Christ-Centered Worship

John 12:1-8

The Anointing of the Lord in Matthew, Mark, and John

The differences in the accounts have led some to question whether they describe the same event, but the shared details strongly suggest that they are describing the same event but from different perspectives.

John places the meal early in the week before Jesus entered Jerusalem, while Matthew and Mark put the meal at the end of the week, just before Passover. John says Jesus came to Bethany six days before the passover, but doesn’t necessarily say when the meal took place. It is the same meal as reported in Matthew and in Mark.

Matthew and Mark say it was at the house of Simon the Leper; John doesn’t say the meal was at the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, only that Martha served, and that Lazarus was one of the men at the table with Jesus.

Matthew and Mark do not name the woman. They tell us that she poured the perfume on Jesus’ head, while John identifies her as Mary and describes her anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair. These details are not necessarily contradictory. The woman may have anointed both His head and His feet. All three accounts connect the act with Jesus’ approaching burial, while John gives particular attention to Mary’s humble and costly devotion.

What we have in John's Gospel is a beautiful illustration of Christ-centered worship. John draws our attention to three people gathered around Jesus: Martha serving, Lazarus reclining, and Mary anointing. Three people, each responding to Jesus in a different way. And as we look at these three, we begin to see something of what it means to worship Jesus Christ.

Worship is not simply something we do for an hour on Sunday morning. It is the response of our whole lives to the One who has loved us, given Himself for us, and shown Himself worthy of all our praise.

A Picture of Christ-Centered worship.

Martha served.

She was occupied with the practical work of the meal, but her service was part of what was happening around Jesus. Her service reminds us that worship is not merely something we observe. It involves presenting ourselves to the Lord in loving service.

What is the focus of your worship? If you leave worship saying, “I didn’t get much out of that,” you came for the wrong reason. We live in a world where we are accustomed to evaluating everything according to what we get out of it. We ask whether the experience met our expectations, whether it was worth our time, and whether we received what we wanted.

Worship is not a product that we consume. We gather to give God the glory, honor, and praise that belong to Him. We come to hear His Word, to confess our sins, to offer our prayers, and to respond to His grace. Of course, God blesses us in worship. He strengthens our faith, comforts our hearts, and nourishes us through His appointed means. But those blessings do not make us the center of worship. God is the One we have gathered to worship.

Lazarus fellowshipped

He is there, reclining at the table with the Lord who raised him from the dead. Is this worship?

What did it look like to recline at the table with Jesus? There were no chairs at a meal like this. The dinner guests would lay on their side, feet facing out from the table, eating with he Lord. And this is instructive.

It reminds us that worship is not only about what we do for God, it is also about drawing near to Him and receiving what He gives us.

We come with our anxieties, our arguments, our defenses, and our need to control everything. We come with hearts that are often distracted and restless.

But in worship, we are called to quiet ourselves before the Lord, to listen to His Word, to learn His truth, and to receive His grace.

We do not come to negotiate with God or to dictate what He must do for us. We come to hear what He has said, to trust His promises, and to submit ourselves to His will.

What is pictured here: the man who was dead is now alive and sitting at the table with Jesus. Does that not describe you and me? We who were dead in our trespasses and sins have been made alive in Christ. We have been brought near to Him, and He invites us to fellowship with Him, to hear His Word, and to be strengthened and nourished by His grace.

Mary anointed

Mary’s perfume of pure nard, a year’s wages, maybe a family heirloom, a treasure by worldly standards; she poured it out over his feet and wiped them with her hair.

Mary does not stop to calculate how little she can give while still appearing generous. She does not hold back a portion to protect her investment. She pours it out in an act of humble devotion to the One she loves.

John tells us that the fragrance filled the house. Everyone there would have known what Mary had done. Her devotion could not be hidden. It is possible, even, that the perfume lingered on his body for days, even when he was arrested, beaten, crucified, and buried.

That is a fitting picture of worship.

When our hearts are captured by the worth of Jesus Christ, our devotion to Him ought to become evident. It should shape our lives, our priorities, our service, our generosity, and our relationships with one another.

C.S. Lewis, in the Screwtape Letters (mind you, the imagined correspondence of a chief demon to a tempter) describes the household of a genuine Christian:

“The whole place reeks of that deadly odor [of self-giving love]… The very gardener, though he has only been there five years is beginning to acquire it. Even guests after a weekend visit, carry some of the smell away with them. The dog and cat are tainted with it. And a house full of the impenetrable mystery.”

2 Corinthians 5:14–15: Christ's love controls us because we have concluded that He died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and was raised.

We do not give ourselves to Christ to persuade Him to love us. We give ourselves to Him because He has loved us and given Himself for us.

When we feel like our worship services are lacking, the first question must be, have I given that which didn’t really cost me anything, or have I poured myself out to Christ is self-giving, costly, and sacrificial devotion to Him.

Getting to the heart of worship

Judas missed worship entirely: This could have served the poor!

Judas could calculate the value of the perfume, but he had failed to recognize the worth of the One standing before him. Mary saw Jesus as worthy of her costly gift. Judas saw only what that gift might have been worth to him.

Martha, Lazarus, and Mary knew the value of praise, adoration, and service to the one beyond all worth.

He had raised Lazarus from the dead, displaying His power over death. Through His signs, He had revealed the glory of God and shown Himself to be the Son sent by the Father. He had entered into the grief of Mary and Martha and wept with them. And now He was moving toward the cross, where He would give His life for His people.

The foundation of worship is always in what Christ has done for us. Everything we do is a response to Him.

Why did Martha serve? Why did Lazarus sit at the table with Jesus? Why did Mary pour out something so precious at His feet?

Because Jesus was worthy. We serve Him because He has loved us. We draw near to Him because He has brought us to God. We offer ourselves to Him because He gave Himself for us.

And when we begin to see more clearly the worth of Jesus Christ, when His love for us becomes more precious to us, our worship will begin to reflect that reality. We will serve Him with gladness. We will listen to His Word with humility. We will draw near to Him in faith. And we will offer ourselves to Him in grateful, costly devotion.

The question is not merely whether we have worshipped today, but whether our worship has been centered on the One who alone is worthy of it.