Please stand for the reading of God's Word. The reading this morning will be in the book of Mark, second book of the New Testament, chapter 14, verses 1 through 11. They also printed in the order of worship. Now the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. But not during the feast they said, or the people may riot. While he was in Bethany, we're climbing at the table in the home of a man known as Simon Lepper. A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made a pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another. Why waste this perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages, and the money given to the poor. And they reviewed her harshly. Leave her alone, said Jesus. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want, but you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body, the forehand to prepare for my burial. 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. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. The word of the Lord. Please be seated. At the time where we have a sermon in the worship service, sometimes we may think of it as the time to kick back and relax. This is the time now to be entertained. It's just the opposite. This is the time where God is speaking to us. He's, of course, communicating to us throughout the time of worship. But you need to hear, and I need to hear, the voice of God in our heart right now. So would you just ask God silently to meet with you as I speak words? Let's pray. Our Father, would you be pleased to take my very human and inadequate words and use them to paint on our heart the beauty, the extravagant beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you. In Jesus' name, we do pray, Amen. Past week, I saw the most recent edition of Christianity Today magazine. And there was a feature article in there about a man who worked at the chaplain at the Huntsville Prism. One of the things that it alluded to in here was showing a great impact that God has had to this man. In his Bible, there's a whole page full of notations written by different prisoners. And in particular, there's one there by Carla Fe Tucker. You may remember who was the center of a great deal of controversy, not so much because of anything she'd done badly on death row, but actually because of the great change in her life, further the controversy that she's a woman and going to be put to death, and then she had been so radically changed. It became a great source of controversy. And in this couple of sentences that she wrote in this man's Bible, she articulated the great love that she has for Jesus Christ and how that love has changed her life. And she thanked him for being God's instrument of love to her while she was on death row. Now, I don't know what you think about that. I know some people are very skeptical about those type of conversions. And yet we've heard it from many, many people over the last couple of years that Carla Fe's life apparently evidently really was changed significantly. And she is a beautiful picture of how God can take someone who is naturally a hater, a murderer, and turn him into someone who's gentle like a dove, someone who's a lover of individuals and form us a lover of God. And that's what you see in the picture of Carla Fe Tucker. I think it's a fitting picture to introduce us to this passage. Because what this passage shows us is that Christianity has unbelievable power in it to take people who are cold, people who are broken and change them into people who are lovers of individuals and supremely lovers of Jesus Christ. If you have your Bible open to the passage, keep it open or it's also written on the order of worship, and let's just look at this passage from the gospel of Mark for a few minutes. Now, Mark is like a great artist. I've never been to Italy, and yet if I do get to go someday, one of the first things that I want to see is the Cysteine Chapel, the ceiling that Michael Angelo took several years to paint on his back. It's amazing, the pictures of the Old Testament and the masterpiece, the artistry that is demonstrated there. The gospel of Mark is similar in that respect. You and I have been looking now for many months at the different brush strokes that Mark took to paint the singular picture of the person of Jesus Christ. And so that's why the title for this whole series through the gospel of Mark, the fresh look at Jesus, because what you and I need more than anything else is to see who Jesus really is. It's Jesus that is the power of Christianity. And that's what we see in the story of this woman. Now, this situation took place probably on Wednesday of what we might call holy week. That is before Good Friday and Easter. And it took place in a little city called Bethany, which we find Jesus retreating to frequently. It's about two miles outside of Jerusalem, and on the pilgrim road that Israelites would travel to make their pilgrimage several times a year to Jerusalem. This was the last station. And sort of symbolically, it's also the last station of the last stop before Jesus moves in one last time to Jerusalem to face his death. The picture here is similar to what we find throughout the gospel, but increasingly so now, the religious leaders are frustrated with Jesus. And so the bookends of this story are talking about the religious leaders conspiring together to put Jesus to death. But they were concerned to do this, to not do this, in any way right now, that would spark a riot or controversy because of the increased crowds in Jerusalem due to the Passover, the great feast of unleavened bread coincided with Passover. We don't know exactly how many people would have ascended unto Jerusalem, but one commentator that I saw this week said that the population would have increased from roughly 50,000 to about 250,000 people. And that's a conservative estimate. Some would say it's far more than that. And so the religious leaders were concerned that if they arrested Jesus in the wrong way, at the wrong time, it would spark a great revolution and riot. And that's why it became important for them to get one of Jesus's trusted insiders, Judas. As this passage shows it, sort of the turning point in Judas' life. Mark doesn't give us quite as many details as the Apostle John does in his account of this. But we know that Judas was irritated at what this woman did to Jesus, and it was probably the last straw. So he left and became the instrument that the religious leaders used to find a secret place where they could arrest Jesus without causing a riot. Now, let's talk about what she did. She was at this dinner party in the man, the home of a man named Simon the Lepper. It doesn't sound very flattering. Leo the Lepper, I don't think I'd want that title, but we don't know why he's called Simon the Lepper. For sure, he wasn't still infected with leprosy because people wouldn't have been congregating at his home if that had been the case. He would have been quarantined. And yet, a lot of commentators think, probably the reason this is highlighted is to remind people in the first century of what was a well-known oral tradition, which was that Jesus had healed this man of leprosy. Now, we don't know that for sure, but it makes sense as to why he's known as Simon the Lepper in case you're curious. There's a dinner party going on, they're reclining Jesus is there, and a woman comes up, the passage here doesn't tell us which woman it is. If it's the same incident, and I think it is, that John records in his gospel, then this is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead, a good friend of Jesus. And Mary approaches Jesus and takes a, what was probably a small alabaster jar glass and broke it and poured on Jesus lavishly this expensive ointment or perfume called Nard. Now, Nard was taken from the root of a plant in the Himalayas, and it was extremely expensive and precious, and it was a very, very well-known and highly regarded ointment or light perfume. Some of your translations say perfume. You think what's the woman doing pouring perfume on our Savior? It's really an ointment, an ointment was symbolic in the Jewish culture for honoring someone. The king is anointed with oil, and you think even of that famous passage in Psalm 23, where the Psalmist says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. And so there's a sense in which that is exactly what's happening here. Jesus's enemies are his own friends. Judas is right there, and he's presumably the spokesman, John highlights that a little bit more than Mark does at the indignant reaction to this woman's lavish portrayal of affection to Christ. His enemies are right there, his very friends, and yet he is anointed with this aromatic oil, Nard. What is the reaction? Well, the disciples are indignant. Why? Because the reason that's given here is that this is a waste. I mean, think of the kingdom work that could have been accomplished if this had been sold, and for instance, given to the poor. And boy, right here I think is for all of us a real caution toward a highly pragmatic view of ministry. The resources of the kingdom are to be directed to the honor and glory of Jesus. And we can't always in our human estimation of things accurately make sense of that. But Jesus' reaction is very different. He scolds the disciples and tells them, no, what this woman has done is a beautiful thing. In fact, what she has done will be inextricably linked to the telling forth of the gospel forever more. Now, when the Bible talks about the gospel, yes, it means, of course, the four books of the Bible that tell the life of Christ, but more than that, gospel is referring to the truths about Jesus Christ, that though you and I are broken toys, so to speak, that God has come to us in the person of Christ to get his life and death and be raised up again, to give us new life, to give us healing, to give us forgiveness for the sin that we must own up to that has indeed estranged us from God, estranged us from God. Now, what is the point of this story? What's the bottom line picture? It's a picture of extravagant, and in the eyes of sun, scandalous, costly affection for Jesus. At this climactic moment in the life and ministry of Christ, right before he parades to the cross, is given this picture for us of extravagant, wildly costly love for Jesus. Now, the alabaster jar that was sealed off to keep the nard intact when it's broken. I mean, there's just, there's nothing there for one usage, so it's not like she could, why didn't she break it? Why didn't she just open it and then cork it back up? You had to break it to let the oil spill out. And yet in this one small alabaster jar was equivalent to a year's salary of the average worker. Your translation might actually say that, but the literal is 300 denari, and that's the NIV helps us out a little bit. That's roughly what the average worker would have made in a year. Now, how in the world did Mary earn enough to buy that? Well, probably it was a family heirloom. That is, it was something that was passed down from generation to generation from mother to daughter. And so not only was this costly, and something that in essence was rainy day savings could have been sold to help out in a crisis. Not only was it costly, but it was precious. It was, if it was an heirloom, it was something that had imminent value and worth beyond the material worth. And so there's that double picture for us that Jesus Christ is to be for us, the object of incomparable worth and affection, that there is to be nothing in our lives as human beings that even approaches in comparison the value, the intrinsic beauty and loveliness of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the picture for us. Now let's think of how that might apply. First of all, many of you may be here this morning and it's your place on the spiritual journey. You may not classify yourselves as a Christian, at least in the way that the Bible tells us and the way that we talk about it here. And for you, I think it's very important as it is for all of us to understand that what the Bible was saying is that look, you and I were made use the picture of a toy. We were made as a toy to function as the priceless jewel of our Heavenly Father. That is God made us, not just as an object of His creation, but we are the crown jewel of His creation. And yet we are broken. We are estranged from God. We are naturally rebels and that's what the Bible calls sin. And yet what God calls us to is to be repaired, to be whole once again. Well, if you're whole, what will be the evidence of it? And that is, what is it you and I were designed to do and be? We were designed to be lovers, to be lovers of God, to give ourselves absolutely without reservation to Jesus Christ. And when we do that, it's like we've come home. All the things that are harder than longing for all these years, they're all found in Christ. It's as though all of those other things out there, appetizers, that are to wet our appetite for the main course, Jesus Christ. And so God is calling us all to come home, come and sit and feast with God upon Christ. Now, for the Christian, and that would refer to many of us, most of us probably, I think the question for us is this, look at what this woman has done. Where in your life is there a similar example? Where in your life could there be a snapshot that would be placed over this story so that, in essence, this story wouldn't be as necessary because in your own life, it shows the costly, extravagant, priceless love that you have for Jesus Christ. Now, let's think of a couple of different ways in which you might see this. First of all, in your resources. Now, the obvious application here is that this was something that was very expensive and like any material asset that you and I might own, we want to be very moderate with that, right? I mean, we want to make sure that we are diversified, we want to make sure that if we give to God into this kingdom that it's very cautious and we don't do so to the neglect of very important other expenses that are going to be coming down the road. But this story is saying, throw caution to the wind. If Jesus Christ has come into your life, if you have come into true affection with Him and for Him, then it's going to cause you to be radical in the way that you handle your resources. And this will look very different for every one of us. One picture that I heard about even this last week, there was a family in our church that was having a very tight time financially and they received a bonus. This bonus was substantial and a great blessing. The husband said to the wife, we need to give the entire bonus to the Lord. This made no sense to the wife who was more of a, you know, more perhaps by the book financially. This didn't make any sense, but she agreed and they gave the entire bonus to the church, to the work of Christ. That was I think at the end of the year, several months later, tax time comes, sin attacks return in and receive a refund. A refund that was almost exactly the amount of the bonus that had been given to the Lord. There's a picture of that in the story of the woman that she in essence understands that though she is giving up extraordinary assets, she's really not giving up anything. She's only receiving because that's what the Bible tells us about the relationship that we can have with Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a life where we are to give, not just money, not just time, but we're to give ourselves in radical and extravagant ways. And yet there's a very real sense that when we do that, it's not really giving it all. We're just receiving the blessing comes back. Now I can't guarantee you you're going to have the financial blessing like in that particular situation, but the blessing will be there. No question. Another way that you might look at this in terms of a costly symbol of affection in your own life is in terms of your own time. That is, I think the most valuable resource that we have in this very busy and frantic world is time. That is, how is it that I'm going to a lot my time during a given day? Martin Luther who was, he didn't have to deal with emails and all of that, but nevertheless, if you looked at what this man had on his schedule on a daily basis, it would amaze you the type of responsibilities that he had. And yet Luther was known to have this principle that where the responsibilities for a given day increased, proportionately his time in personal devotion with the Lord must also increase. So that, as the story goes, he might ordinarily spend an hour in devotions with the Lord, but on a particular day where he had unbelievable pressures laid upon him. He said, because I have so much and these are such weighty things, I must spend three hours with the Lord and rise early. And see, there ought to be something of that rhythm in our life that the most valuable resource we have is our time. How is it that my time is demonstrating by the way that I use my time that there is costly, radical, extravagant? And in the eyes of some, even scandalous love for my Savior Jesus Christ, you might also see this in your relationships. To one who might be prone to workaholism is it that God may be asking you to demonstrate a costliness in your vocation where others may sneer at you or think that you're being lazy for you to cut the hours back to demonstrate your priority and stewardship to your family or to your church. Now, there's any number of ways that we could apply this. The question is for you to ask yourself this week, where is it in my life? Is there demonstrated a costly and in the eyes of some scandalous perhaps even affection for Jesus Christ? Now, the truth is that we all struggle with this. I struggle with this greatly, demonstrating the authenticity of my love. It's easy for me to do that on Sunday morning, but how about in the regular sort of warp and wolf and flow of my life? Do you see that? I must be asking myself that. What this passage gives us is not only the picture, the imperative, but it also gives us the means. It also gives us the way to develop this kind of costly affection. You see, what the woman did was to honor Jesus and probably most likely, that's all she had in mind. But did you notice that so characteristic, enigmatic statement of Christ when he was commending her? He said, in verse 8, she poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare me to prepare for my burial. Can you imagine what the disciples were thinking? Maybe she was even taken because Jesus was saying in essence what was a very normal custom after a person had died, their body would be anointed as well with spices and perfume and oil to prepare them for proper burial. But Jesus is saying, she's doing this now to prepare for my burial. Why? Because Jesus himself would be the means through which you and I could give ourselves in costly, extravagant, even scandalous in the eyes of some ways to God. Jesus said, look, I know you're talking about the poor. And yet, the poor you will always have with you. But what she is doing is beautiful. Now, what does that have to do with Jesus' burial and his death and this symbolic picture that the woman gave? I think it's this. Jesus isn't saying, deal with the poor later. Deal with me now. He's saying, yes, it is an issue of the poor. He fact he quotes from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verse 11, where it is affirmed that we have responsibility to take care of the poor. But I think what Jesus is saying is this, look, there is a great need for those who are poor physically in the world, but there is a deeper, greater, more profound need that every human being shares. It is the poverty of spirit. It is the bankruptcy of the soul. It's the fact that though I was made to give myself affectionately for my God and for human beings, that I'm at the core of selfish man, that I don't love God with my time and with my resources, that I'm far more concerned with what other people think of me than with what God thinks. And he's saying the true need is for the poverty of spirit. And that's why she's preparing me for this moment. The Apostle Paul commented on this in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, he says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sex he became poor so that you, through his poverty, might become rich. That's the whole purpose of Jesus's death. Is that he who was rich in all respects came out of heaven into our world of spiritual and physical poverty and gave his life he became as it were poor that we who are poor by believing in him alone might become rich. Friends, it is very easy to miss the cross of Jesus Christ. It's very easy to miss the real deep meaning to this woman's anointing of Jesus. Most of the disciples at this point evidently missed it and Judas missed it to his eternal peril. Don't miss the deep, powerful, life-transforming meaning of the cross. It can take someone like a Carla Feitucker who is a hater and turn him into a gentle lover. It can take you who maybe hordes resources that you might willingly, joyfully release them for the love and honor of Jesus and it can take all of us in our poverty and well in up in us, well up in us, a love for Jesus Christ who gives to us his riches. Let's pray. Our Father, I do thank you. I thank you and praise you for the costly, extravagant love that you have given to us through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you that you made him who was rich poor for us that we who are the poor of this world may not know the extraordinary riches found in the love of God to us in Jesus Christ.