Sermon - John 12:1-11 – Having Jesus Over for Dinner

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon - John 12:1-11 – Having Jesus Over for Dinner
Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches
February 21, 2010

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Last week during worship we gathered around this table for the Lord’s Supper. Once a month, the church gathers around a meal for our coffee hours. The men gather for a weekly breakfast on Friday mornings at Our Place. And women in the church gather in various groups to break bread together. Breaking bread with each other is an important way of building relationships in the church. That’s why Grace and I are opening our home this Saturday and Sunday for all of you so that we can get to know you and begin the process of developing relationships with you. Jesus too gathered with his disciples and friends for meals. And an account of one of these dinners is recorded for us in the Gospel of John. But before we get to all of this please pray with me.

Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)

John 12:1-11 NIV John 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." 9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

John has given us a picture of Jesus going to the house of some friends for dinner. In many ways this supper was very ordinary. Martha was in the kitchen getting things ready. Every family needs a Martha, someone who cooks and cleans and makes sure that everything gets done right. We have Marthas right here in this church, people who spend their time in the kitchen, or make food for the coffee hours, or care for the children of the church, or fix toilets when they leak. Churches depend on their Marthas to make things happen around the church. And as your new pastor I am very grateful to find many Marthas hard a work making church happen.

I knew a Martha at my church in Eagle Rock. Her name was Ellen. She was a Korean immigrant just learning English and American Culture. She came to Eagle Rock to meet Americans and learn English. She sang in the choir, played the piano, served food at dinner and did whatever the church needed. Ellen was always willing to help any way she could and I will always be grateful for her help. And she was one of many Marthas in that church.

One person at this dinner with Jesus should not have been there. Lazarus should not
have been at dinner because he had died. That’s right Lazarus had died and was buried for three day when Jesus brought him back to life, and of course he came to the family meal. Many of us identify with Lazarus; we have experienced old lives that have died so that we could be reborn to new life in Jesus Christ. Maybe our old lives were as alcoholics or drug addicts which ended when we found new lives by coming to faith in Jesus. Maybe our old lives were killed by the loss of a job, or the ending of a relationship; we felt like we were dead, but were brought back to life by Jesus. The church needs Lazaruses as much as it needs Marthas. Its needs people who can testify to their spiritual rebirth in Jesus Christ to remind everyone of the importance of faith and the hope that Jesus gives to those whose old lives are passing away and need hope of new life in Christ.

There is a church in Northeast Los Angeles that is made up of Lazaruses. For the last 35 years Victory Outreach has gone into the community with a mission to gang members. They tell the gang members that gang life results in death. Fighting with guns and knifes leads to the loss of arms and legs, a life in a wheel chair, years spent in prison, and death. The life of a gang member ends in ruin. But the church offers gang bangers a new life, a life of hope. This new life is available to those who believe in Jesus Christ. That church is now full of people who had chosen new life in Christ over gang life. And the members keep going back on the streets to testify to salvation they found in Jesus Christ bringing more and more gang members for redemption and faith in Jesus.

Another person who should not have been at the dinner was Jesus because there was a warrant for his arrest. The raising of Lazarus had caused quite a stir in that small town of Bethany, and the excitement spread all the way to Jerusalem. The religious authorities in Jerusalem were concerned that all this excitement about Jesus’ sign would upset the Roman Empire and trigger a violent response. So they decided to not risk Roman anger and chose to have Jesus arrested and put to death. So Jesus went into hiding in a town far to the north near the wilderness. And there he remained with his disciples until coming back to Bethany for this supper with Martha, Lazarus, Mary and Judas.

It is important for the church to have Jesus present whenever we break bread. That is why we pray for Jesus to be with us when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And that is why we say grace before each meal not only thanking God for the provisions that make meals possible, but also asking for Jesus to be there with us as our families and our churches gather for meals.

Of course whenever families or churches get together there will be conflicts. I know of people who hate Thanksgiving because they have to eat a meal with their family and rehash all the old arguments and disputes. The supper Jesus had with Martha, Lazarus and family was no different. There was a major dispute about the use of money.

Mary opened an alabaster jar of very costly perfume. Presumably it had been purchased for the day when Jesus’ head would be anointed as king. But with Jesus’ arrest at hand Mary decided to use it now to anoint Jesus while he was still alive. So she poured the oil on his feet and wiped it with her hair. Families need Marys to lift them from the ordinariness of life to higher spiritual levels of worship. Countless Marys have given their time and treasure for the worship life of this church. Think of the teachers who have spent hours to prepare a lesson and then extravagantly pour that lesson out in a one hour class. Think of the singers and musicians who have practiced and rehearsed for hours and hours and then pour out their gifts in a single performance. Churches need Marys as much as they need Marthas and Lazaruses to beautify and adorn our worship of God.

But there is one more person at the table, Judas. Do churches need Judases? We all know Judas. He is the one who betrayed Jesus. But let’s look at Judas, the follower of Jesus, who is seated at the table with Martha, Mary and Lazarus before he decided to betray Jesus to the authorities. John often calls Judas the son of Simon. And we know that Simon the Leper owned the house where this supper is taking place. So it is possible that Simon the Leper was the father of Martha, Lazarus, and Mary. So since Martha, Lazarus, Mary and Judas all seen to have a father named Simon and since they are the ones sitting around the table with Jesus, it is plausible that they are all brothers and sister. This is what makes this meal an ordinary family supper among siblings. And the disagreement between Judas and Mary could be a spat between brother and sister. And thus we can see Judas in a new light as a follower of Jesus who disagreed with his sister over how their money should be spent. Families and Churches need Judases to keep track of money and make sure that it is used appropriately. Judas said that the money should be used to care for the poor. Mary wanted it used in worship of Jesus.

This dispute has continued in the church for two thousand years. Marys want funds spent to beautify the sanctuary, improve the music, and bring in good teachers and preachers. Judases want the money spent on Samaritan Shelter and other projects in our community, nation and world. Jesus acknowledged that both views are important. We have to spend money on worship and we have to care for the poor. But since the money for the ointment had been budgeted for anointing his body after his death he saw no reason why it could not be used now while he was still alive. This infuriated Judas who had assumed that the perfume would be used to anoint Jesus as king. As a result of his anger the great tragedy of John’s gospel occurred. Judas, a disciple of Jesus Christ, lost his faith, stopped believing in Jesus, and began making plans to betray him to the authorities.

This is the great warning in the Gospel of John that disputes within the church can lead to unbelief. Marthas, Lazaruses, Marys and Judases are all needed in the church. But we know that with this diversity of opinion disputes will happen. We must never allow our disagreements to cause us to lose our faith in Jesus Christ because the most important thing in the church is our faith that Jesus is here with us. And the promise of scripture is that if Jesus is here with us and people in the community find out we will have more people in this sanctuary than we can imagine. Marthas and Lazaruses and Marys and Judases will be breaking down our doors to get to Jesus and have faith in him.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for being with us in worship today. We ask that you bless the Marthas, Lazaruses, Marys and Judases who are worshiping with us today. Bless us with continuing faith even in the midst of our disagreements. And help us to communicate to Pocomoke the good news that you are right here with us in this church. Amen.