April 7, 2024 John 12:1-8 “Getting to Heaven and Getting into Heaven!”

04 Apr April 7, 2024 John 12:1-8 “Getting to Heaven and Getting into Heaven!”

April 7, 2024    John 12:1-8         “Getting to Heaven and Getting into Heaven!”

We have just finished the state high school basketball tournaments and congratulations to the teams that took part in this as I think that they were all winners just by being there.  But I noticed something about every team that was there.  They all had a certain pattern that they tried to follow.  Some went faster and some were slower.  Some worked the ball inside and some just took 3-point shots.  That is really what makes watching them so much fun.  Then if you look at your own life, you are not a lot different.  You do things a certain way and that really identifies who you are because we all do things in a different way.  This is the way things are supposed to be.  You would really have a very boring world if you did everything like everyone else.  However, the exception to this is that we have to follow laws because they are made to keep us safe.  This has a tendency to carry over into our personal lives as we doggedly try to follow others who have been successful.  This is even a good thing up to a point.  But it is at this point when you move away from the norm that you become a unique individual.  Anyway, ancient Israel was stuck in their ways.  They wanted everyone to do exactly what they told them to do and this would often end in conflict.  Then Jesus came along and changed everything, and did He ever!  A few weeks ago, we talked about the cadence Jesus used for His ministry.  We are to try to do the same thing.  Today, we are going to talk about this a little more as we look at something that we really don’t want to do but it is something we must do.  We are to be grateful to Jesus for everything we do.

There was once a lady on a lake steamer when her little girl fell overboard, and the woman was almost frantic. A gentleman on the boat had a large Newfoundland dog. The dog was directed to leap into the water and save the child. He did so and swam ashore with the little girl, part of her dress in his mouth. The mother seized her saved child, and kissed her again and again. Then turning to the dog, she hugged and kissed that dog, with a heart full of gratitude to the animal.  That’s more than some people have ever done for Jesus Christ, even though He hung on the cross to save them from sin and hell.

We start today with Jesus coming back to Bethany.  This is where Lazarus lived.  This is the Lazarus that He had raised from the dead.  This is one of the events that really stand out.  Jesus raised this man from the dead.  He had command over many things and now, just before He is to be crucified, He raises a dead man back to life.  I would guess this cemented the thought that Jesus was the Messiah for many.  I think that we have to pause for a minute and think about the gravity of this situation.  Jesus is God.  He has control over everything and this includes death.  You have a God who is that powerful.  Just remember that when you are out and about talking with people.  Jesus controls life and death.  He will be in control when you die.  If He has promised you eternal life, then you shall have it.  I could go on for quite some time here but we must move ahead.  Just remember, Jesus is in control of life and death.

What we see in our first part of this reading is an attitude of gratitude.  Lazarus had two sisters named Mary and Martha.  I should remind you that when a man like Lazarus dies, then the estate goes to the next male, not female.  Therefore, these two sisters were extremely thankful that Jesus had saved them from much hardship due to the brother dying.  They were so grateful that they decided to have a dinner honoring Jesus.

Personally, I think that this is a wonderful idea.  We live in a world today where there just aren’t enough events like this that really honor someone.  There are lots of dinners and events to raise money for this and raise money for that.  Birthdays might be one of the few exceptions to this.  We should try to celebrate our birthdays with special events.  Another idea, for those of you in smaller churches, why not have a pot luck lunch once a month or have a special dinner to celebrate your pastor.  You may not know it but this is a tough job.  Being a pastor is not always easy.  Have dinners at regularly scheduled times to honor whoever or whatever you think need honoring.  It shouldn’t be that hard to do because we gather over food for many other things.  It’s just thought.

So, some of His closest friends are having a celebratory dinner for the King of kings.  I’m just guessing here that the dinner was over when Mary approached Jesus with a pint of pure nard.  Now nard was a very expensive and aromatic perfume.  From the research that I found; a pint of nard would probably cost around $55,000.  That is expensive stuff.  So, Mary takes this nard and pours it over Jesus’ feet.  When was the last time you spent $55,000 on someone for a celebration?  When have you ever poured out $55,000 worth of anything over someone’s feet?

I don’t know of anything like this in our modern world.  Oh, there are some things that cost $55,000 a pint, but I don’t know of anyone who has poured it out like this so that it can never be used again.  Not unless you count people who drink expensive, overpriced wine or champagne.  Mary, Martha and Lazarus are very grateful and they are showing it by this outpouring of gratitude.  They loved Jesus.

I know that we have many celebrations in this country.  Maybe we have too many as we seem to celebrate anything and everything, whether it is good or not.  Personally, I like a good celebration.  We just celebrated the biggest event in human history.  Jesus Christ was dead and three days later He had risen again.  He did this so that you could have a place to take your sins and leave them behind.  He did this so you could invite Him to live in your heart.  He did this so that you could have eternal life and spend eternity with Him.  We celebrate Easter every year because of this.  However, I don’t see gratitude today like I see with Mary.  Mary loved Jesus because she knew He was God.

How about you?  Do you know that Jesus is God?  All the things He did in the Gospels are true.  He did miracles left and right so that you could see and understand who He is.  He taught us His wisdom that can only be described as divine.  There are many, many who do not think of Jesus as God but he was, He is and He ever shall be.  He will never force Himself upon you so it is your choice, and your choice alone, as to when and if you ask Him into your life.

So, they are having this huge celebration and they are very grateful for Jesus when out of the blue, greed shows up.  Mary has poured out the nard and Judas gets upset.  He says they should have sold the nard and given the money to the poor.  But John tells us that Judas could care less about the poor.  He only wanted the money so he could steal it.  Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose someone like Judas to be a disciple in the first place?  We know in hindsight that someone would have to be a crook and betray Jesus.  This is what had to be.   So, Judas is showing his true colors here.  I don’t think that this would have been anything new for the disciples.  Afterall, Judas had lived with these disciples for some time now and there would have been suspicions.  These men were world experienced.

Anyway, how many times has greed show up at your doorstep?  Do you want a new car just because you can?  Do you want everything for yourself?  Do you try to make more money by hurting or hindering others?  Like any other sin, greed can take over your life if you are not careful.  If you watch a young child, you will see unintentional greed.  They want this toy, then that toy.  This is ok but the parents have to teach that child what is right and what is wrong.  And greed is wrong.

Just to show you how ridiculous greed is, according an old fable, attributed to Aesop, a dog was carrying a bone as he crossed a bridge. He looked into the water and saw his own reflection. He took this to be another dog and another bone. He desperately wanted the other bone so he dropped the one he had to scare the “other dog.”  Of course, there was no other bone and he lost the one he had into the water. Such is the nature of human greed.  In the effort to get what we want; we frequently lose what we have.

So far in these few verses we have great demonstrations of gratitude and greed.  Many, many people are very grateful for all that Jesus did.  However, there are people mixed in who are very greedy about everything who try to ruin it for others.  Jesus tells Judas and us that Mary was doing the right thing.  Jesus was relieving her of her tormentor, Judas.  Jesus is offering her a form of grace that we all need from time to time.  When you know that you are doing something right, then keep doing it because Jesus has your back in all of this.  Also, Jesus is trying to show Judas grace here but it falls on deaf ears as Judas has gone too far into greed to be able to hear what Jesus is offering.

What Jesus has done in these few verses is to explain a little about what it is like to be a Christian.  It is much more than just attending a church once a week.  It’s more than praying now and then.  It’s more than most of the good things that we do.  A woman was asked once, “What it’s like to be a Christian?”  Well, there was once a lady who had recently been baptized. One of her coworkers asked her what it was like to be a Christian. She was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer. But, when she looked up, she saw a jack-o’-lantern on the desk and answered, “It’s like being a pumpkin.”  The coworker asked her to explain that one.  “Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in, and washes off all the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all the other pumpkins. Then he cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from inside. He removes all those seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then he carves you a new smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all to see. It is our choice to either stay outside and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and bright.”  This is a great little way so sum up the meaning of being a Christian.  It’s too bad this isn’t Halloween season so I could wish that all of you were pumpkins.

But we also have Jesus showing us the way to grace.  And grace is one of the most important things we get from Jesus.  I found this little story about grace that sums things up a little.  I once read about a baseball game that one day took place. It seems that the Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was zero to zero, and it was in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. The Coach and the Lord stood by observing the game. As they watched, a batter stepped up the plate whose name was LOVE. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because “love never fails.” The next batter was named FAITH, who also got a single because faith works with love. The next batter was named GODLY WISDOM. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass….ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at what Satan throws. The bases were loaded. The Lord then turned to Coach and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped GRACE. Coach said, “He sure doesn’t look like much.” Satan’s whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was not worried, as his center fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground. Then it continued over the fence for a home run! The Lord’s team won. The Lord then asked Coach if he knew why LOVE, FAITH, and GODLY WISDOM could get on base but could not win the game. Coach answered that he didn’t know why. The Lord explained, “If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, then you would think you had done it by yourself.  Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My GRACE can get you home.”

As we look at this today, we see that in 1 Corinthians 13 where love is greater than faith and hope.  These are the things for you to have a great and wonderful life.  However, in today’s reading we have a way to get you to heaven.  Love, faith and wisdom are wonderful traits to have and they will help tremendously in getting you to heaven.  As we discussed, even gratitude will help you go a long-ways in this life.  But there is one key ingredient that will get you into heaven apart from anything we have talked about and that is the very generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace, grace, God’s grace is the key to heaven.  All these other traits are steps to heaven.

Today, we learned that we don’t need greed in any way, shape or form.  We need gratitude, love, faith, wisdom and more in order to get us to heaven’s door.  Then we need the grace of God to get it open.  You get that by confessing your sins to Him and making Jesus the Lord and savior of your life.  Today, is the day to allow Jesus to take over your life.  Ask Him in and you will never regret it.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.