WORK, WORSHIP, HYPOCRISY, LIFE! John 12:1-8
It’s the final weeks of the life of Jesus on earth.
• Jesus has gone back to the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
• He went there, I believe, to find comfort and rest among friends before heading to Jerusalem to face His crucifixion.
What Jesus found there, is a great example for us this morning.
• The Word of God shows us, that in that household, Jesus found work, worship, hypocrisy, and life!
• And He found those things in four individuals present in the house!
• Let’s take a look at those four individuals, and what they represent: vv.1-8
I). MARTHA: (v. 2)
A). Martha is a great example of the attempt at “works salvation”
• What is she doing? (Preparing and serving dinner)
• This isn’t the first time we see this: In Luke 10 Jesus comes to visit Mary & Martha. And we find Martha busy with all the work she has to do that she tells Jesus to tell Mary to help her get the work done!
B). There’s no doubt that Martha had faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
• She knew Jesus! But her relationship with Jesus was simply one of service!
• Service to Christ, to the Church, to others, is great ~ but service alone is not enough!
C). Martha’s faith, it seems, wasn’t willing to go beyond the minimum needed for salvation.
• Sort of like those car insurance commercials we see today: (the General)
• The problem is that ‘minimum coverage means minimum protection’ ~ in works salvation, ‘minimum coverage means minimum blessings.’
D). Reminds me of the jailer in Acts 16:30, who asked Paul & Silas, “What must I do to be saved?”
• What was their answer? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
• We know that belief requires obedience, but what does obedience require?
• Obedience does require service; but it also requires us to sit, learn, and love!
II). MARY: (v.3)
A). Mary is a great example of ‘worship.’
• Mary was looking after the needs of Jesus before anything else.
• The same thing was true back in Luke 10: While Martha was busy with the housework, “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened.” (Luke 10:39b)
B). Mary, had drunk at the fountain of truth, and had received living water into her heart, and understood that there was something more than a hope of eternal life ~ there was a ‘Blessed Assurance’ that Jesus was indeed hers!
• That caused her to place her entire attention on Jesus her Savior.
• Her love for Jesus made her attentive to His needs, not her own.
C). True worship takes place on the inside, in the heart & spirit of the worshiper. Worship pleasing to God must be genuine and sincere, offered with a humble and pure heart.
• Worship is our purpose; 1 Peter 2:9 "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
• We were called for the purpose of praising God, worshiping God. That is one of the job descriptions of a Christian.
• Worship is declaring that God is worthy ~ worth more than everything else put together.
• Worship, according to Scripture, must be done, ‘in Spirit and in Truth.’
III). JUDAS (vv. 4-5)
A). Judas is the example of Hypocrisy!
• Remember Judas was a disciple ~ a follower of Jesus. He was one of the 12.
• He was a self-seeking hypocrite!
B). By definition, a hypocrite is, “a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.”
• The first thing I want you to understand this morning is: All of us are hypocrites in some way or another. So when someone says that the Church is full of hypocrites ~ they are right.
• Why? Because (again, by definition), those of us who are Christian still sin!
• We are on our journey back to God ~ we have not arrived yet.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18, “The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.”
• We aren’t perfect yet ~ we still sin! But we are on that narrow road that leads to everlasting life. We are doing our best to follow Jesus.
C). That wasn’t the case with Judas!
• Judas was intentionally critical of what Mary was doing in her worship of Christ. Mary was glorifying Jesus, and Judas couldn’t stand it!
• Complainers against glorifying Jesus usually become betrayers of Christ and His work!
D). Literally, a hypocrite is someone who attempts to hide behind a mask, and sinful motives often try to hide behind the mask of virtue.
• Judas was trying to give a virtuous, and Christian reason for his objection (v.5), but Jesus saw through his self-seeking hypocrisy.
• Jesus responds by telling Judas, “Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare Me for the day I will be placed in the tomb.” (v. 7)
IV). LAZARUS
A). Lazarus had already been in a tomb. He had been dead for 4 days before Jesus raised him back to life.
• Lazarus was now there, in the house with the rest of them.
• Lazarus is a testimony to LIFE!
B). Verse 2 tells us that Lazarus was sitting at the table eating with the others!
• (How would you have liked to been listening to what he had to say???)
• Jesus had performed many miracles over the course of His life on earth:
• The deaf can hear ~ the blind can see ~ the lame can walk ~ and more…
• But all of those could be seen by unbelievers as set-ups, fakes, and scams.
C). Lazarus is a different story:
• Lazarus had been dead for days ~ his body had already begun to decay.
• I told you a couple of weeks ago that the Jews believed that the spirit of the deceased hovered around the grave for three days before leaving for their eternal punishment or reward ~ Lazarus had been in the tomb for FOUR days ~ his spirit wasn’t even supposed to be around anymore ~ that would make any resurrection or resuscitation impossible!
D). But Jesus had commanded, “Lazarus come forth!” and now here he was eating at the table with the others very much alive!
• Jesus proved that He is the Way ~ the Truth ~ and the LIFE!
• Life, death, and resurrection ARE in the hands of Jesus!
Here we are in God’s House this morning:
• We are feasting on the Word, and Christ is here with us through His Holy Spirit.
So who are we, as we sit at the table with Jesus?
• Are we Martha ~ trying to get to Heaven by some kind of “works salvation” ~ hoping the things we DO will be enough?
• Are we Judas ~ the self-serving hypocrite ~ who is really only pretending to be a follower of Jesus?
• OR are we Mary ~ sitting at the feet of Jesus ~ listening to Him, loving Him, and obeying Him ~ more attentive to His needs than we are our own?
Like Lazarus, one day we are going to pass from life, to death, to life again.
• But this time, it’s going to be an eternal life.
• And where we end up is where we are going to remain for all eternity.
• Jesus has opened up the way for us to continue to feast at His table in Heaven, but the only way there is through true belief in Him as Savior and Lord.
