Costly Devotion

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group. 
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)

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8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers among us, and a special Happy Mother’s Day to my mom—I’m so grateful for you. And happy Mother’s Day to the mother of my children—our kids are incredibly blessed to have you as their mom, and you literally keep getting better all the time.
So…we’re taking most of this year to walk through the Gospel of John, and today we come to a passage that I hope will cause you to do some deep personal reflection. Because the main character in this passage responds to Jesus in a way that’s so personal and so whole-hearted and so all-in, that Jesus says, “What this woman has done today will never be forgotten.” So take the opportunity to reflect on your own response to Jesus: are you keeping him in a neat little box that doesn’t spill over into the rest of your life? Are you being half-hearted and wishy-washy in your spiritual life? As we look at her story, open your heart to what God wants to do in your story.
Let’s take a minute to remember where we are in the book. For the past three years, Jesus has been traveling around, teaching, training his disciples, and performing what John calls “signs”—miraculous works that point people to Jesus: he started by turning water into wine at a wedding; he ended by raising Lazarus from the dead. His popularity has been growing, and the religious leaders are so threatened that they are determined to have him killed. So today’s passage is a little pause in the action: it’s almost time for him to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey for that final Passover, to present himself as the Messiah. But before that happens, we get a little peak into a very personal encounter with a small group of people in a private home.
John chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. Let’s hear God’s word together…
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” This is the Word of the Lord.
So this passage highlight’s Mary’s response to Jesus. And here’s the question I want you to ask yourself: How should I respond to the grace of Jesus in my life? How should I respond to the grace of Jesus in my life? And let’s answer that in three parts:
First, how should I respond…In My Heart. So it’s six days before the Passover—Saturday evening. There’s a special dinner to honor Jesus. It doesn’t tell us the entire guest list, but some of the people in attendance are Jesus, Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, and at least some of the disciples, if not all of them. And before we look at what Mary does, let’s try to understand why she does it. What’s going on in her heart?
If I had to summarize it in one word, I would use the word gratitude. Gratitude. And I mean that in two ways. First, gratitude for the physical blessings that Jesus has given. This dinner is specifically to honor Jesus, and since it comes immediately after the raising of Lazarus, and since Lazarus and his two sisters are there, it’s pretty clear that the reason they’re honoring Jesus is because of what he did for Lazarus and his family. In other words, Mary is unspeakably grateful that because of Jesus, she has her brother back. And her act of devotion flows from that gratitude.
So here’s my first question for you: is your heart filled with gratitude for the physical blessings of Jesus? When you step back and look at your life, do you realize all that you’ve been given? 1 Corinthians 4:7 says What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? See, we have a tendency to take credit for the good things in our lives. “The reason I have this—fill in the blank—job…house…family…health…success…is because I’ve earned it. I’ve worked for it.” And at some level there could be some truth to that—maybe you have worked hard. But that’s not the whole story.
Who gave you a mind that enabled you to get an education—was that your effort or God’s grace? Grace.
Who gave you a body that doesn’t have a genetic disease that keeps you confined in your bed—was that your effort or God’s grace? Grace.
If you were born into a family that supported you and maybe paid for your education—was that your effort, or God’s grace? All grace.
Who arranged for you to be born in the U.S. (most of you), and not in a slum in Calcutta—effort or grace? Grace.
When you really step back and think about it, everything you have ultimately traces back to the grace of God. God told his people in Deuteronomy: 8: 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18a But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. It all traces back to God’s grace! And Mary realizes that having her brother back is an absolute gift of God’s grace. So she’s grateful.
But there’s a deeper level of gratitude going on here. Mary is also feeling grateful for the spiritual blessings of Jesus. Here’s why I say that: after Mary does this memorable thing of pouring her perfume on Jesus, Jesus says, “Leave her alone; she was saving this perfume for my burial.” See, it was a custom to anoint the body of a dead person with scented oils and spices before they were buried. And Jesus views this thing that Mary did for him as sort of an early burial anointing. Like a preview to the fact that he would very soon be killed and buried in a tomb.
Now: I don’t know if Mary fully realized that Jesus would be killed within a week. But at some level, Mary knew what was going to happen. Remember: Mary was the one who had sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach, hanging on his words. She understood the mission of Jesus as well as anyone. And Jesus made it really clear that his mission involved dying—paying for the sins of the world with his own blood. Mary knew that. And her act of devotion—pouring out her perfume—was a response to that spiritual blessing.
Ultimately, spiritual blessings are more important than physical blessings—you know why? Because the physical stuff is temporary. 1 Timothy 6:7 says We brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Peter 2:24 says “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall…” The physical stuff fades! It’s great to have physical health, but here’s the reality: no matter how healthy you are, one day you’re going to get injured or feel pain; and you’ll start limping, and you’ll take Advil for a while, and when that stops working you’ll get an injection or do physical therapy; if it gets bad enough you’ll do surgery; if it gets really bad you’ll have that part replaced with a new part. But sooner or later, the whole thing’s going to wear out, and God’s going to call you home. It’s temporary—and so is every other physical blessing.
And therefore—listen—one of the marks of maturity is to focus less and less on the physical and more and more on the spiritual. Because that’s what lasts. Mary was grateful that she had her brother back, but she was even more grateful that Jesus was about to die for her sins.
So here’s my second question for you: is your heart filled with gratitude for the spiritual blessings of Jesus? The fact that, even though you’re suffering with physical problems now, he promises a future where there’s no more sickness or pain or death. The fact that he forgives your sins and gives you the inner power to forgive the people who hurt you. The fact that, even when people fail you, Jesus promises to never leave you or forsake you. The fact that you don’t need to fear death, because he promises you eternal life. And the list goes on.
Let your heart be filled with gratitude for the spiritual riches you have. Allow yourself to be amazed by the undeserved, unearned favor of Jesus in your life. That’s where it all starts. The reason Mary did what she did is that her heart was overflowing with gratitude.
Now…let’s look at what she does. Point number two—here’s how I should respond to the grace of Jesus In My Actions. Two things Mary demonstrates for us. First, we show our gratitude through Acts of Worship. To really understand what’s going on here, you have to understand how people sat around tables back then. And the answer is: they didn’t sit. There were couches arranged along the table, and the couches had very low backs or no backs at all—almost like padded benches. And then the guests would recline on their left elbow, and eat with their right hand. And here’s the important part: when you’re reclining on your elbow like that, where are your feet? They’re not under the table, right? They’re pointing behind you, away from the table. Which means someone could easily walk behind you and have access to your feet. Are you with me?
So during this meal, Mary gets up from her place; she walks behind the couch where Jesus is reclining. She has an alabaster jar filled with pure nard, which was a fragrant oil imported from India. She pours it out and rubs it into Jesus’ feet. And then she unfastens her hair and lets it down. Women rarely let their hair down in public. She wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair. And as the scent of this valuable oil fills the air, I’m sure everyone in the room has paused their meal to watch what’s happening. That kind of act—caring for someone’s feet—was almost always the work of low-ranking servants. So what Mary does here is a gesture of deep humility and devotion. And because of who Jesus is, it’s accurate to see this as an act of worship.
What would it mean for you to worship Jesus with that kind of devotion? There are countless answers to that question. But here’s part of the answer: we need to care less what people think, and more what Jesus thinks. And that room full of people was watching a woman who really didn’t care what anyone thought. To her, there was no one in the room except her and her Savior.
So what does that mean for you? Maybe it means that when you’re in church, you’ll allow yourself to worship more freely. A few years ago I decided that I wouldn’t be more passionate about my sports teams than I am about Jesus. I am a lifelong New York Knicks fan, and it just so happens that the Knicks are having the best season they’ve had in 50 years. In the past couple of weeks, Norma Jean has said to me on multiple occasions, “I know, I know—you’ve been waiting for this since 1973—you’ve told me that already.” But God forbid I get more fired up about some overpaid pro athletes than I do about Jesus. So even though it doesn’t come naturally to a Scandinavian introvert like me, I’ve allowed myself to be more expressive in my worship.
And that’s not just in public; it’s also in private. What would it mean for you to worship with more of your whole self when it’s just you and God? Maybe kneeling in your living room. Raising your hands in praise when you’ve hiked to the top of a mountain. Two summers ago I was on vacation at the Jersey Shore, and I would get up to see the sunrise most mornings. And almost every morning, there was a woman that I saw, about a hundred yards away, standing ankle-deep in the water, dressed in normal clothing, with her arms open toward the sun. And as soon as the sun broke the horizon, she would start dancing in the water, with her hands raised, and from a distance I heard her singing what sounded like praise songs. And I thought, “That’s worship. And she is oblivious that anyone sees her.” You probably will not catch me dancing in the ocean, but you never know. Just like Mary poured out her perfume on Jesus, she was pouring out her heart before the God who sent the sun. It was a beautiful picture of worship.
Allow the grace of Jesus to free you to worship.
But there’s another kind of act that this points to: our gratitude to Jesus should lead to Acts of Generosity. As I said before, nard was imported from India. And a pint of pure nard is a whole lot of nard. The Greek literally says it’s worth “300 denarii,” which is what the average worker would make in one year. This might have been her life savings. And she poured it out for Jesus. In other words, what she did that day was extravagantly generous.  
There’s a moment in the life of David—2 Samuel 24—where he wants to build an altar to the Lord, so he finds the place where he wants to build it, and he tells the owner of the land he wants to buy the land to build the altar. And the guy says, “Buy it? You’re the king! I’ll give you the land.” And David says this: I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. David understood that our offerings to God should be costly.
A couple of weeks ago, when I challenged the Chapel family to make up the shortfall in offerings, some of you were extravagantly generous. Out of your gratitude for what God has done for you, you gave generously to him, and the entire deficit was erased in one week. It was such a great picture of what Mary did for Jesus, and it was awesome.
So the following week, I went up to Home Depot to exchange a propane tank for my grill. I went in and paid, and they sent out a young man to open up that cage with the full propane tanks, and as I was driving over there, I had the Chapel’s generosity ringing in my ears, and I thought, “I’m going to tip this kid really generously, and I’m going to plant a seed.” So I pulled up, I gave him my empty tank and I introduced myself as Pastor Dave. He gave me a full tank, and I handed him a $20 bill. He looked at it and he said, “That’s too much.” I said, “Look: God has been so generous to me, and it makes me want to be generous to others.” He still wasn’t taking it. He said, “Yeah, but it’s still too much.” And I said, “Listen: I always ask myself, ‘What would Jesus do?’ And I think if Jesus were getting propane for his grill, he would give the kid a $20.” He took the $20. And then he said, “Can I ask you something? Do you live around here?” I said, “Yeah—right down the hill.” He said, “Because I’m looking for a church.” And we had a great conversation about The Chapel, and our young adults group. And that whole thing happened because of an act of generosity.
And by the way, when we practice generosity in the name of Christ, our acts of generosity become acts of worship.
How should I respond to the grace of Jesus in my life? With a heart of gratitude, and with acts of worship and acts of generosity. And then—final point—how should I respond to the grace of Jesus In My Expectations? When our lives are marked by acts of worship and generosity, there are certain things we should expect.
First, Some will be critical. While Mary is carrying out this great act of devotion, there’s a sacred silence that fills the room. But then the silence is shattered by one of the disciples. Guess who? Judas. 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He tries to discredit and invalidate what Mary did. And there’s a certain logic to what he says, right? Jesus did teach us to care for the poor. And the value of that perfume could have bought a lot of meals for a lot of hungry people. Maybe Judas is right! But then John tips us off—verse 6: 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. It turns out that this is nothing but “virtue signaling” by Judas. It’s a performance to make people think that he’s morally superior, but it’s covering up his real motives.
You know what Judas’ main problem is? He’s never opened his heart to Christ. He’s an unbeliever. And when you’ve never met God, listen: worship seems like a ridiculous, impractical, waste. Let me say that again: if you’ve never met God, worship seems like a ridiculous, impractical waste.
So if you choose to worship passionately, or if you choose to give extravagantly, some people will be critical. They will say you’re wasting your time; you’re wasting your money. Do something practical! Because they don’t know God. So keep on worshiping; keep on giving.
Second, Jesus will be pleased. With Judas’ rebuke hanging awkwardly in the air, now it’s Jesus’ turn to speak—verse 7: 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Let me say this first: when Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you,” he’s not saying, “Therefore, don’t do anything for the poor.” He’s actually quoting from Deuteronomy 15:11, which says this: There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. So Jesus is not telling us to stop helping the poor, at all. But he’s saying there are times when it’s good and right to focus our attention and our devotion and our generosity on worshiping him.
This event is also included in Matthew’s Gospel. And Matthew tells us one more thing that Jesus says—look at Matthew 26:10: Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” In the eyes of Jesus, what Mary did that day was beautiful. Let’s never forget that we are called to live lives not just of obedience and truth and responsibility. We are called to live lives of beauty.
This morning I gave Norma Jean some flowers for Mother’s Day. They weren’t cheap. They’re not going to last very long. They don’t really have any practical value at all. But she was pleased. Why? Because they’re beautiful, and the beauty of the gift was meant to communicate honor and love to the recipient. When you stand in the surf at sunrise with your arms spread before God, or when you kneel in your living room in the dark of early morning, or when you sing at the top of your lungs in church, or when you give an extravagant gift in the name of Christ, Jesus will be pleased, because those are beautiful things.
And then finally, when we live this way, Beauty will be spread. After Mary empties her jar on Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair, it says the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Because here’s the thing: beauty spreads. It ripples outward and affects other people. It has a positive effect on the world. The people in that room could not avoid the fragrance of what she did, and then Mary’s hair carried the scent of that perfume probably for days or even weeks afterward, and she brought it with her wherever she went. Beauty spreads. In fact, there’s one other thing included in Matthew’s version of this story: at the end of the whole scene, in Matthew 26:13, Jesus says Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. The beautiful acts that we do in the name of Jesus will be told, and re-told, because beauty is contagious. It spreads. What are you spreading with your life?
I just started reading a book by Daniel Nayeri. It’s called Everything Sad is Untrue. It tells the story of how his mother grew up as a devout Muslim in Iran. She became a medical doctor, and then she came to faith in Christ, which was a dangerous decision. So one time, she hung a little cross necklace from the rearview mirror of her car. And Nayeri, who wrote the book, said, “that was probably a reckless thing to do” but “my mom was like that.” To her, it was an act of worship to the Jesus who had done so much for her. And then one day after work, she went to her car and there was a note stuck to the windshield: “Madame Doctor, if we see this cross again we will kill you.” And he said, “To my dad [who was not a Christian], this is the kind of story that proved his point---that my mom was picking a fight. That she could’ve lived quietly… kept her head down…stopped telling people.” So he said, “My mom took the cross down that day. Then she got a cross so big it blocked half the windshield, and she put it up.”
And he closes the story like this: “…everybody is dying and going to die of something. And if you’re not spending your life on the stuff you believe, then what are you even doing? What is the point of the whole thing? It’s a tough question, because most people haven’t picked anything worthwhile.”
What that Iranian doctor reminds us, and what Mary demonstrated for us, it that there is one thing that’s worthwhile. And that one thing is Jesus. So don’t hold back. Pour out the best you have for him.