All That She Could

Next month, we celebrate Easter Sunday. Today, I will talk about one thing that happened right before the cross, so that we can begin to return our focus on Jesus, His death, and His glorious resurrection. The one thing I think most about when I think about Jesus dying and then coming back is the promise of love He gave us. He said that He would return and take us with Him, back to Heaven. Other people see other things in the Easter story, however.

One Sunday school teacher was teaching about Easter, and she asked the children what Easter meant to them. One little boy raised his hand and said it meant two weeks of egg-salad sandwiches for lunch.

As we begin today’s message, I want to ask you a question, and I would like for every one of you to really think about the answer. Have you ever noticed that every thing Jesus did was for our benefit? For instance, nobody made Him leave the comforts of Heaven, but He did. Nobody made Him suffer brutality at its worst, but He did. Nobody made Him die, and nobody killed Him; He chose to die. He did all of these things and more, for our benefit, so that we might see and be reunited with God through Jesus.

There’s something else, too. Jesus is not only about perfection He is perfection. He lived a perfect life on this earth, and that enabled Him to die a perfect death, thereby securing a perfect salvation, all for you and me.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 says,

‘God made Him, who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.’

As I said, next month is Easter. And everything about Easter is about Jesus. One of the most important things we need to realize is that Jesus actually did defeat death. And, what I love the most is that Jesus will someday come back to collect us all, so that we too can defeat death and go home with Him.

Jesus was born for us; His ministry was for us; He died for us; He arose for us; and He will again come back - - for us! So, let me ask you a pointed question this morning. What on earth are you doing for Heaven’s sake? Or, put in simpler terms; what are you doing for Jesus?

MARK 14:1-9

‘Now, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. ‘But not during the Feast’, they said, ‘or the people may riot.’

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.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly.

‘Leave her alone’, said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have Me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on My body beforehand to prepare for My burial. I tell you the truth – wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’

Who was this lady that she should be remembered for all ages, and what did she do that was so special? Why didn’t Mark mention her name? We know from the other Gospel accounts that her name was Mary. And, because of what she did, God gave her status for all time. And, what she gave to Jesus, we also can give to Jesus. She gave Jesus true sacrifice, and she gave it out of love and honor.

From this passage, we can see that to properly service Christ, the first thing we need is …

1. A HEART THAT IS SENSITIVE TO JESUS

THE FIRST THING WE NOTICE is Mary’s heart. She had the kind of heart that yearned to be filled more and more with Jesus’ love.

The Mary we are talking about today is the same Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus when her sister Martha got upset that she wasn’t in the kitchen helping her. We could say that Martha represents the majority of Christians in as far as she viewed Jesus from the worldly perspective. She knew Jesus’ stomach, while her sister Mary knew Jesus’ heart. LUKE 10:38-42