Jesus and Mary: What comes into your mind when you think of worship? Going to church? Singing worship music? In the story of Jesus and Mary of Bethany, Mary gives a beautiful picture of what true and proper worship is. When Mary anoints Jesus, it’s a picture of extravagant honor with an audience of one. Recorded on Dec 31, 2023, on John 11:45 – 12:11 by Pastor David Parks.
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Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, we’re back from a little Christmas break last week to continue working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. We’ll be working from John chapter 11 into chapter 12, considering a beautiful picture of true and proper worship in the story of Jesus and Mary of Bethany. As we begin, let me ask you a question. What comes into your mind when you think of worship? When I was a kid, I think if you asked me that question, I would’ve thought of going to church. And this makes some sense as we call this a worship service. But is worship limited to Sunday morning or whenever there’s a worship service? I think when many people think of worship, they think of worship music. And certainly, Biblical worship includes singing songs of praise to God. The book of Psalms in the Bible is a hymnal, a whole songbook used by God’s people for thousands of years in worship. But worship isn’t limited to music any more than it’s limited to a particular place/time. So, what is worship? Well, the answer is so clearly seen in our story today when Mary responds to Jesus with extravagant honor. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 11:45. We’ll read through it and unpack it as we go.
John 11:45–54 (NIV), “45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.” Ok, let’s pause here. If you’ve been with us for the past few months, we’ve seen a similar reaction throughout this middle section of John’s gospel. People are divided over who Jesus is. Some respond in faith, as it says in v. 45, “many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.” At the same time, others oppose him, including those in positions of power like Caiaphas, the chief priest. Now, it’s interesting that Caiaphas made this prophecy about Jesus: That Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and also for the scattered children of God and that he would bring them together and make them one. For Christians on this side of the resurrection, we believe this actually came to pass. This prophecy was true! But Caiaphas wasn’t a believer in Jesus. He interpreted this prophecy only through a political lens. He thought that Jesus would unite the Jewish people in rebellion against the mighty Roman Empire, and they’d be squashed like a bug. Then, as they say, “…the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” Do you hear the emphasis? “…our temple and our nation.” In other words, if we, the Sanhedrin, allow Jesus to continue his ministry, we’ll likely lose our power/authority. So they decided not to do what was right but what was politically expedient. So, “from that day on,” John reports, “they plotted to take his life.” The hour of Jesus was drawing near. Let’s continue.
John 11:55–12:8 (NIV), “55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him. 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 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. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Let’s pause one more time. So, in Mark’s account of this story, he records Jesus saying, “[Mary] has done a beautiful thing to me…She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mk 14:6-9) So today, because of what Mary did for Jesus, we’re telling her story in memory of her. But what exactly did she do? Well, John says this took place six days before the Passover. That means this happened one week before the cross. For John, time slows way down the closer we get to the cross. Chapters 1-11 cover some two and a half years of the life and ministry of Jesus. Then, starting with Chapter 12 and continuing through Chapter 20, John only covers one week. Of course, if it’s true (as John believes), this would prove to be the most important week in the history of the world. But here, one week before the cross, there’s a dinner held in Jesus’ honor. From Matthew and Mark’s accounts, we know that it was held at the house of Simon the Leper. Simon was possibly the father of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Or maybe he was just another person Jesus had healed (presumably of leprosy) who wanted to honor him, too. We don’t know. At any rate, Simon hosted while Martha served and Lazarus reclined at the table with Jesus. This party was possibly the same setting as Luke 10. There, Luke says Martha was doing all the work and complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping but was just sitting at his feet. It might be the same dinner, but it could’ve happened another time, too. Jesus spent quite a bit of time with these three. But then, in the middle of dinner, Mary came out with a jar of very expensive perfume. I imagine the buzz of conversation at the party started to quiet down, then turned into shock as people realized what Mary was doing. She broke open an alabaster jar and poured it out on Jesus. Matthew and Mark say she anointed his head with the fragrant oil. John says she anointed his feet and wiped them with her hair. But the whole house was filled with the fragrance. Back then, it wasn’t common for a woman like Mary to let her hair down as she did in mixed company. But clearly, Mary doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. She has an audience of one. She only cares that Jesus knows how much she cares for him and appreciates what he has done for her. Judas assessed the value of the perfume at $60,000-$70,000, which makes this truly an extravagant gift. Judas objected to all this, saying, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?” But Judas wasn’t upset because he had a real concern for the poor. Judas was the treasurer, the keeper of the money bag that held the offerings of people who gave to support the ministry of Jesus, but John says that Judas was a thief. He helped himself to whatever he wanted from the donations to the ministry. Can you imagine stealing from Jesus? Ironically, in Mary’s offering, which Jesus said was beautiful, Judas could only see that she had stolen an opportunity from him to steal more from Jesus. Tragically, later, Judas would betray Jesus for only thirty pieces of silver. If pride was the ruin of the devil, greed, it seems, was the ruin of Judas. Modern Western people, beware of the sin of greed. It’s an easy trap to fall into and is the ruin of many. One of the ways to protect yourself against greed is to practice generosity like Mary. Mary’s family was very wealthy to be able to afford this perfume, likely imported from India. Their wealth fits with what we saw from the number of mourners at Lazarus’ tomb and their ability to throw such a large party to honor Jesus here. But their wealth was not hoarded; it was used wisely/generously. Of course, you don’t have to have a lot of money to be greedy. You can be poor and greedy. Or you can be wealthy and be greedy. It’s no different with generosity. You can be generous with a lot or a little. At any rate, Judas is motivated by greed, while Mary’s generosity is motivated by her gratitude and love for Jesus. But then, when Jesus says you’ll “always have the poor among you,” he isn’t saying that the poor don’t matter. The whole Bible is clear that the poor and those who are vulnerable or in need matter a great deal to God. It’s just that this act of generosity, this act of worship, was special. Why? Because Mary anointed Jesus as the true King, the Messiah (which means The Anointed One). But this also served to prepare his body for death. Next week, in the triumphal entry, we’ll see Jesus welcomed as a king into Jerusalem. But here, he was anointed not by a prophet, priest, or king, not by those in power. But by his friend, likely a single woman named Mary from a little town named Bethany. But this is so fitting for Jesus, isn’t it? Jesus is a different kind of king. And he seems really touched by what she did. Only later would Mary understand how her actions honored her friend more than she ever could’ve known at the time. Let’s finish this story.
John 12:9-11 (NIV), “9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” This is God’s word. Our passage ends by foreshadowing what Jesus taught later that same week at the Last Supper. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (Jn 15:20) If Lazarus was living proof of Jesus’ power and authority over life and death, then the authorities decided he must be killed, as well. The structure of this story is interesting to me. We have a story of extravagant honor, a beautiful picture of true and proper worship, bracketed by dishonor/disdain from the enemies of Jesus.
So how might we apply this teaching to our lives today? Well, first, we already considered the temptation of greed and the power of generosity. And this might be a lesson some of us need to meditate on. In our consumeristic culture, greed isn’t even considered embarrassing, much less sinful. But it can be just as destructive to our soul and our relationship with God as lying, lust, or anything else. Beware of the sin of greed. Second, we can’t help but compare/contrast the vastly different responses of people to Jesus in this passage. We have the Jewish people, some of whom believed in Jesus, while others alerted the Pharisees. We have the religious and political leaders who made up the Sanhedrin, who resolved to sacrifice Jesus, not as the atoning sacrifice needed for the sins of the world but as a scapegoat to protect their positions of power. We have Mary, who poured out this unimaginably costly gift as an act of worship and devotion to Jesus, not caring what anyone else thought about it. Now, she doesn’t get much time in the story, but we also have dear Martha faithfully serving and making sure the dinner is running smoothly. Maybe focused a bit more on doing things for Jesus than on simply being with Jesus (can anyone resonate with that?). We have Simon who opened his home to Jesus. We have Lazarus reclining at the table, restored to life by Jesus and restored to relationship with Jesus, and probably just thankful to be there. And finally, we have Judas Iscariot, the betrayer and thief. So, who do you resonate with in this story? Who might you learn from? One of the ways we can apply the teachings of the Scriptures is by learning from the examples, both good and bad, of the men and women in the Scriptures. Maybe you could think back through the signs of God’s power and presence in your life and use those experiences to strengthen your faith, like the Jewish believers. Or maybe you could use your time, energy, and talents to serve Jesus like Martha or your home, like Simon. Or maybe you need to focus on just being with Jesus like Lazarus. Or maybe you need to learn to worship more freely and generously like Mary. Honestly, I have things I need to learn from all these characters and their interactions with Jesus. Third, and finally, what does this story teach us about what worship is? We see that worship is so much more than a church service or singing worship music together, although those are both good things to do! God’s people have always been devoted to regularly gathering, singing songs of praise, hearing the Scriptures read/taught, praying, giving, and serving one another so that the body of Christ might be built up in love. But true and proper worship can expand to include all of life if it brings honor to God. When you think about worship, I hope you’ll remember Mary. And remember the beautiful gift she gave Jesus and how she didn’t care what anyone else thought. She had an audience of one.
There are several traditional accounts of what happened to Mary of Bethany after this. One is that she went with Martha and Lazarus to the island of Cyprus because of persecution, where Lazarus became a bishop of the church. Another has Mary joining the Apostle John in Ephesus, where she eventually died. And a third has her and her siblings planting a church in the south of France where there’s a church that bears Martha’s name to this day. Or perhaps Lazarus stayed in Cyprus while Mary went on to Ephesus in Turkey, and Martha went on to Southern France. I guess we’ll have to ask them one day. But today, may we follow their example and recognize and honor Jesus as our King, our Messiah, and our Savior, who lived and died and rose again so that we might be forgiven for our sins and receive life everlasting by faith in him. And may all of our lives be offered as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God (Ro 12:1), a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God (Php 4:18). Let us pray.