Mary's Example: Listen, Act, and Worship Jesus First

Sep 13, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Finished Things Make Way for Crucified Kings

The narrative pivots sharply after Jesus concludes his teachings – a hinge moment where head knowledge bends toward sacrificial love. Matthew’s deliberate transition mirrors our own journeys: seasons of learning must give way to costly obedience. Just as Jesus turned from sermons to surrender, discipleship demands moving beyond comfortable study into the messy work of laying down our lives. The cross looms two days ahead, interrupting tidy theology with blood-stained reality. [00:17]

When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” (Matthew 26:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your familiarity with Jesus’ teachings become a barrier to responding to His call? What “finished things” in your spiritual routine need to make space for fresh surrender?

Day 2: Breaking Alabaster Flasks of Assumption

Preconceptions shatter like perfume vials when true listening occurs. Jane weaponized her pro-life assumptions against Kate’s trauma until she finally heard the story beneath the stance. The disciples filtered Jesus’ crucifixion prophecies through messianic power fantasies. But Mary of Bethany – having lingered at His feet – absorbed His words about death and kingship without distortion. Her costly act proved she’d heard both His crown and His cross. [03:10]

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. (Proverbs 18:13, ESV)

Reflection: What relationship or truth have you been answering before truly hearing? Where might your spiritual “certainties” be painting over someone’s pain or God’s surprising work?

Day 3: Anointing Heads and Burying Messiahs

Two anointings collide: oil dripping down a king’s brow and spices preparing a corpse. Mary’s dual act defies categories – her perfume declares Christ’s sovereignty while accepting His mortality. The disciples wanted a throne without a tomb; Judas prioritized piggybanks over prophecy. But worship flourishes where we hold tension – exalting Christ’s authority while joining His suffering. Broken flasks release fragrance; broken agendas release worship. [17:42]

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. (John 12:3, ESV)

Reflection: What part of Jesus’ mission feels uncomfortable to embrace – His lordship over your ambitions or His call to sacrificial love? How does Mary’s act challenge your divided loyalties?

Day 4: Unnamed Women and Eternal Memorials

Matthew’s anonymous worshiper stands immortalized beside history’s named power players. Caiaphas’ palace crumbled; the disciples fled; but her “beautiful thing” echoes wherever the Gospel spreads. God inverts our fame metrics – the world’s footnotes become heaven’s headlines. Our quiet acts of devotion, unseen by trendsetters, etch eternity’s annals. The nameless woman’s memorial outshines Jerusalem’s temple because love outlives limestone. [28:24]

Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. (Matthew 26:13, ESV)

Reflection: What anonymous act of love have you undervalued? Where might God be calling you to serve memorably in obscurity rather than chasing recognition?

Day 5: Miserable Comforters and Beautiful Things

Sanctimonious scowls met Mary’s extravagance – the disciples’ “noble concern for the poor” masked hearts uncomfortable with lavish love. But Jesus rebukes theoretical compassion that critiques actual devotion. Serving causes can become cowardice when we weaponize justice-talk to avoid personal surrender. True worship prioritizes the present Christ over even virtuous programs. The poor remain, but Mary’s moment pulses with urgency – sometimes adoration must interrupt agendas. [25:14]

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22, ESV)

Reflection: When has “doing good” become a defense against deeper obedience? How might God be calling you to trade critique for costly love today?

Sermon Summary

Matthew marks Jesus’ finished sayings as a major turn. The text moves from all the setup of Jesus’ ministry into the redemptive work that brings God’s people life: the cross. Matthew places a beautiful story of love between stories of hate, and Jesus declares that this woman’s act will be remembered wherever the gospel is proclaimed.

The disciples hear Jesus say again and again that he will be crucified and raised on the third day, but their assumptions keep them from really hearing him. Their idea of what the Messiah should do gets laid over Jesus’ actual words. Good things can do that too. Family, career, success, generosity, and even concern for the poor can become so consuming that they cause people to lose sight of the main thing: Christ standing right in front of them.

Mary, identified in John’s account, hears Jesus differently. Mary has sat at Jesus’ feet, soaked in his words, and taken the time to listen. Her anointing of Jesus shows that she heard both his kingship and his coming death. The oil on his head points to the King. The perfume on his body points to burial. Mary does not merely listen to the Word. Mary acts without hesitation.

Mary’s worship is reckless abandon. The alabaster flask of pure nard costs about a year’s wages, likely something like a dowry, yet Mary counts the cost and says it is absolutely worth it. Judas sees waste and calculates what he can get paid. Mary sees her Savior and gives what she has. The contrast exposes two very different hearts: one loves Christ at great cost, while the other sells Christ for some change.

Jesus defends Mary against disciples who sound holy but have incomplete theology. Care for the poor matters deeply to God, but Jesus comes first. The disciples hide behind theory while Mary, a beloved child of God, stands right in front of them loving her King. Worship of the King is not an excuse to ignore mercy, justice, or the vulnerable. Worship of the King is the first thing from which such love should flow.

Matthew leaves the woman unnamed beside Caiaphas, the disciples, and Simon the healed leper. Her namelessness does not mean she is overlooked. It shows that even the ones with no name can praise his name. God sees the lowly, calls them to hear him, love him, put him first, and brings them home.

Key Takeaways

1. Take time to truly listen Mary’s costly act begins long before the perfume is poured out. Mary has learned to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear what he actually says rather than paint his words with assumptions. Scripture, prayer, and the body of Christ become places where Christ’s words can confront the noise of self, success, fear, and religious busyness. Listening is not passive when it brings a person face to face with the Messiah. [14:08]
2. Act without hesitation for Christ Mary hears Jesus speak of his death and responds with reckless abandon. Her worship costs her something real, yet her love refuses to treat Christ as unworthy of the cost. Hesitation often reveals an attempt to keep control, whether life feels comfortable or sorrow has become strangely familiar. Christ’s call can feel unknown and costly, but Mary’s act declares that he is absolutely worth it. [20:05]
3. Jesus first, everything else second The disciples’ concern for the poor is not wrong, but it becomes incomplete when it pushes Jesus out of first place. Mercy, justice, care for outsiders, and generosity are meant to flow from worship of the King, not replace it. Spiritual superiority can hide behind good theological statements while missing the person standing right in front of it. Jesus receives Mary’s love because she has put him first. [27:27]
4. Even the unnamed can praise him Matthew’s unnamed woman stands beside powerful and recognizable people, yet her worship receives Jesus’ lasting honor. The world’s measures of importance do not determine whether God sees a person. God sees the lowly, the overlooked, and the person who feels without a name. A hidden life that hears Christ and loves Christ is never hidden from him.

## [29:25]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:17] - Matthew’s Major Transition
[01:34] - A Story of Love Between Hate
[02:33] - Assumptions Keep People from Listening
[05:53] - The Disciples Do Not Hear Jesus
[09:19] - Good Things Can Replace the Main Thing
[11:25] - Mary Listens to Jesus
[14:08] - Take Time to Listen
[17:22] - Mary Acts Without Hesitation
[18:51] - Anointing the King for Burial
[20:33] - Mary and Judas Count the Cost
[24:48] - Jesus First, Everything Else Second
[27:54] - The Unnamed Woman Praises His Name

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 26:6–13
“Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.’” [07:19]

John 12:1–8
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.’” [11:39]

Matthew 16:21
“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” [06:07]

Observation questions

What details show the great cost of Mary’s gift, both in Matthew 26 and John 12?
What different responses do Mary, the disciples, and Judas have to the perfume being poured out?
In Matthew 16:21, what does Jesus clearly tell the disciples will happen to him, and what part of his words would have been hardest for them to accept? [07:34]
What reasons does Jesus give for calling Mary’s act “a beautiful thing” rather than a waste? [24:55]

Interpretation questions

Jesus had repeatedly spoken about his coming death and resurrection. Why might the disciples’ expectations of the Messiah have kept them from truly hearing Jesus? [08:24]
Mary’s anointing points both to Jesus as King and to his coming burial. What does her action show about worship that listens carefully to who Jesus truly is? [18:59]
The disciples’ concern for the poor was not wrong, yet Jesus corrected them. How can a good concern become incomplete when it pushes worship of Christ out of first place? [25:35]
Matthew leaves the woman unnamed, while naming people such as Simon and Caiaphas nearby in the story. How does this contrast show that God’s measure of importance differs from the world’s? [28:00]

Application questions

What assumptions, expectations, or distractions most often get laid over Jesus’ words when reading Scripture? What could help create space to hear what he is actually saying? [15:15]
What good thing—family, career, financial security, service, generosity, or something else—could be taking first place over Christ right now? What would it look like to put Jesus first within that good thing? [09:40]
Mary’s worship cost her something real. Is there an area where following Jesus feels costly enough that hesitation has set in? What is making that cost difficult to release? [21:01]
Sometimes comfort can come from success and control; other times it can come from holding tightly to sadness, anger, or disappointment. Which kind of comfort is hardest to surrender to Jesus, and why? [22:59]
Jesus calls Mary’s costly act “a beautiful thing.” What are a few practical, loving ways a person could worship Christ wholeheartedly this week—not to earn his love, but in response to it?
Care for the poor, outsiders, and vulnerable should flow from worship of Jesus. How could this group grow in both: putting Christ first and showing concrete mercy to people around them? [27:06]
When have feelings of being unnoticed, unimportant, or “without a name” made it difficult to serve or worship with joy? How does this passage speak to the truth that God sees those whom the world overlooks? [30:13]

Sermon Clips

40s

#RecklessDevotion

“Mary heard Jesus. Mary heard Jesus say that he would be crucified, he would be killed. So she anoints his body in preparation for his burial. Now whether or not she truly and fully understood the significance of her actions, I don't... At that time or maybe later on, I don't know. But what she did is she heard Jesus and she acted with reckless abandon. She didn't care what it cost her because her harsh desire a 100% was to love her master, love the Christ with everything she had. In comparison to that, you have Judas.”

51s

#HearThenAct

“You have Judas who looked and was annoyed at what he considered a waste of money. And so he ends up going to the Jewish power brokers and offering to betray Jesus for some pieces of silver. Mary counted the cost of loving her savior and said, 100% it's worth it. Judas counted the cost of what it meant to be a disciple and said, no. Mary shows us in her example that we're called to worship God by first taking the time to truly hear our savior, hear God. And then we are called to worship our God by acting without hesitation.”

30s

#PutGodFirst

“Because here's the thing, God sees you. And he says, listen to me. God sees you. And he says, love me. God sees you. And he says, put me first, and I'll bring you home. Matthew leaves this woman unnamed because even the ones with no name can praise his name.”

41s

#FaithInAction

“Mary took time to listen. That was the first thing. The second thing is this, then she acted without hesitation. That's how we know she was listening. She acted without hesitation. You know what James tells us to be not just listeners to the word, but doers of the word, and that's what Mary was absolutely a doer of the word. And I love how spectacular she did, how she acted. Because she said, I am not gonna worry about what it costs. I'm gonna do what I need to do, what needs to be done to worship god with all that I am, with all that I've got.”

57s

#JesusFirstAlways

“Without a doubt, don't get me wrong. Again, god absolutely intends for us to love mercy, to act justly, to walk humbly with our god. He absolutely intends us to love the outsiders and the outcast. He absolutely wants us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, to care for the widows and the orphan. This is the natural response of the redeemed children of God a 100%. This is what we do. This is what we do when we as his sheep become transformed by the power of the holy spirit. This is what we do. But first, first and foremost is God. Before all of that, first is God. First and foremost is worship of the king of kings. First and foremost is worship of the lord of lords. Jesus first, everything else is second.”

48s

#WorthTheCost

“I'll tell you if you do, trust me. It's absolutely worth it. The cost is absolutely worth it. starts off in her act of worship by listening, and then she moves to acting without hesitation. It was costly, but it was absolutely worth it. It was... It it it made others question her sanity, but it was absolutely worth it. And we know it because Jesus said it once. We see that. And that leads us to the third lesson that I think we learned from this passage of how we are called to worship our king. And simply this, Jesus first. Everything else is second. Jesus first.”

34s

#GospelHope

“You know, pastor Joey and others from this pulpit have tried our best to teach and share how Jesus loves you and me. How Jesus loves you and me so much that he was willing to die for our sake, to take on the cost of our depravity, the cost of our sin upon himself. So that if we choose to believe that he is the one and only son of God who died for our sake, that we might be enter... Able to enter into God's kingdom, into God's presence. This is the gospel story. This is the good news that I hope you've heard.”

33s

#HearInCommunity

“Are you taking the time in his word, in his, in the scripture to hear him? Don't paint his words with your assumptions and your opinion. Take the time to hear him through this word. And the beautiful thing is he's also shown you who he is, his character through the relationships you have in the body of Christ and the family of God around you. Are you taking the time to listen, to recognize him and who he is through the community that he's given you?”

37s

#MakeTimeToListen

“The next time we will make space, we will make time to give folks a chance to listen, to really hear Jesus. But here's what I'm telling you right now. You do not have to wait three years to do that. You can start right now. Set aside a few minutes during your commute to work, during... While you're brushing your teeth, when you're making your coffee. Make time to take time to hear him, to really listen to the messiah, because he's talking to you through his word.”

51s

#TreasuresInHeaven

“How many times have you or I been so wrapped up in a good thing that we lost sight of the main thing? And we... Maybe maybe we were thinking, you know, I have to I have to be successful in my career. I have to get that promotion so that, you know, so that I can give. So I give more to the church. You know, there's your mindset. You know, I need to grind every single day. I need to grind every single night. I need to grind every single weekend. Yeah. It might take me away from church, but I need to keep on doing this so I can make more money and give to worthy causes like the church or to hands at work or something like that. But then you realize... You start thinking, are you so invested in success on this planet that you forget that God said, don't store up treasures here, store up treasures in heaven.”

55s

#NotMiserableComforters

“A few months back, we were in the book of Job, and one phrase that kept coming up was miserable comforter. Basically, in the book of Job, Job's friends, they would make these, theological claims that were not totally wrong, but they were incomplete. Their theology was incomplete. And so what ended up happening is that they became horrible friends and miserable comforters. Today, in this passage, the disciples are not wrong necessarily about caring for the poor. They're just incomplete in their theology because Jesus comes first. They're incomplete in their theology, so they become horrible friends, miserable comforters, miserable comforters to Mary. Miserable comforters is Jesus who just told them he's gonna be crucified.”

29s

#StopTalkingStartListening

“What does that look like? To take time to listen. I'll tell you for Mary, for for Jane and Kate, my friends, practically speaking, it meant that they both had to just stop talking at each other. They had to start talking to each other. For you and your relationship with Jesus, it might mean the same thing. It might simply mean to start talking and start hearing Jesus.”

33s

#BeStillAndListen

“Take time to listen. You know what scripture tells us in the Psalms to be still and know he is God. Be still and take time to listen. Scripture tells us in Isaiah that we are to wait on the Lord and God will renew our strength. the time to listen. In the proverbs, scripture tells us to trust in God with all our heart, and he will take us down these straight path. Take the time to listen.”

50s

#EvenTheUnnamedPraise

“I wanna start wrapping up because I want... And close this with this one thought. One of the things that really popped out for me is that I think Matthew keeps this woman unnamed on purpose because I think he wants to emphasize a beautiful truth. This unnamed woman who hears Jesus and and who loves Jesus and who puts Jesus first, she is shown in juxtaposition to all the named people, all the the named powerful like Caiaphas, the high priest. She is shown in juxtaposition to the 12 chosen disciples who are known and named. She is shown in juxtaposition even to the healed leper Simon. Matthew leaves this woman unnamed.”

40s

#AnointingTheKing

“So there's that significance of it, and Jesus mentions it in his past. And there's a whole anointing on the head thing. The anointing on the head thing that the woman does points us and draws images of a king being anointed because that's what Samuel did to David in the old testament. That's what you do with a king. You anoint them on the head with oil. Mary, she heard Jesus. She heard him say that he is the messiah. She heard him say that he is the king, that the chosen people have been waiting for. And so she anoints his head with oil.”

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