chapter 12, John chapter 12. In our pursuit of the Lord Jesus life and ministry we've come to a moment when he has arrived in the suburbs of Jerusalem and at this point in his journeyings we're going to encounter two lessons and I want to set them out in advance so that you can be listening for the these lessons as we go through our message this morning. These are lessons about spiritual life and fellowship with Jesus. One, you're going to hear something of God's attitude regarding your wealth and your devotion to Jesus. What is the connection? How do these work together? And then secondly, you're also going to be helped to see why it is that some Christians greater devotion to Jesus Christ than others? This is a perplexing kind of question that some Christians and even pastors continually ask, and it's something that we should be seeing in this passage this morning. Why is it that some Christians have greater devotion to Jesus Christ than others? Now first let me remind you of the historical context of where we are in this journey with Jesus as we have arrived at John chapter 12. Within the preceding months leading up to this moment, we've encountered a number of experiences that we've documented in various passages concerning what Jesus has been doing. Some of these passages we've looked at have been discourses by Jesus or teachings, but others have been events. For example, three months earlier, Jesus was journeying up near the southern part of the Sea of Galilee and he encountered ten lepers. They came and got near to Jesus, and he declared them healed because that's what they asked for. Nine went away. One returned to thank Jesus. And that particular leper left not only with his life changed because he had been healed of a life-debilitating disease, but also because he received eternal life, he received salvation. And then there was the event where a rich young magistrate came to Jesus and he was very enthusiastically asking what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life. But we have learned that he left without eternal life. Why? Because it turns out that he loved his money more than he loved the prospect of inheriting eternal life. He had an idol. Couldn't give it up. You can't live with a first love for an idol and have Jesus as Lord. And then we also saw Jesus having to rebuke two of his closest disciples, James and John, sons of Zebedee. because of their arrogance, because of their self-satisfying ambition to be placed in the highest positions in the coming kingdom that they were expecting Jesus was going to inaugurate very soon. And he had to reprove them for that attitude. And then last Sunday we encountered the man who was the greatest or at least recognized to be the greatest sinner in the whole metropolitan area of Jericho. His name was Zacchaeus. He was the regional IRS collector for the Romans. But he came to Jesus in a very odd way, and we saw that last week, because he wanted to scope out the Messiah, the one who everybody was calling Lord. And they did have eye-to-eye contact, and that led to a personal meeting, and then that led further to repentance on the part of this sinner, this great sinner, and that led to salvation for Zacchaeus. So there is salvation, even for those who are socially regarded to be the absolute worst in society. And Zacchaeus demonstrated that. Now the event we encounter in this particular passage in John's gospel, which I will say is on page 990 if you're using the Pew Bible, John chapter 12, this event occurs in early April, John tells us that it is about a week before the Jewish Feast of Passover, one of the three great annual feasts. in the Jewish calendar annually. And so from Jericho, Jesus and the disciples, along with other pilgrims who would have been traveling as part of their entourage, caravanning from Galilee down the Jordan River Valley southward toward Jericho, and then 3,000 feet up the Ascent of Adamin from Jericho to the Mount of Jerusalem, this group of pilgrims would have come along to join all the other pilgrims who were quickly getting into Jerusalem early so that they could go through ceremonial washing and be ready for the festival of Passover. A Jesus group, his disciples and himself, they took a side path once they reached Jerusalem, probably went across the Kidron Valley and then to the east over the Mount of Olives into the little town of Bethany. Bethany was where Jesus' friend Lazarus lived along with his sisters Mary and Martha. The thing is that we know from our reading of the Gospels that at this time Jesus was a marked man. We know that after the raising of Lazarus from the dead that many Jews had begun to go over to Jesus' side and follow him. The miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead was an irrefutable confirmation that this one claiming to be the Messiah was authentic. He was doing the works of God. And the chief priests and the Pharisees were seeking to arrest him, and they were looking for some kind of an excuse that they could put him to death because he was messing with their power and their authority. Would you look with me backwards just a little bit in John chapter 11, where John sets this up for us in verse 45 through 47, how it reads, therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him. This is coming to Mary after the resurrection of her brother Lazarus. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Verse 47, so the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, what are we going to do since this man does many signs? And as I've said before, here you have the enemies of Christ historically validating the fact that the miracles that Jesus was doing at that time, they regarded as authentic. And it's always been an amazing thing to me that today in the 20th century, we have people who say, oh, no, no, no, no, they were not authentic. What? Whose word are we going to take, friends? The people who saw it? Or the people today who over 20 centuries have grown more wise and skillful in observation of third and fourth hand witnesses? Verse 48, if we let him continue in this way, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation. One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all. You're not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish. So here's the chief priest, the religious leader of Israel at this time. suggesting that the murder of an innocent man would be a good thing for the nation in order to get any kind of rivalry out of their hair. It's astonishing. But that's where their malevolent minds were running. Then run down to verse 53. So from that day, they plotted to kill him. And then again in verse 55, the Jewish Passover was near and many went up to Jerusalem from the country to purify themselves before Passover. They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple complex, what do you think? He won't come to the festival, will he? The chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it so they could arrest him. And that's the reason they were asking the question, You don't think he'll come to Jerusalem. He won't come back here, will they? You know that the Sanhedrin have their police force out looking for him. So it's only natural that these pilgrims gathering in the temple in advance of the celebration of Passover would be interested in seeing if Jesus is going to show up. Will he show up? Because, think about it, for Jesus to not show up after three years of proclaiming himself to be the Messiah, oh yes, he did. He said, I am God. I and the Father are one, over and over. Before Abraham was, I am, I'm eternal. And onward it went. And yet, he certified all of his claims with his miracles. For him to not show up would appear to the common people to be a virtual surrender to the authorities, to the religious establishment, to the Jerusalem swamp, if you will. But the flow of visitors that were also going to Bethany because they heard that Jesus had arrived there, and they were also hearing about the event of the resurrection of Lazarus, This curiosity was driving them to go across the Kidron Valley to seek after this phenomenon of resurrected Lazarus and the master teacher, Jesus. So the plan of the Sanhedrin and their police force, for that matter at that time, failed because it would be quite difficult to go about arresting Jesus surrounded by a crowd of well-wishers, as he was. And that brings us to our text in chapter 12, verse 1, where it reads, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. So John gives us the time and the place of this event, of the dinner party being held in Bethany. And Jesus, we would assume, had probably finished walking from Jericho up to Jerusalem and then over to Bethany, probably on Friday, in order that he and his disciples would not be overreaching the limits of walking on Sabbath, which would start at 6 o'clock on Friday evening. And Bethany, of course, as we remember, was the home where Jesus' dear friend, Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. And Jesus would have probably arrived that Friday evening by six o'clock, and then they would have all rested on Friday evening and then through the Sabbath of the following Saturday until the evening when the Sabbath would end about six o'clock, which would be typically sunset, end of the Sabbath day. And that's when they would have then begun all the preparations for this banquet and setting up at the house of Simon the leper who was going to be hosting the party. Party for the whole community of Bethany. Matthew and Mark tell us that it was to be held at the home of Simon the leper. Now understand if Simon had not, Simon by this time was cured of his leprosy because if he still was actively suffering from the disease, nobody could have gone into his house. So this is a name of someone who had suffered from leprosy and apparently had been healed by it. Whether that was by Jesus, we do not know. But apparently he had probably the largest home in the community, or at least he had the largest patio where the dinner could be held and where many of the people from the town of Bethany could come and enjoy this party together. Matthew and Mark, when you read their narratives, they give a recording of an event that sounds almost identical to what John is recording. Some have thought that it's not the same because where Matthew and Mark position their record of the event, it seems like it's taking place after the triumphal entry, which will take place the next day, according to John's chronology. I think they're talking about the same event, and I don't feel that there's a contradiction in the timing of Matthew and Mark as opposed to John, because if you read carefully Matthew and Mark's accounts, even though they sound identical in most of the aspects to what John has recorded, but they never say exactly when it took place. So I am understanding that what Matthew and Mark are doing is placing the event in a position in the flow of their narrative that suits the themes that they're trying to develop, whereas John is fitting it in a point where it is the proper historical chronology. So I don't see a conflict between these two reports, and I do see them as speaking of the same event. And John goes on to tell us that the event was arranged in a typical Oriental style. You have the serving table in the middle and then like the spokes of a wheel going out from the table would be these padded benches that those who were the honored guests could get right up to the main serving table and they would recline with their head closest to the feeding table or the serving table. and then they would eat and feed themselves in such a way. I'm not sure that's the most comfortable way to eat, but that's the way they did it. Martha, it says, was in her typical role. What would that be? She was serving. I love the way Alfred Edersheim points out the striking contrast, if you think about it, The striking contrast between the atmosphere of what's taking place at the dinner party in Bethany and what's taking place over the valley in Jerusalem. Think about it. There's calm. People are enjoying themselves. There's no restlessness. Jesus and his companions are enjoying a meal across the valley in Jerusalem. There's scheming, there's haste, there's unsettledness, there's worry, there's fear, and there's anxiety in the hearts of his enemies. Feel the contrast? Good. You should. Jesus knew what was coming. His enemies thought they had a plot. But Jesus also knew that nothing could happen to him or to any of his disciples until the divine clock hit the alarm and it was time for him to die. And so therefore, Jesus, although very aware of what was going on in Jerusalem, was able to remain calm and enjoy time with his disciples and his friends. In verse three reports, Mary going into action. We know her sister was serving, and Mary was going about what she typically did, demonstrative devotion. We see this in verse three, the action of Mary. Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. Now here John tells us of Mary honoring the Lord. Most Jewish women were fond of perfumes and so it seems quite reasonable that at some time Mary had probably acquired a very special gift or purchase of one of the finest perfumes known at that time. It was a perfume that would be made of ingredients that were imported from the Himalayan mountains of India. And Mark tells us that she had a vial containing very costly ointment of nard. So this would be the fragrance of nard that would be combined with special oils and made into a perfume. and hearing Jesus make occasional pronouncements about the coming of his death, Mary had parked these thoughts in her mind. She would have gotten these from people talking about things that Jesus had said in Galilee and in some of his walks through other regions, and the disciples had definitely heard, at least by this time, three specific discussions by Jesus of his coming arrest, his being maltreated by his enemies, crucified, and then risen from the dead. This was not something that should have been news to the disciples. And Mary, being sensitive and interested and earnest to know as much as she could, was picking up on any of these mentions of things coming that she could. So hearing Jesus make these comments about a coming death, she had decided to take this treasure that she had and reserve it in order to use it at a time that she thought would be appropriate because it was very often these perfumes were used to anoint the bodies of deceased loved ones. And she had decided to reserve it for that purpose with respect to Jesus. What is a symbolism of this action? Mary is definitely honoring Jesus. Jesus would have been the honored guest at the party, and honored guests were usually recognized by having at least their feet washed, but very commonly having some kind of special anointment put on their heads to honor them. This would also have been, with her anointing his feet, an expression of humble service as well. And I thought an awful lot about this gesture of wiping his feet with her hair. Not a lot of commentators really get involved in discussing that, and I was sort of curious about why. Then it occurred to me that in that time, in that culture, in spite of the fact that Mary and Jesus were friends, It was not commonly appropriate for a woman to have physical contact with a man. Most of the time, a man would be dressed in full gown with only his hands and possibly his feet sandaled and then his head exposed at all. So it strikes me that what Mary has done is let her hair down, which would also have been a gesture of humility because in that time, Any woman in public never let her hair down unless she was of ill repute. But in this case, it strikes me that Mary used her hair as a layer between the feet of Jesus and her own hands so that she could massage the ointment on his feet without actually inappropriately touching him. Matthew and Mark, of course, tell us of the anointing of Jesus' head. And that is important because it would symbolize that he had received the full honors of an honored guest, as well as what John tells us about the anointing of his feet. And the anointing of his head would have been symbolic of Mary's regard of him as her Messiah. She was anointing him like a king would be anointed, as the Messiah would appropriately be anointed. But John's emphasis seems to be focused on humble devotion Mary gave to him as his servant. So Mary is treating Jesus as the honored guest at the banquet and giving full public recognition of the fact that she saw him as the Redeemer to come. She saw him as the Messiah. And soon we're gonna hear Judas explain the value of this gift that Mary has given to Jesus. that Mary's honored Jesus with. He will say in just a moment, well, this was worth 300 denarii. This could have been sold, you know, and the money, the proceeds from the sale of this precious perfume could have been then given to the poor. 300 denarii, understand, was the equivalent of one full year's work for the average laborer. Given 52 Sabbaths a year off, And the fact that one denier a day was the working man's wage, you have the equivalent, as you see, of one year's wages. Think about it today. Let's put it in modern terms. Let's say you're a laborer and you're earning somewhere in the range of $12 an hour. You work a 40-hour week, you work 50 weeks out of the year, you get two weeks for holiday. That comes to $24,000. That's a... Pretty valuable perfume, isn't it? I don't know what a quarter ounce of Halston goes for today, but it ain't $24,000. Just to give you a sense of the value that Mary was graciously giving to honor Jesus. Now we might rightly ask, why did she do this? Mary was consistently listening to Jesus, Unlike the disciples who, you know, even up to this point were arguing about, well, shouldn't, if James and John are going to fight for positions one and two, we went in on that deal too. We've been through that. Mary didn't have that privilege of constant association with Jesus, so she was very intent on getting whatever information she could. But unlike the disciples who had all these thoughts of self-importance and ambition, she didn't have that to clog up and to filter her discernment of what Jesus was saying was coming. And unlike the disciples, she didn't have a problem refusing to accept the fact that Jesus had said he was gonna die. After all, those guys were looking for the establishment of the great kingdom and the power and to get rid of the Romans, and Mary is hearing I'm going to die. I'm going to die. And the disciples are basically saying, yeah, well, no, that's not going to happen. So she's meditated on these words of Jesus and came to accept them. Maybe she didn't totally understand how that worked with the messianic kingdom and the promises of great days to come in the Old Testament, but she accepted them. being more spiritually tuned into Jesus than the disciples, it would appear that she recognized that the time was probably near, certainly because she knew that the announcement had gone out from Jerusalem that the police were looking for Jesus. Now, this would not be just to have a chat with him. No, everybody knew that they wanted to get rid of him. So she was especially clear in her mind when she heard of these intentions to arrest him. And her love is deepening for him as the end appears to be coming, and she has no hesitation to honor Christ with her most expensive gift. So Mary's action reminds us what's really important is the spiritual dimension in our lives. Our attentiveness to Jesus, our focus on him, Meaning regular meditation on his teachings and meditation on his example, how he treated people, how he lived. And out of this comes insight, it comes love, and comes conviction that motivates the heart in following after Christ. So John tells us at the end of verse three that the house was filled with the fragrance of Mary's gift of the perfume. Must have been a marvelous atmosphere. The calm, the rejoicing together, being together as a community, and the house just filled with the fragrance of one of the most expensive perfumes known in the world. And then we come to the reaction of Judas. Verses four to six. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was about to betray him, said, why wasn't this fragrant oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? And why did he say this? We read in verse six, he didn't say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag and would steal part of it. At least he would steal part of what was put into the bag. And that's what John knew. At least he probably learned that later on after the fact. So here we have this wonderful moment. of people loving, demonstrating faith, demonstrating humble service for the Lord Jesus Christ, this atmosphere of sweet fragrance, and then suddenly a dark, damp, cloud, musty, stinky, begins to descend on the whole place. Statement of Judas. He criticizes Mary's act. He criticizes what Mary did. What a contrast. Think about it. Mary gives her great gift to Jesus and Judas would have kept it because he was a thief. He'd have probably gone and sold it and said, oh yeah, I made 300 denarii to give to the poor. Meanwhile, he's taken out his 20% or whatever he could take out before it would be discovered. Mary draws attention to Jesus. Judas draws attention away from Jesus to an unnamed crowd of people called the poor. And Judas regarded the act as a senseless waste. What a waste. You can hear the sneer, the cynicism. What a waste. Jesus would regard it as, and we'll understand from Matthew and Mark, he regards it as a gesture of love that deserves perpetual memorial And that's what we see in Matthew and Mark. And what's fascinating is how Matthew and Mark also tell us that the other disciples joined in with Judas' criticism. Judas was operating out of pure hypocrisy. He didn't care for the poor. And it's fascinating to see how the cynicism, the negativity of this one dishonest hypocrite spiced in a disgusting way the attitude of the other 12 disciples. Now, Judas had no interest in the poor. Judas was frustrated because he felt that he missed an opportunity for a great score. And I love what S. Lewis Johnson has said, quote, how vividly this expresses the fact that one may be very close to the Lord and to Christians outwardly and yet so very far away in their hearts. I think we have a lot of churches today filled with people who give every outward appearance of being close to the Lord and in good fellowship, but their hearts, they're not there. And under the sound of Judas' fake righteousness, the other disciples submitted, probably with honest intentions, but nevertheless, they submitted to Judas' reign on the parade. Here's a principle. how overbearing and distressing some self-serving negative appraisal can be on a believer who is really seeking to make a sincere, loving gesture of devotion to Christ. Think about this. Judas must have been able to impress the rest of the disciples with some kind of devotion, some kind of facade of devotion to cause them to entrust him with their money. After all, who else was in the group? Matthew! Who would have been a better accountant than Judas, the guy who lived doing money stuff all of his life? And yet, somehow Judas had persuaded them that he was the guy who should be taking care of the money. Well, here's also another warning to the church. I say to you, beware of spiritual bullies. They're out there. Beware of spiritual bullies who mask their own prejudices and their self-interests. in earnest, sounding, pious statements. I've been victimized by that. People who have said, my conscience tells me that this should not happen or that should happen, and the forcefulness of it and the concern to defer to someone's strong feelings of conscience caused me at a point to go, okay, when it should have been, Really? I can see that you feel very strongly about that. But I would first like you to tell me how you feel strongly about that because of what the Word of God says. Beware of falling victim to critical spirit of people who are out of step with the Lord, because it's there, it's out there. And beware of spreading your own discontent because you are out of step with the Lord. When I was in car sales, I had a lot of encounters with a category I came to call Christian jerks. They would talk about how they were from this church or from that church. And in the process of doing the deals of buying their cars, it was kind of like, Are you kidding me? And I would send them away with their car or without a sale. And in my own mind going, whew, wonder what church that, what that church is like. Nasty. But what an irony. On the one hand, Judas, Jesus was one who had made himself poor. in order to come into this world and make sinners rich. And he was the one who was said he didn't have a place to lay his head. He didn't have his own house. And if he wasn't given hospitality, he's gonna sleep outside with his head on a rock. Poor in this world sense of poverty. Here, he's interceding for this woman who has made this most marvelous sacrificial gesture of love for him. because she discerns the time, and she has discerned who he really is. Do we have that discernment, beloved? Do we really sense how precious is the gift of the gospel? Or do we go, yeah, I'm saved, and off we go, with no regard for Jesus Christ the rest of our day? No way of setting aside things that we really would like to do because we have come to learn that we need to hear from Christ in his word. Finally, we hear Jesus' response to Judas in verses 7 and 12. A word of defense for Mary in verse 7, I read, Jesus answered, leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. In other words, stop. Stop this callous attack on Mary. What are you guys doing? Mary's kept her treasure in order to prepare me for burial. It's interesting how the original Greek grammar reads, literally, leave her alone so that to the day of burial she may keep it. I think the best understanding of that is that there was some left over. And rather than Mary feeling pressure that she'd have to take the rest of this, go out into the market and say, okay, I got a half of an alabaster vial full of this precious perfume. Will you give me 100 denarii so I can give it to the poor? Under the pressure of Judas and the other disciples, Jesus was saying, no, no, keep it, keep it for the time of my burial. Jesus' remark concerning his burial is not what would have been expected at this point. Points to the extent in which what was coming was trafficking in his mind, even in the midst of this party. Oh, Jesus would keep the party calm. He wouldn't disclose everything going on in his mind and his heart so that they could enjoy their time. But going through his mind was six days from now, I'm going to be hanging on a cross. And Mary had entered into his mind. Mary, even though he might not have been sharing this directly with her, she had caught. She could probably see in his eyes that he's not all there, he's distracted. And she's sensing this. And I think Jesus recognized that. And he credits Mary with sharing his thoughts. Then there's a word of teaching for the disciples. Well, for all of us, all of us disciples. Look at verse eight. This is based on Jesus saying, leave her alone. Mary, keep it. Four, you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. Note here, Jesus playing contradiction to the vain dreams of the communists. The poor you will always have with you. The church has a part to play in alleviating unjust poverty, certainly. But it's a sad misunderstanding of human nature when there are Christians who think that they can create a system which will alleviate all the poverty in the world. It's a complete misunderstanding of human nature, a misunderstanding of the fact that humans who are sinners are going to create social engineering, which is going to alleviate all poverty, It's a complete theological fallacy, because people who are sinners operate in self-interest, and oftentimes self-interest is self-destructive. And until there is a change in the heart, that self-interested, self-destructive bent does not change. Note also that Jesus is unapologetic about claiming that he should be number one. Actually, the way The verse should read is with Jesus putting himself in the emphatic position, but me, you do not always have with you. What's he implying? The poor you will always have with you, but me, now is the time to be focusing in on me. And I think that's true even after he has been raised from the dead and today sits as our Lord in heaven. And in that statement, I think Jesus is pointing to the spiritual being of greater importance than the material or the social. And let's not forget that he was living in an age in which housing and disease and lack of jobs and viable income was on a scale we don't even know about today, especially here in North America. A right relationship with him will solve more problems than all the efforts of the engineering of social society without God. And I mean that to say society needs God or it's going to continue to careen into disaster. Jesus changes the sinful impulses of people's hearts so that we live modestly, generously, legally, lawfully, unlike having self-interested in criminal impulses. Let me just bring this in for a landing now. What is God's attitude regarding wealth and devotion to Jesus? I started out with that being a question. Mary discerned the priority of Christ over the possession of what was probably her most valued treasure, her alabaster of precious perfume. I think what we're hearing here is that wealth must always be regarded as secondary to devotion to Jesus. So, as you're living your life, ask yourself the question, when I have to make a choice between two options, whether they're both good, is the option to devote myself, to learn more about Christ, to follow his practices in this particular instance, is that my number one priority? That's when you're going to begin to learn a deeper devotion to Christ. Only Jesus delivers wealth in the heart. Only Jesus can give you peace. Only Jesus can give you the sense of a clear conscience, forgiveness. Only he can give you the sense of purpose in your life and a hope for the future. Beloved, are these not things that are so much supremely more valuable than the material things that we can invest in, pour out our lives to attain? And secondly, why is it that some Christians have greater devotion to Jesus than others? It's so simple. It really is. They give more devotion to Christ. They learn more of Christ. And as they listen to him more, they reflect more on how that should apply in their hearts and how that should be life-changing. And then they go beyond that to saying, how will I put this into practice? And though they may stumble through the attempt to apply it, in time, with the help of the mighty Holy Spirit, that practice begins to become consistent. And they are tracking with Jesus in that aspect of their lives. And they develop momentum. And they get into a groove of following Jesus in that practice. And then comes a new conviction, and they go through the same process. And in that motivation and that momentum they develop, there is joy. Because they are coordinating with the will of the God of the universe who made them for the purpose of being in fellowship with his son. It's not complicated. It doesn't make it easy. That's why we have the Holy Spirit. We have the mighty second person or third person of the Trinity put inside of us, if we are believers, to empower us in that way. Are we using our resources? I'll end with that question. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful for preserving for us the record of this event that we might be challenged and also encouraged to see the value put on fellowship with Christ and also be reminded of the value of the immaterial things. as opposed to the material things of this world. Help us, we pray, that this might become integrated into the way we live. In Jesus' name, and for his sake we pray, amen.