Bible Studies

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John 12:1-8

“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. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
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.”

Vs. 1: Worship is Response-For what the Lord has done. Mary’s reason for offering the oil was because of Jesus raising her brother. There is no mentioning of their parents, meaning as the male her brother was the head of the household. He was probably the breadwinner in the home with Mary and Martha staying to care for it. With Lazarus being dead Mary and Martha would have probably ended up out begging in the streets. For many women in those days that was an eventual death sentence. So their brother being alive again meant they would have both their brother as well as their lives.

Has the Lord not only given us back our lives but also given His life as well?

As the bride responds to the love of her husband, the church should respond to her Groom. There can be no worship without the act of God, which illustrates His nature. Worship is born of the Lord’s work, which is born of Who He is.

Vs. 3: Worship is expensive-There can be no worship without cost (2 Samuel 24:24). At the least it costs us the focus on ourselves in order that we may focus on Him. It means the loss of something precious to us. The mysterious thing is that while worship costs us, we cannot claim it as something of our own production. We are simply giving to the Lord what He initially gave us since He is the true Initiator. The spikenard was manufactured by man but only exists because God is the Creator of all things. The music often used in worship may be coming from man’s artistry, but the Lord created our minds and gave us the gifts to produce these beautiful sounds.

Does worship make you feel like you given something expensive?

Vs. 3b: Worship is the Power to Change-Like the Spikenard, worship effects its environment, whether it is the room or the worshipper’s mind. Worship has been known to provoke non-believers to respond to the Gospel in rightful submission. Is one worried or overwhelmed? That one should try worship in the power of the Lord’s Spirit, in response to His Truth.

Have you been left a different person after worship? Did it seem to change your surroundings, you mindset?

Vs. 4, 5, and 6: Worship is Provocative-Just as worship may provoke a non-believer to repentance, it can also provoke one to anger borne of conviction. The world will complain about true worshippers, because true worship lends light to the false worship of the world. Judas worshipped money as indicated in his harsh criticism of the woman at Jesus’ feet. The hairs of discernment seem to stand up on the back of my neck when someone claiming to be a Christian criticizes the fact that Christians worship Christ. I begin to wonder about the legitimacy of that supposed Christian because that does not add up.

Have you been mocked because of Who you worship? Do others oppose Who you worship?

Vs. 7, 8: True Worship Provokes the Lord of Truth-Because Jesus inhabited Mary’s praise He was angered by Judas’ unrighteous complaint. Here the heart of God is revealed concerning the false worshippers of the world. Truth hates falsehood. The world sees the worship of Christ as a waste of time, thinking the time could be better spent on other pursuits, another kind of worship. Little do they know that worship is more precious than Spikenard, something of this world.

Do you see Justice in your favor in the future because you worship truly?

Things to note:

The events in the verses cited describe a scene of worship, yet music was not available. Music is not worship and worship is not music. Music used in worship is simply a vehicle by which we may worship. Worship is response, is costly, powerful and provocative.

The highest form of worship is obedience. By obedience we respond with our very lives, a costly thing, costing the blood of the Object of our worship. Our lives become the target of that power in obedient worship as we make the choice to take the focus off ourselves and on Jesus and the Father. We may find that we have provoked both the world and the Lord, we becoming the abode where He may inhabit our expression of praise as we are seen by the world in what we do for Him. Our lives are not of our own production; they are a gift from the Lord, twice over. We are simply giving something back to its original Owner.

The most powerful thing about worship is that the worshipper becomes the creature he was intended to be.

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