March 26, 2014
Love’s Extravagance
Mark 14:1-26
I Precious Act of Worship 14:1-11
II Ultimate Act of Betrayal 14:12-21
III Priceless Gift of Love 14: 22-26
The first illustration that our commentary gave us, that describes, just a fraction of how much Jesus loves us, is one that I found in another publication----- and it is so sweet and tender that I wanted to use it too…
Soren Kierkegaard was a Christian theologian and Danish philosopher, and he wrote this little story in the 1800’s. Its been rewritten, by lots of different people, over the years, and presented in many different forms---And the beauty of it is, that it has been just as relevent, in every generation, as it was when it was first written….
A prince wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day, while running an errand in the local village for his father, he passed through a very poor section of town. As he glanced out the window of the carriage, his eyes fell on a beautiful peasant maiden….For many days after that, he made up excuses, to go into town and pass that same way, hoping that he would see her ----and he did see her, so often, that it wasn’t long, even from a distance, before he fell in love with her.
But he knew he had a problem----how would he seek her hand? How would he woo her? How could he get her to fall in love with him?
He could order her to marry him-----but even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely, without coercion. He could put on his most splendid clothes and drive up to her front doors in a carriage drawn by 6 horses------but that would either make her afraid of him, or so overwhelmed by his splendor, that she couldn’t help but obey him, and he would never know if she truly loved him for Himself…
So, the prince came up with another solution. He gave up his throne---gave up his kingly robes, gave up his crown, gave up his wealth, gave up his authority, and left his father------he moved into the village, wearing the garb of a peasant. There, he lived among the people, he worked among them, he ate with them and shared their interests---he wept with them in sorrow, and laughed with them in joy, he shared their concerns, and he spoke their language…In time, the maiden grew to love him for himself, because he loved her first and so well....
This very simple, childlike story, is an example for us, of all the Lord gave up, to show us how much He loves us---- and what lengths He was willing to go to, for us understand that love, so that we could love Him back…
In the 14th chapter of Mark, we can see the incredible love, that Jesus has for us----As Mark tells the story…….Jesus was about to enter into the most agonizing time of His ministry----He was going to be betrayed into the hands of His enemies, by one of His own--- the other disciples were going to forsake Him----- He was going to agonize, to the point of sweating blood, at the thought of being separated from His Heavenly Father, as He bore the sins of all mankind----- He was going to be denied by his closest friend---- and He was going to willingly, give Himself up, to the cruelty and injustice of the people, who were His enemies, because He couldn’t help them understand who He was.
All for the sake of love-----He loves us so much, that He was willing to yield Himself to it all, and to give up everything for us, including His life, so that we can know what that extravagant, committed love is…….
Amazing love, how can it be,
that thou my God, would die for me….
I’m forgiven, cause You were forsaken
I’m accepted, cause You were condemned
I ‘m alive, and well, You’re Spirit is within me
Because You died, and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be?
That You my King would die for me.
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You…
I Precious Act of Worship 14: 1-11
Pediatrician, David Cerqueria tells the story of a little 7 year old girl, in his wife’s Sunday School Class. His wife had prepared a lesson on how to love the Lord Jesus, by being useful to Him, and she told the children that it didn’t matter how young or old a person was---what mattered was in their hearts….
There was a short moment of silence, and the little girl, named Sarah, raised her hand and spoke up, “ Teacher, what can I do, I don’t know how to do very many useful things?”
Mrs. Cerqueria, thoughtfully, looked around------ that was one question she hadn’t anticipated----she spotted an empty flower vase on the windowsill, and suggested to Sarah, that bringing a flower in, for the vase, would be a wonderfully useful thing…
Sarah frowned and said, “but that’s not important…”
Mrs. Cerqueria, trying not to laugh, explained to Sarah that everything is important, if you do it because you love Jesus and want to please Him…
The next Sunday, Sarah brought in a dandelion and put it in the vase----in fact she continued to bring in a flower every week----without reminders or help===she made sure the little vase had a yellow flower in it every Sunday. When the pastor found out about it, he put the vase in the sanctuary, right next to the pulpit…He used Sarah’s little vase, with her flower as a sermon illustration, about loving Jesus, by being useful too others….The congregation was touched by the message….
That same week, little Sarah was diagnosed with leukemia---David Cerqueria was her doctor----and he did his best to explain to her parents that there was nothing that could be done to save her life---her situation was already desperate….
Eventually, Sarah became confined to bed----and the end came near…
One Sunday, at the end of the service, the pastor suddenly stopped speaking---his eyes widened in amazement, as he stared at the back of the church----and the whole congregation turned around to see what he was looking at----
It was Sarah----- her parents had brought her one last time----she was bundled up against the cold, and was clutching a dandelion in her little hand. She slowly walked to the front of the church, where her little vase still rested beside the pulpit. She put her flower in the vase, and left a little piece of paper beside it.
Four days later, Sarah passed away----after the funeral, the pastor went up to the Cerquerias and told them he wanted them to see something…he handed them the little piece of paper that Sarah had left beside her vase-----they opened it and read what Sarah had written in pink crayon----“Dear God, this vase has been the biggest honor of my life”….
She, at 7 years old, understood what it meant to love God, by making herself useful to Him, simply and faithfully, in the only way she could, week after week------
what a lesson there is for us in her story---what a lesson there is for us in Mary of Bethany’s story….
The religious establishment had wanted to kill Jesus, almost from their first encounter with Him…their hatred and desire for His death, had unified the Sanhedrin, when he had healed the man’s withered hand and let His disciples try to find food, in the field, on the Sabbath-----their desire had dramatically intensified, when He had cleansed the Temple, the first time…and when He told the Parable of the Wicked Vineyard, they would have arrested Him, and killed Him right then, if they hadn’t been afraid of the growing crowd around Him…and after the several continued days, of verbal exchanges with Him, that last Passover week, which stepped all over their misplaced pride, they crossed over the line of spiritual understanding and intellectual reasoning… and had a hard time restraining themselves, from His murder…..the tension was high, in the secret places, where they gathered, plotting some sly way, to eliminate Him, without the people knowing, that it was them…
Passover was a time of intense, nationalistic feelings, among all the Jewish people, anyway, because it made them remember their deliverance from Egyptian slavery …
And then, add to that, the Jews who were there, from all over the world, who had heard some of Jesus’ teaching…..and the many Galileans, visiting, who were known for their volatile and excitable behavior, who had heard a lot of His teachings and were self-proclaimed Jesus followers…and you’ve got the perfect storm, waiting to happen….
so, no matter how angry they were, or how ready they were to get rid of Him….they had to bide their time, till the right opportunity presented itself….
Meanwhile, Jesus was going on about His Father’s business…..He seemed to be in Jerusalem in the daytime, and 2 miles away in Bethany, at nighttime….
While they were there, we know that He and the disciples visited, and spent their nights with friends. The night of the story in this passage, Simon the Leper had invited them for dinner….nobody really knows, who this Simon was, but speculation is, that he had been one of the people that Jesus had healed----- so he wanted to honor Him with an appreciation dinner. Whoever he was, he knew a lot of Jesus’ friends and had invited them all, to the party too…he wanted Jesus to be relaxed among the people who loved Him and were closest to Him, like Mary, Martha and Lazarus…
As they were reclining around the table, about 6 days, before Passover, the people there, witnessed a remarkable event, which they would never forget-----John, in his Gospel, tells us that Mary came in carrying an alabaster jar of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, a spice that was imported from India-----in today’s economy, it would have been worth about 25-30 thousand dollars… She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head and then on His feet, which she wiped with her hair------the whole house must have been filled with the fragrance of the perfume…What an astounding moment of love and worship, that Mary poured out on Jesus. It shocked people with it’s unexpectedness and it’s fervent and intentional devotion…
I’m sure there were some people there, that night, who applauded Mary and worshiped right along with her, but more attention is paid to the ones who were indignant about, and what they saw as a waste of money----Judas, was the first to say that the perfume should have been sold , and the money given to the poor….and Mary was rebuked harshly by the naysayers, because they could have sold it, and given a substantial gift, to the poor and needy, which was customary to do, on the evening of the Passover.
So they accused her of sinfully wasting gifts for the poor-----even though the perfume belonged to her family and had nothing to do with anyone else there----it was her decision to make…
Poor, gentle Mary must have been mortified----the intensity of her desire to honor Jesus, was so focused, she must not have given any thought to what others might think, about her gift, before she gave it…which was a good thing, she gave like a child gives, with her whole heart…
The disciples, bless their hearts, thought that they knew the mind of Jesus, but they were badly mistaken---- because Jesus put Himself between Mary and her attackers---- defending her with a heart-searching list, of why what she did was right and good----------
It was beautiful---Jesus was aware of her loving motive….He knew that the motive behind her gift was a pure and innocent love----things done because of a simple, real love for the Lord Jesus are a treasure to Him. Mary’s beautiful gift came from a beautiful heart…
It came from a spontaneous response, to the promptings of the Holy Spirit-----The Holy Spirit led her to do it, and she yielded herself to Hs promptings------among the tragedies of life are the times when the Holy Spirit moves us to do something fine or noble, and we ignore it-----instead, we give in to common sense, or embarrassment, or the busyness of life----we ignore the impulse to write a note of appreciation, or the prompting, to tell someone that we love them, or the urge, to meet someone’s need…when we ignore the Holy Spirit’s prompting, the possibility of blessing and joy for that moment, is gone forever.
It was not motivated by practicality----Mary’s act was simply done to and for Jesus , with no thought of whether it was practical or sensible----it was done, just because He deserved all that she had to give, no matter how little or how much it was-----the uninhibited beauty of the gift, was that she was willing to give it all…..
She placed Jesus above anything else----Jesus said that we should always take care of the poor because they will always be with us----because the truth is, it’s impossible, to be true disciples, without serving others----so Jesus wasn’t diminishing our obligation to the poor, when He said that we could help them anytime, He was actually advocating ongoing responsibility….Praising Mary for putting Him above all else was reflecting the greatest commandment , which is,” for us to love the Lord God first, and then, others second” …….we are to worship God and to minister to others. The ideal, is a lavish, contemplative devotional life, in which we love the Lord, so much, that we pour ourselves out for others….
Mary gave everything she had to give, in the way, that she had to give it----What she gave was complete and total-----all that she had, from all that she was……and she gave it with utter abandon….complete sacrifice, is the only adequate expression, for a life which has been redeemed by God----that’s what Romans 12:1 means when it says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-----which is your spiritual act of worship.” Mary did what she could, being the person she was, according to her personality and her disposition----she followed her heart------snap went that bottle neck, out poured the perfume, worth a fortune, and down came her hair. We usually, have no trouble, believing how we will behave in certain situations, or imagining how we will-----too many times, we think more highly of ourselves, than we deserve------because getting from the heart to the lips, or from the heart to the hands, or from the heart to the bank account, or from the heart to the poor---- is a very different matter, and often requires more than we’re willing to give….the fragrance that is so honoring to Him and refreshing to others, doesn’t come from giving half of our hearts, or half of our wallets, or half of our talents or half of our ambitions----God wants us to give everything, with all, that He created us to be…
Her worship was insightful------Jesus believed that Mary had poured perfume on His body, beforehand, to prepare for His burial. Jesus had repeatedly spoken plainly about His death-----and the disciples just kept trying to push the thought away----the concept of a suffering servant, was beyond their expectation and their desire---- But Mary was different---- she yielded to His teaching, and accepted, what He said was coming----She realized that when the horror came, that there was nothing she would be able to do, for Him, so she didn’t wait, she did what she could, when the opportunity presented itself….Jewish women considered their hair their glory---so when she let it down, to dry Jesus’ feet, it meant that all of her humanity, and all of her glory was totally, submitted and devoted, to Him, in worship…We never know just how important, or what the ultimate significance, of our devotion and service to the Lord, may be….so we just need to do all we can, when we can….
Jesus ended the list of Mary’s act of love with these words,
“I tell you the truth, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
The Lord wants our devotion, commitment, love, and acts of service, for Him, to be just as beautiful as Mary’s was…
II Ultimate Act of Betrayal 14:12-21
From the world’s perspective, if life is going well and we are having success in all things, does that mean that God is pleased with us? That’s a good question….. If we’re successful in most of the things that we attempt, does that mean that God, is behind our success? Another good question…
When things are going well, it’s nice to believe that, isn’t it? It’s nice to feel like, we must be doing something right, if we’ve become strangers to failure, and success is our new daily companion. We like to think, that it has to be God, on our side, because why else would life be working out so well?
When things are going well, it is tempting to lay that success on God’s doorstep-----but then, we have to stop and ask ourselves…. when the failures come back again, and they will come back again….are we supposed to lay our failures on His doorstep, too?
Among the 12 disciples, from he world’s perspective, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter. Judas was a success, in the ways, that most impress us---he was successful, both financially and politically----- he cleverly controlled the money, that belonged to Jesus’ ministry, and he skillfully manipulated the political forces, of the day, to accomplish his goal.
And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread----he was impotent in a crisis and socially inept. At the arrest of Jesus, he collapsed into being a blustering coward; in his most critical moments with Jesus----the confession on the road to Caesarea Philippi(he tried to talk Jesus out of His road to suffering) and on the Mount of Transfiguration(he wanted to build 3 tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah to live in) he said the most embarrassingly, inappropriate things.
He was not the companion that we would want with us in times of danger, and we wouldn’t feel comfortable with him at a social event.
Time, of course, has reversed our judgment of these 2 men. Judas has become a byword for betrayal and Peter has become one of the most honored names in the world…Judas has become a villain, and Peter has become a saint…but the world still continues to chase after the successes of Judas----his financial wealth and his political power----
And, the world continues to defend itself against Peter’s failures---lack of courage, ineptness and volatility-----
We need to be careful not to equate our successes or our failures with an ability or inability to please God. ----saying that, doesn’t mean that God is indifferent to our striving----it just means, that His real desire, for us, as believers, is for us to be successful, in our willingness to do His will, and, ultimately, gain victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. When we strive to know and love our Savior, to conform to His image, we please God. But earthly successes, are not the measure of God’s approval. We need to remember that just because things are working out well, doesn’t necessarily mean that we are always doing the right thing. We have too walk by faith, not by works…
As precious and beautiful as it was for Mary to anoint Jesus for His burial, it was a little macabre’---because, from the anointing on, a palpable gloom settled over the remaining days of Jesus’ life-----and the gloom got thicker, as Judas, secretly made arrangements, to sell Jesus to the priests for 30 pieces of silver, when there would be no one around to interfere….
but, Jesus was in control of it all----He knew exactly what was going to happen, and how it had to happen, and who was going to be the players, as it unfolded….Jesus’ mastery of the events, in His days of darkness, should give us great hope and unwavering belief, in His mastery of the dark days, that we have to walk through, as a natural part of this life…
Jesus had prearranged to have the Passover meal, with His disciples, in the upper room, of the unidentified man’s house-----that is evident from the directions that He gave Peter and John, which fell into perfect order, just like He said that they would----
Jesus deliberately chose a secret place, because it hid the location from Judas, until it was too late for him to tell anybody----also Jesus must have wanted to control the environment because He knew it would be His last Passover,
and He knew He was the ultimate Passover Lamb, who would be the fulfillment, of Israel’s dream, of redemption and salvation—
He wanted the night, to be remembered in a way, that was equal ,to the night of the first Passover---
the first one was a promise----the second one was the fulfillment of that promise….
and He had some things that He wanted to say to, and do, just with the disciples, that would reverberate, down through church history, and would become one of our most revered and sacred ways to remember His sacrifice… The Lord’s Supper….
Far from being crushed in the wheels of history, at the hands of evildoers…..Jesus was turning the wheels, the way that God had planned for them to turn…..Judas might have thought that he was instigating and forcing things forward, but the reality is, Jesus’ death was no accident----it had been planned from the beginning…the words that He spoke,” take it, this is my body, this is my blood…..which is poured out for many…” makes sense, because Jesus was choosing, Himself, to give His life…
The good news for us is, that a God, who is in control, when the foundations of His own earthly existence are crumbling, is a God, who can sustain us, when it looks like our lives are caving in, too…..we trust Him, with our eternity, why do we fret about trusting Him with the details of our daily lives----He can take care of it all…..
John says in His Gospel, that Jesus, was “troubled in His Spirit”, and I don’t believe, that it was so much His death He was troubled about, I think it was Judas-----look at how Jesus gave him every opportunity, to turn back from what he was planning…..
Jesus shocked everybody when He announced that there was a traitor in their group----they all questioned Him, even Judas (who fooled everybody, but Jesus) because they wanted to make sure, that they wouldn’t somehow betray Him, by accident… (we all do that sometimes, we get caught up in circumstances, take our focus off of the Lord, for just a minute----and boom----you wouldn’t even realize that we know him….)
We know from the other scriptures, that Judas’ motivation was greed, and he was deliberate in his actions---- its hard for us to fathom somebody who could have had such fellowship with Jesus and the disciples, and still live out such great evil-----but none of us are far from the very same thing when we take our focus off the Lord and let the things of the world penetrate our hearts------
that’s why we’re supposed to put on the armor of the Lord every single day…..
Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him and that his plans would succeed, but Jesus was troubled for Judas’ soul---- He knew how Judas would feel and what he would do, after the deed was done, and in His great compassion, the Lord’s heart ached for him----
So, He reached out to him in love ----He washed his feet, He gave him a place of honor, when they reclined around the table, and He broke off a piece of bread, dipped it in the common bowl, and, in an accepted display of sweet fellowship----gave it to Judas----
Jesus was offering him friendship and forgiveness---but Judas refused-----and as he got up to leave the table, John says, “that Jesus gave him over to himself, and told him to go do his worst quickly”-----
so sad----the truth is -----Jesus’ compassion for Judas was real----if Judas had repented----it wouldn’t have saved Jesus from death, that was already decided----but it would have saved Judas from his physical death, at least------ we don’t know where he will be in eternity----but we do know that he did regret what he’d done (maybe that was repentance) he did try to give the money back, and stop the arrest from happening, but he couldn’t stop it, it had gone to far…
Jesus is in sovereign control of everything, and He can make a way, when there seems to ne no way-----especially through the darkness that mars our world----(Frederick Nolan, a British writer, in the 20th century, was fleeing his enemies, in Northern Africa----hounded by his pursuers, he ran till he couldn’t run anymore, and he fell exhausted into a wayside cave, and waited to be found…while he was laying there, he saw a spider weaving a web. Within minutes, the little insect had woven a beautiful web across the mouth of the cave. When his pursuers got to the cave, Nolan could hear them debating about him hiding in the cave, and then deciding that he wasn’t, because the spider web, would have been disturbed-----so they went on….Having escaped from his enemies---Nolan said, “where God is, a spider’s web is like a stone wall, where God is not, a stone wall is like a spider’s web…”
III Priceless Gift of Love 14: 22-26
Jesus used the language and the elements of the Passover meal to show the disciples, that He, was the fulfillment, of the event, that they were celebrating and remembering….as He offered them the bread and the cup…..
First H took the bread…..
Bread has always been the staple of life------it makes me sad when people give it up, cause they’re afraid that it’ll make them fat, when it symbolizes so much about life and sustenance and well-being, and who the Lord is to us…
Physically, it’s impossible for us, to live without food and spiritually, it’s impossible for us to live without the Lord Jesus----
Scripture says that Jesus, is the Bread of Life-----He took on a human body----
He demonstrated His divinity to the whole world, by living a sinless life, in that body----
He bore our sins to the cross, while in that body---
He triumphed over the grave by bringing that body back to life----
and now He lives in that body, glorified, at the right hand of the Father, praying for us-----
And as believers, we are members of that body, so, we share His life----
The Lord told us, on that long ago night, that, as we break the bread, we are to remember what He’s done for us,
to remember what we’ve been spared,
and to remember how much He loves us-----individually and collectively…….
And as we eat it, we are to remember that we are identifying ourselves, and each other, as one, with the Lord Jesus, in body, mind and Spirit…
And them ,He took the cup…
The redness of the wine, in Jesus’ cup represented His atoning blood----From the days of Moses at Mt. Sinai, God had said, that without the shedding of blood, that there could be no forgiveness-----
So, for hundreds of years, animals were sacrificed, pointing to the One, who would someday come, who would allow His blood to be spilled once and for all, for all mankind…
That night, Jesus was telling the disciples, that He was that ultimate lamb-------
and that only because of HIs shed blood, have we been redeemed for all eternity, with a new covenant forged between God and mankind that has been sealed in His blood----
So, when we take the cup, we are remembering:
1. what we’ve been spared,
2’ that Jesus took our place, as He took our sins onto Himself, and became our scapegoat----as He took the punishment, that we deserve----
3. That he has provided the only way that we can have a relationship with God, and have true fellowship with each other,
4. That we are totally forgiven because of the Lord’s glorious blood….
The bread and the cup, together, remind us….
1. Of God’s great love for us;
2.That His blood washed our sin away, His
3.That our faith, in Him, enables us to believe in His death, His resurrection, His ascension and His future return;
4.That we can not live, and we dare not die, without Him;
5. That He has given us a hope that transcends time, heartache, sickness, death and even the joys and celebrations of our lives……a hope that goes far beyond anything we can imagine, in this world….
(Jason Jones, a pastor in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, wrote, that in 1948, his father had just returned home from WWII. On every highway, you could see soldiers in uniform, hitchhiking home to their families. The thrill of the reunion, with his family was soon overshadowed by his grandmother’s illness. There was a problem with her kidneys. The doctors told his father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she wouldn’t live through the night.
His grandmother’s blood type was AB negative, a very rare type. In those days, there were no blood banks like there are today…No one in their family had that blood type, and the hospital had not been able to find anyone with that rare type. The doctor gave their family very little hope…
His dad decided to head home for a little while to change his clothes and then he planned to come back to say goodbye to his mother. As he was driving home, he passed a soldier in uniform hitching-----deep in grief, he wasn’t going to stop, but something compelled him to pull over…
The soldier climbed in, but Jason said his father didn’t say a word. He just continued driving down the road toward home. The soldier could tell that he was upset, as tears were rolling down his cheeks. So he asked about the tears….Jason’s father began telling him about his mother, her illness and about the fact that she was going to die, because they couldn’t find anyone to donate AB negative blood…..As he turned to look at the soldier, for the first time, to thank him for his compassion, he realized the soldier was holding out his hand with dog tags that read AB negative-----the soldier told him to turn the car around and head back too the hospital------Jason said his grandmother lived another 47 more years-----
One of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths is…. that Jesus’ blood was the most precious thing that He could give us----the highest price that He could pay------the strongest language to tell us how much He loves us…..and through God’s amazing love, we were redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ-----He didn’t just match our blood type----He changed it, to match His, so that we wouldn’t just live out our lives here on the earth, but that we will live, with Him, for all eternity….
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