5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence and have been given to the poor. And they murmered against her.
6 And Jesus said, Let her alone ; why trouble ye her ? she hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good : but me ye have
not always.
8 She hath done what she could : she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9 Verily I say unto you, "Whereso- ever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
This chapter begins that part of St. Mark's Gospel, which describes our Lord's sufferings and death. Hither- to we have chiefly seen our Saviour as our prophet and teacher. We have now to see Him as our High Priest. Hitherto we have had to consider His miracles and say- ings. We have now to consider His vicarious sacrifice on the cross.
Let us first observe in these verses, how God can disap- point the designs of ivicked men, and over-rule them to His own glory.
It is plain from St. Mark's words, and the parallel passage in St. Matthew, that our Lord's enemies did not intend to make His death a public transaction. " They sought to take Him by craft." " They said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people." In short, it would appear that their original plan was to do nothing till the feast of the passover was over, and the passover-worshippers had returned to their own homes.
The overruling providence of G-od completely defeated this politic design. The betrayal of our Lord took place at an earlier time than the chief priests had expected. The death of our Lord took place on the very day when Jerusalem was most full of people, and the passover feast was at its height. In every way the counsel of these wicked men was turned to foolishness. They thought
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they were going to put an end for ever to Christ's spiritual kingdom ; and in reality thoy were helping to establish it. They thought to have made Him vile and contemptible by the crucifixion ; and in reality they made Him glorious. They thought to have put Him to death privily and without observation ; and instead, they were compelled to crucify Him publicly, and before the whole nation of the Jews. They thought to have silenced His disciples, and stopped their teaching : and instead, they supplied them with a text and a subject for evermore. So easy is it for God to cause the wrath of man to praise Him. (Psalm lxxvi. 10.)
There is comfort in all this for true Christians. They live in a troubled world, and are often tossed to and fro by anxiety about public events. Let them rest them- selves in the thought that everything is ordered for good by an all- wise God. Let them not doubt that all things in the world around them, are working together for their Father's glory. Let them call to mind the words of the second Psalm : " The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take council together against the Lord." And yet it goes on, " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision." It has been so in time past. It will be so in time to come.
Let us observe, secondly, in these verses, how good works are sometimes undervalued and misundertsood. We are told of the good work of a certain woman, in pour- ing ointment on our Lord's head, in a house at Bethany.* She did it, no doubt, as a mark of honor and respect,
* The question has often been raised, whether there were one, two, or three women who anointed our Lord during His earthly ministry.
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