Immanuel Lutheran Palatine Media

This Lent, we will use the metaphor of eyesight to examine how the various people in
Mark’s Gospel viewed Jesus during His Passion. In most cases, they misunderstood who
He was and what He was doing; then again, sometimes by faith people did recognize
Him correctly.

We have these forty days of Lent in which we may look within ourselves as people of
faith in our day. How are we like or unlike the people who saw Jesus in the flesh? Most
important, as we gather for worship, we will see what Jesus has done to save us from
our sins by His holy, precious blood and innocent sufferings and death.

Today, we consider the disciples. They failed to see that Jesus had to leave them so He
could die and rise for them and for us. And they misjudged the selfless, loving act of the
woman who anointed Jesus with expensive ointment. He saw it as a beautiful, selfless
act of devotion that prepared Him for burial. We need to examine ourselves, lest we
seek public approval or divine reward for our good deeds. Only what our Lord has done
for us makes us pleasing to the Father.