John 12:1-8
Worthwhile Worship
Have you ever given a lame gift to someone you know you should have made more of an effort with?
A couple of Christmas’s ago we were celebrating Christmas at my Dad’s house with all my step brothers and their families. The time came for opening gifts and I can see my Dad opening his and he’s enjoying it but doesn’t seem to be really getting anything that he really wants. But then he opens a gift from my step-brother and his wife and it was immediately obvious they had hit the mark with this gift – he had that awesome gift excitement that he probably hadn’t had since he was a kid. It was a CD collection of one of his favorite music artists. I thought to myself, “Man, that was a good gift….mine’s not that good.”
Then I watched my dad get up - he says it didn’t happen this way but I’m positive it did – I watched him get up and go over to my step-brother with open arms and hug him, and I think I heard him say, “My son, my only son”. Suddenly the Christmas sweater with a snowman I was going to give him was pretty lame.
I began to think that maybe I should have put some more effort into my gift to my dad. (He’s not here this morning so I can talk about him – see what happens when you skip church!).
Do we need to put more effort into what we give God? I mean, is what we give to God worthy of God? Is our worship of God worthy of Him? In other words, is the worship we offer equal to the One we are offering it to? God hates when His people bring unworthy worship to Him, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain…”
Heartless worship is worthless worship. We can give God our dead rituals of Evangelical Christianity or we can give Him our heart. “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart…” He will not accept anything less because He deserves nothing less. He will not receive half your heart because He has a right to all of your heart. Shouldn’t we of all people be the ones who have the most desire to give the most of ourselves to God?
John says in 20:31, “I write these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” That’s the beginning point of a life that worships God. Worshipping God begins with salvation. When a man accepts Christ as his Savior he does his very first act of worship that God accepts. It is the humbling of ourselves before God that we are sinners, that we can’t save ourselves, and that God Himself has come to us in Jesus Christ so that we could be saved from our sins. When you give your trust to God He accepts it. And that is the beginning of a new life that gives to God.
Setting (v1-2)
Last week we saw that the Sanhedrin had officially planned to kill Jesus. And as a result, Jesus left the vicinity of Jerusalem again and waited for the right time.
Now, in verses 1-2 we see the setting. Jesus has come back to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is now only 6 days away from the Passover – 6 days away from His death. And while He is there a dinner party is thrown in His honor – probably because He raised Lazarus from the dead. This account is described by Matthew and Mark also. And in their descriptions we know that the party is at Simon the Leper’s house.
We don’t know who all was there but John does describe some people for us. First we see Martha and she is doing what she usually does – serving others. She was preparing the meal and setting the table and taking drink orders and cleaning up dishes and all sorts of other work around the kitchen.
Then John mentions one of the main attractions – Lazarus. Ever since Jesus brought him back from the dead Bethany’s tourism industry had skyrocketed - people had been coming from all over to see him. He was certainly a sensation. (Don’t you wish John recorded something that Lazarus had said?)
We don’t know what he said but we know that at this party he was relaxing with Jesus around the dinner table. It’s really a picture of close fellowship. This was the main meal of the day and it was often drawn out over a longer period of time. The dinner table was low to the ground so people could lean on one elbow while still being able to see over it. This reclining with Jesus would have been a time of intimacy and rest with the Lord.
Verse 2 really is a picture of our Christian life: honoring Him, serving Him and His Church, intimate and peaceful fellowship with Him and others.
Mary: Worship with a Pricetag (v3)
Worship that is worthwhile is worship that has a Pricetag. Verse 3 says, “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
Mary knows how to offer worship that is worthy of Christ. Mary knows what it costs to give Him the only kind – the only quality of honor that matches Him. Notice three things about the worship that Mary offers Jesus.
#1: First, it was Expensive. She took nard, not just nard, but pure nard. Nard was very fragrant oil. It came from the roots and stems of an aromatic herb found in Northern India. And it was incredibly expensive. The pint that she offered was worth an entire years wages. Just so you have an idea, the average household income in Ottawa county is about $55K per year. Imagine a $55K bottle of Stetson and pouring it on Jesus. $55K is a lot of money. What could you buy with $55K dollars? I’ll tell you what Mary bought – an offering to Jesus worth an entire year’s wages.
True worship comes with a pricetag. It costs us. King David said in 2 Samuel 24:24, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God an offering that cost me nothing.” Too many Christians today come to the Lord with worship that costs them nothing. Too many Christians are holding back and are holding out on Him because they still hold on to things that they think are more important than Him. But this is the God who said love me with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, all of your strength because He is the only One who deserves that kind of devotion.
Look at yourself. What do you worship? What is first place in your life? I want to be a church that offers premium worship to God. I don’t want EFC offers as worship to God going to be an insult to Him?
Does what we do with our time prove He is first?
Does what we do with our bodies prove we worship Him?
Does what we do with our words prove we worship Him?
Does what we do with money prove we worship Him?
Does what we do when no one is around prove we worship Him?
Does what we do in the face of compromise prove we worship God?
Worship that is worth God’s time really is worship that costs us. That’s why it’s called a sacrifice – you give something up for God.
#2: Second, she was not Embarrassed. There was no pride in Mary when it came to worshipping Jesus. She was washing His feet. John the Baptist said that he wasn’t even worthy to tie Jesus’ sandals. Taking care of someone’s feet was what the lowest of slaves did. People who had dignity and position didn’t touch people’s feet. That is beneath them and so is anyone whose job it is to do such things.
But for Mary there is no shame. There is no self-consciousness, there is no embarrassment to humble herself so low as to do such an act of worship to Jesus Christ.
And that is the key to worship: humility. If we have a proud heart there is no real worship that we can offer. When were so full of ourselves we can in no way be full of the Spirit. When we put ourselves as number 1 and make ourselves to be the most important person in our universe we can offer nothing of value to God. He is number 1 in the universe and He won’t share that spot.
You know who else got down and washed people’s feet? Do you know who else humbled Himself so low as to be like a nobody and nothing slave who washes people’s feet? Jesus did, right here in the very next chapter. Look over a minute there at chapter 13………It says in verse 5…..
#3: Third, it included her Entire person. She uses her hair to wipe His feet. She didn’t just prostrate her body at Jesus’ feet, but, she let her hair down and wiped them. Now this is really something because for a woman to let her hair down in public was very indecent. But, Mary’s adored Jesus. Her worship was genuine on the inside and as a result she devoted her entire person –spirit, mind AND body – to worship Jesus.
How many of us need to learn this lesson? How many of Christians compromise in their thought life? How many do not devote their minds over entirely to God and allow their minds to think on lust, or greed, or bitterness and hatred?
How many Christians are not offering their bodies to the Lord but we read 1 Corinthians 6 where it plainly says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord”? Or when it goes on to say, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, you are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore honor God with you BODY”? Or Romans 12:1-2, “Offer your BODIES as living sacrifices. This is your spiritual act of worship. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” What do you do with your body? How do you present your body? Do you glorify yourself with your body or do you glorify the Lord?
Mary showed her physical devotion to Christ by using her hair. In other words, she held nothing back. Every part of who she was was devoted to worshiping Christ. What a lesson for us today.
***And what was the result of her worship? The wonderful fragrance filled the entire place. It reminds us of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2……….(turn there)
Judas: Offended at the Offering (v4-6)
Then we see Judas’ reaction to Mary and her offering. He’s offended by it. Look at verses 4-6, “…………..”
Judas was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He was the one who in the end betrayed Jesus for 30 pcs of silver. These are his first recorded words in the Gospel’s, and, we find him offended by Mary and her act of worship. Why? Because he says that what she gave to Jesus could have been given to the poor. Judas appears very philanthropic. He appears to be a caring and generous person – one who was on the look out for helping others in need.
At least that’s what he wanted the others to think.
But John tells us that really Judas was a thief. His betrayal of Jesus for money had been going on for the entire 3 years that he was with Jesus. He was the one who held on to the money bag that had all their cash to support their ministry. And he liked to take money that was for the needs of the ministry and spend it on himself. He was a crook. He became the treasurer of their ministry so he could get his hands on the cash. And in the end he sold Jesus out for 30 silver pieces to the Sanhedrin who was looking to kill Him.
Do you know what was sold for 30 pieces in that day? A gored slave. Jesus came as a slave. He didn’t come to be served but to serve. He didn’t come to do His will but someone else’s will – the Father’s. He became a slave and He was gored on the cross.
Judas was a false disciple. You know what the difference is between a true disciple and a false disciple? You know what the difference is between Judas and Mary? One is in it to give to Jesus and the other is in it to get from Jesus. Really their False disciples look real, they look religious, they look moral and generous, but, they are counterfeits. They have no real interest in giving honor to Christ. Their only interest is in what Christ can do for them.
Didn’t we see this in chapter 6? The crowds saw Jesus do the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and they wanted to make him their king. They wanted Him to be their leader because of what they thought He could do for them. They had no interest in actually worshipping Him for who He actually was. And in the end they betrayed Him. Verse 64 says that Jesus knew from the beginning that they would abandon Him and betray Him.
And then I find it interesting that after all those thousands of false disciples turned away from Him, in the very next breath, Jesus turns and calls attention to one more false disciple who would abandon and betray Him later on. He says in verse 70, “Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil! (He meant Judas Iscariot, who though one of the Twelve, would later betray Him.)” In a chapter that describes how thousands of false disciples betrayed Jesus we see how fitting it is that Judas the chief of all false disciples is mentioned as well.
Jesus Defends Mary (v7-8)
Then Jesus defends her in verses 7-8. “……………”
He’s not saying the poor aren’t important but He’s reminding Judas and the other disciples of what’s most important. Worshiping God is what’s most important.
Conclusion: Your Reputation
I want to conclude by asking you what you want your reputation to be. What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want to be known for? I’m not talking about with men. I’m talking about with God. You see, Mary is known for her worthwhile worship. She did something to Jesus that Jesus called in Mark 14, beautiful. But not only that Jesus said that what she has done to Him will be told to people wherever the gospel is preached. Her story appears in 3 of the 4 Gospels.
And then there’s Judas. Everywhere Judas is mentioned he is mentioned as Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. His reputation among God and men will for eternity be the one who betrayed the Son of God.
What do you want your reputation to be with God? Do you want to be a man whom God takes pleasure in every time you come before Him? Or do you want to be someone who’s worship of God is called by God, “vain and useless”?
Worthwhile Worship
Have you ever given a lame gift to someone you know you should have made more of an effort with?
A couple of Christmas’s ago we were celebrating Christmas at my Dad’s house with all my step brothers and their families. The time came for opening gifts and I can see my Dad opening his and he’s enjoying it but doesn’t seem to be really getting anything that he really wants. But then he opens a gift from my step-brother and his wife and it was immediately obvious they had hit the mark with this gift – he had that awesome gift excitement that he probably hadn’t had since he was a kid. It was a CD collection of one of his favorite music artists. I thought to myself, “Man, that was a good gift….mine’s not that good.”
Then I watched my dad get up - he says it didn’t happen this way but I’m positive it did – I watched him get up and go over to my step-brother with open arms and hug him, and I think I heard him say, “My son, my only son”. Suddenly the Christmas sweater with a snowman I was going to give him was pretty lame.
I began to think that maybe I should have put some more effort into my gift to my dad. (He’s not here this morning so I can talk about him – see what happens when you skip church!).
Do we need to put more effort into what we give God? I mean, is what we give to God worthy of God? Is our worship of God worthy of Him? In other words, is the worship we offer equal to the One we are offering it to? God hates when His people bring unworthy worship to Him, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain…”
Heartless worship is worthless worship. We can give God our dead rituals of Evangelical Christianity or we can give Him our heart. “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart…” He will not accept anything less because He deserves nothing less. He will not receive half your heart because He has a right to all of your heart. Shouldn’t we of all people be the ones who have the most desire to give the most of ourselves to God?
John says in 20:31, “I write these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” That’s the beginning point of a life that worships God. Worshipping God begins with salvation. When a man accepts Christ as his Savior he does his very first act of worship that God accepts. It is the humbling of ourselves before God that we are sinners, that we can’t save ourselves, and that God Himself has come to us in Jesus Christ so that we could be saved from our sins. When you give your trust to God He accepts it. And that is the beginning of a new life that gives to God.
Setting (v1-2)
Last week we saw that the Sanhedrin had officially planned to kill Jesus. And as a result, Jesus left the vicinity of Jerusalem again and waited for the right time.
Now, in verses 1-2 we see the setting. Jesus has come back to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is now only 6 days away from the Passover – 6 days away from His death. And while He is there a dinner party is thrown in His honor – probably because He raised Lazarus from the dead. This account is described by Matthew and Mark also. And in their descriptions we know that the party is at Simon the Leper’s house.
We don’t know who all was there but John does describe some people for us. First we see Martha and she is doing what she usually does – serving others. She was preparing the meal and setting the table and taking drink orders and cleaning up dishes and all sorts of other work around the kitchen.
Then John mentions one of the main attractions – Lazarus. Ever since Jesus brought him back from the dead Bethany’s tourism industry had skyrocketed - people had been coming from all over to see him. He was certainly a sensation. (Don’t you wish John recorded something that Lazarus had said?)
We don’t know what he said but we know that at this party he was relaxing with Jesus around the dinner table. It’s really a picture of close fellowship. This was the main meal of the day and it was often drawn out over a longer period of time. The dinner table was low to the ground so people could lean on one elbow while still being able to see over it. This reclining with Jesus would have been a time of intimacy and rest with the Lord.
Verse 2 really is a picture of our Christian life: honoring Him, serving Him and His Church, intimate and peaceful fellowship with Him and others.
Mary: Worship with a Pricetag (v3)
Worship that is worthwhile is worship that has a Pricetag. Verse 3 says, “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
Mary knows how to offer worship that is worthy of Christ. Mary knows what it costs to give Him the only kind – the only quality of honor that matches Him. Notice three things about the worship that Mary offers Jesus.
#1: First, it was Expensive. She took nard, not just nard, but pure nard. Nard was very fragrant oil. It came from the roots and stems of an aromatic herb found in Northern India. And it was incredibly expensive. The pint that she offered was worth an entire years wages. Just so you have an idea, the average household income in Ottawa county is about $55K per year. Imagine a $55K bottle of Stetson and pouring it on Jesus. $55K is a lot of money. What could you buy with $55K dollars? I’ll tell you what Mary bought – an offering to Jesus worth an entire year’s wages.
True worship comes with a pricetag. It costs us. King David said in 2 Samuel 24:24, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God an offering that cost me nothing.” Too many Christians today come to the Lord with worship that costs them nothing. Too many Christians are holding back and are holding out on Him because they still hold on to things that they think are more important than Him. But this is the God who said love me with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, all of your strength because He is the only One who deserves that kind of devotion.
Look at yourself. What do you worship? What is first place in your life? I want to be a church that offers premium worship to God. I don’t want EFC offers as worship to God going to be an insult to Him?
Does what we do with our time prove He is first?
Does what we do with our bodies prove we worship Him?
Does what we do with our words prove we worship Him?
Does what we do with money prove we worship Him?
Does what we do when no one is around prove we worship Him?
Does what we do in the face of compromise prove we worship God?
Worship that is worth God’s time really is worship that costs us. That’s why it’s called a sacrifice – you give something up for God.
#2: Second, she was not Embarrassed. There was no pride in Mary when it came to worshipping Jesus. She was washing His feet. John the Baptist said that he wasn’t even worthy to tie Jesus’ sandals. Taking care of someone’s feet was what the lowest of slaves did. People who had dignity and position didn’t touch people’s feet. That is beneath them and so is anyone whose job it is to do such things.
But for Mary there is no shame. There is no self-consciousness, there is no embarrassment to humble herself so low as to do such an act of worship to Jesus Christ.
And that is the key to worship: humility. If we have a proud heart there is no real worship that we can offer. When were so full of ourselves we can in no way be full of the Spirit. When we put ourselves as number 1 and make ourselves to be the most important person in our universe we can offer nothing of value to God. He is number 1 in the universe and He won’t share that spot.
You know who else got down and washed people’s feet? Do you know who else humbled Himself so low as to be like a nobody and nothing slave who washes people’s feet? Jesus did, right here in the very next chapter. Look over a minute there at chapter 13………It says in verse 5…..
#3: Third, it included her Entire person. She uses her hair to wipe His feet. She didn’t just prostrate her body at Jesus’ feet, but, she let her hair down and wiped them. Now this is really something because for a woman to let her hair down in public was very indecent. But, Mary’s adored Jesus. Her worship was genuine on the inside and as a result she devoted her entire person –spirit, mind AND body – to worship Jesus.
How many of us need to learn this lesson? How many of Christians compromise in their thought life? How many do not devote their minds over entirely to God and allow their minds to think on lust, or greed, or bitterness and hatred?
How many Christians are not offering their bodies to the Lord but we read 1 Corinthians 6 where it plainly says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord”? Or when it goes on to say, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, you are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore honor God with you BODY”? Or Romans 12:1-2, “Offer your BODIES as living sacrifices. This is your spiritual act of worship. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” What do you do with your body? How do you present your body? Do you glorify yourself with your body or do you glorify the Lord?
Mary showed her physical devotion to Christ by using her hair. In other words, she held nothing back. Every part of who she was was devoted to worshiping Christ. What a lesson for us today.
***And what was the result of her worship? The wonderful fragrance filled the entire place. It reminds us of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2……….(turn there)
Judas: Offended at the Offering (v4-6)
Then we see Judas’ reaction to Mary and her offering. He’s offended by it. Look at verses 4-6, “…………..”
Judas was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He was the one who in the end betrayed Jesus for 30 pcs of silver. These are his first recorded words in the Gospel’s, and, we find him offended by Mary and her act of worship. Why? Because he says that what she gave to Jesus could have been given to the poor. Judas appears very philanthropic. He appears to be a caring and generous person – one who was on the look out for helping others in need.
At least that’s what he wanted the others to think.
But John tells us that really Judas was a thief. His betrayal of Jesus for money had been going on for the entire 3 years that he was with Jesus. He was the one who held on to the money bag that had all their cash to support their ministry. And he liked to take money that was for the needs of the ministry and spend it on himself. He was a crook. He became the treasurer of their ministry so he could get his hands on the cash. And in the end he sold Jesus out for 30 silver pieces to the Sanhedrin who was looking to kill Him.
Do you know what was sold for 30 pieces in that day? A gored slave. Jesus came as a slave. He didn’t come to be served but to serve. He didn’t come to do His will but someone else’s will – the Father’s. He became a slave and He was gored on the cross.
Judas was a false disciple. You know what the difference is between a true disciple and a false disciple? You know what the difference is between Judas and Mary? One is in it to give to Jesus and the other is in it to get from Jesus. Really their False disciples look real, they look religious, they look moral and generous, but, they are counterfeits. They have no real interest in giving honor to Christ. Their only interest is in what Christ can do for them.
Didn’t we see this in chapter 6? The crowds saw Jesus do the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and they wanted to make him their king. They wanted Him to be their leader because of what they thought He could do for them. They had no interest in actually worshipping Him for who He actually was. And in the end they betrayed Him. Verse 64 says that Jesus knew from the beginning that they would abandon Him and betray Him.
And then I find it interesting that after all those thousands of false disciples turned away from Him, in the very next breath, Jesus turns and calls attention to one more false disciple who would abandon and betray Him later on. He says in verse 70, “Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil! (He meant Judas Iscariot, who though one of the Twelve, would later betray Him.)” In a chapter that describes how thousands of false disciples betrayed Jesus we see how fitting it is that Judas the chief of all false disciples is mentioned as well.
Jesus Defends Mary (v7-8)
Then Jesus defends her in verses 7-8. “……………”
He’s not saying the poor aren’t important but He’s reminding Judas and the other disciples of what’s most important. Worshiping God is what’s most important.
Conclusion: Your Reputation
I want to conclude by asking you what you want your reputation to be. What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want to be known for? I’m not talking about with men. I’m talking about with God. You see, Mary is known for her worthwhile worship. She did something to Jesus that Jesus called in Mark 14, beautiful. But not only that Jesus said that what she has done to Him will be told to people wherever the gospel is preached. Her story appears in 3 of the 4 Gospels.
And then there’s Judas. Everywhere Judas is mentioned he is mentioned as Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. His reputation among God and men will for eternity be the one who betrayed the Son of God.
What do you want your reputation to be with God? Do you want to be a man whom God takes pleasure in every time you come before Him? Or do you want to be someone who’s worship of God is called by God, “vain and useless”?
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