Mark's Gospel gives nothing of the birth or early life of our Lord, nor have we any genealogy, as in the other two synoptic Gospels. It is as Jehovah's Servant our blessed Lord is before us in Mark, and as such the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, marking Him off as the One in whom the Father's soul delighted (Isa. 41:1).

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," are the opening words of this beautiful Gospel. Manhood and Godhead are before us in these titles, and the Holy Spirit expatiates upon His perfections as the Prophet-Servant in whom God, in grace, presented Himself to men. It is the gospel on God's side. God had come near to men in grace, and presents His blessed Son, the object of His love, in whom His heart was fully displayed. The words and works of the Lord Jesus evidenced this, and the Father must inevitably delight in His service, for thus His disposition toward man was made known. Man, in his departure from God, and the evil and hatred of his heart, had little appreciation of such marvelous grace, but there were some in whom grace had wrought, whose hearts were irresistibly drawn to this heavenly Stranger, and could say, "To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (John 6:68, 69). Of such, was the woman of the 14th chapter of Mark. If the world had no appreciation of Him, her heart at least had been attracted to His person, and ravished with that divine love which, as faith discerned, prompted His every act.

It is surely significant that the act of this woman is introduced between the account of the unreasonable hatred of the chief priests and scribes, and of that of verses 10, 11, when Judas the traitor betrayed Him. We read:"After two days was the feast of the passover and of unleavened bread; and the chief; priests and scribes sought how they might take Him by craft and put Him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people." In Ps. 55:9-11 we have what answers to this:"I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about it… wickedness is in the midst thereof." The heads of the nation basely plot to take His life, their jealousy and cruel hatred could be pent up no longer, death, and death alone, could satisfy them. Judas becomes the tool of Satan to carry out their wicked design. Think of the traitor, who though constantly in His company for three years and a half, partaker of His care and kindness, was utterly untouched by grace and love, and when the opportune moment came, sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver (the price of a common slave); such is the heart of unregenerate man! It is surely blessed to see, between these two humbling recitals of man's hatred and treachery, the devoted love of a lone woman shine out, a sudden gleam of light out of a sky of midnight darkness! "And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it upon His head." This loving action is interpreted by the Lord to be "aforehand to anoint My body to the burying." What consolation, what comfort, must this have been as we see Him standing, as it were, between death and violence! The important place this incident occupies in this Gospel is evident, for the Lord says, "Wheresoever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." "This gospel" spoke of the Son of God here in lowly grace doing good, and side by side was to be proclaimed the blessed result of a heart responsive to that divine love and grace.

The law came, demanding love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc." But the law never could produce love, for man's heart was unresponsive. Grace came, in the Person of the Lord, and we see that the sense of love and grace can produce responsive affection. This is to be told out, and in this we see a beautiful display of the power of the gospel to form the affections of the assembly. The assembly has been called out of the world by this gospel, and by the manifestation of His love the Lord produces responsive affection to Himself. What a joy and comfort it must have been to the blessed Lord amid the hatred and refusal of the Jews and the betrayal of Judas, to find one heart so attracted and attached to Him, by that which had reached her, that now as He was soon to leave this world, her heart followed Him into death and resurrection. Perhaps she did not understand what was before Him, but certain it is, she felt nothing too great or costly to express her affection. Self-seeking and self-righteous Pharisees might murmur "waste," and murmur at her. Certainly it was "very precious" in the sight of heaven, where her simple act has been eternally recorded.

And we, beloved, who have been made partakers of His grace, and owe our eternal all to the One who stooped so low, that He might have us for His own, can we withhold anything? John says, "We love Him because He first loved us." Not "we ought," for this holy love has come to us in the Person of God's beloved One, and we do love Him surely! We may be lost in the contemplation of the ocean fulness of God's love, but grace directs our eyes to the One who is the center of it all, the Father's Beloved, and here we rest in complacency, knowing that love which surpasses knowledge.

Do we then find our center and rest there, or are we restless and unsatisfied, turning aside to other things? Can we say, with one of old, "I sat under His shadow with great delight; His fruit was sweet to my taste." Can anything equal the joy and satisfaction of being found gathered together with Himself in the midst, to be reminded afresh, by the broken bread and poured-out wine, what our precious Lord passed through in the dark hour of Calvary? Can we ever allow anything to supplant this? Is it possible that we could ever think that any act of service, even though done as unto Him, would be more acceptable to Him than those quiet moments spent in conscious nearness to Himself? "This do for a remembrance of Me," was His expressed desire on the threshold of Calvary! Others may look on and say "waste of ointment," and think how much better the hour would be employed in seeking the benefit of our fellow-men, but heaven's estimate is infinitely above and beyond man's thoughts and to the Father's heart. Such a tribute to His Beloved is "spikenard very precious." Here we recall His undying love; we think of Him in circumstances of unparalleled sorrow and loneliness, when that blessed heart must have yearned for sympathy, so soon to be betrayed, and in the sense of that hour, when absolutely alone He must drink that bitter cup and His holy soul be shrouded in midnight darkness!

It was on that night He instituted the memorial supper, that His people might ever have before them His holy love in all its greatness. Do not such unfathomable love and devotion appeal with irresistible power to our hearts? Can we ever treat those words, "REMEMBER ME," lightly? Can we pass by this desire with cold neglect? What, beloved, will be our feeling when we see Him, if we have not kept His word?

"Lord, let us ne'er forget
Thy rich, Thy precious love,
Our theme of joy and wonder here,
Our endless song above.
Oh, let Thy love constrain
Our souls to cleave to Thee,
And ever in our hearts remain,
That word, 'Remember Me!'"

And now, a closing word as to the betrayer. Judas had been in the Lord's company for three and a half years and then sold Him to the rabble crowd! Such is the heart of man, and what is it not capable of? He was of course unregenerate, and we could never put a redeemed one in his place, but-we cannot trust ourselves. Alas, it is easy to take a step back. It is quite possible to sit with His people and partake of the emblems of His body and blood, and then sink into the world and learn its ways. A careless walk and love waxes cold, then one may get under the influence of man's philosophy and religion and sink to the level of the world. With this goes our Nazarite separation, and like Samson perhaps, our strength (spiritual) is gone, and our joy has waned.

May the Lord preserve us in these days of departure and lukewarmness, and revive in all our hearts the blessed hope of His soon coming to take His ransomed people home. J. W. H. N.