COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 8 JUNE 2025 AM – MR GARETH McINTYRE
JOHN 12 VERSES 1 TO 8
EXTRAVAGANT DEVOTION
The story is told of an young Indian lady who whilst reading
a Gideon bible came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. One time as she sat in a
church service she expressed her love and devotion to the Lord by placing her
gold ring into the collection plate. This gold ring was one of her most cherished
possessions because it was the first ever gift she received from her late
husband. But now that she was saved the Lord had become so precious to her that
she wanted to present her gold ring as an offering to him. Just like Mary in
today’s scripture reading she performed a beautiful deed. How honouring it is to
the Lord when we freely respond to him with totally committed hearts. The
monetary worth of our gift or the excellence of our service is not of primary
importance but it is the giving of ourselves without reservation that causes
the Lord to say “you have wrought a good work on me.” John chapter 12 shows us a
grateful, thankful expression of love for Jesus by Mary of Bethany. Her
extravagant devotion.
Martha in the kitchen, serving with her hands;
Occupied for Jesus, with her pots and pans.
Loving Him, yet fevered, burdened to the brim.
Careful, troubled Martha, occupied for Him.
Mary on the footstool, eyes upon her Lord;
Occupied with Jesus, drinking in His Word.
This the one thing needful, all else strangely dim;
Loving, resting Mary, occupied with Him.
So may we, like Mary, choose the better part;
Resting in His presence – hands and feet and heart;
Drinking in His wisdom, strengthened with His grace;
Waiting for the summons, eyes upon His face.
When it comes, we’re ready – spirit, will, and nerve;
Mary’s heart to worship, Martha’s hands to serve;
This the rightful order, as our lamps we trim –
Occupied with Jesus, then occupied for Him!
That’s the order the Lord would have us to serve. We please
the Lord most when we sit at his feet to worship and to love him and to learn
and to listen before we stand in his presence to serve. Mary’s extravagant
devotion. In its context John 12 is Jesus’ final week of his earthly ministry.
In less than one week the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God would be put to death. He
was going to be betrayed by someone close to him – that was Judas. He was going
to be denied by his friend – that was Peter. He was going to be forsaken by
all. He was going to be arrested in the garden of Gethsemane as he agonised and
sweated those great drops of blood. We could call it the place of supplication.
He would be brought before the Jewish religious leaders. There he would be
falsely accused. There he would be ridiculed, beaten and spat upon. From there
he would be taken to the Praetorium, the Roman Governor’s Jerusalem palace. We
could call it the place of accusation. There he would stand before a sinful
wretch of man, an earthly judge, Pontius Pilate. There the Lord Jesus, the
judge of all the earth would be released into the hands of wicked men. He would
be scourged and led to that place called Calvary, the place of crucifixion.
Where the sinless, spotless Son of God would bleed and willingly die upon the
middle tree. Before all this could take place, in the midst of all his sorrows
the lovely Lord Jesus and his disciples were invited by his friends to a
thanksgiving supper at a home in Bethany. We could call it the place of devotion.
Our reading does not tell us whom this home belongs to. Matthew 26 tells
us this home belongs to Simon the leper. Obviously he was no longer a leper, he
had been healed by the Lord Jesus. Also present in verse 2 was Mary, her sister
Martha and their brother Lazarus who Jesus had raised from the dead. Picture
the scene this morning - it was a godly home, where Christ was loved and
honoured and always welcome – “there they made him a supper”. The supper was
made for the Lord. Everyone present partook of the supper but Jesus was the
main focus, he was centre of attention, the special guest in this home. Everything
revolved around the Lord. If you ask yourself honestly is Christ the centre of
your home. Is your home the place where Christ is honoured? Is your home a
place where Christ is always welcome? Is the Lord Jesus the focus of your home?
“The greatest hypocrites are those who are Christians everywhere else except
for their own home.” This home was also a grateful home. It was arranged
to give thanks. Mary and Martha were so thankful for what Christ had done in
their lives but especially for raising their brother from the dead. Lazarus
himself was obviously thankful, he was dead and now alive. He was reclining
with Jesus at the table. Simon is no longer a leper, he is cured, he is healed.
He has everything to be thankful for. If we are saved we have so much to be
thankful for. We can look back to a time like Lazarus, a time when we were
dead. Not dead physically but dead spiritually. Dead in our sin the bible says.
Lost, without hope. But Christ came and he gave us life. We can look back to a
time like Simon the leper, when we had a disease that no money, no medicine of
this world could cure the disease of sin. That only the blood of Christ can
remedy. Just as Mary and Martha cried and pleaded to the Lord over their
brother Lazarus, maybe some of us have spent years pleading to the Lord over
the soul of a loved one. You can rejoice that your prayers have been answered
and they have been saved by the grace of God. This was a genuine home.
We see Martha the worker. She was working so hard for
her master, serving the meal. We see Lazarus the witness. He had no
recorded words ever spoken but his miraculous life testified to the power of God.
I want to consider Mary the worshipper. See her extravagant devotion.
Every time you read of Mary of Bethany you will find her in her favourite place
– at the feet of Jesus. Luke 10 finds her sitting at his feet. John 11 she is
falling at his feet. Here in John 12 she is found bowing at the Saviour’s feet.
In the last week before Christ’s crucifixion, as the chief priests looked for
an excuse to arrest Christ, as Judas Iscariot looks for a convenient time to
betray Jesus, Mary of Bethany looks for her perfect opportunity to show her
love and devotion to Christ. In verse 3 we read she took a “pound of ointment
of spikenard”. Very costly ointment. She anointed the feet of Jesus. Matthew
and Mark tells us she poured the oil over his head and it ran down over his
body in preparation for his death, burial and resurrection. Every drop she
poured out for her Saviour. But then something happened. It is so common – she was
criticised. It was not constructive criticism. Whenever she poured out her
love, her devotion, her worship on the Lord, the critics appeared as they often
do. Whenever she showed her grateful, sacrificial love we are told there was
indignation. But then the Lord steps forward into her defence as he always does
– “let her alone. Why trouble ye her. She hath wrought a good work on me.”
Notice the murmuring about Mary’s devotion – verses 4
and 5. These are the first recorded words of Judas Iscariot. Normally he
lingered quietly in the shadows but this act of love really ruffled his
feathers and rattled his cage. Judas was a fake, a fraud, a false disciple. He
knew Christ intimately but he did not know Christ by faith. He was never truly
saved. He was one of the 12, professed to be one of the Lord’s greatest
friends, he followed Christ for 3½ years. He heard the words of Christ. He witnessed
the miracles of Christ. He was even involved in the work of Christ. He did not
love Christ. He murmured about Mary’s devotion because the love of money ruled
his heart. And while Mary’s heart was filled with love, Judas’ heart was filled
with covetousness. He was blinded by his sin and his love for the things of
this world.
The story is told of a young man who came from a very
wealthy family. He believed that when he finished college his father would buy
him the car of his choice. He spent months talking about cars and looking at
them with his father. A week before his graduation this father and his son
found what appeared to be the perfect car. On the morning of his graduation he quickly
rushed down the stairs fully expecting to look out the window and see his car
in the driveway but instead his father reached him a copy of the bible. The son
was so mad that he threw the bible on the floor. He stormed out of the house
and he was never reconciled and he remained estranged until the day his father
died. Sometime later as he was going through his father’s things he noticed the
bible his father had given him years earlier. He brushed off the dust and he
opened it and to his surprise and utter horror he found a cheque between the
pages of scripture. This cheque was dated the day of his graduation with the
exact amount to buy the car that he and his father had chosen. God’s greatest gifts
are still found in the pages of scripture but sometimes we allow greed and many
other sins to destroy us and divert our attention elsewhere. Judas’ love of
money destroyed him and it diverted his attention elsewhere. You cannot love
God and love your possessions. He argued that this spikenard should have been
sold and the money given to the poor. The truth is he wanted the money. He
wanted it for himself because he was a thief. And he had a bag and he was the treasurer
of the group. In fact Mark 14 the criticizers described this pouring of the ointment
as a waste. Isn’t that what the world thinks of Christian worship, devotion,
service and sacrifice? People think that missionaries are a waste of time,
church is a waste of time, gospel missions are a waste of time. A life
dedicated to the service of God is a waste of time. George Whitefield said “Oh
for a thousand lives to be spent in the service of Christ the King.” But then
he added “however we must remember we only get one life.” When Mary broke her
alabaster box of ointment and poured it over the head of her Saviour, not one
drop of that ointment was wasted. And anything you do for the Lord, in a
genuine act of love and devotion is never a waste, no matter what the criticizers
will say. Whenever you step out for the Lord you can be sure that criticism
will soon appear. Whenever Mary broke her alabaster box of ointment and poured
it out the finger was pointed. Tempers were raised and it was not too long
before others joined in in the criticism. Judas started it, he was the source and
it soon spread. Matthew 26 verse 8 “but when the disciples saw it they had indignation
saying ‘to what purpose was this waste?’”
Criticism is so contagious. Whenever someone starts it up it spreads
like wildfire. More often that not the source is a shallow believer or a non-believer
looking to find fault for faults sake. The greater your devotion to God the
greater the criticism you will probably receive. Mary of Bethany reacted with
such Christlikeness. She never even defended herself. She never uttered a word.
She turned a blind eye. And kept on worshipping the Lord. When Mary was reviled
she reviled not again. When the accusations and abuse were hurled at her she
turned her eyes upon Jesus, she looked full on his wonderful face and the
things of the earth and the criticisms grew strangely dim in the light of his
glory and grace.
The measure of Mary’s devotion – verse 3. Spikenard
was a liquid perfume of great value, probably imported from India. It was very
expensive. It was the best that money could buy. Judas being the business man
he was, knew the exact value of it – verse 5. 300 pence was a full years wage
for an average working man. We do not know how Mary came to possess this
ointment but we can assume that this was all she had. Her humble life savings.
She poured it out in one act of love. True love knows no limits. True love counts
no cost. There was a great personal cost in Mary’s sacrifice. Without a single
thought, she gave her all. She did not look to see how little she could give
the Lord, she looked to see how much she could give the Lord. Reminds us of 1
Samuel 24 David goes to purchase a field that would be used to offer sacrifices
and then eventually the temple would be built there. The man who owned the field
was going to give it to David for nothing because David was king and it was for
God. David said “I will not offer to my Lord that which cost me nothing.” It is
precious in the sight of the Lord when he receives from his children costly,
devoted sacrificial worship. Without a cost it is not a sacrifice at all. It
costs nothing to be a Christian. Salvation is free. The bible says “come
without money and without price”. But it costs us everything to be a Christian.
Has it cost you anything lately to be a Christian? Has it cost you anything in
term of time, talents, treasures? Would you inconvenience yourself to be
available in God’s service? Mary’s good work could be measured by cost but also
in terms of commitment. Mark tells us she broke the alabaster box and poured it
out. In breaking this box it was no longer useable. Mary went the whole way.
This was total commitment. She burnt her bridges, no going back. She smashed
open that box of ointment. She could truthfully sing with all of her heart “Take
my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee.”
The motive for Mary’s devotion. Mary poured out her
ointment not to please others. Not to impress others. Not to climb a ladder.
Not to get a clap on the back. Mary poured out her ointment because of her love
for the Lord. Love was Mary’s chief motivation. It was love that moved her to
break her box.
A man on one occasion was a tyrant of a husband. He insisted
on his wife doing absolutely everything for him. He made her rise early in the
morning to prepare his breakfast. He was very demanding in her care of the
house. He required her to keep a strict accounting of all the money she spent
on groceries and clothing for the children. This man died and she later married
another man who was the complete opposite. He was loving, tender, kind and unselfish.
One day as she was going through her first husband’s things she found a list of
all the things he had required her to do. To her amazement she realised she was
still doing all the same things for her second husband yet he didn’t make her
do it. She was doing it because she loved him. The Lord didn’t make Mary break
her alabaster box. She did it because she wanted to do it. Mary broke her
alabaster box and served her Lord not out of duty. She served him out of love.
The Lord Jesus knew Mary’s heart and said “let her alone she hath wrought a
good work on me.” Not only was her motive love for the Lord, she had an eye on
the glory of Christ. Verse 7 “against the day of my burying hath she kept this.”
She kept it for the Lord. She had been saving it up. She grasped something the
disciples failed to grasp. Mary realised that the Lord was soon to die, that
Calvary was coming soon. While the disciples were too concerned and preoccupied
about who was the greatest, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening carefully.
Remember when the Lord told his disciples that his death was approaching they
said “no we will not let it happen, we will die with you.” But Mary believed by
faith that the Lord would die, be buried and one day rise again and she wanted
to do something for him while he was still alive. While she still had the
opportunity. After Jesus was dead and buried some women came to the tomb to
anoint his body but it was too late. The Lord had risen from the tomb. “It is
alright to bring flowers to a funeral but would it not be better to bring them
when the person is still alive.” Mary of Bethany alone had the privilege of
anointing his body. There is a time coming for each of us when it will be too
late to break our alabaster box for Jesus. It is only now that we have the
opportunity to give our all to Jesus.
By and by when I look on His face,
Beautiful face, thorn-shadowed face;
By and by when I look on His face,
I’ll wish I had given Him more
More, so much more —
More of my love than I e’er gave before.
By and by when I look on His face,
I’ll wish I had given Him more.
The manner of Mary’s devotion. Mary was not called to
be a missionary, a preacher of the gospel, a minister. She would not travel the
globe with the gospel but the testimony of Jesus Christ is found in Mark 14
verse 8 “She hath done what that she could.” Mary did all that was in her power
to do. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10 “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with
all thy might.” How often we can look around us and admire the gifts of others,
the abilities of others, the opportunities of others. You could drive yourself
mad feeling so inferior and thinking what we can do. We just need to do what
God has told us all to do – to do what that we can. Instead of having a concern
for what we cannot do, concentrate on what we can do because that is all God has
ever asked us to do, to do what they can. Mary was a humble lady who served the
Lord and worshipped him in the home amongst her friends and family. Maybe she
couldn’t cook and that is why she left it up to Martha. Maybe Mary was a fine
example to all that watched on in the home. Our families should be our first
and greatest mission field, a place where we gather around the feet of Jesus. D
L Moody “we might never be great, we might never be known outside our family
and circle of friends but we may like Mary do all we can.”
The memory of Mary’s devotion – Matthew 26 verse 13 “Wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that
this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.” Mary’s good work would never be forgotten.
There were no pictures taken in this Bethany home, no news reporters or video cameras
but 2000 years later the grateful act of this humble Christian woman is
recorded in many languages and known all over the globe. “The achievements and
titles of many kings and emperors are forgotten as if they were written in the
sand. But the memory of Mary’s good work lives on because the pathway to
lasting honour is to honour Christ.” Mary gave what she could while Judas took
what he could. Mary blessed her Lord while Judas betrayed the Lord. Mary loved the Lord, Judas used the Lord. Mary
did a beautiful thing, Judas did a terrible thing. Mary served the Saviour,
Judas sold the Saviour. Mary is forever remembered for her devotion, Judas is
forever remembered for his awful betrayal. Everywhere the Lord went after
leaving that Bethany home the fragrance of Mary’s ointment went with him. As
the Lord hung on the cross of Calvary and paid the price for our sins and the price
of Mary’s sin, I often wonder did the smell of Mary’s worship bring comfort to
his heart? I wonder is the Christian life you and I live before a lost world
around us bring a sweet smelling fragrance that makes Christ smell of healing
to others? I wonder will the testimony we leave behind have a lasting fragrance
that endures for generations? You can leave behind money but it will be spent. You
can leave behind property but it will one day ruin. You can leave behind a
business but it will one day cease. If you leave behind a godly testimony it
will have a lasting fragrance for generations.
In Yorkshire in the 1800’s there was 2 sons born into a family
named Taylor. The older one set out to make a name for himself by entering parliament
and gaining public prestige. The younger son chose to give his life to Jesus
Christ. He recalled “I remember well as an unreserved consecration I put
myself, my life, my friends, my all upon the altar. I felt I was in the presence
of God entering into a covenant with the Almighty.” With that commitment Hudson
Taylor turned his face to China and obscurity. As a result he is known and
honoured on every continent as a faithful missionary and the founder of the
China Inland Mission. For the other son there is no lasting monument, he is
known simply as the brother of Hudson Taylor.
You might ask yourself is everyone that yields their life in devotion to
Jesus Christ remembered like Hudson Taylor? No, but regardless of your
recognition here on earth, every dedicated believer will be one day be rewarded
by God and that will be a remembrance without equal. Every believer is exhorted
in Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.“ There is only one life, will soon be passed and it is only what is done
for Jesus that will last. I am sure after the Saviour died Mary longed to be
reunited with him again one day. I am sure there was not one day that went past
that Mary didn’t pause to think about the Lord and ponder those times she spent
in his presence, the one who died to save her. Long ago that day came when Mary
died and she left this world behind. She entered heaven and the presence of
God. I could only imagine her as she comes face to face with her Saviour, I am
sure she fell again to her favourite place, at the feet of Jesus. The bible
tells us Mary died having done what she could – I wonder if that could be said
of us?
