Look and Listen Part Two

Look and Listen – Part Two

Reading One: Luke 10:38–42 (NKJV) 38 Now it happened as they went that He (Jesus) entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Reading Two: John 12:1–3 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Reading Three: Matthew 26:8–13 (ESV) 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

I have a lot of favourite characters from the New Testament. I am obviously in awe of Paul; I’m thrilled by the amazing testimony and the character of Stephen; I love that Peter, a fisherman, was so used by God with such staggering wisdom and anointing on the day of Pentecost, then played a key role in initiating the sharing of the gospel with the Gentiles, and had a crucial part at the Counsel of Jerusalem in helping to keep the fledgling church on track; I have a real warmth for Barnabas, the encourager; and James’ no-nonsense practical application of the faith is brilliant.

But don’t tell Margaret, but I think a bit of me has fallen in love with Mary of Bethany because I see now that she exemplifies what we must be like if we are to become those who bring glory to God.

Last Sunday I highlighted the fact that the Father spoke out from Heaven on three occasions during the ministry of Jesus here on earth, and that while on the first and the third occasions He was primarily addressing His Son, on the second occasion which occurred at the “Transfiguration”, the Father specifically addressed the disciples and speaking of His Son Jesus, He commanded them: “Listen to Him.”

But interestingly the Bible tells us that the very next day, after Jesus had healed a boy with a demon whom they had not been able to set free themselves, Jesus had used that “Listen” word himself.

He said to his disciples: “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” Luke 9:44 (NIV84). In fact, the more literal ESV substitutes “listen” with the emphatic phrase: “Let these words sink into your ears:” But, however He emphasised it, the disciples still did not “get it” or understand that Jesus was telling them what lay ahead! They heard the words but they didn’t get the message!

It seems in fact that they were preoccupied with an agenda of their own, since Luke’s gospel narrative immediately goes on to record that the disciples were engaged in an argument over which of them would be the greatest.

As a result they completely missed the significance of this pivotal step-change in Jesus’ ministry which is summed up by Luke just a few verses later, because in Luke 9:51 (ESV), he records that Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Meaning of course, that Jesus was now focussed on the Cross, and on the culmination of His purpose in coming to earth as a man.

And it is in this respect that the accounts of Mary of Bethany become so significant. Specifically, she demonstrates two key things that God is looking for from all his disciples, including you and I.

Mary, I believe, offers a wonderful example of both the way we get to become the people God intends us to be, and, how that can lead to us really seeing the true worth and preciousness of Jesus. She shows us, by example, how we can begin to grasp what Paul describes in Ephesians 3:8 (ESV) as “the unsearchable riches of Christ,”

Now it is interesting, as I noted last week, that the great King David, declares in Psalm 27:4 (ESV) 4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. So here, we see a parallel with Paul’s observation about the critical place of “beholding”, or “looking” at Christ, in promoting our spiritual growth that we identified last week. For in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) Paul says:“. . . we ALL, . . . , beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

But there is too a parallel here between the Father’s powerful command, spoken directly from Glory to the disciples to “Listen to Him.”(Matthew 17:5) and King David’s desire to “inquire in his temple” since the motivation of David’s inquiry is to hear, or to listen to the words of the Lord.

But then, as we look in on that scene in our first reading, we find Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet” and we are told in Luke 10:39, that she “heard His word” And if we wanted to illustrate someone following King David’s example, by seeking to behold and to listen to Jesus, you could not improve on this gospel account of Mary gazing at the Saviour and devouring His every word.

It is also very significant that Jesus, in adjudicating on Martha’s demand for Mary to help with the chores, He responds: “But ONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42) A response that suggests very clearly that Mary, like King David, clearly understood the PRIORITY that we MUST give to looking at and listening to the Lord if we are to truly find that place of special closeness and personal revelation in our Christian lives.

Throughout the Bible we find testimony to the power of hearing God’s Word, of really listening to it, rather than just skim reading it and then moving on with our day. We must train ourselves, even in the midst of the busyness of our daily lives, to really engage with the Word, because this is the only way, it is the “ONE THING”, that will promote our personal transformation and equip us to fully serve God’s purposes.

In the Old Testament, Jeremiah tells us of his delight in receiving revelation from the Word when he says in Jeremiah 15:16 (ESV) “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart”

The psalmist says in Psalm 19:8–10 (ESV) 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; . . . and he says of God’s words: “10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey . . .”

And although Christians can have a tendency to associate meditation with some rather dubious practices of non-Christian religions, there is no doubt that beholding Jesus and listening to Him openly and attentively, are two aspects of a biblically endorsed meditation.

And meditation is of course something that we all do naturally. We muse over things. We go over thoughts, ideas, plans, and possible future or real past conversations in our head. We think back or look forward, and mull our ideas over and over. Often this kind of meditation can be unhelpful, feeding our fears, nourishing our personal prejudices or stroking our dented pride.

But if we will learn to employ this natural ability to developing our relationship with Christ and His Word, I believe it can become powerfully effective in changing us for the better.

And meditation has in fact always been a part of God’s plan for his people, and way back in the days of Genesis we read that “ . . . Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. (Genesis 24:63 (ESV)). And Joshua urges us in Joshua 1:8 (ESV) 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Notice in particular those words “so that” in this precious verse, because it is telling us very clearly that meditation will actually prompt and initiate right responses and right actions in our lives. Responses and actions that will bring their own rewards in terms of spiritual prosperity and success.

The Psalmist declares in Psalm 77:12 (ESV) 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. And in Psalm 104:34 (ESV) he says: “May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.” But perhaps the ultimate expression of how we can experience the personal benefits of meditating, of looking at and listening to Jesus is to follow the example expressed in Psalm 145:5 (ESV) which declares: “On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I WILL MEDITATE.”

And Paul of course, is revealing his own opinion and positive experience of Biblical meditation when he urges the Philippians: “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS. Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

There is no doubt about it, scripture is emphatic that meditation, is the perfect MEDICATION, the perfect prescription, for healthy and fruitful Christian living.

But there is a particular benefit from meditating, from looking at and listening to Jesus that I’d like us to take home in our thoughts today, and it is highlighted in our second reading about Mary of Bethany.

I mentioned last time that John 12:27–28 records Jesus in facing the looming reality of the cross saying: 27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” And that account then goes on to record: “Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

This passage tells us clearly that the focus of Jesus’ ministry was to glorify the Father, and we know that the ultimate way in which He did that was to be the perfect sacrifice for sins and die on the cross. And it is this approach, an approach of willingness to sacrifice for the glory of God, that we are called to emulate by our faith and obedience, and, it’s one that we see in Mary’s example in the second of our readings this morning.

Now we are not told from the gospel accounts just what Jesus had been speaking about when Mary was sat listening intently to His words on that first recorded visit to her home. We can only speculate. But it is entirely possible, perhaps even probable, from the context of this part of Jesus’ ministry when His focus was turning strongly to his imminent appointment at Calvary, that he was sharing with Mary, what He had tried and failed to share with the disciples, namely, that He would soon face the ultimate personal sacrifice.

But unlike the disciples, whatever He was speaking of to her, we know from Luke 10:39 that as she “sat at Jesus’ feet” she really “HEARD His word”. And it is probable that what she heard, as she LOOKED at the Saviour and as she LISTENED to Him, brought with it a personal revelation of who Jesus really is and what He had come to do.

In our second reading, six months on from the day she had sat and listened so attentively to Jesus, and on the eve of His short final journey from Bethany to Jerusalem, we read how Mary “took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

We need to remember too that between our two readings there had been another very significant event for Mary. She had tasted the worry of the illness and then the sadness of the death of her brother; the deep, and even bitter, disappointment over the fact that Jesus had apparently ignored the pleas of herself and her sister for Jesus to come and pray for him. But then she had experienced the elation of seeing Jesus do the impossible, a staggering miracle, and raising Lazarus, four days dead, back to life again. Mary’s life had been fundamentally transformed and blessed through her experience with the Saviour.

So what we see in our second reading is a reflection of what was going on in Mary’s heart and life. And look what she did. She “took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. This wasn’t a quick splash from a 50m bottle of Chanel No 5. She poured out a full pint of a perfume, so expensive, it cost about the same as a year’s salary. The account of this event in John’s gospel says that Judas figured it was worth around 300 denarii, that’s half as much again as the disciples estimate of the retail cost of feeding the 5000. It was a big, big sum – perhaps even emptying her life savings.

But Mary did it because she loved the Lord and looking at Him and listening to Him she understood who He was, and what He was about to do for us all. Mary had, what we all need to have, if we are to really be the people that the Father wants us to be.

Mary had a right understanding of the worth, the worthiness, and the value of the Saviour, and she had an overwhelming desire to express her love to Him and to bring glory to Him through her wonderfully extravagant anointing.

Making beholding the Lord and listening to Him her priority, choosing “the good part”, meant ultimately that Mary saw the true worth and preciousness of Jesus and could see that her beautiful and crazily expensive anointing of the feet of her Saviour was not a waste but a spectacular expression of love that glorified Jesus and anointed Him for His death – something that was her destiny, her call and something for which Jesus said she would always be remembered.

Judas and some of the disciples were shocked by Mary’s extravagant gesture calling it “a waste”. But Jesus declared that “she has done a beautiful thing to me.” and in fact, He prophesied what we have done today saying: “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

The challenge for us this morning then is to take to heart the example of Mary of Bethany, and to make ourselves, or allow ourselves, to adjust our priorities, so that we ensure that our daily time with God is focussed on looking at Him and not the clock, and on listening to Him and not the torrent of issues and responsibilities that await our attention.

Hard as it is, if we succeed in this, we have the example of Mary to encourage us that the benefits in terms of our spiritual growth, our fruitfulness as Christians and our potential to bring glory to God, are phenomenal.

So the question we must all answer for ourselves as we go home today is this: In what practical ways am I going to change my life so that I can make looking at and listening to Jesus a life-changing priority?