Mark's Gospel Chapter 14 Verse 1. After two days was the feast of the Passover and of unleavened bread. The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, put him to death. But they said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. Being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spanknard very precious. She break the box and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always. And whencever ye will, ye may do them good. But me ye have not always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Mary, I say unto you, whithersoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Amen, just ending the words of verse nine. and we know the Lord will add his own blessing upon the reading. When we consider the New Testament and particularly the women that were mentioned of those who followed the Lord during his earthly ministry, then we might consider and be able to say that there were not a few Mary's. If you just turn over to John's Gospel chapter 20, you'll see a verse here where you might consider how the commentaries believe that there were four Marys at the cross. Verse 25, now there stood, John 20 that is, 25, now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and we know that she was called Mary, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. And as I said, the commentaries upon that verse would consider that every one of them was called Miri. The one that we have mentioned in these verses is not Magdalene. It's not the Miri that was the mother of Christ, but it is the Miri that was the sister to Martha in the town of Bethany. And as we look at this woman, Maybe that her actions come as a challenge to each one of us. You know, there are those of God's people who think that there's very little that they can do for the Lord. And they may consider themselves just to have one talent, making recognition of that parable that the Lord spoke about. But the lesson, men and women, is that whatever talents that the Lord has given to us, and maybe some of you have more than one, as in the parable. But whatever that talent is or talents are, they're not to be hidden away, but they are to be used for him. And that thought lends itself to this occasion. When the Lord was to be found in the house of one by the name of Simon the leper in Bethany, the plans already are afoot as to how wicked and cruel men would take the Lord. and they would seek to put him to death. We have that in the words of verse one, after two days was the feast of the Passover on unleavened bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft and put him to death. They wouldn't do it openly in an open fashion as it were, but they were seeking to do it by craft, by deceit. And those plans were well on their way. But ere that was to come about, there was a woman who had work to do. And she is mentioned here as a woman with an alabaster box of ointment. A look at John's account of this very passage, and by the way, it is also mentioned in Matthew. So three out of the four gospels carry this very same occasion. But if you give account to John's account in John chapter 12, she is named as Mary. the very sister of Martha unto Lazarus. The timing we read in John chapter 12 is six days before the Passover. So in other words, we're in the very last week. We're in the very days before the Lord will be hanging on that cross at Calvary. But it is to the service of Mary. I want us to just think for a little time for here is a memorable Mary. You'll notice her work, even though the Lord was in another's house, even though the Savior was making preparations for the Last Supper, when he would sit down with his disciples and give that upper room discourse. And while within a few days, he would finish the work of our redemption for sinful and lost mankind. Yet, the startling thing, no doubt, is this. that the work of Mary is here recorded. The Holy Ghost doesn't consider it to be out of place. It's recorded of how she came with a precious box of ointment and was to break it and have it poured upon the head of the Lord. And men and women, there's often, there's a little train of thought there. If you want a little study, you consider the many things that in the scriptures had to be broken before they were of use. The bread that a little lad brought to feed the multitudes, it was broken before it had to be spread out to feed those great thousands. The box of ointment here had to be broken. And being broken, the house would have been filled with the aroma. And for us to be of service to the Lord, we've got to be broken. A broken and a contrite spirit, the Lord will not despise. There's a big study for you. And this box was broken. The Passover was come, it was time for action on Mary's part. She could have not let the opportunity go by or else it would have been too late. But you'll note that her work was rebuked. Verse 4, there were some that had indignation within themselves and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. Their murmurs were there in the house. They considered it a great waste that those who believed it would have been put to better use. In other words, here was something that was misplaced. And we shouldn't be surprised that when the name of Judas comes to the fore in John's account, John chapter 12. For you see, Judas was a thief and Judas had done his sums. And understand that one penny a day was a laboring man's wages. And he did the sums that here was nearly ointment that was worth a full year's wage. Under pretense he suggested that it might be put to better use by giving the worth of it to the poor. I say to you under pretense because the Holy Ghost makes sure that we know his heart. God looketh not on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart. He did not care tuffins for the poor. He wanted the money. John 12 and six says this, this he said not that he cared for the poor. This is what God says. I'm gonna touch on a little moment, the motivation. The motivation of what Judas said that night wasn't for love for Christ, wasn't for the work of the care of the poor. He didn't care for the poor, the Holy Ghost writes, but because he was a thief and bear the bag and bear what was put therein. That's the reason why he said what he said. Without the work of grace in his heart, he couldn't see what Mary saw. He couldn't understand the worth and the value of what Christ meant to Mary, for she looked not upon the cost of the ointment, but she looked upon the preciousness of her Savior. Doesn't it remind us, however, that the work that is done for God will always be scorned and rebuked by those whose priority is different? The Lord himself was to remind us exactly of that in the words of what is called the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 11. He says, blessed are ye when men shall revive you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice in the exceeding love, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted day the prophets which were before you. Don't be surprised when you have the murmurs. Don't be surprised when there are those who will rebuke you for what you do for the Lord. We should not be discouraged either. When others do not see and they do not understand the work that we do for the Lord. You see, like Mary, we do not seek to do the work for the applause of men. We do not seek to do it for the approval of men, but rather of the Lord. Consider here that our work will be rewarded. You see, it was the Savior who said that the one who gave a cup of cold water in my name, even to one of these little ones, would not go unrewarded. That surely includes the work of Mary. No work will go unrewarded. We're reminded of those words at the end of the Canon of Scripture that the Lord says in Revelation 22 and 12, behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according to his work shall be as his work shall be. You see, the example of Mary is an incentive for each one of us to put our hand to the work that God has given to us. and to do what we can while it is the day of opportunity for service. For you see, men and women, young people, the time is marching on and soon it will be heard. The shout will be made, the bridegroom cometh. You see here something of Mary's work. And as I have made reference already, I want you to notice her motivation. Our motivation for doing anything for God is important. I want to underline that to you. God knows the heart. God knows the motivation behind anything that we seek to do. The motive for the complaint of Judas was he coveted the money. The motivation for the hypocrites to stand in the street corners and to be heard of men and their long praying was to be seen of men. But look at the motivation which drove Mary to do what she did. It was out of love for our Saviour. We ought not to be surprised at such love or devotion or thankfulness for this was a Mary who while standing in that graveyard was to see her own brother Lazarus raised from the dead by the command of the Lord. This was the one whom she befriended and welcomed into the house in Bethany many, many times over. Mary had received so much from him. She counted it but a little thing to be able to show her love in this fashion before his disciples, before others, and all who were gathered there that day. The well-known words of C.T. Studd, a famous cricketer who'd left everything behind to be a missionary to China, are very applicable. If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for him. Our service for God can be a reflection of how much we love him. If we love him, we will seek to do his bidding and the manner in which God's work ought to be done. We'll seek to keep his commands. We'll seek to follow his word. We'll seek to pray for the souls of others, those that cannot pray for themselves. We will desire that greater work that's done in our own hearts, never mind anybody else's, that we will have that closer walk with God that the Hemrider speaks about. Notice that the motivation of doing what she did was in the light of Calvary. The Lord had forewarned of his coming death, and Mary was one who had heard those words. She had appreciated something that the others had missed. That's evident by what the Lord says himself. I refer to the account of Matthew, Matthew 26, in the words of verse 12. He says, for in that she had poured this ointment on my body. She did it for my burial. We've read it in her passage tonight, Mark chapter 14 and eight. She had done what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint my body to the burial. Her work that day was foreshadowing his death and burial, which would take place within just a matter of hours. And for that reason, I believe she understood this was something that Mary had planned to do. She recognized she mightn't get an opportunity to anoint him for the burial when the time came. Because he would be put to death on the cross. He would be put to death by the hands of wicked men. She couldn't get near, even the time where she would anoint the body of the beloved Savior. And so she comes and does it now. She must have heard of his death. She must have thought of his coming as a savior to the world to die for sinful men. She must have realized, that's my substitute that would die on the cross in my stead so that I might be set free. Words of Isaiah may have come home to her heart, that this was the root out of the dry ground. This was the man of sorrows. This was the man acquainted with grief. And therefore in the light of Calvary, she does this great work. What does seem not to be true of us? We're not looking forward like Mary, we're looking back on Calvary and what Christ has accomplished there. We love him because he first loved us and there's that desire to labor for the Lord for all that he has accomplished on our behalf. Is that our motivation? You consider her motivation was the fact that Mary lived for those personal dealings with the Lord. Her vision was taken up with Christ. Her mind, her affections, her heart, her will, her worship were all devoted to the Lord. It was so in the house where Mary sat at the Savior's feet. She had that good part that Martha missed out on. Luke chapter 10 reminds us of that. She was cumbered about with much serving. But Luke 10 and the words of verse 39 tells us of Mary. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. She was preoccupied with Christ. I wonder did the Lord speak to her there in her home about his death? about his imminent death. When he was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 18, with Moses and Elias, he spoke to them about his death. About his decease, that's what the word means. We can't be dogmatic, what the Lord taught Mary in her house, but here's something we can say, it surely was profitable for her. I believe Martha learned a lesson that day, because the next time she was found with a saviour in John 12. In John's gospel again, We find her at the feet of Christ, this time following the death of her brother. John chapter 11, I should say, and the words of verse 32. It says, then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto the Lord, if thou has been here, my brother had not died. So in their own home, Mary sat at the Lord's feet, When her brother dies and there's bereavement that comes to the home, where's Mary? She's at the Savior's feet. And now in another house of Simon the leper, Mary's still found at the Savior's feet. Her motivation, she desired those personal dealings with the Lord. Sometimes men and women, our vision of Christ can be blurred. We're no different to the disciples of course. You come back a few chapters, Mark chapter 8, the disciples had just witnessed the power of Christ in feeding the multitudes. When they left that area and they got into the boat, the Savior mentioned about the leaven of the Pharisees to beware of it. And you know the disciples were all taken up in the physical. Verse 16, they reasoned among themselves, saying, it's because we have no bread. They'd forgotten to bring bread with them. And they were all taken up with the physical. When in actual fact, the Lord was speaking to them in a spiritual context. The leaven of the Pharisees, the sin amongst the Pharisees. And their vision was already blurred. Verse 18, having eyes see you not, having ears hear you not, and do you not remember when I break the five loaves among 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? And they say unto him, 12. And when the seven among 4,000, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? And they said, seven. And he said unto them, how is it you don't understand? You can't be seriously worrying about no bread with you when I have multiplied the bread to the 5,000 and to the 7,000. He was speaking in the spiritual. I wonder did the Lord show this to them in the miracle that follows that? There's no coincidence that when we read further on in verse 22, they come to Bethsaida, and what do we find him doing? He touches a blind man. And the blind man's vision is healed in two stages. I wonder was that what he was teaching the disciple, your vision was blurred. How is our vision of the Savior? How much of Christ takes up our vision when we get into the wee quiet place wherever it is in our reading? Is it just to get the reading over with and on you go with the duties of the day? How much of our vision of Christ do we get in our praying and our working for him? Our faith men and women can become so academic that we lose the freshness of those personal dealings with Christ. They can become so stale, even in the Lord's work. Pray that you never have a loss of vision or lose the freshness of those dealings that the Lord has with you. Another little thought here you'll find and that is her memorial. Many strive today to leave this, that and the other behind them. You know none can leave a better legacy behind than what was said of Mary. Verse 8, she had done what she could. Our Lord expects no greater. Just to be faithful. and what he has commissioned to our hand and to our care. You see, we are accountable for the work which he has led to our charge, and we're to serve the Lord in this our day and generation. We are given a little note about David, King David, that is, in Acts chapter 13. It says, for David, after he served his own generation by the will of God, I don't need to read any further, because that's the part that I want to emphasize to you. He served his own generation. We're not accountable for the generation past. We can't live in the past. We hear many of our older folks talk about those days in the free church in the past, but we can't live there. We can desire them back again, yes, but we can't live there. We are to serve our generation. When our race has been run, what a testimony to have. She has done what she could. They're standing around the open grave. Your old body's going down, our minds going down into the earth, and we're already in glory with the Lord. Wouldn't it be lovely for someone to be able to say he had done what he could? But more importantly for the Lord to be able to say it. You note that Mary was one who gave her all. She gave her time to sit at the Saviour's feet. She gave her attention to Him. She gave the preciousness of the ointment and its worth to Him. It's like a little woman that the Lord noticed in the temple. You're sitting over against the treasury. No one else noticed her but the Savior did because she threw two mites into the plate. And he turned around and he said to his disciples that day, there was a widow that cast in all that you had. Wasn't much in the eyes and the measurements of the rich, but it was all that you had. And the interesting thing about that is, in verse 8, she had done what she could. The same words are used as in Mark 12 and 44 about that woman. She had given all. Mary had given her all. That would also be said of our service for God. For he deserves no less. Let's give our best to the children in the Sabbath school. Let's give our best to the children's work in the thirsty night. Our best to the young people. Our best in the open air. Our best even in the work of God in this corner of the vineyard. Let's give our time to wait upon God in the prayer meetings. Give the best time in reading. and praying and meeting with God in your home. Not when you're about just to nod off. Before I went into, I was in secular employment before I went into the college. One of my works was a manager of the phone station. And that was all right, but Thursdays, I only started at one o'clock and didn't finish till 11. I was getting my dinner about half eleven at night. And then I had to get up for the early shift the next morning at half seven. There was one night in particular that I got that dinner into me, went and done my quiet time. I woke up at three o'clock, I was still holding the Bible. I didn't get the length of the bed. It can happen. We give the best time to the Lord in the meeting with him. Her memorial is one which will be remembered for all time. As long as the gospel is preached, wherever it is preached, then mention is also to be made of the service of this Mary. That's what the Lord says. Verily I say, verse 9, Whithersoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Heaven and earth will one day pass away, but my word shall never pass away. And wherever we read about Christ's crucifixion, just before it, we'll be reading about Mary. The one that broke the yellow box, their box of ointment for the burial of the Savior. Doesn't remind us that's only what's done for God will last. It's only what's done for God will last. And what Mary did in the house that day will always be remembered. And you know, in closing, I want you to see just in this, there's no mention of her saying anything. That's difficult for a woman. But she's silent. She's silent when she's in her house and she's sitting at the Savior's feet and being taught of Him and meeting with Him. And here, there's not a word. She's still silent as she breaks that box and she anoints the Lord on the way to Calvary. May God help us to sit often where Mary sat And to do a faithful work that He has given unto us. And there's times when our words need to be few, as the Proverbs speaks about. When we're in the presence of the Lord, you're aware of nothing. He is everything. John could say he must increase, I must decrease. Mary had that good part, and she loved it. Because at least three times over we have it recorded, she's at the Saviour's feet. May that be so for us even in these days. May the Lord bless His Word tonight for John D'Amico.