ENCOUNTER THE ONE WORTHY OF “EXPENSIVE” WORSHIP
John 12:1-11 ~ Jesus Anointed at Bethany
 
I always appreciate those folks who seem to be great gift givers.  The gifts they give are not frivolous, but heartfelt, thoughtful and tend to make you feel loved beyond measure.  In our scripture passage, it seemed Mary knew how to     give the most amazing gift to Jesus, though others branded her as wasteful and foolish for doing so. 

The story surrounds a dinner party at Lazarus’s house in which Jesus was the guest of honor, and rightfully so.  After all, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead!  (See John chapter 11).  Amidst the bustle of the dinner party, a remarkable display of unfettered adoration took place.  Mary wandered up to the guest of honor, Jesus, knelt before him and lavishly poured a whole 12 ounce jar of spikenard perfume onto Jesus' feet and then wiped His feet with her hair. (See Mark 14:3 re:  the alabaster jar).

The fragrance of this spicy perfume filled the house, making Mary’s selfless, spontaneous act of extravagant adoration impossible to miss.  In fact, Judas’ response to the situation was the exact opposite:  a more selfish, prideful desire to keep money for himself rather than give the very best to honor Jesus that day.
Mary’s offering was not a waste at all as she was doing what no one else in history would have been able to do… she anointed Jesus for burial.  (NB – the ladies at the tomb that Easter morning went to anoint Jesus’ body for burial, but He had already risen).  Mary acted out of an intuitive desire to worship that made Jesus feel loved beyond measure and Jesus defended her for it.

Though she was not wasteful, it did cost her.  It cost her dignity to bow, let her hair down and wash the feet of Jesus.  It cost her social standing.  It would have been tough to be misunderstood by anyone while being worshipping this way, but one of Jesus’ own disciples called her out for it.  It also cost Mary her security.  A whole year’s wages were poured out on Jesus feet, but seeing as how Jesus raised her brother from the dead, surely He also had the authority and resource to provide for her every need.  Security lost … no.

 We may not have an alabaster jar full of expensive perfume to offer Jesus in worship, but we     do have a precious commodity worth pouring out and that is our very lives stored in these jars of clay
(2 Cor. 4:7-9).  If we will  follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, giving the sacrifice of our priceless worship to God by offering our lives to Him, it will be like pouring out the perfume of heaven that no one could miss.   (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
          May we be willing to pour ourselves out in worship to the One who alone is worthy of it all !!

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and ended up saying “that is not what I was expecting?”  That’s kind of the sentiment I experienced when studying the book of Hosea in the Bible.  If you’re looking for a lot of encouragement Hosea is not necessarily the book to tackle.  The book is mostly about sin and the call to repentance from sin.  We’re going to go for a tour of Hosea as it examines the problem of sin and provides the solution.

Let’s look briefly at the background of the book of Hosea.  It was written by a prophet named Hosea during the 700s BC over a period of about 40 years. The book opens during a prosperous time in Israel, but by the close of the book, Israel is on the verge of collapse (defeated and exiled by Assyria in 722BC).  The first part of the book contains Hosea’s personal story which becomes an illustration of the story of God and Israel. The remainder of the book presents a series of prophetic warnings to the people of Israel.

Hosea is not the easiest book to read and study.  It is often dark and even harsh.  After presenting Hosea’s personal story the prophetic messages continue in chapter 4.

“Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge to bring
    against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
    no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing,[a] lying and murder,
    stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land dries up,
    and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.” (Hosea 4:1-3)

“My people consult a wooden idol,
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
    they are unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,” (Hosea 4:12-13a)

God opens by lambasting the people.  We continue to read the book and it seems like God is hammering away at the people of Israel.  Can’t they catch a break? 

What does wrestling with passages like this tell us?  We see the human struggle.  People are constantly tempted and faced with the reality of sin.  As Hosea shares God’s message we learn that God takes sin very seriously and that there are consequences for sin.  God cannot tolerate sin.  Not because he is a divine megalomaniac but because sin separates people from him.  It is the opposite of holiness and freedom.

  Hosea 4:16 tells us “The Israelites are stubborn,
    like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs in a meadow?”

Essentially God is telling the people that they are acting how they will be treated.  They can’t be stubborn and go their own way and expect God to lead them to peaceful meadows.  They appear to not want to be led. Essentially this is the problem of sin.  Sin is a rebellion against God.  Sin is when people say to God, I am in control of my own life.  I will do it on my own.  I choose not to follow you.  One of my daughter Eve’s favourite phrases right now is “my do it”  or “I want to do it myself.”  Now a two year old and an adult are a little different.  But we’re not so different in our attitude.  When we sin or ignore God essentially we’re saying to God “my do it.”

We see this illustrated in Hosea.  The book opens at a very successful and prosperous time in the history of Israel.  The Israelites had come to rely on their armies and alliances with other nations for military protection.  They turned to idols for spiritual worship in hopes that the fertility cults would enhance their harvests. They has stopped caring what God thought.  They had stopped relying on him.

The message that Hosea gives over and over in the book is that Israel needs to repent of their sins and return to God.[1] Maybe Israel would get the message and things would turn around. However the problems described in Hosea led to a decline first in economic and material conditions and eventually to the downfall of Israel. Success without God was short lived. Israel was conquered by Assyria and deported out of the land. There were consequences for their actions.  Their success had led them to turn away from God.  We might ask: How could a good God let something like this happen?

God is good, but there is thing called sin. When we talk about sin, we often talk about it as a problem.  This is because sin is a problem.  The biggest problem humanity has ever faced.  Yet God does not leave us alone in our sin. Despite Israel’s failures, God did not stop calling to them.  He did not walk away. He sent prophet after prophet to warn them and call them back. We may very well have to face the consequences of sin like Israel did after Hosea, but there is hope for the future. After pages and pages of warnings Hosea ends in chapter 14 on a note of hope.

“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins have been your downfall!
2 Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b]
3 Assyria cannot save us;
    we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
    to what our own hands have made,
    for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
4 “I will heal their waywardness
    and love them freely,
    for my anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
    he will send down his roots;
6     his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 People will dwell again in his shade;
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom like the vine--
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”
9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
    the righteous walk in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.” (Hosea 14)
​
Though Hosea is often dark, it ends with hope and a prescription for the problem of sin.  To get to this point you have to persevere and finish the book.  The answer to sin is clear, people must repent. With repentance comes the restoration of full relationship with God. At the time Hosea’s messages were given, the arrival of Jesus was some 700 years away but this passage points to the future redemption he would bring. These final verses of Hosea are about the future restoration of Israel. Despite all of their problems and sins, historically God restored the nation and the people returned from exile. However, the fullness of the restoration described in Hosea will not be realized until the second coming of Christ. The future restoration of Israel despite their past shows people that no matter what you have or haven’t done or how much guilt or shame you feel God is not done with you. There is always hope for restoration. If the book of Hosea teaches us anything, it’s that God takes sin seriously, but that repentance is always possible. Don’t sit on the fence today, take this opportunity to make things right with God if you need to.  He’s waiting for a response.


[1] Barker and Kohlenberger III eds,  Expositors Bible Commentary Abridged Edition: Old Testament, 1994, 1407

This morning we’re going to look at a story in the Bible about Jesus revealing himself to some of his followers. Here’s the setting: Jesus has been crucified and has died.  He has also risen from the dead, however many people do not yet know or believe this.  Put yourself in the midst of the unknown and let’s read the story in Luke 24:13-35: 

“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

I must say I love this story.  Two disciples are walking and having an intense discussion about the recent events surrounding Jesus.  Jesus disguises himself and walks up to the two disciples and asks them what they are talking about.  They are incredulous that this stranger would not have heard about what had happened in Jerusalem. They are so shocked they halt their journey and stop still on the road. I wonder at this point why Jesus did not reveal himself? We can presume that Jesus wants the two disciples to open up and express their thoughts and feelings.[1]

The disciples finally crack and give their summary of the events.[2]  They believe Jesus is a prophet.  They blame the death of Jesus on the Jewish leadership.  They are in doubt. They were hoping that Jesus was the messiah, but it seems that his death has ended that hope.  They discuss the reports of the empty tomb but remain doubtful because Jesus himself has not been seen. How ironic that the very proof they are looking for is standing in front of them!

These two disciples were devastated. Their body language confirms their emotional condition.  They are standing still, looking sad. They have pinned their hopes on Jesus, only to seemingly be let down. The ‘third day’ in verse 21 was supposed to be the day of hope, as this was the day Jesus was supposed to have risen from the dead.  To these disciples it is too late; the day has come and is almost gone, seemingly without any concrete evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

As they walk with nothing but time on their hands Jesus responds by giving them a rundown of the Bible (Old Testament) pointing out everything about himself. This must have been an amazing teaching! Could it be that this discussion was a key moment in God’s plan for these two disciples and for the early church? We know Jesus spent 40 days on earth following his resurrection appearing and speaking to his disciples (Acts 1). Indeed “For several reasons vv.25-27 are vitally important.  With great clarity they show that the sufferings of Christ, as well as his glory, were predicted in the OT and that all the OT Scriptures are important.  They also show that the way the writers of the NT used the OT had its origin, not in their own creativity, but in the postresurrection teachings of Jesus…”[3] With all this in mind, what might Jesus be speaking to you right now that doesn’t seem obvious in the moment but might be vitally important?

At this point the narrative reaches a break. The two disciples reach their destination.  Jesus, not wanting to be rude and invite himself over, implies that he is going on a bit farther. Again why would Jesus not make himself obvious?  Could it be that Jesus wants to be found?  If you’ve ever played hide and seek with a toddler you know it’s not a difficult game for an adult. Eve says to me “Where’d Eve go” as she covers her face with a blanket while standing in front of me. Of course I play along and take a little while to ‘find’ her to her delight.  Could Jesus be asking us to find him, to engage with him, while he stands there right in front of us?
The disciples urge Jesus to stay with them and he complies with their hospitality. They sit down for an evening meal and in a reversal of roles Jesus takes over as host and takes bread, blesses it and breaks it in an allusion to the last supper. It is at this moment that Jesus reveals himself. As they recognize him, he vanishes. Looking back the disciples realize that they had been receiving revelation from Jesus on the road “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (v 32).

Despite the late hour and their recent arrival at their destination they turn around and head back to Jerusalem. Keep in mind the text tells us that the village of Emmaus is about 11 kilometers from Jerusalem. It is evening and given the equatorial location, presumably fully dark.  It’s possible it’s somewhere nearing midnight when the 2 disciples arrive back in Jerusalem. When they arrive they find the 11 disciples gathered together.  The 11 are already proclaiming that Jesus has risen. It seems that Jesus has had a busy night. These two disciples add even more weight to the resurrection evidence as they share their story – their role is that of witnesses as they assure the 11 that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead.[4]  The days of doubt are over.  Jesus has revealed himself. He is alive. Hope is restored.

Have confidence that Jesus has risen from the dead!  Live in hope.  Secondly, believe that Jesus wants to reveal himself to you, but that sometimes you have to wait for him and look for him.  Finally, revelation from Jesus is what we need.  In this situation the disciples didn’t need a pep talk or a self-help book, they needed revelation from Jesus.


[1] Arrington and Stronstad eds, Life in the Spirit New Testament Commentary 1999, pg 528
[2] Arrington and Stronstad eds, Life in the Spirit New Testament Commentary 1999, pg 529
[3] Barker and Kohlenberger III eds,  Expositors Bible Commentary Abridged Edition: New Testament, 1994, pg 286
[4] Barker and Kohlenberger III eds,  Expositors Bible Commentary Abridged Edition: New Testament, 1994, pg 286​