March 25, 2007

Pour Out the Perfume for Jesus
 

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

John 12:1-8

• Flight with a corpse - Delhi to London.

• What should flight crew do? What would you do if you knew ahead of time that someone was going to die but you couldn’t stop it? How to honor them?

• Question at center of puzzle in John 12.

• Similar story occurs in all 4 gospels. Most well known is Luke’s – repentance of sinful woman.

• John’s story is different – Set up by chapter 11. (Slide)

• Mary reacts with symbolic gesture. Story in John 12.

• Mary’s act is prophetic – She knows he’s going to die and has faith in his resurrection.

• 3 Things we can learn:

a. Faith experience of a woman is given high priority. Act of Mary is unlike that of any man in John.

b. There is a difference between doing good things for charity and doing vital ministry for people who need it.

i. People who volunteer for charity – sometimes selfish motives – like Judas.

ii. Doing good things for or through the church – done out of sacrificial love – modeled by Jesus.

c. Belief in Jesus requires the greatest sacrifices people can give one another. Compare Mary’s sacrifice of ointment to what you give. Is what you give in line with the kind of reaction Mary had?

• Closing Illustration

• Old Saying: “What have you done for me lately?” This passage asks “What have you poured out for me lately?” Sacrifices we make are symbolic of Jesus’ death.

• Mary believed Jesus would die and come back to life. As Christians we have the same faith for ourselves. We express that faith in different ways. This passage challenges us to figure out what the expensive ointment represents in our lives and decide to imitate Jesus by anointing them.