A Disciple and A Deceiver
Notes
Transcript
Good morning
Welcome to Liberty!
I just learned the other day that it takes 5 sheep to make a sweater. That blew my mind, I didn’t even know sheep could knit!
I want to thank Kyle for preaching last week. We all have a purpose from God. Everyone’s main purpose is to glorify our God and to make disciples.
Today we are going to be in Mark 14:3-11.
Our last time in Mark, we saw that the chief priests and the scribes were planning on how they were going to arrest and kill Jesus. They hated Him and the idea that He was a threat to their way of life and their power. They loved the power that their positions gave them. They loved it so much they were willing to kill the long awaited Messiah! Having idols, blind us to the things of God. He is a jealous God and will not stand for us to worship anyone other than Him. He is the only one who is worthy of our worship.
Today we are going to travel back in time and look at a moment when a women gave a most valuable gift to Jesus and then one of the disciples goes and sells his soul! We are going to see what truly following Jesus is like and what it looks like to be a deceiver!
Please stand as we read God’s Word
3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
This account of a woman anointing Jesus is in 3 of the gospel books, Matthew, Mark, and John. Both Matthew and Mark leave out a lot of details and names. They do not name the woman who anointed Jesus, John does. I believe that they left her name out because they are both written very early after Jesus death and resurrection. They are both written around 40-50 AD. It would have been prudent of them to protect the names of the believers in this account. The persecution of the church was still very severe in Israel. John’s gospel is written much later around 80-90 AD. There is a good chance that by the time of John’s writing, the characters in this account would have been dead. So there was no reason to hide their names at the time of John writing his gospel. Looking at John’s account, we see more detail and get a better insight to what is happening.
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
We can see that John tells us that we are six days before the Passover. We are no longer talking about the time just after the Olivet Discourse. Mark is taking us back to the anointing of Jesus. With the death of Jesus just two days away, Mark is rightly remembering when Jesus was anointed. Mark takes us back in time to the Saturday before the crucifixion of Jesus. We can see that they are in Bethany, which is a town on the Mt of Olives. They are in a house in Bethany. Mark tells us that it was Simon the leper’s house. That is all that we know about Simon, that he was a leper. If he was still a leper at that time, he would not have been in the town or in his own house. He would have been considered unclean and would have been outcast especially at this time of the year. No one wanted to be unclean at the time of the Passover. It was a special time of year for the Jews. More than likely Simon was healed by Jesus, but we are told that for sure.
Jesus and the disciples are in Bethany at Simon’s house and they are reclining at a table. It has been not only a long day, but a long week thus far for them. I imagine they are discussing the things that had happened during the week and probably laughing at the scribes and religious leaders about how they tried to trap Jesus with their questions and how every time Jesus answered their questions and they had nothing! It was probably a sweet time of fellowship around that table.
In John’s account he tells us that Mary, the sister of Martha, was the woman who took an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, made of pure nard. She broke it and poured it on Jesus’ head, John tells us that she also anointed His feet. This flask would have been something that was very important and valuable. We are told that it could have been sold for more than 300 denarii. A denarii was one days wages. This jar of ointment was worth more than a years wages. It was something that would have been used to anoint special people who would have died or to anoint someone for a very special occasion. Nard was a plant that was grown in India, so this was imported and would have driven the cost up even more. It was a very strong smelling ointment and we are told that the whole house was filled with the smell. Everyone in the house probably smelled like it for a day or two. They didn’t shower like we do, they used perfumes to cover up their body odor until they could get clean. They would not have used an ointment like this though, this was a very special ointment.
We can see that Mary did something that was very costly to her, so that she could anoint her Messiah, her Savior. We are told of three occasions when Mary was around Jesus, and every time she is at His feet.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
Here they have invited Jesus to eat at their house and in those times, women would have been preparing the meal and serving the men. Martha was doing what was right in the worlds eyes, Mary was doing what was right in God’s eyes. Mary ignored the traditions of men and chose what was important, she sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him.
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Jesus is coming to resurrect Mary’s brother Lazarus. When Mary comes to Jesus as He is getting close, she falls at His feet. She was broken hearted about her brother and she fell at the feet of her Messiah.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Here Mary is anointing Jesus for His death and resurrection. Again she is at His feet. When you are a disciple of someone, you are following them and learning all you can from them. The best place to do this is at their feet. This is a sign of respect, and submission to the teacher. Mary understood who Jesus was and who she was!
After she had anointed Jesus, Mark tells us that some of the disciples were indignant, upset. Mark doesn’t tell us who started it, but John does. Judas was the one who started the complaining about what Mary had just done. It only takes one to start complaining and then many will join in. He used the poor to try and justify his indignant attitude. He was trying to sound like he was concerned about the poor and needy. We know from John’s account that Judas was stealing from the money bag and was upset that he missed out on an opportunity to steal a lot of money. He was not concerned about the poor.
6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it.
He was a thief and a liar. He was no different than the religious leaders who loved their power. Judas loved money. So much so that he sold His Messiah for 30 pieces of silver.
Jesus speaks up and defends Mary, His true disciple. He tells the group that they will always have the poor, but they will not always have Him. He tells them that Mary had anointed His body beforehand for burial. What Mary did was such an honoring act of sacrifice and glorification for Jesus that He tells them that wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the world, her act of service and sacrifice will be told in memory of her! What a statement for Mary to hear.
Mary was constantly at the feet of Jesus, a sign of worship and submission, and she understood that He was about to die. Something that the disciples didn’t get, but she did and she used her costly oil to anoint Jesus for His death and Jesus rewarded her for her act by saying it will be told wherever the gospel is told!
Jesus is not saying that we should not be helping the poor. He is saying that while He was walking in the flesh here on earth, it was better to do for Him. We do not have Jesus in the flesh with us, so our focus of good should be on the poor and the less fortunate. When we do good things and help those who are in need, we are doing them to Jesus. He tells us this in Matthew 25: 31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
We can’t do acts like Mary did for Jesus himself, but we can do something just as good. When we bless those who are less fortunate and are in need, we are doing them to Jesus. We are glorifying Him with our good deeds. We don’t do the good deeds as a way of earning salvation, we do them as a sign of thanks for the sacrifice that Jesus did on the cross. We can never earn salvation, but we can spend the rest of our lives doing good to others as a thank you for what Jesus did for us. By doing these good deeds for others, this is part of spreading the Good News. When we do these deeds, it opens the door for us to have Gospel conversations. When we do things for people who can’t repay us or do anything for us, we are being different than the world. They will see that we are different and that will lead them to ask why. Then we can tell them about our King. That is why we are here, to tell the world about King Jesus. If we are not obeying the commands of Christ, are we truly one of His, do we truly love Him?
This statement from Jesus was the last straw for Judas. He was upset that he didn’t get to steal some of that money and then Jesus went and praised her for doing that, he was done. Mark tells us that Judas went and made a deal with the chief priests to betray Jesus and hand Him over to them. This made them very happy and they were glad to pay him the silver. Mark tells us that from that point on Judas was looking for a time to hand Jesus over when He was not around the people. He was done with Christ. What a sad statement, he sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver.
So what does this mean for us today? We don’t have Jesus with us in His bodily form, how can we glorify Him?
This is an account of two different type of people. At the time and from the outside, they appeared the same. They both looked like they were disciples of Jesus. They were both following Him and under His teachings. We can see just how different they truly are. One gave everything for their Lord, and the other sold his Lord for 30 pieces of silver.
Mary
She was constantly at the feet of Jesus. She was humble and committed to Him. Even when her brother died and she thought Jesus could have come sooner and saved him she still believed in Him. She used a very expensive ointment to anoint Jesus for His death. This cost her a lot of money. This jar of oil was worth more than a years wages, this was a nest egg that if things got tough, she could have sold and lived for over a year on the money she got from it. It was more than likely a family heir loom that was passed down. She saw the value of what Jesus was doing and His death and saw that the cost of that ointment was nothing to His sacrifice. She new that He would be her provision and that He was enough. She didn’t need to have any savings to fall back on, Christ was her nest egg, he would take care of her. She lived a life that was noticeably different, she gave to the point of it being noticed by others. They all saw what she gave and thought it was unnecessary. But Jesus told them the true value of what she had done, it would be told for ever.
Judas
Everyone counted Judas as one of the 12 disciples. From the outside, he was no different that Peter, John, Andrew or any of the others. During the last supper, when Jesus said one of you will betray me, no one immediately thought, oh that’s going to be Judas. No they all wondered if it was them. John 13:21-25
21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
No one knew the heart of Judas, except for Jesus. As far as anyone could tell, he was one of the 12. He wasn’t there for Jesus or anything that He was offering them. He was there to steal the money. He loved money more than anything else. Three years of walking with Jesus and hearing all of what Jesus was telling them and teaching them and none of it made it to his heart. Nothing Jesus said changed Judas. Some times I get discouraged preaching and teaching and then I remember this, Jesus is the greatest preacher and teacher to ever walk this earth and He words didn’t reach Judas’ heart. All His words made no difference to him. Even if Judas never sold out Jesus, he was not there for anything but the money and the position he thought he was going to get when Jesus set up His kingdom. He didn’t want eternal salvation, he wanted riches and power now.
Our churches are filled with people like Judas. They are there for all the wrong reasons. The reason you go to church should never have anything to do with self. We come to church to worship and glorify our King Jesus. I don’t come here so I can preach. I preach to worship and glorify God. I preach because He called me to preach. We should never come to church for any personal reasons. Church is all about God.
Has following Jesus cost you something. Have you done something that caused others to think you were crazy? Is your life different now than it was before you knew Jesus? What has changed, what is different about you?
Are you truly submitted to Christ and His commandments? Jesus said that if you love me you will follow my commandments!
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
If you have a red letter Bible, these words are in red. These are words that Jesus spoke! Are you doing what Jesus commands?
Do you love God with all that you are?
Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
Do you attend church regularly?
Do you read God’s Word?
These are all some of the commands that we are to follow. Are you following them?
Are you truly a follower of Jesus or do you just look like one from the outside?
If you haven’t repented of your sins and believed in Jesus as your savior, you can do that today. All you have to do is repent of your sins, that is to say that you don’t like sinning and you understand that in sinning you are sinning against God and that you accept Jesus as the Lord of you life.
No where in the Bible does it say that you have to walk down the isle of church and get saved. It just says that you have to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ.
If you do that today, please let someone know, we would love to pray with you and help you with your new journey you are beginning.
When we sing if you have anything that you want to pray about, the alters are available, come and talk to God.
Lets pray.
