1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:06,760 You know, there's an interesting passage in the book of Hebrews, 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,240 chapter 12, which is not our text, but I just want to remind 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,440 you of this verse where we're told to offer up to the Lord 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,520 acceptable worship for we have received a Kingdom that cannot 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,600 be shaken. You're part of that Kingdom. 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,720 If you're in Christ, you're, you're experiencing a taste of 7 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,720 that in this very room that while everything around us is 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:34,000 shaking, you've been adopted and you have inherited a Kingdom 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,760 that cannot be moved. You're part of a program, a 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:42,200 cause, a hope that can never be taken from you. 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,360 I just love to know that I have a future that is secure. 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,440 And so do you. If Christ Jesus is your master, 13 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,600 and if He's not your master today, my hope is that after you 14 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,240 hear about Him, you would not wait a moment before you bend 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,520 the knee and give yourself to Him and believer if you do know 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:07,560 Him, but maybe your heart has grown cold over the past few 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,120 days or weeks. My prayers that this passage 18 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,480 that we will study will warm it again and you will find yourself 19 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,800 at His feet. So turn with me to Mark chapter 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:25,960 14 and our main focus is going to be the first 9 verses, but I 21 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:30,120 want to read the 1st 11 verses just to have a wider 22 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,760 understanding of what is taking place here. 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:44,550 Mark 14 beginning in verse one. And here's what the Word of God 24 00:01:44,550 --> 00:01:48,630 says. It was now two days before the 25 00:01:48,630 --> 00:01:53,310 Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief 26 00:01:53,310 --> 00:01:56,230 priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by 27 00:01:56,230 --> 00:02:00,320 stealth and kill him, for they said not during the feast, lest 28 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:02,120 there be an uproar from the people. 29 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,120 And while he was at Bethany, in the House of Simon the Leper, as 30 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,960 he was reclining a table, a woman came with an alabaster 31 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,920 flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the 32 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:17,720 flask and poured it over his head. 33 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,480 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, Why was 34 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,120 this ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have 35 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,640 been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. 36 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,400 And they scolded her. But Jesus said, leave her alone. 37 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,640 Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing 38 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,040 to me. For you always have the poor 39 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,960 with you, and whenever you want you can do good for them, but 40 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,000 you will not always have me. She has done what she could. 41 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,360 She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 42 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,880 And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the 43 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,640 whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. 44 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:03,360 Then Judas Iscariot, who is one of the 12, went to the chief 45 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,120 priests in order to betray him to them. 46 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,360 And when they had heard it, they were glad and promised to give 47 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,960 him money, and he sought an opportunity to betray him. 48 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:19,960 Lord, I'm fully convinced that unless you help take these 49 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:26,080 truths and these insights and wrap them in your power, the 50 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,720 effect of what this message is intended to produce in our lives 51 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,920 will not be accomplished. So I ask you, with complete 52 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:36,920 dependency and the presence of your people, with your people, 53 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,640 we ask you, touch our hearts. You've designed this truth. 54 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,680 You have preserved this testimony to do that, and so we 55 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,640 pray that You would assist the delivery of this word with the 56 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,840 grace that would minister to the innermost parts of who we are. 57 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,200 This is our heart. Cry together. 58 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,920 And so, Lord, whatever weakness is on this platform, may you 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,760 cover it with your power and may we experience that power 60 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,280 together. In Jesus name we pray. 61 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,400 Amen. In the plain reading of this 62 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:17,920 passage, we see here that Mary's beautiful act of devotion, and 63 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,200 you're not told it's Mary here, but you're going to find out it 64 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,000 is Mary. That this displaying this 65 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:28,600 demonstration of love being lavished upon Christ is 66 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:35,480 surrounded by two other texts that are meant to describe the 67 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,720 plot to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. 68 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,680 Did you catch that? Look again at verse one and two. 69 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,280 I won't read it, but just your eyes can catch it. 70 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,120 We read here about how the chief and the scribes, the chief 71 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,200 priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest them. 72 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:53,320 And then we go into Mary giving her heart over to the Lord. 73 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,800 And then at the end of that scene, you look at verse 10 and 74 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,960 what do you read? Then Judas Iscariot, who's one 75 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:03,840 of the 12, visited the chief priest to plan to betray him. 76 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,080 This is not accidental. This is intentional. 77 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:14,120 And what you have here is Mark trying to highlight this woman's 78 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:20,040 exemplary type of devotion by surrounding it with this tragic 79 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,160 disloyalty and deception on the part of the chief leaders and 80 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,000 Judas. And this is one example among 81 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,600 many, which is a useful reminder for us that not all biblical 82 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:36,760 authors were strictly bound to adhering to this chronological 83 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:42,040 timeline of describing events. Mark here and and other other 84 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:46,800 authors from time to time will actually organize their accounts 85 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,440 thematically. And when they try to convey a 86 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,440 theme or want to try to teach a lesson with a theme, they will 87 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,360 even go to the point of putting the order of things in different 88 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,880 places. And why that's important is this 89 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,040 is an ancient practice and this is something that you and I have 90 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,920 to understand because people will kind of look at the Gospels 91 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:10,280 and say, well, this contradicts that. 92 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,280 And, and it's not, it's not a contradiction. 93 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:15,640 It's because back then there was this kind of habit of writing in 94 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,240 a way in which they weren't strictly adhering to this kind 95 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,800 of timeline of events. And more importantly, this is 96 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,160 the Holy Spirit inspiring this for us. 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,480 And So what you have here just in the overview of the text is 98 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,000 you have the structure of the Scripture here highlighting and 99 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,400 contrasting true devotion with terrible disloyalty. 100 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,520 And if the structure of the Scripture can speak to us in 101 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,760 itself, how much more the substance of it? 102 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,800 And so you and I have to pull our chairs in a little deeper 103 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,040 because we're going to prepare to feast on what it is that the 104 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,120 Holy Spirit wants to say between these verses. 105 00:06:57,960 --> 00:06:59,680 And so let's look at verse one and two again. 106 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:03,880 We read here that in these two verses in the introductory part 107 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,920 of this chapter, that the chief priests and the scribes were 108 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,280 seeking how to arrest them by stealth and kill him. 109 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:11,440 They've reached the boiling point. 110 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,440 Enough is enough. He's embarrassed us enough. 111 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:16,760 He's winning too many people already. 112 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,640 We have to come up with a plan to destroy this Jesus of 113 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,120 Nazareth. And this came after the Lord 114 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,280 concluded his teachings about the end of the world and his 115 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,600 triumphant return to the earth. He's wrapping up and he already 116 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,000 has already. And we find him now dining at 117 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,880 the house being hosted by some of his followers. 118 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,240 And the person who owned this house was Simon the Leper. 119 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,280 He's an interesting character that we can't spend too much 120 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,400 time on. Obviously, he's not a leper at 121 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:47,600 this point. He must have been healed because 122 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,280 a leper can't host people at his house. 123 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,320 But here he is with Christ, the one who changed his life surely, 124 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,400 And others who are going to find out are in the presence of Jesus 125 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,840 as well. And when you read these verses, 126 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,200 you almost get the impression. It's a false impression that 127 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,880 while Christ is being treated and loved and adored and 128 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:10,200 honored, he is unknowingly being plotted against by his enemies. 129 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:15,400 And that is not the case at all. Christ is not absent minded of 130 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,720 what's taking place behind the scenes and the only way that you 131 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,520 can capture that truth is when you go to Matthews parallel 132 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,400 account of the same teaching. So go to Matthew 26 and I want 133 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,920 you to look at the first few verses for you to see the full 134 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,120 picture here of what's taking place with Christ. 135 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,200 So let me remind you as you're turning there that in the 1st 2 136 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,640 verses of Mark, we're told by the narrator that there's a plot 137 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,559 against Christ, and then the scene shifts to the Lord who is 138 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,040 reclining at table with those who were not his enemies but His 139 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,920 allies. But look what Matthew says in 140 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:53,400 the first verses of Matthew 26 when Jesus had finished all 141 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:54,400 these sayings. Pause. 142 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,800 What sayings? The sayings that you and I have 143 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,040 been studying for Mark 13, all the discourse about the last 144 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:01,960 days. It's the same here in Matthew 145 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:06,080 26, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to his 146 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,760 disciples, you know that after two days the Passover is coming 147 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,920 and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. 148 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,520 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in 149 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,800 the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and 150 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,920 plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill 151 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:25,720 him. Do you see it? 152 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:32,280 What does Matthew add? He adds the fact that Jesus was 153 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,560 completely aware of what the chief priests and the elders and 154 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:38,240 the scribes were planning against him. 155 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,880 He was fully acquainted with their plans. 156 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,040 And this is what we're supposed to get from this. 157 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,280 Because even before the chief priests gathered, look at that 158 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,360 word in verse three of Matthew 26, Then the chief priests. 159 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:54,480 So they didn't even have, they didn't even come together yet to 160 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,920 talk about it. They didn't even have the chance 161 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,280 to scheme it. And yet, in verse one and two, 162 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,400 Christ already reveals to his own disciples, I know what's 163 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,920 coming, and I'm telling you what's coming to your great 164 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:14,480 comfort and mine. Nothing takes our God by 165 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:16,960 surprise. Nothing. 166 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,200 Even before a plan is conceptualized, Jesus Christ 167 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:27,360 knows every step in it, every ingredient of it. 168 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:34,160 Christ is fully aware and that should instill a rock solid 169 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,400 confidence in your soul that should cause you to be able to 170 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:43,560 go to bed sweetly and soundly every single night because there 171 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:47,560 is no accident. There is no doctor report, there 172 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,680 is no sudden persecution. Absolutely nothing catches Him 173 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,760 by surprise. And if you hold the hand of Him 174 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:02,560 who knows every single one of your tomorrow's, the more you 175 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,320 mature in that truth, the more you're aware of that, the more 176 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,640 you allow your heart to believe it, the less you'll be caught 177 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:13,400 off guard as you travel through this life. 178 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:18,160 But there's more to rest in, even in this truth because 179 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,520 notice what the chief priests and the elders and the scribes 180 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,400 decided to do in terms of the timing of arresting Jesus and 181 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:27,400 killing him. It's in Mark, but if you're 182 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:28,440 there in Matthew, it's also there. 183 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,080 Look at Matthew 26 verse 5. But they said, what did they 184 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,360 say? Not during the feast, lest there 185 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:42,360 be an uproar among the people. So this was so important to them 186 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,920 as they're planning out to finally pull the trigger and and 187 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:48,920 get a hold of this Jesus of Nazareth. 188 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:51,800 They decided that we can't do this during the Passover. 189 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:57,080 There's no way there will be public outrage if we apprehend 190 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,880 them and put them on trial. And so let's wait till everybody 191 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,480 goes home, the city gets quiet once more, and we can do this 192 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:08,040 with greater stealth. And what's interesting here is 193 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,080 that when you read the Gospels and if you study the Gospel, 194 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:14,240 then you understand what That Jesus Christ was crucified 195 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,000 during the feast and that it was made a public affair. 196 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,280 Thousands of eyes were there to behold this tragedy. 197 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:29,040 Telling us what? That God overturned the plans of 198 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,960 His enemies. They wanted to do it after the 199 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,760 feast, but God ensured providentially that would happen 200 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,360 during the feast. Do you know why? 201 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,320 Because no matter what the enemies of Christ hoped for, it 202 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,800 was already planned and prepared that the Son of God would 203 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,040 fulfill what the Old Testament pronounced and pointed to, that 204 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,680 the Lamb of God would take away the sins of the world. 205 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,640 And the Lamb of God was to be slain when all those other lambs 206 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,720 were slain. To show these things are futile. 207 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,320 The one who is suspended between heaven and earth, He is the Lamb 208 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,280 of God, and He's the only one who can take away the sin of the 209 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:09,840 world. So what do I make of this then? 210 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,560 Here's what you make of it. Now only does God know what will 211 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:17,920 take place, but He also ensures that His plan will take place. 212 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,800 You can't lose, Christian, if this God is your God. 213 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:30,920 And we see Christ here even in these verses given to us in form 214 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,320 of narration, giving you and I the hope to trust that he's in 215 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,120 control. He is in control. 216 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,880 But this whole thing is not primarily about Jesus proving 217 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,040 his ability to deal with his rivals. 218 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,440 We're not talking about one single plan here. 219 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,720 There is another plan in this story, not from an enemy, but 220 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,760 from a lover of Christ, not from a foe, but a friend. 221 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:00,720 And it's this woman that we read about briefly. 222 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,000 She appears on the scene in our original text in Mark chapter 223 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,440 14. I want you to look at verse 224 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,840 three again once more. And while he was at Bethany in 225 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,400 the House of Simon the Leper, as he was reclining at table, a 226 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,960 woman, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of 227 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,560 pure nod, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it 228 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,240 over his head. John tells us in John chapter 12 229 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,360 verse three that this woman was no other than Mary of Bethany. 230 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:32,920 And this is not the first time that the Lord Jesus interacted 231 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,920 with Mary of Bethany or her siblings. 232 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,360 There is a total of three accounts in the Gospels where 233 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:44,080 Jesus with Mary providing us profound truths in the 234 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,120 relationship with one another. And it is no different here. 235 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,680 We read here of a familiar scene, if you grew up in the 236 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:56,480 church, that this woman, she comes and she provides something 237 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,080 for Christ, this perfume. And though there is difference 238 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:03,640 here between the Gospel accounts, there's one thing that 239 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,680 Matthew, Mark and John agree on, and that is how expensive this 240 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,680 ointment was. Look again at verse 5, and you 241 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,120 get an idea of what kind of value we're dealing with here. 242 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,920 For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 243 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:21,600 denarii and given to the poor. So you're talking about the 244 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:28,000 wages of a commoner, salary bottled up in that one flask. 245 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:34,360 And something compels Mary of Bethany, who knew Jesus. 246 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,960 This is the last time she's going to interact with Jesus. 247 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,800 But something moved her soul in this public sphere, though, in a 248 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,280 home. Many people packed in that place 249 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,040 to break open this flask and to anoint Jesus with it. 250 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,320 The question is why? What moved her to do this? 251 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,280 And Jesus gives you the answer. It's in verse 8. 252 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,080 And if you understand what Christ is saying here, you will 253 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,560 realize how remarkable this woman was. 254 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,360 It says she or she has done what she could. 255 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,720 She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 256 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:15,920 Do you see this? Christ, knowing her heart, tells 257 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:18,200 those who criticize her. You don't understand what's 258 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,800 taking place here. This woman is anointing me with 259 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:24,440 the revelation that I'm going to die. 260 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,160 This woman, and knowing that I'm going to be buried, wants to pay 261 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:36,000 tribute to me before I die. This is what Mary is operating 262 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,920 with, this, this knowledge that something's going to happen to 263 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,840 my master, and though I won't be able to see him again, I will do 264 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:48,440 what I can to lavish my loyalty and my praise and my adoration 265 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,040 even before others. So you know what that tells me 266 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,160 about Mary? Mary heard what Jesus said, 267 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,920 things that he told his disciples over and over again, 268 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,120 but she got it and they didn't. How many times did Jesus had to 269 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,400 explain to his disciples, I'm going to be betrayed, I'm going 270 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,720 to be arrested, I'm going to be tortured, I'm going to be put to 271 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,640 death, I'm going to resurrect. And they're staring at him like, 272 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,640 hey, who's the greatest among us? 273 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,480 Actually, that's what we're really concerned about. 274 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:23,720 And yet you have this woman who who wasn't part of the 275 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,200 three-year seminary like these disciples were, and she had more 276 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,880 insight than them. Oh, you think somebody, just 277 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,400 because somebody has letters beside their name in theology, 278 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:33,560 they have more spiritual insight? 279 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:38,800 Not necessarily. So I see a Mary who had more 280 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,480 knowledge and understanding of the purpose of Christ and those 281 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:49,280 who spend every day with him. So she really listened and she 282 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,840 really registered he, he's going to die. 283 00:17:54,800 --> 00:18:00,760 And so at the right time, she prepares a sacrifice. 284 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,440 She pours out on him in preparation for his burial, 285 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,280 something from her own heart. But you know what makes this 286 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,960 even more astounding to me? Go to John chapter 12 and you'll 287 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:14,640 see it. It's worth it if you turn there, 288 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,520 because when you go to John chapter 12, you'll see something 289 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:19,880 similar. But there's something about the 290 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:23,880 surrounding context that adds a depth to this woman's devotion. 291 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:33,680 John 12, verse 3. Mary therefore took a pound of 292 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,040 expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet 293 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,000 of Jesus. So here we're told that she was 294 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:40,840 at his feet. Earlier. 295 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,680 We heard that she anointed his head and wiped his feet with her 296 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,240 hair. The house was filled with the 297 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,000 fragrance of the perfume, saying, what's insightful about 298 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,440 that? Oh, you can have a whole sermon 299 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,080 just on verse three. What comes before John chapter 300 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:01,640 12, John Chapter 11, What happens in John Chapter 11? 301 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,800 Lazarus dies. Lazarus is Mary's brother and 302 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,640 Mary and Martha reach out to Christ and ask him. 303 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,480 They beckon him. Please make way here because 304 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:16,880 this illness that we see our brother suffering with, it's not 305 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:18,520 going to end well unless you arrive here. 306 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,200 Jesus loving them, we're told in John 11 verse five, waited an 307 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,600 extra 2 days. You think Jesus doesn't love you 308 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:27,840 because He's keeping you waiting. 309 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,800 And yet we read there that Jesus loved them so he had them 310 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:36,800 waiting. He arrives on the scene and he 311 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,480 uses this moment for the glory of God to raise him from the 312 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,600 dead, to demonstrate the truth that He is the resurrection and 313 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,800 the life. And then you go into John 314 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,840 chapter 12 where Mary performs this act of devotion. 315 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:53,640 Here's my question to you. Why didn't Mary of Bethany use 316 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,880 her ointment to anoint her brother for burial? 317 00:19:57,840 --> 00:19:58,800 Have you ever thought about that? 318 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,000 Why? Why was that ointment preserved 319 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,240 in John chapter 12 when in John Chapter 11 her brother died? 320 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,280 Clearly a brother that she loved deeply enough to have Christ 321 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,600 come enough to believe for a healing, enough to intercede for 322 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,880 him. Why was that ointment still 323 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:17,480 intact? You would think that she would 324 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:22,000 lavish that on her brother. Instead, we're told that she 325 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,480 kept it for Christ. That's the language there of 326 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,840 John 12, verse seven, depending on your translation. 327 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,600 Jesus and defending Mary says this was kept for my burial. 328 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,040 Can I tell you why? Because as much as Mary loved 329 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:46,840 Lazarus, she loved Jesus more. That's what we're seeing here. 330 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,160 As much as she adored her brother, the memories with her 331 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,960 sibling, her heart was committed to Christ more. 332 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,720 And this is the quality of worship that the Lord deserves. 333 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,040 This is the kind of thing that he demands. 334 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,080 Listen, your supreme affection that it would be poured out on 335 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,360 Christ above anyone or anything else. 336 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,160 Do you think that's true of you, my friend? 337 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,640 Is that true of you? Can you say that sitting at the 338 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,920 the pinnacle of your passion is the person of Jesus Christ? 339 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,800 She broke the flask. She didn't put a drop here and a 340 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:29,960 drop there. She broke the neck of it. 341 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,760 Communicating what? I have no intention of taking 342 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,960 anything back. I'm not reserving an ounce of 343 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,560 it. I'm going to give it all to him. 344 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:45,120 I'm not sharing this with anybody else. 345 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,120 And she pours it out all in Christ. 346 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:51,360 And what's amazing here is John can't help you think that he's 347 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:55,160 writing this in his humanity. No, the spirit insight incited 348 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,000 him to do it, caused him to write about it, that when Mary 349 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,960 performed this act, when she let go of that perfume, the 350 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:06,480 fragrance filled the whole room. I wonder, as John wrote this in 351 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,680 his gospel account, that he can remember the scent. 352 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,720 But there's a lesson there that this kind of extravagant worship 353 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:20,400 rarely goes unnoticed when somebody has determined in their 354 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,280 heart that Christ will be above everyone, everyone and 355 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,480 everything. In a sense, there's a fragrance 356 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,280 that is carried with that kind of devotion. 357 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:33,120 Some will love that fragrance. Others, like those disciples in 358 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,160 the room, will hate it. And that's true in your life and 359 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,920 mine. That kind of consecration to 360 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,080 Christ will woo people, will move people, will convict people 361 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:42,680 and others. It will cause them to give 362 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:49,200 another reason to despise you. But the extent of Mary's adoring 363 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,960 allegiance to Christ doesn't even end there. 364 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,560 If you thought it ends there, it doesn't. 365 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,800 Because we're told here from John's perspective that when she 366 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:03,400 anointed the feet of Jesus, she took her hair and dried his feet 367 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,920 with it. Ladies, you can imagine what 368 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,840 that would do to your hair. She couldn't care less. 369 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,120 She could have used any other instrument, she could have used 370 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:21,960 anything to dry his feet, but at the feet of Jesus, she takes her 371 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:27,760 hair and dampens his feet. And that doesn't make much sense 372 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,280 to you and I until you read Paul's commentary about a 373 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,280 woman's hair in First Corinthians 11/15. 374 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:38,560 And we're told there that one of the unique adorning works of God 375 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,920 for the for the woman. We believe that there is male 376 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,480 and female here, by the way, and only male and female. 377 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,160 That one of the unique adorning works of God to make a woman 378 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,600 distinct in her features is that he has crowned her with the 379 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:02,200 glory of her hair. Connect that with what Mary is 380 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:03,040 doing. What do you have? 381 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:07,120 You have a woman who lays her glory at the feet of Jesus. 382 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,560 What is she communicating there, Lord, not only in the 383 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,080 preservation of this bottle, even in light of recent events, 384 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:21,000 do I want to tell you that You mean more to me than anyone 385 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,800 else? But I'm here now with my hair to 386 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,880 tell you that You mean more to me than me. 387 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,760 You mean more to me than me. If if I have to surrender my 388 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,200 glory at your feet, then so be it. 389 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:39,520 Let it stay at your feet. You know, there are some people, 390 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,160 they, they, they won't serve God unless they get some glory out 391 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:43,560 of it. They won't confess it, but down 392 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:44,880 deep inside, that's how they feel. 393 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,560 Here's a woman who died to her glory and surrendered it at the 394 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,400 feet of Christ. Take it. 395 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,480 Take the ointment that I could have used on anybody else and 396 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:00,040 take the very thing that I could boast in and take it for 397 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,240 yourself as well. You're starting to get what's 398 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,040 happening here, right? Because here's let me tell you 399 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,000 where we're ending. Jesus said wherever the gospel 400 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,120 is preached, what she has done will also be told in memory of 401 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:14,080 her. That is fascinating as a 402 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,320 commemoration. Can you think about this? 403 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:21,480 Wherever the gospel is heralded, this woman's act of worship will 404 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:28,120 be tagged with it. So here's where we're heading. 405 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,120 Mary is quickly developing into a model of worship. 406 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,000 So this woman here, she's at his feet. 407 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,440 But it doesn't end there. You come back to Mark 14. 408 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:51,950 Please look at verse 4. Your heart is moved by this. 409 00:25:51,950 --> 00:25:54,470 I hope my heart's been moved by this. 410 00:25:55,710 --> 00:25:57,310 But not everybody feels the same way. 411 00:25:58,310 --> 00:26:00,390 Look at verse four. There were some who said to 412 00:26:00,390 --> 00:26:04,870 themselves indignantly, why was this ointment wasted like that? 413 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,440 For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 414 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,960 denarii and given to the poor. How in the world could anyone 415 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:20,800 scold the scene? How can anyone feel the liberty? 416 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,200 Even if you internalized it? How could you even be visited by 417 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:29,280 such emotions and thoughts at this splendid display of 418 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,680 surrender? It's not surprising until you 419 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,480 look at John's account of it. I know you're flipping back and 420 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,120 forth, but this is what the Bible makes you do. 421 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:43,560 I'm sorry, when when you go to John, only John tells us who's 422 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,360 the instigator of this complaining. 423 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:47,840 Can you guess who it is among the 12? 424 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,440 John 12, verse five. But Judy, Judas Iscariot. 425 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,720 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, he was about to 426 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,000 betray him, said why was this ointment not sold for 300 427 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,280 denarii and given to the poor? So we're told by John, it's 428 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,520 Judas who spoke out. And then when you come back to 429 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,200 Mark and you see it in Matthew, it says some other disciples. 430 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:12,920 So how do we connect this? It's very easy. 431 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,040 Judas started it and then the others followed. 432 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,720 Complaining is contagious. Yeah. 433 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,880 And it takes a very spiritual man, a very discerning 434 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:29,880 individual in the presence of a murmur to not be contaminated by 435 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,600 it. So Judas speaks out. 436 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,880 And unfortunately, many of the disciples at this time did not 437 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,720 have that level of spiritual strength. 438 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,800 And so they joined in. And the chiding, You know, 439 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:44,800 that's why I'm very careful listening to people who 440 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:51,160 criticize those who serve God, especially without evidence. 441 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,920 I'm very, very slow to take what they have to say into 442 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,320 consideration. Because Judas here seems to be 443 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,280 righteous in his criticism, right? 444 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:02,760 This could have been sold for the poor. 445 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:07,680 The guy embezzled the money. The guy was a thief. 446 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:10,520 You know what's so tricky about Judas? 447 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,280 You and I studied about the Bible enough to know, and that's 448 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,880 become even a public term to describe somebody who's a 449 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,560 betrayer or traitor, right? He's a Judas. 450 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,320 She's a Judas. The disciples didn't feel that 451 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,560 way about Judas until after the fact. 452 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,520 In fact, when Jesus says one of you is going to betray me, what 453 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,360 did the disciples say? Is it I, Lord? 454 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,080 Is it I? Judas wasn't suspicious. 455 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,120 You know, if you think, Oh, yeah, if I was there and I heard 456 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:39,320 Jesus say that, I would lean over to Andrew, say it was 457 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,120 Judas. It's been Judas all along. 458 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:45,240 I knew it. No, they had no idea. 459 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,080 Isn't that scary? You can have a Judas in the 460 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:48,280 midst and not even know it. Really. 461 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:54,040 Wow. So here's Judas criticizing this 462 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,240 wonderful worshipper. He convinces others about the 463 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,080 criticism. Hey, listen, be careful what 464 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,520 other people say, especially about people who serve God. 465 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:10,120 And what I find here so amazing is that Jesus comes into her 466 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,960 defense. Look at verse six. 467 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:19,600 But Jesus said, but Jesus said, leave her alone. 468 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:25,440 Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing 469 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:30,120 to me. So you could just imagine the 470 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,440 scene, right? You have Christ reclining, you 471 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,000 have Mary anointing his head and at some point anointing his feet 472 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,800 and she's there with her hair drying his feet. 473 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,480 Judas is standing with the disciples behind him saying, 474 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,520 look at this, we could have done something for the poor. 475 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,000 What a waste. And some of the disciples says, 476 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,360 yeah, Lord, come on, this is just, this is a little too 477 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,600 extreme. And Jesus said, leave her alone. 478 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,560 Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing 479 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,920 to me. Don't expect carnal people to 480 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:02,320 understand worship. Don't expect people who have 481 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,760 never experienced Christ, like Mary who had a revelation of 482 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:09,200 Christ, to understand why you come to church once a week, more 483 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,080 than once a week, especially a church that has service at 1:00 484 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,280 PM. How inconvenient. 485 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,440 Don't expect everybody to understand it. 486 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,120 Don't, don't expect people to appreciate it. 487 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,200 There's some people who don't, who see what Judas saw in this 488 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:23,360 moment. A waste. 489 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:25,640 This is a waste. This is a waste of life. 490 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:28,440 This is a waste of your weekend. This is a waste of your money. 491 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,480 And Christ speaks up for her. But this is not about the world 492 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,440 criticizing a worshipper. This is supposedly disciples 493 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:48,080 criticizing a worshipper, which grants us further instruction. 494 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,280 There might be some who might not even understand the value of 495 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:58,000 what you do for the Lord. But who cares? 496 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:00,680 Who cares if people are not impressed with the ministry that 497 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:02,640 you're a part of? Who cares if people praise you 498 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,080 for the ministry that you're working in? 499 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:05,960 Do you notice what Jesus said here? 500 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,160 She has done a beautiful thing to me. 501 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,840 It wasn't beautiful to Judas and the crowd, but it was beautiful 502 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:14,600 to Christ. Isn't that enough for you to 503 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:19,280 stay motivated to serve Him? He thinks it's beautiful. 504 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:22,880 He's the one who loves it. He's the one who's moved by it. 505 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,760 That should be enough for you to get up another day and give Him 506 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:31,960 your heart once more to serve Him the capacity that you're in. 507 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,440 She has done a beautiful thing to me. 508 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,200 And listen, let's just make this about others maybe criticizing 509 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,600 or judging us. Be careful, believer, of looking 510 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,040 at other people and how they serve the Lord and judging them 511 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:53,120 or failing to appreciate them or encourage them. 512 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:56,800 You know, there's a verse that came to mind when I looked at 513 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:58,400 this part. It's in Romans 14. 514 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,640 Romans 14 deals with believers in the same church that may not 515 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,680 agree on certain things that may not worship in the same way. 516 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,920 You have some who have tasted of the grace of God, and So what? 517 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,800 They can go to the meat market and buy meat that has been 518 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:15,160 sacrificed to idols. And you would think that those 519 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:16,320 would be the less spiritual ones. 520 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:21,520 No, Paul calls them the strong ones because your strength is 521 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,400 determined by your understanding of God's grace more than 522 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,440 anything else. And so you had some who were 523 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,680 like, he's king, he's Lord. What are what are these things? 524 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,680 We pray over it, we give thanks for it and it's done. 525 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:36,720 It's dealt with. Let let's go, let's go grab a 526 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:41,400 steak or two. And then you had weak believers, 527 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,600 weak believers who maybe had that background of worshipping 528 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:49,960 in these temples. And so they they stayed away 529 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,720 from those kind of meats. And more than that, you had some 530 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,840 believers who didn't consider one day more holy than the 531 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,880 others, and yet others who had more strict adherence to certain 532 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,720 feasts and days. And so Paul here is is coaching 533 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:07,120 this church and what he's concerned about primarily for 534 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,640 the strong not to take advantage of their liberties to make the 535 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:16,640 weak stumble, but also for those who are weak not to judge those 536 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,720 who are strong and vice versa. Listen to this verse in Romans 537 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,560 14, verse four. Who are you to pass judgement on 538 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,640 the servant of another? It is before his own master that 539 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:34,040 he stands or falls and he will be upheld for the Lord is able 540 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,280 to make him stand. And later on, he kind of echoes 541 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,240 it, but he says, listen, if you're going to judge another, 542 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,560 realize we're all going to stand before the judgement seat of 543 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:49,200 God, meaning don't get so preoccupied about judging and 544 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,920 nitpicking and and trying to evaluate somebody's motives. 545 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:53,840 You have enough to worry about yourself. 546 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,640 You have to stand before God and give an account for your life. 547 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,080 But notice what he says here in verse four. 548 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,160 He says, why are you passing a judgment on another servant? 549 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:09,440 You're not his master. You can't confidently determine 550 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,280 that person's motive. You can't confidently say 551 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,960 whether they are this or that. Yes, there's fruit that we have 552 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,320 to be aware of, but this is deeper than that. 553 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,360 This is nitpicking and this is this is projecting. 554 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,440 What you think is right should be right for everybody, and what 555 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,760 you think is wrong should be wrong for everybody. 556 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:31,120 There's a whole stream in in the evangelical world that are 557 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,400 operating that kind of logic. Nothing black and white in the 558 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,120 Bible, but if you have that in your home, and if you do this 559 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,920 with your family, then you're less spiritual than this person 560 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,120 who doesn't have that in their home and doesn't do that. 561 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:48,600 Who are you to judge another's servant? 562 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:50,040 And then notice what he says later. 563 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:54,199 He says it is before his own master that he stands or falls 564 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,560 and he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 565 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,160 That means many things. Here's my favorite thing that it 566 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,520 means your criticism won't make him fall. 567 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,720 His master is going to uphold him if he is true. 568 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:13,120 That brings me comfort. I don't know about you. 569 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:19,240 That brings me great joy. That what men inside or outside 570 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:23,320 might say, that will not determine me standing on my feet 571 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,520 to serve my master. He's the one that determines, 572 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:32,760 he's the one that hires me, and he's the one who fires me saying 573 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:34,000 why? Why is that important? 574 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,360 And how's that connected? Notice that when you go back to 575 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,600 Mark chapter 14 and this woman who's being scolded, she doesn't 576 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,080 say one word. Jesus defends her the whole 577 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:48,120 time. Listen, you serve God long 578 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:50,640 enough. Satan won't let you do it 579 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:54,800 without discouraging you, putting fear in you. 580 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,760 Listen very closely to this. You have to understand that the 581 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,080 one who makes you stand or fall is your master, not any man. 582 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,600 And there are times in which, like Paul, where he defended his 583 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:07,520 apostleship for the sake of the gospel. 584 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,520 And there are other times where you have to be like Mary. 585 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:14,320 And what? Stay quiet and let Christ defend 586 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,280 you. I've had people tell me over the 587 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,000 years, you know, so and so said this, I heard this. 588 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,000 Maybe you should ask me, should you clarify? 589 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,400 I can't just run around and clarify to everybody everything 590 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:28,000 that they hear or say. I can't do that. 591 00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,440 Christ doesn't ask that of me. And that's no way to live in my 592 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,160 service to Christ. Christ, this is a preview. 593 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,680 One day will be the one who makes a plea for me. 594 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:40,440 He's the one who will speak up for me. 595 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,000 He can speak up for me in this life. 596 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,200 Surely one day He will speak up for me in the life to come. 597 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:50,960 So let me stay busy serving the Lord, worshipping Him, and 598 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:56,000 Christ will deal with the rest. Be free today in your worship. 599 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,000 We come back to our main text in verse 7. 600 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,480 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want 601 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:12,720 you can do good for them, but you will not always have me. 602 00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:18,000 What's Jesus saying here? Jesus is not saying that we 603 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:22,240 shouldn't take care of the poor, but this is a good word for 604 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:27,240 those who are so overly caught up in social attempts to 605 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:30,440 vindicate or to deal with people and help them. 606 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:34,560 That's important. But Jesus here prioritizes 607 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,600 worship, and from that worship, everything else flows. 608 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:41,120 But in context, what he's saying here is you guys are obviously 609 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,400 not seeing or seizing the opportunity at hand. 610 00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:48,960 I'm going to die in a couple of moments here. 611 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:52,440 You're not doing what she's doing. 612 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,240 You're supposedly concerned for the poor. 613 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:58,600 The poor will always be there. I will not always be here. 614 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:02,280 Do you guys, are you guys seeing what's happening here? 615 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:08,240 She clearly does, and so this is an indirect way of challenging 616 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:11,920 their lack of ability to understand the moment, the 617 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,840 prophetic significance of what's about to transpire. 618 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:28,400 Verse 8 has rescued me early in my Christian walk about my 619 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,000 service to the Lord, and I hope that if if it's not registered 620 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,000 yet in your life, that this would be the defining moment. 621 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:36,960 Look what Jesus says in verse eight. 622 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:45,640 She has done what she could. She has anointed my body 623 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:50,520 beforehand for burial. That little phrase. 624 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:57,280 She has done what she could, has healed me 10,000 times over, has 625 00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:59,400 comforted me beyond what you can imagine. 626 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:05,440 See, Christ doesn't measure the strength of our devotion the way 627 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:10,840 you and I might. He looks at your means and He 628 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:12,840 takes into consideration your motives. 629 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:20,400 So it's not about amount, it's not about the breath, it's not 630 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:24,880 about the public opinion. It's about your means as an 631 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,080 individual and your motives behind what you do. 632 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,280 Isn't that freeing? You know what's so encouraging 633 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,320 about this phrase? She has done what she could 634 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,200 remember. This is found in Matthew, and 635 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:40,120 this is found in John. Matthew and John do not include 636 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:44,280 that phrase, only Mark. What is the main theme of the 637 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:45,920 Gospel of Mark? You can say it out loud if you 638 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:47,720 know it. Jesus being what? 639 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:52,360 The perfect servant of God. Is it any coincidence that this 640 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:56,720 phrase is found here in a book that is focused on Jesus serving 641 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:59,440 God perfectly? Yes, as our fulfillment for 642 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,840 righteousness, but also as our example in service that this 643 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:04,760 phrase she has done what she could is here. 644 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:10,960 I'm talking to the heart that eagerly wants to serve the Lord 645 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,960 and make an impact for the Kingdom and wants to see as many 646 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,400 people touch for His glory. And you may feel limited, you 647 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:19,920 may feel like you don't have the resources or the platform or the 648 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,000 gifting. Remember what Jesus said about 649 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:23,320 Mary. She has done what she could. 650 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:28,120 And it is beautiful to me. It's beautiful to me, may not be 651 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:29,960 impressive to others. It might be even criticized by 652 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:33,320 this. Who cares when Christ is the one 653 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,440 who says she's done what she could? 654 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:42,680 And it's wonderful in my eyes. She's done what she could. 655 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,360 And then he says this astounding thing in verse 9. 656 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,320 And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the 657 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:55,560 whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of of 658 00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:59,960 her. Many wonderful things were done 659 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:05,480 in the presence of Christ towards Christ, in response to 660 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:10,320 Christ. But this is a unique tribute 661 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:18,200 that Jesus gives to this woman. It's being fulfilled now in one 662 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:23,080 way that we are Speaking of her. We are reflecting the memory of 663 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:27,160 her. But for Christ to verbalize this 664 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:31,640 commemoration, to say as the gospel is spread across the 665 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:35,720 globe, so also what she has done will be told in memory of her. 666 00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:41,240 In other words, Jesus wants the world to know this woman. 667 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:48,280 Jesus wants her memory to be considered, to be discussed, to 668 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:52,600 be studied. And in wrestling with this 669 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:56,680 thinking, what is it about what this woman has done for Christ 670 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:02,000 to to esteem her in such a way to make her a monument in some 671 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,560 sense, not to be worshipped, but to be considered. 672 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,560 And I believe that the fact that the Gospels included with this 673 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:14,200 testimony is meant to demonstrate the following, that 674 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:18,880 as you hear the Gospel, you would also have a strong example 675 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:21,200 of the appropriate response to the Gospel. 676 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:29,000 Mary is a model of worship. Makes sense, does it not? 677 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,640 That oil that she could have put on her brother or anybody else 678 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,320 is for you. My glory is yours. 679 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,920 That was her response to what? Knowing that Jesus was going to 680 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:46,440 die? What's your response? 681 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:55,080 What's your heart towards Him? That's the point. 682 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,760 Because what Christ said about her, He expects of you and I. 683 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:04,640 The beautiful thing that she has done is something that He 684 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:10,480 expects from His people as a bouquet of devotion to Him, man 685 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:14,080 and woman. This isn't just a sentimental 686 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:17,000 thing that women are prone to. This is what He expects of all 687 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,560 His disciples in the way that you can show it. 688 00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:22,480 Here's where I end. You know what's so amazing about 689 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:25,160 Mary Bethany? She's mentioned three times in 690 00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:27,640 the Gospel accounts. One time in Luke chapter 10, 691 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:31,480 another time in John Chapter 11, and lastly in John chapter 12 or 692 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:36,760 in Mark chapter 14, Matthew 26. If you study carefully, you know 693 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:39,960 what you'll discover about Mary of Bethany, that at some point 694 00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:43,520 and every time she is mentioned, she's found at the feet of 695 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:48,160 Jesus. So in Luke 10 when Martha is 696 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:52,160 hosting Jesus, typical Middle Eastern woman running around 697 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:57,640 trying to feed everybody. Mary, we're told, was found at 698 00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:00,920 the feet of Jesus listening to His Word. 699 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:05,880 John 11 Jesus arrives to Bethany News gets to Mary. 700 00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:11,040 Mary runs to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit tells us that she fell at 701 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:12,960 His feet. So what did she do the first 702 00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:15,160 time? She was listening to His word. 703 00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:16,520 What did she do with the second time? 704 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:20,880 She was praying at his feet. And what do you find in the last 705 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:25,840 time? Worship, Listening, praying, 706 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:29,960 worshiping where? At the lowest possible point, 707 00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:37,680 years ago, I wrote a poem about Mary. 708 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:42,040 Because this insight just moved me to my core. 709 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:50,000 I haven't shared it in years. I haven't even read it myself in 710 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:51,320 years. But I thought this would be an 711 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:53,160 appropriate time to end this message. 712 00:44:55,400 --> 00:45:04,640 This poem is called at his feet. Find me at His feet, receiving 713 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:09,040 His words divine. Though troubles may surround me, 714 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:14,840 my peace is in the vine. Find me at His feet. 715 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:22,040 Those service demands my day. I gaze upon His beauty, lest my 716 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:28,480 heart drifts astray. Find me at His feet, as sorrows 717 00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:34,440 blanket my soul. To Him I give my pain, To Him 718 00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:42,160 who's in control, Find me at His feet As tears mask my face. 719 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:48,360 Confusion has paid a visit, yet my anchor is His grace. 720 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:53,920 Find me at His feet with the revelation of His death, my 721 00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:58,720 ointment poured out in full, and with it my every breath. 722 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:04,080 Find me at His feet, longing for the one above. 723 00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:09,360 Though voices may attack me, they are muted by His love. 724 00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:16,680 Find me at His feet, my glory. Relinquish there, for in the 725 00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:22,840 posture of surrender, His scent becomes my share. 726 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:27,920 Find me at His feet, drawn by the fragrance of grace. 727 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:31,000 For every other pleasure in life. 728 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:38,000 Fall short of His embrace. Find me at His feet through joy 729 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:43,480 or in dismay. In every season of my life, at 730 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:52,040 His feet is where I stay. Pray with me if the praise team 731 00:46:52,040 --> 00:47:03,160 can come up, please. Thank you, believer. 732 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:09,880 Are you at His feet today or did you pick yourself up and go 733 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:13,760 somewhere else? I encourage you to find yourself 734 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:19,040 back at His feet, knowing fellowship with Him, knowing 735 00:47:19,040 --> 00:47:24,880 intimacy with Him. Maybe you need to rediscover the 736 00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:28,800 joy of that place, and this is your time to communicate with 737 00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:33,640 the Lord and ask Him to revive. You're longing for Him. 738 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:40,880 In good times and in bad. Mary was found at the feet of 739 00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:45,360 the Lord. Some people find themselves at 740 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:47,200 the feet of the Lord only in bad times. 741 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:50,080 Other people find them at good times, and they don't know how 742 00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:52,360 to bring their troubles or their concerns to Him. 743 00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:56,280 Mary teaches us to stay there no matter what. 744 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:03,920 If you're not a Christian in this place, Jesus invites you to 745 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:08,000 know a love that is incomparable, a love that will 746 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:11,800 have you so content in your relationship with Him that 747 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:14,960 whatever Christ asks of you, you can give it up without 748 00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:24,220 hesitation. Before I even pray, I'm not 749 00:48:24,220 --> 00:48:27,140 going to even pray right now. I'm going to allow you to pray. 750 00:48:27,220 --> 00:48:30,620 Spend time with the Lord. In a minute or so, the team will 751 00:48:30,620 --> 00:48:36,320 lead us in song, but I asked you to pull out that bottle of 752 00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:39,400 perfume and pour it out on him, for he is worthy.