COSTLY DEVOTION
John 12:1-11
1) Costly devotion is sacrificial (1-3). Weird word isn’t it-‘nard’. Doesn’t sound very expensive, does it? Sounds too close to lard. “Hey, honey, look what I bought for you; this perfume called Nard! I got you a whole pint of it!” As weird sounding as it is, nard was some pretty precious stuff. This expensive perfume was worth a year’s wages (5). Let that sink in for a moment. Sacrificing a whole year’s worth of your income. We’re not sure how this expensive perfume came to rest in Mary’s hands but however she had acquired it she was willing to sacrifice it in order to honor Jesus. She was honoring Jesus for bringing her brother back to life. She was honoring the friendship they shared. She was honoring her Savior. Sacrificing this expensive perfume was her way of showing Jesus that he was priceless to her. William Barclay’s commentary, “Mary took the most precious thing she possessed and spent it all on Jesus. Love is not love if it nicely calculates the cost. It gives its all and its only regret is that it has not still more to give.” In Matthew’s account of this event, it says that she anointed his head while here in John it says his feet. It’s not a contradiction it is an issue of emphasis. In John it mentioned the feet probably because of the surprising act of Mary wiping his feet with her hair. So I believe both the head and the feet were anointed by Mary. I mean, she did have a whole pint of this stuff. Anointing the head and the feet were symbolic. Anointing the head would’ve symbolized Mary recognizing him as king. Anointing the feet would’ve symbolized Mary recognizing herself as Jesus’ servant. This is indicative of those who exhibit costly devotion to Jesus. They have placed Jesus on the throne as king, as ruler of their lives and they have surrendered to his Lordship as his humble servant. Costly devotion is sacrificial.
2) Costly devotion won’t make sense to some (4-6). Judas complains that what Mary is doing is wasteful. To some, doing things for Jesus will be a waste-a waste of time and a waste of resources. Sometimes, at least in the beginning, costly devotion might not make sense to us either. I’m sure Mary was tempted to not make such a costly sacrifice. It’s true-if she had sold the perfume the money could’ve kept her family going for a while or it could’ve helped others. It made more sense from a practical standpoint to sell the perfume. And not that it’s wrong to think like this but there are times when doing the godly thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the practical thing. It might not make practical sense, but it will make spiritual sense. We too will be tempted to talk ourselves out of costly devotion. God will test the level of our devotion to him. “Do you love me?” “Yes, Lord, I love you.” Then are you willing to turn down that job that requires you to work on Sundays? Are you willing to not spend money on that new thing and instead give it to me? Are you willing to end that immoral relationship? Are you willing to put me first? Are you willing to make a costly sacrifice in order to show your devotion to me? Along with this not making sense to Judas I think there was another factor here. Judas was not just upset that Mary did what she did he was also upset because it made him look bad. Judas’ angry response could very well have been prompted by guilt. Here he was, someone who was greedy and guilty of pilfering from the generosity of others, seeing an extreme act of selfless, costly devotion. He knew that he was just shown up in the worst way. His heart was the opposite of Mary’s and instead of being humble he became enraged, trying to paint Mary’s act in a negative light. William Barclay’s commentary says, “A warped mind brings a warped view of things; and, if we find ourselves becoming very critical of others and imputing unworthy motives to them, we should, for a moment, stop examining them and start examining ourselves.” Costly devotion won’t be accepted by some but don’t let that stop you from doing God’s will.
3) Costly devotion is defended by Jesus (7-8). Mary probably didn’t know that she was doing this for burial purposes but Jesus did. When Mary carried through with God’s plans Jesus made it known. He came to Mary’s defense. Matt. 26:8-12. It appears that the other disciples took Judas’ side of reasoning here. I’m sure in the very least they thought the act strange for a few reasons. Not only was there the perfume value aspect there was also the fact that she used her hair to dry his feet. That was considered disrespectful for two reasons: a woman was not to let her hair down in public, and it was also considered disrespectful for a woman to treat a Rabbi this way. So their objections were due to everything Mary was doing. But Jesus didn’t chastise Mary he defended her. Perhaps the other disciples agreed not just from a lack of understanding but from their own conviction as well. “This woman has a more sincere heart than I do. Mary’s willing to risk more than I would.” Perhaps they were all feeling guilty with the understanding that they knew that they wouldn’t have done that for Jesus. These realizations could very well have prompted Jesus’ stern rebuke, “leave her alone. Don’t rebuke her for doing this beautiful thing. You’re the ones who need rebuking; especially you, Judas. None of you have the heart of devotion she has. Instead of dishonoring her act you need to honor it and learn from it.” We can take comfort and courage in this. When we are doing something that reflects our devotion to Jesus others may laugh and scoff. They may even call us a fool or try to paint our act of devotion in a negative light like Judas did. But don’t worry; Jesus will come to your defense. “The poor you will always have with you but you will not always have me.” On the surface this seems like a cold statement toward the poor. It’s not that at all. Jesus cared about the poor. Jesus was defending Mary’s timely act. God prompted Mary not to put off doing this beautiful thing and Jesus defended that. She was preparing him for his burial. Jesus’ time left on earth was short. Had Mary waited until a more opportune time she probably would’ve lost her chance. Had she waivered in her sacrifice she would’ve lost the chance to do this beautiful thing for Jesus. Then she would have regretted the fact that she waited too long to perform this act of costly devotion for her Lord. It’s a good lesson for us. We need to say and do the things we know we should before the opportunity passes, before we lose the ambition and the willingness; when all we have left are regrets.
4) Costly devotion is risky (9-11). The Sadducees made up part of the chief priests and religious leaders and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Therefore, since Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that threatened the basis for their beliefs as well as threatening the following they had gathered. Unfortunately, instead of allowing the miracle to change their beliefs, they decided the solution was to get rid of the miracle. There are people in today’s society who want to exterminate the truth by exterminating those who live and speak the truth. And some, like the religious leaders, have the combination of authority and persuasion to get dirty deeds done. There are legitimate threats to Christians today just like there were legitimate threats to Jesus and Lazarus not to mention Mary and Martha too and others with them. Jesus drew plenty of attention, some of it good, some of it not so good. And because of his costly devotion to the will of the Father, his life was at risk as well as his friend Lazarus’. Being devoted is risky and costly. There is a higher price to be paid than expensive perfume; it’s our lives. And not only at the highest level-death, but also at the lowest level-daily sacrifice. The most costly thing we devote to the cause of Christ is ourselves. Costly devotion is risky because when we spend every day of our lives living out our devotion, when we say to the Lord, ‘here I am; I offer you myself’, we take risks. We risk losing friendships or relationships because we’re choosing to not do what we used to do. We risk losing jobs because we’re unwilling to work on Sunday morning or we’re unwilling to lie for the boss. We risk ridicule, loneliness and financial hardships. Costly devotion is not easy; it’s not for the half-hearted.
5) But it’s worth it. Costly devotion is risky; but worth it. Mary’s act of costly devotion was uncomfortable. Imagine how embarrassed she must’ve been coming in front of all these people and pouring this expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and then being willing to risk being thought of as disrespectful by letting her hair down. Not to mention afterwards getting the backlash from Judas and quite possibly the stares and whisperings from others. Mary’s act may have been uncomfortable but it was also unforgettable. I guarantee no one there would forget this incident. Remember, the scent of the perfume filled the whole house. For however long that lasted it would be a constant reminder of her costly devotion. Not to mention the fact that the perfume was on Jesus and anywhere he went the scent (and the reminder) went with him. Phillip Keller described it like this, “The delicious fragrance ran down over his shining hair. It enfolded His body with its delightful aroma. Even his tunic and flowing undergarment were drenched with its enduring pungency. Wherever he moved during the ensuing days, the perfume would go with Him. Into the Passover; into the Garden of Gethsemane; into Harod’s hall; into Pilate’s patio; even into the cruel hands of those who cast lots for his clothing.” There was also another way her act would be unforgettable. Matt. 26:13, “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Jesus is making it known that Mary’s selfless act of pure devotion was going to be circulated around the world. It is etched in the eternal word of God. Her example is there for billions throughout the ages to be inspired by. This level of devotion may be costly but it’s sure worth the price. We can be encouraged by the fact that costly devotion gets recognized, it gets remembered, and it gets rewarded.
