Sermon Tone Analysis

Today we will be studying John 12:1-11.

I encourage you to open your bibles to that passage, or follow along using the Bible Study App, or on the screen behind me.

As you open to that passage, let’s review the background to this event, which occurs just before the final week of Jesus before His death and resurrection.

Jesus had recently raised Lazarus from the dead.

When he did this, many people believed in Him, the Son of God, the Resurrection and the Life!

The One that can give us new life, and eternal life.

However, some were so opposed to Jesus, that even the raising of Lazarus from the dead would not persuade them.

Rather, they plotted to kill Jesus because they were worried that more people would follow Him.

So, Jesus withdrew from Bethany, which was a short distance from Jerusalem, to Ephraim (John 11:54) until it was almost time for the Jewish Passover.

When it was nearly time for the Passover, Jesus once again travelled to Bethany.

Here is where Mary annointed Jesus with her very expensive perfume.

John records this in John 12:1-11, our passage for today.

This incident was also recorded in the gospels written by Matthew and Mark.

As is so often the case, eye-witnesses often give different details.

So what I have done is combined the passages for us to read and get the full picture of what took place.

Let’s read the account of what took place together.

Prayer

Extravagant Worship

As we study this passage, I want to look at a few of the people mentioned, and learn what God has for us from the examples of their lives.

We will see three things that should be a part of every believers’ life, and one thing that should not.

We will see service, fellowship and worship.

Then we will also see judgment and condemnation.

Martha

The first person mentioned in this account is Martha.

What is she doing?

She is working.

She is serving everyone.

This seems to be who Martha is.

This is what Martha does.

She is a server.

We see that in another account of Jesus’ life as recorded in Luke.

On another occasion, Jesus had been in Lazarus, Martha and Mary’s home, and there we see...

Martha

Martha was serving then as well!

This is what Martha did.

Even on this occasion, when the dinner for Jesus was being given in the home of Simon the Leper, Martha is serving!

I wonder if she was in charge of the meal?

I’ll bet she worked hard all day to make sure everything was just right.

The aroma from the food must have filled the house and everyone was likely entering the home in anticipation of the meal.

Then, once everyone was there, Martha began serving.

This was her thing.

This is what she loved doing, and I’ll bet she was happy and in great spirits as she served a dinner in honor of Jesus, who had raised her brother from the dead!

This was truly a joyous event.

I wonder if she was almost doing a dance as she served?

This is certainly different than the previous dinner isn’t it?

At the previous dinner, Martha was serving, but her attitude wasn’t so great.

She was all upset because Mary was not helping.

Jesus had told Martha on that occasion, that just sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him was even better than serving, and that He would not take that away from Mary.

I think she learned that day, that enjoying and worshiping Jesus was the truly important thing.

On this day, that is what she was doing.

She was no longer just the hostess with the mostest.

She was no longer just about all the details, and worried about everything being just right.

On this day, her attitude was one of joy and worship.

She served.

She did attend to the details.

She did everything she could to serve well.

But it was not out of an anxious spirit.

It was out of a spirit of joy and worship!

She was worshipping extravagantly through her service!

The difference is all in the attitude, isn’t it?

Martha served with an attitude of extravagant worship, focusing on Jesus, and not on what anyone else was doing or not doing.

Lazarus & Simon

The next people mentioned are Lazarus and Simon the Leper.

What a name!

Simon the Leper.

How would you like a name like that?

It is likely that had been a leper.

He likely HAD leprosy in the past, because if he still had it, he would have been required to live away from home in a cave, and away from people.

He would never be allowed to eat with people.

Since he was obviously no longer leprous, what happened?

Back then they had no medicine or cure for leprosy.

But they had Jesus!

Jesus had healed a number of lepers in the years He ministered.

And Simon was likely one of them.

Can you imagine what dinner with Simon and Lazarus was like?

The stories they were telling?

They were truly fellowshipping with Jesus!

They were enjoying His presence.

They were remembering all Jesus had done for them.

They were worshipping extravagantly as they recounted the different Jesus made in their lives!

They were honoring and worshipping Jesus!

Oh what a time that must have been, extravagantly worshipping Jesus by recounting what He had done; remembering the great change and difference He made in their lives!

Mary

Then enters Mary.

Into this seen where Martha is truly serving with a worshipful attitude, focusing on Jesus instead of the others around her, where Lazarus and Simon and telling everyone how Jesus had radically changed their lives, Mary comes and does the unexpected.

Mary worshipped extravagantly by giving Jesus her treasured possession.

She gave her life savings.

The perfume that is described here would have been imported from India.

It was kept in a sealed alabaster jar.

And it was about 12 ounces worth.

It would have cost the amount of money that a laborer would make in an entire year!

It was a lot of money in that little jar!

It was like a life’s savings for Mary.

However, Mary truly loved Jesus.

He had changed her life.

He had saved her life by raising her brother, and through his teaching, she believed in him and had eternal life!

She loved Jesus, and was thankful for all He had done.

She loved Him for what He was about to do!

This was just 6 days before He would give His life by dying on the cross for her sin.

Jesus had been talking about this over the past few months.