'Mary’s Extravagant Gift'
“A Biblical Example of an Extravagant Gift”
(Sunday Evening June 3rd, 2012)
Passage: John 12:1-8
O.S. When I Stop to Consider the Fact That Jesus Did so Much to be a Blessing
to so Many People During His Earthly Ministry, I Find It Strange That
Very Little Gratitude, by Comparison, Was Expressed to Him
-> When I Consider the Fact That He Left His Home in Glory and “…emptied”
Himself of His Divine Prerogatives in Order to Become “a Bond Servant”
(Phil 2:7)
-> When I Consider the Fact That He Came “…not…to be served, but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matt 20:28)
-> I Find It Strange That Very Little Gratitude, by Comparison, Was Expressed
to Jesus During the Time of His Earthly Ministry
-> One Would Think That, for This One Who Had Healed People of All Types
of Different Infirmities, People Would Have Been Waiting in Line to Roll Out
the Red Carpet for Him
-> One Would Think That He Would Have Never Been Without the Finest
of Accommodations
-> And Yet, Jesus Himself Said,
“…’The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air {have} nests; but the Son
of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matt 8:20)
-> I Suppose the Epitome of This Can be Seen in the Story of the Healing
of the Ten Lepers
-> Luke 17:15 Tells Us That Only One of These (Who Was a Samaritan) Returned
to Express His Gratitude to Jesus for His Healing
-> And When He Did, Jesus Made a Poignant (poin’ yent) Inquiry; He Said,
“17 …’Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? 18 ‘Was
no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
(Luke 17:17-18)
T.S. Fortunately, There Were a Few, and Only a Few, Exceptions
Ex. At the Time of Jesus’ Birth, Wise Men Came From the East, and They Brought
Extravagant Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh (Matt 2:11)
-> Those Were Extravagant Gifts
-> And They Were Certainly Appropriate Gifts = King, Priest, Anointing for Death
Ex. I Suppose We Could Also Include His Mother Mary, Because Mary Did for Jesus
What Many Hebrew Mothers Did for Their Sons When They Reached Adulthood
-> She Presented to Him a Hand Woven Seamless Garment Called “A Kitone”
-> Personally, I Consider Handmade Gifts to be the Most Valuable Kind, Because They
Require the Sacrifice of One of the Most Valuable of All of Our Possessions - Our
Time
-> Therefore, This Must Have Had a Tremendous Amount of Sentimental Value
for Jesus; And Consequently, I am Sure That It Broke His Heart to See Soldiers
Gambling for It at the Foot of the Cross (John 19:23-24)
Ex. Another Exception is Found in This Passage Right Here
-> When a Man Named Simon Along With Lazarus and His Sisters Martha
and Mary Prepared a Meal in Order to Express Their Gratitude to Jesus
-> During This Meal, Mary, the Sister of Lazarus (Who is Sometimes Referred
to as Mary of Bethany) Gave Jesus an Extravagant Gift
-> It Was so Extravagant, in Fact, That Jesus Himself Said,
“It Will Never be Forgotten”
__________________________________________________________________________
T.S. So, With This in Mind, I Felt That It Would be Appropriate to Divide This
Passage Into Two Sections This Evening
I. Some People Brought Jesus Some Exemplary Gifts
II. One Person Brought Jesus an Extravagant Gift
__________________________________________________________________________
I. Some People Brought Jesus Some Exemplary Gifts
1) This Was a Meal Honoring Jesus
a. Notice the Word “So” in Verse 2
-> This Word Could Also be Translated “For This Reason”
-> Jesus Had Just Raised Lazarus From the Grave, and This Was the Primary
Reason That They Had Gathered Together - to Honor the Lord
b. This Took Place in Bethany
-> Bethany Was Kind of a Place of Retreat for Jesus; This Was His “Elim”
-> He Came Here to Relax and Enjoy Some Fellowship With His Friends
c. It Was in the Springtime
-> The Hebrew Month of Nisan is Our Month of March
-> And the Bible Says That This Was “The Deipnon;” This Was the Evening Meal
d. At Least Fifteen People Were Present at This Meal
-> And Each of Them Had Some Great Reasons for Expressing Gratitude to Jesus
-> And All of Them, With the Exception of Judas, Expressed It in Some Way
___________________________________________________________________________
NOW, LET ME ALSO SAY PARENTHETICALLY THAT THIS PASSAGE REPRESENTS THE BEGINNING OF SOME INTENSIFYING CONTRASTS
-> In This Passage, There is a Great Contrast Between Two People, Mary and Judas
-> A Little Later, There Will be a Contrast Between Two Crowds; One Crowd
Shouting “Hosanna” When He Entered the City of Jerusalem, (John 12:12-13)
and Another Crowd Shouting “Crucify Him” in Pilate’s Courtyard (John 19:15)
-> And Just as Jesus’ Friends Were Gathering Together to Express Their Love Here,
His Enemies Were Gathering Together to Express Their Hatred (John 11:47-53)
2) Each of These Friends Brought a Gift to Jesus
a. Simon, the Leper (Matt 26:6)
-> Simon Was Grateful That Jesus Had Healed Him of Leprosy
-> And So, Simon Brought to Jesus the Gift of Hospitality
-> He Opened Up His Home, and He Provided a Place of Rest and Safety for Jesus
-> Hospitality is a Wonderful Gift
-> In Fact, the Bible Says That We Should Always Try to be Hospitable,
Because We Just Never Know Who Might Come to Visit Us
Heb 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have
entertained angels without knowing it”
-> That Verse Refers Back to Genesis Chapter 18 Which is When Abraham Showed
Hospitality to Three Men, Who as It Turned Out, Were in Reality Angels
i. Jesus Needed a Place of Rest
-> He Had Just Traveled Five Hours on Foot in the Heat of the day
ii. Jesus Needed a Place of Safety
-> The Sanhedrin Was Searching for Him and Plotting to Kill Him
-> They Had Even Declared It to be a Criminal Offense to Conceal His
Whereabouts
John 11:57 (Read)
-> So, We Should Not Minimize Simon’s Gift of Hospitality, Because He Was
Taking a Personal Risk by Welcoming Jesus Into His Home at This Time
App: This Was a Wonderful Gift to Give to Jesus
______________________________________________________________________
T.S. a. Simon, the Leper
b. Martha, the Sister of Lazarus
b. Martha, the Sister of Lazarus
-> Martha Was Grateful, Because Jesus Had Raised Her Brother Lazarus
From the Grave
-> And That is Why Martha Brought to Jesus the Gift of Service
-> Verse 2 Says That Martha Was “Serving”
-> It is in a Continual Sense Which Comes as no Surprise to Any Diligent Student
of God’s Word
-> Martha Was Well-Known for Serving
-> Jesus Even Rebuked Her for Going a Little Overboard and Becoming
Preoccupied With Serving in Luke 10:41-42
-> But Even So, Martha’s Gift Was a Good One
Heb 13:16 “And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God
is pleased”
Q.n = I Certainly Appreciate It When Someone Takes the Time to Prepare a Delicious
Meal for Me, Don’t You?
-> I Usually Get Home From Visitation on Tuesday Nights About 9:00 P.M.,
and Sonja Almost Always Has One of My Favorite Meals Waiting for Me
-> My Favorite Meal is Homemade Tacos and a Close Second is Chicken Fajitas
-> You Can Have Your Ice Cream, and Your Cookies, and Your Apple Cobbler,
and Your Cheesecake
-> Just Give Me a Glass of Iced Tea and a Plate Full of Homemade Tacos
or a Plate Full of Chicken Fajitas
-> I Sure Appreciate the Fact That Sonja Does This for Me, and I Want to Know
That She Might be Encouraged to Keep on Doing It
App: This Was a Wonderful Gift to Give to Jesus
-> By the Way, We Have Some Great Servants in Our Church; in Fact,
I am Humbled and Motivated by the Servants We Have Here
c. Lazarus, the Loyal Friend
-> Lazarus Was Grateful, Because Jesus Had Resuscitated Him
-> And So, Lazarus Brought to Jesus the Gift of Praise
i. Lazarus Was a Walking Testimony
ii. His Presence Alone Testified of the Lord’s Power
iii. And for This Reason, He Had Taken a Risk to Come to This Meal
vs 10 (Read)
Q.n = Why Did the Chief Priests Want to Kill Lazarus?
Ans = Because His Testimony Was Effective
vs 11 (Read)
-> If the Lord Has Done Something Great in Your Life, It is Always Appropriate
to Offer a Public Testimony of Praise
-> Ps 107:2 Says, “Let the redeemed of the LORD say {so}, …”
-> And in Psalms 116:12-14, the Psalmist Said,
“12 What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? 13 I shall lift up
the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. 14 I shall pay my vows
to the LORD, Oh {may it be} in the presence of all His people”
-> The Psalmist is Referring There to Giving a Public Testimony About How
the Lord Had Delivered Him
-> Heb 13:15 Says “…let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name”
App: A Public Expression of Gratitude and Praise Was a Wonderful Gift to Give to Jesus
_________________________________________________________________________________
T.S. a. Simon, the Leper
b. Martha, the Sister of Lazarus
c. Lazarus, the Loyal Friend
d. Disciples, the Devoted Followers
d. Disciples, the Devoted Followers
-> The Disciples Were Grateful, Because Jesus Had Given Them the Words
of Life
-> He Had Also Given Them the Power to Perform Miracles
-> And He Had Given Them the Keys to the Kingdom and the Hope of Eternal
Glory as Well
-> In Return for These Blessings, the Disciples Brought Their Devotion to Jesus
-> The Bible Says That They Placed Their Devotion to Him Above All Earthly
Relationships and Personal Possessions, and Vocational Commitments
-> In Matt 19:27, Peter Asked What All of the Others Were Afraid to; He Said,
“…’Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there
be for us?’”
-> Jesus Did Not Chide Peter for Asking This Question; Instead, He Encouraged
Him With These Words; He Said,
“28 …‘Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when
the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, shall receive
many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life’” (Matt 19:28-29)
-> The Disciples Were so Devoted to Him That They Left Everything to Follow Him
-> These Were the Ones Who Set Their Hands to the Plow and Never Looked
Back (Luke 9:62)
App: And This, of Course, Was a Great Gift to Give to Jesus
_________________________________________________________________________
T.S. These Were All Wonderful Gifts, Acceptable Gifts, Glorious Gifts, Exemplary
Gifts, But There Was Still Another Gift to Come
I. Some People Brought Jesus Some Exemplary Gifts
II. One Person Brought Jesus an Extravagant Gift
II. One Person Brought Jesus an Extravagant Gift
-> Mary, Another One of the Sisters of Lazarus (or Mary of Bethany as She
is Sometimes Called) Brought a Vase Filled With Perfume
-> She Broke This Vase, and She Poured the Perfume Out Upon Jesus’ Head
-> Then, as It Trickled Down to His Feet, She Wiped His Feet With Her Hair
BY THE WAY
-> Every Time We Find Mary in the Bible, We Find Her at the Feet of Jesus
-> In Luke 10:39, We Find Mary Sitting at Jesus Feet Listening to Him Teach
-> In John 11:32, We Find Mary Running Out to Meet Jesus, and When She
Met Him, She Fell Down at His Feet
-> And That May be Why, as We Will See in a Moment, That She Was the Only
One Who Realized That Jesus’ Death Was Imminent
___________________________________________________________________
-> I Believe That Mary Poured Out Her Soul Even as She Poured Out This Perfume
-> She Was Absolutely Controlled by Her Adoration of the Lord
-> So Much So, That She Lost All Sense of Economy and Restraint
-> It Was Considered Socially Inappropriate for Women of That Day to Let Their
Hair Down in Public, But Mary Was so Lost in Her Adoration That She Gave
no Consideration to What People Might Think
-> She Was Behaving in a Very Similar Way to David When He Danced Before
the Ark of the Covenant as It Came Into Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:14)
-> David Didn’t Care What Anyone Thought of Him, Including His Wife Michal,
Because He Was Lost in His Adoration and Praise of the Lord
__________________________________________________________________________
1) This Was an Expensive Gift
a. Even the Vase Was Expensive
-> Matt 26:7 Tells Us That This Was an Alabaster Vial
-> It Was a Slender White Bottle Which Would Have Been Very Expensive
in That Day
b. It Was Called “Spikenard”
-> It Was a Red Tinted Fragrance That Was Extracted From a Rare Herb Grown
in the Pasture-Land of the Himilayas Between Tibet and India
-> The Fact That It Could Only be Found in Such a Remote Area, and Carried
on Camel Back Through Miles and Miles of Mountain Passes Explains Why
It Was so Expensive
c. John Deliberately Points Out Its Genuineness
-> He Points Out That This Was “Pure Nard”
-> This Was Not the Imitation Stuff
d. And He Points Out That This Was Worth a Years Wages
-> A Days Wage Was 1 Denarii
-> This Was Worth 300 Denarii
_______________________________________________________________________
Ill: Now Just Think of That
Q.n = How Much Money Do You Make in a Year?
-> She Gave All of That in a Few Moments of Time
-> No One Knows Where She Got It
-> Maybe This Was Something She Had Inherited
-> But Even Though It Was Extremely Valuable, She Just Poured It Out
2) This Was a Humble Gift
-> What Mary Did Was an Act of Honor Usually Reserved for Royalty
-> And Washing Someone’s Feet Was a Job Reserved for the Lowliest
of Servants
3) This Was an Irretrievable Gift
a. Such a Bottle Was Usually Broken at the Tip
-> But the Bible Says That Mary Broke It at the Neck in Such a Way That
It Gushed Out
-> And So, There Was no Turning Back
b. The Fragrance Filled the Room
-> Lit. Filled to the Full
-> And Mary Was One of the Primary Reasons It Did
-> I Say That Because She Had Cleaned Jesus Feet With Her Hair;
Then, She Began Serving Again and Moving Throughout the Room
-> 2 Cor 2:15-16 Says That Some are “15…a fragrance of Christ…16…an aroma
from life to life…”
-> Those Verses Would Certainly Apply to Mary of Bethany
4) This Was a Prophetic Gift
-> Jesus Revealed in Verse 7 That Mary Had Kept This Perfume to Anoint Him
for Burial
-> That Means That Somehow Mary Knew What Jesus Was Facing
-> This, Along With the Fact That His Betrayer Was Present, Also Reveals That
This Gift Fulfilled an Old Testament Word of Prophecy
Ps 23:5 “Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast
anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows”
5) This Was a Timely Gift
-> In Vs 8, Jesus Said,
“For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me”
a. Jesus Was Not Saying That We Should Not Give to the Poor
-> He Was Actually Quoting Deuteronomy 15:11 Which Says
“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you
to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy
in your land” (NIV)
b. Jesus Was Simply Pointing Out That There are Some Gifts That Must
be Given at the Appropriate Time
c. After Jesus’ Resurrection, Some Other Women Brought Some Perfume
to Anoint Jesus’ Body (Mark 16:1-6)
Q.n = What Did the Angel Say to Them?
Ans = Well, He Said, in Essence, “You’re Too Late! He Has Already Risen!”
_________________________________________________________________________
App: I am Convinced That There are a Lot of People in This World Who Just Wait
Too Long to Give an Extravagant Gift to Jesus
-> Some People are Going to Die and go to be With the Lord; They are Going
to Leave a Pile of Money Behind for Their Children to Bicker Over, and Most
of That Wealth Will Never be Used for the Glory of the Lord
-> Now, I’m Not Saying That You Should Not Leave an Inheritance to Your Children
-> 2 Cor 12:14 Says “…for children are not responsible to save up for {their}
parents, but parents for {their} children”
-> What I am Saying is That You and I Should be Careful Not to Miss Our
Opportunity to Give an Extravagant Gift to the Lord BEFORE We go to Meet
Him, Which May Not be as Far Off in the Distant Future as We Might Like
to Think
-> There is an Old Quip That Says “Do Your Givin While You’re Livin,
Then, You’re Knowin Where Its Goin”
7) This Was a Controversial Gift
-> When You Give Extravagantly, You Can Expect Some Objections
-> Some People Just Don’t Understand Extravagant Giving
-> Going Back to the Disciples, Some People Would Call Them Fanatics; Some People
Would Say That They Were Wasting Their Life by Following Jesus so Closely
a. She Was Criticized by Judas
-> You Know, Judas Only Speaks Three Times in the Biblical Record, and I Find
It Interesting When You Set These Phrases Beside One Another
-> Here He Says, “Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii, and given
to the poor?”
-> Notice How Skilled He Was at Immediately Calculating Its Monetary Value
-> In Matthew 26:14, Judas Said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him
up to you”
-> And in Matthew 26:49, Judas Said, “Hail Rabbi!”
-> His First Statement Reveals Hypocrisy; His Second Statement Reveals
Avarice; and His Third Statement Reveals Betrayal
-> In This Passage, John Reveals an Ulterior Motive
-> He Points Out That Judas Carried the Money Bag, and That He Used
“to Pilfer” Literally “to Lift Out of It”
-> This is the Greek Word “Kleptos” From Which We Get “Kleptomaniac;”
It Simply Means That He Was a Thief
_____________________________________________________________________
App: As I Stated Earlier, Mary and Judas are Presented in Contrast to Each Other Here
-> Mary Was Generous; Judas Was Greedy
-> Mary Loved Jesus; Judas Hated Jesus (Elaborate)
b. She Was Complimented by Jesus
-> Jesus Defended Her by Giving an Imperative Command
-> This Literally Reads “Leave Her Alone Once and for All”
-> Then He Says, “for the poor you have with you always”
Q.n = What Was Jesus Really Saying?
Ans = He Was Saying That There is a Place for Extravagant Acts of Generosity
That Have no Practical Appeal
Ans = He Was Saying That a Sentimental Gift is Not Out of Order, That It’s Alright
to Give Your Wife a Bouquet of Flowers or Even a Diamond Ring (Say Amen)
Ans = He Was Saying That the Tabernacle, and the Temple, and the Sistene Chapel,
Were Not a Waste of Money and Time
Ans = And There is Nothing at All Wrong With Giving a Generous and Extravagant
Gift for the Cause of Christ _______________________________________________________________________
Ill: Let Me Tell You a Few Things About the Temple in the Old Testament
-> God Told Them to Build an Extravagant and Magnificent Structure
-> It Took 30,000 Men Just to Move the Lumber From Lebanon
-> It Took 70,000 Laborers
-> They Used 80,000 Quarried Stones
-> And There Were 3,300 Overseers
CRAFTSMANSHIP = A Hammer Was Never Used
-> There Were Precious Stones, and Elaborate Wood Carvings, and Ornate Windows,
and Beautiful Hand Woven Veils
-> The Doors Were Overlaid With Gold, and They Faced the East so That the Light
of the Morning Sun Would be Almost Blinding as It Reflected Off of Them
_________________________________________________________________________
App: Personally, I Feel That Our Church Building and Our Church Furnishings
Ought to be at Least as Nice as What We Have in Our Homes
-> And I Believe That is a Statement Based on Scripture
Haggai 1:2-4 (Turn and Read)
Malachi 1:4 (Turn and Read)
App: Let Me Give You a Contemporary Application of That Verse
-> I Have Lived Long Enough to See Some Wonderful and Some Extravagant Items
Donated to the Churches I Have Served (Van, Piano, Brand New Generator)
-> But I Have Also Lived Long Enough to See Some Not so Wonderful and Not So
and Extravagant Items Donated to the Churches I Have Served (Ex. Computers
Ex. Used Living Room Furniture Ex. A Pepto Bismal Ping Theater Chair Ex.x Turkey)
-> BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU DONATE TO THE CHURCH AND WHY
YOU DONATE IT
-> WHAT YOU DONATE COULD, HONESTLY, BECOME AN INSULT
TO THE LORD
Ex. If You Get New Furniture for Your House, for Example, and You Donate Your
Used Furniture to the Church, This May Reflect a Misplaced Set of Priorities.
-> It Might be More Appropriate to Donate That Used Furniture to a Christian
Benevolence Organization Like the Christian Helping Hands or the Salvation Army
___________________________________________________________________________
Invitation:
-> None of Us Can Give a Gift to Jesus That is Too Extravagant to Jesus, Because He
Has Given so Extravagantly to Us
-> Just as He Had Done for Everyone Who Was Present at This Meal
2 Cor 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Eph 1:7-8 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon
us…”
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