Anointing and Gospel (Mark 14:1-9)

[Stephan Choe]

October 2, 2025

Key Verses 8-9:

„She did what she could; she anointed my body in advance for my burial. Truly I say unto you: wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has now done will also be said in her memory.“

There are various beautiful love stories in the world because love makes us happy and warms our hearts. Without love the world would be cold and empty. The Bible tells us the most beautiful love story. Love is the main theme of the Bible. The Bible teaches us how to experience God's love and have a love relationship with God. If someone has a good love relationship with God, beautiful flowers of love will bloom from his heart and bear many precious fruits of love.

Today we want to learn the story of how Jesus was anointed by a woman. Through this story we want to learn how to have a love relationship with Jesus and what effects this relationship can have on other people.


1. The murder plan of the chief priests and scribes (1-2)

John 11:57 indicates that the religious leaders originally intended to apprehend Jesus during the festival of the Passover. Seeing Jesus' popularity in the triumphal procession and his authority on the Temple Mount, they changed their minds and decided to do it after the feast. They said, „Yes, not at the feast, lest there be a rebellion among the people“(V. 2).

2. Anointing of Jesus in Bethany (3-9)

A certain Simon, also called „the leper“, also lives in Bethany. Maybe he used to have leprosy, but then he was healed by Jesus. Simon invites Jesus, his companions, and Lazarus to dinner on Saturday.

Lepers had to call from afar, „impure, unclean“, so that other people would not come near them. And leprosy was incurable at the time.

We have to assume that Simon was no longer a leper at this point, but he had been healed. His healing is not reported in the Bible. Had the Lord healed him? And now he made him dinner out of gratitude?

What can we learn from this for ourselves?

Leprosy is an image of sin in the Bible. We have sinned. We were sinners. Just as lepers can't get close to healthy people, we couldn't get close to God or Jesus because we were sinners. So we had to be separated from God. Like God, Jesus is holy and cannot have fellowship with sinful people.

But Jesus came into the world and offered himself as atonement for our sins. So all our sins were blotted out, and we were cleansed of all sins. That's why we can come to Jesus or God and be with him. Simon the Leper shows this well in this story. For Jesus healed Simon, the people warmly accepted his invitation. Jesus also came into Simon's house with his disciples and sat down at the table.

Then a woman comes in. She has a glass of unadulterated and precious nard oil. She is full of gratitude to Jesus. She breaks the glass and pours very precious, unadulterated nard oil on Jesus' head. Through this anointing, her full love and gratitude to the Lord is shown. This anointing clearly shows us how much she loves Jesus and is grateful to him.

Through her actions she shows her appreciation for Jesus and her affection for Jesus. She doesn't say a word, but acts out of love and gratitude for Jesus.

Song of Songs 1:3.12 makes it clear what the anointing oil and the nard are talking about:

„Your ointments smell glorious; your name is like spilled oil: therefore, virgins love you! As long as the king sat at his table, my scent of nard flowed.“

This anointing oil is worth more than three hundred denarii, which is about the same as the annual earnings of a day laborer. So she must have saved for a long time and then bought and kept the anointing oil in order to anoint the Lord with it at the right time.

But some disciples are not ready and blaze at the woman: „What kind of waste of anointing oil is this!“(4).

She would have preferred to sell the precious anointing oil with which the woman anointed the head of the Lord and give it to the poor. That wouldn't have been a waste for them. But because she poured the precious oil on the head of the Lord, they think it is a waste.

I used quite a bit of money to publish Esther’s & my autobiography and distribute this biography to my brothers and sisters in Christ. You could say that I could give this money as a donation to poor people in Africa. But I wanted to express our gratitude to the Lord for His grace and spread the Gospel.

The woman didn't defend herself. She left her cause to the Lord.

Then Jesus says. „Leave her alone! Why are you mourning her? She did a good job for me. For you always have poor people with you, and if you will, you can do them good; but you do not always have me. She did what she could, she anointed my head in advance for my burial. Truly, I say unto you, where the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has now done will also be said in her memory“(6-9).

The woman's tender feelings for the Lord caused her to anoint his body in advance for burial. In doing so, she showed Him her love and brought Him her worship right before His deepest sufferings. This was so valuable to the Lord that he promises that her deed will be mentioned wherever the gospel is preached. This shows the connection between the gospel and her anointing. The Gospel in its comprehensive character includes, on the one hand, the „cross of Jesus“ for our salvation and also has the goal of making the saved sinner a true worshiper.

What can we learn from Jesus here?

First, he warmly welcomes the woman.
When Jesus was in the house of the leper Simon, this woman came to the house and to Jesus without an express invitation. Many present probably thought that this woman had come outrageously.
But Jesus welcomes them. Jesus welcomes every person at all times, regardless of whether he is a sinner or a despised person. In the eyes of Jesus, all people are precious children of God. That's why he welcomes everyone at any time. Jesus' love is global. That's why we can come to him at any time and receive a warm welcome from Him.

Second, Jesus accepts her act as preparation for his burial.
Every person feels uncomfortable with this woman's behavior and reacts negatively. But Jesus doesn't feel uncomfortable when she anoints his head with anointing oil. He realizes her gratitude and love for him and accepts this as preparation for his funeral. Jesus probably realizes through their actions that God is preparing well for His burial.
Jesus accepts and blesses each of our deeds as an act for Him. Therefore, regardless of people's recognition, we should do for Jesus, even if it were just a small thing.
Jesus once said that a thirsty disciple of Jesus is given a drink of water, which he does for Jesus (see. Mt. 10:42). So we should do something for Jesus, even if that would be insignificant. Jesus rejoices greatly in this. We are also to value the deeds of others, even though in our eyes they would be insignificant or wasteful.

Third, Jesus explains their act as a contribution to spreading the gospel.

Jesus gives her a great compliment for her actions by saying, „Where the Gospel is preached around the world, what she has done now will also be said in her memory!“(8).

Jesus thus explains that her deeds are spread with the gospel. For Jesus already knows that he will be killed for the sins of men, buried, and then raised from the dead. Therefore, Jesus regards her act as a good spread of the Gospel and praises her for her act.

This story teaches us that spreading the gospel is the primary concern of Jesus Christ. Jesus wants to tell all people that he loves them and will therefore die and be resurrected for their resurrection. The woman contributes to this with the anointing. And Jesus honors her deeds. We thank Jesus for His devotion and resurrection!