone. Why do you bother her? She's done a good deed to Me. She's done excellently.

She's done beautifully. This is not a waste. Lavish love on Me is not a waste. And then He says this, for you always have the poor with you and whenever you wish, you can do good to them, but you do not always have Me.

What's going on here? Just a simple principle, if I might. Adoring worship of Christ is the ultimate priority. Did you get that? Giving to the poor has a place. Deuteronomy 15, 11 says give to the poor.

You always have the poor of the land and make sure you care for the poor and you give to the poor. That's a priority. But the ultimate priority is to worship Christ, isn't it? The ultimate priority is to worship Christ. Care for the poor is important. Worship of the Lord is more important. And Jesus wasn't going to be there very long.

She had her priorities right. Poor people will always be around, Jesus said, but I will not always be around. Charity is good, charity is necessary, worship is always better. And true worship will lead to charity.

This is a very devoted lady. Her act of grateful love, looking to the cross and the burial and resurrection of Christ is a lesson of worshiping love that is extravagant, lavish, unselfish, grateful, so against the ugliness of the enemies of Jesus and against the ugliness of the betrayer of Jesus is the beauty of the love of Mary. The next person we need to look at after we have considered the enemies of Jesus and a worshiper of Jesus is the betrayer, verses 10 and 11. Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. They were glad when they heard this and promised to give Him money. And He began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time. Judas is one of the Twelve.

Here he comes from behind the curtain. He joined the group for selfish, proud, materialistic reasons for goods and glory. And when that kingdom dream, that dream of goods and glory began to collapse, the uncured malignant cancer in his wretched soul metastasized until it corrupted his brain totally.

He wanted out, but not without compensation for three wasted years. He wanted a kingdom, not a cross. So he went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. After the Saturday supper, I suppose, at Bethany, he went to the Sanhedrin that night and set it up. He knew it all week long then, started on Saturday.

So for one whole week, he looked for his moment. Much to the pleasure of the Sanhedrin, verse 11, they were glad when they heard this and promised to give Him money. They began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time. By the way, Judas didn't operate alone. Luke 22, 3 says, then Satan entered Judas. Not just demon-possessed, Satan-possessed. Satan was moving on him. John 13, verse 27 says Satan went inside. Satan operated through Judas, the unregenerate, unbelieving, greedy man. Satan fully possesses Judas. What is Satan trying to accomplish? What is he trying to get done here? What's he after? Some people have said, well, you know, Satan wants to kill Jesus.

Really. That's the opposite of what he wanted to do. He didn't want to kill Jesus. Satan didn't want to put Jesus on the cross because Satan knew what the cross meant. He was not seeking Christ's crucifixion. Satan wanted to keep Christ from the cross, keep Christ from the cross, halt the plan of God. Did he know that He was going to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world?

Of course. Did he know that that was the satisfying atonement that God had planned? Yes. Did he know that if Jesus died on that cross, His kingdom and dominion would be forever destroyed?

Yes. It was God who wanted Jesus dead. It was Satan who wanted to stop it. Then the question is, why does He move on Judas to betray Jesus?

The answer is pretty simple. If He can get Judas to betray Jesus and He can get the Sanhedrin to move fast and arrest Jesus, the crowd will rise up and stop the crucifixion. That's what Judas feared.

That's what the leaders feared. That's what Satan wanted. He had no desire to see Jesus on a cross. I don't think...I don't know what Satan thinks.

I'm not particularly interested, other than to speculate from the strategy. It seems to me that Satan was moving Judas to betray Jesus to start a riot and the people would prevent the murder of Jesus. He's against the cross. He wants to create the scenario which will halt the direction of Christ to the cross. So he moves into Judas. Judas plays a role. The betrayal happens at a time when Judas didn't want it to happen, at a time when the rulers didn't want it to happen. But I think at a time when Satan did want it to happen, potentiating a riot, and they all underestimated the fickleness of the crowd. Finally, one more...one more group take the stage, verses 12 to 16, and this would be the followers. We've seen the enemies, we've seen the friends, the betrayer and the followers, the disciples. On the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover Lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples...that would be the first day, meaning Passover which was really kind of synonymous with the feast that followed...His disciples said to Him, where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover? Where do You want us to have this? They're...you know, they all are without a home.

Where do we do this? The Lord has a plan. There has to be a Passover on Thursday night.

The Lord knows that. Jerusalem is crowded. They need a private room where twelve of them, plus Jesus can go. I think this is something Judas excitedly anticipated because this would be a perfect place to have Jesus arrested.

Why? It's at night, private room, only the twelve, plus Jesus. No one in the streets late that night. A fixed, specific place, a location, easy to tell the leaders, easy to let them in and easy for Judas to get his cash. Our Lord knows Judas' thoughts. So verse 12, they ask the question, where are we going to have this? Judas is listening, I'm sure. Once he knows where they're going to have it, that's it. That's just too good to pass up.

He wouldn't know what the future is and he wants the money and he wants it now because he wants out fast. Though he had fear of the crowd, this was a way to waylay that fear, do it at night, do it in a private room. Our Lord knows this. So He sent two of His disciples, this is Peter and John, by the way, two of them, and said to them, go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water, follow him. Now that's pretty sneaky. First of all, carrying a pitcher of water was women's work. So to find a man carrying a pitcher of water would be rather unusual and that's what they needed. They needed a sign and a signal that was unusual.

Go and you'll find a man carrying a pitcher of water. He sends his two most infinite confidants, Peter and John, and this is very, very important. He must have the Passover with his disciples.

Why? Because he must transform the Passover into the Lord's table. Furthermore, he has a lot of intimate teaching that he needs to do with them and all of it is recorded in John 13 to 17.

He must die...listen...Friday around three o'clock when the Passover lambs are being slaughtered, but he must also celebrate the Passover with his disciples so that he can give them final instruction, his last will and testament, if you will, and so that he can institute his table, playing off the Passover. So this is how he did it. He sent two of his disciples and said, go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water, follow him. Just go where he goes.

And that's exactly what they did. Wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, the teacher says, where is my guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? What does that tell you? It tells you that the man was familiar with Jesus, the teacher. They don't even say the word Jesus, just in case somebody is listening.

They don't want anybody to know where this is going to be. You just follow the man with a pitcher on his head. This tells us that our Lord had prearranged this, either actually or supernaturally. Just follow the man and when you get to the house, the owner of the house, say the teacher says, where is my guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? You know, this is a believer, the teacher. Hadidaskalas, the teacher.

It has to have been someone who knew him, loved him, believed in him. So go find Mr. So-and-so, follow him. Verse 15, and he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready, prepare for us there. Why all the secrecy? Why all the mystery? Why all the intrigue? Why not just say, hey guys, we're all going to meet over on Sixth Street at set time and it's easily recognizable, the address number is so-and-so and we're all going to be there.

You can't do that. Why? Because Judas will know and Judas is hungry for the money. Even though he's trying to avoid the crowds, he's not going to postpone this any longer than he has to. He just wants the money.

He wants it fast. This is perfect, the perfect place away from the crowd and the leaders can capture Jesus who will be alone with His helpless disciples. Jesus cannot let that happen, cannot let it happen. And so that's why there's all the intrigue. It's an absolutely astounding array of persons that are all moving around in the scene, right? All these people doing what they're doing and our Lord moving inexorably to the cross as God directs everything. That's John MacArthur here on Grace To You. John has been Grace To You's featured speaker since 1969.

He's also Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary and his brand new series from the Gospel of Mark is titled The Divine Drama of Redemption. And in closing now, just a reminder that what we are providing here each day doesn't really fit into the category of entertainment or even just information. This is God's word that we're studying with you and our goal is to see a change in your life. John, you have a letter in front of you that demonstrates the kind of response we love to hear about.

I always enjoy reading letters because they are the fruit of all of our labors. And this is a letter from a woman named Patricia. Patricia and her husband were married 50 years ago. Her husband sustained very serious injuries in the Vietnam War and became permanently disabled more than 20 years ago.

And this is what Patricia told us in her letter. Starting in 2004, my husband's journey became worse. On good days, he was able to read. Other days, he could barely comprehend or couldn't read at all. Still, the written Word of God was so much a part of his life. I would print out sermon transcripts from your website because he had difficulty absorbing your spoken sermons. The transcripts gave him a way to study your sermons at the speed he could absorb. My heart was so comforted seeing him taking in God's truth. Patricia then explained that her husband was hospitalized a couple of months ago.

He was able to return home, not expected to live much longer. Several family members spent time with him in his last hours encouraging him with God's word and none of them were afraid because they all knew he was going to be with the Lord. And Patricia then told us this, Grace to you helped transform my husband and me 16 years ago as we were coming out of a charismatic church. The point of this letter is to tell you how your ministry has helped us understand the precious Word of God and in that to not fear death. Please accept this small donation given at the funeral for your ministry.

Once again, thank you for providing transcripts. They have been so helpful to us. God bless you all. What a sweet, emotional letter. That's the transforming power of the Word of God. And just a reminder that when you pray for grace to you and when you give to this ministry, that makes you one of the all that Patricia thanked in her letter when she said, God bless you all. You're part of the all if you support this ministry. Men and women that you will never meet this side of heaven are listening, reading, and learning, and growing, and coming to faith in Christ. Thanks for believing in what we do and for pulling with us as you benefit and as you're able to help others benefit as well.

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