 Our sermon title this morning is Betrayed and Sold out from John chapter 12 verses 1 through 11 Last week in working through this text. We saw the example of Mary the title of our sermon was broken and poured out But as we worked through the text we're coming now to verse 4 We're gonna see in the example of Judas how Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and sold him out Here in John chapter 12 verses 1 through 11 We see the seeds of that betrayal beginning to be planted in the wicked heart of Judas it is Staggering today when you stop to consider it it is staggering today what passes for devotion What passes for worship among those who claim to be Christians? Such weak and beggarly and often Blasphemous overtures of a sort that should never be named among God's people So let's take example here. Let's take Heed to God's word and heed the example of Mary and avoid at all costs the the example of Judas It should never be named among us if you look in John chapter 12 beginning in verse 1 I want to remind you of the setting as we get into our text verse 1 says then six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was who had been dead whom he had raised from the dead There they made him a supper and Martha served But Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him and remember with me the scene from verses 1 and 2 The time is six days before the Passover multiple people Multitudes of people beginning to crowd into Jerusalem It's likely the evening of the Sabbath the Saturday the night before Jesus will make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem into the city The location of this account is in Bethany little town just two miles east of Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives And it's the home of Mary Martha and Lazarus Now according to Matthew and Mark they're meeting in the home of Simon the leper the man whose name stuck to him Even though the leprosy didn't having likely been healed by the Lord Jesus Christ And he had come before the Lord has come before in John chapter 11 to raise the dead. He's coming back now to die He had come before to proclaim the resurrection. He's coming back now to see it through The occasion given to us in verse 2 is a dinner that they've prepared to honor the Lord their beloved guests Martha is there serving as we would expect Martha to be doing and notice now at this time as she serves She's not being corrected for complaining about her sister as she was at their first meeting in Lou chapter 10 Martha is serving faithfully and she's honoring the Lord in her own way Lazarus is reclining at the table along with Jesus and many are coming out to see him and Lazarus having been raised from the dead is now a living testimony of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is himself the resurrection in the life? All the people are gathered there together Despite the command of the Sanhedrin to report the Lord Jesus Christ to the authorities And Jesus and his disciples are there despite the decision of the council to put him to death The plotting and the scheming of wicked men having no influence on their fellowship or the Lord's plans here So then Mary comes to worship the Lord in verse 3 He had at one point come to the Lazarus of her dead heart and had cried come forth and Mary had come out of the tomb of death out of the tomb of her sin and The God-given response of her new heart in Christ is to worship her Savior Jesus would have been here likely reclining at the low central table in a customary position Seated on a mat leaning on his left arm toward the table his feet away from him behind Away from the table what Mary does in John chapter 12 verse 3 is Described by the Lord as a beautiful Work an intrinsically good work read with me in John chapter 12 verse 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard Anointed the feet of Jesus She wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil It stated this way in Mark chapter 14 verse 3 as he sat at the table the Lord Jesus Christ a Woman came having an alabaster flask a very costly oil of spikenard Then she broke the flask and poured it out on his head In Matthew chapter 26 verse 7 it stated this way a woman came to him having an alabaster flask a very costly Fragrant oil and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table Now as Mary broke open the alabaster flask of exceedingly Costly oil Intending to use all of it to anoint the head and the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ Imagine with me Mary is figuratively breaking open her own heart in a whole sold worship of the Lord She was figuratively pouring herself out in devotion broken and poured out They had met before in Luke chapter 10 Mary placed herself at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ to be taught by him to learn of him He had come in the midst of her grief in John chapter 11 Refined her faith as if by fire and raised her brother from the dead and now here She is coming in faith in John chapter 12 believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ as her Messiah Understanding in some sense that the Lord Jesus Christ is about to die for her sins as the lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world And refusing to offer him that which cost her nothing She gives an earthly treasure to the Lord in acknowledgement of his worth in acknowledgement of his value to her Now it doesn't end there Giving of her earthly goods. She also gives of herself to the Lord in verse three. She lets down her hair She wipes his feet with her hair The bible says that the the fragrance of that rare oil filled the house As the fragrance of that act has permeated the church for 2000 years Jesus said in Matthew chapter 26 verse 13 Assuredly I say to you Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her So in so many ways right in a in many ways in this account Mary becomes for us a standard if you will an example if you will of worship She becomes a benchmark or a standard for worship. Her worship was deeply Sacrificial and selfless Now let these sink in as you consider your own worship of the Lord Jesus Christ Her worship was thoughtful She had intentionally prepared what she would do. It was intensely Meaningful to her It's a picture of humility As she kneels at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and lets down her hair and wipes his feet It was Infused and informed with spiritual truth. She knew that the Lord was going to die It was commendable. It was an act with which the Lord himself was well pleased Now why? Why did she do it? Why did she do it? The Lord had said in her hearing in John chapter 11 That if she would believe in him That she would see the glory of God Having believed in him She saw his glory as the Lord Jesus Christ raised her brother Lazarus from the dead Having beheld the glory of God in John chapter 11. She ascribes great value and great worth to the Lord Jesus Christ The lord now precious in her sight a treasure far greater far greater than any treasure that she owned Her affections now filled with the fragrance of life from the dead the hope of eternal life in christ Mary then kneels and worships the lord heart soul mind and strength as we see here in john chapter 12 and let me Submit to you that Jesus christ is worthy of that level of devotion That level of worship Let me ask you Do you think that we'd be here today talking about it? If Mary had only poured out half of the oil Christ is worth the whole of your life. Not the parts Would you give the whole of yourself to christ or the part Eric? The whole of the part brother Then the whole of the part ryan, the whole of the part Right the whole of the part Jack the hole of the part Hole dr. Carl the whole of the part Troy the whole of the part brother the whole Christ is worthy of the whole! Would we be talking about Mary today if she simply poured out the part? Luke 14-33 says, so likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. If we believe this, if you believe this this morning, then why do some of your lives look like nothing but the part dribbled out for Christ? Examine yourselves before him this morning! You're giving the Lord of the universe your leftovers for some, for some of you here today. For you to obey faithfully the Lord Jesus Christ, it would take the planets coming into alignment and an angelic choir singing in your bedroom and for you to be ushered along as it were on flowery beds of ease and comfort and leisure and for obedience almost to happen to you instead of you repenting of sin and obeying the Lord, right? But is not the Lord worthy of a devoted worship? You've got to work it out. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling because it is God who works in you and through you to do and to will according to his good pleasure. What am I doing right now? What am I doing right now? I'm considering you, right? I'm considering you. I'm considering you to stir you up to love and to good works because why we serve a worthy Savior, one who gave all to redeem us. Now we're plagued in this country all around us. Everywhere we look, we are plagued with the bane of a false counterfeit half hearted lukewarm so-called Christianity. Don't be poisoned with that way of thinking. The Lord Jesus Christ calls in his word for a whole sold, whole hearted devotion. Will you believe him and trust him and get it? Will you give the whole or the part? I want to exhort you more and more as we see the day approaching. We need to do that with each other brothers. When we give our all to him in repentant faith, right? Abandoning our sin and entrusting all of ourselves to him, the Lord commends it as a beautiful thing. An act of worship that ascribes value and worth to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, in this text in John chapter 12 verse 4, there's someone else in the room with them in Simon's house that doesn't share the Lord's appraisal of Mary's worship. He doesn't see it as a beautiful act at all. In fact, he sees it as foolish. He sees it as offensive. Woe to you if you see true worship, true devotion to Christ as Judas does. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus Christ to hear his word. Judas followed him all around, all over Judea. Mary called him Lord. Judas called him Lord. Mary witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Judas witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And yet, both of them served the purposes of God in the death of his son. Mary anointed his body for burial. Judas betrayed him as the son of perdition. Both of them revealed the true nature of their hearts. Mary revealed her heart in her worship. Judas revealed his heart in his betrayal, in his hypocrisy. Both of them now, even now, glorify God. Mary in her testimony of praise and worship. Judas in suffering the undiluted wrath of a just God for all eternity. Mary broke open her heart and poured it out. And Judas betrayed the Lord and sold him out. Look at verse four. One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him said, I think about this for a moment. This wasn't a bail worshiper, right? Who snuck into the house. This is not a hypocritical Pharisee from Jerusalem. This is verse four, one of his disciples. One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son. And listen to the description of him from verse four. The one who would betray him. How do you like that for a title? John didn't know this about Judas at the time that John was there in the house that day. The title in verse four comes from John's shocked remembrance of that event. In his mind as he writes this, what a contrast, right? As he's writing this, what a contrast, what a stunning division between those who love the Lord and those who don't. Between Mary and between Judas. Of those who profess to follow the Lord. And even among those who actually appear to be actually following the Lord. There are those that love the Lord and those who do not. And as the fragrance of Mary's worship filled the house that day, you begin to get a strong whiff of the eventual stench of Judas' betrayal. Matthew and Mark both attest to the fact that Judas here was indignant. He was angry. He was angry. Mary's adoration and her sacrifice of praise gets under his skin and he can't take it. And so he blorts out in disgust rebuking Mary in verse five. Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? Why didn't you sell it Mary instead of wasting it on him? That's essentially what Judas is saying. Now a denarius was a full day's wage and Judas saw dollar signs in the oil. Mary's act of worship made absolutely no sense to him. It was foolish to him. It was misplaced. It was misdirected. It was a senseless act. Now, Judas' question in verse five was bad enough, but his true motive was even worse. With the question in verse five, Judas proves himself to be a liar. Because we see his true intentions in verse six. This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And he had the money box and he used to take literally Bastazzo, lift what was put in it. It's colloquialism today, isn't it? You're going to lift something. You're going to steal something. He used to lift what was put in it. Now, Judas sounded pious, but Judas wasn't telling the truth. Why did he sound so concerned about the poor in verse five? Because he wanted to pocket the cash for himself in verse six. He was a thief. Now, there are a couple of lessons to consider from Judas' example here. First one is this. Now, think about this. Someone can talk about something, but it doesn't really mean that they care about it. The second is this. Someone can act upset about something and the truth is they're upset about something else. Happens all the time, right? Judas was one of his disciples, one of the twelve. And not just any one of the twelve either. If you think about it, Judas had some influence among the disciples. He was trusted and well-respected enough to carry around the money bag, the money box. He was trusted, influential enough that he was put in charge of the money. Let me ask you this. Do you think that Jesus Christ was aware of the fact that Judas was a thief? Yes. Richard Phillips said that Jesus was evidently no more afraid of what Judas might do by stealing than by what Judas would do by betraying him. So, look at the contrast. Mary gives her all to Christ. Judas takes and he steals for himself. Mary gives all of her affections to Christ. Judas only thinks about himself. What Mary sees as worship, what Jesus sees as worship, Judas sees as waste. Mary turns all of her attention to Christ. Judas turns attention away from Christ. Mary had the purest of motives. Judas was a liar and had the foulest of motives. Mary was selfless. Judas was selfish. Mary broke open her heart and poured it out for the Lord. Judas betrayed him and sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. Mary is memorialized in Scripture forever. So is Judas. And Judas is burning in hell forever. Now, why? Why? As we consider Judas, why? It's because Judas ascribes absolutely no worth, no value, no true value to the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't only see Mary's act of worship as a waste of money. Judas saw her act of worship as a waste of honor. He has contempt for the Lord. He saw it as a misplaced devotion. It would very soon get the better of him and lead him out to betray the Lord. Judas had absolutely no understanding of the Lord's true mission. No understanding of his teaching, no understanding of his intentions. So on top of being a thief, Judas was ignorant. Judas didn't see Christ as precious. Judas didn't see Christ as his treasure. And so he didn't worship him as such the way that Mary did. Judas didn't ascribe value or worth to Christ. Judas didn't ascribe value or worth to the worship of Christ. Judas didn't ascribe value or worth to what Christ was here to do. And he certainly couldn't ascribe value or worth to what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for him. Now, how did that heart express itself in Judas? It expressed itself in complaining and griping and whining and scolding and rebuking and a critical spirit. That's how it expressed itself. Think about the range for a moment. The contrast on one side, Mary, right? Treasuring Christ for who he is and what he's done. Worshiping hurt him whole-soul, whole-hearted on the other end of the extreme. Judas, no worth seen in Christ. Doesn't value Christ. Doesn't treasure Christ. No understanding. And Judas looks at the Lord with contempt. The more that you and I move from one to the other, is to the degree that you will worship him less, see in him less and less value, and you will, by degree, move farther and farther away from him, away from devotion to him, away from true worship of him, away from valuing him, and more and more into your sin, and more and more into your disobedience, more and more into a hard heart, listen, beloved brother, beloved sister, until you are no longer his, until you realize that you weren't his from the beginning. A lack of value for Christ, a lack of value for his worship, a lack of gratefulness to God for the grace of God in Christ, will evidence itself in a critical spirit. A cold, dead, lifeless, so-called worship, a lack of devotion, lack of understanding, griping and complaining. Listen, these people love to be critical. They love to be critical, and be careful, be careful. What comes out of your mouth spews forth from out of your heart, and it is your own selfishness, your own self-interest much of the time, if you are not intimately connected to the Lord who transforms the heart, who renews the mind. What comes out of your mouth spewing forth from your heart often betrays your lack of love for the brothers, your lack of love for the cause of Christ in his church, and you're griping and whining and complaining and critical spirit, it betrays a lack of love for his people, a lack of love for his body, the church, and a lack of love for Christ. You know, if you take verse 5 at face value, right? At best, that's what dead religion in the heart produces. Dead and heartless religious works. And dead religion, dead religion loves to get pompous, right? Dead religion loves to get pompous, get critical about true religion. They won't lift a finger to go out evangelizing, but they'll criticize the church for not allowing them to play drums on Sunday morning. Their home life and their marriage is a wreck, but they will criticize the church but because we don't have enough activities for the youth. They're absent from small group or services on a regular basis, but they will criticize the church because they're not growing here like they say they think they should or want to. D.A. Carson said, it must also be admitted with shame that social activism, even that which meets real needs, sometimes masks a spirit that knows nothing of true worship and adoration. So consider the source, right? Consider the source of talking to people. Consider the source. Either broken and poured out or betrayed and sold out. What an astounding contrast. I've often been just astounded, astounded with some of the conversations, some of the me- You serve with a guy, right? You pour hours into a guy. You love that brother. You pray with him. You weep with him. You go evangelizing with him. You worship with him. And then what they will do in the name of quote unquote Christ or quote unquote so-called Christianity, it's astounding what they will do to the brothers, what they will do to the church. It's astounding. They have absolutely no understanding of what we're here for, what Christ has done or what the church is all about. They've just lost sense of it if they ever had it to begin with. It's astounding. It is astounding. The various participants in our story respond to this contrast in various ways. You see various participants here in our account and all these participants, each of these participants respond to this contrast, what they're seeing. They respond in various ways. These are various perspectives here of what has just transpired between Mary and Jesus and Judas. I want you to see those various responses and perspectives. First, let's look at the response or the perspective of Jesus Christ himself. Look at verse seven. But Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always but me you do not have always. Mark chapter 14 verse 6 records it this way. Jesus said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good, a beautiful work for me. For you have the poor with you always and whenever you wish you may do them good but me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint my body for burial. Matthew chapter 26, very, very similar. So because of the reaction of Judas, right? Because of the reaction of Judas, Jesus steps in to Mary's defense, steps to her defense. Let her alone, Jesus says in Mark. Why do you cop us? Why do you cause difficulty for her? She has done a callous, a beautiful thing, a fine work she has done for me. Now, Jesus didn't think that Mary's active worship here was wasteful at all. What she did was pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you see how Mary's priorities and Mary's understanding was matched up or lined up with God's priorities and the Lord's understanding, right? What she did was pleasing because it matched heavenly priorities. Jesus says then in John chapter 12 verse 7 that she has kept. The word is tereo. She has observed this for my burial. Now, kept can mean that she held on to it. We know that's not true because she poured it all out on the Lord, right? She didn't keep it in that sense. But the word tereo can be used to mean that she observed something, just like the earlier she had observed or kept the Sabbath. Here she... It points to the fact that she observed an active worship intended to anoint the Lord's body prior to his own death. She kept it. She observed it in verse 7. So then the Lord says something in verse 8 that has caused some controversy over the years. In verse 8, the Bible reads this. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. Let me ask you another question. Does the Lord know the true heart and character of Judas? Yes, he does. So the Lord knows his true intentions of stealing from the till. However, Jesus takes his complaint in verse 5 on face value. Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? So he takes that jab of Judas at face value and essentially communicates to Judas now listen, that he is dead wrong on both accounts. He's not just dead wrong on being a thief and getting money off the till. But Judas' pious godly veneer of let's do this thing for the poor, he's wrong on that account too. Lord doesn't let him off the hook at all. Judas tried to cover up his fevery, his true heart with this notion of giving to the poor and Jesus doesn't let him hide behind that fake spirituality. Now Jesus is not teaching here that we should ignore the poor. We didn't understand that. There's no excuse to neglect those in need. In fact that would contradict, right? Abundant testimony from Scripture. We're not to neglect the poor. What Jesus is saying here is that our concern for the poor or whatever social program you happen to be behind at any given point should not eclipse the true worship of our savior from heaven. There are ways at any given moment in which we may glorify God that aren't always going to be there. That they're going to be passing opportunities that we need to take opportunity to glorify God in our circumstances. Christ and his worship at all times, Christ and his cause, Christ and his mission must always have the preeminence. What's more important, ultimately, think about it, that the body be fed or that the soul be saved? An easy answer to a very easy question. What's more important? It's important that we care for the poor, but what's most important is that we care for their soul. Better saved than merely fed. Do you see? That's why the social gospel today, if you're familiar with that, inside the professing church is constantly undermining the work and cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church's true mission. It's an undermining error. It's good to go dig a well. If you're going to dig a well, give them the gospel. Is it better that they should have their thirst quenched or their soul saved? Right? Give them the water, quench their thirst, and give them the gospel that their soul can be saved. What's the ultimate good of giving a kid a bicycle if you don't give them the gospel? Right? Many in their veneer of pious religious works have lost the mission of the church. Many lose that mission in many ways. I can happen here just as easily as it can happen in one of those other churches. In your pious religious veneer of showing up here once a week, you can lose the mission of the church to make disciples to love the brothers to invest in the torch passing the next generation. Many have no idea, no idea what the church is supposed to be about. They've lost the vision of that, lost an understanding of that, and it's written on the pages of the Bible. The Lord gives it to us clearly. They sit inside, study doctrine all day long and never talk to a lost person about Christ. Right? They come to church every weekend, Sunday out. Never serve the brothers. Slave like a dog at work and never go evangelizing. They've lost a sense of what we're here to do. They've lost a sense of what the church is here for. What are we doing here? What are we doing here? If you've given your life to Christ, you've turned from your sin, if you entrusted yourself to him, what are you doing now for him? What really matters? Temporal things? Temporal, temporary things? Or eternal things? How are we as a church going to have an impact for the kingdom if we don't understand that and follow through on that understanding with action? Right? We can't when Christ's mission, when Christ and His mission become our mission, we won't change someone's life for a day. The Lord Jesus Christ through you will change lives for a generation. And we'll change those kids' lives. And the people around them, their lives will be changed. You think you get one person saved and sold out for Christ and think of the impact that that one person can have on their sphere of influence. And if they don't, what was them? What was them in the gospel? That's real impact. That's real change. That's real mission. That's God's mission. That's Christ's mission. Worship and service and devotion to Christ is never a waste. Never a waste. We need to worship the Lord like Mary. We need to serve the Lord like Mary. You don't just need to show up and take up grace. You need to serve the Lord worship the Lord, devote to the Lord like Mary. Broken and poured out for Christ. Her worship of a beautiful example of Christian devotion to our Lord who is worthy. Amen. We need to avoid the counterfeit religiosity of Judas who ultimately betrayed the Lord and sold him out. But I want you to see this account from another perspective. And that is the perspective of the Lord's disciples. We have this scene going on right here, right now in John chapter 12, right? What's happening with Mary and Jesus and Judas? But there's another striking participant participants in this account. And that is the Lord's disciples. Look at Mark chapter 14 with me quickly. Mark chapter 14. I want you to see this account from the perspective of the Lord's disciples. Mark chapter 14. Look at verse 4. Mark chapter 14 verse 4 records the scolding or the rebuke of Mary in this way. Now listen. But there were some that obviously doesn't say just Judas, right? But there were some who were indignant among themselves and said, why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor. And they criticized Mary sharply. In John, it's those words are attributed to Judas. In Mark here, chapter 14 verse 4, they're attributed to some Judas. Turn back with me to Matthew chapter 26. Let's clarify this even further. Matthew chapter 26. Look at verse 8. Matthew chapter 26 verse 8. And here we see it clarified even further. But when, who? His disciples. When His disciples but when His disciples saw it, they were indignant. Same word used for Judas. And they said the same thing that Judas said. Verse 8. Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor. Judas is a lost man. Son of perdition, right? But Judas is a ringleader in John chapter 12. There's no question about that. There's no question about it. And Judas stinking so-called religiosity his stinking so-called Christianity infected all the others so that they joined their voices with his to rebuke Mary and to scoff at the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. My how quickly the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ become the disciples of Judas. Let that think in for a moment. The disciples allowed themselves to be aligned with Judas rather than Mary. Jesus is there having proclaimed himself to be the resurrection in the life having just raised Lazarus from the dead Mary is there with love and affection and devotion for Christ pouring out of her and the disciples are there. Now, do they with Mary affirm the worth and the value of the Lord Jesus Christ and fall down at his feet as she did and cry out blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. Do they do that? They didn't say to Mary Mary, Mary I saw your worship and I was convicted and I was moved in my heart and moved in my spirit and I wanted to praise him just the way that you did. I want to praise him like that too Mary. Did they do that? Nope. No one said that. Instead they criticized her. They were indignant as Judas was. Why this waste? And they rebuked her and they scolded her after 14 verse 5. They criticized her sharply. Wow. And they sighed with this whining, griping, complaining, departing betrayer. It is easy, isn't it? To follow a failing and loudmouth ringleader. But how did this happen? How did this happen? We can gain some insight about that from Mark chapter 10. I want you to turn there with me. Mark chapter 10. How in the world did this come about? Absolutely staggering, right? Just amazing. It happens all the time, doesn't it? Doesn't it? We see the same thing all the time. Mark chapter 10 Look at verse 32. This account in Mark, so you understand the context here, happens just before our dinner in Bethany. Happens right before this time in Bethany, okay? Verse 32. Now they, that's the Lord and his disciples. They were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was out in front. Now think about the context. There's danger in Jerusalem. They've already set a council decision to kill him, to take him. People already report him, but where's Jesus? Jesus is not concerned about that. He's doing the will of the Father. He has complete trust in God and is out in front. Jesus, verse 32, was going before them and they were amazed and as they followed, they were afraid. They understood the danger. Listen, followers of Christ follow Christ into suffering. They follow him at all costs. They follow him despite the danger. They followed him that day. Then he took the 12, verse 32. He took the 12 aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to him. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles and they, when we get there they will mock him and scourge him and spit on him and kill him and the third day he will rise again. Now let me ask you how clear can you get as to what is about to happen? This is prior to the Lord and his disciples going into Bethany, certainly to see Mary and Martha and Lazarus and prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. When Mary breaks the flask and pours out the oil on the head and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ certainly, certainly these disciples should have thought to themselves about what's happening. Having just had this conversation with the Lord they should have known what was going on. They should have understood what Mary was doing. They had access to illumination, so to speak. The Lord's words but look, they were too preoccupied. They were too preoccupied with self. Look at verse 35. Too preoccupied with self. Then, verse 35. Then, upon that statement upon that statement James and John, the sons of Zebedee came to him saying, teacher we want you to do for us a flask. Wow! I mean, it's just mind boggling that one follows the other. It is staggering. I believe that's exactly the effect that the Holy Spirit wanted when he penned this on the pages of our Bible. What are you thinking? Verse 36. And he said to them look at the grace and mercy of Christ here. I mean, can you miraculous grace miraculous condescension what do you want me to do for you? He said to them in verse 36 they said to him grant us that we may sit one on your right hand and the other on your left in your glory. Jesus is about to die. He's clearly stated that and they're concerned with their status. They're concerned with their position. What will people think of us? How will we appear in people's eyes? I want to be on your left, Lord. I want to be on your right. They're not at all concerned at this point about the cause of Christ. Christ isn't precious to them at this moment. Can you see? He's not precious to them. He's not their treasure at this moment. They're concerned about their position, about their status about where they're going to be. Look at verse 38. But Jesus said to them you do not know what you ask are you able to drink the cup that I drink? They have no understanding of what is about to happen. Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And in complete ignorance, verse 39 they said to him we are able. So Jesus said to them you will indeed, this should cause shivers to go up their spine, like the hair on the back of their neck should go up when they hear this, but it doesn't. Jesus said to them you will indeed drink the cup that I drink. And with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized. But verse 40, to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give but it is for those for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to himself and said to them you know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them. And their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Their heart their mind is focused on selfish ends. Do you see? They have no discernment. They have no discernment. They hear a strikingly clear and bold statement of the lord verses 33 and 34. And they have no discernment. They can't tell what's going on here. They don't understand what's going on here. They aren't sold out at this moment for the cause of Christ. Do you see? They have no humility. They're interested in their own position, their own status. They're not humble at this point and what? Pride comes before the fall. They aren't sold out for Christ here. They're not hanging on his every word wanting to learn from him as Mary did at his feet. They don't treasure him here. Do you see? Listen. If you're not sold out for following Christ, if you don't delight preeminently in him, if he isn't your greatest treasure, if you're not living daily for him, obediently, striving for godliness, if you're not humble, daily repenting of sin, then like Judas, you'll begin to look out only for yourself. You'll start griping and complaining and criticizing. Listen. Put the two together. Put the two together. If you're not sold out for Christ, if you're not living daily for him, striving for faithfulness, striving to live with a clear conscience, living sold out for him. If he's not preeminently your treasure, if you're not humble, daily, hour by hour, repenting of sin, striving to live for him, then like Judas, you'll begin to look out for yourself. You'll start griping and complaining and criticizing. You'll see less and less value in true worship. You'll see less and less value in true fellowship in Christ. You'll begin to miss evangelism and then group and then worship and then heaven. You'll follow a Judas and you'll find yourself on the wrong side of the cause of Christ. When you are weak, listen to me, listen to me, when you are weak you are easily influenced and you will easily fall away. That slide away from Christ and it is greased up with palm olive, you know, dishwashing liquid. You're not wearing any socks. When you are weak, you are easily influenced. Mary's devotion to the Lord must have just been sweet to him, right? Just sweet. What a joy. But the response of his own disciples must have been a dagger in his heart. Judas was a lost man, a son of perdition. He saw true devotion as foolish, sought as waste of time. He thought he knew better and it turns out he was just full of himself. The disciples, by this point are saved men. But they weren't diligently pursuing their mission to Christ. And they were easily led astray in their weakness and they eventually woke up to see themselves on the wrong side. I want you to consider something for a moment. Who are your friends? Who do you have in your life right now that is influencing you? Are they a weak Christian? Are they weak? Maybe they are a so called Christian. Maybe they're a Christian in name only. Who are you quote unquote, fellowshiping with? Are you strong enough to disciple them? Are you yourself strong enough to influence them? To encourage them for Christ? Encourage them to faithfulness? To encourage them to usefulness in the kingdom? Are you even truly in a position to encourage them? Or to hold them accountable? Or to see to it that they follow? Are you strong enough to see to it that they take the more earnest heed of the things they've heard, let's say drift away? Are you even doing that? Who are you friends with? Who are you fellowshiping with? And what does that so called fellowship look like? Is it the proverbial blind leading the blind to not fall into a ditch? Or are you strong enough to have an influence on that person for Christ? Are they strong enough to have an influence on you for Christ? For the cause of Christ and for the sake of your own soul, get with someone who will make you stronger who will hold you accountable. Put yourself under tightest to women and tightest to men who will make you stronger, who will encourage you, who will exhort you, who will hold you accountable. Some of you are in relationships and friendships that are doing you absolutely no good. And you justify yourself to other brothers and Christ. They're sisters in Christ. We're all going to the same church together. Maybe you don't go to church with them. Maybe you go to church somewhere else. But you're thinking, we're all brothers. We're all sisters. And they, like Judas, are dragging you to hell. Muddy water will find the lowest point in any ditch, right? So are you collecting together with muddy water? Or are you looking for pure, clean, fresh water from His Word? Someone who will pump you, infuse you with pure, fresh, clean water. Or are you the muddy water looking for the lowest point in the ditch? Now if that offends you, so be it. Because I care more about your soul than I do about offending you. Some of you need to question who you're hanging out with. If they are dragging you down. If you yourself today profess to be a Christian. And maybe you are one. But you're not living, sold out for Christ, examine the company that you keep. And listen, it doesn't just end there at some point or another, that little pied piper Judas drawing disciples to himself will draw you out of the Lord's church. Will draw you away from loving the brothers, loving the sisters, loving Christ. He'll draw you out. We've seen it time and time and time and time and time again. Right? You need in your own heart and your own mind. You need to expose that filthy little scheme of Satan and don't allow yourself to be victimized by it. Ensure yourself up. You can look around this church, right? If I stepped off this platform, I'm going to bump into faithful, God fearing, Christ exalting Christians everywhere I go. There is no excuse not to surgically implant yourself to the side of one of those brothers, one of those sisters and learn. Right? And be faithful and be useful to the kingdom. But when you don't, easy pray, easy victim to being sidled with a Judas will lead you astray. Now, is your soul worth it to do something about that? And I exhort you daily, stir you up to loving good works, even more as we see the day approaching. Get yourself under someone who can disciple you. If you're not strong enough at this point to be discipling someone else, then you get yourself under someone to be discipled. Put yourself around godly brothers, godly sisters. And let Christ through a means that he has appointed, let him grow and mature you. This is what the church does. This is what the body does. We grow and mature according to the grace of God in Christ in the church because God uses the means of his people to do that. It's just it's tragic. Isn't it to see people just carted off by quote-unquote their friends. You're a fool if you let that happen. You're a fool if you let that happen. It shows you that friends quote-unquote are more important to you than true worship. More important to you than the brothers. More important to you than the Word of God. More important to you than your own soul. You fool. Does it seem foolish to you that we take these things so seriously? Does it seem like a waste to you that we would exhort you in this way? So easy so easy so easy for a spiritually weak ringleader to gather disciples to himself. And all the weaklings follow him along in his weakness. Besides they're weak too. They're weak too. Pretty soon you'll be out the door following Judas all the way to hell. The disciples here would eventually get their act together. They would eventually get their act together. Glory of God is revealed to them in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and each of those disciples by the grace of God would go to their deaths following and serving Lord Jesus Christ. As humble examples of devotion for us to follow. Lastly back in John chapter 12 verse 9 I want you to see the perspective of a few more. In verse 9 Bible says now a great many of the Jews knew that he was there. The Jews here not necessarily referring to that group in opposition against them that wanted to kill them but just a group of Jews primarily out of Jerusalem. They knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus' sake only but that they also might see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. That's one perspective. And listen they came out to see the results the fruit of this glorious miracle at least they came out to see that. And many of them came to see Christ. Let that be a starting point for the Lord's sake for your own soul's sake to hold in his word and follow him. Look at verse 10 but the chief priests how did they respond? What was their perspective? They plotted to put Lazarus to death also. Wow! How ignorant. Because verse 11 on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. I mean shouldn't they have? Wow! He raised Lazarus from the dead. Shouldn't they have believed in him? Yes! All of those Jews all of those chief priests all should have bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and worshiped him as Mary did. Which group are you in this morning? Will you follow Christ with a blazing devotion? Will you give the whole or will you dribble out a part? In your mind what is Christ worthy of? For him and for the good of your own soul follow Christ. Mary was humble. Mary was humble. She made a true assessment a humble assessment of her own condition and she worshiped the Lord for saving her for him the resurrection in the life she valued, she treasured Christ make a humble assessment of her own condition this morning. Where are you? Where is your devotion? Who are you keeping company with? What in the world are you doing? These things are of eternal significance and this life is passing away. What are you doing? Spurgeon said this Beloved friends the church of Christ needs a band of men and women full of enthusiasm who will go beyond others in devotion to the Lord Jesus we need missionaries who will dare to die to carry the gospel to regions beyond we need ministers who will defy public opinion and with flaming zeal burn away into men's hearts we need men and women who will consecrate all that they have by daring deeds of heroic self sacrifice oh that all Christians were like this but we must at least have some we need a bodyguard of loving champions to rally around the Savior the bravest of the brave immortals and invincibles who shall lead the van where are we to get them how are they to be produced the Holy Spirit's way to train men and women who shall greatly serve Christ is to lead them to deep thought and quiet contemplation there they obtain the knowledge and vital principle which are the fuel of true zeal you cannot leap into high devotion can you be preached into it nor dream yourself into it or be electrified into it by revivalism it must through the divine energy of the Holy Spirit arise out of hard stern dealing with your soul and near and dear communion with your Savior you must sit at his feet or you will never anoint them he must pour his divine teaching into you or you will never pour out a precious ointment upon him all God's people said let's pray Father in heaven for your glory for your praise and worship through your grace in Jesus Christ our Lord cause a transformation in our hearts this morning by your spirit according to your truth for your glory God cause us to fervently and devotedly live through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we might be testimonies of your grace to a lost and dying world we might be testimonies of the power of the grace and the gospel to transform a heart into a fueled force for the Savior and his cause we love you Lord we pray this for your name for your glory for our good in Jesus name we pray amen