Tr e a s u r i n g C h r i s t

I n t ro d u c t i o n
R ead :

Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

pages 1 - 2 of the Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth, 20th Anniversary Edition by Richard Foster.
Mark 14:3-9 ESV And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. But Jesus said, Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 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. John 12:1-8 ESV Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.

Scriptures for Todays Sermon: Matthew 26:6-13 (cf. Mark 14:3-9; Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-37, John 12:1-8) Matthew 26:6-13 ESV Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,
Note the alabaster flask of very expensive ointment mentioned in these passages. According to The Expositors Bible Commentary 1, the ointment was a very costly perfume from the nard plant native to the northern regions India and Nepal. The stems were crushed and distilled into a thick aromatic oil. The oil in this case was place within an alabaster flask which is a form of white translucent marble. The value was a years salary for a working man. Imagine that! A years salary! If you envision giving up your whole years salary in order to communicate your love to another person. What would that look like? To give you an analogy it might be similar for a man to spend his whole years salary on a wedding ring for his future wife. This was a very, very extravagant sacrifice, and it was a sacrifice we know was costly to Mary.

and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste?
a. strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger.2 b. feeling or showing anger because of something unjust or unworthy : filled with or marked by indignation3 I was reminded of the following Matthew 18:5-6: Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body,
1 2 3

The Expositors Bible Commentary, Volume 8; copyright (c) 1984, Zondervan; p.526 Available: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/indignation Available: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indignant

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she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. (italics mine) I n t ro d u c t i o n

Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

This tender story of Mary, and we know it is Mary based on Johns account in chapter 12 of his letter, may be viewed as a prelude to Jesuss final journey leading up to His crucifixion at Golgotha. It takes place before the Passover, and the story is not merely to be noticed or acknowledged in some superficial manner, but it is to be told in the memory of the person of Mary. It is a memorial to be told wherever the gospel is proclaimed. Note that God himself wants this story to be told. I know this because both Matthew and Mark tell me this. What ...she has done will also be told in memory of her or as Mark stated it, 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. This is why we find this memorial in the midst of these passages and why it is profitable to stop and reflect on what has happened here. It is because God wants it to be told. This also tells me that there is some very significant we can learn from this memorial of Mary. Therefore this morning I want to do two things. The first is to show why Jesus felt Marys anointing was so extraordinary; what it demonstrates about Marys love for Jesus, which I believe was an extraordinary treasuring of Christ in her heart; and secondly - how we might be motivated towards treasuring Christ in our own hearts as Mary did and learn from her remarkable example. To help us explore these points I originally planed to approach this passage from three views: 1. Marys view. 2. The disciples views of what Mary did. 3. And Jesuss view of what Mary did. As I studied this passage though I came to realize that completing three views this morning would be way too much for us all, unless you want to be here for three hours. Therefore I will concentrate on Marys view and perhaps someday cover the other two views. Palm Sunday seems a very appropriate time of the year to discuss this lesson today. The holiday celebrates the remembrance of all that Christ accomplished for us on earth and continues to accomplish for us in heaven. It is a time when even people who are not Christians celebrate and reflect on the gospel! Therefore lets take advantage of this Christian holiday to remember with great wonder our King, the God of the universe, and learn to better treasure Him above all else in our hearts as Mary did. D e f i n i n g t h e G o s p e l

To begin this morning I would like to draw our attention to verse 13 in this 26th chapter of Matthew. Jesus states: Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. Now I know that I personally use the word gospel far too lightly in my conversations and in my scripture readings, and that bothers me, so I want to define what that word means in this verse as well as in other scriptures since it is the context of the gospel being proclaimed that we want to remember what Mary did here.

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Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

Therefore I want to review what the word gospel means connotatively as compared to its plain or denotative meaning. Denotatively it is derived from the Greek word euangelion (y-n-ge'-l-on or you-on-gilion), which denotes good tidings or good news.4 But to understand the word connotatively we need to ask ourselves what does good news itself mean? In other words how are we to experience and feel this word in the context of this passage? To help us do this there are several things we can remind ourselves of concerning the gospel that we may use to emphasize its meaning to us. We want to do this because of the importance of what the word represents in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the gospel message, as well as to place us in the context of Jesuss pronouncement that what Mary has done a beautiful thing to me and experience the significance of that statement in relation to the proclamation of the gospel itself. I think there are at several points we can remind ourselves of when we encounter this word as Christians to help us better attend to its meaning. 1. The first is to remember not to move too quickly past the word and lose its meaning when we see the word. We want to stop and remember, remember the cost, remember the love, remember the glory, and remember its power for salvation to those who believe (cf. Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24). 2. A second point to remember is that everything in the beginning was good. Adam and Eve walked together with God in the garden. They had unbroken relationship with God Himself. Imagine that! 3. A third point to remember is that Adam sinned against God and as a result of that sin everyone born of Adam, you and I, and everyone else in the world, now comes into the world with a nature that is hostile to God and is separated from being in relationship with God (cf. Isa. 53:6; Romans 6:23; Colossians 1:21). Adams sin was a very great catastrophe. It is the reason why all that is bad and evil in the world exists and has existed since the moment that Adam disobeyed God. Francis Schaeffer described mans dilemma as a result of Adams fall in this manner: Man's basic psychosis is his separation from God carried into his own personality as a separation from himself. Thus we have self-deception. All men are liars, but, most importantly, each man lies to himself. The greatest falsehood is not lying to other men but to ourselves. (Genesis in Space and Time, page 39) 4. A forth point is that God responded to Adams sin with a plan. I will give three examples to help demonstrate this. Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring5 and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Based on the Hebrew meaning of the word bruise we could paraphrase this scripture as follows:
4 5

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Available: http://www2.mf.no/bibel/vines.html Offspring is rendered seed in NASB.

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Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring 6 and her offspring; he shall smite in pieces your head, and you shall smite in pieces his heel. This prophecy is announced shortly after Adam and Eve sinned against God. There are two important observations we can make that relate to the events that took place. One is that God could have prevented the serpent, His enemy, from entering the garden and yet he did not; And the second is that God could have warned Adam and Eve in such a way that they were not deceived, and yet He did not. God knew what Adam and Eve where doing or going to do and yet did not stop them. The point I want to make here is that because God knew what Adam, Eve, and the serpent where going to do, this implies to me, indirectly that God already had a plan for dealing with the situation, and that plan was a good plan. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV) Now if you are like me you are probably asking why? I am going to propose two reasons which may or may not be correct, but at a minimum will give all us something to ask God about. One reason is that I believe God allowed the events that occurred in Eden because God wanted to provide a means of salvation and fellowship with Him that would be unbreakable. As long as Adam and Eve had their own righteousness they would be fragile. There would always be the possibility that they would fall. But if they had a righteousness that was not their own, a righteousness from God Himself, then that righteousness would be forever unbreakable. I believe this is one reason why God allowed the serpent in the garden to tempt Adam, and why I believe he let Adam travel down the path he did without intervention. This choice by God, that is allowing Adam to sin, meant that He Himself would have to pay the price of their sins in order for them and their offspring to ever be forgiven and placed in right standing again before God. He wanted them to be eternally secure in Christ. The second reason is I believe He allowed this is because in God dying for us He was able to display His character to us more fully and experientially. The fullness of Gods character, His eternal love, his sovereignty over his creation, his justice, his wrath, his patience, his grace, his mercy, all the things that define God were fully displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Isaiah 46:9-10 ...remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

Offspring is rendered seed in NASB.

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Then in Ephesians 1:3-6 we have:

Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. The point I want to make in these passages is how God planned for these events to take place. Our calling, our salvation, the power of the gospel in our lives was a planned event by God. 5. A fifth point is that the separation of man from God resulted in a sacrifice by God Himself, Jesus Christ, to restore mans relationship with Himself. It was God Himself who saved us. Christ came and lived a perfect life and died in time and space, in history for me, for you, and forever else who will receive and believe (cf. Romans 6:23; Romans 5:12-14). Furthermore Christ satisfied perfectly the just requirements of God such that the whole world could be saved (cf. John 1:29; John 4:42; 1 John 2:2). He took the full and just wrath of God upon himself on our behalf. 6. The sixth point for us to remember is that the gospel is free. It is not because of any work of man (cf. John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-9). No man may boast that he had a part in his salvation. Going to church, being a good person, paying tithes, going to church, serving in missions or anything else cannot justify us before God. Only God is good (cf. Mark 10:18). God Himself alone was worthy to pay the cost of forgiveness and justification on our behalf. And so He did. 7. The seventh point is to remind ourselves of is that becoming a Christian requires a response. As individuals we must receive and believe (cf. John 1:12-13; John 5:24; John 14:1; 1 John 5:13) in Christ. Unless we receive Christ and place our allegiance in Him we will have no part in Him. It is in the receiving of the free gift that we have forgiveness and are justified by Christ. 8. Finally, we are not only justified, but we have been adopted. We are children of God. (cf. Ephesians 1:3-6; 1 Peter 3:18). We do not want to stop at point seven. Adoption is a great wonder, a very great wonder. Christians are not merely saved from hell, but something much, much more sublime has been promised. We are now adopted sons and daughters if we are in Christ, redeemed and called to be in joyful relationship and unity with God Himself (Ephesians 1:3-14). 9. Therefore lets read Matthew 26:6-13 one more time, but this time with the force of what the gospel means in our minds: Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment

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Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. (Italics mine) Lets now dive into this wonderful example Mary gives us to be encouraged and challenged by. M a r y s v i e w.

Lets look at some other scriptures to develop help our understanding of Marys attitudes toward Christ. Please turn with to Luke 10:38-42. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. This scripture gives us a picture into the affections Mary had for Christ. She wanted to hear his words even to the judgement of her peers. Lets turn to John 11:1-37, the story of Lazarus of Bethany. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard it he said, This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, Let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. After saying these things, he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had

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Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, The Teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, See how he loved him! But some of them said, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? Given these accounts of Mary I would like to make some observations: The first is that Jesus had a unique relationship with the family of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. I believe this based on the accounts of Jesuss interactions with this family as described in Luke 11, and in John 12. Luke 11:13 states Lord, he whom you love is ill. This scripture indicates to me that Lazarus had more than just a casual relationship with Lazarus. Lazarus was not merely an acquaintance. We do not know the details of this relationship but we see the effects of it on our Savior and this family. Lord, he whom you love is ill. We do not see pronouncement like this anywhere else in scriptures. It is unique. Now I am not saying that Lazarus was the only one that Christ interacted with and loved, but I am saying that Jesus had a relationship with Lazarus that was different in that is was familiar, brotherly; Lazarus was family to Jesus. Furthermore in Luke 11:28 we see that Jesus also had a unique relationship with Mary and Martha. Note that Jesus called for Mary. He wanted her present for what he was about to do. He was not going to let Mary miss the event of raising Lazarus and therefore we have Christ calling for Mary. The Teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Note Marys reaction when Christ calls her: she rose quickly and went to him. Furthermore Marys reaction to this event demonstrates profound trust in Christ.

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Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. She fell at his feet and calls him Lord. Note Marys trust and submission to Christ in her attitude. She is seeking Him for comfort. She is trusting in Him with her sorrows. Finally I believe Christ visited this family shortly before his death because he found comfort in spending time with them. They were all very good friends, and it is in the depth of that friendship that Mary wanted to demonstrate love for her savior. Mary was not thinking of the cost to demonstrate that love. She treasured Christ to such a degree that the cost did not matter. She was extravagant in her love towards Christ and my prayer is that we could all learn to love God as she did! Note: And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3 ESV) We often think of eternal life as living forever, and it is, but it also very much more. Eternal life as stated in John 17:3 is first and foremost relationship with God Himself. Wow, this should blow us all away. We will be in intimate loving relationship with God forever, always forever and ever safe in Him! In a few days Jesus would go to Cross, he visited this family once again as indicated in John 12:1, 2. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.

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Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. (italics mine) A p p l i c a t i o n :

Sunday Sermon April 1, 2012

So how do we get to where Mary was? How may we be motivated to treasure Christ above all else as Mary did? There are two patterns in Marys life I think we may emulate to help us: (1) Mary focused her attentions and gave her affections to Christ. She spent time with God. (2) Mary sought how she might demonstrate love towards God. She did what she could. We all can do these very same things. It may be sitting down at the beach or a park and having a prayer time with God this week. It may be writing a letter to a missionary or a compassion child. It may be visiting a nursing home. Or it may be sharing the gospel with a friend or relative. There is much we can to do to demonstrate love to our savior! Prayer.