Worship At The Feet Of Jesus
John 12:1-3
Listen online @ www.Facebook.com/stockdalebaptist
William Temple gives a great explanation of biblical worship:Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; It is the nourishment of our mind with His truth; It is the purifying of our imagination by His beauty; It is the opening of the heart to His love; It is the surrender of our will to His purpose… all of this gathered up in adoration,
There is much debate concerning worship in our day. I spoke with a pastor this week that is ready to resign his church because of the conflict that he encounters on a weekly basis regarding corporate worship. It seems that most of the grumbling that you encounter in the “worship wars” is over the style of music.
But John Macarthur says in his book “The Ultimate Priority that “the crucial factor in worship in the church is not the form of worship, but the state of the hearts of the saints. If our corporate worship isn't the expression of our individual worshiping lives, it is unacceptable. If you think you can live anyway you want and then go to church on Sunday morning and turn on worship with the saints, you're wrong. (Source: The Ultimate Priority, p. 104)
So, what is your view of worship? Is worship what happens in church on Sunday? Do you identify it with an emotional experience, spiritual thoughts, or maybe performing certain rituals? The fact is, true worship is not defined by a place, a feeling, or a ritual. God set the standard for worship in His Word, and the standard is much higher and more rewarding than most of us ever imagine. (John Macarthur)
I would like to look at and act of worship in the life of Lazarus’ sister Mary. In John Chapter 11 we find one of the most amazing miracles that occurred during Jesus’ time on this earth. Word had been sent to Jesus that His beloved friend Lazarus was sick. Jesus had a purpose and a plan and as a result Jesus delayed His response until after Lazarus had died. Jesus arrived at Bethany and was confronted by Lazarus’ sisters Mary & Martha. These ladies were completely devastated and their hearts were filled with sorrow. Jesus said “take me to the tomb”. Once Jesus arrived and the stone was rolled away Jesus spoke the words “Lazarus come forth”. Lazarus came out of the tomb alive.
There is no way for us to fully grasp the joy that must have filled the hearts of Mary and Martha. I can guarantee you that Mary, Martha, Lazarus and anyone else who witnessed this event NEVER FORGOT WHAT THEY HAD SEEN.
As we arrive in John chapter 12 we find a beautiful picture of worship offered to Jesus by Mary. She comes before for her Savior, bows down before Him and anoints His feet with a very costly perfume, and then wipes His feet with her hair. The actions of Mary paint a picture of the kind of worship that we should offer our Savior today.
Let’s take a little while and walk through these verses and consider the thought “Worship At The Feet Of Jesus” .I would like to begin by examining… “The Place Of Worship”
I. THE PLACE OF OUR WORSHIP - v1 Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
In Mark 14:3 we find that this event took place in the “house of Simon the Leper”
Gathered in this house was:Simon the Leper, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, Judas Iscariot & the rest of the Lord’s Disciples.
Though there were several followers present, each one had different things on their mind. Martha (once again) was concerned with serving with the Lord. It seems that Lazarus & Simon were enjoying fellowship with the Lord. The Disciples were there listening to the Lord and Mary was there offering worship to the Lord.
The scene here illustrates a very important fact concerning worship. You can be gathered among other believers… you can even be in the presence of Jesus and still miss out on worship! Worshipping the Savior is a personal action! But in this moment of worship we can see something important about the “proper place” of worship. Mary was not in a temple, a church or cathedral… she was in Simon’s house. The key was not the place where she abode but rather the fact that she was in the presence of Jesus.
The proper place of worship is “in the presence of Jesus”. This means that our worship is not limited to a certain time or location. We don’t have to bow down facing the east a certain time of day. We don’t have to take a yearly trip to a specific destination; we don’t have to enter into a church building in order to worship our Savior. We don’ have to wait until 11:00 on Sunday Morning to worship Jesus!
This also illustrates a problem in the lives of many believers: Some fail to worship the Lord Monday - Saturday. Some fail to “assemble themselves together” on Sunday. TRUE worship should occur in the life of a believer, each and every day of your life!
So, we are to worship… IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS! As we move further we also see:
II. THE PURPOSE OF OUR WORSHIP
There are countless reasons that our Savior is worthy of worship! I think we can sum up the purpose of worship in two phrases… Worship Jesus because of who He is and worship Jesus because of what He has done! Let’s consider for a moment:
A. Who Jesus Is
1) He is the Messiah: “the promised One from God”
2) He is Christ: “the anointed one”
3) He is Jesus: “Jehovah is Savior”
4) He is Savior: “our Deliverer”
5) He is Lord: “the Supreme Authority”
6) He is Emmanuel: “God with us”
Jesus Christ is:
The Son of God
The First begotten of the World
The Eternal God
The Creator of The Universe
The Second Person in the Trinity
Jesus exhibits the Glory of the Father… he is the Word of God & the sustainer of all things. HE IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST AND HE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS!!
Not only is He worthy of worship because of Who He is… He is also worthy of worship because of:
B. What He Has Done
Because of our Savior:
We have been forgiven of ALL our sins!
We are rescued from Hell!
We are adopted and are now Children of God!
We have a personal relationship with Him!
We are now joint heirs with Christ!
We have a promise of eternal life!
We have a home in heaven!
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that JESUS IS WORTHY OF WORHSIP BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE!
I don’t want to insinuate that the only reason that Mary was worshipping Jesus was the fact that He had raised her brother from the dead. But I do believe that this may have been one of the motivations for her worship. In the previous chapter we witnessed the grief and sorrow that Mary possessed. We saw her as she cried in agony over the loss of her brother. Then Jesus showed up and performed a miracle and now Lazarus is sitting at the table right next to her.
Worship reveals a heart of gratitude. Are you thankful for who Jesus is and what He has done? Then bow before Him and offer Him the worship He so rightly deserves!
There is anther important factor that is seen in Mary’s worship… we see that she gave all she had and she gave the best that she had. Consider:
III. THE PRICE OF OUR WORSHIP - v3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus…
Mary had a box that contained 12 ounces of ointment or “perfume”. She broke this box and used this perfume to anoint the feet of Jesus. This was an extremely valuable box of perfume. It was made of “spikenard” which was a very rare plant found only in India. It was difficult to acquire and very costly. In verse 5 Judas assesses the value of this ointment at “300 pence”.
A “pence” was the daily wage of the average worker. So the approximate value of this one box of perfume was nearly a year’s wage. This box of perfume was a part of the Jewish burial ritual. After a person had died their body would be washed, the box of ointment would be broken, the spices and perfume would be used to anoint the body, the broken fragments of the box would be buried with the deceased.
No doubt, Mary had this in mind as she worshipped her Savior. It is possible that she had saved for many years to purchase this box of ointment for her own funeral. It is probable that this was the most valuable material good that she possessed. And she gave it all to her Master! Mary’s worship cost her something!
We find in Mark 14: 3 that she broke this box and poured out its contents. She didn’t just pour out a little and keep the rest for herself… SHE GAVE ALL SHE HAD TO JESUS!!! Mary's sacrifice was costly! It was the ultimate expression of her love and worship of the Lord Jesus. She gave all she had… WILL YOU??
Worship is much more than simply attending a church service, It is more than praying and studying together, It is more than sitting back and listening to a sermon, It is more than bowed heads and raised hands, It is more than mumbling through some songs on Sunday morning.
WORSHIP IS A LIFE THAT IS OPENED UP AND POURED OUT TO JESUS CHRIST!
Have you come to a place where you have broken your box and poured out everything to Jesus? When you do, then you will understand TRUE WORSHIP! Not only did Mary understand the price of worship, she grasped the proper posture of worship. Notice
IV. THE POSTURE OF OUR WORSHIP - v3 {Mary} anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair…
What was Mary’s posture or position during this act of worship? She was humbly bowed at the feet of Jesus! In this act of worship, she washed the feet of Jesus. This was a task that was reserved for a slave. Mary was not concerned with pride; she wasn’t worried about what the others thought of her. She was a humble servant of Christ who was focused only on offering Him what He was worthy of.
Many believers today miss out on true worship because they are worried about how they will be perceived by others. Even in church people hold back their praise because they are more focused on people than they are the Savior! Half-hearted worship is no worship at all!
Notice that Mary was humbly bowing before Jesus and serving Him! Your service to Jesus is an ACT OF WORSHIP!
I would also like to consider:
V. THE PASSION IN OUR WORSHIP - v3 {Mary} anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Mary gave all that she had… Though she did not do this for those who were present, her worship did not go unnoticed. We read that the “house was filled with the odor of the ointment”. I am not suggesting that the others were doing something wrong by not worshipping at this point. We have already seen that worship is a personal action. But I can’t help but think that when the others witnessed this act of worship that it may have filled their hearts with joy.
Maybe they began to ponder the greatness of the Savior…Maybe Lazarus began to think of the amazing miracle that Jesus performed in his life. Maybe Simon the Leper thought back to the day that Jesus made him whole Maybe Martha thought back to the sorrow she faced and the joy she experienced as Lazarus come from the tomb. It is very possible that a good ol worship service may have broken out if Judas hadn’t opened his big mouth!
Mary’s worship was passionate worship… And it should be our desire to offer the Lord passionate worship every day of our lives!
I would like to take a moment and clarify something; there is a difference between PRAISE & WORSHIP. Notice:
* Praise
- Praise {H} (âdâh - yaw-daw') - to confess or give thanks.
- Praise {G} (aineō - ahee-neh'-o) - to celebrate
- Praise {G} (doxa - dox'-ah) - to give glory & honor.
* Psalms 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
* Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
According to the scriptures, Praise consists of songs, words and music. It is lifting up the name of Jesus. It is celebrating Him for Who He is and what He has done! It is an act of gratitude and thanksgiving And praise is ESSENTIAL to worship, but it is not the same as worship. Notice:
* Worship
- In the Hebrew it is {H} (shâchâh - shaw-khaw') - to depress, that is, prostrate: - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence
- In the Greek it is {G} (latreuō -lat-ryoo'-o) - to minister to God, that is, render religious honor.
Clearly, there is a difference between worship and praise. Praise is a part of worship, but worship goes far beyond praise. Worship can (and should) be seen in our daily lives.
When we serve others it is a form of worship, when we show compassion it is a form of worship, when we extend love to one another it is a form of worship, when we serve the Lord it is a form of worship! Our entire life should be an act of worship!
I believe that it could be said of Mary that her entire life was an act of worship! Every time you see her mentioned in the scriptures, she is at the feet of Jesus! She grasped the proper posture for worship and she worshipped Jesus passionately! Are you willing to come to a place where you will: Bow at the feet of Jesus… Serve Him in whatever capacity is necessary… and forget about what others think? When you get to that point then you will be ready for TRUE WORSHIP!
Think about what we have seen already… Who Jesus Is and What He Has Done. When you truly comprehend these things then you will be so consumed with gratitude that you will forget your pride ….you will not be concerned with others and you will:
Work for the Lord
Witness for the Lord
Walk with the Lord
Worship the Lord
And you will do it for His honor and glory… and not your own!
Is your life one that is lived at the feet of Jesus? Is your life a life of worship? Maybe you would say “preacher, I used to abide at Jesus feet… I used to live a life of worship but something has changed” Maybe you have turned and began to live life for yourself. Maybe you are building your own kingdom… Maybe you desire to attain honor and glory for yourself…. Maybe you have forgotten exactly who Jesus is and what He has done! Can I encourage you to make you way back to Jesus feet? Friend, take the proper steps to return to the heart of worship
When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus
My dear friend, there is no better place to abide that worshipping at the feet of Jesus!
