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Home , Martha, Mary of Bethany

MARY OF TYLER MILLER 5.13.2012

I. INTRODUCING

A. The pages of Scripture are filled with of whom the world was not worthy [Heb. 11:38]. Yet standing high above them all is not a man who was an apostle or a miracle‐worker. It was a woman named Mary of Bethany, who loved the Lord with her whole heart.

B. Mary of Bethany was a single young woman who is described on three occasions in Scripture. She was not mentioned in the Book of Acts or in Church history. She had no known public ministry and was unknown in the courts of men during her lifetime, yet she was known in the courts of heaven.

1. Mary Sitting at Jesus’ feet to hear His word‐ :38‐42 2. Mary’s Trust in Jesus’ Delay ‐ :28‐35 3. Mary’s Extravagant Worship ‐ Matt 26:6‐13; :3‐9; :1‐8

C. Mary was the younger sister of , and Lazarus (who was raised from the dead) was her younger brother. They were orphans; which explains why the house was in Martha’s name [Lk. 10:38]. It is assumed that the house was given to Martha as her inheritance, and Mary received costly fragrant oil.

II. CULTIVATING A HEART OF WORSHIP ‐ SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET

A. The first place that Mary is mentioned in Scripture is in Luke 10:38‐42. This story takes place at the mid‐point of Jesus’ three year ministry. Jesus’ Judean ministry is underway and Martha boldly welcomes Jesus (the most popular man in at the time) into her house.

Luke 10:38‐42 “He entered a certain village; and… Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

D. Mary and Martha are both introduced as ones who desire to serve Jesus, but one is serving Him with her heart (Mary) and the other with her hands (Martha). One is motivated by need and the desires of men, and the other is motivated by worship and the desires of heaven.

E. Mary and Martha speak of two different types of believers within the Body of . One is worship oriented, while the other is service oriented. Though both are necessary and valuable to God, God wants us to choose the “best part” and cultivate a heart of devotion above ministry and outreach [Rev. 2:1‐7].

F. In the midst of all of the opportunities to outwardly serve Jesus in ‘Kingdom Ministry,’ Jesus reveals that only one thing is really necessary. One thing takes the preeminence above every other thing: It is a heart of worship that seeks to cultivate our relationship with Jesus above everything else.

2 Corinthians 11:3 NASB “ afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

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MARY OF BETHANY TYLER MILLER 5.13.2012

G. Mary’s single vision for her life was to be an extravagant worshipper of God. She lived before the audience of One. Mary wanted to love Jesus with her whole heart and therefore was willing to go against the cultural norms of her day. No woman dared to sit at the feet of a Rabbi, yet this one woman understood the value of worship and risked everything to draw near to the heart of Jesus.

H. Jesus commended Mary for being a woman of “ONE THING.” Being a person of ‘one thing’ requires that we take time, away from the busyness and crowds, to sit in Jesus’ presence and listen to His Word. This is the same vision that King David had for His life.

Luke 10:41,42 “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Psalm 27:4 “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

I. Mary wanted to hear His word in such a way that it empowered her to love God more. She was not interested in facts or winning religious arguments, nor was she interested in learning principles for successful living. Above everything, Mary’s motivation was to hear in order to love God with everything.

III. MARY JESUS ‐ MATT 26:6‐13; MARK 14:3‐9; JOHN 12:1‐8

A. Mary is only mentioned three times in Scripture and every time she is found at the feet of Jesus. In Luke 10 she sat at His feet and heard His word. In John 11 she fell at His feet when she went out to meet Jesus. And in John 12 [Mark 14:3, Matt. 26:6] she was at His feet once again to anoint Him for burial.

John 12:1‐8 “Then, six days before the Passover [Jesus’ crucifixion], Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, , Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii [a year’s wages] and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

B. The anointing at Bethany takes place at the house of just two days before Jesus’ crucifixion. There are between 17‐30 people at this dinner in honor of Jesus, and Martha is serving once again. Jesus has said repeatedly that He is going to die, and yet the apostles did not get it. Mary seems to be the only one who grasps the significance of what is going on besides Jesus’ mother.

Mark 14:1‐3 “After two days it was the Passover… 3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

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MARY OF BETHANY TYLER MILLER 5.13.2012

C. In Jesus’ most troubling hour it is interesting that He chose to stay in Bethany. Jesus could have used this time to pour into the renowned teacher of Israel or the 12 emerging apostles who were to one day turn the world upside down. But He chose Bethany with those whom He loved.

D. Knowing that Jesus’ hour of death had come Mary gave one final act of extravagant worship to her Lord. Mary took an alabaster vile of costly spikenard worth a year’s wage and lavishly wasted it upon Jesus out of love and obedience. In our day that would be the equivalent of giving somewhere around $40,000.00.

E. This perfume/ incense was Mary’s inheritance. It represented her past, her present, and her future. It was all that she had and all that she was. All of her security was wrapped up in this one bottle of pure nard that was handed down to those most precious to her. It was her very future, contained in a bottle, kept for her dowry, now brought to the place where Jesus sat.

F. With one bold act of worship Mary not only anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair, but Mark says that she poured it all over Jesus’ head. Both Jesus and Mary were covered from head to toe with the most fragrant oil in all of Palestine.

Mark 14:3 “And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman [Mary] came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

G. As Mary wasted all of this costly oil upon Jesus, silence and shock fill the room. As the fragrance begins to abound, the silence turns to stirring and discomfort until several speak out in anger at the waste that has just been committed.

H. Scripture says that not just Judas, but all of the Disciples were indignant at what she had done. While they were only concerned about the ‘outward’ acts of ministry (giving it to the poor), Mary saw the value of extravagant worship of the heart.

Mark 14:4,5 “But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply.

I. Everyone who was present‐ her family and even the ones who would later become worldwide leaders in the Church‐ did not understand the significance of what Mary was doing. Their only response was to criticize her sharply. Yet Jesus was sitting there quietly drenched in fragrance looking at Mary with the eyes of love that few people have ever seen.

J. The response of the apostles and those present is often the response of those in the Church today. The lifestyle of devotion, prayer, and worship is seen as “wasteful” and “extravagant.” People have asked this very thing to me: “Why would you waste your gifts, talents, and resources on Jesus?”

K. Yet like Mary we are called to live before an audience of One. She took no thought of how others would respond. This was not for attention. It was for the worth of Jesus alone. Only someone who lives this way will truly understand how costly and valuable it is to God.

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MARY OF BETHANY TYLER MILLER 5.13.2012

L. Jesus’ vindication of Mary and this lifestyle of extravagant devotion is seen in His response to her critics. Jesus commanded them to leave her alone because she had done a good work for Him‐ a work of extravagant and wasteful worship of her Messiah.

John 12:7,8 “But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

M. This costly, fragrant perfume was kept and reserved by Mary for the day of Jesus’ burial. I believe that Mary waited the entire ministry of Jesus for the perfect opportunity to express her love to the Lord and waste her most valuable passion upon Jesus.

Mark 14:8,9 “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. (Mt 26:10) 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a to her.”

N. This act of worship was so precious in the eyes of Jesus that He promised to make it known in the whole world as central to the message of the gospel. In the remote Islands of the earth, at this very moment, this same story of Mary of Bethany’s devotion is being heard in memory of what true devotion to Christ is.

IV. CARRYING THE FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST

A. As Jesus, the Son of God Himself, went to the cross two days later to be forsaken by His Father for the sins of the world, I believe one thing sustained Him above all else. It was the devotion of Mary and the fragrant incense of worship that saturated his hair and body.

B. At Jesus’ greatest and most terrible hour He could smell the fragrance of Mary, and wherever Mary went after washing His feet with her hair, everyone knew she smelled just like Jesus. Have you ever met someone like this? Someone like Mary who is unknown to men, but who smells just like Jesus?

Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

C. To take it deeper, do you smell like the fragrance of Jesus? Have you sat in His presence lately and picked up His scent? I have resolved within myself that more than ministry or preaching; I would have a heart like Mary and live like she lived!

2 Corinthians 2:15 “We are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

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