A woman enters the house of Simon the Leper where Jesus is dining. In her hands, she carries an alabaster jar containing perfume worth an entire year's wages. Without hesitation, she breaks the jar and pours every drop of the precious liquid over Jesus' head. As the fragrance fills the room, so does the indignation of the disciples. "Why this waste?" they mutter. "This could have been sold and given to the poor!"
But where the disciples see waste, Jesus sees worship. Where they calculate financial loss, he recognizes spiritual insight. This woman understood what the disciples couldn't yet grasp – that Jesus was preparing for burial, that his time was short. She broke her most valuable possession and poured it all out because she recognized Jesus' infinite worth.
"She has done what she could," Jesus declares, immortalizing her act of devotion. These six powerful words offer both comfort and challenge to all believers. The Lord doesn't demand we match others' resources or abilities – he simply asks if we've done what we could with what we've been given.
The stark contrast between this scene and what follows is jarring. While this woman empties her treasure upon Jesus, Judas leaves to fill his pockets by betraying him. Two individuals facing the same Savior with radically different hearts – one breaking open her most precious possession in worship, the other selling his Master for silver.
This powerful account invites each of us to examine our own alabaster jars – those precious resources, talents, and treasures we possess. Are we breaking them open completely in service to Christ, or carefully preserving portions for ourselves? The invitation stands: pour it all out, hold nothing back, for the One who is infinitely worthy. What will you break for Jesus today?
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Today's lesson in Mark, chapter 14, gives us a
great example of how we can pourout our worship to Jesus.
When we pour it out, we shouldpour all of it out.
We should give everything toHim, because he is worthy, he is
deserving.
We're going to see that todaywith a woman that does a very
special thing to Jesus.
(00:41):
We are in Mark, chapter 14, andwe're going to be with the
woman who goes and anoints hisfeet.
It's a very tender, lovingaccount of how this woman
realizes what's happening toJesus and she's crying and
weeping and pouring out all shehad on the Lord Jesus.
It'll be a great lesson.
There's going to be somewonderful spiritual things as we
(01:04):
go through this.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Let's go ahead and dive in, steve, if you could
start at Mark 14 and read thefirst 11 verses.
Now, the Passover andunleavened bread were two days
away and the chief priests andthe scribes were seeking how to
seize him by stealth and killhim, for they were saying, not
during the festival, otherwisethere might be a riot of the
people.
While he was in Bethany, at thehome of Simon the leper, and
(01:31):
reclining at the table, therecame a woman with an alabaster
vial of very costly perfume, apure nard, and she broke the
vial and poured it over his head.
But some were indignantlyremarking to one another why has
this perfume been wasted?
For this perfume might havebeen sold for over three hundred
denarii and the money given tothe poor.
(01:53):
And they were scolding her.
But Jesus said Let her alone.
Why do you bother her?
She has done a good deed to me,for you always have the poor
with you and whenever you wishyou can do good to them, but you
do not always have me.
She has done what she could.
She has anointed my bodybeforehand for the burial.
(02:14):
Truly, I say to you, whereverthe gospel is preached in the
whole world, what this woman hasdone will also be spoken of in
memory of her.
Then Judas Iscariot, who wasone of the twelve, went off to
the chief priests in order tobetray him to them.
They were glad when they heardthis and promised to give him
(02:34):
money, and he began seeking howto betray him at an opportune
time.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Verse 1 in this section speaks of these two
Jewish holidays, these twoevents.
There's the Passover and thenthe unleavened bread.
They happen together on thecalendar.
The Passover, of course, is onemeal on one evening and then
that starts a week-long festivalof unleavened bread, and so
together it's about an eight-dayfestival.
(03:01):
They go together and it'ssaying here in verse 1, the
Passover and unleavened breadwere at hand two days away.
The chief priests were planningand looking for a way that they
could kill him.
It says in verse 2, Steve, whendid they plan to take Jesus?
It says what they wanted to doand didn't want to do.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Well, they did not for sure want to do it during
the festival.
The reason why is because thePassover was one of the three
major festivals.
The people were to return toJerusalem and celebrate, so the
city swelled at this time.
There were so many people thatcame.
They had temporary dwellingplaces outside of the city to
(03:42):
accommodate the people that hadcome in, outside of the city, to
accommodate the people that hadcome in.
The leadership did not want tohave any type of a commotion at
the time of this, when all thepeople were there, because Jesus
had a large following.
We've mentioned it before.
He fed 5,000 at one time.
He fed 4,000 at another time.
He had followers all the way upinto the Galilean area.
(04:03):
Just a few days before, all ofhis followers who were coming
with him into Jerusalem werecelebrating him as the Messiah,
as the King of David, with palmbranches and stuff.
The leadership were aware ofthe following that Jesus had and
they certainly did not want todo it during the time of the
festival.
(04:23):
They wanted to do it at asecret time where it would be
sequestered away, where thepeople wouldn't know what was
going on before it was too late.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
They didn't want to do it during the festival.
We hadn't read this yet in thebook.
We'll get there, but when didthey actually end up?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
taking him.
They actually ended up takinghim on the night of the Passover
dinner.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
After that, whenever he went over into the garden of
Gethsemane to pray, the chiefpriests, the ones who had all
the title in front of their nameand all those things.
They said not during thefestival.
And they actually did take himduring the festival.
Who's really in charge?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
here.
That is the key thing is thatJesus, over and over again, has
forced the people to take actionwhenever they didn't want to.
And I say people, it's theleadership he has foiled them at
every point, and he is the onethat is actually orchestrating
what's going on.
They think they are, butthey're really not.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
This is really true with everybody in the story, all
the people around Jesus.
It comes up with Pilate as well.
Pilate he was the one with allthe political power, had
soldiers at his command.
He ends up squirming becauseJesus is really the one in
charge here.
So we have these chief prieststhinking they're in charge and
they're making free willdecisions, doing what they want
(05:40):
to do, but Jesus isorchestrating the whole thing.
We have here in this passagethat we just read, these first
two verses talk about the chiefpriest and then down in 10 and
11, it talks about Judas goingback to the priest again.
That is what we call a sandwich.
Mark has these sandwiches thatwe have go through, where we
have two verses, or a couple ofverses, or two halves of verses,
(06:04):
with another passage in betweenthem.
So the in-between part is thestory of this woman with this
vial of perfume.
Let's go ahead and talk aboutthat In verse 3,.
Whose home are they in.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They're in the home of Simon the leper.
I find this interesting that aperson who was a leper was one
that people wanted to stay awayfrom.
If you were known as a leper,you were sequestered away from
your family and from others.
And earlier in Mark, in thefirst or second chapter, there
(06:40):
is a depiction of a leper beinghealed by Jesus.
It's thought that possibly thisis the same leper, Simon, but
it's almost like he has takenthis on as a badge of honor.
I'm Simon the leper.
I'm no longer a leper.
Jesus Christ has healed me andI'm not a true leper, but I was
(07:01):
the one who was a leper.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Of course in those days people didn't have last
names like we have today, sothey were known as son of such
and so or from this town.
He was known as Simon the leper.
He had a leprosy for longenough to where he obtained that
title.
He really probably should havebeen called Simon the former
leper, because Jesus, I'm sure,healed this man.
But he was still known in thecommunity as Simon the leper.
(07:26):
I can imagine Steve kind ofread between the lines here how
does a community treat a leperin those days?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Well, as I mentioned before, they actually were to be
in a different area, away fromall the other people they were
to.
As they walked through, theywere to announce.
If they came across somebodyelse, they were to announce I
have leprosy, I'm a leper, sothat the others would avoid them
.
That's the way that they weretreated.
(07:54):
They were completely shunnedfrom the community because at
that time the people didn't knowwhat caused leprosy and they
didn't want to catch itthemselves.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
We have this man here who had leprosy, probably now
healed.
The community when he was sickwas supposed to stay away and
afterwards the way manycommunities are, even after oh,
I'm healed, well, yeah, that'sgood, Just stay over your house
(08:25):
and I'll stay over on mine I canimagine the community probably
still stayed away.
He was probably still anoutcast, that many people would
still be a little suspicious, alittle worried that they might
catch this incurable disease.
Jesus didn't seem to care thatthis man was an outcast.
If Jesus went in and ate withoutcasts, what does that tell us
today?
(08:46):
How should we treat people thatthe rest of society is treating
as an outcast?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
This was a major rub earlier on, whenever the
Pharisees came and theycomplained to the disciples why
is it that your master is eatingwith sinners and prostitutes?
That was something that theylooked down on Jesus to do.
But over and over again, jesusshowed that he didn't shy away
(09:13):
from that.
You mentioned a couple ofsessions ago the woman at the
well that he met, the Samaritanwoman, the Jewish people at the
time.
They would walk around thewhole area of Samaria.
They'd cross the Jordan and goup on the east side of the
Jordan and then come back aroundwhen they were going to Galilee
.
But Jesus went right throughSamaria.
(09:35):
He never shied from sick peoplethat were coming to him and he
went and ate with them.
At one point he said I've cometo heal the sick.
That's the reason why I'm here.
Jesus had compassion on thepeople that actually needed him.
He didn't hang around theroyalty or the upper crust, so
(10:00):
to speak, the leadership.
He was there with the people,ministering to them on a daily
basis.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
In verse 3, it talks about this man, simon the leper,
but it says while he was inBethany, at the home of Simon
the leper.
So this town they were in thecommunity was Bethany.
Who else in the Gospels do weknow that lived in Bethany?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Bethany was where Mary, martha and Lazarus lived
the Lazarus that Jesus came andraised from the dead and over.
In one of the other Gospels,john, I think it is he mentions
that actually this was Mary thatwas doing this, so we see that
Jesus loved these people.
(10:45):
In fact, whenever he went andheard that Lazarus was dead, he
wept.
This was a close relationshipthat he had with this family,
mary, martha and Lazarusbrothers and sisters.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yes, he knew them, were good friends with them and
remember the accounts of when hewent and visited them to when
he raised Lazarus.
They were well-known to eachother.
So we have here this account ofthis woman who anoints his feet
with perfume, here in Mark 14,it does not give her name, but
we have other occasions when awoman has poured perfume on his
(11:20):
feet.
There's here, which is justbefore the cross, is the timing,
and it's repeated in Matthew 26and in John, chapter 12.
That's one is again repeated inthree gospels.
Then there's an earlier time inLuke, chapter 7, verse 38.
In the Luke 7 passage isearlier in the chronology of
(11:43):
Jesus's ministry.
It hints that this woman is asinner.
So we can fill in the blankwith our minds assume to be a
prostitute or some sort of alowly woman.
She's some sort of a sinnerthat's outcast from society,
someone that a good spiritualperson wouldn't hang around with
.
So we have a question here ofwho is this?
(12:05):
Mary is who we assume this is,but Mary from Bethany, because
he's in Bethany and not theprostitute.
There's been a kind of amisconception over this and
there are many people that putthese stories together and
confused them just a little bitand come to the conclusion that
this was Mary Magdalene, who hadbeen a prostitute who was
(12:29):
anointing his feet.
That's not true, because that'snot what the text says it's.
The Luke 7 passage just hintsthat she was a prostitute but
doesn't give a name, and here,when it's in Bethany, it's
assumed to be Mary from Bethany.
That's how we put the Marytogether.
(12:50):
Mary Magdalene was probablyMary from the town of Magdala,
not Bethany.
Notice verse 3, it says ithappens while he was in Bethany
and not necessarily two daysprior to Bethany, as in verse 1,
.
The anointing could have beenat any time during the week
prior to the Passover.
(13:11):
If you look at John 12.1, whenit talks about this anointing,
it mentions six days prior tothe Passover.
He had been in Bethany fourdays prior to that, going back
and forth, this particularanointing could have happened
any time during that week.
Therefore, let's talk aboutthis woman, obviously.
(13:31):
What does she do in verse 3?
She?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
takes this vial that has these precious aromatics and
oils in them.
One of the other Gospels putsthe cost at it as being 300
denarii, whenever the disciplescomplain and say that it
couldn't be given to the poor.
Well, at that time, a denariiwas a daily wage.
This perfume that she is taking, usually used for the wedding
(14:01):
of a person and also used forburials from time to time, was
almost a year's wages.
It shows that it is somethingthat she has been collecting and
saving up and probably otherpeople may be giving to her
different ones during herlifetime.
So it's very precious.
It's not something that is verycheap, it is something that is
(14:24):
expensive.
She wants to take it and use itto anoint Jesus, who she
believes is the Messiah the King.
Anoint Jesus, who she believesis the Messiah the King.
You get a sense, glenn, thatshe's kind of aware of what's
going on, of what's going tohappen in the next few days,
while he's there in this lastweek in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yes, the interesting part to me here is that she
recognizes what's going on.
When the disciples talk, hesays here she's doing this for
my burial.
The woman here is moreperceptive.
She realizes what's happening.
The text doesn't tell us whyshe realizes it.
It could be she was in thetemple every day and saw what he
(15:06):
was doing with the leaders.
It's also possible she was justlistening to the several times
he'd already said this and thedisciples were thinking about
themselves, which is entirelypossible.
But nevertheless, the disciples, the men, they miss it.
When this woman, she was muchmore perceptive.
She gets it.
She comes to him with the mostvaluable thing.
(15:28):
She has 300 denarii, 300 daysdays wages, with Sabbath days
off and holidays off.
This is about a year's pay Fora common person.
This must have been the mostexpensive thing that she has.
She pours it all out over Jesus.
It even says what does it say?
(15:48):
She broke the bottle.
What's the significance, steve,of breaking the bottle?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
The significance is that she's not going to use any
more of it, that she's going touse all of it to anoint Jesus.
There's nothing going to besaved back from it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
This is a very tender , very loving moment.
She loves her Lord.
She realizes he's headedtowards death very soon.
She realizes it may verypossibly be the last time she
sees him and she is mourning hisdeath already.
And she takes the most valuablething she has and she gives it
(16:24):
all.
I'm reminded of the woman withthe two mites where Jesus said
she gave all she had.
Here Mary gives all she had.
She breaks the bottle.
She's not saving anything backfor herself Very expensive
imported perfume she was savingfor a special occasion.
She gives it all to Jesus.
(16:44):
What does that tell us abouthow we should act towards our
Lord?
How should we view giving toour Lord?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
We should give all of our worship to Him, all of our
time and effort that we haveavailable to us, because of the
great thing that he has done.
He has provided for us theability for our sins to be
forgiven and for us to haveeternal life through His act of
death, burial and resurrection.
(17:13):
That means the life.
We no longer have a fear ofphysical death because we know
that our spirit is going to beable to live in eternity, and we
also know from his resurrectionthat we're going to have a
resurrected body.
What greater thing is therethan that resurrected body?
(17:35):
What greater thing is therethan that?
So we should give all of ourworship and all of the time that
we can to spreading the gospelof Jesus Christ to others.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
How deserving is Christ?
She poured out all she had andbroke the bottle.
Gave it all because he wasworthy.
How worthy is our Christ?
Is he worthy of all we have?
He?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
is worthy of everything that we have.
We have a scene depicted inRevelation of worthy is the lamb
that was slain, so that isgoing to be able to come and
redeem the world and redeem thepeople.
There's going to be a greatworship going on in heaven at
that time of the Lamb who isworthy.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Too many times I know I've been weak and sinful and
held some back for me.
But Mary didn't.
She poured it all out and brokethe bottle.
She gave it all.
She gave the most valuablething she had.
That's all she had is she gaveto him.
She broke the bottle.
Too many times we holdsomething back for ourselves,
too many times.
(18:36):
Well, we'll give God some.
He's worthy, but I'm going togive him some, but I might need
some.
So I'm going to hold somethingback for me.
No, no, she gave it all.
She was the one with faith.
She gave it all because he wasworthy.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Glenn.
This speaks to me of theveracity of scripture, the truth
behind it, of eyewitnessaccounts.
This is the second time nowthat a woman has been commended
by Jesus for giving their all.
A few sessions ago, it was thewidow's mite who gave everything
(19:10):
that she had, which was greaterthan all the other rich people
that were giving to the treasury.
Now we have this woman who isgiving this precious perfume
that she has been saving up.
A year's worth is the cost ofit.
If somebody were making up astory centuries later, the
heroes of the story most likelywouldn't be women.
(19:34):
But here, once again, we see awoman being really praised by
Jesus for really understandingwhat's going on and giving their
all to him.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
The men here are sort of made out to be selfish and a
little bit dense.
They're not really seeing.
The woman is the one that'sperceptive.
She's weeping, she's giving herall.
Each of us should ask ourselveshave I given it all to Jesus or
have I held back some for me?
And again, I'll admit too manytimes I'm weak and I don't give
(20:08):
it all I should.
I shouldn't follow the exampleof this woman.
We should each of us askourselves have I broken my
alabaster box upon Jesus or am Itrying to be selfish and keep
some for me?
We should break our box, pourit all out to him, and we will
get rewards in heaven.
(20:28):
We will get tremendous rewardshere on earth through the
Christian life.
But we should pour it all outupon him and not try to be
selfish and keep back some forus.
Let's talk about valuable thingsin Christians.
In verse 5, it says thedisciples were saying, oh, they
should give that to the poor.
(20:48):
Well, steve, I've heard thatmany times over the years,
especially from critics andnon-Christians.
They look at some Christians,some Christians have a lot of
valuable possessions.
Is it okay for a Christian tohave really nice things, or
should they sell it all and takea vow of poverty.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
They should do what the Lord leads them to do.
That's my answer.
If you have a conviction fromthe Holy Spirit to give things
to the poor or give to charitiesthat help the poor, then do it.
If you have a conviction togive your time for other things
or your money to other type ofministries, then go ahead and do
(21:26):
it.
But the reason behind why youare giving that is what God
cares about and that's whatJesus cares about.
Again, the example of the widow.
It was the reason that she wasgiving it, it wasn't the amount.
Just giving stuff to the pooris not going to be sufficient to
get a good standing with God ifthe reason why you're doing it
(21:49):
is to try and only garner praisefrom him and you're not doing
it with a pure heart.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
There's nothing sinful inherently about owning
nice things or having expensivepossessions.
There's also nothing righteousabout being poor, I think many
times some of the Christiangroups take vows of poverty just
to try to keep from gettingtangled up in worldly things.
The more possessions you have,the more time you spend
(22:16):
maintaining them and taking careof them and preventing somebody
else from stealing them.
If you give all that away, thenyou really don't have to worry
about things distracting you.
But again, there's absolutelynothing wrong with having a lot
of money or having expensivethings.
It's certainly not sinful to bewealthy.
What's sinful is like in Jameswhen it says oh, you have
(22:40):
something and you see yourbrother in need and you're not
giving.
That's when it becomes sinful.
That's when we should be likethe people in James or this
woman.
We should pour it all out onJesus and give where there is a
need.
The New Testament church over inActs they gave.
They gave generously when therewas a need.
We can draw these conclusionsfrom this passage, steve, that
(23:01):
he says in verse 7, you have thepoor with you always.
What conclusions can we drawfrom this?
The poor are always going to behere.
Therefore, what Should I say?
Oh well, they're always goingto be poor, so I'm not going to
do any good to give to them.
Or should we say there's alwaysan opportunity to go help
somebody?
That really should be it right.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
That should be it, and we should also look for ways
to help the poor get to a placewhere they're not poor anymore.
Help the poor get to a placewhere they're not poor anymore,
and just simply giving to themover and over again without
giving them a way to get out oftheir poverty is really not
serving them.
You've mentioned it many timesthat our society has gotten to a
(23:46):
place where just take care ofthe poor don't really help them
to get out of their poverty.
What happens is then you havegenerational poorness, so to
speak, living off of thegovernment and also living off
of other people.
So, yes, giving to the poorthey're always going to be here
(24:10):
but put into place ways that youcan help them get out of their
poverty so that they are notjust perpetually poor 1 and 2
Timothy gives very cleardirections on how churches
should treat poor people.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
We'll deal with that when we get to 1 and 2 Timothy.
But it says to be wise about it, to be discerning, to give
where there really is a need andnot where people can make a
living on themselves, lest youteach them to be idle.
The inspired apostle says butthis woman here, she's giving to
the Lord because she knows he'sabout to die.
(24:44):
And the disciples don't get it.
They say, oh, we should havesold that and given to the poor.
Well, we found out later, partof that was from Judas, who was
stealing from the money bag.
This woman is such a great,great example and the apostles
are often too much like me and,I suspect, too much like some of
you, in the sense that theyjust don't get it and they don't
(25:07):
see what this woman sees.
Those that look at the worldthrough spiritual eyes often see
things differently.
In verse 8, it says she hasdone what she could.
Steve, I think that's what theLord asked of us.
What can we do?
You know, there's things outthere with more talent than I,
there's better speakers than I.
There's people that can givemore money than I.
(25:28):
There's people that are betterat all kinds of ministry than I,
but all the Lord asked me is todo what I can.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
That is something that we should take away from
this.
Do what the Holy Spirit leadsyou to do.
If you've been called to servesomewhere and you don't know
exactly what it is, go to yourchurch.
Go to your administrator oryour pastor there at your church
and say I feel that I've beenled to serve this church body
somewhere.
Where is it that you want me toserve Now?
(25:58):
Be prepared for whatever it is,because it might be a simple
task.
It might be a task that youdon't necessarily want to do.
What I mean by that?
It might be a janitorial typeof a thing or it might be
something else, but if the HolySpirit is leading for you to
(26:18):
serve, then go and serve.
We've mentioned it before.
If the Holy Spirit is leadingyou to teach, then put yourself
available to teach.
Just make sure that you'reprepared to do that and you have
the ability to do that.
Serve.
You're serving the body ofChrist and we all have different
areas that we have strengths inhospitality, mercy, hospital
(26:43):
visits, going and visiting theold people in the nursing homes
all different types of thingsthat we can do to serve the body
of Christ.
As the example you've pointedout here, she did what she could
.
It's a great example for us todo whatever it is we can to
serve the body of Christ.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
All the Lord asks us is to do what we can.
When we look back on our livesand we look back on the ministry
we've done for the Lord, can wetruly say each of us should ask
ourselves have I done what Icould?
Don't compare myself to otherpeople, but have I done what I
could?
And then the Lord takes mylittle meager amount.
Remember the loaves and fishes?
(27:23):
That was the boy's lunch.
All he had was a lunch, but hehad a lunch and he could give it
for the cause.
And the Lord took that littlebit and multiplied it and made
it work.
So that's the same with us.
We can't compare ourselves withother people that are more
talented, but we can askourselves have I done what I
could?
(27:43):
Then, in verse 9, it says truly,I say to you, wherever the
gospel is preached to the wholeworld, what this woman has done
will also be spoken of in memoryof her.
And of course that's happened.
It's recorded right here andwe're talking about it today.
So the lesson here is that Godremembers.
God has written down in hisbook what we do and he knows the
(28:06):
things we do, both good and bad.
The sins and the good works forhim are recorded and he knows
when we come to Christ.
He washes away the sins, butthe good deeds are recorded.
Steve, I take comfort in that,knowing that God remembers and
he doesn't forget, and thethings that are done in love
(28:28):
he'll remember.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
We're going to be receiving rewards for those good
things.
I think that's an area that'snot talked about very much from
the pulpit.
Now we shouldn't do things inorder just to receive those
rewards, but I think many peopleare going to be a little bit
surprised at their judgment.
The judgment that we have asbelievers is not for salvation.
(28:51):
It says that all of our deeds,both good and bad, are going to
be reviewed and we're going tobe receiving rewards for those
good deeds that we have done,those good works that we have
done.
Well, many people don't realizethat.
I think there's going to bemany surprised people whenever
they go through that review withJesus at what's called the Bema
(29:15):
Seat Judgment.
Again, not for our salvationthat's already been decided here
if we're true believers but ourgood deeds will be rewarded.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
At some point we're going to be called into the top
floor corner office and we'regoing to be asked what have we
done with the resources that wehad?
Did you do what you could?
Then, in verses 10 and 11, itsays Judas Iscariot goes out to
the chief priest and he sets upand makes an arrangement to
(29:45):
betray Jesus.
He is the betrayer and it saysthey were going to give him
money.
Now contrast that with whatjust happened.
This woman poured out thisperfume that was very expensive
a year's wages and Judasimmediately goes out to earn
more money by betraying people.
(30:06):
People speculate why Judas didthis.
We don't really know.
The text doesn't say, but thecontrast here is glaring.
Judas was one of the ones thatwas pilfering from the money bag
.
It says in the other gospel,and here he's focused on oh,
this was a loss of money, and hegoes out and betrays Jesus.
One of the reasons was formoney.
(30:27):
So here we have, steve, a greatlesson, because money has been
the downfall of many a Christianchurch worker.
Money has been the downfall ofmany people.
It's been a sin that has creptin and people focus on money and
they're tempted by money, andmoney has been one of the things
(30:51):
that has caused wholeministries to collapse, churches
to collapse.
Steve, how can we not be suckedin with the sin of greed around
money?
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Money can be a great lure for people to get
distracted from what is the maingoal.
What I mean by that is thatthere is a natural desire within
all of us, within humankind, inorder to do great things, to do
(31:23):
grand things, and, of course,grand things take money.
So I think there are someministries that they substitute
the grand thing as being a goodthing.
Really, the question is whetheror not the money is being spent
well.
I've seen videos of churchesthat have put small roller
(31:48):
coasters on their stages and thepastor comes out on the roller
coaster or great sets.
They roll out cars onto theirstage.
They do things that aresensational in order to grab the
people's attention, but thatattention span is only for a
little bit.
Then the expectation comes fromthe people that want a little
(32:11):
bit more.
Well, a little bit more costs alittle bit more money.
So the question is what are wespending the money on?
It's a lure that can lead usdown a path a wrong path, in my
opinion of trying to supposedlydo grand things for God, but
really that's wasteful thingsthat I don't think God
(32:34):
necessarily takes pleasure in.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
The contrast is glaring.
This woman had something very,very valuable and she poured it
all out and broke the bottleover Jesus because he was worthy
.
She had no regard for the cost,because it was all given to
Jesus.
He had the need.
She was anointing his body forburial.
Judas, on the other hand, gotjealous of the money and goes
(32:56):
out, betrayed his Lord for money.
That's the great, great lessonhere, and one that we should all
take to heart.
We're still going to have morehere, steve.
We'll have to stop for todaybecause of time, but there's
going to be such great lessonsnext time as we continue to
reason through the Bible.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you so much for watching and listening.
May God bless you.
Today's lesson in Mark, chapter 14, gives us a
great example of how we can pourout our worship to Jesus.
When we pour it out, we shouldpour all of it out.
We should give everything toHim, because he is worthy, he is
deserving.
We're going to see that todaywith a woman that does a very
special thing to Jesus.
(00:41):
We are in Mark, chapter 14, andwe're going to be with the
woman who goes and anoints hisfeet.
It's a very tender, lovingaccount of how this woman
realizes what's happening toJesus and she's crying and
weeping and pouring out all shehad on the Lord Jesus.
It'll be a great lesson.
There's going to be somewonderful spiritual things as we
(01:04):
go through this.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Let's go ahead and dive in, steve, if you could
start at Mark 14 and read thefirst 11 verses.
Now, the Passover andunleavened bread were two days
away and the chief priests andthe scribes were seeking how to
seize him by stealth and killhim, for they were saying, not
during the festival, otherwisethere might be a riot of the
people.
While he was in Bethany, at thehome of Simon the leper, and
(01:31):
reclining at the table, therecame a woman with an alabaster
vial of very costly perfume, apure nard, and she broke the
vial and poured it over his head.
But some were indignantlyremarking to one another why has
this perfume been wasted?
For this perfume might havebeen sold for over three hundred
denarii and the money given tothe poor.
(01:53):
And they were scolding her.
But Jesus said Let her alone.
Why do you bother her?
She has done a good deed to me,for you always have the poor
with you and whenever you wishyou can do good to them, but you
do not always have me.
She has done what she could.
She has anointed my bodybeforehand for the burial.
(02:14):
Truly, I say to you, whereverthe gospel is preached in the
whole world, what this woman hasdone will also be spoken of in
memory of her.
Then Judas Iscariot, who wasone of the twelve, went off to
the chief priests in order tobetray him to them.
They were glad when they heardthis and promised to give him
(02:34):
money, and he began seeking howto betray him at an opportune
time.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Verse 1 in this section speaks of these two
Jewish holidays, these twoevents.
There's the Passover and thenthe unleavened bread.
They happen together on thecalendar.
The Passover, of course, is onemeal on one evening and then
that starts a week-long festivalof unleavened bread, and so
together it's about an eight-dayfestival.
(03:01):
They go together and it'ssaying here in verse 1, the
Passover and unleavened breadwere at hand two days away.
The chief priests were planningand looking for a way that they
could kill him.
It says in verse 2, Steve, whendid they plan to take Jesus?
It says what they wanted to doand didn't want to do.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Well, they did not for sure want to do it during
the festival.
The reason why is because thePassover was one of the three
major festivals.
The people were to return toJerusalem and celebrate, so the
city swelled at this time.
There were so many people thatcame.
They had temporary dwellingplaces outside of the city to
(03:42):
accommodate the people that hadcome in, outside of the city, to
accommodate the people that hadcome in.
The leadership did not want tohave any type of a commotion at
the time of this, when all thepeople were there, because Jesus
had a large following.
We've mentioned it before.
He fed 5,000 at one time.
He fed 4,000 at another time.
He had followers all the way upinto the Galilean area.
(04:03):
Just a few days before, all ofhis followers who were coming
with him into Jerusalem werecelebrating him as the Messiah,
as the King of David, with palmbranches and stuff.
The leadership were aware ofthe following that Jesus had and
they certainly did not want todo it during the time of the
festival.
(04:23):
They wanted to do it at asecret time where it would be
sequestered away, where thepeople wouldn't know what was
going on before it was too late.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
They didn't want to do it during the festival.
We hadn't read this yet in thebook.
We'll get there, but when didthey actually end up?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
taking him.
They actually ended up takinghim on the night of the Passover
dinner.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
After that, whenever he went over into the garden of
Gethsemane to pray, the chiefpriests, the ones who had all
the title in front of their nameand all those things.
They said not during thefestival.
And they actually did take himduring the festival.
Who's really in charge?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
here.
That is the key thing is thatJesus, over and over again, has
forced the people to take actionwhenever they didn't want to.
And I say people, it's theleadership he has foiled them at
every point, and he is the onethat is actually orchestrating
what's going on.
They think they are, butthey're really not.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
This is really true with everybody in the story, all
the people around Jesus.
It comes up with Pilate as well.
Pilate he was the one with allthe political power, had
soldiers at his command.
He ends up squirming becauseJesus is really the one in
charge here.
So we have these chief prieststhinking they're in charge and
they're making free willdecisions, doing what they want
(05:40):
to do, but Jesus isorchestrating the whole thing.
We have here in this passagethat we just read, these first
two verses talk about the chiefpriest and then down in 10 and
11, it talks about Judas goingback to the priest again.
That is what we call a sandwich.
Mark has these sandwiches thatwe have go through, where we
have two verses, or a couple ofverses, or two halves of verses,
(06:04):
with another passage in betweenthem.
So the in-between part is thestory of this woman with this
vial of perfume.
Let's go ahead and talk aboutthat In verse 3,.
Whose home are they in.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They're in the home of Simon the leper.
I find this interesting that aperson who was a leper was one
that people wanted to stay awayfrom.
If you were known as a leper,you were sequestered away from
your family and from others.
And earlier in Mark, in thefirst or second chapter, there
(06:40):
is a depiction of a leper beinghealed by Jesus.
It's thought that possibly thisis the same leper, Simon, but
it's almost like he has takenthis on as a badge of honor.
I'm Simon the leper.
I'm no longer a leper.
Jesus Christ has healed me andI'm not a true leper, but I was
(07:01):
the one who was a leper.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Of course in those days people didn't have last
names like we have today, sothey were known as son of such
and so or from this town.
He was known as Simon the leper.
He had a leprosy for longenough to where he obtained that
title.
He really probably should havebeen called Simon the former
leper, because Jesus, I'm sure,healed this man.
But he was still known in thecommunity as Simon the leper.
(07:26):
I can imagine Steve kind ofread between the lines here how
does a community treat a leperin those days?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Well, as I mentioned before, they actually were to be
in a different area, away fromall the other people they were
to.
As they walked through, theywere to announce.
If they came across somebodyelse, they were to announce I
have leprosy, I'm a leper, sothat the others would avoid them
.
That's the way that they weretreated.
(07:54):
They were completely shunnedfrom the community because at
that time the people didn't knowwhat caused leprosy and they
didn't want to catch itthemselves.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
We have this man here who had leprosy, probably now
healed.
The community when he was sickwas supposed to stay away and
afterwards the way manycommunities are, even after oh,
I'm healed, well, yeah, that'sgood, Just stay over your house
(08:25):
and I'll stay over on mine I canimagine the community probably
still stayed away.
He was probably still anoutcast, that many people would
still be a little suspicious, alittle worried that they might
catch this incurable disease.
Jesus didn't seem to care thatthis man was an outcast.
If Jesus went in and ate withoutcasts, what does that tell us
today?
(08:46):
How should we treat people thatthe rest of society is treating
as an outcast?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
This was a major rub earlier on, whenever the
Pharisees came and theycomplained to the disciples why
is it that your master is eatingwith sinners and prostitutes?
That was something that theylooked down on Jesus to do.
But over and over again, jesusshowed that he didn't shy away
(09:13):
from that.
You mentioned a couple ofsessions ago the woman at the
well that he met, the Samaritanwoman, the Jewish people at the
time.
They would walk around thewhole area of Samaria.
They'd cross the Jordan and goup on the east side of the
Jordan and then come back aroundwhen they were going to Galilee
.
But Jesus went right throughSamaria.
(09:35):
He never shied from sick peoplethat were coming to him and he
went and ate with them.
At one point he said I've cometo heal the sick.
That's the reason why I'm here.
Jesus had compassion on thepeople that actually needed him.
He didn't hang around theroyalty or the upper crust, so
(10:00):
to speak, the leadership.
He was there with the people,ministering to them on a daily
basis.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
In verse 3, it talks about this man, simon the leper,
but it says while he was inBethany, at the home of Simon
the leper.
So this town they were in thecommunity was Bethany.
Who else in the Gospels do weknow that lived in Bethany?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Bethany was where Mary, martha and Lazarus lived
the Lazarus that Jesus came andraised from the dead and over.
In one of the other Gospels,john, I think it is he mentions
that actually this was Mary thatwas doing this, so we see that
Jesus loved these people.
(10:45):
In fact, whenever he went andheard that Lazarus was dead, he
wept.
This was a close relationshipthat he had with this family,
mary, martha and Lazarusbrothers and sisters.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yes, he knew them, were good friends with them and
remember the accounts of when hewent and visited them to when
he raised Lazarus.
They were well-known to eachother.
So we have here this account ofthis woman who anoints his feet
with perfume, here in Mark 14,it does not give her name, but
we have other occasions when awoman has poured perfume on his
(11:20):
feet.
There's here, which is justbefore the cross, is the timing,
and it's repeated in Matthew 26and in John, chapter 12.
That's one is again repeated inthree gospels.
Then there's an earlier time inLuke, chapter 7, verse 38.
In the Luke 7 passage isearlier in the chronology of
(11:43):
Jesus's ministry.
It hints that this woman is asinner.
So we can fill in the blankwith our minds assume to be a
prostitute or some sort of alowly woman.
She's some sort of a sinnerthat's outcast from society,
someone that a good spiritualperson wouldn't hang around with
.
So we have a question here ofwho is this?
(12:05):
Mary is who we assume this is,but Mary from Bethany, because
he's in Bethany and not theprostitute.
There's been a kind of amisconception over this and
there are many people that putthese stories together and
confused them just a little bitand come to the conclusion that
this was Mary Magdalene, who hadbeen a prostitute who was
(12:29):
anointing his feet.
That's not true, because that'snot what the text says it's.
The Luke 7 passage just hintsthat she was a prostitute but
doesn't give a name, and here,when it's in Bethany, it's
assumed to be Mary from Bethany.
That's how we put the Marytogether.
(12:50):
Mary Magdalene was probablyMary from the town of Magdala,
not Bethany.
Notice verse 3, it says ithappens while he was in Bethany
and not necessarily two daysprior to Bethany, as in verse 1,
.
The anointing could have beenat any time during the week
prior to the Passover.
(13:11):
If you look at John 12.1, whenit talks about this anointing,
it mentions six days prior tothe Passover.
He had been in Bethany fourdays prior to that, going back
and forth, this particularanointing could have happened
any time during that week.
Therefore, let's talk aboutthis woman, obviously.
(13:31):
What does she do in verse 3?
She?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
takes this vial that has these precious aromatics and
oils in them.
One of the other Gospels putsthe cost at it as being 300
denarii, whenever the disciplescomplain and say that it
couldn't be given to the poor.
Well, at that time, a denariiwas a daily wage.
This perfume that she is taking, usually used for the wedding
(14:01):
of a person and also used forburials from time to time, was
almost a year's wages.
It shows that it is somethingthat she has been collecting and
saving up and probably otherpeople may be giving to her
different ones during herlifetime.
So it's very precious.
It's not something that is verycheap, it is something that is
(14:24):
expensive.
She wants to take it and use itto anoint Jesus, who she
believes is the Messiah the King.
Anoint Jesus, who she believesis the Messiah the King.
You get a sense, glenn, thatshe's kind of aware of what's
going on, of what's going tohappen in the next few days,
while he's there in this lastweek in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Yes, the interesting part to me here is that she
recognizes what's going on.
When the disciples talk, hesays here she's doing this for
my burial.
The woman here is moreperceptive.
She realizes what's happening.
The text doesn't tell us whyshe realizes it.
It could be she was in thetemple every day and saw what he
(15:06):
was doing with the leaders.
It's also possible she was justlistening to the several times
he'd already said this and thedisciples were thinking about
themselves, which is entirelypossible.
But nevertheless, the disciples, the men, they miss it.
When this woman, she was muchmore perceptive.
She gets it.
She comes to him with the mostvaluable thing.
(15:28):
She has 300 denarii, 300 daysdays wages, with Sabbath days
off and holidays off.
This is about a year's pay Fora common person.
This must have been the mostexpensive thing that she has.
She pours it all out over Jesus.
It even says what does it say?
(15:48):
She broke the bottle.
What's the significance, steve,of breaking the bottle?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
The significance is that she's not going to use any
more of it, that she's going touse all of it to anoint Jesus.
There's nothing going to besaved back from it.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
This is a very tender , very loving moment.
She loves her Lord.
She realizes he's headedtowards death very soon.
She realizes it may verypossibly be the last time she
sees him and she is mourning hisdeath already.
And she takes the most valuablething she has and she gives it
(16:24):
all.
I'm reminded of the woman withthe two mites where Jesus said
she gave all she had.
Here Mary gives all she had.
She breaks the bottle.
She's not saving anything backfor herself Very expensive
imported perfume she was savingfor a special occasion.
She gives it all to Jesus.
(16:44):
What does that tell us abouthow we should act towards our
Lord?
How should we view giving toour Lord?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
We should give all of our worship to Him, all of our
time and effort that we haveavailable to us, because of the
great thing that he has done.
He has provided for us theability for our sins to be
forgiven and for us to haveeternal life through His act of
death, burial and resurrection.
(17:13):
That means the life.
We no longer have a fear ofphysical death because we know
that our spirit is going to beable to live in eternity, and we
also know from his resurrectionthat we're going to have a
resurrected body.
What greater thing is therethan that resurrected body?
(17:35):
What greater thing is therethan that?
So we should give all of ourworship and all of the time that
we can to spreading the gospelof Jesus Christ to others.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
How deserving is Christ?
She poured out all she had andbroke the bottle.
Gave it all because he wasworthy.
How worthy is our Christ?
Is he worthy of all we have?
He?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
is worthy of everything that we have.
We have a scene depicted inRevelation of worthy is the lamb
that was slain, so that isgoing to be able to come and
redeem the world and redeem thepeople.
There's going to be a greatworship going on in heaven at
that time of the Lamb who isworthy.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Too many times I know I've been weak and sinful and
held some back for me.
But Mary didn't.
She poured it all out and brokethe bottle.
She gave it all.
She gave the most valuablething she had.
That's all she had is she gaveto him.
She broke the bottle.
Too many times we holdsomething back for ourselves,
too many times.
(18:36):
Well, we'll give God some.
He's worthy, but I'm going togive him some, but I might need
some.
So I'm going to hold somethingback for me.
No, no, she gave it all.
She was the one with faith.
She gave it all because he wasworthy.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Glenn.
This speaks to me of theveracity of scripture, the truth
behind it, of eyewitnessaccounts.
This is the second time nowthat a woman has been commended
by Jesus for giving their all.
A few sessions ago, it was thewidow's mite who gave everything
(19:10):
that she had, which was greaterthan all the other rich people
that were giving to the treasury.
Now we have this woman who isgiving this precious perfume
that she has been saving up.
A year's worth is the cost ofit.
If somebody were making up astory centuries later, the
heroes of the story most likelywouldn't be women.
(19:34):
But here, once again, we see awoman being really praised by
Jesus for really understandingwhat's going on and giving their
all to him.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
The men here are sort of made out to be selfish and a
little bit dense.
They're not really seeing.
The woman is the one that'sperceptive.
She's weeping, she's giving herall.
Each of us should ask ourselveshave I given it all to Jesus or
have I held back some for me?
And again, I'll admit too manytimes I'm weak and I don't give
(20:08):
it all I should.
I shouldn't follow the exampleof this woman.
We should each of us askourselves have I broken my
alabaster box upon Jesus or am Itrying to be selfish and keep
some for me?
We should break our box, pourit all out to him, and we will
get rewards in heaven.
(20:28):
We will get tremendous rewardshere on earth through the
Christian life.
But we should pour it all outupon him and not try to be
selfish and keep back some forus.
Let's talk about valuable thingsin Christians.
In verse 5, it says thedisciples were saying, oh, they
should give that to the poor.
(20:48):
Well, steve, I've heard thatmany times over the years,
especially from critics andnon-Christians.
They look at some Christians,some Christians have a lot of
valuable possessions.
Is it okay for a Christian tohave really nice things, or
should they sell it all and takea vow of poverty.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
They should do what the Lord leads them to do.
That's my answer.
If you have a conviction fromthe Holy Spirit to give things
to the poor or give to charitiesthat help the poor, then do it.
If you have a conviction togive your time for other things
or your money to other type ofministries, then go ahead and do
(21:26):
it.
But the reason behind why youare giving that is what God
cares about and that's whatJesus cares about.
Again, the example of the widow.
It was the reason that she wasgiving it, it wasn't the amount.
Just giving stuff to the pooris not going to be sufficient to
get a good standing with God ifthe reason why you're doing it
(21:49):
is to try and only garner praisefrom him and you're not doing
it with a pure heart.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
There's nothing sinful inherently about owning
nice things or having expensivepossessions.
There's also nothing righteousabout being poor, I think many
times some of the Christiangroups take vows of poverty just
to try to keep from gettingtangled up in worldly things.
The more possessions you have,the more time you spend
(22:16):
maintaining them and taking careof them and preventing somebody
else from stealing them.
If you give all that away, thenyou really don't have to worry
about things distracting you.
But again, there's absolutelynothing wrong with having a lot
of money or having expensivethings.
It's certainly not sinful to bewealthy.
What's sinful is like in Jameswhen it says oh, you have
(22:40):
something and you see yourbrother in need and you're not
giving.
That's when it becomes sinful.
That's when we should be likethe people in James or this
woman.
We should pour it all out onJesus and give where there is a
need.
The New Testament church over inActs they gave.
They gave generously when therewas a need.
We can draw these conclusionsfrom this passage, steve, that
(23:01):
he says in verse 7, you have thepoor with you always.
What conclusions can we drawfrom this?
The poor are always going to behere.
Therefore, what Should I say?
Oh well, they're always goingto be poor, so I'm not going to
do any good to give to them.
Or should we say there's alwaysan opportunity to go help
somebody?
That really should be it right.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
That should be it, and we should also look for ways
to help the poor get to a placewhere they're not poor anymore.
Help the poor get to a placewhere they're not poor anymore,
and just simply giving to themover and over again without
giving them a way to get out oftheir poverty is really not
serving them.
You've mentioned it many timesthat our society has gotten to a
(23:46):
place where just take care ofthe poor don't really help them
to get out of their poverty.
What happens is then you havegenerational poorness, so to
speak, living off of thegovernment and also living off
of other people.
So, yes, giving to the poorthey're always going to be here
(24:10):
but put into place ways that youcan help them get out of their
poverty so that they are notjust perpetually poor 1 and 2
Timothy gives very cleardirections on how churches
should treat poor people.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
We'll deal with that when we get to 1 and 2 Timothy.
But it says to be wise about it, to be discerning, to give
where there really is a need andnot where people can make a
living on themselves, lest youteach them to be idle.
The inspired apostle says butthis woman here, she's giving to
the Lord because she knows he'sabout to die.
(24:44):
And the disciples don't get it.
They say, oh, we should havesold that and given to the poor.
Well, we found out later, partof that was from Judas, who was
stealing from the money bag.
This woman is such a great,great example and the apostles
are often too much like me and,I suspect, too much like some of
you, in the sense that theyjust don't get it and they don't
(25:07):
see what this woman sees.
Those that look at the worldthrough spiritual eyes often see
things differently.
In verse 8, it says she hasdone what she could.
Steve, I think that's what theLord asked of us.
What can we do?
You know, there's things outthere with more talent than I,
there's better speakers than I.
There's people that can givemore money than I.
(25:28):
There's people that are betterat all kinds of ministry than I,
but all the Lord asked me is todo what I can.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
That is something that we should take away from
this.
Do what the Holy Spirit leadsyou to do.
If you've been called to servesomewhere and you don't know
exactly what it is, go to yourchurch.
Go to your administrator oryour pastor there at your church
and say I feel that I've beenled to serve this church body
somewhere.
Where is it that you want me toserve Now?
(25:58):
Be prepared for whatever it is,because it might be a simple
task.
It might be a task that youdon't necessarily want to do.
What I mean by that?
It might be a janitorial typeof a thing or it might be
something else, but if the HolySpirit is leading for you to
(26:18):
serve, then go and serve.
We've mentioned it before.
If the Holy Spirit is leadingyou to teach, then put yourself
available to teach.
Just make sure that you'reprepared to do that and you have
the ability to do that.
Serve.
You're serving the body ofChrist and we all have different
areas that we have strengths inhospitality, mercy, hospital
(26:43):
visits, going and visiting theold people in the nursing homes
all different types of thingsthat we can do to serve the body
of Christ.
As the example you've pointedout here, she did what she could
.
It's a great example for us todo whatever it is we can to
serve the body of Christ.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
All the Lord asks us is to do what we can.
When we look back on our livesand we look back on the ministry
we've done for the Lord, can wetruly say each of us should ask
ourselves have I done what Icould?
Don't compare myself to otherpeople, but have I done what I
could?
And then the Lord takes mylittle meager amount.
Remember the loaves and fishes?
(27:23):
That was the boy's lunch.
All he had was a lunch, but hehad a lunch and he could give it
for the cause.
And the Lord took that littlebit and multiplied it and made
it work.
So that's the same with us.
We can't compare ourselves withother people that are more
talented, but we can askourselves have I done what I
could?
(27:43):
Then, in verse 9, it says truly,I say to you, wherever the
gospel is preached to the wholeworld, what this woman has done
will also be spoken of in memoryof her.
And of course that's happened.
It's recorded right here andwe're talking about it today.
So the lesson here is that Godremembers.
God has written down in hisbook what we do and he knows the
(28:06):
things we do, both good and bad.
The sins and the good works forhim are recorded and he knows
when we come to Christ.
He washes away the sins, butthe good deeds are recorded.
Steve, I take comfort in that,knowing that God remembers and
he doesn't forget, and thethings that are done in love
(28:28):
he'll remember.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
We're going to be receiving rewards for those good
things.
I think that's an area that'snot talked about very much from
the pulpit.
Now we shouldn't do things inorder just to receive those
rewards, but I think many peopleare going to be a little bit
surprised at their judgment.
The judgment that we have asbelievers is not for salvation.
(28:51):
It says that all of our deeds,both good and bad, are going to
be reviewed and we're going tobe receiving rewards for those
good deeds that we have done,those good works that we have
done.
Well, many people don't realizethat.
I think there's going to bemany surprised people whenever
they go through that review withJesus at what's called the Bema
(29:15):
Seat Judgment.
Again, not for our salvationthat's already been decided here
if we're true believers but ourgood deeds will be rewarded.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
At some point we're going to be called into the top
floor corner office and we'regoing to be asked what have we
done with the resources that wehad?
Did you do what you could?
Then, in verses 10 and 11, itsays Judas Iscariot goes out to
the chief priest and he sets upand makes an arrangement to
(29:45):
betray Jesus.
He is the betrayer and it saysthey were going to give him
money.
Now contrast that with whatjust happened.
This woman poured out thisperfume that was very expensive
a year's wages and Judasimmediately goes out to earn
more money by betraying people.
(30:06):
People speculate why Judas didthis.
We don't really know.
The text doesn't say, but thecontrast here is glaring.
Judas was one of the ones thatwas pilfering from the money bag
.
It says in the other gospel,and here he's focused on oh,
this was a loss of money, and hegoes out and betrays Jesus.
One of the reasons was formoney.
(30:27):
So here we have, steve, a greatlesson, because money has been
the downfall of many a Christianchurch worker.
Money has been the downfall ofmany people.
It's been a sin that has creptin and people focus on money and
they're tempted by money, andmoney has been one of the things
(30:51):
that has caused wholeministries to collapse, churches
to collapse.
Steve, how can we not be suckedin with the sin of greed around
money?
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Money can be a great lure for people to get
distracted from what is the maingoal.
What I mean by that is thatthere is a natural desire within
all of us, within humankind, inorder to do great things, to do
(31:23):
grand things, and, of course,grand things take money.
So I think there are someministries that they substitute
the grand thing as being a goodthing.
Really, the question is whetheror not the money is being spent
well.
I've seen videos of churchesthat have put small roller
(31:48):
coasters on their stages and thepastor comes out on the roller
coaster or great sets.
They roll out cars onto theirstage.
They do things that aresensational in order to grab the
people's attention, but thatattention span is only for a
little bit.
Then the expectation comes fromthe people that want a little
(32:11):
bit more.
Well, a little bit more costs alittle bit more money.
So the question is what are wespending the money on?
It's a lure that can lead usdown a path a wrong path, in my
opinion of trying to supposedlydo grand things for God, but
really that's wasteful thingsthat I don't think God
(32:34):
necessarily takes pleasure in.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
The contrast is glaring.
This woman had something very,very valuable and she poured it
all out and broke the bottleover Jesus because he was worthy
.
She had no regard for the cost,because it was all given to
Jesus.
He had the need.
She was anointing his body forburial.
Judas, on the other hand, gotjealous of the money and goes
(32:56):
out, betrayed his Lord for money.
That's the great, great lessonhere, and one that we should all
take to heart.
We're still going to have morehere, steve.
We'll have to stop for todaybecause of time, but there's
going to be such great lessonsnext time as we continue to
reason through the Bible.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you so much for watching and listening.
May God bless you.
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