God willing, I would like to prepare us for Resurrection Day, and I would like this little mini-series to be called Jesus' Assistance to the Cross. And we're going to focus on three different assistants who assisted Jesus getting to the cross. And I trust it will be a blessing to you. And today we're considering Mary and her preparation for burial. So open your Bibles to John chapter 11 and I hope you will follow along in your Bibles and in your notes as we look at some very key characters I'm going to say and you'll see why after next week who assisted Jesus getting to the cross. John chapter 11 and I want to read this passage and then we will pray for the message. John chapter 11 verse 55 and I want you to notice the sandwich covers here because our focus is on chapter 12 verses 1 through 8 But there's a sandwich here. Notice this, verse 55 of John 11. And the Passover of the Jews was near and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. Then they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple. What do you think? That he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it that they might seize him. What did they want to do to Jesus? Seize Him. Notice verse 53. Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death. Who was doing this? Religious leaders. Chapter 12 verse 1. Then six days before the Passover. So this would have been a Saturday evening. after the end of the Sabbath, six days before the Passover on Friday. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper. and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. 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. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? 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. Then Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not always have. Then a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might also put Lazarus to death. Because on account of them, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. Isn't that amazing? You see the sandwich covers? They want to kill Jesus, arrest him. They want to kill Lazarus because he'd been raised from the dead. And in between that, we have a precious, precious story of Mary preparation for burial. Let's pray. Father, I pray you open our eyes and our hearts to this gospel truth. And Lord, help us to see the application. There's no gift that's too great for you. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift, the Lord Jesus. God so loved the world that he gave, and so there's no gift that we could give back that would be too great. So Lord, give us a merry heart and not a Judas heart. In Jesus' name, amen. Have you ever noticed that often a generous gift brings out a variety of emotions and responses. Some will see a generous gift given to others and rejoice with both the gift and the giver. But some will be jealous. Some will be resentful. Some will murmur and complain that the gift was for a reason, a motive, or that it should have been given differently, or that it should have been given to them. As such is the case with the text today, the giver is rebuked for the gift from a hypocritical heart of deception. Her gift, however, in a silent way, proclaimed the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It was a wonderful gift of devotion. Mary's devotion in an atmosphere of delight demonstrates Judah's deception and Jesus' destiny. Let me say it again. Mary's devotion in an atmosphere of delight demonstrates Judah's deception and Jesus' destiny. The account here is to propel Jesus even further to the cross, hence Jesus' assistance. It's to propel him to the cross, to the tomb filled, burial, and to the tomb empty. This is how we say Mary was Jesus' assistant to the cross. Now let's look at some context here in John's gospel, chapter nine. verse 24 just follow with me in your Bibles John 9 24. So they again called the man who was blind and said to him give God the glory we know that this man is a sinner. That's what they said about Jesus who healed the blind man. Chapter 10 verses 7 through 11. Jesus said to them again, most assuredly, I say to you, I'm the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. These Pharisees and Sadducees and chief priests, they were thieves and robbers. Verse nine, John 10 verse nine. I'm the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Verses 30 and 31 of John chapter 10. I and my father are one. then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. See this? He's a sinner. Jesus said, thieves and robbers have come before me. I and my father are one. Jews took up stones to stone him. Chapter 11, verses 4 through 53, we have this remarkable story, this amazing story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I came onto a comment somewhere, one of the commentaries or Bibles, that the Sadducees dominated as the chief priest, the ruling class, and they did not believe in the resurrection. That may be why they hated Lazarus so, because he was proof there was resurrection. Jesus brought him back from the dead. Very intriguing. So Jesus does this amazing miracle raises Lazarus back from the dead. He seals his miraculous claims that I am the resurrection and the life. He had power to raise the dead but his faith with the religious leaders was sealed by that. Notice John chapter 11. verse 50 Caiaphas the high priest said nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish an amazing prophecy that he made verse 51 now this he did not say on his own authority but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation Amazing. And not for that nation only, but also that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. That's us, the Gentiles. Praise the Lord. Then from that day on, they plotted to put him to death. And what was his crime? He raised a dead man. They wanted him dead. They were 10 shades of green jealous. And so they put out a warning, an issue to the people, the Passover. If you see him, tell us where he is, and we'll come and get him. And so chapter 12, verse 1, the Passover is at hand. Jesus' final week of life is in view here. Chapter 12, verse 12, the next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees. So there we have Palm Sunday. So this is the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Now let's walk through the passage. And I hope you'll pay careful attention about Mary's act of devotion. It came in a family atmosphere of delight. Chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, this is very significant, where Lazarus was. He had a special relationship with this family. Remember there was Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, a brother and two sisters. If you go back to chapter 11 verse 1, you see this. Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sister sent to him saying, Lord, the old he whom you love is sick. Jesus had a special relationship with this family, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And now they're back together. Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, and he's here in Bethany at this home. It appears to be the home of Simon the leper, whom Jesus must have cured of his leprosy. and so they're having this special time together he was alive again Lazarus was restored to his family to fellowship with Jesus and he was revered if you look at verse 9 a great many of the Jews knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus sake only but that they might also see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Let's go see this man who's come back from the dead. We would want to see him, wouldn't we? This is amazing. Lazarus was revered and then in verse 10, we see how he was resisted. They want to put him to death because he is proof that Jesus can raise the dead. So here is renewed fellowship in this close, precious atmosphere, family atmosphere of delight, renewed fellowship. And notice verse two, refreshing food. You say, where do you see that? Well, it says, there they made him a supper. It must have been good. It was for Jesus. I believe this is correct. Him in my Bibles capitalized. I believe it's talking about Jesus, not Lazarus. And the they, who all was involved with this? Well, at least one is involved. It says, and Martha served. Maybe it was townspeople, maybe it was people there, maybe it was servants in Simon's house, whoever it was, guests were present, and Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were present. Martha is the busy one, remember? She's the one that loves to serve, and she's involved, and Jesus and guests were present. So here is a delightful atmosphere. Let me just stop and insert something here as an application. I would urge all of you to do this, if you have more than one person in your home, especially families, or husbands and wives, eat meals together. Can you say that with me? Eat meals together. Not everyone necessarily, but meals together. So our modern day, come in, grab your microwave stuff, throw it in, go up to your room, close the door, put on the computer, the TV, and forget everybody. Or stand at the door, wait for Uber, they come, you don't have to get any exercise, you can get your food, go to your room, go wherever you want. Or you could all sit down and eat together, the same place, the same time. The highlight of my day when the kids were home, was being around a family table together. You know, psychologists have studied this and found that there are positive, educational, social, growing benefits when families eat, and it's like one or two meals, it's not even that many, together in our independent day we don't sit down and talk and eat together it's a great thing that's why I love church fellowships and we sit around and talk together and we can eat together and share food together what a blessing that is. Jesus did it. We have good role model for this. So, plan it into your schedule. And if you order your food from Uber or down the street or whatever, but come home and sit down at the table and say, well, it's just two of you. Well, two of you, great. Two of you. Right now, that's the way it is with us most of the time. And I love it. I love sitting down. It's a very special time together. So, that was all for free. No charge for that. By the way, if you're only one, then why not invite someone else who's only one? Then there'll be two of you, and that'll be a blessing. You could be a tremendous blessing to someone else. I've told you this before, but Oasis of Hope in Tijuana, Mexico, it's part of their whole plan. You don't sit like I do when I get my infusion. I'm in this little sterile room, you know, and they come in, pull the curtain, and the nurse is in there, you know, and comes and goes. You know, they're nice, they come in and say, you need something, you know, you want something to drink, you want a snack? And very different though, always you sit around a round table and you eat together and you get to know people. And last Saturday, I got a phone call from a fellow patient. He's in Pennsylvania and wow, I think, I got it good compared to some people. But we saw him there, cheery, he and his wife, his precious little two-year-old boy, young man fighting cancer. And I said to him one day, I said, because we were talking, I said, how old are you? He said, 35. Wow. And he'd already been through so much. Cheery and a blessing to pray with him. And you get to know folks. Months later, I get this phone call. And it was a blessing to me. And you know what I saw them do? There was a cranky old lady that came in as a patient, and it seemed like nothing was right. She griped about this and that. I know, I know. I got to get to preaching. But I'm on prednisone. Give me a break. This cranky lady came in as a patient. It seemed like everything was wrong. And I began to see her demeanor change. And Arlen and his wife and a little boy would sit with her in the round table. And then one day the lady said, Arlen and his wife loan me a Bible because I forgot my Bible. I thought, wow, things are changing in this lady. And I thanked him on the phone. I said, you all were so exemplary in reaching out to her and ministering to her. And he said, oh, people were so kind to us, reaching out to us. That's powerful, that's healing, that's therapeutic. So sit around the table and enjoy a meal with someone and give God thanks and glory and be a blessing. Let's go on to verse three, Mary's act of devotion. had powerful attributes on display. Notice verse three. Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointing the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Notice these powerful attributes on display. First of all, Display generosity. You see this? A pound of very costly oil. I am told this was about 12 ounces. And listen to this from the Net Bible. Nard, or spike nard, is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. The aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year's pay for an average laborer. And Judas knew that. That's what he meant by 300 denarii. That was a year's wages. Very expensive stuff. And it said it was in an alabaster box or vial. And Mary opened that and poured that on Jesus' head, according to the other gospels, Matthew and Mark, and on his feet here in John. Generosity poured out this costly, costly ointment. Was it inherited by her? Was it given to her by her husband if she had been married before? We don't know for sure, but it was very costly, and it was in her possession. The people took note of it, but notice this, the demonstrated humility and love, demonstrated humility and love. She's washing his feet, washing his feet. She demoted herself for Christ, demoted herself for Christ, down washing his feet. Now, the way these Mideastern meals would be, there would be this low table And people would recline on their left elbow with their head facing the table and with their right hand they would eat from probably common dishes. This was like at the Last Supper as well. And so the feet would be away from the table. And Mary came along and washed his feet. There's another scenario, possibly, and that was that this was before the meal, as a servant would wash the feet of a guest. But I'm thinking this was probably at the meal, because it says in verse 2, Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. So Mary's demonstrating generosity, humility, and love. And she demoted herself for Christ. and she dominated the atmosphere. Notice how it says this. The house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. The house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Notice these details. She anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. It's my understanding that it would not have been common for Jewish women to let their hair down in public, but she does this in the presence of Jesus in great humility, and that sweet aroma filled the house. And Jesus will show us how that indeed it will reach the world as this testimony is given. Was everybody happy with this? No, they are not. Notice verse four. But could I just stop and say this? If I, as a believer in Jesus, have an attitude about serving the Lord and I say, I'm too good for that. I hope this wasn't true. I've shared it before, but it made an impression on me. There were doctoral students in a prominent seminary. Maybe they had even graduated. And they came to one of the professors and said, you know, can you help us get into a school? We want a teaching position in a seminary. And he said, wow, it's really tough. Be hard to get you in some of these places. But he said, wow, I can put you in like that overseas. And the response from one or maybe more than one was, well, we're too good for that. No, you're not. And if you are, then you're not going to be good anywhere. So if we have that kind of attitude, I'm above this. I'll not do that job. I'm too good for this. Is that like Mary? I've got this costly ointment. I'm wiping his feet with my hair. Nothing too good for Jesus. But not everybody was a happy camper. Verse 4. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said. So as Mary's act of devotion brought out Judas' attitudes of deception. Notice this contradictory identity, how John tells us this. One of his disciples, What does a disciple call his Lord? He calls him Kurios, Lord, Master. But here Judas is going to betray him, a contradictory identity. And later on we see he's a thief. How could you be a disciple? Well, he was the son of perdition, as we are told. A contradictory identity. He was following along with Jesus' band of disciples, but he would end in absolute disaster. There can be a Judas in a crowd. There can be false professions. And in our day, we need to watch out for those who talk a talk publicly. internet, TV, other places, but they're wolves and they have on sheep's clothing. Judas was like that. And he said this, verse five, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? It was a cruel interrogation, cruel. This humble lady on her knees pouring this ointment on Jesus' feet and wiping it with her hair, and here's Judas. Why was this not sold? Given to the poor. You see his thinking. Dollars, dollars, dollars. 300 denarii. A denarii was a day's wage for a common worker. So you take out all the Sabbaths, take out Jewish holidays. One writer even said this would have exceeded a year's wages. So it's a lot of money to pay for this costly ointment. And here's Judas doing the dollar signs. Not seeing the big picture. I served with an Air Force chaplain senior chaplain, boss, colonel. I was a few ranks under him. Colonel ranked on the shoulders of the eagle. And it became very apparent that he was all about his eagles and not about his cross. And one day in a staff meeting, he pounded on the table. And he said, if you love Jesus and you love your career, then learn to golf. Well, I love Jesus. I love my calling. I have five kids at home and a wife. I don't have time to spend all day on the golf course. But I noticed the younger chaplains that golfed with him did pretty well. It was pretty evident we were on two different sheets of music. Judas here's on a completely different sheet of music than Mary. He's racking up the value. in his head, but we'll see why. It was his crafty intention. Notice what it says here, 300 denarii given to the poor. Verse six, this he said not that he cared for the poor. Oh, but that sounds so pious. It really reminds me of so many politicians who prey on the poor and act like they care about them. and who are very content to give the poor fish after fish after fish, but never want to teach them to fish so they don't have to come back to them for the fish. That was Judas. He didn't care for the poor, not at all. He just wanted to use this money for himself. And so it says here, this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. That's the lowness of character. The lowness of character. He was a thief and notice his lust for cash. He had the money box. and he used to take what was put in it. He was the one who kept the purse for the disciples, but he would pilfer, he would take from it. Listen to this, also from the Net Bible. Pay attention carefully. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas' character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident, Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Now hear this especially, losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another. I lost out with this ointment, but I'll make a deal about Jesus. So Mary's act of devotion brought out Judah's attitudes of deception. But then there's more, and it ends well. Mary's act of devotion evoked Jesus' answer of destiny. There was a kind prohibition here. from the Lord Jesus. Verse seven, Jesus said, let her alone. I love that. You know who the best defender in the whole world is? Jesus. We try to defend ourselves and we make a mess out of things. Jesus, the best defender in the world, leave her alone. I imagine he said that with some force. She has kept this for the day of my burial. And translators and commentators struggle over this. What exactly does this say? She has kept this, but it seems like she has used it, right? For the day of my burial. And I saw a note that sort of unlocked something for me. And this is the keen prophecy. Jesus is seeing beyond this event and saying, this is about my burial. So what would they do in a burial? In the Jewish burial, they did not embalm. They would anoint the body with a perfume. And here in this case, this was a costly perfume. So this myrrh, this myrrh ointment, this nard would be used. a wealthy person's burial but Jesus is going to have a criminal's death having been hanged on a cross. But God provided for him to have an honorable burial. And so the first step is this anointing and then they would wrap the body in this long linen cloth and they would put spices in between all that. Why? Because the decomposing body would have a terrible stench. And the graves were not sealed tightly and the sepulchers and so on and so Mary was preparing Jesus for the second step of the gospel. Christ died for our sins. He was buried, which prepared for the third step. He was raised again. But here's the thought. In the ESV, the English Standard Version, it says, leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. But after the keep it, there's a marginal note. leave her alone, she intended to keep it for the day of my burial. So this thought came to me. Did Mary have this costly perfumed ointment laid aside knowing that Jesus would need it one day for his burial? And she took this opportunity to pre-anoint his body. Head, feet. Did she understand what others didn't? They didn't get it. And I have reason to believe that she did. And I'll show you why. Look at Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, verse 38. Now it happened as they went that he entered a certain village and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, notice these details, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. Just drink that in. She sat at Jesus' feet and drank in His word. Where is she now? At the home of Simon and this dinner with Lazarus and Martha. She's at Jesus' feet anointing Him for burial. What do you think Jesus told her when she heard His word? Do you think He explained His death, His burial, His resurrection? I think he did. Verse 40, but Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to him, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her. I think Mary understood from Jesus what was coming in his life. And she had this costly ointment that she was planning to take to the tomb, and then there was this opportunity. Now, you don't have to agree with that interpretation if you don't want to, but this much we know for sure. It was an act of devotion, and it pointed to Jesus' answer of destiny. This is for my burial. But what would happen first? The cross. Now go back to John chapter 12. We have the kind prohibition, leave her alone, the keen prophecy, she's kept this for the day of my burial, And then we have a very interesting statement here, a key pronouncement. And Jesus says, for the poor you have with you always, but me, and the me is emphatic. Me, you do not have always. I'm not always here. And this is a true statement in the history of mankind. The poor is always here. It's a statement, it's true. And Jesus said, but you don't always have me. Mary had spent time at Jesus' feet, and here was a precious announcement. Mary would remember what the Lord Jesus said, and notice Mark chapter 14 and verse 9. Mark 14, 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. Judas murmured, but what she did was to be a memorial. And notice what Jesus says, wherever this gospel is preached, we're preaching the gospel today, and Mary's act of devotion is known. And so she prepared Jesus, assisted him to the cross and to the tomb, the tomb filled and the tomb empty. Yes, according to Deuteronomy 15, 11, the poor will be with you. But Jesus was in this time and this place and was honored by Mary. No gift too great. I would like to share a song before we share the applications. Our choir has sung this before. I think the first time I heard it was sung years ago by missionary Evan Drake as a young man. He was raising support to go to the field. One day, a plain village woman, driven by love for her Lord, recklessly poured out a valuable essence, disregarding the scorn. And once it was broken and spilled out, a fragrance filled all the room, like a prisoner released from his shackles, like a spirit set free from the tomb. Broken and spilled out just for love of you, Jesus, My most precious treasure lavished on thee, broken and spilled out and poured at your feet. In sweet abandon, let me be spilled out and used up for thee. Lord, you are God's precious treasure. His loved and his own perfect son, sent here to show me the love of the Father. Just for love it was done. And though you were perfect and holy, you gave up yourself willingly. You spared no expense for my pardon. You were used up and wasted for me. Broken and spilled out just for love of me, Jesus. God's most precious treasure lavished on me. You were broken and spilled out and poured at my feet. In sweet abandon, Lord, you were spilled out and used up for me. In sweet abandon, let me be spilled out and used up for thee. Powerful words. These thoughts, first of all, have you received the gift God gave? He gave Jesus on the cross for your sins, broken and spilled out. Have you made it your own? Have you trusted the Lord Jesus? God, I know I'm a sinner. I believe Jesus died for me, was buried and rose again. I'm asking you to save me. I receive him to myself. If you haven't today, trust in Christ and be saved. If you have, is there any gift too great for Jesus? When the best is given to Jesus, it may produce a murmur or a memorial, but the best is to be given. And this question, what is the dearest thing to you? And are you willing to give it over to Jesus? Your future? Your career? Your children? Your money? Your talents? What's the dearest thing to you? Romans 12, 1 and 2, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Mark 10, 29 to 30. So Jesus answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels who shall 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. No gift too great for Jesus. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you that you used Mary to propel you along the way to the cross, and you gave to us such an amazing example of devotion. Oh, God, I pray strike from our hearts If we are true disciples and believers in Jesus, strike from our hearts the murmuring Judas heart, and place in our hearts the devoted heart like Mary had. But it could very well be that I'm speaking to someone who's not yet received the great gift of the Lord Jesus. They've not believed on him. Oh Lord, wherever this message goes, I pray that anyone who's not yet trusted in Christ would do so and receive God's unspeakable gift, God so loved the world. And Lord, it could be that one of us as believers is clutching hold of something that we say, that's mine. We won't give it to you. I pray we'll give it. I pray we'll surrender it to you, and I pray it will start with our bodies being a living sacrifice. Here I am, Lord, take me and use me. In Jesus' wonderful and loving name, amen.