Illustration from a sermon by Jeff Strite
Timothy Dexter was born in Massachusetts in 1747. At the age of 20 he took his life savings -- a grand total of $9 -- and moved to Newburyport, MA where he met and married a wealthy 31 year old widow.
Fancying himself to be a shrewd businessman, he used his wife’s money to buy stocks because that was what the other businessmen in the community were doing. But he didn’t know which stocks to purchase, so he simply bought the cheapest ones available.
To everyone’s surprise his stocks rose in value and he sold them for a profit.
Apparently Dexter bragged a lot about his good fortune, and the other businessmen in town began to see him as an annoying fool. So they began to amuse themselves by giving him lunatic business tips. One merchant told him the West Indies (where colonization was booming) was sorely in need of warming pans, mittens and Bibles. Dexter was so impressed by what the man told him that he went out and bought more than 40,000 warming pans, 40,000 pairs of mittens, and 40,000 Bibles and shipped them out.
What Dexter didn’t realize that the West Indies were in an extremely hot part of the world and his investment looked extremely foolish to anyone who understood the region. But it just so happened that when his ship docked in the West Indies there was a religious revival taking place, and his Bibles were purchased at a 100% profit.
As if that weren’t enough, a fleet of Russian trading ships was visiting the West Indies and they had their agents immediately buy up the mittens to the last pair.
The warming pans sat idly in the warehouse until some inventive planter discovered that they made ideal skimmers for ladling molasses into vats and so each and every pan was sold for a profit. These incredible sales made Dexter enormously wealthy.
Now, the other merchants were not just annoyed by Dexter... they became extremely jealous of him. So they planned to purposely ruin him by urging him to invest every dime he possessed to ship coal to Newcastle, England. They did such an excellently job of convincing Dexter of the sure-fire benefits of this investment that he hired scores of sailing ships, and filled their holds with all the soft Virginia coal he could find, and sent them off to England.
What Dexter didn’t know was that Newcastle was the center of England’s coal mining industry. THEY DIDN’T NEED COAL! They had plenty of their own.
But instead of being ruined, Dexter’s amazing good luck held. Just before his ships arrived, the mine workers of Newcastle held a massive strike. And with no one to work the mines there was a shortage of coal in the area. When Dexter’s ships arrived, his coal was purchased at enormous profit making him twice as rich as he had been before.
If you want to be like Timothy Dexter of spiritual things, and get amazing, unexpected returns on your spiritual investments, you should devote yourself to the kind of worship Mary gave to Jesus.
The truth is God doesn’t need our money. Ps. 51:16-17 says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He does not need our cattle. God does not need our gifts at all. He is much more interested in our hearts.
READ Matthew 26:6- 13
We know from the Gospel of John that Jesus was staying with Mary and Martha the week of Passover. Bethany was only about 3 KMS from Jerusalem, and it was a comfortable walk to go back and forth the week of the festival. Apparently a man in the city of Mary and Martha invited Jesus to dinner, and Mary was invited as well (this story should not be confused with the story in Luke 7, where a Pharisee also named Simon invited Jesus to a meal and a woman of ill repute anointed Jesus with oil--Simon was a common name in those days. Josephus records stories of 12 different Simons in his history - there were at least two Simons among Jesus’ disciples - Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot).
Here we have the story of Simon, the leper who invites Jesus to come over. He lives in Bethany where Mary and Martha are from. Mary was also invited for dinner. As a leper, Simon would not have had the privilege of providing the traditional greeting of an honored guest. They would pour anointing oil over the guest. In fact even though Jesus was invited to Simon’s house, he probably ate separately. That was part of what was required of a leper. So he may have had this responsibility to be distributed. Mary, as a neighbor to Simon, took the responsibility upon herself to anoint Jesus. But she did not want to use Simon’s oil. As David said, "I will not offer to my Lord that which costs me nothing." She brought a package with her from her home to Simon’s. Verse 7 says, "A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table."
Pouring oil on Jesus head and feet should remind us of the anointing of Aaron and the priests, and the anointing of David as King. We should see that it is like that -- any of the priests had to be anointed on their head, their thumb and their great toe, reminder that their mind and heart should be anointed with the Spirit of God, that their hand should be doing the work with the anointing of God. That their feet should go according to the anointing of God. In the similar way, Mary is pouring the ointment on his hair, and from the Gospel of Mark we know that she also anointed His feet.
The alabaster jar was the standard container for very valuable and expensive perfume. The nard (Mark 14) Mary poured out may have actually come from India-made from the plant spikenard.
A little info on Spikenard:
(Wikipedia) Spikenard (Nardostachys grandiflora or Nardostachys jatamansi; also called nard, nardin, and muskroot ) is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in Nepal also found around Himalayas of China, and India. It is found in the altitude of about 3000--5000 meters. Spikenard rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine.
The process of creating this essential oil, this perfume, may instruct us concerning the meaning of Mary’s worship. The word worship whether in Hebrew or in Greek means to bow down, to come before a King or a great power, and to pour yourself before that person in supplication. It has the same meaning in Greek too. It comes from the word to kiss. It has to do with falling down on your face and kissing the feet of a master or a king or a lord. Mary comes and anoints Jesus’ feet. It is an act of worship.
This kind of worship must be crushed to be useful. Then it must be carried a great distance to reach its destination. It was very expensive. For Mary, worship of Jesus was Sacrificial.
Verse 8 says, "When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9 "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
We know from the Gospel of John that this was Judas speaking, but other disciples surely agreed with him. The value set, even if it was a bit of an exaggeration, was very high-300 days wages. To place a modern value on it, we can take an average income for a year-the Indians who migrate to the US make an average of more than 60,000 dollars a year. Maybe we should not take that as average.
In India, a worker in a supermarket may make about Rs. 6,000/- a month (about 100 dollars), while a high-level manager for an IT company like HP may make 1 lakh a month (about 2000 dollars). Even if we take a low average income, at about Rs. 10,000/- a month, that would be 1.2 lakhs a year(about 2500 dollars).
So imagine having a perfume that cost about Rs.1,00,000/- for a bottle! If I went to a perfume store, I would not buy that perfume. You can get good ones for a lot lesser than that. But this was something extremely valuable. In the ancient world that would be a huge sum--this may have even been Mary’s dowry, probably the most valuable possession she had in her home.
There was a reason why she had kept it. Here she was pouring this precious ointment on Jesus head & feet (Mark).
If we have to think of something of that value (worth over Rs.1,00,000/-) poured out on hair and feet, it would be shocking! If Judas were to be here he would have said, "Why this waste? This could have been sold and the money taken and given to the poor." We probably would say, "Yeah that is a good idea. What are you doing taking this thing and pouring it out? What a waste?" And so the disciples were shocked.
1. SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP IS BEAUTIFUL TO GOD. (Matthew 26:10)
John 4:20 -- Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman and there is a conversation on worship. Jesus says in verse 23 that the Father is seeking for true worshippers that worship Him in spirit and in truth.
God is looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and truth-such worship is beautiful to Him. He is looking for you and He will find you. God is looking for people who will lay everything out before Him.
2. SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP IS BETTER THAN CHARITY (Matthew 26:11)
Charity is good, and giving to the poor is good but sacrificial worship is better.
3. SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP UNDERSTANDS WHO GOD IS. (Matthew 26:12)
It seems among the followers of Jesus, only Mary listened to Jesus and understood He was about to die. Only she seemed to be listening. Jesus had just said:
Matthew 26:1 - When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 "As you know, the Passover is two days away--and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
John reminds us in the gospel that the disciples did not understand that Jesus was going to die and rise again. The disciples should have known, but did not allow the words of Jesus to sink in. Mary did. Mary was listening with a desire to understand.
Sometimes we read the Bible and we can read a whole chapter and realize that you did not understand what you read. So you read it again and you try to pay attention!
We can actually hear the Word of God, but unless it has the transformative power working within us, it does not have an impact. We do not read with understanding.
So Jesus said Mary was anointing Him for His burial.
4. SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP IS ETERNAL (Matthew 26:13)
God never forgets the worship we give Him. He may forget our good works - Jesus said many will come in that day and say "Lord, Lord...did we not do this and that..." and give a long list of all their good works, and He will say "Depart from me you workers of iniquity".
He is more interested in the relationship that we have with Him.
When we worship Him and pour ourselves before Him, we commune with Him, love and adore Him. When we sing praises from our hearts, because of the love pouring from our hearts that is something that lasts forever!
He may forget our donations. Jesus said if we give and sound the trumpet ahead of us, announcing our generosity, we have already received our reward.
When the basket comes in for offering, if you got Rs.10/-, you kind of stick it in quietly. If you have Rs.1,000/-, you take it out and check it. You make sure it is real, and you drop it from above and let it float slowly...Jesus said if you announce it, there will be no reward awaiting us in heaven. But our worship will be recorded for all time.
ILLUSTRATION
A friend was talking to me about the place where he works that there was a man who came and decided to put up an idol. Now the idol was Mary, but it is an idol. And they had this little slot, where you can come in and say your prayer, and drop a little donation.
I tell you Mary does not get any of that donation. And I can tell you also that Mary is not watching and she does not care. You know who actually gets this money? There is this thug who takes money from the little guys, who come and deliver newspapers or delivers milk, and then he goes to the back of the statue of Mary and collects the money given to Mary. You can give money to an idol and it is not going to give you any honor before God, at all!
If you think when you give to God, He is going to bless you -- you are actually worshipping an idol and not worshipping the God of the Bible. We give to Him what belongs to Him already. Any donation that we give is given to us in the first place. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, the Father of lights. (James 1) He does not need our money. We bless Him, because He has blessed us and we love Him, because He has loved us. You cannot purchase His favors.
ILLUSTRATION:
Jim Elliot was in college, studying to go to the mission field. He had a group -- the Auca Indians in Central America that he had prayed about and he felt that God was sending him. There were four friends of his. They all went to bring the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these Indians. They were cannibals. There had never been a person from outside who went to this tribe, without being killed. They never came out alive. And these group of men felt the call of God and they went. They were killed. They were stabbed with spears. But the wives of these men went to the same tribe and said, "You killed our husbands, and we want to tell you that we forgive you. And we want to tell you about Jesus who gave us the ability to forgive you and tell you the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." And the whole tribe came to Christ.
Before he died, Jim Elliot wrote in his notebook, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose."
Sacrificial worship is eternal, you cannot lose it. It gives you communion with God here on earth and it lasts into eternity. It cannot pass away.
5. SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP IS LOVING.
When the sinful woman mingled perfume with her tears (in Luke 7) and poured them on Jesus feet, Jesus said this was an expression of her love. He said, "He who is forgiven much loves much".
READ I Corinthians 13
ILLUSTRATION:
(Compiled from Wikipedia)
Nathan Hale was born and raised in New York City in the late 1700’s. When the United States declared independence from Britain, he volunteered for the American army. He was appreciated by those who knew him as an intelligent and sensible man. He was also a devout Christian. When any of the soldiers of his company were sick he "always visited them and usually prayed for and with them in their sickness".
On September 8, 1776, when a request for a volunteer to spy to investigate troop movements of the British in Manhattan, Hale volunteered-a very dangerous assignment, since a spy caught in time of war carried the penalty of death by hanging as illegal combatants. Two weeks later, September 21, near the headquarters of British General, William Howe, Hale was discovered by British troops and arrested. William Howe reportedly was questioned Hale, and physical evidence was found on him. He was sentenced to death by hanging. According to tradition, Hale spent the night in a greenhouse at the mansion where Howe was stationed. He requested a Bible; his request was denied. Sometime later, he requested a clergyman. Again, the request was denied.
On the morning of September 22, 1776, Hale was marched along Post Road to the Park of Artillery, which was next to a public house called the Dove Tavern (at modern day 66th Street and Third Avenue), and hanged. He was 21 years old.
From the memoirs of Captain William Hull, quoting British Captain John Montresor, who was present and who spoke to Hull under a flag of truce the next day: "’On the morning of his execution . . . my station was near the fatal spot, and I requested the Provost Marshal . . . to permit the prisoner to sit in my marquee, while he was making the necessary preparations. Captain Hale entered: he was calm, and bore himself with gentle dignity, in the consciousness of rectitude and high intentions. He asked for writing materials, which I furnished him: he wrote two letters, one to his mother and one to a brother officer.’ He was shortly after summoned to the gallows. But a few persons were around him, yet his . . . dying words were remembered.
He said, ’I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.’"
Nathan Hale loved his country and was willing to die for it.
Mary loved Jesus and was willing to pour herself out for Him. She was willing to pour the most valuable possession she had and poured it out on Jesus.
What are we willing to pour out? Are we willing to give Jesus everything that we have? Jesus was willing to lay down His life for us because He loves us.
Worship is pouring yourself out. It is laying down your life in honor of One who is greater than you. Jesus was willing to pour Himself for us. What did we do to deserve that kind of honor and love and gift? How much more should we be pouring out to Him? Giving to Him? Consecrating ourselves to Him? Taking what is most valuable to us and handing it over to our Lord -- whatever it is. ..a possession, an ability, a talent, a way of thinking, a gift, commerce...whatever it is. Like the elders who had the crowns and seated on the throne in Rev. 4 & 5, what do they do? They take it off and throw them at their Master’s feet. They say, "You are worthy to receive glory and honor and praise!"
