At The Feet of Jesus
November 13, 2022
We were made to worship. You and I and everyone living today were made to worship God. But we have a worship problem. We were created by God to fear Him, to revere Him, be awestruck by Him alone, but all too often we fear man. We adjust our lives to the expectations of others, so we might experience love and acceptance from our friends and family. But that’s a worship problem because we often put family before God. We were created to bring glory to God’s great name, but we spend most of our lives trying to make a name for ourselves. That too is a worship problem. We were put here to find our greatest joy in a relationship with Him, but we find ourselves continually chasing after happiness in what we do or how much we accumulate – so much so that we often miss out on God’s delight in us for just being us. That too is a worship problem. We were created to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but we settle for the lesser joys of this life. As C.S. Lewis so profoundly out it: We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We were made to worship. But if we are truly honest with ourselves – most of us have never experienced a heart so captivated by who God is and what He has done that we’ve never fully abandoned ourselves to uninhibited worship of God.
In fact, there has only been a few times in my life when I’ve witnessed God’s people so captured by the heart of God, that they abandoned their hearts to Him in worship. One of those times happened to be when I was a youth pastor. In the early nineties, when I was a Youth Pastor, we would take students on a summer mission trip called SEMP. Students Equipped to Minister to Their Peers. For eight mornings students would be trained on how to share their faith, then in the afternoons they were sent into the city with a questionnaire. At the conclusion of the questionnaire, if people were open to hearing more, the students could share the gospel with them. While they were out on the streets, a fifth of the students stayed back to prayed. All we asked of the students on the streets was to be obedient to asking people if they’d be willing to answer a few of questions about spiritual life. If some were ready for more, they could share the gospel. That’s what was asked of them. Then, we would gather and debrief what happened that day. Some students would share how they’d talked with a stranger for the first time, others how they were able to share the gospel, and sometimes we would hear how God brought someone to faith in Jesus.
After about four days of these students trusting God to help them be obedient, something began to happen. God began to become very real to them. And we’d see it during our evening worship. As the students began singing songs of praise – these normally self-focused, self-conscious kids would begin to abandon themselves in worship: baseball caps would come off, students would go to their knees and tears of joy would flood down their faces. They abandoned themselves in their worship of God. And it was remarkable to witness. And my question for us today is this: Wouldn’t you like to be so captivated by Jesus, that you’d worship Him with all your heart? That you’d be so full of love for God that you worship him with unashamed abandon?
Well, if you’ve ever wanted to express your love of God like that but didn’t know how to get there – then I want to invite you to join me at the feet of Jesus to observe how one woman shows us the way. Her name is Mary, and her story is told for us in John 12:1-8. So, if you have your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to go there, where we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Let’s pick up the story in verse 1… Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. John 12:1-2
Just days prior to this dinner Jesus had done his most dramatic miracle: Jesus had come to Bethany because his friend Lazarus was ill. But he arrived too late. For once he arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Mary and Martha were both disappointed Jesus hadn’t come earlier. But soon we learned why. For after entering their grief, Jesus went to the tomb and raised Lazarus from the dead. Many who saw this miraculous sign immediately put their faith in Jesus. But the religious leaders who were there, went back to Jerusalem and told what had happened. And even though they acknowledged Jesus’ signs and miracles were from God, they determined that it would be better if he be put to death, rather than they lose their place as leaders over Israel. So, on that day they conspire to put Jesus to death.
So now Jesus needed to lay low – to stay out of the public eye. But Passover was at hand, and he was about to go to Jerusalem. But before he does, a dinner is held in his honor. And now, at this dinner, Mary, show us where genuine heartfelt worship begins. It begins by…
Sitting at the feet of Jesus: Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. This isn’t the first time we see Mary at the feet of Jesus. In Luke’s gospel he tells us of the time when Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to his teaching. If you recall the story, Martha was busy preparing the meal. Martha was all about doing something for Jesus. But Mary simply wanted to be with Jesus. And to that, Jesus said, Mary had chosen the better way. The next place we see Mary at the feet of Jesus, was in the previous chapter, where she fell at the feet of Jesus in the midst of her grief over the death of her brother. And now here, at this meal, Mary is once again at the feet of Jesus, where she now anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair.
With this selfless act, Mary models for us something about the heart of worship. Genuine heartfelt worship begins with humility. To cleanse the feet of a guest was the task of a slave. This is the position Mary took as she anointed Jesus’ feet. And it shows us something of her heart. By sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary was not only expressing her desire to be with Jesus, but the yielding of her heart to Jesus. Taking this position at his feet reveals her surrender to Jesus. And this is where worship must begin.
So, the path to heartfelt worship begins when you surrender to Jesus. When you trust that His ways are better than your ways. When you believe His will is better than your will. When you chose to take your seat at His feet, you declare you need to learn from Jesus. And when that happens, when you take your seat at the feet of Jesus, you show a change of heart. You show that you want what Jesus wants and no longer what you want. That’s humility. And that’ what we see in Mary. Mary understood that Jesus was greater than her, and it was her joy to her to rest at His feet and learn from him.
What about you? Have you surrendered your heart, your way, your life to Jesus? We don’t naturally surrender to anyone. We have a hard time being dependent on others. Our culture has taught us this from early on. Our world teaches you to go your own way, to listen to your heart, to stand your ground, and question authority. Surrender and dependence are looked upon as weakness. But without this kind of dependence at the feet of Jesus, you can’t really worship Him.
Oh, you may’ve put your trust in Jesus, but sitting at the feet of Jesus – surrendering your life to Jesus seems a bit much. Perhaps it’s because you think you know what’s best. That’s a common affliction in Christians who lack heartfelt worship of God: You get so used to controlling your life, that you leave no room for God to lead you. But here Mary has shown us the path to the heart of Jesus; a path that’s open to all disciples. And if you are willing to take this path, if you’re willing to sit at the feet of Jesus, then not only will you begin to learn from Jesus, but Jesus will begin to open your heart to His. This is where true worship begins – at the feet of Jesus… Now Mary, of course, doesn’t just sit there, in her humility she now performs an act of worship that blows everyone away. She expresses her heartfelt worship now by…
Anointing the feet of Jesus: Let’s look at verse three again: Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. John 12:3 There are two pictures of extravagant worship here. The first is the pouring out this expensive perfume. What Mary uses to anoint Jesus’ feet was a pint of pure nard: an aromatic herb from the mountains of India, imported in alabaster bottles. This nard was so expensive that people used it for investment purposes, much like how we invest in gold today. This particular nard was worth 300 denarii. One denarii was about a day’s wages, so this gift of love was the equivalent to a year’s salary. To pour it all on Jesus’ feet was so extravagant, so luxurious, so costly that what she was doing was either of pure foolishness or unbridled worship.
But Mary doesn’t simply pour perfume at Jesus’ feet. She washes his feet with her hair. Now you need to understand, women simply didn’t let down their hair in public. Only their husbands got to see their hair. So not only was this an extravagant and costly act of worship; it was an act of unfettered devotion. She loved Jesus so much she didn’t care what anyone else in the room would think. She wiped his feet with her hair knowing full well what her intimate expression revealed: that there was to be no question of her love for Jesus.
So, what does this act of extravagant worship teach us? First, no gift is too precious or costly to lay at the feet of Jesus. This perfume was no cheap knockoff. She doesn’t dab just a little on the inside of his wrists. She brings out the best, most extravagant, most expensive perfume imaginable and pours every ounce on him. Her gift was her way of telling us, “Jesus is worth it!” Second, she was not ashamed to let anyone know how much she loved Jesus. This second example challenges me. I hope it challenges you. This is where our fear of man keeps us from freely expressing our love for Jesus. Mary was so humble, she forgot herself and expressed her love freely and without fear. She holds nothing back. That’s worship.
What an example! When Mary anointed the feet of Jesus, she gave her best and she gave her all, regardless of the cost or consequences. May it be that we would do the same and tell the world, “Jesus is worth it!”
And when we worship Jesus in such a way that we give our all regardless of the cost or consequences, something happens… That’s the next observation I want us to see here. By giving her best and her all, Mary’s worship makes an impact. So, what we see next is this: Fruitfulness at the feet of Jesus: And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3 Mary’s worship of Jesus had impact on everyone in the room, but that impact would go much further than to those in the room. For in Marks’s Gospel Jesus tells us that, “wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told.” (Mark 14:9). So, the story of her worship is being told today. That’s impact. But there’s even more impact than that, for this one act of unbridled love serves another purpose. For when she anointed the feet of Jesus she was preparing Jesus to enter Jerusalem as the anointed One – as the Messiah!
In fact, history tells us, this is precisely how the Jews crowned their kings: Instead of being crowned during a coronation, Hebrew kings were anointed with sacred oil perfumed with extremely expensive spices. This anointing oil would have been more valuable than diamonds – just like this pure nard. And here’s the reason why: The fragrance of this perfume acted like an invisible “crown.” During royal processions, the fragrance of this anointing would INFORM the crowds their King was passing by.
Listen to this description of a newly anointed King Solomon: So Zadok the priest… went down and put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound. 1 Kings 1:38-40
Do you see what Mary did here? She not only worshiped Jesus, but she also anointed him as the Messiah. And the fragrance of this anointing would not be temporary. Wherever Jesus went during the days leading up to his crucifixion Jesus carried the fragrance of royalty. For the very next thing that happens in Jesus’ story, we will find Jesus riding on a mule, just like Solomon and he will enter Jerusalem as the anointed One. And the people will rejoice saying: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Blessed is the King of Israel.” John 12:13
That’s the impact of Mary’s worship. Mary’s anointing of Jesus announced the arrival of the King. And that’s what we do when we give our best and our all to Him – in worship. We declare with our hearts, with our lips, with our lives, that Jesus is our King. That’s the fruitfulness of our worship! When we abandon ourselves in worship of our King, something beautiful is released. Perhaps there is even a fragrance released – a fragrance that fills the room and declares Jesus is worthy!
So far, we’ve seen that worship begins when we sit at the feet of Jesus… Worship is expressed when we give our best, our all. And our worship will declare Jesus as our King. And that’s all great. But sometimes there will be those who will be offended by our worship. And that’s what we see next at the feet of Jesus. We see…
Critics at the feet of Jesus: Listen to how John records this in verse 4: But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6
Now, let’s not be too quick to jump all over Judas here. Can you imagine what kind of ministry can be had for a year’s worth of wages? The average minimum wage for a year in Arizona comes to $25,600. How many pairs of shoes could we purchase for poor children? How many mouths could we feed? You may be thinking, that’s where Judas was coming from here. But it’s not. That was not his motive. His motive was self-serving not for serving the poor. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
John reports that Judas used to pilfer from the money purse. The verb he uses is bastadzo, which means “to pick up.” John is implying that this pilfering had already become a settled trait in Judas, and the value of this perfume would certainly have made for some rich pickings… So what we are seeing here is a complete contrast in worship between Mary and Judas. Mary’s worship was self-forgetting. Judas’ worship was all about self-getting. Jesus taught us about this in the Sermon on the Mount: “You can’t worship two gods atonce. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24 (The Message)
So, Judas serves as a warning to us today. He looked and spoke the part of a disciple. And he could have supported his suggestion of giving to the poor from countless OT Scriptures. But what we see here is that his motive was evil – it was selfish. He was only concerned about what he could get from Jesus. But Mary, on the other hand, saw her possessions as an opportunity to worship Jesus.
What can we take from this? There will be people who will question your motives. But don’t worry, for if your heart is captured by your God, like Mary’s… it won’t matter! Because God knows your heart. Which leads to our final observation that comes at the feet of Jesus, and that is this:
Truth at the feet of Jesus: “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:7-8 Mary may not have been aware that she was anointing Jesus for his burial. She and all the others in the room may not have understood what Jesus meant. But we can take something from Jesus words. Her worship was preparing Him for burial. In less than a week, Jesus was going to the cross to die for the sins of the world; be buried and then on the third day, rise from the grave victorious over sin and death. So what Jesus is telling us is this: Mary’s worship had a purpose.
That means your worship has a purpose. For when you worship Jesus, you tell the world that Jesus is your Savior. You tell the world that Jesus didn’t just die for your sins, but He defeated death and is alive today. You tell the world you worship the King and His name is Jesus.
This is what we were made for. This is what we were saved for: We were made to worship Jesus. So let us be a people who aren’t too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus.
Let us be a people who aren’t ashamed to let others know how much we love Jesus.
And let us become a people who aren’t afraid to give Jesus our best, so that our world might know that God gave His best for us. Let’s pray.
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