True and False Worship

December 26, 2021 Preacher: Ace Davis Series: The Gospel According to Mark

Scripture: Mark 14:3-11

56:42

The Passion Week timeline

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

worship, Jesus, Mary, Judas, perfume, gave, people, anoint, Christ, verse, Mark, costly perfume, Bethany, notice, true worshipper, tells, Simon, John, God, scolding

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

  1. The Worshipful Reverence. - 4 -
  2. The Indignant Reaction.. - 7 -
  3. The Devine Rebuke. - 8 -
  4. The Secret Rejection. - 10 -

 

Introduction

One of the headlines from yesterday's news read this, "Omicron keeps some Minnesota worshippers at home on Christmas.” Many Christmas Eve services were at record low attendance.  There are even so-called churches today, literally today, who have canceled their service, because it's the day after Christmas. Why does this happen? Because people don't worship God anymore. In fact, many who claimed to be Christians don't even understand what worship is.

 

Do people still worship? Of course, they do. That's what we were created to do. Right? We were created to worship. People do worship. They worship themselves. They worship their idols. They worship their stuff. And life is all about the worship of them. We were created to worship and so we will always worship something. But worshiping God, it's not a priority for many people.

 

So, let me ask you, what is worship? What is worship? If you ask the average Christian, they would probably tell you something like this. Worship is the time in the service where you stand up, the band plays songs, and we all sing together, in worship to God. In the modern church, today, many people have equated worship with singing. And singing only. You can worship at church during the music time, or you can worship in the car with your favorite CD or radio station or whatever it is that you use to worship God. We've even labeled the musicians in the church as the worship band. And even the guy leading the music as the worship leader. And it all revolves around music.

 

So, the question is, if that is what worship is, then what happens the rest of your week? And the rest of our service?  Is what we are doing right now worship? Do we only worship on Sunday mornings for about 20 minutes while we sing songs?  Or for a 20-minute commute to work in the morning? For those who think that that is what worship is, I guess that that's what they would say.

 

But that's because they have a wrong understanding of what worship is. Now is that time of music on Sunday morning that we just did is that time worship? Yes, it is. It is worship? Can you worship the Lord on your commute to work in the morning? Yes, you can do that. But worship is so much more than that.

 

In fact, let me just give you a simple definition of worship, so that you can understand what true worship is. Worship is this -- worship is honor, love and adoration directed to God in response to His divine truth. Let me say that again. Worship is honor, love and adoration directed to God in response to His divine truth.

 

True worship is not music. Music is a form or an expression of our honor and adoration to God as we ponder the truths of who God is. But you can't just turn on music and then just say that you're worshiping. Worship is a way of life. It begins in the heart. And it's an overflow of a heart that contemplates the truths of our great God.  

 

You respond to the truth of who God is by giving Him honor and adoration that He alone deserves. Then you live your life in that way. In light of that. That's why Jesus said in John 4:23, "but an hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in..." what? "Truth." (John 4:23)

 

There's a lot of music out there that's considered worship music, but it's really not -- because it's not filled with truth.

 

Many people think that just because they're moved emotionally by the sounds of music, or by nice, feel-good messages, that they are somehow worshipping God. But music by itself is not worship. Feel good stories that are not grounded in biblical truth are not worship. True worship is the response to divine truth. And then it drives you to honor and to love and adore the God of the Bible. And in our passage here this morning, we're going to see if true worship take place. We're going to see both what true worship is and what false worship looks like. We're going to see one person whom the modern-day church goer might conclude as a Jesus freak, who doesn't know what she's doing. And the other one is a follower of Christ -- and many might see as having a good heart. That man looks like a true worshipper of God.

 

So please open your Bible with me to Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. And let me read our passage for us this morning, beginning in verse 3. Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 3.

 

“While He…”(Jesus) “was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
    10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.” (Mark 14:3-11)

 

Now, if you remember back a few weeks ago, we studied the Olivet Discourse in Mark chapter 13. And all that Jesus taught there on the Mount of Olives there, was on Wednesday evening. It was Wednesday evening of the Passion Week, leading up to Passover. And then we saw a couple weeks ago, in verses 1 and 2, how there was a plot that was being made on that Wednesday evening, by the Sanhedrin, to put Jesus to death. But if you remember, their plot was to wait until after the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread to arrest Jesus and kill Him. Let's wait until all the people leave Jerusalem, go back home, then we will arrest Jesus and we'll put Him to death.

 

But God's plan was to have Jesus put on the cross on Passover. On Friday evening at 3 pm, when everyone else was slaughtering their Passover lamb. God had His Passover lamb on the cross. Because Jesus is the final Passover Lamb whose sacrifice takes away our sins when we place our faith in Him.

 

But it's Wednesday evening, the last time that we saw Jesus and His disciples on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus is teaching them. And He's telling them that He's going to be handed over and be crucified. This is the plan, guys, get ready, I am going to be handed over and I am going to die. And even though the Sanhedrin's original plan was to wait until after the Passover, Jesus was communicating to these guys and telling them, "Guys, it's going to happen this week." Jesus was there teaching them on this Wednesday evening on the Mount of Olives.

 

But as we come now to verse 3, Mark doesn't tell us this, but John does -- that what is taking place here in verse 3 is actually six days before the Passover. Mark here takes us back in time, a few days. John tells us (listen to John 12:1) "Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.” (John 12:1)

 

Then John goes on to tell us about this very account right here in verse 3. And so, Mark, what he's doing here in Mark 14, is he's giving us a flashback to Saturday evening. And verses 3-9. This is a flashback to Saturday evening. Why does Mark put this here? Why doesn't he put it earlier on in his gospel? Well, most likely he sticks it in here, because he's comparing the anointing of Jesus for burial with the treachery of Judas. Some call this here the Markan sandwich, a Markan sandwich. We see in verses 1 and 2, the treachery of the Sanhedrin. Right? They are wanting to arrest Jesus and kill Him. Then in verses 10 and 11, we see the treachery of Judas. We see these evil men who want to take Jesus out. And then we see this evil man who wants to take Jesus out.

 

But right in the middle there, Mark sandwiches this account of the anointing of Jesus to show the contrast between true faith and false faith (dead faith.) He wants to contrast the difference between true worship and false worship -- between a true follower of Christ and a fake follower of Christ.

 

So, this morning, I'm going to give you four points. I'll break our passage down into four points.

1.     The Worshipful Reverence

 

And we're going to pick up this account and let's see our first point this morning, what we'll call the Worshipful reverence, the Worshipful reverence.

 

Look at verse 3 and what it says there. "While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head." (Mark 14:3)

 

Now notice this, here is in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper. You remember from a few weeks back (in our teaching) during the Passion Week Bethany was where Jesus and the disciples went to stay every night. They would go from Bethany, they would make their way down into Jerusalem to the temple there. Jesus went and cleansed the temple out. Jesus was there teaching on the temple grounds, all of that was going on in Jerusalem -- and then when the evening came, they went back to Bethany to go stay the night there in Bethany.

 

Mark 11:11 says, "Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late." (Mark 11:11). It's evening time and they head back to Bethany. That's where they stayed during the night. Every night of the Passion Week, they stayed in Bethany. But before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as they made their way from Jericho, and before Jesus and the disciples actually entered into Jerusalem -- they stopped there at Bethany on Saturday.

 

Saturday evening, before that triumphal entry that would happen on Monday morning, what we often call Palm Sunday, we've talked about Palm Monday. This is the Saturday right before that, as they're, there in Bethany.

 

And they come then to the home of Simon the leper, Simon the leper. Now, who is this guy? Well, obviously, he didn't have leprosy anymore. Not at this time that they're there with him. He doesn't have leprosy when they go there to his house. He was one who previously had leprosy. But he had been healed of it. Most likely by Jesus. At some point in Jesus’ ministry, He healed this man, Simon. And this man wants to give Jesus and his disciples a meal there at his home. But Simon wasn't the only one who was there in that house that day.

 

John tells us in his gospel, in his account of what's going on here, that Lazarus was there, Martha was there, and Mary were there also. Along with Simon and Jesus and the 12. And so as they enter into this house, and they're all there having this meal at Simon the lepers house. They've got a table that's set up for at least 17 people. Possibly even Simon's family is there as well. If he was married, his wife would be there. If he had children, his children would be there in the house as well. There they are, this table that is set for 17 at least. You can imagine the conversation that took place at this meal. Think about this. One guy who had leprosy, who has been healed of his leprosy by Jesus is there -- and another guy who has been raised from the dead is there. Think about that conversation! Well, I used to have leprosy, but I don't anymore. Oh, well, I was dead. Beat that! Now, I'm alive...and I was dead for four days!

 

And there's Jesus just smiling. Now we have to understand as they're gathered there together around this table, how they ate back then and what's going on. You see, they didn't have chairs like you and I have around their table, they wouldn't have chairs. And what they would do there is they would be gathered around, and they would lay down with their head facing the table and their feet then out away from them. What they would do is, as they lay there, they would everyone would have a cushion. And one elbow would rest on the cushion. And then they would eat with the other hand. And as they're laying there, around this table with one another, there they are -- their head towards the table their feet out away from them -- and they're all just having communication, talking with one another as they eat with one hand -- reclining, laying around this table.

 

And so, you have all of these people who are gathered there around this table, they're laying on their sides with their feet out behind them. And John tells us that Lazarus was reclining there with the other guys at the table, but Martha was busy serving. So, Martha may have had a spot there at the table. But Martha was also a servant, who was serving all these people, making sure that the food was being cooked, that the food was being put out on the table, so that these guys could sit around and eat and talk with one another. So, you have at least 16 people that are there gathered around this table.

 

That's typical Martha. Luke chapter 10 tells us about another time where Jesus was over at Mary and Martha's house. What was Martha doing? She was busy serving. She was a servant. She loved to serve. But what was Mary doing? In Luke chapter 10, we see that Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him teach. She was listening to Jesus teach the truth. If you remember from Luke chapter 10, Martha gets upset, right? Tell my sister to start serving. What does Jesus say? She's doing a good thing...just leave her alone, let her sit at my feet and listen to the truth. And that's how I believe that she was able to worship Jesus on this day. She was a woman who loved the truth. Mary was a woman who understood the truth, and she understood who Jesus was. And now that Jesus is back there in her midst, and she's gathered now at Simon the leper's house, about to have this meal with Jesus...all she can do is respond to Christ with a reverent heart and show Him honor and love and adoration.

 

What did she do? Mark continues in verse 3, and what does he say there? It says there "...there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over his head." (Mark 14:3)

 

Now Mark doesn't tell us who this woman is. Matthew doesn't either in his account. They don't tell us who this woman is. But John does tell us that this woman here is Mary. This is Mary. Listen to what John says, "Mary then took a pound a very costly perfume of pure nard and anointing the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair." (John 12:3)

 

Now, to us, this doesn't seem like anything special. But to all those who were there that day, what Mary did was something that was amazing. This was amazing. Why? Well, let me help you just kind of understand the context and what's going on here. You see, in those days, they didn't have deodorant. They didn't have deodorant, like you and I hopefully all of us use it. They didn't have it back then. So when people came over for dinner, to have a meal, the kind thing to do was to anoint that person with perfume or with oil. And they would put a little dab of perfume on that person's head typically. It was a gesture of kindness to that person. And it was also a gesture of kindness to all the people that would be there at that meal.

 

Because in those days, people didn't shower up before they went to dinner. They didn't change into their nice clean clothes before they went to dinner. They just showed up to dinner with whatever they had. They wore the clothes that they had. And they lived in a dry and hot desert climate. So you can imagine the smells of these people as they all gathered together around the meal. They didn't always have the greatest smells. And so putting some of this perfume on someone at least masks the smell for a little while, while everyone laid around this table to eat.

 

Mary is there and Mary has this bottle. This alabaster vial of costly perfume. This jar that she has, is made of alabaster. And alabaster jars were used to store costly perfumes or fragrant oils in. That's what they use them for. It would have been a jar that had a long neck on it. And then it was sealed at the top with some kind of cork. That cork then usually had a small hole in it so that as people came over, they could take a drop of that perfume and put it on the person's head -- anoint them as they came into their house with this oil or this perfume.

 

Notice what it says about this alabaster vial. What did it have in it? Costly perfume. Costly perfume. John tells us that it was about a pound. It was a pound of very costly perfume. That would be an equivalent of about 12 ounces in our day. 12 ounces. And in that day, that's a large amount of perfume. In fact, if you look down at verse 5, it says for this perfume might have been sold for over 300 Denarii. 300 denarii is equivalent to about a whole year's wages. An entire year's wages... imagine working for a whole year just to buy a little bottle of perfume. That's how much this cost...it's a very expensive perfume. This was possibly some family heirloom that had been passed down to Mary. Because this could have been something that could have been easily sold in the marketplace, if Mary was ever in some kind of financial trouble. She could go and sell it there. And now she's at least good for a whole year. So this was costly. This is costly perfume. You think your Chanel or your Dior is expensive. It's nothing compared to what Mary has here. She's got very costly perfume.

 

But notice what Mary does with this bottle of costly perfume. Look at what it says there in verse 3. "She broke the vial and poured it over his head." (Mark 14:3) Notice she didn't just pop the cork out and begin to sprinkle a little on Jesus. No, she literally broke the jar. Most likely on the neck of that jar. She breaks it. And what did she do, she begins to pour. She couldn't wait for some little drips to come out of this bottle. She wanted Christ to have all of it. And so, she breaks it and she begins to pour it on His head.

 

John tells us the obvious which is, when she poured it the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Everyone in that house, understood and knew... Wow, something big has just happened. We can smell it. It wasn't the food that they smelled. They smelled this perfume.

 

One commentator says, "Mary gave her most treasured possession to Jesus." As she poured it out upon Christ, upon His head and upon His feet to anoint Him, she gave her most treasured possession. Everything that she had was for Him as she was there giving her worship and adoration to Christ. She gave Him all that she had. And she responded this way. Because of the truth of who Jesus was. She knew who this man was in that house. She learned from Him. She knew that He healed Simon from his leprosy, and that Jesus raised her brother from the dead. Her brother's presence there testifies to who Jesus is... that He's one who heals people and brings the dead back to life. And knowing this truth about Jesus caused her heart to respond in worship. That's all she could do. And she gave all that she had to Jesus.

 

Notice she didn't start playing an instrument and singing songs about Him. She gave Him her heart. And it was reflected in her anointing Jesus' body. Her worship was action. Her worship was devotion. Her worship was adoration of Christ. And she did it publicly. Not for show, not because she was there wanting everybody to see what she was doing, but because that was the only way that she could express her love and devotion toward Christ. Here He is. This is my moment; this is my time to worship Him and to show Him how much I love Him. She didn't care what Martha thought, she didn't care what Lazarus thought, she didn't care what Simon or the twelve thought. She saw her Messiah, her Savior there and she said, I must worship Him. The only one that she had reverence for on that day was Christ. And she wanted Jesus to know and everyone else there to know how much she loved Him.

 

She wanted them to know how devoted to Him she was. Jesus is her Lord. Jesus is her Savior. She knows who He is. And all she could do is respond and worship of Him. This woman was a true worshipper of Jesus. And so that's the worshipful reverence.

 

2.     The Indignant Reaction

 

Let's look at our second point, point number two, the Indignant Reaction. The Indignant Reaction. Look at verse 4, "But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor. And they were scolding her." (Mark 14:4-5)

 

Now well, Mark puts at least a few of the guys into this category of being indignant. You can see where he says there, some of them. Some were indignantly remarking, we know that it was Judas, who was leading the charge on this. Judas was the man who was leading the charge of this indignation toward Mary. The other guys may have sided with Judas when he spoke up. But John tells us that it was Judas who spoke up and asked, Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to poor people? It was Judas who led the charge, and the other guys jumped in with him. Notice their reaction, they were indignant. That word there in the Greek is a present tense, meaning they were continually indignant and angry with Mary because of what she had done.

 

Why did Judas react this way? John tells us, that Judas said what he said, not because he was concerned with the poor, but because he was a thief. Judas was a thief. And he was in charge of the money box. And he used to pilfer what was put into it. He knew that if this woman would have just gone out and sold it in the marketplace, and given the money to Jesus, that it would go into his money box. He cared for it. That money would have ended up in that money box, and then he could have gotten his hands on some of that money. Mary, why did you do this? It would have been a lot better if you would have just sold it and given Jesus the money.

 

Notice also what they thought of the perfume. As she poured it out on Jesus. They thought that it was wasted. That it was wasted. How sad that this woman gave all that she had in worship to the King of Kings, and they then looked at her worship, and they viewed it as wasted. All for nothing. Then after expressing how much the perfume costs, notice what it says there that they did to her. Notice this, they were scolding her. They began to scold Mary for her worship of Jesus. And they knew they couldn't criticize Jesus for receiving this worship. So, they went after her for giving worship to Him.

 

One commentator says, "it's easy to criticize those who show more love to Jesus than we do." You have to wonder how Mary felt as these men were there scolding her. Telling her how she had wasted this perfume that our worship was a big waste. Think about Mary. Mary thinking "Did I do something wrong?" I just want to show how much I love my Savior. Why are these men angry with me?  Notice this, I love this. Notice this. Notice what Mary said in reply to these men -- notice this. What did she say? Nothing. She said nothing.

 

What did she do? She just looked over to her Savior. She looked to her Savior. And He stepped in to protect her. To show love for her, because He knew of her love and devotion to Him.

 

3.     The Devine Rebuke

 

Which leads to our third point, point number three, the Divine Rebuke. The Divine Rebuke. Look at verse 6. "But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me." (Mark 14:6) Jesus commanded these men with a rebuke to leave Mary alone. She was a worshipper of Christ, and He knew that. And so He commanded them at once to stop scolding her. Why? Because Jesus says, she has done a good deed to Me.

 

That word "good" in the Greek there is the word Kalos. And it means something that is excellent, admirable or beautiful. What is Jesus saying here? Jesus is saying, look, what Mary has done, is beautiful. Beautiful. Why? Because it was worship of Me from her heart, she gave everything that she had, to Me. A beautiful act of worship, and Christ saw that in her heart. But notice, she didn't just do a good deed, or do something beautiful. But Christ says she did it to Me. Christ is to be the object of our worship. She didn't just do a random act of kindness this day. No, she worshipped Christ. We cannot be claiming to worship God, while we're focused on other things. When we worship Christ, it must be total and complete devotion to Him and Him alone.

 

His rebuke toward them is not done, though. Look at what he says in verse 7. “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.” (Mark 14:7)

 

What's interesting here is that Judas said that they could have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor. But do you think that Jesus knows Judas' heart? Of course, He does. He knows his heart. He knows Judas doesn't want to take the money and give it to the poor. That's just an excuse to get more money. To put money in the money box. But notice, Jesus doesn't say, Judas, you wouldn't give that money to the poor if it was sold. Instead, what does Jesus do here? He puts the focus upon Himself. He puts the focus upon Himself.

 

Jesus here is He's not knocking the poor here. He's stating a simple fact. Look, you always have the poor with you. Even today, we have poor with us. The poor are always with us. Jesus isn't saying here, don't take care of the poor. We should take care of the poor, help the poor. It's a good thing. But the poor are always with you. But Jesus wants them to see that He is to be the object of their worship. And here I am in your midst. And what He's saying to them is, look I'm not going to be around much longer. I'm going to die. And then I'm going to rise again and 40 days later, I'm going to ascend to the Father. I'm out of here, guys. But while I'm here, worship Me. Do good deeds to Me. I am to be the object of your worship.

 

This is not a time to think about the poor because you'll have ample time to think about them and give to them. They'll always be with you. It's what Jesus is saying here. But He's telling them, Look, this is the time to think about Me, because I won't be around much longer. Jesus is to be the object of our worship.

 

Then in verse 8, he says, "She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial." (Mark 14:8) What Jesus is saying here is that she had her opportunity to worship Me, and she took it. She gave all that she had, this was her time to worship Me and show her love and devotion to Me, because she knows who I am. And she took that opportunity. And she gave worship.

 

Now, notice at the end of verse 8 there, "she has anointed my body beforehand for burial." There's a lot of differing views on this. Did Mary know that Jesus was headed for the cross? Or did she anoint Jesus not realizing what she was doing? I don't believe that she knew exactly what she was doing here. But Jesus took her actions and gave another reminder of His mission. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burial. The burial? You're the Messiah. Remember what the 12 would be thinking, but you're the Messiah? What burial are you talking about? You're going to conquer Rome and establish Your kingdom and you're going to be here forever...

 

But Jesus says, no, no, no, no. This woman --her act of worship was to anoint My body beforehand for the burial. She doesn't realize what she's doing, but that is what she is doing. Why would she anoint this? What's this anointing all about? Well, Jews back then they didn't embalmed bodies. They would anoint bodies with perfume and spices to cover the stench of death. And Jesus is reminding them again, that He's going to the cross, and He's going to die and be buried. And she anointed His body in preparation for that. Remember, Jesus is going to be dead by the end of the week. He's going to the cross. She anointed His head, John tells us she anointed His feet. That is she covered His whole body with this perfume, to anoint Him for His burial. Not realizing what she was doing. But she did it.

 

And then in verse nine, Jesus says, these lovely words, look at this in verse nine, "Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” (Mark 14:9)

 

Is this true? Are we talking about Mary today? Isn't the gospel going forth? It's true. We're speaking of Mary right now, remembering this act of worship of hers. The gospel is being preached, and Mary is remembered for her worship of Christ. In fact, her act of worship is given in three of the four gospels. This account here is given in Matthew, Mark, and John -- and just a side note, there's a woman who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7 (that's not Mary). It's not Mary there. That woman was a sinner, that woman there was a prostitute. Mary wasn't a prostitute. And they were there at a Pharisees house, not the home of Simon the leper. And so if you read that account, in Luke, that's not talking about Mary there. It's only in Matthew, Mark, and John, the account of Mary.

 

But here we do see Mary's act of worship, as the gospel continues to go out and to be preached to the whole world. And why is she remembered? She's remembered because of her love and devotion for Christ, as she worshipped Him on that day, as she gave all that she had to Christ.

 

And so that there is the Worshipful Reverence, The Indignant Reaction and The Divine Rebuke.

 

4.     The Secret Rejection.

 

Let's look at our fourth point here this morning. Point number four, The Secret Rejection. The Secret Rejection. All of a sudden, the scene changes here. And Mark returns back to the scene from verses 1 and 2. Remember I talked about that sandwich there. Now he's coming back to Wednesday evening. This is Wednesday evening. And he comes back now to the betrayal of Christ to show us this contrast between Mary's act of worship and Judas' act of betrayal.

 

As you read this beautiful act of worship in verses 3-9, all of a sudden you come to verse 10. And here's what you read. Listen to this. "Then Judas Iscariot." And your heart drops. And you cringe. Because his name is the one of the most infamous names in human history. Anyone know anyone named Judas? Is anybody going to name their next child Judas? I don't think so. But everybody knows who Judas is. And although he would seem like a true worshipper of Jesus, even more so than Mary, Mark is contrasting here for us these two different people. One is a true worshipper and the other one is a false worshipper.

 

Look what it says there in verse 10. "Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time." (Mark 14:10-11)

 

Now remember, their plan was to kill Jesus after the Passover, right? That's what we studied in verses 1 and 2. But now notice this, they have an in. They've got an "in".  In fact, Luke tells us that Satan entered Judas at this time. Two different times Satan entered Judas, once here, and then another time, at the Last Supper, the Passover meal. Luke tells us, Satan enter Judas at this time. And most likely, he went over to Caiaphas' house where the Sanhedrin were all gathered to to come up with this plan (that we saw in verses 1 and 2). And as he shows up to Caiaphas' house, there, he goes, they're all gathered around, and now he meets them in order to betray Jesus to them.

 

When you think about this, think about this. They had their plan to arrest Jesus and kill him after the Passover. But it was Judas, who went and set it all in motion to have Jesus arrested and killed before that time. Judas did it. As we saw a couple of weeks ago, and God did it. Because it was God's divine timing. But Judas did it as well. And he was responsible for every act that he did in betraying Christ. Notice what it says there at the end of verse 11, "he began seeking how to betray him at an opportune time." (Mark 14:11)

 

Not only did Judas come up with a plan on how to betray Jesus, but he also gave them the timing... an opportune time. Luke tells us that they had planned to do it away from the crowd. Because remember, what were the Sanhedrin fearful of? The people the crowd! So, Judas comes up with a plan and says, hey, we'll do it away from the crowd. We'll do it in secret. So that way, you guys don't have to be afraid of the people. I'll tell you how to do it. And we'll set up the time of this as well.

 

What did they give him in exchange for his plan? They gave him money. Matthew tells us they weighed out 30 pieces of silver. What was it that Judas worshipped? He worshiped money. He worshiped money. Money was his God. That was why he was so upset with Mary. Mary, you would have just sold that for 300 denarii. We could put it in the money box. And then it would be mine. Because money was his God. You see if we would have looked at the life of Judas. People probably could have convinced themselves and seen that he was a true worshipper. He followed Jesus. He listened to Jesus teach. He watched Jesus performed miracles. He was according to the watching world's eyes, a worshipper of Jesus. But inside his heart was hard. He only used Jesus to try and get what he wanted. That's what he was all about. He knew the power that Christ had. He knew what Jesus could do. He saw it with his own eyes. And he's thinking, I'm going to use this guy to get what I want.

 

And sadly, there are many people today who are sitting in pews, in our churches, who use Jesus for that, to get what they want. They claim to be true worshippers of Jesus, and yet they use Him as a genie. I'll show up to church because I want to get what I want. Then God will bless me, then God will give me all the things that I've been asking Him for. They're no different than Judas.

 

False worship, fake worship. He was a fake and a phony. But he couldn't hide it from Christ. Christ knew all about this man. He knew what was in the heart of Judas. How do we know? Listen to Christ's high priestly prayer and John 17:12. Jesus said this, praying to the Father, "While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name which You have given me, and I guarded them.” (that is the 12). “And not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled." (John 17:12)

 

Who is the son of perdition? Judas Iscariot. Christ knew of his hard heart, and Christ knew of his false worship. And his name...his name is remembered...But it's remembered for the worst act any human could do in the history of mankind. Betray the Savior.

 

But there was another name, the name of a true worshipper whose name is remembered when the Gospel goes out and to the whole world. A woman who had honor and love and adoration directed to Christ in response to His divine truth. This woman, Mary -- a true worshipper, a humble worshipper, and a reverent worshipper of Christ. And her name will be remembered forever, for all of eternity. This is the eternal Word of God. Right? For all of eternity, Mary is remembered for her act of worship. She's a true worshipper of Christ. May we learn from this humble woman, what it means to live a life of true worship to our Lord and Savior, just as she did.

 

Let's pray. Father, what an incredible woman. What an incredible act of worship to You. Father, it is sad that there are many people who are sitting in pews even today who have no understanding of what true worship is. Father, many churches have lost sight of what true worship of You is. Father, may we never lose sight of that. May we learn from this woman, Mary, who loved her Savior, who adored her Savior, and who lived her life in complete devotion, and worship of Him because she knew who He was. Father, may we live our lives that way. Help us to be true worshippers of You. Father, I pray that if there's anyone here this morning that doesn't know You, that is not a true worshipper of You, who is not a child of You, who has not repented of their sin and put their faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on a cross and was buried and rose again on the third day. Oh Father, I pray that You would change their hearts, that You would save them. And You Father would give them the greatest gift of all -- the gift of eternal life -- in Christ Jesus, our Lord. God, may You turn their hard heart into a worshipful heart, a heart that would live in praise and adoration and honor to You for who You are. God for those of us who are here, who have been born again, by You,  by Your Spirit, God, may we have hearts that are lifted up in worship, and live our lives in worship of You for who You are and all that You've done for us. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.

Amen.

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