LOVERS OF JESUS: AN EXAMPLE

Mark 14:1–11 ESV

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at 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. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 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. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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.” Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

When President Clinton professed "profound regret" last Friday over last year's accident in which 20 people died when a U.S. military plane severed the cable on an Italian ski lift, he echoed another recent pronouncement: In February, recall, he was "profoundly saddened" by a PEOPLE magazine puff piece on his daughter. If two events--one tragic, one trivial--evoke the same rhetoric of grief, is either statement meaningful?

We live in an age of profound baloney. Certain words have been turned upside down and had all meaning shaken from their pockets. In sports there have been enough Historic Moments, enough Epic Games, enough Greatest Players of All Time to render those phrases empty. Superlatives, even when appropriate, are bees that sting once, then die.

Mr. Rushin accurately and insightfully describes the challenge that lies before me this morning. How can I teach you what is profound in an age of profound baloney. How can I use superlatives appropriately and effectively if they have become bees that sting once and then die.

Today’s text is an extraordinary text inside of extraordinary Scriptures. All of Scripture is given to us for our instruction and obedience and yet Jesus says of this passage

Mark 14:9 ESV

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.”

Today’s text will evoke a response from us all. Some will dismiss it as religious fanaticism. Others will hear the Spirit say “this is the way walk in it” and simultaneously experience an internal struggle to that way. A third group will understand more fully that he is worth it all and will begin to live in such a way.

Today’s text was written to convict not condemn. The aim of conviction is repentance. The aim of repentance is refreshment. The aim of refreshment is compulsion.

LOVERS OF JESUS EXPRESS THEIR LOVE . . .

PUBLICLY

Mark 14:3 ESV

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at 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.

John 12:1–3 ESV

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 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.

There were at least 15 men in the room when she entered; Jesus, the 12 disciples, Lazarus, and Simon the Leper.

LOVERS OF JESUS EXPRESS THEIR LOVE

IMPLICITLY

Implicitly: without actually saying so; in a way that does not use words. without question or reservation.

Her love for Jesus was implicit while many in today’s church practice what we might efficient love. Efficiency is the relentless taskmaster that drives all our decisions, all our proposals, all parts of our life. Efficiency pervades the church as well as the corporation. Everything we do is justified by its calculated contribution to established goals. Thus the disciples were quite modern to protest the "waste" of valuable oil. Jesus alerts us that efficiency is an inadequate governor for at least one crucial encounter: people with God. In worship, let efficiency take its place, but not a primary place. In evangelism, use resources wisely but do not calculate cost-benefits as accountants are trained to do. What appears to be waste may well bring Jesus supreme enjoyment, and that matters most.

Devotional writer Oswald Chambers wrote a devotion called “Have you ever been carried away for Him?” based on Mark 14:6.

Mark 14:6 KJV 1900

And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

If human love does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.

Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because it was useful, nor because there was anything in it at all beyond the fact that I love Him? Have I ever realized that I can bring to God things which are of value to Him, or am I mooning round the magnitude of His Redemption whilst there are any number of things I might be doing? Not Divine, colossal things which could be recorded as marvellous, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him? Have I ever produced in the heart of the Lord Jesus what Mary of Bethany produced?

We have to get rid of this notion—‘Am I of any use?’ and make up our minds that we are not, and we may be near the truth. It is never a question of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time.

Bishop Ryle writes, "If someone devotes time, money, and affection to the pursuit of worldly things, they do not blame him. If he gives himself up to the service of money, pleasure, or politics, they find no fault. But if the same person devotes himself and all he has to Christ, they can scarcely find words to words to express their sense of his folly. 'He is beside himself. He's out of his mind. He is a fanatic.' We can expect that. Because to many, a life that is devoted to God is a wasted life."

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast, I’ve stepped over the line; the decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed; my present makes sense; my future is secure. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded . I now live by faith, love by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power . My pace is set; my gait is fast; my goal is the heaven. My road is narrow; My way is rough; my companions few; my Guide reliable; my mission clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity; I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, nor meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I have prayed up, preached up, stored up, and stayed up the cause of Jesus Christ! I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns; give until I drop; preach until all know; and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me; My colors are flying high, and they are clear for all to see.

LOVERS OF JESUS EXPRESS THEIR LOVE

DECISIVELY

Where he actions impetuous or inspired?

Those around criticized for being impetuous (rash, emotional, impulsive). They called her actions wasteful while Jesus called it worship.

Her actions where not impulsive according to

John 12:7 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

they were inspired and yet they were more than inspired they were intentional. This act of love was premeditated. She broke the flask because she had predestined its entire contents for Jesus.

Mary’s actions were born out discipleship. One commentator said she was no doubt the best listener Jesus ever taught. Mary shows the key to living a devoted life to Christ? Those who better understand their sinfulness and the greatness of grace live more devoted. It was the words of Jesus that created the work Mary performed.

Lovers of Jesus do not be surprised when the apathetic hurl their rebukes and reprimands! Do not be surprised when your passion is called fanaticism. A fanatic because you express no caution. A fanatic because you appear to be acting rash and brazen. Do not lose heart or turn back when they tell you that your zeal has exceeded your knowledge. And when they call you mad, look into Heaven's grandstand, and you will find kinship, for you will see Noah, David, Job, Mary, and many more. You will find yourself amongst a few on earth but not so in the eternal. Remember our Savior's words in

Mark 10:29–31 ESV

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

If you take Paul's admonition seriously and run the race with all the energy that Christ supplies, you will be criticized. Walk in a manner worthy of your calling, and you will be chastised by those whose movements toward Heaven are so slow that one could question whether that is their destination.

Those who reviled her actions by their own actions revealed their heart.

Mary is an example of what Jesus wants His children to become. Jesus uses this story for comparison and contrast.

Mary is what a Christian should be while Judas is what most people are; Mary expressed Jesus value to her in what she gave to Him while Judas expressed Jesus value to him in what he received for Him.

Mary is what a Christian should be while the remaining disciples are best described by C.S. Lewis

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased

Mk 14:8 "She has done what she could do" Many saints in their twilight years tell me "I can't do what I once could" and I hear Jesus saying "do what you can do for it is a beautiful thing to me"!