March 28, 2004

John W. Fowler

Text: John 12:1-8

Before we come to the Lord’s table, I want to share with you from the Gospel of John, Chapter 12. I want you to consider what it would look like if you gave God an extravagant gift before Easter. What would it look like if you did something extravagant for Him?

Well, there is a new Belk’s in town. I haven’t been there, but I bet many of you have. I know many of you have, because there are a lot of cars in the parking lot. One of the things I know about the Belk’s bill, when it comes, that separates it from the others: It smells well. They always have some kind of cologne or perfume and I have yet to buy any of that, because of that, but at least it does smell well. They still want you, tell you what you owe and want you to pay them, but other than that, I kind of look forward to it. But, you know, usually when I think about perfume, I usually just think of something that helps you to smell better, but apparently in some civilization it has taken on a greater meaning than that. In the Egyptian civilization, of course, they had a great interest in the afterlife. With their mummies they wanted to be sure that they smelled very well. Also they would use it in worship. But Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, though, used it for not real spiritual reasons. She used it to seduce her many lovers. In fact, when Mark Antony came, it is said that the banquet hall was certainly filled with the fragrance of perfume. But the fragrance of perfume that you find in this passage is a very different setting from Cleopatra’s. It’s a fragrance, not only an aroma, a smell, but it is a fragrance of love; it is a fragrance of devotion; it is a fragrance of what happens in someone’s heart when they realize the incredible extravagant gift of God’s Son upon the cross for us.

Who was Mary? Well, we find out about Mary in Luke Chapter 10. She is more than a woman who didn’t want to be in the kitchen. What we find is that Jesus was good friends with her brother Lazarus, and Mary and Martha, who were sisters. We find that Martha was preparing a meal and those of you who have prepared a meal and no one is helping you and you wish they did, well you can understand that Martha was upset.

She comes out and says, “Lord, get my sister to come help me.”

And Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and concerned about many things but only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better portion. It will not be taken from her.”

What does He mean by this? He means that Mary is someone who loves to listen to the Lord and His teachings. But why does she anoint Jesus with this pint of expensive perfume that is worth a year’s wages? Why not just a little bit? Well, you find that out in John, Chapter 11. Apparently her brother Lazarus is very ill and they send word to Jesus. And for some reason Jesus doesn’t come right away. So finally in John, Chapter 11, when he does come, Martha comes out and says, “Lord, why didn’t you come.”

And he tells Martha, “Martha, I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, even though they die, yet shall they live. Do you believe this?”

She said, “Yes, Lord. I believe.”

Mary comes out. Mary, as well, says, “Lord, why didn’t you come?”

“Where is he,” Jesus asked. They go to the tomb. They are weeping. (tape change)

…… the Son upon the cross to die for us. Through that death we have forgiveness for all sins. We have the hope for eternal life through His resurrection. We have the hope and assurance of His great love when we celebrate that. What was the reaction?

Well, Judas, he was real pious about it. He said, “Well, this is wasteful. You could have taken all this perfume, sold it, and given it to the poor.”

Of course, he wouldn’t give it all to the poor. He was embezzling. He was a thief, so it is no wonder that he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. There will always be those people who don’t just understand extravagant love and service for Christ.

What was the reaction of Jesus? He said, “Leave her alone. She has done something very beautiful for Me.” It was more than a dinner in his honor, for He knew that here was someone who believed His words that He would die, and was preparing Him for His burial.

The reaction of the chief priests? “Let’s kill Jesus and Lazarus too. It is one thing for blind men to see, for lame men to walk, or even four or five thousand people being fed with just a few fishes and loaves, but when dead men start coming out of tombs, we have got to put a stop to it.” And they plotted to do so.

What is your reaction to this extravagant gift of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for you? Sometimes it takes the form of giving possessions, as it did in this case. For about three years I went to a lot of meetings to start a UMAR home. That is a home for developmentally delayed young adults. Good meetings, well planned. Everybody came. Good group. Even had some land up in West Jefferson, but we obviously had a problem. We didn’t have enough money. We didn’t have near enough money. But then two very extravagant things happened. A Mr. and Mrs. Hensley, who are in Heaven now, decided to die. When they died, they left a million dollars to their church. Not many people do that, but they left a million dollars to their congregation.

But then another extravagant thing happened. This congregation decided to take up three hundred thousand of this million, after a lot of thought and prayer and conversation, to build this home that will touch people’s lives. That is extravagant.

Sometimes it will take the form of time which you spend on people. You and the Lord know. Rick Warren says it this way in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, “You are created for service. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This acrostic will spell SHAPE, for you are shaped for service. And this is truly where the joy of the Lord comes from.

And also one gift that we can bring to Him as well, are those things that weigh us down and hinder our service. Max Lucado in his little booklet called, Give it All to Him, calls it garbage. What he means by that is like some people go through life like they are holding two garbage bags and they won’t let them go. He talks about the ship, the Pelicano. Back in 1986, Philadelphia’s garbage workers went on strike. It was a long summer. Some fifteen thousand tons of garbage pile up. This freighter took it, thinking that it was a good business deal, but it wasn’t. It is the hobo of the high seas. Nobody wants them to dock. Nobody wants their garbage. But you see, we don’t have to hang on to any pain or fear that has captured us. We don’t need to hang onto any sin. We can bring it to the Lord’s supper and seek His healing and His forgiveness. Lucado closes with this prayer:

“Dear Jesus, I have been carrying around sacks of shame, worry, pain, resentment and failure for too long. I have tried to live with the guilt and hurt but they have grown heavy. My arms ache. My heart grieves. I can’t move forward any longer. I realize that freedom begins not only by confessing my sin but by giving it to You. Once my sins are released from me to You, then you take my burdens to the Cross and there dispose of them forever. I once carried failure, but now I have forgiveness. I once carried hate, but now I have hope. I once carried fear, but now I have freedom. Thank you for removing the garbage of my life. No longer is my life the same old story. Now there is a new beginning. I am free because it is all in Your hands. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Amen.”