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Sunday, May 4, 2008 – Communion Sunday
*The risk and cost of worship!*
John 12:1-11
/5 //“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?
It was worth a year’s wages.”/
/10 //So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 //for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.          /John 12:5 & 11-12 NIV
*-----------*
*John 12:1-11 (NIV)*
/1 //Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at //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.”/*/ /
/9 //Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
10 //So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 //for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.* */
 
During our study in *John’s Gospel chapter 11* and the story of *Jesus raising Lazarus* after having been *dead four days*, several of you *had fun* with the King James Version’s *rendition* of *John 11:39 (KJV) */39 //Jesus said, Take ye away the stone.
Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time *he stinketh*: for he hath been dead four days./
It made us *all too aware* of the *gift* that God has given us *of sense*, particularly the *sense of smell*.
Thankfully, *not all* smells are *as repulsive as death*.
Though I am *not a coffee drinker*, I very much enjoy the *aroma of brewing coffee*.
And, I’m sure that it is more than just a *pleasant smell* to me; that it has *pleasant associations*, as well.
That is *true*, I believe, for many of the smells we *either enjoy or detest*.
I once *overheard* someone *giving advice to wives* who do the *cooking*.
The *speaker suggested* that the first thing you do when starting dinner is to *fry some onions* so that the moment her husband comes in the door *he is welcomed* with the *pleasant message* that *dinner* is well *on its way*.
The story we look at this morning features *six characters*, though there likely were *at least 11 other guests* at the dinner table that day.
Once again we are *back in* the town of *Bethany* and *Jesus* is the *guest of honor*.
I believe that it is appropriate that *when we approach a Scripture text* that we *use some restraint* in drawing *too quickly* an *application* to our personal circumstances.
We need to *exercise discipline* and work to *understand the context* and the *intended message*.
As we *live in the text* and *learn the lessons* from its context, we are *then ready to apply *those lessons to our *personal lives*.
*Some texts are easier* than others to discern an *appropriate application*.
But, even with the *easier texts*, the *longer we linger in them* the more *find riches* we find.
And that is so *true of our text* for today.
In essence, *John 12:1-11* is a *worship* *service* or thank offering.
That is, *four of the key players* in this story had *come to an agreement* that they were going to put on a dinner to *honor Jesus with expressions of personal gratitude.
*They could have *expressed their gratitude* in a variety of ways, but this foursome *agreed to a dinner in honor* of their *dear friend Jesus*.
Who are these *four* *worship planners*?
We are introduced to *three of them* early in the story.
*John 12:1-11 (NIV)*
/1 //Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at //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, . . .
/
Thus far we have *Martha, Lazarus and Mary* as the *organizers* of this special event.
We have to go *outside* of this *immediate text* to learn of *the fourth planner.*
We find out about him when we read of the *same event in the Gospels* of *Matthew* and *Mark*.
*Matthew 26:6-7 (NIV)*
/6 //While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, 7 //a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.
/
*Mark 14:3 (NIV)*
/3 //While He was in //Bethany//, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.
She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.
/
So, the fourth member of this *worship planning team* was the host, *Simon the Leper*.
Now you *won’t* be able to *find* the *story of Simon* being healed by Jesus *of his leprosy*.
For some reason it is *not recorded*, at least not including *his name*.
But obviously, *Simon the Leper is no longer a leper* and was *healed by Jesus*.
Mark 1, Matthew 8 and Luke 5 *each record a story of Jesus* healing a *leper*.
And it’s *possible* that the *leper* in those stories was this *Simon*.
Simon was *also from Bethany* and he, like Martha, Mary and Lazarus *had very good reason* to say “*thank You*” to Jesus.
*Thus the decision* to host a *dinner* in His *honor*.
Now, given that there was a *warrant out for the arrest of Jesus*, it’s possible that having this *dinner at Simon’s home,* instead of Martha’s, would *draw less attention*, particularly with the *notoriety that Lazarus now has* after Jesus raised him from the dead.
*Prior to Jesus returning* to Bethany, He has been *in seclusion* with His disciples near *Ephraim*.
With Passover at hand, Jesus *heads toward **Jerusalem* by way of *Bethany*.
The event of *this dinner in **Bethany* begins the *final march to the cross* for Jesus.
*How appropriate*, therefore, that some of the *most grateful followers* of Jesus put on *an event to honor* the One who *heals the sick* and *brings the dead back to life*.
You may be *familiar with another time* that Jesus was in *Bethany* and Martha was *all busy straightening up* her house and *fixing a meal* for Jesus.
That event provides us with *a very valuable comparison *that helps us see things we *may otherwise miss*.
*Educators* often use *near identical pictures* to help their students *discover the difference* between them, and thus *sharpen* their *observation skills*.
That same *teaching tool* can be used with *our story* for today.
Placing *this week’s text* right alongside *the Luke text* will help us see *something different*, that *something has changed*.
What do you notice has changed?
| *Luke 10:38-41 (NIV)*/38 //As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. 39 //She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.
40 //But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to Him and asked, “Lord, *don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself*?
Tell her to help me!” /  | *John 12:1-3 (NIV)*/1 //Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at //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.
/  |
I realize that these are *but snippets* from these two stories, but we have *enough to work with*.
*How does our text* from John *differ* from the Luke text?
You *probably are spotting* a number of differences, like the Luke text *does not mention Lazarus* or there is *no perfume* in the Luke text.
But, for me *a profound difference* in these two stories is *the absence of complaining by Martha*.
*Something has happened* to Martha.
She’s a *changed woman*.
And I *trace that back* to the events of *John 11*.
It is true that *Jesus had rebuked M*artha for allowing herself to *get all discombobulated* over her *preparations* as His hostess, and likely *she took to heart* His admonishment.
But, *her interactions* with Jesus surrounding *His raising her brother* from the dead offer *an even greater clue* as to the *change* that took place *in Martha*.
She had come to realize deeply and personally that *Jesus was her life*.
That the *miracles she had witnessed* were simply *signs* pointing to the greater reality that *Jesus changes lives from within*.
That when a person *believes in Him*, He effectively *unites Himself with that person* and *transforms him*.
And that had happened to Martha.
Though her *offering of love* was *still her service*, was still her *making excellent preparations* and *delicious dinners*, what was *different* was her *focus*.
Because her focus was on *offering her heart of thanks to Jesus*, she was not *preoccupied with complaining* about what her sister *was or was not doing*.
What *united this foursome* was their *common indebtedness* to Jesus.
Thus, they planned to honor their Lord with a dinner.
This *worship service*, this *dinner that was given* to express deep gratitude, was *born out* *of* the deep and abiding *gratitude* in the hearts of Martha, Mary, Lazarus and Simon the Leper.
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