The Cost of Our Worship

John 12:1-8 teaches us about worship when we see the worth of Jesus. When his worth is matched by our love for him, that is worship. The verses challenge our motivation in our serving and worship. They address the risks of worship being self-gratification and seeking self-satisfaction. They ask the question why are you doing what you’re doing for the Lord? And answer it with the true motive for serving Christ which is: we do what we do because he is worthy of everything we can do for him. Mary’s act demonstrates what ought to be true of our daily worship.

Martha’s role was to thank Jesus by seeing to the details of the dinner, and Mary’s role was to thank Jesus by pouring this expensive ointment out on Jesus. In both these ways, they would express their wonder and joy and thanks for the greatness of Jesus and his grace and power to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Mary so loved Jesus, that her desire to worship him, following what she had seen him do and who she believed he was, meant complete disregard to her self in terms of the cost of her worship. Some might ask about the sensibility of such an act, maybe even foolish? Jesus was accepting the worship that Mary gave Him because she rightly saw that He is worthy of all that we can give Him and even more. Because when we see who is he is, we’re not concerned about ourselves, we’re concerned about how he sees us and how we worship.

The principle is, our worship is to cost us something. Is Jesus worth more than anything I own, than all my finances? Is he worth more than my pride, and how others might view my acts of love toward him? Judas wasn’t concerned about the poor at all, but more about the fact he thought that was just a waste of good money, down the drain. Notice Judas’ attempts to appear genuine in his concern? But it was an affront to his real motivations, which was for money, not Jesus.

The world screams at us to live and behave a certain way. There is a Judas-like voice that says, why do we need to that, isn’t this good enough? Any voice that tells us to moderate the truth of our love and worship for Jesus, we do not listen to. Why? Because God does not accommodate what I think or feel is right, that makes me sovereign. Our affections for Jesus must be in keeping with who he is and what he deserves: all of us and everything!

Mary’s act of worship gives a biblical basis for evaluating our own act/s of worship, and Judas’ example helps us to test our motivations of worship. Mary didn’t do this out of duty or obligation, but sheer devotion and love for Jesus, and how did she gain this posture? By sitting at His feet.

What is it you might “pour out” at the feet of Jesus that he might be glorified by you today?