What’s In Your Box? – Three Characteristics of True Worship
with James Kyte
On my 16th birthday, my grandmother gave me a costly bracelet. This antique bracelet is embedded with diamond and sapphire jewels. Given to her by her mother, she in turn passing it down to me. The bracelet holds not only monetary value but is also a treasured family heirloom. It is likely one of the most valued things I own.
Mary desired to manifest her great affection for Jesus. The greatest gift she had to offer was spikenard ointment. By presenting this gift to Jesus, she demonstrated her willingness to sacrifice her earthly possessions. In John 12, Mary displayed three characteristics of worship which every believer should exemplify.
John 12:3, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
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What is Worship?
Worship is the privilege and opportunity to humbly and reverently ascribe worth to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Joseph Carroll stated, “What is worship? The term comes to us in our modern speech from the Angleo-Saxon “weorth-scripe,” which later developed into “worship,” meaning to attribute worth to an object. Worship is the “worthship” of the one you worship. To worship Jesus Christ is to attribute worth to him.[1]”
Revelation 4:11 exhorts us, “Thou art worth, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
J. Oswald Sanders noted, “Worship is the bowing of our innermost spirit before Him in deepest humility and reverence.”
Personal worship then could be expressed that it is the unworthy humbly and reverently attributing worth to our Great God and King. This form of worship can only occur from a complete yielding of my will to the total control of the Holy Spirit.
You cannot worship God and it not cost you something!
Mary displayed three characteristics in her worship of the Lord:
Her Worship was Genuine
John 12:3, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”
In his book Humility, Andrew Murray stated, “[Humility] is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all.”
Mary didn’t seem to be bothered by those who had gathered in her home. She always had the right priority on her mind. We must understand, that before I can give over my “spikenard” to the Lord, I must have first give myself to the Lord.
Her Worship was Generous
John 12:3-5, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?”
The ointment called “Spikenard” was produced from a rare plant that grew in India. It was hard to acquire, and it was very expensive. People were forced to save for many years just to be able to provide enough ointment for their own funeral.
You cannot truly worship the Lord without it costing you something. She gave her very best to the Lord.
- Her sacrifice of worship to the Lord is irreversible. The alabaster box is broken, and the contents cannot be recouped. She was all in!
- Her generosity was also illogical. She sacrificed her dignity for the worship and adoration of the Lord.
When you truly worship the Lord, you must give up everything, even when we don’t understand. Other people, like Judas, won’t understand and will seek to criticize.
Her Worship Glorified God
John 12:7, “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.”
Andrew Murray noted, “[T]he first and chief mark of the relationship of man with God, the secret of his blessedness, is the humility and nothingness which leaves God free to be all.[2]”
Does your worship seek to glorify yourself or God?
God shares many things, but the one thing which He will not share is His glory.
Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Mary of Bethany was more aware of Who Christ was than His disciples were. Showing by this very act her belief that Christ was about to die. She knew that she would not be there to anoint His body with this ointment. She could have used this ointment for her own brother, but she chose to save her best for the Lord.
Mary appears three times in the gospels, and each time she is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Our worship is not about our gift, but it is all about His honor and His glory.
Closing thoughts…
What gifts are you willingly offering to the Lord?
As we worship the Lord, we should seek to incorporate these characteristics Mary displayed. Our worship should be genuine, generous, and seek to bring glory to God.
The Best gift that you can give the LORD today is YOU!!!
Recommended reading:
How to Worship Jesus Christ: Experiencing His Manifest Presence
By Joseph S. Carroll / Moody Publishers
Carroll directs us into the presence of Christ by drawing on Scripture, especially the book of Revelation, and by giving practical steps of personal worship.
Humility
By Andrew Murray / CLC Publications
With insightful, penetrating clarity, Murray calls all Christians to turn from pride, empty themselves, and study the character of Christ to be filled with His grace. Often called the best work on humility ever written.
[1] Joseph S. Carroll, How to Worship Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 36.
[2] Andrew Murray, Humility (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1982), 13.