Go back with me if you would
to Mark 14. What a beautiful passage of scripture
this is. Don't you love this story? Mark 14, this chapter begins
in verse 1 by saying, after two days was
the feast of the Passover. and of unleavened bread. And
the chief priest and the scribes sought how they might take him
by craft and put him to death." Isn't that something? Isn't that
amazing? That's what they wanted. It's
not that amazing if you know something of your own sin, is
it? Know something of your own flesh.
They wanted to take him and kill him. They were angry with him.
They hated our Lord. And the reason is because he
exposed the truth about what they were and who they were.
Our Lord just said back in Mark 12, if you look at Mark 12, verse
38, he said unto them in his doctrine, beware of the scribes. He just stood up and said, beware
of these scribes. He just told the truth. He was
honest with them. Beware the scribes which love to go in long
clothing and they love salutations in the marketplaces and they
love the chief seats in the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feasts
which devour widows' houses. And for a pretense, they make
long prayers. These shall receive greater damnation. Those scribes and those Pharisees
hated him. They hated him for telling everybody
that. Don't you expose me for what I am. Don't you acknowledge all of
my self-righteous deeds to be works of evil. So our text back in Mark 14,
verse one says, after two days was the feast of the Passover
and of unleavened bread. And the chief priest and the
scribes sought how they might take him by craft and put him
to death. But they said not on the feast
day, lest there be an uproar of the people. So they planned
everything out. They talked about it. They privately
had this council. They thought they were doing
what they wanted to do. The truth of the matter is they
were doing what God had foreordained to be done. Isn't that right?
They meant it for evil. God meant it for good. God meant
it for good. We're going to stop the work
and the ministry of Jesus Christ Once and for all, we're putting
an end to his ministry. We're going to kill him. No, you're actually going to fulfill
his ministry. You're going to actually put
the final crown on his ministry. Once for all. That death is going
to be the payment to God. As soon as you do that, he's
going to make a payment to God for the sin of some people that
he chose to love. He came and He exposed the truth. He told men and women the truth
and He preached the gospel. He showed Himself. He revealed
Himself. And they in turn, as He purposed
for them to do, were going to take Him and put Him to death. And that was the final crown
of our salvation. Our salvation. He chose to love us, he chose
to save us, and that's exactly how he chose to do it. They said
we're going to kill him. Verse two, but they said we're
not going to do it on the feast day lest there be an uproar of
the people. They're going to do it at the
exact moment that God gives them permission to do it. That's when
they're going to do it. At that exact moment that he
says, OK, it's time. It's time. Well, because they
weren't allowed to lay hands on him yet. Verse 3 says, And
being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat
at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
of spikenard, very precious. And she break the box and poured
it on his head. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves and said, why was this waste
of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for
more than three hundred pence. Now some have said that that
was almost a year's wages. We can't relate to these money
values that they give, but some have said that was almost a year's
wages. So whatever you consider to be
a year's wages, you imagine her taking that much money and pouring
that on his head. Verse 5, for it might have been
sold for more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor,
and they murmured against her. Now here our Lord is in this
house in the town of Bethany, and I'm sure the house was full
of people. There were usually, our Lord
did resort with his disciples, but there were usually many people
around him. He was a famed man. And I'm sure
that this house was full of people, and aside from our Lord, every
person in that house was a sinner. Every single person, aside from
our Lord, was a sinner. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. So I'm sure there were many sinners
in this house, but in this account, three are specifically mentioned. All right, three centers are
specifically mentioned. I just want us to look at each
one and I want us to see this morning a center by nature. What we are by nature. I want
us to see what God does for centers. And then I want us to see what
God does in centers. A center. what God does for him
and what God does in him. Now we're going to start with
verse four. And there were some that had indignation within themselves
and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? For it
might have been sold for more than 300 pence and have been
given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
Really, it was just one. Really, it was just one who said
that. John chapter 12 tells us who it was. Turn with me over
there to John 12. John 12, this is the same account,
verse 1 says, Then six days before the Passover came to Bethany,
let me start it one more time, 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. And Lazarus was one of them that
sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment
of 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. Now verse 4 says, Then said one
of his disciples, Judas Iscariot. Simon's son, which should betray
him. Why was not this ointment sold
for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said, not that
he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag
and bear what was put therein. That is the natural heart of
every man and woman on earth. That right there is the natural
heart of every man and woman on earth. Covetousness. I want
it. Isn't that the truth? Covetousness. Greed. I want more. Envy. Jealousy. Hate. Lies. He said, why didn't we give this
money to the poor? That's what he said to God. That's what he looked God in
the eye and he said, why didn't we give, like he's gonna judge God
or judge these people. Why didn't we give this money
to the poor? Verse six says, this he said not that he cared
for the poor. He didn't care for the poor,
but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was
put therein. Judas was the treasurer. He was
the treasurer. And he held the bag of money
and every chance he got, he reached inside that bag and he put something
in his pocket. Every chance he got. Now, the
fact that he did that, do you know what that tells us about
him? He did not believe Jesus Christ was who he said he was. He did not. He did not believe
Christ saw it all. If he believed that, he wouldn't
have done it. He did not believe that Christ literally knew everything,
whether he was there or not. He did not believe that he was
God. He didn't believe Christ could
see straight into his heart. There was no reverence for him. There was no fear of his wrath,
none. None. He lied to his face. He stole from him. He hated him. And then in the end, he sold
him for 30 pieces of silver. He betrayed him for 30 pieces
of silver. What a horrible man Judas was.
What a horrible, horrible man. That's true. You know what the
sin in Judas shows us? The sin in us. That's what the
sin in Judas shows us. The sin in us. This scripture
says we all come from the same lump. Isn't that what it says?
All of us. All of us. If that's what I feel
about Judas, then that's what I need to feel about myself.
But for the grace of God, there go I. It doesn't matter who it
is. It does not matter who it is. But for the grace of God,
there go I. Every sinner is born into this
world just like that. Just like that. We do not teach
our children to do those things. We don't sit down. I've never
sat down and said, sweetheart, this is how you lie. You say
one thing when you mean something else. Never. Never. It's what we are. And no soul
deserves the grace of God, but God just chose to show grace
in His goodness. He chose to show grace to some
of these sinners anyway. We don't turn, but Ephesians
says, we all had our conversation in times past. In the lust of
our flesh, you can say, well, there Judas is in the lust of
his flesh. We all had our conversation in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace,
we're saved. By grace. The only thing that
can be said for some sinners, you know, why does God choose
one and not another? It's the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth him good. Why would God put one in Christ
and not another? It's the Lord. The only thing
we can say for some sinners is God just chose to shed his grace
on them. He did something for him and
we're going to see what he does for a sinner back in our text.
Go to Mark 14. There's another sinner in this
house and God did something for him. Verse 3 says, and being
in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. Now, I'm sorry, what? What did
you just say? The leper? Did you say leprosy? The flesh eating disease of leprosy? Yes. Yeah, that's what I said.
Leprosy. How can all these people be in
the house of Simon the leper? You don't have anything to do
with a leper. We just said a minute ago, you
can't do anything for a leper. You don't have anything to do
with a leper. You don't even walk close to
a leper. When you pass a leper on the
street, by law, he has to cry unclean. He goes to one side,
you go to the other. Everything he touches becomes
infected with leprosy. Every single thing he touches.
You don't go into the house of a leper. You don't do that. You
sure don't sit down at his table and eat his food. But they all did. Why did they
do that? The reason is because God did
something for him. God did something for him. God
did the impossible. With man, it's impossible. But
God did it. Now it's true. Simon was a leper.
You can't deny that. And Simon wouldn't deny that
he was a leper. But here's the good news of God's
amazing grace. Simon was a leper. Simon was a leper, but not anymore. Not anymore. When God's grace
comes to a center, and this is amazing, this is the truth. When
God's grace comes to a sinner, that sinner says, I once was
lost, now I'm found. I was blind, now I see. It was the grace of God that
shed the blood of Christ, isn't it? It was God's grace that shed
that blood. The blood of Christ removed the
sin of his people. The blood of Christ blotted out
the sin of his people. I mean, gone. Gone. The moment that Christ performed
that work, you know, they did say, we're gonna kill him. The
moment God performed that work, the sin in his people was gone.
It was gone. Now we do still cry, oh, wretched
man that I am. Don't we cry that? Oh, wretched
man that I am. We still have to live out the
sin of the rest of our life here on this earth. That's sad news. We still have to live it out.
But here's the good news. Christ has already paid for the
sin that I have yet to commit. When he paid for my sin, he paid
for it all. The day I was born till the day
I die, He paid for it all. I'm in the middle of it. Is my sin gone? Yes. Is my sin
still on me? Yes. Is my sin gone? Yes. Do I still bear the burden of
it? Do I still feel the weight of it? Yes. Is it gone? Yes. It's paid for,
it's paid for. Every sin that every one of his
people will ever commit, has committed, will commit. And even
though we still have to experience the remainder of that sin in
God's eyes, it's gone. It's gone. He said, you are washed. You are sanctified. You are justified before God. I don't feel like it. Surely
I have to do something because I don't feel like it. You don't
have to feel like it. You are. Isn't that great? In God's eyes, you are. I'm not
in my eyes. That doesn't matter. In God's
eyes, you are. If you have the blood of Christ
on you, you're just as pure, you're just as holy, and you're
just as clean as Christ himself. However pure his blood is, if
you're absolutely covered in it, you're that pure. Now let me show you a beautiful
verse of scripture that proves this. Look with me at Jeremiah
50. Jeremiah 50 verse 20 says, In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none. And the sins of Judah and they
shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve."
The ones that I have reserved, the ones that I have chosen to
reserve They are going to be pardoned because there's not
going to be any more sin in them. No more sin. The blood of Christ
put it away. It's gone. It's gone. That's
what God has done for sinners. That's what he did for sinners.
Now let's see what that produces in a sinner. Go with me back
to our text, Mark 14. Mark 14 verse 3 says, In being
in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat,
there came a woman. Now we read it just a minute
ago in John 12. It told us that it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus
and Martha. And I never realized this in
all of my time now studying, listening to messages, I never
realized that it is commonly reported By these commentators,
I have a beautiful bookshelf full of books back there, full
of commentaries, and it is commonly reported that Mary, the sister
of Lazarus and Martha, is Mary Magdalene. I never knew that. I never put two and two together.
I've always loved Mary Magdalene. That woman, that precious woman
could not be close enough to the Lord. She would never leave
his side. She stayed there at the tomb.
She kept looking inside the tomb, weeping. Everywhere he went,
she followed him. He was the first one she spoke
to after he arose. I love that woman. And I've always
loved Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. That woman was always
sitting at his feet. She never wanted to leave him.
And it just blesses me to find out they're one in the same.
They're one in the same. So this is Mary Magdalene. Our
Lord is sitting here in this house having dinner and here
comes Mary. And our Lord did something for
her. He cast seven devils out of her. He did something for
her. They're gone. And this is what
his work for her produced in her. Verse three says, and being
in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard, very precious. While I was studying this, this
week, I had a moment to just imagine this scenario. You just
walk through the front door of this house for a minute, okay?
Here are people in this house. You can just envision what each
person, I can kind of imagine what Martha's doing. And from the moment the Lord
walks in, And imagine that for just a minute.
What if God walked into your house? What would you do? What if God walked into your
house? Well, God couldn't come into
my house. Oh, yes, he can. Yes, he sure can. What if God walked in the front
door of your house? And I can just see Mary, from
the moment he walks in this house, she is quietly standing to the
side. Different ones are welcoming
him in. Martha is the type of woman that meets him at the door.
Come in, Lord, I already have a seat waiting for you. Mary's
standing there. She is. In all of the fact that
my Lord and my God is in this house. The one who loved me. Is here. He's here right now. The one who healed me, the one
who saved me. The one who called me to himself
and spoke peace to my heart is here right now. And here's what
she's thinking. How can I honor him? What could I do? How could I praise him? I would
love to say thank you. I would love to just show my
love to him. What could I do? And she's standing
there looking around and Martha's setting the table and Martha's
cooking the food. And thank God for Martha. Thank God for Martha. That woman was totally given
to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for Martha. But Mary's standing there and
while all that's going on, her mind is racing a hundred miles
a minute. What could I do? And she's looking
around her living room. I can see her looking at everything
in her living room. None of this stuff is good enough.
Not for my Lord. What do I have? What do I have
that I could give to him? She's searching through all the
house, going through all the house. What could I do? She walks down the hall, she
walks in her bedroom and there sits an alabaster box of ointment,
spikenard, very costly. Very costly. And she looks at
that box and the thought goes through her mind, he is more
precious to me. He is of more value to me than
any possession I own. And she lays hold on that alabaster
box, and she walks out of her bedroom, and she walks down the
hall, and she walks into the dining room, and she goes, and she pours every drop of it
on his head. And everybody stops because the
whole house is filled with the fragrance. What is that? That's the honor and praise of
the Lord. And that beautiful ointment ran
down his face. It ran down his beard. It ran
down to the skirts of his garment, all the way down to his beautiful
feet. And then she bowed herself down to the ground and she started
wiping that oil that was on his feet with her hair. She's kissing his feet. She's
crying on his feet. And she's saying, thank you,
Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you for saving my soul.
Thank you for making me whole. Thank you for giving to me that
great salvation. It was so rich and so free. That's the work that God produces
in a sinner that he has done something for. Every sinner that
God does something for has a work produced in them. And that work
says, thank you. Thank you. What can I do to say
thank you? Verse three says, in being in
Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard, very precious, and she break the box and poured
it on his head. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves and said, why was this waste
of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for
more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor. And they
murmured against her. And Jesus said, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She hath
wrought a good work on me, for you have the poor with you always,
and whensoever you will, you may do them good, but me you
have not always. She hath done what she could. She has come aforehand to anoint
my body to the burying. We cannot do anything to save
our own souls. We cannot do anything to save
our own souls, but we can do what we can to say thank you
to the God who saved us. We can ascribe it all to him. We can literally give our all
to him. Mary was not trying to save herself. She was not trying to save herself. She was trying to glorify and
honor the God who saved her. God himself said, she has wrought
a good work. She has done what she could.
She has honored me in my death. She has ascribed it all to my
death. Is that not what God puts in
the heart of a believer? All of it is ascribed to his
death, his burying, everything. Verse nine says, Verily I say
unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout
the whole world, This also that she hath done shall be spoken
of for a memorial of her." I believe that the gospel is preached in
Kingsport, Tennessee. I do. If I didn't believe that,
I wouldn't be here. And here we are right now speaking
of her honor to the Lord, just like he said we would be. We
are doing exactly what he said we would do. He gave her a heart to honor
him, and then he honored her for it. Isn't that something? He did every bit of the work.
She had seven devils in her. He got every bit of that out.
He put a brand new heart in there. He did every bit of the work
and then he honored the whole thing. That's inspiring to me. That
is really inspiring to me. Salvation is finished. You know that we're not here
to find out what we need to do to finish salvation. That's finished. All we're doing right now is
breaking the box, pouring the ointment. Salvation is finished. Christ has accomplished that
work. And do you know what that makes
me want to do in return? Whatever I can. It really does. Whatever I can just to say thank
you. Just to say I love you. Don't
we all say the same thing? All glory, all honor, all praise,
every beautiful and every precious thing be ascribed to him. Amen. All right, let's stand
together.