John 11:55-12:8
Key Scripture:
John 11:55 It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.
12:1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
1. Worship is the Right Response
The heartbeat of John’s gospel…
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?
Worship is the correct response and is possible because God makes the first move. He initiates. Our worship is a response to what He has done.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2. Worship affirms the proper order
You are God, I am your humble servant.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Worship is ascribing WORTH and VALUE where it’s appropriate.
Psalm 89:5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? 7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. 8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord? You are entirely faithful…11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
3. Worship Re-centers Our Soul
Matthew 22:35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
4. Worship Corrects Our Perspective
If our generation is so consumed with today - worshiping the eternal God brings a needed perspective.
Worship helps us find our place in the past - our life story has been grafted into God’s story.
Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Review
1. WORSHIP…IS THE RIGHT RESPONSE.
2. WORSHIP…AFFIRMS THE PROPER ORDER.
3. WORSHIP…RE-CENTERS OUR SOUL.
4. WORSHIP…CORRECTS OUR PERSPECTIVE.
The Perfume: Two Uses - Burial & Royal Coronation
The King of Kings was not coronated with pomp and circumstance - but executed as a criminal. And yet He is glorified and honored and worshiped unlike any other King or Queen - because His coronation - the cross of Jesus - means that all who trust in Him can find their place in His eternal kingdom.
John 12:3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
John 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Mary had the right perspective.
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?
1. WORSHIP…IS THE RIGHT RESPONSE
2. WORSHIP…AFFIRMS THE PROPER ORDER
3. WORSHIP…RE-CENTERS OUR SOUL
4. WORSHIP…CORRECTS OUR PERSPECTIVE
You have an opportunity to seek the Lord in a time of worship and as Jesus promised…
Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
A Final Thought:
Colossians 1:15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Thoughts to Inspire Worship:
How amazing God is
All the ways He’s moved in your life
The fact that even though you’ve done things to push Him away and reject Him He still comes after you! He still wants to meet with you.
How amazing it is that the creator of the universe — the one who put the stars in the sky and decided just how big the Grand Canyon needed to be — wants to meet with you.
The Old Testament people of God rarely experienced the Lord’s presence and now we get to enter His presence, routinely and freely.
If you’re not even sure if you believe this whole Christianity thing - spend time and pray quietly to yourself - “God if you’re for real, I want to know.”
