Shaped by Grace
John 12:1-8
March 25, 2007
They were friends.
Friends - having spent time together
- with each other.
- appreciating each other.
The Bible says they loved one another so much so that when one suffered all of them suffered.
Friends - Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus.
And so when Lazarus became sick. When Mary and Martha’s brother suddenly took ill, they sent for Jesus, their friend. Begging him to come and help the one he loved.
And you know the story. When Jesus did finally come, it seemed to Mary and Martha and to their friends who were grieving with them that it was too late. Jesus hadn’t come early enough.
"Lord," the sisters say in unison though at different times, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
It is quite a statement. We along with them believe it or want to believe it to be true. That if Jesus would have showed up on time.
If Jesus would not have been late.
If Jesus had just been in the room, then everything would have been all right.
Yes of course Jesus could have cured Lazarus before death over took him but to think that Jesus automatically heals, cures whenever one of his loved ones calls out for help is just not true.
Just ask Cherie Freeman.
Margaret Stewart or
Gayle Metcalf
When Jesus hears the hopes of Mary and Martha. When he sees their tears and the mourners who have gathered with them, his first action was not anything Godlike, but more human; "He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." V. 33 says
Jesus first reaction.
His response to seeing grief and the loss to death of his friends Lazarus was that God himself felt that same loss and he wept. (V. 35)
John wants to make this clear.
v. 33 Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
v. 35 Jesus wept.
v. 38 Jesus once more deeply moved.
These verses tell us, describe for us the human side of Jesus, mourning alongside his friends. Mary, Martha and alongside the friends.
Our God weeps
In the midst of his weeping, he makes the decision and takes the action to restore life to the dead man Lazarus. He is take to the tomb and once there gives the command to call the stone away.
He prays to his Father.
And then commands Lazarus to come out.
And he came.
Leaving death for life.
The darkness for the light.
Leaving the confining strips of linen for the comfortable freedom of his clothes.
"Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Life had been restored. Life returned. Life resurrected. Jesus had commanded Lazarus to leave death and the tomb behind in order that there be room for him to enter it shortly.
You see Jesus knows that this most incredible of any of the miracles seals the deal for him. He is as good as dead now. He will soon find his place where Lazarus was. Dead.
The religious leaders in the verses that follow plot to kill him. v. 53, says
They get ready to pounce. This has been their ambition all along, but now it is clear Jesus will die. He will. They’re determined.
I wish John would have told us what happened when Lazarus came out of the tomb.
I wish John would have given us some details.
Did Mary and Martha faint?
Did a party begin?
Did Jesus smile and raise his hands in triumph or did he simply fade away, letting the mourners celebrate this good work.
John doesn’t tell us. Instead what he does is to tell us of a gathering days later in chapter 12. After the crowds had left, Lazarus empty tomb a gathering with Jesus was planned. The text tells us that Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Judas were there. Most likely a few others.
This gathering was for dinner. The purpose to say thanks to and to honor Jesus. The dinner was to honor the one who had given life back to Lazarus. This dinner was an opportunity for Martha and Mary to say thank you. The crowds were gone. The reporters onto the next news story. It was just them. Them alone in a house at evening time. A time for them to express their thankfulness.
Before we jump into how Martha, Lazarus and Mary expressed their thankfulness to Jesus, let me simply poise the question to you.
How have you expressed your thankfulness to your God?
How?
I’m not asking "if" you have or "when" you have but how?
How, in what ways, have you demonstrated a grateful heart to our God?
A week ago Friday we met up with some good friends at Larrabee State Park for a BBQ. It was a lousy day, but a beautiful time with them. Our menu that day was our burnt hotdogs, Doritos, cupcakes and juice.
When the kids had finished, our friends kids came up to Deb and said, "Thank you for this nice meal. May I be excused please?"
Deb nearly fell of the picnic table.
Though she was embarrassed by the meal, 4 young kids each approached Deb with a thankful heart and expressed their thanks.
So if kids can do this so must we adults.
So how do you?
How have you?
or how will you express your gratitude to our God?
The text tells us 1st how Martha demonstrates her gratefulness for bringing Lazarus back to life. In verse 2, John writes these words. "Here (Bethany) a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served. Martha served.
John uses is the imperfect tense, which means this serving was a continual activity.
Martha didn’t just put out some nibbles and call it good.
She didn’t put in a lasagna from Costco, empty some salad from a bag into a bowl.
Knowing a little bit about Martha from other passages of scripture, I’m guessing she was a bit of Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and Graham Kerr combined.
She served.
She continuously served.
Because her debt was big.
Because she was so indebted to Jesus.
She was willing to spend her day honoring Jesus through her service.
Martha served.
Lazarus on the other hand, sat. He simply sat. Verse 2 reads, "Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Jesus." Now I know what some of you ladies are thinking, what do you expect from a guy.
Guys sit while girls serve. Fair enough, but on this day, Martha could hardly have cared. I’ve got to believe that she was thrilled to have her brother sitting in the house again.
Lazarus sat - grateful to Jesus for the life that had been restored.
Lazarus sat - thankful to Jesus for the opportunity for more of life.
He sat filled with such deep gratitude that all he wanted to do was to be with the man who had restored him to life.
Lazarus sat.
Yesterday before I got ready to go to Margaret Stewart mom’s funeral, Deb and I ended up sitting together in my little study at home.
It was the highlight of the day.
In the middle of the day with 3 awake kids.
Deb and I sat beside each other.
With our weekend "to do" lists still long.
With lunch to prepare.
We simply sat together.
We connected.
We listened to each other and talked.
I’m telling you, I look forward to doing that again.
We can express honor and thankfulness to our God, as Lazarus did,
if we will take the time to sit.
To be still.
To slow down and realize just how faithful our God has been.
Martha served.
Lazarus sat.
Mary sacrificed.
In the midst of this scene of thankfulness and gratitude comes Mary.
She must have excused herself from the others and when she returns she came carrying a pint of pure nard, which to us doesn’t mean a thing but John helps us. "It’s an expensive perfume."
And then she does 4 remarkable things, verse 3 tells us.
She loosens her hair in public and lets it down.
She pours the perfume on Jesus’ feet rather than his head.
She touches Jesus the Rabbi.
She wipes his feet with her hair.
Mary sacrifices.
She sacrifices her reputation, for no respectable women in Palestine would ever appear in public with her hair down.
Mary sacrifices financially, pouring out a year’s worth of salary.
Pouring out her w2 form on the feet, not the head, but the feet of Jesus.
And then wiping Jesus’ feet with her loosened hair.
Mary’s sacrifice speaks of extravagant love
deep humility
and unselfconsciousness.
She had been touched deeply. And consequently she was willing to sacrifice out of the depth of her thankfulness.
In these 3 expressions of thankfulness to Jesus, I believe we find one common theme:
Martha
Lazarus
Mary
each were shaped by God’s Grace.
These 2 sisters and their brother respond in thankfulness with hearts filled with gratitude because they had been shaped, touched, formed, molded by God’s grace.
Grace - the enormous free gift of God - given by God to any and all that are willing to receive it in order that they become fully alive in Him.
Those to whom God’s grace has been lavishly poured are those in whom thankfulness must grow.
Let me say that again. Those to whom God’s grace has been lavishly given, are those in whom thankfulness must grow.
The most thankful are those who have recognized who they were and who they now are by God’s grace.
Those most able to be grateful are those who have counted their blessings one by one.
Martha, Lazarus and Mary realized that Jesus was gracious to them and they chose to respond in thankfulness. They had been shaped by God’s grace.
Judas hadn’t been, not him.
He hadn’t sat down to realize what Jesus had done when he invited him to be his disciple.
Verse 4 and 5 tells us that:
When Mary took, blessed, broke and poured out her perfume on Jesus
When Mary sacrificially expressed her gratefulness to Jesus for healing her brother, Judas objected, saying out loud, "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It is worth a year’s wages."
I see his point. Yes that could make sense but not when you’ve been grace has come near.
You see Mary’s gratefulness caused her to only see Jesus and to honor him only
Jesus’ grace had touched her so deeply that she could see only him.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replies, "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."
In other words -act now.
-she did right.
-soon I’ll be in that tomb.
Mary when Jesus comes into her home seizes the opportunity to bless Jesus her Lord.
She acts generously.
She acts immediately.
With all the illness and the death that has hit our Church lately the immediacy of this text is striking. Many of our own have been facing deaths door and in such times thoughts of thankfulness and gratitude tend to bubble to the surface.
When a person has died or lives in bed quite ill, it is easy to forget the wrong and be grateful for the good.
Yesterday Margaret wrote a fabulous tribute to her mom, it came easily in a sense. Margaret was so grateful.
Friends, we are 2 weeks away from Easter, it is upon us. On Easter, we celebrate the power of God to conquer death so that we don’t have to enter the dark grave.
Many of us will simply live these next 14 days like we have the past 14. Life as usual. But let me caution you otherwise. Don’t. You can’t. You mustn’t. Because our God has brought many of you from death’s dark door.
God has rescued many of you from the depths of sin.
God has come near to you when you’ve needed him most.
So, I will not excuse you from the picnic table without having each of you say to our God that for which you are grateful.
Our God has, is and will be shaping you. Blessed are we and blessed is He when we recognize this and respond as
Martha
Lazarus
and Mary did.
Don’t be a Judas, a greedy and thinking only of himself.
Thinking of better uses for your time, money and energy.
Don’t fall to that temptation
Now take the time while you have it to tell our God how you have been shaped by his grace.
Amen
