Call to Devotion John 12:1-7

John 12: 1-7

The Call of Devotion

Introduction:

All the world today are churches that are gathering, these churches will have new visitors that are seeking Jesus, will have attenders who are pretending to know Jesus, members who have lost their love for their Jesus and Christians who know and love Jesus.

The seeker will come and be either excited or anxious to meet Jesus, the very first person who interacts with the seeker is Jesus to that person. The seeker may or may not return and looses hearing the message of the gospel preached.

The attender comes often and perhaps attends a bible study or fellowship; there not committed to the church its just routine and they enjoy the friendships. This person speaks enough of the language to deceive the members and even the Pastor. This person is your Judas, will leave when times don’t go their way, and gives little devotion to Jesus and the mission He has called each Christian too.

The members are the ones that have forgotten their first love, being Jesus. They are the ones that resonate with memories of the church and the way things were. They dream of the glory days like a college athlete who never made the pros. They have forgotten their love of Jesus and the very mission he called them too, which is not the past, but which is life in the present with the Lord.

The members maybe Christians and simply forgot their first love, or they are too maybe a Judas. They won’t move forward in their Christian faith; they won’t advance the local church in her present mission which often requires transition and change; instead as a Judas they will complain and betray with the kiss of death.

The Christians are the ones who love Jesus, love his bride global and local. (The church) they are committed their prayer life, reading of the word, being on mission, and sacrificially giving all they have so that name of Jesus be known, all the while you will find them in service of others and on their knees in the throne room of God. These are your Mary’s and your post resurrection Peter’s.

It is the seeker and the Christian that belong in the Kingdom of God, the seeker does not have access until he or she is born again, the Christian has access because he or she is born again. The Judas hangs around, eats off the King’s table because of the mercy of God, but the table is not his, the Kingdom is not his, and at life’s end the lukewarm Judas will be spit of the mouth of God. No longer eating at the King’s table but gnashing of his or her teeth.

The Passage

Lazarus has just been raised from the dead; the Jews, the religious, and Rome are furious at what just occurred. A man dead, already decomposing was raised from the grave. Lazarus and his family are celebrating this resurrection while the community is set in a rage. (I love how they celebrate while the world around them is closing in; this how Christian’s ought to be today)

Meanwhile at a meal we encounter the community of Jesus, the disciples among them Judas and Mary. As there enjoying a meal today, with the Kings of Kings, Mary understanding much of who Jesus is gives her worship to Jesus.

She takes a bottle of oil; this oil is the more expensive oil worth about 300 denarii, in our terms 10,000 dollars or more. This oil was a year’s worth of wages and Mary had possession of it. We don’t know if Mary had money or if this oil was a gift. We do understand it was not your Walmart brand of oil.

Mary takes this oil and pours it over the feet of Jesus, to wash his feet with her hair. Notice her hair is down, and in this time a woman did not put her down. When she did it was for husband, or she was among her family. This was a cultural practice; the women did not permit their hair to be down in the presence of others. To have one’s hair down was a show of intimacy and devotion. This was Mary displaying a sign of Jesus I belong to you and no other; for she knew who Jesus was.

It is evident she knew of who Jesus is from her position of sitting at the feet of Jesus, to her giving of oil and preparing Jesus for burial. We will touch of Mary more in little bit.

In the room was Judas, who having sat at the table with Jesus, spent large amounts of time with Jesus, and being called one of the twelve; would complain against Mary’s act of giving unto the Lord. Jesus rebukes Judas and tells that Mary did this for the preparation of his burial.

It is here that we examine the Call of Devotion; who is the true disciple of Jesus?

Point 1: Judas the false disciple

Judas as noted was involved in the ministry of Jesus, more likely as the money handler as given evidence of his betrayal for the mighty coin. Judas saw the miracles of Jesus, heard the I am statements, heard the rebukes, and ate with the Kings of Kings himself.

Judas perhaps knows the gospel with head knowledge more than most Christians do today, yet he was anti-Christ all the while pretending to be for Jesus. He was in the inner circle and given privilege of Kingdom duties.

Therefore, I tell you; I am under no conviction that all of you sitting here today or online are born again, thou you proclaim you are of the Christian faith. Judas proclaimed he was for Jesus too and look what happened on the night he was betrayed.

Judas loved money more than Jesus. For Judas his god, was money. He served the mighty coin of Cezar all the while pretending to be God-fearing. He went to the temple, probably even gave a little all the while stealing from the overall giving.

Application

Where is Judas among you?

Do you find yourself worshiping other gods? Work? Family? Sleep? Just name it, if it comes before complete devotion to Christ, it is your god, and you are a Judas. None of those things mentioned in and of themselves are evil; but mind you the words of Christ, Luke 14:6. (Read)

“If anyone of you come to me and hate not his father, his mother, and wife and children and brethren and sisters and his own life, he can not be my disciple”

Judas loved money, himself, all the while pretending to be a disciple. Jesus knew this all along, and so it was permitted for Judas to eat off the King’s table, because the son of perdition is now facing the judgement of God.

Where is the Judas sitting in this congregation; I tell you now you will not eat at the Kings table unless you repent.

The Judas Church

· Is one who pretends to be a disciple of Christ yet lives for an inward mission. An Inward focus on resources such as money and building space.

· A Judas church is a church that does not multiple disciples, but rather survives for self-preservation

· A Judas church is one that does not know the word of God, as evident in the lack of worship and preaching of the gospel.

Point 2: Mary the true disciple

Mary is the opposite of Judas, and to be frank of the other 11 disciples who were more worried about being first in the Kingdom of God, then giving glory to God.

Mary even before the raising of her brother from the dead, sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha was banging pots and pans. Mary did not have a works-based salvation, she understood that salvation comes from this man named Jesus.

She lets her hair down, she gives Jesus a years’ worth of wages, and wipes his feet. Not even slaves would be asked to wipe the feet of their master, but here Mary washes the feet of Jesus. Her love for Jesus is worth everything.

She surrenders her body, her mind, her wealth, her soul over to the worship of Jesus. This is what the Old Covenant told Israel to worship you God, for hear of Israel the Lord your God is one. (Duet 6:4) Jesus taught the greatest command is to love God and love your neighbor.

Mary understood this command and made it true.

Where is Mary among you?

The Mary among you is filled with worship from the time you wake up to the time you lay to rest. The Mary among you is the one who gives freely and does not expect return. The Mary among you rests in the peace of Jesus while the world around her is in chaos.

The Mary among you in perhaps the quiet one, praying in the corner with her bible open and tear stains on the pages.

The Church of a Mary spirit

· The church with a Mary spirit is one that worships Jesus in purity and not tradition or past.

· The church with a Mary Spriit is one that freely gives her money to missions and lets the building lights go out so the light of Christ may go forward.

· The church with a Mary Spriit is one who lets her guard down and washes the feet of Jesus. The one that serves the community for no gain other than to know Christ is given.

The question to ask ourselves; are we a Judas Church or a Mary Church? Are you a Judas or are you a Mary? There is not in between, the in between is lukewarm, and spit out of the mouth of God.

Pont 3: Jesus the one to receive our worship and his burial preparation

Jesus would speak about Mary, claiming the oil was to prepare for his burial. Indeed, in a weeks-time Jesus would be nailed to a tree, a sphere piercing his side, and his body would be buried dead for the forgiveness of sin, to rise on the third day to give you are in Christ life in the resurrection.

A life meant to worship Jesus and give him everything.

Conclusion: The call to devotion

This is a gospel call to devotion, for you a Christian, and for Highland in her next season of life. We are either a Judas or a Mary, both face the call to worship, only one gives it.

It is not an option; Christ came to give life and it cost him his. Christian take up your cross, and follow the Lord Jesus in the call of devotion.