• During the tenure of the great orator Henry Ward Beecher, a visiting minister (Beecher's brother) once substituted for the popular pastor. A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits.
• That's when the minister stood and said loudly, "All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!"
Mar 14:1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,
Mar 14:2 for they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people."
Mar 14:3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
Mar 14:4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?
Mar 14:5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they scolded her.
Mar 14:6 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
Mar 14:7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.
Mar 14:8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.
• Where Mark felt it unnecessary for the Gentile readers to know who this woman was, Matthew identifies this woman as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
• This is at least the second time Jesus was so anointed, the first time, earlier in Jesus’ ministry, it was in the house of a Pharisee.
• The worshipper was a prostitute from the city and she washed Jesus’ feet, not His head.
• The timing of this event is important to Mark and the Gentiles because of the messages God gives us through it.
• Two days before the Passover and its related feast, Jesus goes into the house of an individual Jesus healed.
• He was known as Simon the Leper, so our imaginations reveal to us from what Simon was healed.
• This shows that he was thankful and was expressing gratitude for his healing.
• So worship was in place here in another way.
• John tells us that Martha was serving and Lazarus was in attendance with the disciples (John 12:1-11)
• During the meal, Mary enters.
• She is bringing a valuable box of nard (let’s just call it an aromatic oil from a plant found in India).
• She breaks the alabaster box. Some say she broke the seal, while others say that to remove the box had to be cracked open like an egg.
• She poured the costly ointment, or perfume, onto Jesus hair, or head.
• It was an act of devotion and selfless sacrifice, as the text tells us that the Nard was valued at a years wage.
• Some writers tell us where the disagreement started, but Mark simply says that “some” frowned upon the act.
• “This was a waste of resources,” they said. “The assets of this worship could have been used to accomplish much more that what just happened.”
• Two things come to my mind when I read this.
• First, I have heard this complaint about expenditures that are reaching people.
• This is often a criticism of youth and children’s ministries.
• I heard one complainer in years past call children’s and youth ministries “parasites on the Church.”
• They cost so much money but the children and youth don’t give enough to support the ministries.
• But the passage in Matthew 19:14 that we recall as saying, “suffer not the little children but let them come unto Me,” can be translated, “Don’t prevent them from coming to Me, but send them to me.”
• Let me proceed.
• The other thing that comes to my mind besides having heard this said about Church finances, is that I have said such things.
• It is easy for us to evaluate ministries based upon our viewpoint and forget that God usually has a different, wiser perspective than ours.
• Let’s just all learn from one great lesson from this passage.
• When it comes to Church finances and God’s money, we need to seek His heart, not our natural tendencies, not our opinions, not our insights, not our logic or reasoning.
• If He supplies the funds, He alone should be consulted as to their distribution.
• I must remind myself when I think I know better.
• Jesus pointed out that the critics missed the beauty of what Mary did.
• Oh, there is a fabulous message in this for us.
• When Jesus said, “You will always have the poor with you,” He was reminding us of an important lesson.
• Sometimes the power of the first commandment so overshadows the second, we get confused.
• Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
• That is first. But that isn’t how we evaluate ministry, is it.
• We often get confused and measure ministry by how we love our neighbors as ourselves, or as God loves us, or even how we love our enemies.
• That is second. It never replaces what is first. We must love God most.
• This is all this woman did. She expressed her unselfish love for Jesus.
• Jesus said, “You will always have commandment number two with you, but don’t let it overtake commandment number one.”
• Never, ever miss the opportunity to express your love for God.
• Never miss the chance to just honor Him, give to Him, and love Him.
• And never criticize someone who is doing just that.
• There are three things I want to cover quickly about pure worship from this story.
I. Pure worship can happen any time. Vs. 1
• It was two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread.
• There was going to be a big event coming up in everyone’s mind because this was one of the important feasts, or holidays, in Israel.
• It was a period of time designated to prepare for this religious holiday.
• Go back in history with me to Egypt during Israel’s captivity there.
• God had warned Pharaoh to let the Children of Israel go or judgment would come.
• God told Moses, in Exodus 26, how to prepare for and participate in the Passover.
• Not only would they prepare a lamb, sprinkle its blood on the doorpost and eat it the evening before, but they would eat unleavened bread for seven days.
• The requirements were so strict, the Jews had to remove all leaven from their houses during the celebration.
• See, leavening represented sin. They were to sanctify their homes, families and lives.
• That was the event they were looking towards. But this year, the Passover would be extra special.
• You see, a special Lamb was being prepared for the Passover.
• Have you noticed that the Passover is named for the homes that the death angel passed over and not for the majority of the homes, where death came to the first born?
• Has that ever captured your attention? It could be called the Celebration of the Death of the First Born.
• But it was named for the grace of God, what happened in the minority of homes.
• Many times we are discouraged for being in the minority, among the unpopular.
• Yet, in heaven, that is what God recognizes. That is what rings with His people.
• This was the celebration of what happened in the minority: the Passover.
• But here is what I want you to grasp today.
• It would have been easy for this woman to have waited for the big event, but she would probably have missed the opportunity.
• She could have said, “there will be a better time because the holiday will be here in two days.”
• But she probably didn’t understand what was happening in heaven and her action was part of it.
• Heaven was preparing a sacrificial Lamb to bring forgiveness to mankind.
• Jesus Christ was thus anointed for His mission.
• Listen, God may be calling you today, and there is no better time to respond.
• It can happen for you today. It can be now.
• 2Co 6:2 For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
II. Pure worship can happen anywhere.
• This memorable worship took place in the house of an ex-leper.
• In the Old Testament, leprosy was sometimes used as punishment for sins.
• - Miriam, who was stricken with leprosy because of her criticism her brother Moses (Num. 12)
• - Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, who was stricken because of his greed (2 Kings 5:20–27)
• - Uzziah, the Judean king was stricken because he tried to act like he was a priest and burn incense before GOD (2 Chron. 26:16–21)
• In fact ... the Eastern Bible Dictionary defines Leprosy as “the outward and visible sign of the innermost spiritual corruption; it goes to say that Leprosy defiles man’s inner nature, and renders him unfit to enter the presence of a pure and holy GOD”
• Leviticus 14 we read, Lev 14:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field.
• The process of declaring a leper clean was representative.
• The bird that was killed represents the old life of the leper.
• The old must die and that death be applied to the new life.
• Everything in the lepers house had to be cleaned or destroyed.
• He would have a new life.
• But this healed leper was not called Simon the cleaned.
• He was still referred to as Simon the Leper.
• His house was still called the house of Simon the Leper.
• The house was now clean but the sin remained.
• Jesus is on his was to do what the priest could do, and that is die for his sins.
• Yet at this party to celebrate Simon’s healing, this worshiper of Christ said, “I must do it now and here.”
• You can find plenty of reason today not to listen to God in your life.
• You can find plenty to criticize in this service, including the preacher.
• I am certain Mary had a sister reminding her she could use some help.
• I am sure there were critics who said this was not the place to worship this “teacher.”
• But Mary said, “I have the opportunity and I will worship Him at every opportunity.
• Let me show you something beautiful.
• When Jesus later wrote letters to the Churches in Asia, one was lukewarm, self-satisfied and very self-centered.
• Their attitude is “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing…” Revelation 3:17a.
• But God described them different than how they viewed themselves.
• “…you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17a.
• He had counseled this Church to seek the right values, but they never listened.
• Jesus said they were so unsatisfying, He would spit them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16).
• But what if you went to that Church and wanted to really worship Christ?
• Is that Church so dead, Jesus would not even come for a true worshiper?
• No. He will come. You can worship the true Savior in the deadest Church in the world if you seek Him.
• He tells them, “Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
• In other words, the choice to worship or not to worship is up to the worshiper.
• The music is no excuse. The sermon is no excuse. The preacher is no excuse. The members and their attitudes are not excuse.
• If you seek to worship Jesus here today, He is waiting for your response to His voice.
• He is calling today. You can worship Him here and now.
III. Pure worship can happen in any one.
• Worship occurred from the life of Simon the Leper, who wanted to honor Jesus for healing him.
• Worship happened when Mary gave her most precious possession to simply express her love for Jesus.
• But it must happen His way, not ours.
• Marry broke the box of Nard.
• Breaking the box could mean brokenness.
• When we bring our burdens to Jesus in brokenness, we don’t have a vessel to take them back in.
• That is how we are to come to worship Jesus.
• Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
• You see, many of us come to the alter of God with our burdens, concerns and prayers, but not with a broken vessel.
• We give it to God, only later to wonder why we took it back.
• We didn’t come in brokenness.
• Mary broke the vessel and did not wait around after the meeting to scoop up the drops on the floor.
• She gave it all, not to reclaim it back.
• If you have given something to God and you have taken it back, you must look if you came in brokenness, complete surrender.
• Ill. In the days of the crusades, many warriors were baptized to demonstrate their pledge to the cause of Christianity, but they kept their swords above the water.
• They would not surrender their swords to Christ.
• The message of God is this, if you don’t offer it all, God will accept none.
• He doesn’t negotiate with us. He wants our all, because if we hold back, we are still being lord over our lives.
• If we don’t give all, we honestly are not giving God any.
• You must come in brokenness, surrendering completely to what God wants.
• Last, you must pour out yourself.
• Mary poured out the costly Nard onto Jesus.
• This is a picture of crying out to God, a demonstration of complete trust.
• Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.
• You must be willing to cry out to God.
• I admit that Matthew 6:8 says, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
• But He never removes the requirement for us to ask.
• James point out, “You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2b.
• Some of you today are needing something special from God.
• Some of you are struggling and you just don’t know what to do.
• Today, you are called to do two things.
• I am not one for legalism, but I do believe in landmarks.
• Pro 22:28 Do not move the ancient landmarks….
• I don’t think this alter is the only place to lay down a sin.
• I don’t think this alter is the only place to pour out your heart about that lost loved one, or the friend who is struggling in sin.
• But I do believe God honors landmarks. Maybe you need to come today and put down a landmark.
• Maybe this is your today when you pour out your heart to God, cry unto Him and accept His eternal change.
• You are invited to the alter today. Lay down that burden. Lay down that sin.
• Lay down that habit, that attitude, that lack of a forgiving heart.
• Pour your heart out to God.
• Finally, notice that nothing stopped this worshiper.
• There was public opinion that opposed her.
• There was proper timing that opposed her.
• She was not in a really good place to worship God. But nothing stopped her.
• What is stopping you today. I hope today you say that nothing will stop you from obeying the call of God.
