The Broken Jar: Mary, Judas, and the New Covenant

Introduction

Two days before Passover, everything happens behind the scenes. The chief priests plot to kill Jesus, Judas prepares to betray him, and meanwhile, in a house in Bethany, a woman breaks a jar of alabaster and pours priceless perfume on her Lord's head. In Mark 14:1-25, Jason Procopio shows you how this act becomes the key to understanding Jesus' last Passover. You then understand what really happens when you take the bread and the cup, and why the only right response to Christ's sacrifice is to give everything.

Sermon Outline

1. Stay Awake: The Context of Mark 14 (v. 1-2 and a Recap of Chapter 13)

• Jesus has just spent all of chapter 13 talking to his disciples about the final judgment and what will happen before his return. His closing word is simple: "Stay alert, do not let yourselves fall asleep."
• This command was not for later, nor for ten years from now. It was for right now. The events of Mark 14 will prove it to you.
• The Jewish feast of Passover is approaching. This is not Easter (the Christian holiday). It is the feast that commemorates the exodus from Egypt: each family sacrificed a lamb and ate this sacrifice in remembrance of the judgment spared in Exodus 12.
• Religious fervor is rising all over Jerusalem, and meanwhile, the chief priests are looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus by stealth. They want to avoid a riot, but not a murder. Their hypocrisy is transparent.

2. Mark's Sandwich: The Plot, Mary, Judas (v. 3-11)

• Mark often structures his narrative as a "sandwich" to bring out a contrast. Here: the plot of the religious leaders (v. 1-2), Mary's act (v. 3-9), and Judas' betrayal (v. 10-11).
• Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve who had followed Jesus for three years, goes to seek out the chief priests to hand over his master for money. This is evil incarnate, this time wearing a mask of intimacy. Evil strikes Jesus from every side, from within as much as from without.
• At the center of the sandwich, Mark highlights Mary. While everyone else is spiritually asleep, one woman is truly awake.

3. Mary's Perfume: What She Understood (v. 3-9)

• Jesus is in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper. Mary (identified in John 12 as the sister of Martha and Lazarus) comes in while he is at the table. She carries an alabaster jar filled with pure nard, very expensive.
• She breaks the jar and pours all the perfume on Jesus' head. A flask of pure nard was worth nearly a year of a laborer's wages, very likely all of Mary's savings.
• The gesture is shocking even by the standards of the time. One did not pour perfume on a guest's head; this kind of act evoked temple anointings instead. Some disciples become indignant: this perfume could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor.
• But Jesus defends Mary: "She has done a beautiful thing to me... She has anointed my body beforehand for burial." This was not just an act of worship, it was an anticipatory funeral anointing.
• A fascinating detail: nard is a fixative oil. Its scent could last up to a week, even after washing. Mary poured out this perfume two days before Jesus' arrest. It is very likely that when he was flogged, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross (mixed with sweat and blood), the scent of Mary's perfume was still lingering. A silent reminder of her love, even amid the suffering.
• Mary may not have fully grasped the spiritual meaning of Jesus' death. But she had understood something the others had not yet seen: the value of her master. Far more than a friend, far more than a family member, Jesus was worth everything she had, everything she was.

4. Nothing Escapes the Sovereignty of God (v. 12-16)

• On the day of Passover, Jesus sends his disciples to prepare the meal. He tells them exactly where to go, whom to meet, what to say. Everything happens just as he announced, as it did during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem in chapter 11.
• The religious leaders are plotting, Judas is looking for an opportunity, but nothing escapes the sovereignty of God. Jesus' imminent death is not a tragic accident. His death is the plan. It is the very reason he came to earth.
• God's purposes are not thwarted by human evil. Often, they advance through that very evil.

5. "One of You Will Betray Me": The Meal (v. 17-21)

• When evening comes, Jesus sits at the table with the Twelve. This is not a festive moment like any other. In the middle of the meal, he states: "Truly I tell you, one of you who is eating with me will betray me."
• The disciples become very sad and ask him one after another: "Is it I?"
• Jesus does not name Judas directly. Why? Because he wants his disciples to remain watchful. If one of the Twelve who shares bread with him can betray him, how can anyone be sure the others would remain faithful?

6. The New Covenant: What Changes Everything (v. 22-25)

• Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it, saying: "This is my body." Then he took the cup and said: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
• Long before, in the Exodus, God had made a covenant with his people, sealed by the blood of sacrifices. Moses had sprinkled the people to mark that the covenant was accepted. But Israel did not keep its part.
• As early as Genesis 3, God had announced that he himself would fulfill the covenant on their behalf, and that he would establish a new one, final and eternal. It is this new covenant that Jesus seals here, not by the blood of a lamb, but by his own blood.
• The old covenant was conditional on the people's perfect obedience. The new covenant does not depend on your obedience. It depends on the obedience of Christ, who was perfectly obedient in your place. It is all accomplished. It is all done. It is all finished.
• In verse 25, Jesus adds a note of hope: "I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until the day I drink it new in the kingdom of God." This Passover meal was his last on this earth. Another feast is coming when Jesus returns, this time forever.

7. Taking the Bread and the Cup: Christ Is the Center, Not You

• Many Christians, at the moment of the Lord's Supper, look at their lives, see their failures, and tell themselves: "I am not worthy, I will let it pass." This instinct is not entirely wrong, Paul warns against taking the Supper without accompanying repentance.
• But remember this: when Jesus held this first communion, the disciples he shared it with did not have their lives in order at all. A few hours later, all of them would abandon him. Peter would deny him, Judas would betray him. And yet Jesus gave them the bread and the cup.
• Why? Because the new covenant does not depend on the disciples' obedience, but on Jesus' obedience.
• If your instinct when facing the bread and the cup is to feel unworthy, you are right, you are, and so am I. But that is precisely why you must not abstain from it. No sin is great enough to nullify Christ's sacrifice for his people.
• When you take communion, you are not the center. It is not a private moment between you and God alone. The center is Christ. The sacrifice he made. The obedience he presented before God in your place.

8. The Only Appropriate Response: Give Everything, Like Mary

• This text presents the Lord's Supper from a particular angle. There is the context of Passover, but also the context of Mary. When Jesus gave the bread and the cup, he could very likely still smell the nard perfume on his head, mingled with the scents of the Passover meal.
• At every communion, one question should be at the forefront: what is the value of Jesus' death to me?
• There are a thousand ways to respond. Like the religious leaders and Judas (with disgust or rejection. Like the disciples), with confusion and doubt: "Is it I?" Or like Mary, by giving what is most precious, everything one is.
• All you have to give him is all you have. Your whole life, your affections, your desires, your dreams, your plans. Everything belongs to him. And it is not by your own strength that you will be able to do it, it is because the new covenant guarantees that if you have faith in Christ, you will make it to the end. Because it depends on his faithfulness, not yours.

Key Takeaways

• The command from chapter 13 · "Stay watchful", was not for ten years from now, it was for right now. Mary understood this; the disciples had not yet seen it.
• Mary understood the value of Jesus before anyone else. She poured out a year's wages on his head and prepared his body in advance for burial.
• Nothing escapes the sovereignty of God. Jesus' death is not an accident, it is the plan, and human evil paradoxically serves to accomplish it.
• The new covenant does not depend on your obedience, but on Christ's perfect obedience. That is why you can take communion even when your life is not in order.
• When you take communion, you are not the center, Christ is the center. It is not a private examination of conscience, it is a reminder of what is already accomplished.
• The only appropriate response to Christ's sacrifice is to give him everything, like Mary. Nothing can be worth more than what you have received in the new covenant.

Personal Application

1. Are you spiritually "awake" right now, or are you falling asleep in your relationship with Christ? What would help you regain the watchfulness Jesus speaks of at the end of chapter 13?
2. Does the value Jesus holds for you resemble the value he held for Mary, to the point of "breaking the jar" of what you hold most precious? Or are you still holding back many things?
3. When you take communion, are you at the center (your faults, your unworthiness, your quest for perfection) or is Christ at the center (his sacrifice, his obedience, his covenant)?
4. Is there a sin to confess or a reconciliation to seek before the next communion? Do it, then take, eat and drink with confidence.
5. What are you holding onto today that Christ is asking you to hand over to him? Why are you holding onto it? Can it really be worth more than what you have received in the new covenant?

Scripture References

• Mark 14:1-25 (main text)
• Mark 13 (context: stay watchful)
• Exodus 12 (the Passover lamb in Egypt)
• Genesis 3 (the original promise)
• John 12 (Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus)
• Luke 7 (the woman who anoints Jesus' feet, a distinct event)
• Mark 11 (the sovereign preparations for the entry into Jerusalem)
• Mark 15 (the burial at Joseph of Arimathea's tomb)

Further reading

• How to Effectively Organize a Local Church
• How to Prepare an Effective Team Meeting
• Writing Simple Procedures for Your Church

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Mark place Mary's act between the religious leaders' plot and Judas' betrayal?

Mark often uses a "sandwich" structure to bring out a contrast and draw attention to the center. Here, the religious leaders' plot (v. 1-2) and Judas' betrayal (v. 10-11) frame Mary's act (v. 3-9). The contrast is striking: on one side, the duplicity and evil striking Jesus from within as much as from without; on the other, a woman who understood the value of her master and gives all she has. Mark places before your eyes the two possible responses to the person of Jesus.

Why didn't Jesus name Judas directly when he announced the betrayal?

Jesus wants his disciples to remain watchful, as he said at the end of chapter 13. If one of the Twelve who shares bread with him can betray him, then no one can consider themselves safe by their own strength. By leaving the doubt hanging, Jesus forces each disciple to ask the honest question: "Is it I?", and to understand that their future faithfulness will not depend on their own strength, but on the work Christ will accomplish for them.

If I don't feel worthy, should I abstain from communion?

No. You are right to feel unworthy, we all are. But that is precisely why you must not abstain from it. When Jesus shared this first communion, his disciples did not have their lives in order: a few hours later, Peter would deny him and Judas would betray him. And yet Jesus gave them the bread and the cup, because the new covenant depends on his obedience, not yours. Repent of what you need to repent of, seek reconciliation if needed, then take, eat and drink. No sin is great enough to nullify what Christ has done for his people.