"Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people."
While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time."
Good Morning my beloved,
To God alone be the glory!
Jesus Christ is the most compelling, most controversial, most revolutionary Person in all of human history.
Though He never wrote a book, His profound Words have continued to impact the lives of millions and millions of people for more than two thousand years. In Luke 21:33, Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."
Worship is an expression of adoration, an act of love that can take many forms. The Greek verb "proskynéō," means to go down on one's knees as an expression of humility and adoration, it is metaphorically described as "the kissing-ground" between believers and Christ. If you were to walk into any church, and you might find it difficult to determine who or what the focus of the worship is. In fact, you don’t have to look hard to find churches that fail to worship God, because many churches today believe they can worship God on their own terms, according to their desires and personal interests, of their own design. While that might be very entertaining, I suffice to say, worship is about God, not about us. True God-honoring worship is a product of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of His people and is always be focused on Him. To put it another way, poor worship is in direct relation to a poor knowledge of God. A poor knowledge of God is the direct result of superficial preaching about Who God is and what it means to love the Lord. It's not enough to believe in God, you must believe that God Who He says He is. God is the great I Am. He is God the Father. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Lord your God. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Most High. He is the Almighty! Who God is not is The Big Guy in the sky, The Man upstairs, Big Papa, He is not Allah or whatever perverted pagan name that comes to one's imagination.
In other words, true God-honoring worship is the natural extension of faithful expository preaching of the Word of God. The relationship between faithful preaching and God-honoring worship is inseparable. Scripture is the only source for legitimate, biblical worship of the Lord. In Matthew 4, Jesus said to Satan, "For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’" God is not honored in superficial preaching, mindless worship, thoughtless praise or empty religious tradition. God does not accept worship or acknowledge praise that is not done properly, even worship in His name directed at Him.
Listen as I read Isaiah chapter 1:11-14, "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them."
God despises superficial worship today just as much as then. Jesus faced hypocritical worship in His day, we're all very familiar with it, He unleashed the most blistering words that ever came from His lips, pronouncing curse after curse after curse. In fact, He declared the religious leaders to be serpents, and a brood of vipers. Praising and glorifying God is not an external activity, a robotic recitation of the right words, from cold, dead hearts, it's the natural response that flows from the heart. If your heart’s not in it, then it is not true worship.
Let us pray
Father, we thank You for Your Word. May we take it to heart, that it might profoundly change our lives and the lives of others through us. Lord, we pray that You would enable our hearts to be full of praise, adoration, exaltation, that we would know the true joy of worship that is pleasing tou You. Reveal to us those whose hearts You have prepared that we would not miss even one opportunity boldly share the Truth. Take our lives and do wondrous things with them, to accomplish Your purposes, for Your glory. Our hearts rejoice for the work You will do in hearts even today of those who are still under Your condemnation, I pray that You would grant them the gift of repentance and make them willing to embraced Christ as Lord and Savior. In His name we pray.
Amen
Today's Message: Shadow of the Cross
Open your Bibles with me to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Mark 14:1-11. Today, we're turning a corner today in the book of Mark. In the first part of the book we’ve seen Jesus as Servant and in the
final chapters as Mark moves us toward the cross we will see Him
as Savior. These are the events that lead up the most contested event in history, the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which is interesting, since there is actually an overwhelming amount of
reliable evidence outside the Bible, far more reliable than any other
historical event. It is estimated there were around 30,000 people that were crucified in the time of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I daresay there is only One of those whose name is
still remembered today. Satan hates the cross, the resurrection that secured his destruction, that's why all his false religions always attacks the cross, because the cross of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of the Christian gospel. Without the cross of Jesus Christ, without the substitutionary atonement, satisfying the divine justice of God, by which the sins of those who believe are forgiven, you cannot have Christianity. Therefore, there is no greater need for humanity than forgiveness, it is unforgiven sin that sentences men to hell and to the judgment of God. No wonder we who are redeemed rejoice when we talk about the cross!
In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul wrote "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." As we begin to look at this portion of Scripture, as all the events that begin to play out, it's important to remember that the invisible hand of God is behind it all, supernaturally orchestrating everything, sovereignly directing every detail, exactly as He had ordained it. Nothing happened by accident, there are no accidents with God! I don't know about you, but I find great comfort in knowing that no matter what may be going on in our lives, no matter how difficult the circumstances of life may be, God is sovereignly in control.
"Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people."
While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time."
Let's look at verse 1, "Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him." It’s important to understand, the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away, is significant, because it tells us it's still Wednesday, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him." According to God’s ordained plan the Lord Jesus was to die exactly at three in the afternoon, the very hour when the Passover lambs were beginning to be slaughtered on the Passover, the exact time the religious leaders did not want to have Him killed, according to verse 2, "for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people." The fact that Mark underscores the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away, that is not incidental information, it's very specific. It is implied that man is not in charge, with all of his best efforts, cannot interfere with the unchangeable plans of God. In other words, everything is coming together in God's plan and precisely at the right moment on God's divine timetable.
If you remember, Jesus even said "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No
one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I
have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up
again. This commandment I received from My Father." There were many times they would have taken His life, but because God is always in control, all of their attempts were always unsuccessful. What makes this even more amazing, is even their attempts to intentionally avoid killing Him on a specific day at time specific were unsuccessful. It's important to mention, that kind of precision can not be accomplished by man, it is a marvelous example of God's sovereignty! When we look at the cross, we see not just the will of His Father, but
at the same time, we see the wickedness of the self-righteous religious leaders who hated Jesus
Christ. How tragic that the people who are supposed to lead people
to God, were the very same people who were plotting to kill the sinless Son of God, in cold-blooded murder. In John 7:25
"So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?" They were fed up with His holy perfection, His power and authority, they had enough of His making them look foolish. They had to get rid of Him, in order to justify themselves. Jesus would not die after the Passover, as they had wanted, but on Friday, the Passover, exactly as God had planned. There is a precious irony found in that, isn't there?
The cross is the most heinous, vile act ever perpetrated by wicked and deceitful men in human history and simultaneously the greatest act of love the world has ever or will ever know. He suffered for sins He didn’t commit, to secure the salvation of sinners who don't deserve it. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." It's important to understand that the purpose of the cross is not for us, it's so that God might give to His beloved Son a redeemed people for the purpose of giving glory to Christ, to worship and praise Him forever. By the way of Jewish ancient tradition, when you wanted a bride you had to pay a dowry in exchange for her hand in marriage. In some countries, the dowry system is still in use today as the assurance of the man’s commitment to the marriage. Let's look at it another way, the price that Jesus had to pay for His bride was to offer Himself on the cross as a sacrifice to satisfy God’s justice for sin, the redeemed are the bride and Christ is the Bridegroom.
Verse 3, "While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head." When Jesus first came to Bethany from Jericho, He came to the home of
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Some have suggested the presence of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, may indicate that Simon may have been some sort of relative. So, Jesus was invited to be the guest of honor at
the home of Simon, a former leper, who wanted to show his gratitude, because He healed him from leprosy.
We know that Simon was no longer a leper or he wouldn't have been able to host the dinner. Leprosy in that day was a very infectious disease, attacking the skin, nerves and mucous membranes. Lepers were considered outcasts, because it incurable by man, Jesus was the only cure. Simon was a fairly common name, in fact, there are ten Simon's in the New Testament and 20 more mentioned by Josephus. We learn from the other Gospel accounts that Mary, a true worshiper of Christ, is the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She is not the sinful woman in event recorded in Luke chapter 7, which occurred in the house of a Pharisee, who was also named Simon. John fills in more details in chapter12 "Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him."
Women in this culture were to stay in the background, Mary boldly enters the room with an alabaster vial, sometimes called a box, it was actually a bottle with a long neck, of very costly perfume of pure nard, or spikenard, a plant from India which had a strong, distinctive aroma, that
clings to skin and hair and continues to give off its unique perfume,
it's aroma was an indication the very best had been offered, we learn
elsewhere it was worth about a year’s wages, it was probably all that she really possessed. Some have suggested it may have even been a dowry. Alabaster was a very thin, almost transparent, marble like material which was often used for special moments like this, pouring perfume on people was kind of a common courtesy. It was customary to wash the feet and anoint the head of a guest in your
house, but Mary goes above and beyond, she wiped His feet with her hair. Matthew tells us "she poured it on His head." It was a lavish gesture of love for the preparation for the death of Christ, even though it occurred six days earlier on Saturday. He also says "the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."
Luke 10 tells us Martha was distracted with all her preparations and Mary was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. Martha came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Martha didn't get it, did she? It's not bad enough that she didn't get it, in her frustration, she audaciously makes one of the most graceless statements ever made by a human being to Jesus, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?" God speaks to us through His Word, doesn't He? What distraction is it that keeps you from the Word of God?
Verse 4, "But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted?" Mary wasn't wasting the perfume, she used it to anoint Jesus in an unselfish act of love, adoringly poured out an entire vile of expensive perfume, because He is going to die, she couldn't restrain herself. Typically, this was done after someone died their body would later be anointed for
burial after some time had passed. After the body
was anointed, the flask that contained the ointment was to be broken
and laid with the body in the tomb. Well, that wasn’t possible with Jesus
because His body wasn’t in the grave very long! John tells us that that the disciple was actually "Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him," led by a traitor, apparently some of the others joined in. It's clear he was ready to betray Him on Saturday when they arrived in Bethany. In reality, the money never would not have gone to the poor anyway.
Verse 5, "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her." It isn't all of a sudden that he's concerned about the money, Judas knew things were coming to end, he wanted to get whatever he could before it did. John tells us "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it." Apparently, he had been embezzling the money all along. They were scolding her, the Greek verb "aganakteó," is an expression of anger, they literally ridiculed her for her beautiful gesture of love and adoration. Can you imagine how Mary must have felt, after pouring out everything she had as an act of lavish worship. I believe her heart must have been completely broken. What good is your gift of worship, if you keep it to yourself?
Verse 6, "But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me." The word bother is the word "kópos," that means to strike a crushing blow that is so hard, it seriously weakens or debilitates. Her good deed was not a waste, it was a beautiful work, an outward sign of the inward good. Jesus knew that He would be put to death as a criminal, and that He would be buried without the proper anointing. We can't be dogmatic as to whether or not Mary interpreted her actions in this way, but she knew was coming. We know the disciples were still resisting the idea of Jesus’ death, that is except for Judas.
Verse 7, "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me." Jesus is greater than everything, even ministering to the poor, more than renovation projects in the sanctuary, or taking the Gospel to the unredeemed of the world. He's not suggesting these aren't important, He's is merely stating the obvious, it's a matter of priority. There’s a time for
charity, and a time for worship, this is a time for worship. Don’t be so
focused on earthly needs that you neglect to worship Jesus Christ. We must never put the value of anything over Jesus! Worship is the ultimate priority, that has an eternal impact. Service is necessary, but worship is always better than service. To
Mary, He was worth everything that she had. To Judas, He was worth
thirty pieces of silver. By the way, He's borrowing the language from Deuteronomy 15, "For the poor will never cease to be in the land."
Verse 8, "She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial." Mary couldn’t stop His death, but she did what she could, she lavishly anointed His body for the burial. May her selfless sacrifice be an encouragement to you to sacrificially devote yourself to Christ above all else. Verse 9, "Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her" This selfless act of lavish love and worship by one humble woman recorded in the New Testament has been translated into more than 1,617 languages and is known all over the world. More than two thousand years have gone by and we're still talking about her act of love today, aren't we?
That brings us to verses 10-11, "Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time." What a contrast, the beautiful sacrificial act of love from Mary to the ugliness of Judas. In Psalm 55:12-14, David experienced betrayal, "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng." As much as I believe we'd all like to think of ourselves as faithful,
committed Christians, devoted to Christ, we likely can't even imagine ourselves ever being
caught in a situation where we would deny the Lord, still there are no doubt
times we have all denied Christ. Perhaps to avoid potential conflict
with a co-worker, friend, a family member. Perhaps, trying to keep
from offending someone, or maybe we're afraid of embarrassment or
ridicule because we are ourselves are guilty of some attitude or behavior we know Scripture clearly condemns. The
truth is, all of these situations translate to being ashamed of Christ. I confess, that early on in my ministry, I avoided teaching on certain passages or topics. It wasn't that I was ashamed of Christ, but I knew that many I love and care about would be deeply hurt or greatly offended. Although I have frequently been accused of being hateful, insensitive, inciting conflicting, that has never been my intention. I lovingly and compassionately do everything I can to make sure that no one I love, no one within my reach doesn't know the Truth. I would rather offend someone I dearly love with the Truth, honoring My Lord than to comfort them with a lie, dishonoring Him. It was that hard Truth that literally saved my life!
Luke tells us in chapter 22, "And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve." Matthew us when Judas went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus." Satan was already moving on Judas before the Last Supper, he was acting as Satan's agent. No one had to twist Judas’ arm, under the influence of Satan, this unregenerate man willingly put himself against Jesus. Judas’ immediate reaction was proudly fight for himself. Mary reacted by humbled herself, she was willing to give up a whole year’s wages to honor Jesus. If your instinctively always seeking to defend yourself, to justify your actions, fighting against what Jesus is trying to do in your life, there's a battle going on and you're likely doing Satan's work. Salvation transforms a sinner, the unregenerate man resists that transformation. Take a moment and let that sink in! As Christians, we really
need to grasp this.
Keep in mind, Satan didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross, quite the opposite, because he knew what the cross meant. Do you remember when Satan was using Peter as a stumbling block, "Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s." It was God who wanted Jesus to go to the cross, Satan wanted to stop it. I've often been asked, "If Satan wanted to stop it, why did he move on Judas to betray Him?" Remember the beginning of our text, "The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people." That's Satan was counting on, if f he can get Judas to betray Jesus, the Sanhedrin would be forced to move fast and the crowds would riot and stop God’s redemptive plan for Jesus, and for His grace shown to sinners like us. How tragic that Judas walked and talked with Christ every day, living in His glorious presence, he heard Him teach, he claimed to love Him, and yet his betrayal remains the greatest example of wasted opportunity the world has ever known, even as it led to accomplishing God's Divine plan. Some of you claim to belong to Him, you pretend to love Him, but you live your life rejecting His teaching. Like Judas, you're willingly choosing to betray Him and no one's twisting your arm. You can either stand with Judas or stand with Christ, but you can't do both! Judas' refusal to submit to Jesus led to his downfall as we'll see later.
I pray that from this day on, you will challenge yourself to be a Mary and not a Judas.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved