Title: The Disciple’s Love for God
Text:
Matthew 26:6-13
7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it upon His head as He reclined at the table.
8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, "Why this waste?
9 "For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor."
10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.
11 "For the poor you have with you always; but you do not always have Me.
12 "For when she poured this perfume upon My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.
13 "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her."
John 12:3
3 Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Introduction
The greatest commandment in the bible is not for us believers to serve Him.
According to Christ the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and all our mind.
Luke 10
27 And he answered and said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
God consider our heart’s love for Him as more important than all the works we performed for him.
And that is why in the book of revelations He reprimanded the Church of Ephesians. Even though they have been active in Christian service, they had lost their first love.
Mary of Bethany is the sister of Martha and Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. Shortly before Jesus was crucified, she demonstrated her love for Jesus in such a beautify manner.
Let us turn our bible to Matthew 26:6-13 and then to John 12:3
What Mary did for Jesus one week before His death is a demostration of the disciple’s love for God.
Through this passage, I would like to bring out three evidences of our love for God.
The Disciple’s love for God must firstly be:
1. Evidenced by Submission
- Mary was led by God to anoint Christ before his death and burial.
- She submitted willing to God’s leading even though the jar of perfume was very costly, because of the love and devotion in her heart for God.
“ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:5)
- Genuine love for God is evidenced by obedience to God’s command and a wholehearted submission to His will.
Illustration
Jenifer Chean
In my previous church I knew this girl by the name of Jennifer. She was in her teens when I first got to know her. She made a decision to be baptized and her parents being unbelievers not only objected they really beat her up badly.
Jennifer was actually a very soft spoken and relatively timid girl. But that day she chose to obey God and be baptized. Why? Because Jennifer loves God and her love was evidenced by her obedience in baptism.
- If our obedience is not generated by genuine love for God, it will not last long.
Illustration
Lilian’s Story
I have often shared about my own life. Let me share with you a part of Lillian’s journey. Lillian has always been a brilliant student. At one point of time she was studying in the University of Melbourne. She finished her first year with excellent results and a bright future awaits her. Suddenly God dropped a bombshell upon her. “Quit university and go bible college†She received confirmations after confirmations. She struggled in her heart and finally out of her love and devotion to God she yielded and she obeyed.
Well the awesome part of the story is because of her obedience God gave a great husband like me!
If you are a discipleship who truly love God, there will be an increasing degree to submission to God’s command and God’s will. Is you love for God evidenced with a growing submission to His command and His will?
2. Evidenced by Sacrifice
- The perfume is cost approximately one years wage at that time. Translated to our time it cost about 20-30 thousand dollars.
- Mary could have just removed the wax, which sealed the jar and pour a few drops of perfume on Christ.
- But no, that is not good enough for Her master. She chose to broke off the neck of the jar and pour it all upon Jesus.
- The disciple’s love for God is always evidenced by sacrifice.
- Mose sacrificed his rights to the throne.
- Abraham sacrificed Issac.
- David will not offer to God something, which cost Him nothing.
- All the Apostles except John sacrifice their lives for the sake of the gospel.
Illustration
David Livingstone
People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life—these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.
The more we grow in our love for the master, the sacrificial life style will be more and more evident. For David Livingstone to sacrifice is so natural, he not longer consider it as sacrifice.
The more we grow in our love for the master, every opportunity to sacrifice is a moment of rejoicing because we have been counted privilege to be able to sacrifice to God.
Is a life of sacrifice becoming a second nature to you?
Finally the disciple’s love for God is:
3. Evidenced by Service
- Mary served Christ by anointing him and wiping his feet with her hair.
- Her service was fuelled by love for the Master.
- For a Jew the feet are considered extremely unclean. It is dirty due the travelling.
- It is the custom that the host is to provide water and wash the feet of the guest.
- Mary when beyond the call of duty and she not only pour perfume on the feet of Christ, she used her hair to wipe the feet of Christ.
Mary did not serve because of her position. She had none. She was not one of the 12 apostles.
Mary did not serve to display her works to others. In fact the disciples were annoyed by her act of service.
Sometimes we think that in order to serve, we need a position in church. That is so untrue. When the early church elected the deacons they chose “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.†In other words they chose 7 men who had already have a ministry.
I remembered in my early years when I sense a call from God to preach, I did not wait for the church pulpit to be open to me. I preached at the hawker center. I gathered my classmates and I preached to them. Chinese New Year was a great time, I preached and I cast out devils from my relatives. I simply serve and do His will because I love Him.
Are you serving God in church, at your work place and at home?
Conclusion
Others before her had come to His feet to have their need met; Mary came to give Him His due.
Mary gave to the limit of her love and ointment. Will the Lord say of us when we see Him face to face—You have done what you could? Do we constantly anoint Him as the Chosen of our hearts? Are His feet perfumed with our richest gifts? The world may count a life wholly consecrated to Him as a life wasted, but only the life abandoned to His sway is the one richly reproductive in the saint’s own life and also in the sinful world in which he lives.
Rachel grew up as a Christian and backslidden in her relationship with God. She was touched by God in a youth camp and from that point on decided she will live her life for Christ.
She wrote in her journal dated April 20 1988:
I lost all my friends at school. Now that I have begun to walk my talk they make fun of me. I don’t even know what I have done.
If I have to sacrifice everything I will. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend Jesus, then that’s fine with me.
One year later April 20th 1999, two gunmen entered Columbine High School and started shooting at the students. Rachel was shot in her legs. The gunman asked Rachel if she believes in God and Rachel replied, “You know I do.†She was killed instantly with a shot and her temple.
Through her death, many lives were touched by the love of God. A whole youth movement began at her death. She was like that alabaster jar. Once broken the fragrance of Christ was spread everywhere.
