0:07 According to Mark in chapter 14, Palm Sunday is generally recognized as the time where we commemorate the commencement of Passion Week. And passion week is all about the beginning of the final days of Jesus's ministry on the earth. And this day is generally also recognized as focusing on the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where he fulfills so many prophecies including the one of Zechariah where he humbly rides on a donkey and the people, the crowds that are there for the celebration of the Passover are crowning him with messianic praises. But it's on this day that begins a week of many other events. Many other events.
1:05 Incredible events. Teachings of Jesus, scenes of Jesus. And I want us to look at a particular moment that the Christ himself held in very high regard. And you might be amazed to know how much Jesus esteemed this moment, perhaps more than we might actually do. Let's read together Mark chapter 14.
1:31 It was now two days before the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him. For they said, not during the feast lest there be an uproar from the people. And so here we fast forward a few days after the triumphal entry, but the same week is still important for us to understand. It was the week of the Passover and the same time, the unleavened bread. These are Jewish feasts where the pilgrims, the Jews from all different towns, would come into the holy city to recognize and celebrate God through these ordinance that he's established all the way from the days of Egypt when Israel was in bondage.
2:15 And I want you to understand the implications of this. Imagine the scene with me this morning, that the streets of Jerusalem are busier than usual. There's crowds shoulder to shoulder. There's traffic in every direction. The markets are displaying and they are upping their supplies knowing that there's gonna be high demand as people prepare to celebrate their God.
2:39 You have innkeepers making more space, as much space as possible because travelers are coming in and they need a place to stay for this week. And all of Jerusalem at this point had one thing in mind, How they can honor God, preparing themselves to celebrate what God had instituted and originated in their deliverance many, many years ago. But while families and friends and guests are coming and setting this time to get ready and cleaning and moving and running around, there is one group of people that have their mind on something else. And we read it here. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him being Jesus by stealth and kill him.
3:28 While the nation is preparing their hearts to slaughter Passover lambs, you have the religious elite pondering in their hearts how they can assassinate Jesus Christ. And you can also imagine the scene, can't you? The Pharisees stuffed in some fancy room somewhere where the window frames are closed and as they pace back and forth and some sitting at a table, brainstorming of how they can actually accomplish this, you can hear the crowd beyond the walls, murmurs and and people making deals on the streets, and fathers yelling at their children to keep up. And these hypocrites are sitting there twiddling their thumbs wondering how can we get him? How can we eliminate him?
4:14 How can he we rid him of this earth? And as they're there, they came at least with one conclusion. Things weren't set just yet. They didn't know how it was gonna happen, but one thing was for certain, we read here in verse two, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people. They realize that if they do this now, during this time, there could be a potential reversal to their plans and roar and Rome would come roaring and destroying them as leaders and as a nation.
4:45 And so they're they're very careful here with their decision. They don't want to make this move too fast. They don't want to gain attention from those that were oppressing them and so they they they just decided this, not this week, not this time. We'll wait till everybody goes back home, everybody's exhausted and they wouldn't suspect us making such a move. Do you see the sovereignty of God in this verse?
5:09 Because as clever and as much control as these men thought they had, in determining the precise timing of Jesus's death, God had a different timing. See, they wanted it to happen after the feast and God had already determined that it was gonna happen at the Passover. Because while these men thought that they can they can actually conjure up a plan to come against the Son of God, there was already a meeting back in eternity past within the Godhead that determined the calendar of the Christ and his departure. See to the Pharisees, to the Jews here at this time, the leaders, they thought that this wasn't a good time and God actually determined it was the perfect time. Because God's plan trumps the plans of man.
5:55 God is sovereign over all of our affairs and this is seen even here because God wanted Jesus to die in a particular time because the timing itself was a message of his death. And so while all these people are preparing themselves and sanctifying themselves to slaughter these these actual physical lambs, by remembering that it was the blood of these lambs that protected them from the angel of death that hovered over Egypt, and that was the source of their deliverance from pharaoh's slavery, they would be the true lamb of God suspended in the air, being crucified and slain for a greater deliverance and a greater protection from the wrath of God. God says, I want people to see on this week that the true lamb of God has been provided. What a sight. What a timing.
6:48 What position. And here's the wisdom and the power of God. It is known here. See these men were acting freely according to the evil inclination of their hearts. And here's how God is sovereign.
6:59 God is not sovereign by making us robots. God is sovereign by giving us the ability to choose, but then taking your choice and mine and orchestrating it and translating it in a manner where he gets his way anyway. And so here they are, they're determining themselves, they wanna destroy Jesus. And Jesus, knowing the plan of the father and the father knowing the plan for his son, realized that no man can thwart God's plans. This is true from everything from the overarching redemptive purposes of God throughout history until the end of the age and listen, for your very life as a child of God.
7:42 Do I have the right to take a verse like this and apply it to myself? Well, you do if you believe what Jesus said that as this As the father loved the son, so he loves you and me. Do you realize that? In John seventeen twenty three, Jesus said, the same way that God the father loves the son, he loves those who believe on him. Not less.
8:06 Not 95% close, the same way he loves the Christ, he loves you and me. And so you know what I believe? I believe this, that what God did for Jesus, he'll do for all his children in the sense that no matter what man plots, no matter what Satan attempts to do, God's supreme sovereign ordinance for your life will be established. As long as you and I like Christ seek to live according to the father's will and his will alone, there's no need to fear. There's no need to fear though enemies surround you and I, there is no need to tremble because God is sovereign.
8:49 When you place your life in his hands, he will hold you fast. There's so many examples of this and one of the strongest examples that bless my heart every single time I read it is about the two witnesses in Revelation 11. These witnesses were sent by God during the tribulation period to preach and to demonstrate with their message signs and wonders. And then you're told this little truth because they're killed in Jerusalem. In Revelation eleven seven, about the two witnesses in the end times, many people debate who they are.
9:21 It says, and when they had finished their testimony And when they had finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them. When did Satan himself have the chance to swallow up these two witnesses? When they finished their testimony. The moment that their ministry was complete, the very microsecond that it was complete in God's eyes, he let them be destroyed and taken up into glory. So you know what confidence I have?
9:56 The moment my testimony is finished in this generation, I'm going home. I'm going home. And as long as I live to glorify God, I can be assured that whatever strikes my body, whether it's disease, whether it's affliction from others, whether it's the wounds of persecution, I know this. I'm not going anywhere until my testimony is complete. You should have the same confidence.
10:22 So these men had a plan, but God had a better plan and guess whose plan was gonna come to fruition? Not the Pharisees. But then the the scene shifts from from these men that were in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest. At the same time, we come in verse three of Mark 14. And while he, being Jesus, was at Bethany, in a house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, And she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
10:56 I love this scene. If you can just visualize it with me, so we go from the Pharisees and the the scene cuts now and here we are in this this man's house named Simon the leper. And we are told in John's accounts that it wasn't just Simon and the 12 with Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were also there. Can you just visualize that with me this morning? Here's Simon the leper.
11:20 Perhaps, very likely healed by Jesus. Then you have on the other side of the table, Lazarus who was definitely raised by Jesus from the dead. And then you have the 12 disciples who were inseparable from Christ, traveling everywhere he went. And then you have the two sisters who have hosted Jesus before, all in one place. Just like every other house in Jerusalem that day and around Israel that was stuffed with people celebrating the Passover, preparing for the feast at least.
11:48 And as wholesome and as comforting as this scene is, it's gonna take a different direction because we are told that a woman now is about to step on the scene, interrupt the gathering with an act of worship that God in Christ considered sacred and as an eternal memorial. I want you to think about something before we go there. Jesus really loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. In John eleven five, we're told exactly that Jesus loved these three and he named them. And this family, these siblings are are more important for us to understand than we might imagine.
12:28 Because as much as they were unique in their personalities and in their dispositions, these three individuals also, I believe, represent different dimensions that must be true in every believer's life. They they hosted a certain quality and they had certain strengths individually, but that collectively should be present in the life of every professing Christian. So go to John's account of this in John chapter 12. I want you to see it with me. In John, we're told that Mary, Martha and Lazarus were there at the same place.
13:03 And what are we told here in verse two of John chapter 12? So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha Martha served. Martha served, and Lazarus is one of those reclining with him at table. Martha served.
13:19 Does anybody know the difference between Martha serving here and the first time we're introduced her in Luke chapter 10? One big difference. She's not complaining this time. In Luke chapter 10, she served, but she murmured and she grumbled and she came up to Jesus and interrupted his teaching saying, Hey, Lord, what about her? The kitchen is hot and there's a lot of things that need to be done.
13:37 Why don't you ask her to come and help me? We're here for you. And Jesus corrected Martha very gently saying, one thing is needed and she has chosen the better portion. You know what I learned from this is that when you come near the end of Jesus life, Martha learned from that rebuke. She took it in.
13:54 She humbled herself and she served with a different attitude. The problem wasn't with Martha serving, she was serving in distraction and with a complaining heart. That's what Jesus corrected. And here we see her again serving the Lord, honoring the Lord. And I love this, Jesus doesn't correct her for doing that in this scene.
14:16 He didn't say, hey Martha, do you realize what this week is about? Get over here and listen to what I have to say. No. He let her serve. You know why?
14:23 Because that was the way she knew how to love Jesus. And not only was it the way she knew how to express her adoration toward the Lord, it's a call for us also to recognize that Jesus values practical service. He really does. He really honors us doing the things that seem small in the eyes of men. And so if Martha symbolizes anything, it's the need for believers in their walk with Christ to know how to be a servant to him and to his body.
14:53 Martha is a servant. But then we read in verse three, Mary, now her sister, therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. What do we see here? The very same thing we saw with Martha in Luke chapter 10 when she was complaining while serving. I challenge you to look at Mary's life in the gospels and you will find her always in the same place at the feet of Jesus.
15:21 Always. Even in John 11, when Jesus came for Lazarus, she came and fell at his feet. Luke 10, when he came over, she was at his feet receiving the word. John chapter 12, there she is again at the feet of Jesus. And if Martha symbolizes the need for us to serve, Mary symbolizes the need for us to know how to worship.
15:42 How to worship Jesus. To not get so caught up in serving him that we fail to give him personal attention with adoration and admiration. Worship on a personal level in the Christian world is becoming a lost art. It's becoming a very thinned out discipline and desire from the people of God. Mary comes to the feet of Jesus, and she comes to love him and give him personal attention.
16:15 I love this. In that room filled with people, the only thing that Mary had concern for was ministering unto the Lord. And the issue with many of us in life is that we're so caught up even the right people in our lives that we do things and we're caught up in fellowship and we're caught up in serving the church, that we fail to to recognize that Jesus needs attention. That he needs to be ministered unto, from me personally, one to one. Mary's the call, the dimension of the Christian's life to know how to spend time with the Lord.
16:51 To give him what he deserves and what we desperately need. What about Lazarus? We come down here in verse nine of John chapter 12. When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And so this dinner was no longer a private thing.
17:18 You had people realizing Jesus as in Bethany? And people were murmuring and talking. Yes. He's in Bethany. Not only that, Lazarus is there.
17:26 The same Lazarus that died not too long ago, that same Lazarus that he raised from the dead. And they didn't wait for an invitation. They came without one. And they showed up to the house, Simon's house, and they knocked and they said, is Jesus the prophet here? Yeah.
17:39 Yes. He's sitting at the table. And we heard Lazarus is here as well. He is there. He's sitting right close to them actually.
17:45 We must see him. Okay. Come on in. And that place turned into a church meeting. The people came to see and notice in verse 10, so the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well.
17:59 So they planned and they plotted, how do we get rid of this guy who claims to be the Messiah? He does all these miracles and he he we're envious. They didn't say that. They felt it. We hate him.
18:09 How do we remove him? And at the same time, somebody peeps up and says, By the way, that Lazarus guy is bringing a lot of people to him. Ever since he rose from the dead, people are coming to Christ. We gotta get rid of him as well. So they made a plan in their minds.
18:25 Okay, we're gonna kill Lazarus too. Why? Because verse 11, because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. Oh, Martha is the dimension of the Christian's life in which we are called to serve the Lord practically. Mary is the call for us and the example to know how to sit at the feet of Jesus.
18:47 And Lazarus is the call for the Christian to be a witness for Christ. A witness for Christ. You know what I love about Lazarus's life as a witness, bringing people to Jesus? You will not find one word recorded of Lazarus ever saying anything in the bible. He's the silent witness.
19:13 In other words, Lazarus's transformation was so profound that he didn't really need to speak, people just needed to look at him. You know what's amazing is that there's a popular phrase that goes around, preach the gospel and when necessary use words. Have you heard it? I don't agree with it. It's nice, but it's not true.
19:32 When we witness, we preach the truth. We declare the word of God. We explain the gospel. Nonetheless, I see where they're coming from and I agree in part. Lazarus didn't say a thing because Lazarus was so altered by the power of Christ that his life alone testified to who Jesus was and what he's able to do in your life.
19:57 And in the physical, he came from death to life. And in the spiritual, it's the same for you and I. And here's what our concern should be, that the resurrection power of Jesus should be on display. Why? Because when people look at you, they see something has happened to you.
20:14 At one point, you were dead and now you're alive. You talk different. You walk different. You react different. Something happened to you.
20:27 What is it? What is it? And I'm sure Lazarus did not hesitate to say, though it wasn't recorded, this man touched me and he rose me from the dead. You can say the same thing spiritually. We have a lot of Christians that know how to talk the talk.
20:44 And the power is in the walk. And the only thing that could transform you today from just being an empty, ineffective believer, professing believer in Jesus Christ at least, is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ crashing into your heart. Martha is a servant, Mary is a worshiper, Lazarus is a witness. All these three things should be true in our lives. And what's amazing is that in this chapter of Mark chapter 14 as we go back there, Jesus, by the spirit, wants to focus on the worship element.
21:22 Wants to highlight what true worship looks like. And I argued today, again, as I said earlier, that this is the dimension in which many of us need clarity on. Many of us need to understand and fully grasp what it really means to worship Jesus. We're really good at witnessing. We're really good at serving.
21:48 But can we be honest? Where are we at in personal devotion? Where are we at in true worship before others? And we see here in verse three, that Mary came, interrupted the whole gathering, and brought a bottle of perfume, and she broke it, and she gave it to Jesus. We're told here that it was on his head, but in John it was at his feet from head to toe.
22:17 She lavished the Lord with her love. Now what Mary did wasn't out of the ordinary, by the way. You realize that. Right? Because in another scene with another man named Simon, not the leper, but the pharisee in Luke seven, people confuse Luke seven as the same incident as what's happening here with Mary of Bethany.
22:36 It's not the same occasion. It's a different occasion where Jesus comes to a pharisee's house and a sinner comes into the room, a woman, and she wipes his feet with her tears and her hair, and he forgives her in that sight. But you know what Jesus said to the Pharisee? Listen to these words in Luke seven forty six. When he looks at Simon, because he knew what he was thinking about this woman, he says, you did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
23:05 You know what that implies? That it was the custom of that day that when you were a guest at someone's house, they would wash your feet and they would put a perfume, a little dab of perfume and oil on your head. Just as being a host that is considerate. And so when Mary comes to anoint Jesus, wasn't out of the ordinary. It was what they did in that day.
23:26 Here's where it was different. You remember this? It's not that she just anointed his oil his head with oil, she broke the flask. She didn't provide just an ounce of it. She didn't just put a dab of it.
23:39 She shattered the bottle and covered him with it. Now when you break a bottle and pour something out, you are intending not to reserve one drop. You're not planning to contain anything. You're not planning to reserve any amount. Your intention is that In that moment is, I'm going to give you everything that I have in this container, in this very moment.
24:05 That's where it was special. That's where people would have would have dropped their mouths. That's where people would have been stunned and paralyzed to see that a woman, as you know, took this ointment that was worth a year's wages of a man's salary. And in a few seconds, spilled it all over the Lord. And what we see here is that if this flask symbolizes anything, if we say that this flask represents a life, I could tell you that there are many people that attend church that reserve much and keep much back.
24:51 And there are those like Mary, who the cup of their self ambition is completely dry because they've already rid it at the feet of Jesus Christ. Which one are you this morning? You honor Jesus. You recognize Jesus. You wanna be a good host of Jesus being in your life.
25:12 So you you dab some oil on his head and you provide some recognition and some honor? Or did you, in the moment you met Jesus Christ, break the neck of that bottle and saying, Lord, there's nothing I hold back. Anything and everything that you ask of me, I give to you joyfully without a regret in my mind or without a calculation in what my future will look like if I serve you completely. It's yours. Those in their hearts who can testify and say, my cup is empty.
25:53 And you know in your heart, come on. You know in your heart what you're keeping back. I've talked to enough people after messages where they say, I know that there's more I can give, but I just can't. You know it. We don't have to sit down and have a three hour counseling session.
26:09 Your heart testifies whether or not what I'm saying is true of your life. And as one preacher said, your attendance this morning doesn't prove your salvation. Your attendance this morning does not prove your salvation. What did you do with the bottle of your life in response to Jesus Christ? What are you holding back today?
26:35 He knows and you know. Men may not know, but you know and God knows. Look what happens here in verse four. While this intimate act of worship has shifted the atmosphere of fellowship in this room, we read that something begins to happen as well and there's criticism. Verse four, there were some who said to themselves indignantly, why was this ointment wasted like that?
27:03 For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. They scolded her. Now, what's upsetting about this is not the fact that she's being scolded, that's given in the Christian life. What is concerning about the scripture is that it wasn't the unbelievers doing it.
27:25 It wasn't the religious elite doing it. We are told in different gospel accounts that it was the disciples and it was instigated by Judas. The followers of Jesus Christ are the ones pointing the finger and scolding this woman in this very act. The ones that have traveled with him, that have been sent out to preach for him, that have done miracles in his name and cast it out devils, they are the one now demonizing the woman and belittling what she's offering to the Lord. And I read this last night and I thought, Lord, surely you're teaching us something.
28:04 Surely you're showing us here that it is possible for those who even claim to walk in your ways, serve you, and do things for you, have titles and positions, but don't understand what worship looks like. You know what's amazing is that this this act of passionate, sacrificial, unreserved adoration that Mary is performing is based on a revelation. It's based on something that she knew. Look at verse eight here. When Jesus corrects them in verse, seven rather.
28:42 For you always have the poor with you whenever you want, you can do good to good to them, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could, and she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. Jesus knew why she was doing this. Because Mary clicked into something about Jesus and his final destination that the disciples still haven't gotten yet. He says two things, you will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me.
29:11 And secondly, she's preparing my body beforehand for burial. How many times has Jesus told the disciples, Hey, this is my end. I'm gonna be handed over, crucified, killed, and I'm gonna raise from the grave. And we are told over and over again that it just fly over their heads. And then they just move on.
29:29 And then Jesus does it again. In one ear, out the other. And then Jesus says it again, and it they didn't get it. And what I see here is that when Mary, perhaps in Luke 10, was sitting cross legged at the feet of Jesus, who knows what Jesus said? Did he tell her the same thing?
29:48 Did he reveal his end and his purpose on the earth? Surely, she got it somehow because it registered. And she understood, he's gonna die. And there's no doubt that she understood his power and his ability to conquer death because she saw Jesus raise her brother from the dead. I mean, John 12 happens right after John 11.
30:10 What's John 11? The resurrection of Lazarus. She was there when she heard Jesus say, I am the resurrection and the life. And she called. He called forth Lazarus' name from the tomb and he came up out of it.
30:20 She witnessed it and it clicked for her. He has power over death. And so this act of worship, don't doubt it for a moment, is because it was stirred by a revelation. She understood something at least in part of the sacrifice of Christ, of the resurrection of Christ, of the provision of Jesus Christ. You know what that means?
30:45 The disciples didn't. You know what that means? You know why there are so many Christians in America today that are not passionate for Christ? That are not self given over to him completely? That are not consecrated onto the Lord?
31:02 Well, I learned from this because they're limited in the revelation of Christ. It's as simple as that. It's as simple as that. Lukewarmness Lukewarmness is the result of you not just hearing it, but really believing it and grasping it. See, these disciples here, they've heard it over and over and over.
31:25 And I argue that you have people in churches today like the disciples who've heard about what Jesus has done for them. Just like these men. They've heard it. They had the best preacher in the world preach to them. They slept over.
31:37 They ate with them. They traveled with them, and they received it, and they heard it just like you. Week after week, and me, week after week after week. That doesn't mean things are gonna change. There's no difference in them.
31:51 And additionally, not only do they not have it in their own hearts when they see somebody. When they see somebody that that lives for Christ, really living for Christ. Willing to do anything for Christ, consume with Christ, longing for Christ, perpetually, continually, consistently, growing in passion and desire for Christ. Not only do they all understand it, but they even criticize it. Why are you going so far with this?
32:19 Why are you being so extreme with this? It's amazing in America, you can be extreme about everything except Christ and be praised for it. Sports fan, you can be a fanatic and you'll be praised for it because everybody's a sports fan. Right? A business person, oh, they're just really hardworking.
32:35 You can be passionate about everything and not really be criticized for it, but when it comes to the person of Jesus Christ, that's where scorn comes. But there are some like Mary who are smitten by him. They've understood something of who he is. They've seen him touch their family members. They've seen him touch the worst of the worst.
32:56 They've been exposed to the resurrection power of Christ and they themselves have experienced it and they can't help. Nobody told her to do this. She was compelled to do it. She was drawn to him. But it goes deeper than this.
33:13 This is why you don't skip over the gospels because they seem to be similar. If there's any encouragement for you to read through the gospels, realize that even the same stories, there's a different angle presented in different gospels. When you come to John chapter 12, I want you to see something. Flip back and forth with me, please. They scorned her because they apparently said this could have been given to the poor.
33:33 Right? These disciples were apparently concerned about those who needed things. But again, I don't put the blame on the disciples fully, because these disciples were just sheep and they were just influenced by the main perpetrator here, Judas. Judas was the one according to John that criticized Mary and it became contagious because complaining is contagious. Scorn and mockery and gossip is contagious.
34:07 And notice here, John by the Holy Spirit gets an insight. Surely he didn't have it during the ministry of Jesus on earth, but later on, when he penned this letter, look at verse six of John chapter 12. He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. This makes more sense now.
34:34 Judas wasn't arguing about this because he had some righteous cause and had a misguided understanding of worship. No. Judas here wasn't concerned about anything other than himself. It wasn't that Judas had a limited view of worship, it's that Judas worship something else and it was money. And when he saw his God being wasted on the true God, he was infuriated.
35:06 Do you have the belief that Jesus maybe knew that Judas was taking money as a treasure of his ministry? I wonder. Can you imagine? Jesus throughout that time knowing that Judas took out of the money bag and he still let him be the treasurer. That's amazing.
35:31 And perhaps the reason why people can't worship Jesus I'm not talking about praising God in song. That's not what I'm talking about, whether you lift your hands or jump up and down. That's not that's not worship necessarily. Talking about a heart that lives on the altar of sacrifice daily. That's worship.
35:49 Is it possible that the reason why so many people don't know true authentic worship is because like Judas, even though they come to the services, he they have a title in the church, they they have been doing things, mission work like Judas said, their true God is something else. Judas had a different God in his heart this whole time and it was mammon. He worshiped comfort. He worshiped possessions. He worshiped pleasure.
36:18 He worshiped money. And you can be in close proximity to Jesus like Judas was and still have your affections on something else greater than Jesus. See close proximity to Jesus, again, doesn't prove anything. Close proximity to a building, close proximity to other Christians, even witnessing him doing many things doesn't prove anything. Surely the the way is narrow.
36:49 And it's amazing here that Judas was so disturbed because this is how he was calculating this moment. Why did you give up that bottle of perfume? Because you could have just given it to us, we could have sold it, and what? Give it to the poor? No.
37:06 So that I can make my wallet a little bit fatter than it was before. He's not angry because he's misinformed. He's angry because he missed an opportunity. And what's so amazing is that after this, he realized that he had to create his own opportunity. See the danger of loving other things, including money, is not that you don't know how to truly worship God and give him what he has do.
37:34 It's that over time you have the potential of doing what Jesus did and that's betray Jesus for that very same thing you worship. Because what does Judas do? When you come back to Mark 14 verse 10, then Judas Iscariot, who is one of the 12, went to the chief priests in order to betray him. That was right after this whole scene. That was right after when when Judas realized, I missed out on a large sum.
38:00 I missed this opportunity. He starts to create his own. And perhaps he was so upset that Jesus rebuked him in front of everybody else on top of that, that he says, I'm done with this whole thing. And he moves out in verse 11, and when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money because that's what he truly worshiped. And if that's you this morning, which is very likely the God of the Western world.
38:32 Notice that like Judas, you'll be very disappointed. The very thing that you gave so much over to, the very thing that you betrayed Jesus for will disappoint you. You'll end up throwing that thing away like he did. But we come back here and we realize that after this criticism takes place, Jesus speaks up in verse six. But Jesus said, leave her alone.
38:55 Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. This is so refreshing because Mary doesn't have to defend herself. She didn't need to speak up for herself. She didn't need to explain her motive.
39:07 She didn't need to do anything because the Lord stood for her. And the Lord knew what was in her heart and the Lord know knew what was her motive. And so God himself steps on the scene and speaks on her behalf. And I find it quite amazing that the very same service that the disciples scorned was the very same service that Jesus says was beautiful. You want to be free in 2021?
39:35 Be concerned with what Mary was concerned about and that was one thing. The opinion of one man and a room filled with people and that was the God man. You wanna be unleashed to true worship? You wanna be free into giving Jesus what is due unto him? Do what she did.
39:51 Don't be concerned about the opinions of men, even those in the same church as you. Imagine if Mary asked the opinion of Judas before she did this. Hey, Judas, I was thinking, I wanted to give this to Jesus. What do you think? Oh, no.
40:07 No. No. No. Sell it. We can give it to the poor and salivating at the mouth.
40:12 And I believe that many things that can be beautifully done for Jesus are being sabotaged because people are fearful. People don't know how to take commanding orders from the Lord himself. People are concerned about the scorn and criticism of others. People don't know what it's gonna cost them if they move forward in terms of their family life, their business life, their future. But if you're like Mary and you are concerned about the opinion of one person, living before the audience of one, you will know true worship.
40:43 And like Mary, you will offer a fragrance, not just unto the Lord, but into a room filled with people. True worship is seen in this, being occupied with what Jesus thinks. See there are people unlike Mary that when they're in a room, life filled with others, they're not thinking about Jesus primarily, they're thinking about those around them. And what made Mary special is that she had laser focus devotion to the Lord. It was like everybody else was pushed into the back scene, and that the spotlight came upon Christ.
41:20 And she didn't need to boast about anything, she just came to perform this act knowing that she perhaps did not have another opportunity to do so. And so she gave everything to the Lord. And what's amazing is that if your heart is stirred this morning, hear me very carefully, if your heart is stirred this morning, because there could be Judas's here today. I'm fully aware of that. Look, if Jesus had a ministry of twelve and one of the 12 was a Judas, it's possible that in every church there could be one too.
41:53 God forbid. But what do we see here? If your heart this morning is stirred saying, Lord, I want that. I want true worship. I want to give to you.
42:06 I wanna imitate that. I want this dimension of my life to be to be altered and changed and sanctified. I want you to be encouraged, because look what Jesus says about her in verse eight. She has done what she could. She has done what she could.
42:25 God does not set a bar that's called being pleased for the same for every believer. It's not that he has a standard and that it's the same for all men and all women and all his children. If you don't reach that standard, you can't please him. Here's what's beautiful. He looks at what you are able to give him.
42:43 He looks at your ability. He looks at your availability. He looks at your circumstances. He looks at your context. He looks at you father that works hours a day to provide for your family.
42:52 He looks at you mother and sees the children that you are raising and you are bone tired by 6PM. He looks at you student that is studying certain credit hours in a semester and you feel like you're doing nothing else but reading books. He looks at you and he says, just do what you can. People often ask this, so I want this much time in my prayer life and I feel like I can't give him as much time in my reading life and my same answer is given to what Jesus says here. Do what you can.
43:23 And as long as your conscience is honest before yourself and before God, he will look at what you are able to give him and say, this is beautiful. This is beautiful. Be free from legalism today. Be free from this idea that you have to pray a certain amount of hours a day and that you need to read certain amount of chapters today. As long as you know that you're giving him what you can, know that he will say, this is precious in my sight.
43:53 There are some seasons that I tell the Lord, I say, Lord, when I was studying, I said, Lord, I can't give you what I used to give you, I'm gonna give you what I can. And there was such a freedom in that. I wasn't caught up in, I'm not doing it the way I used to do it. I'm not reading the way I used to read. I'm not praying as long as I used to pray.
44:12 I knew because of what Jesus says here. I knew because of God's character that he saw it and he esteemed it the same as when I had much more time before school and after school. So you give him what you can and know by the authority of the Bible, Jesus will say, this is precious. And to Jesus, it was more than just beautiful, because he says something astounding. He says something profound.
44:41 He says something that probably put the whole room in shock as a response to the criticism of these disciples. Verse nine. And truly, he's like on top of this, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, which she has done will be told in memory of her. Think about the implications of that. This gospel we heralded to all the nations from east to west, north to south.
45:17 And Jesus says, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, what she has done in this moment will be coupled with that message. Really? Out of everything that we've seen in the gospels, this is the thing that you wanna set up as a memorial for eternity? Out of all the demons that were driven out? Out of all the acts of faith that were performed?
45:41 Out of all the incredible things that we read in the gospels, this is the very thing that you wanna elevate. You wanna elevate so that wherever the gospels preach, people would also hear this. It's amazing what the Lord will set up as a memorial before him, as a pillar in his sight when men don't consider the significance of it. I'm sure brothers and sisters, when we stand before the Lord, we will be shocked to see what Jesus will praise and we will be shocked to see what he will disregard. Our Lord has a different standard of appreciation.
46:16 He looks for a different he has a different evaluation process that you and I do. And my question is reading this, why? Why this? Coupled with the gospel, how is this something that people are are in need of hearing? And this is what I argue, we have reason to believe that as the gospel would go forth, this woman's act of worship would serve as an illustration of the appropriate response to the very gospel you just heard.
46:52 As you hear about what Jesus has done, what he's able to do, he says, I want you to look at the revelation that Mary received, the same revelation that you received, but in greater ways, in deeper ways, and realize that's what I'm looking for as a response. Unreserved, nothing held back, complete devotion, breaking your life at his feet, and giving it with no intention of putting the pieces together back again. That's what God wants from us. You know what's amazing? We read in John twelve three that when she did this, when she poured this ointment out on his feet, it says, he she wiped his feet with her hair.
47:39 She came low. See, Mark, we're told that it came on his head, but she came low at his feet in this act of worship and she she untied her hair, put it to the side, grabbed his feet, and began to dry his feet with what? With what first Corinthians 11 says about a woman's hair, it is her glory. I submit my glory to your feet. Everything about who I am, what I might boast in, my identity, my purpose, what men may praise me for, I give it and I lay it at your feet, Lord.
48:19 It's your glory now. You know what's so amazing about those who worship in this way, who are surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ based on the revelation of his goodness? The very ointment that she poured out on him came back on her. She carried the very same fragrance that was on Jesus. Do you wanna be that kind of believer?
48:48 That when people come in to contact you, they get a sent of Jesus? Or do you just wanna be a Christian that goes to church and check off your religious conscience? I wanna be that kind of believer. That when people walk by me, when they talk to me eye to eye, at the same time, they can walk away and say, Christ is in that man. Christ is in that young lady.
49:14 Christ is in that businessman. Christ is in that student. Christ is in that mother of four. Christ. You want that?
49:25 Break the bottle of your life at his feet. Say, Lord, I hold nothing back. I give it all to you. And the consequence of that is that people will know it. You don't have to say much.
49:41 You really don't have to say much, just like Mary didn't have to say much, just like Lazarus didn't have to say much. What is this week all about? Well, we can hear familiar stories again and it's important to hear about how Jesus fulfilled prophecy and but so much happened during that week. And Jesus said, wherever the gospel is preached, what she has done will be proclaimed, and that's what just happened today. Isn't it amazing that what Jesus predicted and said what happened two thousand years ago is happening in 2021?
50:12 He was right. And so I make an invitation to you today. Again, it's beyond you just being in close proximity to the church or being around believers or even having a title in the church and even doing things for, Judas was doing all those things. Like Judas was doing all those things. Do you worship him today?
50:39 Yes, brother. I just did for the past the past, you know, an hour or so. I was no. No. No.
50:45 Is your heart broken at his feet? And you say, Lord, it's all yours now. Whatever you say, whatever you do, you're my Lord, and I do this gladly. Let's pray. Father, this morning, we take heed to the word of a story that would be heralded alongside with the gospel.
51:43 And on this Palm Sunday, Lord, we realize on this very same week this this event took place. And Lord, in this in this very in this very sanctuary, we sense as though you have drawn us into that room that we just read about. And we see that precious scene where you, Lord, were leaning and reclining at the table filled with people standing and sitting and conversing, and Mary comes into the into the room and offers worship as a reflection of who she was in her heart toward you. Lord, we ask because we know it's possible for an entire church to be faithful according to the letters in Revelation. We ask that in this church, Lord, that every person would be a true worshiper.
52:46 Every person. Lord, you've given us stories like this so that we can be warned, so that we can be convicted, so that we can examine ourselves. And we just pray, Lord, that if there's any reservation in our own lives, not pouring out every ounce of who we are before you, that every person here would not even consider the lid, they would just snap the neck and pour out everything. And, Lord, thank you that it doesn't have to be dramatic. Thank you that we don't need to make some kind of, physical response to that necessarily.
53:27 It's a matter of the inward man. It's a matter of inside of who we are, Lord. You see that more than anything else. And Lord, in this moment, we don't think about what our boyfriends are gonna think if we worship you like this. We don't think about what our parents are gonna say.
53:48 We don't think about our futures, just like Mary didn't consider how this would affect her financial situation. We just say, Lord, you are worthy for what you have done. You are the resurrection of the life. I give you my life. And, Lord, in this place, you know, just like every person in here knows, if they will give up every drop.
54:13 And so, Lord, we are humbled, we are convicted, but we are also encouraged to know that we can have the same fragrance of Jesus upon us. That's what we want in this life, lord. And that can only come from true worship, true surrender. Receive it in this place, Lord. In a world that is twisted and stinking in sin, we give you the ointment of a consecrated life.
54:44 We pour out to you the perfume of surrender. We give you our hearts, and we place our lives into the hands of the one who gave it to us in the first place. Lord, may every person in here know the freedom that you will determine what they can give you as beautiful. They don't need a public ministry. We don't need a platform.
55:08 We don't need a sum of money to give. We give you what we can, and you will crown it as a memorial. You are a good God. You're wonderful. We praise you for coming down into this world and humbling yourself for our sake.
55:34 Lord, may we have that posture of worship, especially in this week as we prepare to be reminded of the cross this Friday. We bless you now in worship in the dimension of song. May the words that we sing be true of our lives. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
55:55 You can stay seated if you want. You can stand if you want. Whatever you do, in these final moments, just give to the risen Lord recognition for his beauty.
