Worshipping Jesus is Never a Waste

Have you ever wasted anything? Time, Money, food, maybe even a gift?

When we give gifts to the people we love we give what we can afford, nothing too extravagant and nothing that leaves us with nothing.

But, there was a woman in the Bible named Mary who did just that. She wasted something that was very costly on Jesus. She was so overwhelmed being in the presence of Jesus that her worship seemed to others as wasteful.

In both Mark 14 and John 12, we see this woman anointing Jesus with an expensive perfume. She was showcasing her extravagant love and devotion for Jesus. Jesus viewed her worship as a costly sacrifice of love and not as a waste of something costly.

There is a lot we can learn from this woman about worshipping Jesus.

Mark 14:1–9 NLT

1 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.” 3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. 4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly. 6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? 7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

PRAY

The depth of love and sacrifice that Jesus desires from His followers is extravagant and may even come across as wasteful but as we reflect on our own expressions of love and worship we see here that Jesus wants us to offer our best to God. Even when it seems extravagant or misunderstood or wasteful by others.

Jesus clearly values a heart of worship over mere participation in religious and societal expectations.

Genuine worship is all about Jesus captivating our hearts in such a way that when it comes to sacrificial acts of love, what we give up is nothing compared to what we’ve already received from Jesus.

Only Jesus is enough and there is nothing that we can ever possess in this world that is worth holding on too.

When we look at Mary, we see that she demonstrated that truth.

1. Bold Display of Devotion

All this took place days before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of the religious law were looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus and kill him secretly. Since it was a busy time and they were afraid of starting a riot, they put those plans on hold.

Mark 14:3 NLT

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

John’s gospel says that they were at Lazarus’ house.

Mark says they were at Simon the Leper’s house.

Jesus was in Bethany around the time when Lazarus was raised from the dead.

John mention that this woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

This was the same woman who sat at the feet of Jesus while her sister Martha was doing all the work.

Mary was wasting precious time, sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of getting to work.

Meals to be prepared, guests to serve but she was captivated by Jesus who was physically present with her in the moment.

In her mind, all the other things that needed to get done, don’t seem all that important in this moment.

After her brother Lazarus was resurrected from the dead by Jesus, she worshipped HIM.

John 12:3 NLT

3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

For Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus was not a waste of time.

Her worship was costly…

An alabaster jar was a beautiful and expensive vase, carved from translucent gypsum.

Ointment of nard was a fragrant ointment imported from the mountains of India, very costly.

Mary’s gift to Jesus was worth a year’s wages! Three hundred denarii was the yearly wage paid for an average worker.

The beautiful alabaster jar was broken, and the costly ointment was poured on Jesus’ head and feet.

It was common at some Jewish meals to honor their guests by anointing them with oil, but it would not have been with something as costly as Nard.

Mary was using such an expensive oil on Jesus’ head and feet as a messianic or royal anointing.

This bold display of devotion broke so many rules and merited so much criticism but Mary’s love was sincere and unreserved.

How much value do we place on Jesus and how do we express our love for Jesus?

Are we giving Jesus our very best or are we giving HIM our leftovers?

I know for me, sometimes I don’t give God my very best. I hold back the things that are valuable instead of responding sacrificially in my worship.

Jesus gave so much more they we can ever give up and Mary saw HIM in that light at that moment.

But not everyone is going to appreciate her worshipful response

We have to go…

2. Beyond Criticism to Worship

There will always be those who worship Jesus and those who criticize those who worship Jesus.

The disciples were were guilty in criticizing this woman’s worship.

Mark 14:4–5 NLT

4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

Mark mentions all the disciples. This is the first of many times in this chapter where the disciples fail Jesus:

Judas will betray Jesus (14:10);

the disciples said that they would never desert Jesus;

the disciples will fall asleep three times instead of watching and praying;

eventually all the disciples would desert Jesus; and then Peter would deny Jesus three times.

John singles out Judas’ criticism of Mary’s act of worship.

John 12:4–6 NLT

4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Judas wasn’t concern for the poor, but he was greedy and he was embezzling funds. This event probably pushed Judas over the edge in his decision to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

The criticism was that Mary’s worship was a “waste.”

A years wages broken and spilled out on Jesus.

If only it was sold… think about what we could do with that money.

When we offer up a sacrifice of praise and worship to Jesus, it’s never a waste.

Our worship better be more then just a song that we sing on a screen.

We worship Jesus with our money, our time, our family, our relationships, our calendar, our job… it all belongs to God.

The experts may say that you are wasting your money, your time. There are more opportunities, better opportunities for success.

Work on a Sunday… kids in sports on a Sunday… invest your money in other things instead of the church.

Sacrificial worship driven by our love for Jesus will always defy logic.

The disciples accused this woman’s costly act of love and worship toward Jesus as a waste.

It was Passover season and they could have given an impressive offering to the poor by selling this valuable perfume.

Lots of hungry people could be fed but instead it’s now spilled, spent and wasted on Jesus.

Even though the majority of the people in the room criticized Mary, Jesus defended her.

Mark 14:6 NLT

6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

Jesus defended Mary’s response.

She may have wondered if maybe she did the wrong thing. But it’s too late, the perfume was already poured out and it could not be rebottled.

Maybe she second guessed her overwhelming response to Jesus at that moment.

But Jesus’ words comforted her.

The expensive ointment poured on Jesus had been a good service to him—a beautiful, acceptable, appealing act of love and sacrifice—and Jesus defended her costly worship.

We must not discount the good intentions and good works of other believers. Some efforts of worship don’t have as much value as others but a heart of worship is still valuable to Jesus.

Jesus defends her worship, highlighting that sacrificial love is highly valued over practicality or public opinion.

3. Prophetic Act of Love

Jesus doesn’t discount the sacrificial value of what she did.

Jesus doesn’t discount the poor and our obligation as Christians to help the poor when we can, HE says…

Mark 14:7 NLT

7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me.

Jesus was not saying that we should neglect the poor, nor was he justifying indifference toward them.

Jesus was affirming Mary’s unselfish act of worship.

This woman took the opportunity to show Jesus such devotion at just the right time because in just a matter of days, Jesus’ sacrificial death will be complete.

In just a few days HE will no longer be with them physically.

Jesus was not discounting the needs of the poor but HE was highlighting the special sacrifice Mary had made for HIM.

Worshiping God precedes all other acts of love and gives meaning and purpose to every good deed we do.

Because the disciples were focused on her act of worship as a waste, the disciples missed the prophetic significance of this woman’s costly act of worship.

They viewed Mary’s worship as a waste but Jesus defended her response and saw it as something beautifully prophetic.

Mark 14:8 NLT

8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

Maybe she realized that something was going to happen to Jesus and she felt compelled to honor HIM with the greatest gift she could give but her timing was perfect.

Jesus would die just before the Sabbath.

Jesus was in the tomb on the next Sabbath. That’s on Resurrection Sunday the women came early in the morning to put the ointments on Jesus’ body before he was buried.

Jesus was not there because HE had already been resurrected.

Mary prepared HIS body for burial and her timing was perfect but it was also prophetic. That’s why Jesus said that Mary had prepared his body for burial!

Mark 14:9 NLT

9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

Mary’s unselfish act would be remembered forever. It was her sacrificial act or worship that made her famous. It wasn’t about her, it was all about Jesus.

The disciples misunderstood Jesus’ mission, they constantly fought about places in the kingdom

The religious leaders stubbornly refused to believe in Jesus and plotted his death

It was this one quiet woman wha loved Jesus so much that she considered no sacrifice too great for her beloved Master.

She was famous for her worship because her worship was all about Jesus.

TAKE AWAY:

When it comes to worshipping Jesus, are we more concerned about what other’s think or are we only concerned about what Jesus thinks?

Do we put more weight on the calculations and the logic instead seeing Jesus as enough and Jesus as the focus of our worship?

What do we want to be known for? Our worldly accomplishments or our love and desire to worship Jesus?