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. (John 12:3)
This week we return to John, and we
also return to the town of Bethany where Jesus has recently raised Lazarus from
the dead. The setting for this week’s
passage is an appreciation dinner arranged for Jesus by Lazarus’ family. John
says ‘they gave a dinner for him there” in Bethany. What a celebration this must have been!
John does not record how each member
of this family expressed their gratitude and affection for Jesus, but I think
we could safely assume they all participated in their own personal, yet public
way. Perhaps Lazarus thanked Jesus by
sharing a testimony. Holding to her
character and personality, Martha’s gratitude and affection is expressed in
service, by attending to the details of the dinner. It is Mary’s expression of thanksgiving and
worship that John records, as does Matthew (26:6-13) and Mark (14:3-9). She pours out on Jesus an expensive perfume
and in so doing receives the commendation of Jesus and demonstrates for us what
humble, heart-felt extravagant worship looks like.
John alone records for us a detail
that Matthew and Mark leave out. John
tells is that “The house was filled with
the fragrance of the perfume.” Our
worship of King Jesus is always very personal, but it is never merely
private. It always spills over onto
others in one way or another. Mary’s
extravagant offering was heartfelt and very costly. It was a humble, grateful display of
affection directed to Jesus alone. It was for Him only, but everybody in the
room was blessed. And the influence of
that costly act of devotion continues today just as Jesus said it would: “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.” (Mark 14:9)
Our
gratitude to Jesus for who He is and all He has done can take many forms and be
expressed in many ways. It should
include our daily offering of work and service, but it should not be limited to
that. Our text shows us that worship
should include the occasional gift of extravagance, that costly offering that
others would see as wasteful and unnecessary.
In this week’s passage we will see Mary and Martha express their
gratitude and love to Jesus. I believe
both of them spread a sweet aroma by pouring out their lives in devotion to
Jesus.
As Sunday
approaches I would encourage you to include the following in your preparation:
First,
pray for all those who will be leading and participating in our worship service
this Sunday. Include yourself and all
those who will gather together for worship at Westwood.
Second, read
John 12. You might even take the time to
read the last ten chapters of John (12-21) to see where we are going.
Third,
ask yourself this question: “Do I want my life to be a fragrance, a blessing to
my Savior and to others? If the answer
is yes, ask God to show you how that desire and devotion can be expressed in
ways that are pleasing and acceptable to Him.
One of
the songs used in this week’s service will be Broken and Spilled Out. The
lyrics are a beautiful expression of this week’s text, and include an
appropriate response of prayer. You can
hear Steve Green’s recording of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP2kZCigZKE
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 own 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 were 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 spilled out and wasted for me.
Broken and spilled out
just for love of me Jesus,
God's most precious treasure
lavished on me;
Broken and spilled out, and poured at my feet;
In sweet abandon Lord
You were spilled out
and used up for me.
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