Extravagant Devotion or Extreme Disdain (Part II)
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
Last week we began to look at this section in John chapter 12, the first eight verses, and we saw the occasion, the exact occasion: six days before Passover, you have this feast in Bethany in the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we looked at, then, the extravagant worship of Mary. What does extravagant devotion worship look like? And you remember Mary gives it to us here clearly, and notice in her response, just to remind us, her response really concerning her extravagant devotion. What does it look like? Notice her response to grace. Extravagant worship is really a response to grace.
Mary was feeling overwhelmingly thankful, overwhelmingly grateful. She had her brother back from the dead, a new lease on life, and not only just her brother, but Messiah Jesus had given her life, had given her truth, had given her salvation, so great a salvation–no more under the penalty of death, no more under the wrath of God. And, so, Mary is overflowing with joy, exceeding joy, and, overflowing with joy, she does what she does.
What she's doing, no one is forcing her to do it. She's not dragging her feet. She's not thinking, oh well, the things that I could do with this expensive perfume, but here we go. No, no, instead she's just, “this isn't even enough!” She wants to do this. She wants to do more. You see, that shows us worship is always a response to grace, always. Are you a recipient of the grace of God? Worship is a response to grace, grace, grace. God has done it, so we what? Overflow, right? God has done it, we overflow. He did it all, we overflow. “We love Him because He first loved us”, right?--1 John 4:19. You see, this is not something that we create, initiate, invent, or try to work up. We simply reflect on who God is and what He has done for our soul.
You meditate on what would my life be if God had not intervened? What would my life be if God did not initiate? What would my life be if God didn't open my eyes? What would my life be? You meditate on His salvation, on His provision, His protection, His promises, His presence, His person. And as you meditate on all of that, what wells up in you is what? The spontaneous desire to express that love. It's like a man who buys something very expensive and precious for his wife or wife-to-be to express how much he values her. And even that analogy breaks down, but you get the idea, I trust. Yes, this costs me deeply, but you are worth more, far more than the thing I'm giving you.
Now, that costliness can look very different. The costliness to you in adoring God, in loving God, in worshiping God, that costliness to you might be in time, right? It might be a costliness in time. Time always costs, doesn't it? I mean, it costs Mary. She had to make the time to plan this out, to get the perfume, to plan how she would do it, and so for you, time sacrifice is present if you're going to love God, to love Jesus. Giving time when you're tired and you'd rather rest. Time for God when it's inconvenient and it's interrupting your plans and your comfort. Time for God when it takes over personal time, family time, holiday time, time you could be earning, making money, and you give that time to God.
Instead of spending it on yourself, you take that time, you give it to being in the Word, in communion with God, or time given to prayer, or time coming to be with the people of God, to worship God, to be discipled, or time to serving another person in the body of Christ, or time evangelizing some unsaved person outside of this body of Christ. And you say, yeah, it costs me, but He is worth it. He is worth it.
The cost may be in money, right? Mary certainly spent a lot of money on this perfume [that] she could have spent on herself. She broke the flask and poured it all on Christ. Of course, she could have just put the perfume on herself, or she could have used the 300 denarii in some other way, but she gave it all to the Lord to honor Him.
Money. Yes, this could be giving to the cause of Christ, giving to the church, giving to missions, but it could also be money spent on being hospitable to other people in the body of Christ, to break bread with them, and fellowship with them, and get to know them more, maybe spending your gas money to visit another person in need, or to do a Bible study with that person, to help someone else who need help, even helping with housework, gardening, helping the elderly, the sick, the shut-in. It might be money spent on buying books for another Christian here in the body of Christ, buying a Bible for someone that you see doesn't have one. It might be spending money taking out one of the young people here and have spiritual conversations with them. It might be the money you spend on Christian education, making sure you and your children are educated in the Christian way. It costs money, but you look at it and you say, but He's worth it. He's worth it. Oh, He's worth it.
Money, time, maybe the cost would be to your reputation. You see, Mary knew that what she was about to do might be criticized. People might suspect her for having false motives, that perhaps they would cast aspersion upon her character. Maybe they would think it was unseemly for her to be there on her knees next to Jesus, putting perfume, and even more unseemly for her to show and let down her hair. Besides, she was a wealthy woman. Why was she acting like a slave girl? Costly adoration means it costs your reputation at times.
Maybe one of your friends is gonna think you're fanatic. They may think you're part of a cult. Maybe that you've lost your reasonableness. “Oh, He's got Jesus. Oh, she's into church. Going to church again? What? How many times? She's become a church girl.” “Oh, you're becoming too extreme. I mean, you read the Bible every day.” The cost might be, you know, I'm willing to be embarrassed in front of those old friends. I'm willing to even pray out loud in front of relatives who would never have thought I'd ever do something like that. I'm actually willing to even sing hymns to Christ and speak about the saving gospel of Jesus in front of others. That's gonna cost me looking important and good. Cost me that. It costs your reputation.
But what you say, like Mary, is “He is worth it. Oh, He is worth it. In fact, what I give is less than what He's worth–far less, far, far less than what He's worth.” The money, the time, the reputation, and everything else that you put in there that you can think about, it's absolutely nothing to use the language of Paul, in Philippians 3, that was read earlier in your hearing. It's all what? ‘Skubalon’--dung, excrement–compared to the surpassing knowledge of Christ my Lord, who Christ is. Mary embraced the cost because Christ was worth more to her than everything she could ever spend.
Remember the psalmist, what he says in Psalm 63:3? Remember that statement? Your ‘chesed’--”Your loving-kindness is better than life." You know what he's saying? “I take all of life, all of it, all of it, and I put it on this side of the scale and then I put You, You God, who You are, Your ‘chesed’, Your loving-kindness to me, and the scale goes down. You are still worth more, far more, exceedingly abundantly more.”
C.T. Studd was a British missionary in the early part of the 20th century and he had a famous saying, I love this, I love this. He said this–very simple–"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." If Jesus Christ be God and He died for me, there can be no sacrifice too great for me to make for Him. It's just a cost issue–extravagant devotion.
Tragically, unfortunately, sadly, this extravagant devotion, this extravagant worship was not the only sentiment in the room. There was a different sentiment also present in that room. So from Mary's extraordinary devotion, extravagant devotion, look with me at the extreme disdain– Judas' extreme disdain–verses 4 through 6.
You know there's an old saying, one that I know you're very familiar with, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is, what is beautiful to one person, attractive to one person, may be unattractive to another person. And the difference can't be explained by the object because the object is the same, the difference is found in the person who's actually looking.
Mary has taken an expensive perfume, ointment, something worth one year's wages and in expression, in demonstration of her love, her devotion, her adoration for the Lord Jesus Christ, and out of the knowledge that He was going to die, she anoints Him with it. She pours it on His head, on His feet, and she wipes His feet with her hair. And Jesus sees what she does and He praises her for it. It was pleasing to Him, it was attractive to Him, it was beautiful to Him. In fact, He says what she did was ‘kalos’--good, beautiful. "It's a beautiful thing," according to Mark 14:6, but the very reason that He had to defend this woman's act of worship is because there was someone else present who doesn't see it as attractive, doesn't see it as beautiful, doesn't see it as good in his sight.
There's a devil present, and his name is Judas Iscariot. He's about to betray the Lord Jesus, and He has witnessed this pure and loving act of worship and found it to be offensive. We said last week that there are those monumental moments that show the great divide between the people who truly know the Lord and love the Lord and the people who don't. You don't always have these moments. Most of the time, the fruit is demonstrated in a very natural way and in the everyday affairs of life, the flow of life, the routine of life, the mundane things of life, but every once in a while you have one of those moments where it just becomes crystal clear.
This is one of those great contrasts when you see what Jesus thought of what she did versus what Judas thought of what she did. And this morning I want us to look at the contrast, that contrast, and again as we do that, just like we did last Lord's Day, I want to ask as we do that, where are we? Where are we? Do we find ourselves worshiping Christ like Mary, the way Mary did? Or do we find ourselves in the position of the disciples? We'll look at them very briefly this morning as well, but we'll get to it. Or could it be even that there are some Judases in this fellowship today among us? You say that you know the Lord, that you are numbered as one of His disciples, but in fact true and authentic worship is not something that is beautiful to you, not something that is attractive to you, not something that you engage in.
I want to begin with the perspective of Judas. Judas. What does he see in what Mary does? What does he see in what Mary does? In fact, we're going to see his perspective about two things this morning. We're going to see his perspective about two things. His perspective about Mary's deed and his perspective based upon that of the Lord Jesus. What does he see in Jesus? Well, let's begin with his view of Mary's deed. His perspective about Mary's deed.
So here's Mary. She's poured out this expensive perfume, this ointment on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how does Judas respond to it? Look at the text, verse 4: "But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was going to betray Him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'" "Why didn't you sell it? And why didn't you give the money to the poor?" So the first thing we can say about his view of this is it was, in general, we can say it was offensive to him. He was offended. It was offensive. He looks at the deed of Mary, he looked at it, and he said that was offensive.
Remember, Christ tells us this was an act of worship pleasing to God, but in the view of Judas this is something offensive. He's offended by what she did. He recoils from it. It offends his senses. He just can't believe what he just witnessed. In fact, it bothered him so badly he couldn't contain himself. You almost get the impression that he blurts this out. We know it had to be public enough that Jesus defends Mary. The Bible tells us in Matthew 26, the parallel account, that they were scolding her, and it all begins with Judas' perspective, with his view of it. I mean, we'll find out from the other account that the disciples pick up on it, but he's the ringleader. It starts with him. He's offended.
In fact, the Bible uses another word, the word “indignant.” Mark 14:4, "But some were indignantly remarking to one another, 'Why has this perfume been wasted?'" Matthew 26:8, "But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.'" Well, Judas started all of that talk. He was indignant.
He was offended. But why was he offended? Why? Why was he offended? Well, the second thing we could say about his perspective of it is, it was foolish to him. It was foolish to him. It offended him because it seemed entirely foolish to him. It made no sense to him whatsoever. “What a foolish deed”, he thought. He thought it to be, the word that's used in the text is what? "Waste." "Waste." What a waste. He thought it to be a waste, something to be mocked, something to be criticized.
Who would do what you just did? Who in their right mind would do this? I mean, that was his attitude, which gives you a third thing we could say about it. It was wasteful to him. It was wasteful to him. It was foolish to him. It was wasteful to him. That's the estimation of a costly, extravagant service. A waste. He deemed it, waste. Do you know a waste is the very opposite of sacrifice? Sacrifice is high cost for something that's worth it. Waste is high cost for something that's not worth it.
From a practical point of view, without the spiritual perception of Mary, without the spiritual values of Mary, this would seem to be an utter waste of money. I mean, you take something valued at one year's wages and you just squander it. You just pour it out. Just pour it out. Now was it wasteful? Was it wasteful, beloved? No. Of course not. Absolutely not. But from a lost man's point of view, it seemed wasteful–even from a saved man's point of view, wrongly influenced. Because the disciples pick up on it and it seemed wasteful to them.
Oh, but if you had the eyes of Mary, huh? If you had the understanding of Mary, if you had the values of Mary, oh, it wasn't wasteful. It wasn't far enough. And her values apparently matched the values of God because Christ was pleased with it and He memorialized it and said it would never ever be forgotten. And here we are talking about it today.
It's offensive to him, it's foolish to him, it's wasteful to him, and something else that we could say, it seemed misdirected to him. It seemed misdirected to him. This perfume, couldn't it have been used differently? Now we have to ask, “Judas, in what way is it misdirected? And what would you have her to do with it? You think it's wrong that she would express her love for Christ and pours it out on Him? What would you have her do with it, Judas? Please tell us.”
Well, this is where you see that he was a liar. What's the reason that he gives? [Matthew 26] Verse 9, "For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." Doesn't that sound pious? Doesn't it sound, like, noble and godly? But was he telling the truth? No. Thanks be to God for this fourth gospel, this fourth gospel writer, because we have insight here that we wouldn't have otherwise. We know why he said what he said. John tells us, well, the Holy Spirit tells us through John–verse 6, “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor." Mark it down, beloved. Mark it down. Realize, just because someone talks about something, it doesn't mean that they really care about it. It doesn't.
He used the poor as his reason to be offended and upset, but he didn't really care about the poor. It wasn't really about the poor. You see, behind this seeming piety, there's actually a heart of cold disdain. Judas had no sympathy for her acts, for her worship, for her acts of adoration for Christ. And here's why. Because he has none. He has absolutely none. You see, beloved, loveless people are turned off by the love of others. Loveless people are turned off by the love of others. It nauseates them because Judas has another love and the text tells you what his other love is.
He loves what? Money. Money. I wonder, couldn't help but wonder, how many times in evangelical churches people have been upset about things that they weren't really that upset about, really wasn't what they said, it was something else. And, in his case here, it was something else, of course. “Now he said this,” verse 6, “not because he was concerned about the poor.” Why? What's the reason? “Because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to take from what was put into it.”
Can I say this? Judas was an influential person. He was an influential person. He had to be. You see him influence all the disciples on this occasion, but you also find that they'd made him the treasurer. He kept the money box. He was in charge of the funds and the Holy Spirit tells us here that having charge over the money box, he used to help himself to what was put into it. On an ongoing basis, he was pilfering, he was stealing, he was pocketing some of the money that was put in the box. And so when he says, “this could have been sold, the money been better used”, he doesn't mean better used on the poor, he means better used on who? Himself. “I could have had that. What a waste.” That's what he was thinking. “I could have had that.” So it seems offensive to him, it seems foolish to him, it seems wasteful to him, and in his view it's misdirected. This is not how it should have been used in his mind. That's his view of Mary's act, her deed, her beautiful deed, but in his eyes it wasn't, it was the opposite.
Now in that attitude, you also see his view of Christ. So not only his perspective concerning Mary's deed, but also you see here his perspective of Christ in that attitude that he demonstrated. What Judas says here reveals his perspective of the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us two very clear things. Number one, he had no idea about Christ's true mission. No clue. No idea about Christ's true mission. He had no understanding of what Jesus had really come to do.
Now you might at this point say to yourself, “well how could he have possibly known that Mary was doing this because of His impending death? How? How could have Judas or any of the disciples known that she was pouring this upon Him out of an understanding that Jesus would soon die? I mean, could anyone have known that?” Well, do you realize they didn't go straight from Ephraim, end of chapter 11, to Bethany, chapter 12? If you read the other gospel accounts and put them together, you'll find out that before they came to Bethany, they actually first went to Jericho. That's where He met Zacchaeus. That's where He met blind Bartimaeus and healed him.
This is on their way to Bethany and on the road up to Jerusalem through Bethany, Jesus had a very straightforward, unmistakable conversation with His disciples. In fact, knowing that people out there were looking for Christ, ready to turn Him over to the Pharisees for arrest, you would have expected Jesus to kind of be holed out and just kind of walk in the shadows. But as they're walking down the road, He's out in front, nothing to hide, no fear, and He's having this conversation. Turn with me to Mark chapter 10.
This is really helpful–Mark chapter 10. This is the conversation: verse 32, "And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them;”--He's just leading the way–“and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.” I mean, this is suicidal, right? “And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him." And what was going to happen to Him? Verse 33, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."
So I want to ask you, could you be any more clear than that? I mean, He has told them exactly what's coming, hasn't He? So that when Mary does this, all of those men should have had some understanding. There's going to be something going on here that is unique, there's something going on here that is special, there's something going on here that reflects an understanding of spiritual comprehension. But instead, they missed the boat, they didn't comprehend. In fact, even on the road, they didn't even grasp it. It just like flew right past them.
Look at verse 35: "Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.' And He said to them, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' And they said to Him, 'Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.'" Can you imagine? He's telling them He's about to die. And they're concerned about their position.
Verse 38: "But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' And they said to Him, 'We are able.' And Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.' And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.'"
And He goes on telling them about His passion, about His death, and all they could do is battle amongst themselves over position. Back to John, chapter 12. So when Judas is indignant, influencing the rest, the rest hopping on his bandwagon, he reveals that he has no understanding of the true mission of Christ even though he's about to force the issue, so to speak, by selling Christ, by betraying Him.
But he also reveals something else and it's clear to see. Here's the other thing that it reveals. He has no knowledge of the worth and honor of Christ. He has no knowledge of the worth and the honor of Christ, the Son of God, God the Son. Stop and think about what his words did. Here she is in the sight of all, the view of all. She takes this expensive perfume, breaks the flask, pours it out on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are speaking in terms of waste. Why would you waste that? How did she waste it? On Christ. On Christ–that's the implication. Why would you waste this on Him? Wow.
What is Judas doing? He is dishonoring the Lord Jesus. He's dishonoring the Lord Jesus. If you had any insight at all into the person and the worth and the value of Jesus, you could have never uttered such words. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder, is there a Judas here today? Is there someone here this morning who could never imagine loving Christ and giving for Christ in the way that Mary did? You can't imagine that kind of enthusiasm. You can't imagine that kind of sacrifice. You can't imagine that kind of uninhibited abandon that was expressed in what she did. You think about those people who serve Christ in such an uninhibited way. How does it appear to you? How do you view it? Does it seem like fanaticism? Does it seem like that they sort of got out of their mind?
There are some of you here today that your family, they think that you've gone out of your mind, that they think you've lost it. But maybe there's somebody here this morning that that's how you think of your own family. That's how you think of your friends who have come, maybe, to know Jesus recently. Or that's how you think of someone that you know who is a Christian like you, you know, you say you're a Christian just as they're a Christian, you just don't take it that far, you say. You just don't take it as, you know, fanatically as they do.
Does it in a sense offend you? Does it seem foolish to you? Does it seem wasteful? Does it seem misdirected to you? Examine how you spend your time, examine how you spend your affections, your thoughts, your life. Are you spending yourself on Christ or does that seem wasteful? So that you spend your life on your pleasures, self-gratification–on self. Or perhaps you want a dose of religion, you want a little bit of Christianity, like fire insurance, but the thought of losing your life for Christ, the thought of spending and being spent fully on Him is foreign to you. And those who live that way, they seem to you, you know, fanatical.
2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul writes, "I will most gladly, not just gladly, but most gladly." It's not simply a willingness, it's a willingness from the heart with joy. "I will most gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls. And if I love you more, am I to be loved less?" You see, he's willing to spend and be fully spent on behalf of people who don't really even appreciate it. Why? Because he loves Jesus.
And Philippians 2:17, Philippians 2, verse 17 and following, Paul writes, "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering”--fully spent, fully spent, right? Fully spent. “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus." In other words, “I don't have any servant to send to you like Timothy, because most of the people I know,” Paul writes, “the people I know, they're not concerned about your welfare. They are concerned about their own interests, not the interests of Christ.” Christ's interests. Christ's interests.
May I ask you, whose interests are you concerned about? Whose interests [are] you and I concerned about? So you see the perspective of Judas, Mary's deed is not attractive to him, it's not beautiful to him, it's not good to him, it's not attractive to him, it's foolish, it's wasteful, it's misdirected, it's offensive. Why? Because he doesn't have the right perspective of Jesus, he has no understanding of the mission of Jesus, and he has no understanding of the worth, the surpassing worth and honor of Jesus.
So to spend all, take something of supreme value, and spend it all on Christ–to him, that seemed to be what a waste. Could have been better spent, how Judas? Oh, myself. Not even on the poor, he was dishonest about that. He's a thief.
Now how does Jesus respond to the scolding of Mary? Note with me, lastly, the exonerating declaration, that's verses 7 and 8, “Therefore Jesus said, ‘Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’" We dealt with that last Lord's day, that verse. "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me."
It's interesting, isn't it? Do you notice what He does? Let me ask you this: does Christ know the true heart and character of Judas? He does, doesn't He? He does. He knew he was a devil from the beginning. So does Christ know that Judas is not really concerned with the poor? Of course He does. But, do you notice what Jesus does here? Notice what He does here. He takes the offense at face value. And, He says in effect, “even if you are really concerned about the poor, you're still wrong on this one, Judas” and to the rest of the disciples. I mean, if I'm going to accept what you're saying, that you think it should have been sold and the money given to the poor, you're still dead wrong. What a dishonoring thing that Jesus would be put in the position of having to even say these things, but He says, you're wrong.
And what is Jesus asserting here in that statement? Well, first of all, by saying this, Jesus is asserting that He has, He Himself, has the place of preeminence–first place in everything. Towering over everything. He is the point of everything. The place of preeminence. That it was better that this should be spent on Him than on the poor because He is God.
And He also says this, He says, "For you always have the poor with you." Now, He's not in any way meaning that we should take the attitude that we don't help the poor whatsoever because the poor were always going to be here. That's not what He's teaching. We see contrary teaching to that all throughout the Word of God. We are called, exhorted, and commanded to care for the poor. What He's saying is this: there are unique opportunities to glorify Christ that won't always be available. They won't always be here. "For you always have the poor with you," which, by the way, also speaks to this utopian point of view that somehow we're going to eliminate poverty all over the world someday. It's not going to happen. This is a sin-cursed world. This is a broken world. And as Pastor MacArthur always used to say, “This is a disposable planet.”
But, He says, "But you do not always have Me." “I'm coming to the end of My time here on earth with you. I will soon be crucified, buried, and she's done this in view of that–a unique opportunity to love Me and demonstrate that love and that understanding that I've given to her. This is right. This is good. This is noble. This is beautiful. I take the place of preeminence.” That's what He's saying.
But He's also showing the primacy of the spiritual over the material, over the social. The primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. The most important thing when you think about reaching the world, the most important thing, beloved, is not that they be fed and clothed. The most important thing is the spiritual relationship with Christ. What think ye of Jesus, right? That's the most important question. This is being lost, beloved. This is something that is an area where the church is really getting off track in recent years, especially. So much going on today in the name of social gospel, social ministry, social reform, and it's not the most important thing.
Listen to what one commentator said, "To many people, hot and eager about social reform and impatient for the betterment of the material conditions around them, the church seems nothing more or less than an irritating irrelevance. Its labor is a sheer nuisance, distracting people and turning them aside from the real things requiring to be done, inciting them to lose their way among and waste their time upon what does not really count or matter one way or the other, while its worship seems to them an absurdity that gets one nowhere. As a matter of fact, these confident critics have no understanding of what the church is doing."
In other words, the world looks at us and says, “Listen, with so many hurting people out there, with so many poor people out there, why are you people gathered together in this place listening to teaching about the Bible? I mean, that's what's really relevant that's going on in this hour. What is really relevant? Why are you here? Why are you listening to the word of God? What is really relevant that's going on in this hour of worship? What is taking place that will really mean anything? Well, why don't you gather up all your resources and go out to the community and start doing what really needs to be done? Putting clothes on people's back and food on the table. I mean, why don't you take care of the stuff that really matters?”
And the commentator said, as I just read, and I agree 100%, “they have no understanding of what the church is really about and the value of spiritual things.” Remember Matthew 11? When John the Baptist from prison sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, Matthew 11, verse 3, “‘Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,’””--and now watch this–“and the poor"--you'd expect Him to say "are fed."-no–"and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
And here Jesus makes the point that these disciples who were grumbling had no understanding of the importance of spiritual things. It was better that this ointment be poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ than it to be sold and the money given to the poor. This was more important, and beloved, it is more important for the soul to be fed than the body to be fed. And it's more important that a spiritual life be saved than a physical life be saved.
And that is not to ignore the physical needs. No, no. It is to acknowledge simply the primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. There are things going on in this hour, here, right now, that have the potential to so profoundly impact a life. And it won't just change one life. It will change generations. And that happens every time the word of God is opened up and exposited. This living and active word, sharper than a double-edged sword. And every time this word is opened and shared and read and learned, it is the dynamite of God of salvation. This isn't a waste of time.
Worship, worship toward God is never, ever a waste of time. He is worthy of it. I'm afraid that the same kind of lack of appreciation for spiritual things is seen in many evangelical churches today. That's the attitude that's done away with preaching the Word. The attitude that's done away with Bible study. “We're too busy for those things”, they say. It just takes up too much time. “Let's be busy about the practical matters, you know.” That's what people say. In the name of striving for the practical, we have sacrificed the profound.
So, the perspective of Judas: wasteful. The perspective of Jesus: it's beautiful. She did exactly right. The poor you always have with you. You will not always have Me. That leaves us with the perspective of the disciples, the eleven. I just want to say a word about the perspective of the eleven. I mean, there's Mary, there's Judas, and there's another group witnessing all of this. Now, I just think about the contrast just to see it vividly. Mary gave, Judas stole. Mary focused on Christ, Judas turned attention away from Christ. Mary only thought about Christ. She only cared for Christ. Judas only thought of himself. Mary was pure, straightforward, honest in her loving act of worship. Judas was a liar about his true motivation.
And present at the scene were true believers who found themselves influenced in the wrong direction. The eleven disciples. Instead of joining Mary in extravagant worship, they joined Judas in his foolish scoffing and scolding. And what I want us to understand this morning, in closing, is this. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. I mean, there are enthusiastic believers engaged in extravagant worship, who will spend and be fully spent for the Lord Jesus Christ. There still are those people in the world.
And on the other hand, in this world, you still have the Judases. They're still here–externally attached to Jesus, in name known as ‘His disciples’, but with no appreciation for His worth and value because they don't know Him. And to live a sold-out life for Christ, to give our very best for Christ, is something that they can't even imagine. It seems foolish, wasteful. It seems to them fanatical.
And then sadly, there's another group of people. They're not Judases. They're saved, but they're living lives that are not as they were saved to live. They're not on fire for Christ, have no zeal for Christ. They're not sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question is, who's going to influence them?
Listen to Spurgeon, many years ago, had this to say: "Beloved friends, the Church of Christ needs a band of men and women full of enthusiasm, who will go beyond others in devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. We need missionaries who will dare to die to carry the gospel to regions beyond. We need ministers who will defy public opinion, and with flaming zeal, burn away into men's hearts. We need men and women who will consecrate all that they have by daring deeds of heroic self-sacrifice. Oh, that all Christians were like this. But we must at least have some. We need a bodyguard of loving champions to rally around the Savior, the bravest of the brave, immortals and invincibles who shall lead the van of the armies of the Lord. Where are we to get them? How are they to be produced?"
He answers, "The Holy Spirit's way to train men and women who shall greatly serve Christ is to lead them to deep thought and quiet contemplation. Thence, they obtain the knowledge and vital principle which are the fuel of true zeal. You cannot leap into high devotion. Neither can you be preached into it, nor dream yourself into it, or be electrified into it by revivalism. It must, through the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, arise out of a hard stern dealing with your soul and near and dear communion with your Savior." And then he ends with this: "You must sit at His feet. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. He must pour His divine teaching into you or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon Him."
Where are we at? Oh, Grace Chapel, where are we at? We come and go, business as usual. We sing a few songs, shake some hands, hug some people, share a little bit of our weeks. Is that what it is? Where are we at? Are we full of that kind of burning zeal that says, Lord, wherever You want to send me, whatever You want to do with me, whatever the cost, whatever the sacrifice, whatever it means, I just want to live for You. I just want to be used for Your great name. Here am I, Lord. Use me. Is that where we are?
To use Spurgeon's language, I can't preach you into it. I can't preach myself into it. You can't be electrified into it through revivalism. No, no. It's going to be when you think deeply, when you sit at the feet of the Savior, when you really contemplate who He is, what He has done for your soul, so that the Holy Spirit deals sternly with your soul and mine.
And in light of such a great, magnanimous Savior, in light of such a great sacrifice, don't you realize that He doesn't have part of you? He has it all. You are not your own. Do you realize that you're not your own? You've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in that body of yours. Present yourself a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him every single day.
Oh, may God lead us, who say we're His people, to realize we really are His people. I mean, we're His, His people, set apart, bought with His blood, meant to live peculiar lives in the midst of a lost and dying generation. Not living for Him partially, but completely, entirely, fully, with all of our heart and all of our ways.
Permit me to close with one commentator. He put it this way, and I just couldn't help it, but share it with you. Concerning this account, "Oh, how I want to be like Mary. But oh, how often it is that it is Judas who so readily appears when I look in the mirror." And I would add, the disciples. He goes on to say, "Only the gospel of my Savior is sufficient for my sin. Sick soul, I strongly suspect that were Mary alive today and we were to interview her and ask her the question, ‘What is your favorite Christian hymn, Mary?’ I strongly suspect she would say, that's easy. It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts. While Charles Wesley reportedly said he would give up all his other hymns to have written this one. Mr. Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns. Some say he wrote over 9,000. Now the hymn written by Mr. Watts: "When I survey the wondrous cross." I love all four stanzas, but one and four are especially meaningful to me. Listen, and I'll close with this.
"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain, my richest gain, my richest gain, I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small, (because He's worth it, right?)
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
Let's pray.
Mary was feeling overwhelmingly thankful, overwhelmingly grateful. She had her brother back from the dead, a new lease on life, and not only just her brother, but Messiah Jesus had given her life, had given her truth, had given her salvation, so great a salvation–no more under the penalty of death, no more under the wrath of God. And, so, Mary is overflowing with joy, exceeding joy, and, overflowing with joy, she does what she does.
What she's doing, no one is forcing her to do it. She's not dragging her feet. She's not thinking, oh well, the things that I could do with this expensive perfume, but here we go. No, no, instead she's just, “this isn't even enough!” She wants to do this. She wants to do more. You see, that shows us worship is always a response to grace, always. Are you a recipient of the grace of God? Worship is a response to grace, grace, grace. God has done it, so we what? Overflow, right? God has done it, we overflow. He did it all, we overflow. “We love Him because He first loved us”, right?--1 John 4:19. You see, this is not something that we create, initiate, invent, or try to work up. We simply reflect on who God is and what He has done for our soul.
You meditate on what would my life be if God had not intervened? What would my life be if God did not initiate? What would my life be if God didn't open my eyes? What would my life be? You meditate on His salvation, on His provision, His protection, His promises, His presence, His person. And as you meditate on all of that, what wells up in you is what? The spontaneous desire to express that love. It's like a man who buys something very expensive and precious for his wife or wife-to-be to express how much he values her. And even that analogy breaks down, but you get the idea, I trust. Yes, this costs me deeply, but you are worth more, far more than the thing I'm giving you.
Now, that costliness can look very different. The costliness to you in adoring God, in loving God, in worshiping God, that costliness to you might be in time, right? It might be a costliness in time. Time always costs, doesn't it? I mean, it costs Mary. She had to make the time to plan this out, to get the perfume, to plan how she would do it, and so for you, time sacrifice is present if you're going to love God, to love Jesus. Giving time when you're tired and you'd rather rest. Time for God when it's inconvenient and it's interrupting your plans and your comfort. Time for God when it takes over personal time, family time, holiday time, time you could be earning, making money, and you give that time to God.
Instead of spending it on yourself, you take that time, you give it to being in the Word, in communion with God, or time given to prayer, or time coming to be with the people of God, to worship God, to be discipled, or time to serving another person in the body of Christ, or time evangelizing some unsaved person outside of this body of Christ. And you say, yeah, it costs me, but He is worth it. He is worth it.
The cost may be in money, right? Mary certainly spent a lot of money on this perfume [that] she could have spent on herself. She broke the flask and poured it all on Christ. Of course, she could have just put the perfume on herself, or she could have used the 300 denarii in some other way, but she gave it all to the Lord to honor Him.
Money. Yes, this could be giving to the cause of Christ, giving to the church, giving to missions, but it could also be money spent on being hospitable to other people in the body of Christ, to break bread with them, and fellowship with them, and get to know them more, maybe spending your gas money to visit another person in need, or to do a Bible study with that person, to help someone else who need help, even helping with housework, gardening, helping the elderly, the sick, the shut-in. It might be money spent on buying books for another Christian here in the body of Christ, buying a Bible for someone that you see doesn't have one. It might be spending money taking out one of the young people here and have spiritual conversations with them. It might be the money you spend on Christian education, making sure you and your children are educated in the Christian way. It costs money, but you look at it and you say, but He's worth it. He's worth it. Oh, He's worth it.
Money, time, maybe the cost would be to your reputation. You see, Mary knew that what she was about to do might be criticized. People might suspect her for having false motives, that perhaps they would cast aspersion upon her character. Maybe they would think it was unseemly for her to be there on her knees next to Jesus, putting perfume, and even more unseemly for her to show and let down her hair. Besides, she was a wealthy woman. Why was she acting like a slave girl? Costly adoration means it costs your reputation at times.
Maybe one of your friends is gonna think you're fanatic. They may think you're part of a cult. Maybe that you've lost your reasonableness. “Oh, He's got Jesus. Oh, she's into church. Going to church again? What? How many times? She's become a church girl.” “Oh, you're becoming too extreme. I mean, you read the Bible every day.” The cost might be, you know, I'm willing to be embarrassed in front of those old friends. I'm willing to even pray out loud in front of relatives who would never have thought I'd ever do something like that. I'm actually willing to even sing hymns to Christ and speak about the saving gospel of Jesus in front of others. That's gonna cost me looking important and good. Cost me that. It costs your reputation.
But what you say, like Mary, is “He is worth it. Oh, He is worth it. In fact, what I give is less than what He's worth–far less, far, far less than what He's worth.” The money, the time, the reputation, and everything else that you put in there that you can think about, it's absolutely nothing to use the language of Paul, in Philippians 3, that was read earlier in your hearing. It's all what? ‘Skubalon’--dung, excrement–compared to the surpassing knowledge of Christ my Lord, who Christ is. Mary embraced the cost because Christ was worth more to her than everything she could ever spend.
Remember the psalmist, what he says in Psalm 63:3? Remember that statement? Your ‘chesed’--”Your loving-kindness is better than life." You know what he's saying? “I take all of life, all of it, all of it, and I put it on this side of the scale and then I put You, You God, who You are, Your ‘chesed’, Your loving-kindness to me, and the scale goes down. You are still worth more, far more, exceedingly abundantly more.”
C.T. Studd was a British missionary in the early part of the 20th century and he had a famous saying, I love this, I love this. He said this–very simple–"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." If Jesus Christ be God and He died for me, there can be no sacrifice too great for me to make for Him. It's just a cost issue–extravagant devotion.
Tragically, unfortunately, sadly, this extravagant devotion, this extravagant worship was not the only sentiment in the room. There was a different sentiment also present in that room. So from Mary's extraordinary devotion, extravagant devotion, look with me at the extreme disdain– Judas' extreme disdain–verses 4 through 6.
You know there's an old saying, one that I know you're very familiar with, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is, what is beautiful to one person, attractive to one person, may be unattractive to another person. And the difference can't be explained by the object because the object is the same, the difference is found in the person who's actually looking.
Mary has taken an expensive perfume, ointment, something worth one year's wages and in expression, in demonstration of her love, her devotion, her adoration for the Lord Jesus Christ, and out of the knowledge that He was going to die, she anoints Him with it. She pours it on His head, on His feet, and she wipes His feet with her hair. And Jesus sees what she does and He praises her for it. It was pleasing to Him, it was attractive to Him, it was beautiful to Him. In fact, He says what she did was ‘kalos’--good, beautiful. "It's a beautiful thing," according to Mark 14:6, but the very reason that He had to defend this woman's act of worship is because there was someone else present who doesn't see it as attractive, doesn't see it as beautiful, doesn't see it as good in his sight.
There's a devil present, and his name is Judas Iscariot. He's about to betray the Lord Jesus, and He has witnessed this pure and loving act of worship and found it to be offensive. We said last week that there are those monumental moments that show the great divide between the people who truly know the Lord and love the Lord and the people who don't. You don't always have these moments. Most of the time, the fruit is demonstrated in a very natural way and in the everyday affairs of life, the flow of life, the routine of life, the mundane things of life, but every once in a while you have one of those moments where it just becomes crystal clear.
This is one of those great contrasts when you see what Jesus thought of what she did versus what Judas thought of what she did. And this morning I want us to look at the contrast, that contrast, and again as we do that, just like we did last Lord's Day, I want to ask as we do that, where are we? Where are we? Do we find ourselves worshiping Christ like Mary, the way Mary did? Or do we find ourselves in the position of the disciples? We'll look at them very briefly this morning as well, but we'll get to it. Or could it be even that there are some Judases in this fellowship today among us? You say that you know the Lord, that you are numbered as one of His disciples, but in fact true and authentic worship is not something that is beautiful to you, not something that is attractive to you, not something that you engage in.
I want to begin with the perspective of Judas. Judas. What does he see in what Mary does? What does he see in what Mary does? In fact, we're going to see his perspective about two things this morning. We're going to see his perspective about two things. His perspective about Mary's deed and his perspective based upon that of the Lord Jesus. What does he see in Jesus? Well, let's begin with his view of Mary's deed. His perspective about Mary's deed.
So here's Mary. She's poured out this expensive perfume, this ointment on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how does Judas respond to it? Look at the text, verse 4: "But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was going to betray Him, said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'" "Why didn't you sell it? And why didn't you give the money to the poor?" So the first thing we can say about his view of this is it was, in general, we can say it was offensive to him. He was offended. It was offensive. He looks at the deed of Mary, he looked at it, and he said that was offensive.
Remember, Christ tells us this was an act of worship pleasing to God, but in the view of Judas this is something offensive. He's offended by what she did. He recoils from it. It offends his senses. He just can't believe what he just witnessed. In fact, it bothered him so badly he couldn't contain himself. You almost get the impression that he blurts this out. We know it had to be public enough that Jesus defends Mary. The Bible tells us in Matthew 26, the parallel account, that they were scolding her, and it all begins with Judas' perspective, with his view of it. I mean, we'll find out from the other account that the disciples pick up on it, but he's the ringleader. It starts with him. He's offended.
In fact, the Bible uses another word, the word “indignant.” Mark 14:4, "But some were indignantly remarking to one another, 'Why has this perfume been wasted?'" Matthew 26:8, "But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.'" Well, Judas started all of that talk. He was indignant.
He was offended. But why was he offended? Why? Why was he offended? Well, the second thing we could say about his perspective of it is, it was foolish to him. It was foolish to him. It offended him because it seemed entirely foolish to him. It made no sense to him whatsoever. “What a foolish deed”, he thought. He thought it to be, the word that's used in the text is what? "Waste." "Waste." What a waste. He thought it to be a waste, something to be mocked, something to be criticized.
Who would do what you just did? Who in their right mind would do this? I mean, that was his attitude, which gives you a third thing we could say about it. It was wasteful to him. It was wasteful to him. It was foolish to him. It was wasteful to him. That's the estimation of a costly, extravagant service. A waste. He deemed it, waste. Do you know a waste is the very opposite of sacrifice? Sacrifice is high cost for something that's worth it. Waste is high cost for something that's not worth it.
From a practical point of view, without the spiritual perception of Mary, without the spiritual values of Mary, this would seem to be an utter waste of money. I mean, you take something valued at one year's wages and you just squander it. You just pour it out. Just pour it out. Now was it wasteful? Was it wasteful, beloved? No. Of course not. Absolutely not. But from a lost man's point of view, it seemed wasteful–even from a saved man's point of view, wrongly influenced. Because the disciples pick up on it and it seemed wasteful to them.
Oh, but if you had the eyes of Mary, huh? If you had the understanding of Mary, if you had the values of Mary, oh, it wasn't wasteful. It wasn't far enough. And her values apparently matched the values of God because Christ was pleased with it and He memorialized it and said it would never ever be forgotten. And here we are talking about it today.
It's offensive to him, it's foolish to him, it's wasteful to him, and something else that we could say, it seemed misdirected to him. It seemed misdirected to him. This perfume, couldn't it have been used differently? Now we have to ask, “Judas, in what way is it misdirected? And what would you have her to do with it? You think it's wrong that she would express her love for Christ and pours it out on Him? What would you have her do with it, Judas? Please tell us.”
Well, this is where you see that he was a liar. What's the reason that he gives? [Matthew 26] Verse 9, "For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor." Doesn't that sound pious? Doesn't it sound, like, noble and godly? But was he telling the truth? No. Thanks be to God for this fourth gospel, this fourth gospel writer, because we have insight here that we wouldn't have otherwise. We know why he said what he said. John tells us, well, the Holy Spirit tells us through John–verse 6, “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor." Mark it down, beloved. Mark it down. Realize, just because someone talks about something, it doesn't mean that they really care about it. It doesn't.
He used the poor as his reason to be offended and upset, but he didn't really care about the poor. It wasn't really about the poor. You see, behind this seeming piety, there's actually a heart of cold disdain. Judas had no sympathy for her acts, for her worship, for her acts of adoration for Christ. And here's why. Because he has none. He has absolutely none. You see, beloved, loveless people are turned off by the love of others. Loveless people are turned off by the love of others. It nauseates them because Judas has another love and the text tells you what his other love is.
He loves what? Money. Money. I wonder, couldn't help but wonder, how many times in evangelical churches people have been upset about things that they weren't really that upset about, really wasn't what they said, it was something else. And, in his case here, it was something else, of course. “Now he said this,” verse 6, “not because he was concerned about the poor.” Why? What's the reason? “Because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to take from what was put into it.”
Can I say this? Judas was an influential person. He was an influential person. He had to be. You see him influence all the disciples on this occasion, but you also find that they'd made him the treasurer. He kept the money box. He was in charge of the funds and the Holy Spirit tells us here that having charge over the money box, he used to help himself to what was put into it. On an ongoing basis, he was pilfering, he was stealing, he was pocketing some of the money that was put in the box. And so when he says, “this could have been sold, the money been better used”, he doesn't mean better used on the poor, he means better used on who? Himself. “I could have had that. What a waste.” That's what he was thinking. “I could have had that.” So it seems offensive to him, it seems foolish to him, it seems wasteful to him, and in his view it's misdirected. This is not how it should have been used in his mind. That's his view of Mary's act, her deed, her beautiful deed, but in his eyes it wasn't, it was the opposite.
Now in that attitude, you also see his view of Christ. So not only his perspective concerning Mary's deed, but also you see here his perspective of Christ in that attitude that he demonstrated. What Judas says here reveals his perspective of the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us two very clear things. Number one, he had no idea about Christ's true mission. No clue. No idea about Christ's true mission. He had no understanding of what Jesus had really come to do.
Now you might at this point say to yourself, “well how could he have possibly known that Mary was doing this because of His impending death? How? How could have Judas or any of the disciples known that she was pouring this upon Him out of an understanding that Jesus would soon die? I mean, could anyone have known that?” Well, do you realize they didn't go straight from Ephraim, end of chapter 11, to Bethany, chapter 12? If you read the other gospel accounts and put them together, you'll find out that before they came to Bethany, they actually first went to Jericho. That's where He met Zacchaeus. That's where He met blind Bartimaeus and healed him.
This is on their way to Bethany and on the road up to Jerusalem through Bethany, Jesus had a very straightforward, unmistakable conversation with His disciples. In fact, knowing that people out there were looking for Christ, ready to turn Him over to the Pharisees for arrest, you would have expected Jesus to kind of be holed out and just kind of walk in the shadows. But as they're walking down the road, He's out in front, nothing to hide, no fear, and He's having this conversation. Turn with me to Mark chapter 10.
This is really helpful–Mark chapter 10. This is the conversation: verse 32, "And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them;”--He's just leading the way–“and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.” I mean, this is suicidal, right? “And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him." And what was going to happen to Him? Verse 33, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."
So I want to ask you, could you be any more clear than that? I mean, He has told them exactly what's coming, hasn't He? So that when Mary does this, all of those men should have had some understanding. There's going to be something going on here that is unique, there's something going on here that is special, there's something going on here that reflects an understanding of spiritual comprehension. But instead, they missed the boat, they didn't comprehend. In fact, even on the road, they didn't even grasp it. It just like flew right past them.
Look at verse 35: "Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.' And He said to them, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' And they said to Him, 'Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.'" Can you imagine? He's telling them He's about to die. And they're concerned about their position.
Verse 38: "But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' And they said to Him, 'We are able.' And Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.' And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.'"
And He goes on telling them about His passion, about His death, and all they could do is battle amongst themselves over position. Back to John, chapter 12. So when Judas is indignant, influencing the rest, the rest hopping on his bandwagon, he reveals that he has no understanding of the true mission of Christ even though he's about to force the issue, so to speak, by selling Christ, by betraying Him.
But he also reveals something else and it's clear to see. Here's the other thing that it reveals. He has no knowledge of the worth and honor of Christ. He has no knowledge of the worth and the honor of Christ, the Son of God, God the Son. Stop and think about what his words did. Here she is in the sight of all, the view of all. She takes this expensive perfume, breaks the flask, pours it out on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are speaking in terms of waste. Why would you waste that? How did she waste it? On Christ. On Christ–that's the implication. Why would you waste this on Him? Wow.
What is Judas doing? He is dishonoring the Lord Jesus. He's dishonoring the Lord Jesus. If you had any insight at all into the person and the worth and the value of Jesus, you could have never uttered such words. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder, is there a Judas here today? Is there someone here this morning who could never imagine loving Christ and giving for Christ in the way that Mary did? You can't imagine that kind of enthusiasm. You can't imagine that kind of sacrifice. You can't imagine that kind of uninhibited abandon that was expressed in what she did. You think about those people who serve Christ in such an uninhibited way. How does it appear to you? How do you view it? Does it seem like fanaticism? Does it seem like that they sort of got out of their mind?
There are some of you here today that your family, they think that you've gone out of your mind, that they think you've lost it. But maybe there's somebody here this morning that that's how you think of your own family. That's how you think of your friends who have come, maybe, to know Jesus recently. Or that's how you think of someone that you know who is a Christian like you, you know, you say you're a Christian just as they're a Christian, you just don't take it that far, you say. You just don't take it as, you know, fanatically as they do.
Does it in a sense offend you? Does it seem foolish to you? Does it seem wasteful? Does it seem misdirected to you? Examine how you spend your time, examine how you spend your affections, your thoughts, your life. Are you spending yourself on Christ or does that seem wasteful? So that you spend your life on your pleasures, self-gratification–on self. Or perhaps you want a dose of religion, you want a little bit of Christianity, like fire insurance, but the thought of losing your life for Christ, the thought of spending and being spent fully on Him is foreign to you. And those who live that way, they seem to you, you know, fanatical.
2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul writes, "I will most gladly, not just gladly, but most gladly." It's not simply a willingness, it's a willingness from the heart with joy. "I will most gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls. And if I love you more, am I to be loved less?" You see, he's willing to spend and be fully spent on behalf of people who don't really even appreciate it. Why? Because he loves Jesus.
And Philippians 2:17, Philippians 2, verse 17 and following, Paul writes, "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering”--fully spent, fully spent, right? Fully spent. “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus." In other words, “I don't have any servant to send to you like Timothy, because most of the people I know,” Paul writes, “the people I know, they're not concerned about your welfare. They are concerned about their own interests, not the interests of Christ.” Christ's interests. Christ's interests.
May I ask you, whose interests are you concerned about? Whose interests [are] you and I concerned about? So you see the perspective of Judas, Mary's deed is not attractive to him, it's not beautiful to him, it's not good to him, it's not attractive to him, it's foolish, it's wasteful, it's misdirected, it's offensive. Why? Because he doesn't have the right perspective of Jesus, he has no understanding of the mission of Jesus, and he has no understanding of the worth, the surpassing worth and honor of Jesus.
So to spend all, take something of supreme value, and spend it all on Christ–to him, that seemed to be what a waste. Could have been better spent, how Judas? Oh, myself. Not even on the poor, he was dishonest about that. He's a thief.
Now how does Jesus respond to the scolding of Mary? Note with me, lastly, the exonerating declaration, that's verses 7 and 8, “Therefore Jesus said, ‘Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’" We dealt with that last Lord's day, that verse. "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me."
It's interesting, isn't it? Do you notice what He does? Let me ask you this: does Christ know the true heart and character of Judas? He does, doesn't He? He does. He knew he was a devil from the beginning. So does Christ know that Judas is not really concerned with the poor? Of course He does. But, do you notice what Jesus does here? Notice what He does here. He takes the offense at face value. And, He says in effect, “even if you are really concerned about the poor, you're still wrong on this one, Judas” and to the rest of the disciples. I mean, if I'm going to accept what you're saying, that you think it should have been sold and the money given to the poor, you're still dead wrong. What a dishonoring thing that Jesus would be put in the position of having to even say these things, but He says, you're wrong.
And what is Jesus asserting here in that statement? Well, first of all, by saying this, Jesus is asserting that He has, He Himself, has the place of preeminence–first place in everything. Towering over everything. He is the point of everything. The place of preeminence. That it was better that this should be spent on Him than on the poor because He is God.
And He also says this, He says, "For you always have the poor with you." Now, He's not in any way meaning that we should take the attitude that we don't help the poor whatsoever because the poor were always going to be here. That's not what He's teaching. We see contrary teaching to that all throughout the Word of God. We are called, exhorted, and commanded to care for the poor. What He's saying is this: there are unique opportunities to glorify Christ that won't always be available. They won't always be here. "For you always have the poor with you," which, by the way, also speaks to this utopian point of view that somehow we're going to eliminate poverty all over the world someday. It's not going to happen. This is a sin-cursed world. This is a broken world. And as Pastor MacArthur always used to say, “This is a disposable planet.”
But, He says, "But you do not always have Me." “I'm coming to the end of My time here on earth with you. I will soon be crucified, buried, and she's done this in view of that–a unique opportunity to love Me and demonstrate that love and that understanding that I've given to her. This is right. This is good. This is noble. This is beautiful. I take the place of preeminence.” That's what He's saying.
But He's also showing the primacy of the spiritual over the material, over the social. The primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. The most important thing when you think about reaching the world, the most important thing, beloved, is not that they be fed and clothed. The most important thing is the spiritual relationship with Christ. What think ye of Jesus, right? That's the most important question. This is being lost, beloved. This is something that is an area where the church is really getting off track in recent years, especially. So much going on today in the name of social gospel, social ministry, social reform, and it's not the most important thing.
Listen to what one commentator said, "To many people, hot and eager about social reform and impatient for the betterment of the material conditions around them, the church seems nothing more or less than an irritating irrelevance. Its labor is a sheer nuisance, distracting people and turning them aside from the real things requiring to be done, inciting them to lose their way among and waste their time upon what does not really count or matter one way or the other, while its worship seems to them an absurdity that gets one nowhere. As a matter of fact, these confident critics have no understanding of what the church is doing."
In other words, the world looks at us and says, “Listen, with so many hurting people out there, with so many poor people out there, why are you people gathered together in this place listening to teaching about the Bible? I mean, that's what's really relevant that's going on in this hour. What is really relevant? Why are you here? Why are you listening to the word of God? What is really relevant that's going on in this hour of worship? What is taking place that will really mean anything? Well, why don't you gather up all your resources and go out to the community and start doing what really needs to be done? Putting clothes on people's back and food on the table. I mean, why don't you take care of the stuff that really matters?”
And the commentator said, as I just read, and I agree 100%, “they have no understanding of what the church is really about and the value of spiritual things.” Remember Matthew 11? When John the Baptist from prison sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, Matthew 11, verse 3, “‘Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,’””--and now watch this–“and the poor"--you'd expect Him to say "are fed."-no–"and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
And here Jesus makes the point that these disciples who were grumbling had no understanding of the importance of spiritual things. It was better that this ointment be poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ than it to be sold and the money given to the poor. This was more important, and beloved, it is more important for the soul to be fed than the body to be fed. And it's more important that a spiritual life be saved than a physical life be saved.
And that is not to ignore the physical needs. No, no. It is to acknowledge simply the primacy of the spiritual over the material and the social. There are things going on in this hour, here, right now, that have the potential to so profoundly impact a life. And it won't just change one life. It will change generations. And that happens every time the word of God is opened up and exposited. This living and active word, sharper than a double-edged sword. And every time this word is opened and shared and read and learned, it is the dynamite of God of salvation. This isn't a waste of time.
Worship, worship toward God is never, ever a waste of time. He is worthy of it. I'm afraid that the same kind of lack of appreciation for spiritual things is seen in many evangelical churches today. That's the attitude that's done away with preaching the Word. The attitude that's done away with Bible study. “We're too busy for those things”, they say. It just takes up too much time. “Let's be busy about the practical matters, you know.” That's what people say. In the name of striving for the practical, we have sacrificed the profound.
So, the perspective of Judas: wasteful. The perspective of Jesus: it's beautiful. She did exactly right. The poor you always have with you. You will not always have Me. That leaves us with the perspective of the disciples, the eleven. I just want to say a word about the perspective of the eleven. I mean, there's Mary, there's Judas, and there's another group witnessing all of this. Now, I just think about the contrast just to see it vividly. Mary gave, Judas stole. Mary focused on Christ, Judas turned attention away from Christ. Mary only thought about Christ. She only cared for Christ. Judas only thought of himself. Mary was pure, straightforward, honest in her loving act of worship. Judas was a liar about his true motivation.
And present at the scene were true believers who found themselves influenced in the wrong direction. The eleven disciples. Instead of joining Mary in extravagant worship, they joined Judas in his foolish scoffing and scolding. And what I want us to understand this morning, in closing, is this. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. Right now, in this world, there are still Marys. I mean, there are enthusiastic believers engaged in extravagant worship, who will spend and be fully spent for the Lord Jesus Christ. There still are those people in the world.
And on the other hand, in this world, you still have the Judases. They're still here–externally attached to Jesus, in name known as ‘His disciples’, but with no appreciation for His worth and value because they don't know Him. And to live a sold-out life for Christ, to give our very best for Christ, is something that they can't even imagine. It seems foolish, wasteful. It seems to them fanatical.
And then sadly, there's another group of people. They're not Judases. They're saved, but they're living lives that are not as they were saved to live. They're not on fire for Christ, have no zeal for Christ. They're not sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question is, who's going to influence them?
Listen to Spurgeon, many years ago, had this to say: "Beloved friends, the Church of Christ needs a band of men and women full of enthusiasm, who will go beyond others in devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. We need missionaries who will dare to die to carry the gospel to regions beyond. We need ministers who will defy public opinion, and with flaming zeal, burn away into men's hearts. We need men and women who will consecrate all that they have by daring deeds of heroic self-sacrifice. Oh, that all Christians were like this. But we must at least have some. We need a bodyguard of loving champions to rally around the Savior, the bravest of the brave, immortals and invincibles who shall lead the van of the armies of the Lord. Where are we to get them? How are they to be produced?"
He answers, "The Holy Spirit's way to train men and women who shall greatly serve Christ is to lead them to deep thought and quiet contemplation. Thence, they obtain the knowledge and vital principle which are the fuel of true zeal. You cannot leap into high devotion. Neither can you be preached into it, nor dream yourself into it, or be electrified into it by revivalism. It must, through the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, arise out of a hard stern dealing with your soul and near and dear communion with your Savior." And then he ends with this: "You must sit at His feet. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. You must sit at His feet or you will never anoint them. He must pour His divine teaching into you or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon Him."
Where are we at? Oh, Grace Chapel, where are we at? We come and go, business as usual. We sing a few songs, shake some hands, hug some people, share a little bit of our weeks. Is that what it is? Where are we at? Are we full of that kind of burning zeal that says, Lord, wherever You want to send me, whatever You want to do with me, whatever the cost, whatever the sacrifice, whatever it means, I just want to live for You. I just want to be used for Your great name. Here am I, Lord. Use me. Is that where we are?
To use Spurgeon's language, I can't preach you into it. I can't preach myself into it. You can't be electrified into it through revivalism. No, no. It's going to be when you think deeply, when you sit at the feet of the Savior, when you really contemplate who He is, what He has done for your soul, so that the Holy Spirit deals sternly with your soul and mine.
And in light of such a great, magnanimous Savior, in light of such a great sacrifice, don't you realize that He doesn't have part of you? He has it all. You are not your own. Do you realize that you're not your own? You've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in that body of yours. Present yourself a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him every single day.
Oh, may God lead us, who say we're His people, to realize we really are His people. I mean, we're His, His people, set apart, bought with His blood, meant to live peculiar lives in the midst of a lost and dying generation. Not living for Him partially, but completely, entirely, fully, with all of our heart and all of our ways.
Permit me to close with one commentator. He put it this way, and I just couldn't help it, but share it with you. Concerning this account, "Oh, how I want to be like Mary. But oh, how often it is that it is Judas who so readily appears when I look in the mirror." And I would add, the disciples. He goes on to say, "Only the gospel of my Savior is sufficient for my sin. Sick soul, I strongly suspect that were Mary alive today and we were to interview her and ask her the question, ‘What is your favorite Christian hymn, Mary?’ I strongly suspect she would say, that's easy. It was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts. While Charles Wesley reportedly said he would give up all his other hymns to have written this one. Mr. Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns. Some say he wrote over 9,000. Now the hymn written by Mr. Watts: "When I survey the wondrous cross." I love all four stanzas, but one and four are especially meaningful to me. Listen, and I'll close with this.
"When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain, my richest gain, my richest gain, I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small, (because He's worth it, right?)
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
Let's pray.
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