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Home , John 11, John 12

Talent Spending Criticism: Mary Anoints :55-12:8

Have you ever felt judged for how you have chosen to serve the Lord? Maybe you have felt your particular giftings didn’t measure up according to other’s expectations? Maybe you’ve judged yourself and have been beating yourself up over decisions you were pretty sure God was leading you to make, but others reacted negatively to your choices? Jesus’ friend Mary, the sister of Lazarus, probably could have said yes to each of these questions.

Remember when Jesus first visited the home of Mary and in ? :38-42 “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “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.”

Here Martha was using her gift of serving for Jesus, but she was upset that Mary wasn’t investing in a similar manner, through service like her. And Jesus defended Mary, basically stating to Martha that she was over concerned and that at that time it was more appropriate to be listening at Jesus’ feet. And then fast forward just a little bit of time, and in John 11 we saw Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus pass away, and they both had disappointingly said “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21, 32) But as Jesus called Lazarus back to life, Mary and Martha must have grown leaps and bounds in resting and trusting in Jesus’ power and personal love for each of them. And surely they were learning the lesson of being at peace with how they were both created differently- wired for different ways of expressing return love and devotion to Jesus. And they must have grown as well in their ability to balance out their gift sets, function in them in a healthy way, and not be so judgmental of how others function in what God has given them.

In this morning’s passage, we will see that Martha is again expressing love for Jesus through service, and Mary is expressing her love for Jesus through a different means. And it would appear that Martha has grown in this area, she appears to be cool with serving Jesus while Mary does something different. But now someone else is picking on Mary and is upset that she has chosen to serve Jesus in a way different than he thought she should be serving. As we dig into this passage, it is my hope that we can be encouraged to use our “talents” to serve Jesus, without being judged, and without judging others for how they use their talents to serve Jesus. But before we talk about that, let’s back up a little and get into the context of the story.

After raising Lazarus, it appears that Jesus left Bethany immediately and hid out in the rural city of Ephraim because the religious leaders were fired up and wanted to kill him. Then He circled down to Jericho where He encountered Zaccheus who repented and received salvation. There at Zaccheus’ house He taught that the Kingdom wouldn’t be ushered in upon His arrival to , but rather there would be a time that He would leave His servants entrusted with His resources. His servants are to invest those resources in a land that didn’t want Jesus to be King, and He would one day return and reward His servants accordingly to how they invested His resources in His absence. He told them the Parable of the Minas, and last week we compared that story to the Parable of the Talents, and noted that it appears we have access to two different types of resources from God that we can invest. There are “talents”- the resources that we each have been given in varying, differing amounts- skills, finances, giftings, abilities, personal connections, etc. And there are the “minas”- the resources that we each have been given with the same, shared access, such as- Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, the message, the scriptures, the universal church.

Now it was about a week until the celebration in Jerusalem was to took place. And there was a lot of talk about this situation concerning Jesus. He was a dead man wanted by the religious leaders. Attempts on his life would definitely occur if He traveled to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover celebration. But by law, all of Israel was required to attend this festival. At the very first Passover in Egypt, God had said these words in Exodus 12:14 “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” So, Jesus was in a tough position. Everyone knew He was required to go, especially since He was a man who had always said that He upheld all the law of Moses. And everyone knew the danger of Him going as well. This is why the disciples, knowing there would be conflict, were hoping the time had finally come for Him to claim His rightful place as King. The religious leaders understood the predicament, and as we begin our passage we’ll see that this is what they were discussing. John 11:55-57…

The trap has been set. Orders have been given to report Jesus on sight. Who knows what threats were made towards those who might consider disobeying the command to report a Jesus- sighting. And yet, given these circumstances, what does Jesus do? :1…

Jesus runs into the danger, not away from it. He goes to Bethany, a little village 2 miles from the walls of Jerusalem. He goes to the very doorstep of the men who are seeking to kill Him. And it’s not just Him risking His life, in spite of the Jesus-sighting order in verse 57 of the previous chapter, we see there are others gathering with him. Verse 2…

Now in verses 1 and 2, John has now mentioned Lazarus twice- I think what’s going on here is that this is a special celebration meal in honor of Lazarus being alive, and in honor of Jesus who made him being alive possible. So despite the danger of nearing Jerusalem, here Jesus is with His followers just 2 miles away from death. Despite the order given to report Jesus on sight, here are Martha, Lazarus, and as we’ll see in the next verse- Mary- and surely others, throwing a party with Jesus. Looking at Matthew and Mark’s account of this event, we see that they were at the home of a man named “.” (:6, :3) Now this is a curious thing. Look again at John 11:55, it appears customary to arrive early for a Jewish Festival such as the Passover- why? In order to purify oneself. People were coming to get checked off by the head priests, it was perhaps like customs at an international airport “Have you come prepared with the right sacrifices to offer? Have you finished your menstrual period? Have you touched a dead body in the last 7 days? Any contact with foreigners? Any contact with a leper?” Everyone was purifying themselves, making the required animal sacrifices, washing and putting on clean clothes, seeing the priest- making sure they were in no way contaminated before the presence of a Holy God. And it’s in this environment that Matthew and Mark want to make sure the reader knows that Jesus, the disciples, His followers, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were all throwing a party at Simon THE LEPER’S house. Either Simon was healed by Jesus somewhere along the way and his name should have actually been recorded as “Simon the Ex-Leper,” or these party-ers are really getting crazy in their love for Jesus and embracing the new covenant cleansing that Jesus was just days away from ushering in through His death on the cross. As if the circumstances weren’t already wild enough, the story gets even wilder. Verse 3-5…

So Martha, as we saw in verse 2, is investing her unique “talent” given to her- her gifting of service. She’s preparing the food, serving tea, passing out the pita bread. When Jesus first had met Martha and Mary, in the passage we read earlier, Martha had over focused on her gifting, and was bashing Mary for not serving alongside her. Jesus defended Mary, and like I mentioned, Martha hopefully is now functioning in her gifting of service in a more balanced way.

And now we see Mary, who was first seen sitting at Jesus’ feet, hanging on to His every word, she is still functioning in her “talent”- her ability to love, connect emotionally, express honor, reverence- but now (according to Judas) she engages in a financial decision- investing a personal “talent” resource. Now perfume would have been common during the day for women to wear, but it would have been just a little dash from time to time- not used for pouring it all out at one time- and perhaps not many would have access to the pure quality of this expensive kind Mary had. Perfume would have also been very common in the use of embalming a dead body, to cover up the stench of decaying flesh. Perhaps Mary and Martha had already used similar perfume for Lazarus when he passed, and here was Mary going through the same process but with a living body, yet a body that would soon be dead- like Lazarus, and then raised back to life again- like Lazarus.

Nard comes from a plant grown in China, India, and Nepal. It would have come to Palestine through a great journey, at a great cost. We don’t know how Mary came to own such an expensive resource, perhaps she and Martha had inherited some wealth. Perhaps it was a gift to her. All we know is that it was unique resource that she had been personally blessed with. And she chose to break open that vial, and pour it all out over Jesus. Matthew and Mark tell us that she anointed His head with it; and surely a pound of it would have run over his head, over his body, with plenty left over to lastly anoint His feet. She did this to honor Jesus, with a personal resource that perhaps only she amongst the others had access to at the time.

Now couldn’t she also have honored Jesus by selling it and giving money to the poor? Jesus himself had said to the disciples to sell possessions and give to charity in order to have unfailing treasure in heaven. (Luke 12:33) Yes, she could have honored Jesus by selling and giving to the poor, but she chose to honor Him in a different way. A unique way, a way in which Matthew and Mark record Jesus as saying “wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” (Matt. 26:13, Mark 14:9)

When it comes to investing resources, there is often criticism that occurs as a result. I believe though, that the criticism often comes more from how “talents” are spent, rather than from how “minas” are spent. The resources in which we differ, the resources that we don’t share, we become critical and judgmental of how another is using their talents. If someone attempts to use their God given ability for something, it’s so easy to be critical and say, “Well, it would have been better if they had done it this way. If it had been me, and I had that talent, that money, that opportunity, that responsibility- I would have done it like this…” In contrast, it’s probably rare to be judgmental over someone using their “minas.” We probably should get more riled up about brothers and sisters in who mismanage their mina share of spiritual resources we all have access to. But, you probably don’t hear people squabbling much over another’s access to Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, the - why? Well, we all have shared access. The problem lies more heavily in the things that we don’t have or the things that we do have that others don’t- it’s the areas in which we differ that often cause the most problems.

Some have this teaching style, others a different teaching style, others don’t teach at all. Some are gifted with a singing voice, some with playing an instrument, some can’t sing but are really able to focus on the message of the song’s words, others are given the boldness to sing loudly whether they sound good or not. Some feel their hearts connecting with contemporary worship songs, others with traditional hymns. Some are really great at engaging with people, others are really great with more behind-the-scenes-type activities. Some are super creative and patient with kids, others are really gifted in caring for older generations. Some are visionaries for the future, others really great at being in the moment of the present. Some have been blessed financially, some in skillsets, some in connections within the community, some in wisdom, some in strength, some in patience, some in hospitality. And the idea is that we need to be less concerned with how others are using their talents, and more concerned with ourselves using our own talents with the right heart of loving Jesus.

Often, when we are over focused on what others are or aren’t doing, it’s because our hearts aren’t right. We fool ourselves into feeling righteous about our judgements, but often there’s a deeper heart issue that is causing us to be concerned about the work or use of talents with others. Look at Judas’ heart issue, verse 6…

Judas had greed, love for money, and selfishness growing in his heart. These issues that had been growing in his heart ultimately lead him to betray Jesus and sell him for 30 pieces of silver. In fact, in Matthew’s account, he records that directly after Judas’ attack on Mary, that Judas then, at that time, went to the chief priests asking them what they would give him to betray Jesus to them. (Matt. 26:13-15) And how did Jesus respond to Judas’ attack? Verse 7-8…

Jesus doesn’t discount giving to the poor, but He gives value to the sacrifice and use of talents Mary has offered. You see, Jesus won’t turn away or snub His nose at any offering, use of talents, gift, investment- given from a heart that is truly seeking to honor and love Him. It’s like what we looked at last week with the Parable of the Minas- you can’t mis-invest the resources God has given you if you are truly investing them for the Kingdom. If the heart is right, and you are honestly seeking to benefit His kingdom and bless His name- then you’re not going to lose! The only ones who lose, are those who do nothing, who are passive, who keep the resources tucked away in the handkerchief, or those who are like Judas in this passage- whose hearts are not right and who are judging other’s pure heart gift to Jesus.

Instead of anointing Jesus’ head and feet with the perfume, if Mary had sold it and with a passionate heart full of love for her savior had cried out “Jesus, with the money I gained from this sale I want to give to the poor in your honor”- it would have been just as honoring and loving to Jesus. When it comes to the usage of talents and even minas, I believe Jesus is much more concerned with the why than the what, where, and how. Why are you doing what you are doing? What is the heart motive behind the way you live your life? What is “why” behind the decisions you make? If in your heart, you can honestly say “I do this because I truly believe this is the best way I can personally honor Jesus and show my love to Him”- then you can’t go wrong.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Do what that verse says, and you can almost pursue anything in life. Do those three things- trust in Him, don’t trust in yourself, and in everything acknowledge Him- and you can make any decision you want to! He will make your paths straight. Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Wondering what to do in order to see God? Wondering how to use what God has given you, in the best way for His Kingdom? Work on being pure in heart. Focus on your heart over the “what,” and you will see God. 1 Samuel 16:7b “…God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We’re so worried about all these visible, exterior things, but where is God looking? At the heart. What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment in the Law? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37)

So how do we keep our hearts in check concerning this issue of honoring God with talents and minas? Here’s 3 ways based on our passage today: 1. Be less concerned about how others are seeking to honor Jesus and be more concerned about how our own heart is seeking to honor Jesus. Let go of judgment, self-righteousness, pride, and envy; and focus on your own heart and your own usage of what God has given you to invest in His kingdom.

2. Have grace with each other, and with other fellow believers in allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them. Often, we as believers attempt to do the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of other believers. I’m not saying there’s not a time to speak out and call a brother or sister out in their sin, or not a time to question another’s actions, decisions, or motives- there is definitely a place for that. But we should be very sensitive to treat and view others with as much grace as we have been given ourselves, and especially extend grace to those whose hearts are right and are sincerely seeking to honor the Lord.

3. Encourage and equip others to pursue honoring Jesus according to the way in which they are wired. Cheer them on! Don’t think lesser of someone if they connect with the Lord in a way different than you. If they have a passion for such and such, that perhaps you don’t share- cheer them on to glorify God in the way that their heart is leading them to glorify God. It’s ok as long as it lines up with what teaches. They don’t have to be like you. It’s a beautiful thing when all of us who are each so uniquely made, wired, and gifted (whether in good ways or strange ways!) with such different personalities, preferences, and experiences- it’s a beautiful thing when we can come together and work together at being a family seeking to honor and glorify God.

-Lord, help us to do just that. To be a unique family, made up of unique individuals, seeking to together honor and glorify You…