Thanks so much, Beth.
And if you haven't worded out yet, I'm Archie.
I'm the pastor in training here.
And it's my pleasure to be opening God's word for us this morning.
If you don't already have it open in front of you, do get that passage open.
It's on page 1079 of the Pew Bibles.
And I really do mean that.
Get it open in front of you, even if it's on a screen.
Although if it is on a screen, put your phone in airplane mode.
Because we know that you'll get distracted otherwise.
Why don't I pray before we open God's word together?
Let me pray.
Heavenly Father, I pray that this morning you would be at work amongst us by your Holy Spirit.
Helping us to see a much bigger picture of who Jesus is.
And what he has done for us.
For we pray in his precious name.
Amen.
And when my sister-in-law was a teenager, Karina is her name, she entered a competition.
It was a Harry Potter competition.
She had to write a letter about why she loved those books so much.
And the winner was going to win a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando.
Very exciting.
And Karina didn't win.
But she was a runner-up.
And 14 runners-up were given specially produced and signed copies of the first Harry Potter book.
Those books were never released for sale.
There are only 15 copies in the world, apparently.
Now, last year, there was a fire in their block of flats.
It was pretty bad.
And a lot of their stuff was smoke damaged.
One of the flats on the ground floor of their building was basically destroyed.
The staircase up to their flat was declared unusable.
And they had to move out.
And so a few months ago, they were able to get back into their flat to get some of their stuff.
And Karina had basically forgotten all about this book.
And as she was looking for stuff that it was worth taking out of the flat, she found it tucked away at the back of a cupboard.
She decided then to see whether this book might be worth something.
She took it to an auction house.
And last month, this book sold for £15,000.
Here's the point for us this morning.
If she had known how much that book was worth, if she'd known how valuable it was, there is no way it would have been stuck at the back of a dusty cupboard.
And I'm pretty sure it would have been one of the first things that she would have taken with her when they realized that their flat was that they were going to have to move out.
We treat things, don't we, according to their value.
Not necessarily their monetary value, as in the case of this book, but how valuable things are to us dictates how we treat them.
When I was about 16 years old, and I remember this so clearly, I was at a party.
I was standing at the fireplace with a friend of mine's big brother.
And he was at university.
I was 16.
He was maybe four years older than me.
And I just thought he was so cool.
You can imagine, right, little Archie looking up to this guy.
And he said this.
This was his advice for me.
This Christianity thing is all fine and well.
It's good to have faith.
But just don't take it too seriously.
Don't let it get in the way.
You've got a life to live.
And he totally missed the point, hadn't he?
I didn't see this at the time.
But looking back, he just didn't understand the value of the thing.
The value of Jesus at all.
If Jesus really is who he claims to be, if he really did the stuff that we've been reading about in John's Gospel together,
then the response to that is not, don't take this too seriously.
The response has got to be, you can give this everything that you've got.
Because Jesus is valuable.
There is nothing more valuable.
It's worth it.
So that's where we're going this morning.
But to get us into it, just notice how the passage that we've just read, and thanks so much for reading, Beth.
Just check out how this is structured.
If you come back to chapter 11 with me first, really quickly.
In chapter 11, we've seen over the last couple of weeks, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
And that's kind of a foreshadowing of Jesus' own resurrection and his promise of power over death,
that one day there'll be eternal resurrection for life for us as well if we trust him.
But then in verse 53, right at the end of chapter 11, they're plotting to take his life.
We saw last week that Jesus would die, that it would be a death in our place sort of dying,
his death for our life, the free offer of eternal life.
They're plotting to kill Jesus then before our passage starts.
And then if you come back to chapter 12 and have a look at verse 10,
we get a reminder in chapter 12, verse 10,
the chief priest made plans to kill Lazarus as well.
That is, as well as Jesus.
So either side of our passage this morning, we're reminded that Jesus is going to die.
And then in verse 1, verse 1 of chapter 12, as if it was necessary,
as if we'd forgotten what we read in chapter 11, this reminder, see in verse 1,
Jesus is in Bethany where Lazarus lives, whom Jesus raised from the dead.
And we've literally just read that.
Then again, look down in verse 9.
A load of people have come to get a look at Jesus, but not only Jesus,
Lazarus 2, you know, the guy, verse 9, whom he raised from the dead.
The point that I think John is making this morning,
this passage is sandwiched between these reminders,
reminders that Jesus is on his way to die,
a death in our place sort of death,
but also reminders that he is powerful over death,
that with him resurrection is possible.
Why does John give us this structure?
Well, chapter 11, verse 2, before the Lazarus thing,
John tells us about Mary,
and he says that she was the one who anointed the Lord with ointment
and wiped his feet with her hair.
Now, obviously, as you read through John's gospel,
that scene hasn't happened yet.
And I think that John simply wants to put what is to come,
Lazarus' resurrection and the promise of eternal life,
in the context of what Mary is going to do.
In other words, this whole section from the start of chapter 11
to the end of our passage is supposed to hang together.
It comes as a package.
And what we get in our passage this morning,
essentially, is responses.
We get Mary's response to what Jesus has done,
but we also get a response from another guy.
Now, I don't know if you've ever met someone called Judas.
I've definitely never met someone with that name.
I imagine it's one of the least popular names going today.
We all know why.
The name is basically synonymous with traitor, isn't it?
Mary, on the other hand,
is a name that apparently has been in the top 10 most popular names
more times than any other.
It's a super popular name.
And that won't be a surprise.
It's Mary and Judas responding in our passage this morning,
responding to what Jesus has done.
And John intentionally puts them together
to contrast the positive response of Mary with Judas.
Before we get there, he sets the scene.
Have a look at verse 2.
They're in Bethany, Lazarus' hometown.
And then in verse 2,
here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor.
Martha served while Lazarus was among those
reclining at the table with him.
So here's the setting.
It's a dinner party, a kind of banquet, if you like,
a celebration in honor of Jesus,
a celebration in honor of what he's just done.
Again, notice the reminder, as if we needed it,
that Lazarus is very much alive.
But check out what Mary does in verse 3.
Mary took about half a liter of pure nard,
an expensive perfume, and she poured it on Jesus' feet.
I remember reading that as a teenager and just thinking,
that is so weird.
Like, what a weird thing to do.
So what's going on?
Well, firstly, what is nard?
And to my wife's chagrin,
I know almost nothing about 21st century perfume,
let alone first century perfume.
But I did some reading,
and apparently nard comes from the Himalayas,
which is quite a long way away from Israel.
Apparently it's super rare,
and we'll see it's super expensive.
And half a liter is quite a lot of perfume.
This is an incredibly extravagant thing
for Mary to have done.
In fact, we'll come back to it,
but see in verse 4,
Judas tells us exactly how much this perfume is worth.
You might have 300 denarii in your translation.
That's what's there in the Greek.
Your translators might have helpfully converted that
to a year's wages.
300 denarii was more or less equivalent
to the average year's salary.
Just to put that into perspective,
the average salary in Edinburgh today
is about 36,000 pounds.
Can you imagine taking that amount of money
and just pouring it out?
It's incredibly extravagant.
Deb, I've forgotten to bring my clicker up.
Do you mind just moving the slides along for me?
I'll give you a nod when to do so,
and the next one, thanks.
And why does she pour it on Jesus's feet?
Well, feet washing was a pretty normal
cultural thing to do.
You can imagine dusty roads and sandals.
There was always foot washing going on
in the ancient world,
and especially at the start of a dinner party.
Generally, the servants,
maybe sometimes the host,
would kind of wash the guests' feet.
But what Mary is doing here
is so much more than simple foot washing, isn't it?
I mean, doing it with perfume is pretty weird,
but it gets weirder as we keep reading
because she wiped his feet with her hair.
That's such a weird thing to do.
And I think it's actually weirder than I thought
because culturally, the hair in ancient Israel,
it was like the crowning glory of a woman's femininity.
I mean, I know that some women today love their hair,
but it's lost its symbolic freight, I think.
Jewish women would always wear their hair up
because otherwise it was kind of like
to show their modesty.
And so to let it down like this
and wipe Jesus' feet is a really strange thing to do.
Why is she doing it?
Well, it might look weird,
but it is the most remarkable display
of humility and affection to Jesus.
And it is just totally the appropriate response
to who he is and what he's done.
Why?
Because it recognizes the value of the man.
It is incredibly affectionate.
If you could move the slides on,
a couple did, that'd be great.
And notice the effect that what she's done
has on the house.
And this is an incredibly public act.
At the end of verse three,
the whole house was filled
with the fragrance of the perfume.
Like just the nature of what she's done,
those in the room can obviously see it.
But more than that,
everyone in the house can smell it.
What she's doing here,
it's not a private display of affection for Jesus.
It's not simply all about her and him.
It's incredibly public.
This is Mary's response.
It's extravagant and affectionate and public.
And we'll come back to each of those
as we put the whole thing together at the end.
But for now,
I think we can ask of ourselves
if we're not already doing this,
as we consider how we respond
to what Jesus has done
and what he promises to do for us.
How extravagant and affectionate
and public is our response?
We'll come back and think through
each of those things in turn at the end,
but just keep that whirring
at the back of your mind in the meantime.
And before we get there,
see how Judas responds.
We see in verse four,
John reminds us
that this is one of Jesus's disciples.
He also tells us
that Judas is later going to betray him,
which actually John does every single time
he mentions Judas in this gospel.
And it's key, actually,
as we read into verse five,
notice Judas's objection in verse five.
Why wasn't this perfume sold
and the money given to the poor?
In other words,
what a massive waste of money.
And let's be honest,
if John hasn't just told us
what to think of Judas,
the temptation would be
to sympathize with him, wouldn't it?
Maybe that still is the temptation.
I mean, 36,000 pounds,
the equivalent of surely
giving that to the poor
is going to be much better
than just pouring that money
all over the floor.
And notice how Judas's response
is just the total opposite to Mary.
Her response was incredibly extravagant,
and his, it looks reasonable,
but it's incredibly cheap.
See, as if to make it clear
that we shouldn't be on Judas's side,
John reveals in verse six,
Judas didn't say this
because he cared about the poor,
but because he was a thief.
As a keeper of the money bag,
he used to help himself
to what was put into it.
He wasn't really concerned
with helping the poor at all,
but rather about the cut
that he could take
if they sold the perfume.
This is Judas's response.
His words are cheap,
but more than that.
Where Mary was incredibly
affectionate towards Jesus.
Again, Judas is exactly the opposite.
It's cold and calculated.
It's incredibly selfish.
And of course,
where Mary's extravagant devotion
was public,
Judas's cheap selfishness
was a sly private affair,
helping himself to the money bag
while no one was looking.
It's private.
And I actually think
that's the really shocking thing here.
I think that's why John reminds us
of Judas's betrayal
every time he comes up,
because it was a shock to them,
to John and the other disciples.
I mean, this is the money bag guy.
He'd been trusted by Jesus.
In fact, he looked like
a devoted follower of Jesus
until he didn't.
But all along,
he was serving himself
and not Jesus.
And it is true today
that it is absolutely possible
to look like
the most devoted Christian,
to be serving
in whatever way at church,
whether that's welcome
and tea and coffee
or teaching at kids' church
or leading services
and preaching,
to look the devoted Christian,
maybe to be busy
trying to serve the poor
and alleviate poverty,
chasing social justice,
being the kind neighbor.
Notice,
all really good things to do.
It's possible to do
all of that
and yet to fail
to respond rightly
to what Jesus has done
in your heart,
to fail to respond rightly
to what he has promised to do.
I don't know where your heart
is at with this
as I speak.
Maybe just a chance
for some introspection
for, I guess,
a personal spiritual MOT.
Maybe ask yourself this morning,
are there ways
that my response to Jesus
in my heart of hearts,
that it is actually
privately cheap and selfish,
can outwardly look identical
to the right response
for a time?
But I wonder,
are there ways
that we know
that our Christian lives
are serving ourselves
more than they serve Jesus?
So Jesus sees
these two contrasting responses
and this is his verdict
in verse 7.
Leave her alone.
It's clear, isn't it,
which response Jesus is after.
He speaks sharply to Judas here.
Leave her alone.
As he sees straight through him,
he knows that though his response
might look reasonable
on the surface,
that it is incredibly
selfish.
And as we keep reading,
we get this slightly
strange phrase,
it was intended
that she should save
this perfume
for the day
of my burial.
Now when John tells us
that it was intended,
he's saying,
God intended this.
Now of course,
this isn't the day
of Jesus' burial yet.
We're getting there,
but we're not there yet.
But this kind of anointing
with perfume
was something
that the culture
did to a dead body.
As we've seen,
this section of John's gospel
is definitely making us
think about that coming day,
about Jesus' death.
And so,
what we're being told here
is that God intended
that Mary would perform
this act of service
at this time
to help build that picture,
to continue to point
to what was to come.
And so,
Jesus' verdict is clear.
Mary's done
the appropriate thing,
even if she didn't
necessarily understand
what she was doing.
Her extravagant,
affectionate public response
was the right thing to do,
but she didn't necessarily
understand the full weight
of what she was doing.
Something more
seems to have been going on.
I don't think she realized
that it pointed
to the day of his burial.
And you know,
I think very often
we might miss
the impact and significance
of our response to Jesus.
In our hearts,
when we serve him
rather than ourselves,
the impact and significance
of what we do
and what we say,
as God takes that
for his purposes,
when we sing together
and you give it everything
and you dare
to express yourself,
I don't know
if you realize
the encouragement
that you give
to those around you
as you respond in that way.
When you go towards
that visitor
and speak a word of welcome
or simply just make
a cup of tea
or serve on tech
or sound or creche
or whatever else it is,
as we do that,
if we're serving Jesus
in our heart of hearts,
the impact and significance
of what we're doing,
we might not realize it,
but it might just have
echoes in eternity.
At this stage,
I realize you might have
got this far
and maybe you're still
with Judas.
Like if not actually,
then at least in theory,
this is a massive waste
of money
and it might have been
much better
to have used that money
to serve the poor.
Well, Jesus continues
to explain his verdict.
See what he says.
You will always have
the poor among you,
but you will not always
have me.
I think this verse,
this bit here contains
the key challenge
of this chapter.
At least this is the thing
that I've found
most deeply challenging.
Jesus is not saying here,
let me make this clear,
that they should not
be concerned with the poor.
In fact, Jesus is quoting
from Deuteronomy chapter 15 there
and when he says that
you will always have
the poor among you,
that's not to say,
and so there's no point
in giving to the poor.
In fact,
in Deuteronomy chapter 15,
the meaning is essentially
the opposite of that.
And so instead,
what he is saying
is that what he has come
to do is just much
bigger than that.
His mission
is the crucifixion.
He's come to die
in the place of his people
so that they might be
forgiven and live
and he's raised Lazarus
from the dead
because he's going to
rise again himself
so that his people
might do the same
to live forever,
eternally resurrected.
And this is challenging,
but Jesus is saying
that that is so much bigger
than alleviating poverty.
Do we believe that
this morning?
That doesn't mean
that giving to the poor
is a waste of time.
It doesn't mean
that social justice
of any kind
should just be shrugged aside.
It definitely doesn't mean
that we should just
shut ourselves away
and sing songs
and pray
in a sort of devoted huddle.
Instead,
what it means
is that this greater purpose,
the mission of Jesus,
his crucifixion
and resurrection,
the promise of forgiveness
and eternal life,
bringing people
into his kingdom,
that this should inform
and control
and empower
everything that we do.
And you know,
I don't think that that means
we should be giving
to the poor less.
In fact,
I'd imagine it means
we'd be giving
to the poor more,
but with this sort of
mission in mind
as we do,
that all of it
would be shaped
around an extravagant
and affectionate
and public response
to Jesus.
I began by telling you
about a friend's
big brother
and he told me
that it was a good idea
to be a Christian
but warned me
not to take it
too seriously,
not to let it get
in the way
of living my life.
And he could not
have been more wrong.
This is not
the first century.
Jesus isn't here,
at least he's not here
bodily.
We can't just pop
to Harvey Nichols
and buy their most
expensive perfume
and pour it all
over his feet.
But I asked earlier
how we were doing
on this
and I wonder
what you thought.
How extravagant
and affectionate
and public
is our response?
Well,
let's just take
each of those
in turn.
Firstly,
how extravagant
is our response
as we respond
to the gospel
like this?
At Mary's
extravagant response,
she's poured out
a litre of perfume,
a year's wages worth.
That's £36,000.
Remember,
it looks like
a massive waste.
Judas thought
it was a massive waste.
Here's what
Watchman Nee,
the Chinese evangelist,
said that he would
have said to Judas.
But if the Lord
is worthy,
how can it be
a waste?
It might be
for us
giving a certain
portion of our
earnings to the church
or to the work
of the gospel.
It might be
refusing a promotion
at work
because you know
the demands
that that will
place on your time
and you'd much
rather sacrifice
that for the sake
of the gospel.
It could be
any number of things.
I don't know
if you've ever
made a costly move
like that.
I bet if you did,
the people around you
didn't understand
what you were doing.
Maybe your friends
and family
saying things like that
is such a waste.
Too extravagant,
maybe.
But if we really
get the enormity
of what Jesus
has done here,
then the extravagant
response,
extravagant giving,
it's no longer
really uncomfortable
or sacrificial
or really costly
to us.
If the gospel
is true,
then extravagance
is really good.
If the gospel
is true,
then a life
devoted to Jesus
is a life
well lived.
How extravagant
is our response?
How affectionate
is our response?
Mary's response,
not only extravagant,
but also affectionate
to get down
on her hands
and knees
and let her hair
down and wipe
Jesus' feet,
the intimacy
and devotion
of that act.
And again,
I want us to see
that if the gospel
is true,
then not only is this
the appropriate response,
but it is so good
to respond like this,
to express our love
and affection
for the one
who first loved us.
Do you know,
most churches
across the world
find our inability
here to express
our emotions
really strange.
British.
And it's true
that we can be
very British.
But loving Jesus,
expressing our affection
for him,
it really is very good.
Because what we're doing
here is not just
an intellectual exercise.
I know it can feel
like that in this
sort of moment
with our Bibles open
and the guy at the front
apparently explaining
the text.
But something much more
is going on here.
As we open God's word,
as his spirit moves
among us
and as he speaks
to us,
it's good to respond
like this.
It might not be
in our character
to be overly expressive.
I get that.
That's fine.
But I think we can often
just use that
as an excuse.
And so as we respond
in song
in a moment's time,
I wonder,
will you be prepared
to express
your affection for Jesus?
That might be
a quiet tear
in your eye.
It might be singing
at the top
of your lungs.
And maybe you'll even
want to raise your hands.
I don't know
what it's going to look
like for you.
But I do know
that it's okay.
In fact,
it is very good
for us to express
our affection
for Jesus.
How affectionate
is our response?
And finally,
how public
is our response?
Mary's response,
extravagant
and affectionate,
it was also public
as the smell
of the perfume
diffused throughout
the house.
It's very easy,
isn't it,
to respond to Jesus
privately,
quietly,
that sort of
personal relationship
with Jesus.
Maybe it's a cup
of coffee in the morning
with your Bible open
or listening to
some worship music
or going for a walk
on your own
and taking in creation.
Maybe it's pen to paper
and something artistic
for you.
And look,
none of those
are bad things.
In fact,
if you're not investing
in your private devotional
life with Jesus,
then can I really
encourage you to do that?
Find something
that works for you.
But this morning,
we need to see
that if we limit
our response
to behind closed doors,
we're missing out
on a wonderful blessing.
The Christian life
of response to Jesus
is supposed to be
lived out amongst
other people.
Yes,
in church,
as we encourage
one another,
but also whether
that's at home
or school
or work
or the club
or the gym
or the coffee shop,
wherever it is,
does your response
to Jesus
so completely inform
how you live
that people can't
help but notice?
Is it public?
You know,
of all the implications
of what Mary does
for us,
I think this is
the hardest.
Maybe that's just me,
but the temptation
to be understated,
to respond privately,
but ultimately
to keep it to myself,
the fear of man,
of what they might
think of me
if I'm prepared
to let my response
to Jesus
really inform
my life in front of them,
not as a show,
not for the sake
of people-pleasing,
but in serving Jesus.
If I'm honest,
I find that really hard.
Maybe you can pray
for me in that,
that my response
to Jesus
with my friends
and my family
that don't know him
at the rugby club,
would you pray
that my response
to Jesus
would affect
more of what I do?
That it would be
increasingly obvious
and public
to people
that as I love him
and become more like him,
that people might
see that in me,
that they might
see it in you.
I wonder where
your head's gone
as I've asked
those questions,
how extravagant
and affectionate
and public
is your response.
Wherever your head
has gone on those things
and will be convicted
in different directions,
please don't do
nothing about it.
We don't just do this
to grow our knowledge
or, as Graham was saying,
to kind of have
a good time together
on a Sunday morning.
We do it to prepare
ourselves for Monday.
One of the ways
we do that here
is growth groups.
We meet during the week
in groups
to think about
how God's word
actually applies
to our lives.
That might not be
your bag
and that's okay.
You don't need
to sign up
to those
if you don't want to.
But if you think
you'd find it helpful
to be in a group
like that,
please do sign up.
We'd love to plug you in.
And if you are
in one of those groups,
as you meet this week,
please be honest
with each other.
Can you think
about those three questions
that I've asked
and be honest
with how you're doing
with each of them
so that we might be able
to pray for one another
as we apply God's word
to our lives.
Just as we finish,
remember where we started.
It was with my sister-in-law's
Harry Potter book
worth so much more
than she possibly
could have imagined.
If we go away
thinking anything
this morning,
as we see
what Jesus has done
for us,
as we consider
these chapters
of John's gospel
that we've been in
over the last few weeks,
as we consider
how we would
respond to that,
just go away
with this.
A bottle of expensive
perfume poured out
in service of him
is nothing
compared to the love
that he poured out
in dying for us.
is nothing
making me happy.