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Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3
The same incident has been recorded in the Gospel or Matthew (26:7) & Mark (14:3) with a mention of anointing of Jesus' head instead of his feet. Since neither account is wrong we can conclude both Jesus' head and feet were anointed. John says the woman was Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. On the side note, Luke records a similar but different incident by a different woman Luke (7:37).
The very act of pouring out the expensive perfume suggests that Mary didn't give it a second thought when it came to using it for the Lord. She didn't hold back on it, she didn't think what people might say, she didn't wait for permission from her brother or sister, she didn't consider it worth anything, she didn't even consider the poor deserved it better than the Lord Jesus Christ!
This goes hand in hand with what Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians; we read in chapter 3 verse 7 (NLT), "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him."
Our focus today is the after effect of these acts. We read Mary's house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume; Paul led an exemplary life for Christ.
Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:1-2, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Are we spending our best for the Lord? Do we consider all things worthless for the sake of Christ? Have we gained Christ discarding everything else - including our finest - as garbage? Can people sense fragrance filled in our house? Do we give ourselves up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God?
It's a lot of questions this morning; hopefully it will help steer us in the right direction...
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3
The same incident has been recorded in the Gospel or Matthew (26:7) & Mark (14:3) with a mention of anointing of Jesus' head instead of his feet. Since neither account is wrong we can conclude both Jesus' head and feet were anointed. John says the woman was Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. On the side note, Luke records a similar but different incident by a different woman Luke (7:37).
The very act of pouring out the expensive perfume suggests that Mary didn't give it a second thought when it came to using it for the Lord. She didn't hold back on it, she didn't think what people might say, she didn't wait for permission from her brother or sister, she didn't consider it worth anything, she didn't even consider the poor deserved it better than the Lord Jesus Christ!
This goes hand in hand with what Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians; we read in chapter 3 verse 7 (NLT), "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him."
Our focus today is the after effect of these acts. We read Mary's house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume; Paul led an exemplary life for Christ.
Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:1-2, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Are we spending our best for the Lord? Do we consider all things worthless for the sake of Christ? Have we gained Christ discarding everything else - including our finest - as garbage? Can people sense fragrance filled in our house? Do we give ourselves up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God?
It's a lot of questions this morning; hopefully it will help steer us in the right direction...
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So, how did you enjoy your coffee with Jesus? Care to share?