The profound and unchanging love of God as exemplified by Jesus' interactions with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It emphasizes that true devotion to Christ involves service, fellowship, and worship, drawing parallels with Abraham's faith. Mary's costly anointing of Jesus' feet demonstrates a selfless act of love and worship, signifying a complete surrender of one's most precious possessions for Him. This act, like the lives of Martha and Lazarus, serves as a model for believers to offer their all to Christ, reflecting His love and presence in their own lives.
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Good to be with you and to have an opportunity to look into the Word of God together. I couldn't help but think since evening how good it is that we start with a prayer meeting. This wonderful thing that God has made things so simple for us. I didn't say easy, but simple for us. God has set up the best communication system in the universe. The Apostle said in Acts chapter six, we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. We're going to talk to God about men and their needs before we talk to men about God.
And how good it is to realize that we have this communication system, the means by which we can speak to the Lord. and we have the opportunity of speaking to others about him. And through his word he speaks to us. I want to read just a few verses in John chapter twelve, beginning with verse one. John twelve and verse one. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served.
But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of a spikenard very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. We sing sometimes in Sunday school, Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. You don't read that Jesus loves you in Matthew and you don't read that Jesus loves you in Luke. In fact, you don't read in Mark that Jesus loves you. We do read of one man, a rich man who turned away sorrowfully.
When Jesus put his demands upon him, it says, Jesus beholding him loved him. But other than that, you don't read of the love of Jesus until you come to the Gospel of John. John says in John chapter thirteen in verse one, Jesus having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And John, who has been called the apostle of love, because he writes about the love of God, the love of the Lord Jesus, in the Gospel of John, and he writes about the love of the Lord Jesus, in the epistles of John, and he writes about the love of the Lord Jesus, in the book of Revelation, unto him that loveth us, and that loveth us from our sins, that his own blood.
He loves to refer to himself in the Gospel of John, not by his name. But five times over he refers to himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved. Not as a disciple who loved Jesus, but as a disciple whom Jesus loved. Our love is all times low. Our joy still ebbs and flows, but peace with him remains the same. No change Jehovah knows. His love is unchangeably the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. Oh, if there's only, P.P.
Bliss wrote, oh, if there's only one song I can sing, when in his beauty I see the great king, this shall my song through eternity be. Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me. Now we read specifically in the eleventh chapter of John's Gospel, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And you can be absolutely certain that they were very conscious of the fact that they were loved by the Lord Jesus. It's something that each of us should be conscious of, that we are loved of the Lord Jesus.
And that nothing shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is in. Christ Jesus our Lord they made him a supper not they made a supper but they made him a supper the whole purpose of that gathering was to honor the Lord Jesus and can you imagine how this must have thrilled his heart just six days before he The great Passover lamb pictured in the Old Testament was to be sacrificed for us.
And how beautifully these three tell out in their lives the history of our Lord Jesus life. Martha III. Can you think of anything that would more aptly describe the life of the Lord Jesus than He served. In fact, when he described his own life, he said, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Martha served.
We remember reading about Martha serving on one other occasion, and she was very upset because her sister wasn't helping her. Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet and hearing his word, Lord, speak to my sister that she helped me. If you don't read any of that here, there's no complaint. Here she goes about her service for the Lord Jesus. Martha served. And Lazarus, he sat, he was one of them that sat at the table with him.
He wasn't the only one, and I'm glad it says that he was one. Because every child of God has the privilege of sitting at the table with him, sharing fellowship with the Son of God. We have been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. What a wonderful word that is. Lazarus, one of them that sat at the table with him, with him, not only sat at the table, but sat at the table with him. At his table is our place.
We rejoice and he rejoices in the riches of his grace. Tell us this. and Mary's sacrifice. Mary took a pound of ointment of by God very precious, very costly, and anointing the feet of Jesus and wipe his feet with her hair. Worship. Fellowship and worship.
He served Lazarus' fellowship with him. Isn't that an apt description of the life of our Lord Jesus, who walked in close fellowship with the Father, his entire life? He said, I am alone, and yet not alone, for the Father is with me. walking in fellowship together. And then finally, like Mary, who brought this alabaster box of ointment, very precious to him, the Lord Jesus offered himself without sorrow under God.
First of all, service, fellowship, and worship. That was the order of his life. That was the order of Abraham's life, the man of great faith we read about in Hebrews chapter eleven. First of all, we have the work of faith in Abraham's service. By faith, when he was called to leave Ur of the Chaldees, he went out, he obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. The work of faith. Abedient to the word of God, he stepped out in faith and obeyed the word of God. And then we have the walk of faith in Abraham, a life of fellowship with God.
It says, By faith he sojourned in the land of promises in a strange country, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him who have the same promise. For he looked for a city which had foundations whose builder and maker is God. He walked in fellowship with God, looking forward to the day when he would be at home with the Lord. And the final test of Abraham's life was the worship of faith. He was told, Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou love us.
and offer him up for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Abraham took that one and whose promises were. God had said that Isaac shall I see be called and said, Abraham takes his knife in his hand about to slay his son when God holds his hand. And the Hebrew epistle says he accounted that God was able to raise him up from the dead from whence all through receiving the figure. Lord Jesus offered himself without spot to God. And he said, no man takes my life from me. I have authority to lay it down. And I have authority to take it up again.
This commandment have I received of my father. So here we have the order, the historical order, suggested by these three. Martha serves. Lazar sat at the table with him, and Mary sacrificed. In Hebrews chapter eleven, we have the order, if I may put it this way, the order of importance. First of all, we have the worship of faith. And then we have the walk of faith.
And then we have the work of faith. My faith able offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than shame, a blood sacrifice. For God has said, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Six days before the Passover, Christ, his sacrifice for us the worship of faith well do we sing on the Lamb my soul is resting what is love no tongue can say all my sins so great so many in his blood are washed away sweet as rest and peace have filled me sweeter praise than tongue can tell God is satisfied with Jesus I am satisfied as well conscious now no more condemn me.
For though the most precious one, one for all hath washed and cleansed me, cleansed me in the eyes of God. The worship of faith. By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death. And before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. How did he please God? Twice over in Genesis five we read these words. Enoch Walk with God. He didn't choose the pathway. He didn't choose the destination. He walked in fellowship with God. The walk of faith. There was a work of faith.
We read of another man named Noah, and he says he walked with God too. We read any witness for God. He was a preacher of righteousness. But the scripture calls attention particularly to the fact that he worked for God. By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen yet, prepared an ark to the saving of his family by the which he condemned the world became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. But God told that man, that he was going to destroy the whole world. Come thou, he said, in all thy family the ark. And when God saved you and he saved me, he didn't only mean to save you and to save me, he wanted our families to be saved.
Come down all thy family in the ark. And so he went to work on this building and his boys as they watched their father work day after day, they saw God's salvation taking shape before their eyes. And then God said, come down all thy house in the ark. He didn't have to carry Shem, Ham, and Jacob piggyback into the ark. They all walked in. No one can carry you piggyback into God's way of salvation. You have to take that step of faith yourself. You have to put your own trust in the Lord. Come thou in all thy house into the ark.
But in our chapter, the emphasis begins with the fact they made him a supper, begins with service, continues with fellowship and ends with a grave sacrifice of life. There's only one word that is recorded in the whole of the New Testament that Mary of Bethany spoke. Lord, if I've been here, my brother has not died. That's the only thing that's recorded, as she says. But the Lord Jesus said concerning what she did, wheresoever this gospel is preached, this also that this woman has done will be sold for a memorial of her she'll be remembered because she remembered him you know the reason that she remembered him you don't find Mary on the day of resurrection at the tomb Mary Magdalene was there and other women were there but not Mary of Bethany you know why she wasn't there she sat at Jesus feet and heard his words She'd heard about his death and burial and resurrection.
No sense going at that time. With your precious perfume. She might have said, I can take some of this perfume and put it on Lazarus' body. My brother Lazarus, he just died. Take some of this and put it on him. Or she might have said, Morris loves perfume. What woman doesn't love perfume? And she had plenty of it. A pound. abointment and I understand so precious it was that in the Lord's day that perfume that Mary put on the body of Christ was worth more than its weight in gold it was brought from the foothills of the Amalia mountains all the way through Afghanistan until it came in last year and even Judas said it could have been sold for three hundred silver coins which was the wages of a man for one year's labor.
And if a man's labor today is worth fifteen thousand dollars, that's what that perfume was worth. If it's twenty thousand eight, that's where it was worth. And Mary took that. And she didn't mean to keep any of it. She broke it against the day of my bearing. She had kept it, the Lord Jesus said. She had just one purpose for that perfume. It was all for him. Can you imagine how thrilled the heart of the Son of God was that this act of devotion, Mary pouring all that she had, she held nothing back.
God, as he looked at us in our giving, he says, not what are you giving, but what are you holding back? We read concerning Ananias as a fire, they kept back part of the fire. God said of Abraham, thou art not but handle thy son, thy only son. The most precious thing on earth is beloved son. But he didn't hold back. God would have us know how much we love him. He spared down his own son. But deliver him up for us all. And now shall in it also with him freely give us all things.
Love so amazing, so divine, demand my heart, my life, my all. Mary poured out on the feet of the Lord Jesus. Then she took her hair and the Bible says the glory of the woman is her hair. The woman is man's glory, but the woman's hair is her glory. Neither the man's glory or the woman's glory is to be seen in the church. But the glory of God is not to be seen. But she took her glory and she put it on the Lord Jesus' feet and just used it in a towel, the one.
There were several things that happened then. The Lord got that perfume wherever he went, he carried it with him. He carried that devotion of that woman with him wherever he went. They tell me that perfume was so strong that just one drop, put on human flesh, you could smell it a week later. Not this cheap stuff that we buy. That was the real McCoy. And the whole house was filled with the older boy. Everybody was there, not a blessing. very footer of glory at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
And wherever Mary went, that scent was sure to go. They took notice of her that she had been with Jesus. And when we bring to him the love and devotion of our hearts, God's people are blessed. and we carry something of the wonder of his presence with us wherever we go and those that see and know us will take notice that we have been with jesus may it be so for his name's sake shall we pray our father we're thankful for this lovely lovely story from thy word We marvel at this woman who in her heart's devotion could do nothing less than else and to give everything that she had and pour to the feet of the Lord Jesus.
We pray too that we, as we contemplate that sacrifice of our Savior, When we take to heart the words of him, drops of grief, can never repay the debt of love we owe. Here, Lord, we give ourselves away. It's all that we can do. We seek thy blessing on our time together this evening, and thank thee for thy holy words. And thank thee most of all, Lord Jesus, for thyself, and all that thou art to the Father, and all that thou art to us. And have her grace and help from thyself. in our lives to make thee more fully known. That the life, thy life, Lord Jesus, might be made manifest in our mortal bodies, even as it was manifest in these three who so vividly portrayed thyself by their service and by their fellowship and by their worship.
For we ask it all, giving thanks in the Lord Jesus' name. Amen.