Untitled Sermon

TEXT: John 12:1-11, Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany

INTRODUCTION:

Good morning church family, it is wonderful to be up here again with the privilege of presenting God’s Word to you. I am happy to be able to help distribute some of the load during Seth’s month of rest and would like to reiterate, don’t speak to him until July.

I pray that you are enjoying our walk through the Gospel of John as much as I am as we are creeping up to the major moment in the history of our faith. In the past couple weeks, we witnessed Jesus perform the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead.

Studying how God’s timing is perfect, for our benefit, and how His work is for His glory even if we cannot understand. Last week, we saw the plot to kill Jesus form and take shape after some of the Jews that were at the resurrection of Lazarus, run and tell the Pharisees what they saw.

At the end of John 11, we see that they are looking for Jesus at the Passover feast for the sole purpose of arresting Him to put Him to death.

CONTEXT FOR STARTING JOHN 12:

We see towards the end of John 11, that Jesus can no longer walk freely among the Jewish people due to the Pharisees plot to kill Him solidifying.

John 11:54 ESV

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

So Jesus, left Bethany with His disciples and went to Ephraim. This was a small city near the Judean wilderness and was roughly 15 to 18 miles away from Bethany. They stay in Ephraim for a short time before making the journey back to Bethany just shy of a week before the Passover. And that is where we open today in John 12.

Before we jump into the verses here, let’s talk about the history of the Passover to remember it’s significance. This was the festival that was the celebration of the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites being delivered from slavery to the Egyptians.

This is one of the “pilgrimage” festivals in Scripture where the Jews were commanded to travel to Jerusalem and observe the feast together.

In the book of Exodus, we receive the origin of the Passover where God promised to redeem His people from bondage under Pharoah (Exodus 6:6). God sent Moses to Pharoah with the command of “let My people go” (Exodus 8:1).

When Pharoah refused, God brought the ten plagues upon Egypt with the tenth being the death of the firstborn in Egypt. God provided specific instructions to the Israelites to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood (Exodus 12:21-22).

Scripture tells us in Exodus 12:23 that as the Lord moved through Egypt striking down first born children, He would “pass over” any households that showed the blood of the lamb.

So this feast, was to remember what the Lord had done for them back in Exodus. And the Gospel parallels are truly amazing. I won’t steal any thunder from sermons coming in the near future, but that is where we are headed and to see Jesus become the true Passover Lamb. And this is the context for the beginning of John 12, where Jesus arrives early for the feast.

MAIN IDEA:

God desires selfless servitude not the outward posturing of religion.

OUTLINE:

Serve Him Selflessly (v. 1-4)

Spurn Self-centered Religion (v. 5-11)

PRAYER

John 12:1–11 ESV

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.” 9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Serve Him Selflessly (v. 1-4)

John opens this portion of his Gospel by pointing out Jesus had returned to Bethany from Ephraim six days before the Passover feast in Jerusalem.