Jesus and His friends had been invited to a feast
.......at Simon’s house
and so had many of the prominent people of
Bethany
Jesus was seated (I presume purposely)
right there between two people that they all knew
Simon and Lazarus
Lazarus of course was the talk of the town
Its hard to dismiss as insignificant
a man raised from the dead
(after being dead 4 days!)
and Simon
He had been healed by Jesus
....of Leprosy
no small miracle either
and he was a Pharisee
not too many Pharisees
had been healed of anything!
and Simon had been healed of this
disease which of all diseases
was a “judgment of God on sinners”
he was the talk of the town as well
a Pharisee that seemed
to be a disciple of Jesus
There were other people there that we know.
Judas, of course,
I’m sure he wouldn’t miss
this high society get together
for anything,
for once
Jesus was in the lime light.
I mean rubbing shoulders
with the important people.
Jesus is being enjoyed by people who count!
and Judas
must have been sitting as close to
Simon, Lazarus, and Jesus as he could.
Tonight
there are definite personal advantages
to being seen with Jesus.
Martha was there, too.
we dont hear much about her being there
but she was busy with all of the work necessary
for a feast like this to take place.
and there was Mary
Since she was a woman
(one with quite a reputation at that!)
I presume she was there as one of the servers, too
Like Martha, we weren’t really supposed
to have associated her with this feast
but as usual she was sticking close to Jesus
not for show
like Judas and Simon
but because she loved Jesus
Really loved Jesus
many there that night liked Jesus
hoped they would see Him do something Great
enjoyed associating with Him
But Mary loved Jesus
It was Jesus who had lifted her up from her life of sin
Jesus had forgiven her
Jesus had given her a new lease on life
and talk about life
sitting right over there by Jesus
was her brother
raised from the dead
---by Jesus!
How could she not love Jesus!
Simon saw Jesus as a great teacher
Judas saw Jesus as a potential national hero
but Mary saw Jesus as the Saviour He came to be.
and that’s why that night at the feast
her response to Jesus was so different
from the response of the
important people.
They were dreaming of what they would get out of
their relation to this possible future King of Israel
Mary in her deep love
just wanted to honor Her Lord.
Nothing was too expensive for Jesus
in fact, anything less than the best
was not even thinkable.
She would use the most expensive perfume
to show her response to what Jesus had done for her.
Mary did not give
in order to gain the attention of the crowd!
But she got it!!
Mary only was responding in her love for Jesus
she impulsively gave everything
she gave without thinking how many hours of work
she would have to work to pay for that perfume!
Mary gave
because she had to give!
Mary gave
without even thinking about any one but Jesus.
But all those important people
noticed!
they noticed that Mary was getting Jesus attention
when they wanted to be the center of attention!
Judas was enraged.
he began whispering his complaints
to those near him,
“How could Jesus allow this woman to throw money
away like this”
Judas knew nothing about
loving and giving.
Judas only knew about getting
So he complained
when he saw true sacrificial love.
and his murmur passed round the table
and Mary heard the words of criticism
Her response to Jesus
had been automatic
it had been from the heart
not necessarily a response thought out
so she wondered
was the criticism right?
should she have given to the poor instead???
What would her
sensible sister say?
What would Jesus think
of her impulsiveness?
and she was about
to sneak away
when Jesus said,
in His loving and merciful way,
"Don’t give Mary a hard time.”
and then, paraphrased,
he said,
She has given to me while I am still here
She has given to me
while there is still time to give
some of you will wait until its too late!
What a contrast between
Judas’ heart
and Mary’s heart!
He claimed to be interested in the poor
that perfume could have been sold to help
but he really wished he could get his
nds on that money
Mary gave virtually everything she had of value
while Judas sat there dreaming up how to get anther 30!
What a contrast
between Mary’s love for Jesus
and Judas’ love for himself!
I’m sure
the other disciples at that feast
were not like Judas.
They loved the Saviour.
But they obviously
hadn’t felt the love of Jesus
like Mary had.
When we realize
how much Jesus means to us
we will give
like Mary gave
wont we!
Freely, freely, you have received, freely freely give.......
Jesus gave His all for everyone
but what a difference there is among us
on how we respond.....
This is actually the message
that we find in our scripture reading this morning.
turn to 2 Cor 8 with me
lets look at it for a few moments
in light of the stories of Jesus and Mary, and Judus and Simon
Here we find Paul
asking the Corinthians
to consider the example of Macedonia
Macedonia had some how
found the Mary experience as a church.
they had received so much from Jesus
that they just had to give.
STARTING IN VS 1.......
(Read with explanation: beg, implore, take more.
why? vs 5
FIRST TO THE LORD! THE KEY...
Why was he telling this to Corinth:
vs 6,7.
you are a great bunch of people
however.....
Macedonia Is your example
vs 8
not telling you what you have to do
just test your sincerity of your love
by what Macedonians are doing
Quite an idea, huh?
no appeal for money
just check your loven
by your given
HOW WOULD YOUR LOVE LOOK
IF IT WERE TESTED BY YOUR GIVING???
And then the key text
the reason for Macedonian’s grace
the reason Corinth ought to be giving more
the reason you and I will give more
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
as you think on 2 Cor 8 and 9
make the lessons very personal
because Paul goes on to make this
giving because we’ve been receiving
idea very practical
it will revolutionize your giving practices
if you love Jesus and want to be a better giver
a Macedonian rather than a Corinthian
a Mary instead of a Judas!
but never forget
that all we learn from Corinthians
in fact all we ever learn about offerings
church budgets
Tithe
and special projects
it all comes down to the message of vs 9
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Macedonia gave because they had received so much from Jesus
Mary gave so enthusiastically because
Jesus had given her so much.
Judas couldnt understand that
neither could Simon
--at first.
So Jesus told him a little story.
Luke 7:41-44
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Luke 7:47
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
and “Simon now began to see himself in a new light.”
Sure he had thrown this big feast
but it hadnt really effected his bank account
He also saw that he had given in order to get
he hadnt given because of what He had received from XST
he had given to impress
he had given to look good
he had given to get more
He saw now that the Mary he had condemned
was the real follower of Jesus
Mary loved Jesus because of all Jesus had done for her
and out of her love
as a result of her being forgiven
from the Grace of God that now filled her heart
she had to give
and she had to give big!
just like the Macedonians
just like the widow who gave her last 2 coins
JUST LIKE EVERY CHRISTIAN
WHO HAS REALIZED HOW MUCH GOD HAS GIVEN him
*******
in Corinthians
Paul gets very practicle with the church at Corinth
he shows them specifically whre there offerings were
falling short
for a church that had been blessed so much
May I take Pauls place for a moment
as I talk to the Saints in _______________
We will all be receiving
details of the budget for this new year
you’ll see that we need about 8% more this year
or more than couple hundred more each month
and this is the minimum we should be doing
Please take time to understand the budget of our church
the church is God’s church
and its your church
you should be interested in these details
(any questions, call me!)
But friends
I dont want you to think that
God is begging you to give more!!
he didnt ask Judas or Simon to give more!!
I want you and I
to be so overwhelmed by the love of God
so in love with Him for what He has done for us
that we will be giving and giving and giving
whereever, however much He wantws us to.
WE’LL BE GIVING MORE BECAUSE WE
LOVE HIM MORE!!
The information you will see
is only to help you as a part of this church family
to know the local needs
so we will all give a little bigger portion of
our love gifts to the need
of God’s work in _________
Knowing that God has been so good to us
I have no doubt at all
that your love gifts to Him will more than cover
every penny of the Church Budget.
All that extra perfume left over
that we just have to give to God
He will show us ways of
using that for His glory too!
