Loving Much or Loving Little

Scripture

Matthew 26:6–13 NKJV

6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.” 10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Mark 14:3–9 NKJV

3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

John 12:1–8 NKJV

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

Luke 7:36–50 NKJV

36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” 41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Slide

Prayer

Faith

John the Baptist

Last Sabbath we looked at the faith of John the Baptist and Jesus exhortation to Him as he seemingly languished in prison.

Jesus response to John was a word of gentle rebuke, exhortation and encouragement.

“Blessed is he who is not offended because of me”.

It would ring in John’s ears as he faced death as a martyr.

Mary of Bethany

This week we are going to look at another Hero of Faith in the NT.

Another person who could find her place in Heb. 11.

Mary of Bethany.

Recorded in all Four Gospels

I need to make a full disclosure upfront.

I am going to make a key assumption

That the account we just read in Luke 7 is the same event as also recorded in Matt 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8.

I would be amiss if I did not say that not everyone agrees.

But it is the position taken by most Seventh-day Adventists.

It is the position taken by our Seventh Adventist Commentaries, with an excellent appendix on the subject.

It is also what we read in the Desire of Ages, Chapter 62, written by Mrs White.

If you have not read that much from Mrs White, let me commend to you her book “Desire of Ages” as a good start.

It is my position after studying this in some detail this week.

But please Search the scriptures for yourselves!

What we have here, is a four-gospel picture of this event.

Where the four gospel writers add to make a whole picture, of this wonderful account.

Super at Simons

The scene is set in Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem.

Super at Simons!

I would have loved to been a “fly on the wall” for this occasion.

What a set of NT characters are present for this super!

Wow, wow and wow.

Simon the Leper or Pharisee

Simon the Leper is the host.

Also known as Simon the Pharisee.

Yes, a Pharisee and a Leper.

That must have been an interesting time in Simon’s life.

Two things that are not normally associated with each other.

The healing of Simon by Jesus is not recorded in scripture but is implied.

Remember Jesus words about His ministry,

Matthew 11:5 NKJV

5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And now he is throwing a supper to honour Jesus, the great Physician.

Lazarus back from the Dead

Lazarus is there.

The account in John 12 tells us that.

Freshly raised from the dead, so to speak.

Hungry and Eating supper!

This is a guy I can relate to.

Again, remember Jesus words about His ministry,

Matthew 11:5 NKJV

5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Martha was Serving

Martha were there.

The sisters of Lazarus and Mary

John tells us that Martha was busy serving the food.

That should not surprise us if you have read the other accounts of Martha.

We have some like that in our churches.

Thank the Lord for them!

I think Martha has now learned how to serve and listen to the words of Jesus, at the same time.

We must learn that as well

I know how busy life can get.

Jesus, the guest of Honour

Jesus is there

The guest of honour.

In the final week of of His earthly life.

On the countdown to Passover.

This is one of His last suppers, before the ultimate Last Supper.

The next day Jesus will ride triumphantly into Jerusalem and start the final chain of events leading to the cross.

But that is tomorrow, tonight it is Super at Simons.

Mary of Bethany

And so we come to Mary.

Mary of Bethany.

The sister of Lazarus and Martha.

Believed by many to be Mary of Magdalene.

The one whom Jesus cast out seven demons.

The one who will be first to Jesus grave on that Sunday morning.

The one who sat at Jesus seat and heard every word that came out of His mouth.

She will sit again Jesus feat, but this time Mary will lavish worship on Him

Mary Anoints Jesus

Jesus had changed her life.

She had followed Him from that day on, with a deep and growing sense of gratitude and love.

He had reunited her with her brother and sister out of a dead way of life.

But just as the family is reunited, her brother dies.

Emphasis

But Jesus made them whole again.

Her gratitude and love grew even deeper.

She seemed to discern in his words lately that he was leaving.

This left her with deep sadness.

She did not fully understand, but wanted to show her gratitude to Him while she still had the chance.

So we come to Mary’s abundant act of Worship!

There is no letter of the law here.

There is only abundance and worship.

In spirit and truth.

Alabaster Flask

Slide

Samuel used the same type of jar to anoint David when chosen by God.

Mary must have brought it with her to Simon’s house.

It was all pre-planned

Mary comes into the room

Perfume

I don’t know that much about perfume.

I am sure some of you ladies know much better.

I used to buy for my wife especially when coming back from some long business trip abroad.

Note to self, been loo long since I brought such a gift.

Of-course now I have set an expectation as she listens to our livestream replays from CA.

I was always amazed at the prices of Perfume in duty free.

My limited understanding is that it is to do with the concentration of oils in the fragrance.

Eau de parfum has a higher concentration than eau de toilette

It is all about the strength of the fragrance.

Mary’s Perfume

There is also pure perfume, which has the highest concentration of oils.

That is what Mary uses.

The whole Jar,

Worth about an average person’s wages for a whole year.

She pours it on Jesus head, anoints his feet and wipes his feet with her hair.

Emphasis

What a picture of Worship

What a picture of abundant, extravagant, and lavish worship

He gratitude, her love, her thankfulness, summed up, in this act of devotion.

Loving Much or Loving Little

Mary’s act of worship solicits two very different responses.

The disciples basically say, well that was a waste, the money could have been used for much better things.

And the same sort of comments are heard in churches across the lands most weeks.

But that is not my focus for today.

Simon Says

Simon says,

Simon says, to himself,

Slide

Luke 7:39 NKJV

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

Jesus Question and Reply

Jesus tells a parable.

As He so often does in response.

Then Jesus asks a probing question in a way that only Jesus can,

Slide

Luke 7:42 NKJV

42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

Jesus concludes to Simon,

Slide

Luke 7:47 NKJV

47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

It is one of those sentences again from Jesus ,

That just nails it.

In a way that only Jesus can through the Holy Spirit.

The “For” can also be translated “thus” or “hence”

That gets the sense over better.

Literal is “Many sins forgiven, Loves much. Little sins forgiven, Loves little”.

Same lema in the greek, Many and Much, Little and Little.

It is a play on words.

Forgiven is in the perfect tense, it is a completed action.

Love Much, Love Little

The point here is not about the relative amounts of sin we each need to be forgiven.

The point here is not who is the biggest, baddest, sinner.

Please don’t get distracted down that path.

Emphasis

This is all about the measure of our love and gratitude to Jesus.

Because of God’s immeasurable love for us.

Mary Prepares Jesus’ body for death

Mary was preparing Jesus body for death.

He had done so much for her already.

He was about to do the ultimate for her.

He forgives her sin on the basis on what He is about to do for her at the cross.

Mary did not understand all that yet, but she will in time.

Can you imagine Mary’s response to that!

Mary is first to the Grave and lingers

She is first at the grave.

She lingers

Jesus appears to her.

She is the first heard of the gospel.

Much love on much love

Oh that my heart would beat so!

Loving like Simon or Loving like Mary

I have one question.

Are we Simon or Mary?

Loving much or loving little.

Maybe that questions can be more granular

In which areas of my life, Simon or Mary?

Loving much. Loving Little.

Laodicean Heart

The answer to a laodicean heart is not to try harder.

Yes you heard me right.

It is to get back to our first love.

That is something very different than trying harder.

To fall afresh and anew in love with Jesus.

To get back to a grateful, thankful and joyful heart.

New Birth

And for some people, the real need, is “to fall in love with Jesus for the very first time”.

Pause and Repeat

Two ships come sailing into Port

Two ships come into Port.

After a long journey from the North.

The destination is the same.

Both traveled the sea ways.

Battered by the winds.

Crossing the ocean currents as if twinned.

One ship low in the water.

Full of treasures on the sea water.

The sails strong and full

Even if they are a handful

The journey ends in triumph.

Well done my good and faithful lion.

The other high in the water.

No treasures on that sea water.

The sails are ripped and tattered.

The crew, well they just scatter.

Mary Loved much because of her deep gratitude for what Jesus did in her life.

Her story has been told whether the Gospel is preached.

Simon Loved little.

A Prayer

Lord, turn my cold and stony heart into a heart full of love and gratitude to you.

Lord, make me a Mary in every part of my life.

Lord, Through and through, fully bake me.

The time to come and pray such is now

To be in tune with God

The Lord will do it.

We do not seek Him in vain.

Just come to Him anew today.

He who has promised is faithful.