Works, Worship, Hypocrisy, Life!

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!