Breaking the Box: Pouring Out Your All for Jesus

Devotional

Day 1: Breaking Heirlooms to Honor the Resurrection

Mary shattered her family’s priceless jar, an act as irreversible as death itself. She poured out a year’s wages in perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet, not as an investment but as worship. Her brother Lazarus sat nearby—alive, breathing proof of Jesus’ power over decay. The room reeked of extravagance, not just perfume, but the kind of love that refuses to calculate. She traded security for surrender, knowing the One who resurrects the dead is worth losing everything for. [26:27]

“Mary 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.”
(John 12:3, ESV)

Reflection: What “heirloom” have you treated as too precious to break for Jesus—security, reputation, or comfort? How would surrendering it shift your focus from loss to worship?

Day 2: Selfishness Disguised as Spirituality

Judas masked greed with concern for the poor, counting coins while Mary counted Christ worthy. He saw a wasted resource; she saw a worthy King. His question sounded holy but hid theft. Jesus’ rebuke exposed the heart: worship seems wasteful to those who don’t treasure Him. Every generation faces the temptation to make Jesus a supporter of agendas rather than the Savior who demands all. [31:07]

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
(1 Corinthians 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you used spiritual language to justify self-interest? How does Judas’ hypocrisy challenge you to audit your motives?

Day 3: Anointing the One Who Chooses the Dirt

Jesus rebuked the room’s outrage, reframing Mary’s act as preparation for His burial. The perfume’s fragrance clung to Him as He walked toward the cross, where His body would break like her jar. Resurrection required Him to be “planted” in death, like a seed surrendering to soil. Mary’s worship acknowledged His mission: glory through sacrifice, life through decay. [35:19]

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8, ESV)

Reflection: How does Jesus’ choice to embrace death (the “dirt”) challenge your resistance to difficult, hidden, or unglamorous obedience?

Day 4: Lazarus, the Evidence They Tried to Bury

Religious leaders plotted to kill Lazarus—the resurrected man was too dangerous a testimony. His presence forced a choice: deny the miracle or deny control. A transformed life is unignorable evidence, disrupting systems that prefer dead religion to living power. Many believed because Lazarus’ scars shouted what sermons couldn’t. [40:38]

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
(John 1:12, ESV)

Reflection: What parts of your story, like Lazarus’ scars, uniquely point others to Jesus? Where have you silenced your testimony to avoid “disrupting” others?

Day 5: The Daily Choice to Break the Box Again

Mary’s act wasn’t a one-time event but a posture. Every morning offers a new jar to shatter—pride, fear, distraction. Pouring out perfume daily means rejecting the lie that yesterday’s surrender covers today’s resistance. Resurrection life isn’t a past miracle but a present rhythm: breaking, pouring, wiping feet, repeat. [43:02]

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
(Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What “perfume” are you tempted to hoard today instead of pouring out? How can you make surrender a habit, not just a history?

Sermon Summary

John 12 sets a really awkward room in front of the church. Lazarus is sitting there alive, only five days removed from being dead in a tomb, and Mary is at Jesus’ feet with perfume that costs about a year’s wages. Mary does not make a careful calculation. Mary breaks the box, pours out the whole thing, and wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair because love gives whatever it costs.

Mary’s perfume is not just some nice smell. That box is probably a family heirloom, the family’s safety net, the get out of jail free card if everything falls apart. Mary breaks it so it cannot be used again, then pours the family’s wealth on Jesus’ feet. Mary’s hair makes the moment even more scandalous, because a first-century Jewish woman letting her hair down in public could bring real shame and consequences. Mary does not seem to care what people think, because Jesus is worth more than the heirloom, the money, the reputation, and the room’s approval.

Judas stands as the hard contrast. Judas sees a price tag where Mary sees a Savior. Judas asks why the perfume was not sold and given to the poor, but John exposes the truth: Judas does not care about the poor. Judas is a thief, and his greed is dressed up in spiritual language. Worship always looks wasteful to people who do not treasure Jesus.

Jesus defends Mary and points the room toward his burial. The anointing carries practical meaning, symbolic meaning, and burial meaning, and Jesus uses the moment to remind everyone why he came. The seed has to go into the dirt before glory comes. Jesus has to go to the cross, carry the sin of the world, be buried, and rise again. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the hinge point for everything.

Lazarus becomes living evidence at the table. The chief priests want to kill him too because many people are believing in Jesus on account of him. A life transformed by Jesus should point others to Jesus. Faith is not just believing Jesus exists. Faith believes Jesus is worth following, worth surrendering to, worth saying, “Jesus, be the loudest voice in the soul.” The call is to break the box again, or maybe for the first time, because Jesus has already done everything needed for sinners to come home.

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Key Takeaways

1. Love gives whatever it costs Mary’s act is not careful budgeting with Jesus added at the end. Mary breaks the box, pours out the perfume, and risks public shame because the One who raised her brother is worth more than every backup plan. Love becomes worship when it stops asking how little can be given and starts asking what belongs at Jesus’ feet. [22:31]
2. Worship looks wasteful to greed Judas sounds spiritual, but John shows the rot underneath the words. The concern for the poor becomes a cover for a heart that wants to keep control of the money bag. A person can use good causes, right language, and public virtue to hide the simple truth that Jesus is not treasured most. [31:07]
3. Jesus is the true north Paul’s line, “Jesus Christ and him crucified,” pulls every distraction back into place. Career, politics, money, and schedules become dangerous when they start telling Jesus what to support instead of bowing to him. The church loses its way whenever anything becomes louder than the voice that calls dead people out of the grave. [33:55]
4. Resurrected lives point outward Lazarus does not have to give a polished argument while sitting at the table alive. His life is the evidence, and that evidence makes people go over to Jesus and believe. A transformed life should make Jesus harder to ignore, not because it is flashy, but because it quietly proves that the grave did not get the final word. [40:02]
5. Faith closes the loop Faith is not only something known in the head or felt in the heart. Romans 10:9 gives faith a mouth, a confession, and a step into the open. The light bulb moment matters because surrender becomes visible, and a hidden belief becomes a living allegiance to Jesus as Lord.

## [49:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:34] - Mary’s Awkward Act of Worship
[22:31] - Love Gives Whatever It Costs
[25:46] - Breaking the Box at Jesus’ Feet
[28:34] - Mary Risks Shame to Honor Jesus
[30:23] - Selfishness Counts the Cost
[31:07] - Judas Disguises Greed as Spirituality
[33:55] - Jesus Crucified as True North
[34:27] - Worship Looks Wasteful to Outsiders
[35:19] - Anointing Jesus for Burial
[37:06] - The Seed Goes Into the Dirt
[38:56] - Faith Means Jesus Is Worth Following
[40:02] - Lazarus Becomes Living Evidence
[41:45] - The Loudest Voice in the Soul
[44:22] - Jesus Has Already Done It
[49:46] - A Public Step of Faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

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.’” [21:34]

1 Corinthians 2:2
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” [33:55]

Romans 10:9
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” [49:46]

John 12:9-11
“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” [40:02]

Observation questions

In John 12:1-8, what details make Mary’s act stand out as shocking in the room, and how does the passage describe Judas’ objection? [22:31]
What does John 12:9-11 say the crowd wanted to see, and why did the chief priests decide that Lazarus had to die too? [40:02]
In this passage, what contrast can be seen between the way Mary looks at Jesus and the way Judas looks at the perfume? [35:02]
According to Romans 10:9, what two things are joined together in saving faith? [49:46]

Interpretation questions

Jesus connects Mary’s anointing to his burial. What does that reveal about how this dinner scene points ahead to the cross, and why does that matter for reading John 12 rightly? [35:19]
Judas uses the language of caring for the poor, but John exposes a different motive. What does this suggest about how easily selfishness can hide behind spiritual words and good causes? [31:07]
Paul says he wanted to know “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” How does that statement help keep a church or a Christian from making something else the center? [33:55]
Lazarus does not preach a sermon at the table; he is simply there alive. What does that show about how a changed life can become evidence that leads other people toward Jesus? [41:01]

Application questions

Mary broke the box and held nothing back from Jesus. What is most likely to function as “the box” in a person’s life now—money, reputation, comfort, control, future plans, something else? Where is it hardest to say, “Jesus, you can have this too”? [29:59]
Worship looks wasteful to hearts that do not treasure Jesus. When has following Jesus seemed costly or unreasonable to people around you, and how did that affect your obedience? [34:27]
Jesus Christ and him crucified is the true north. What outside voice tends to get loudest in your life right now—career pressure, politics, anxiety, busyness, money, approval? What would it look like this week for Jesus to be the loudest voice in your soul? [41:45]
A life transformed by Jesus should point others to Jesus. If coworkers, friends, or family watched your life closely, what signs would make it clear that Jesus has changed you? Where might that witness be blurry right now? [43:21]
Faith is not just believing Jesus exists, but believing he is worth following. In what area of life is Jesus calling for more than agreement from you—actual surrender, obedience, or a next step? [38:56]
Romans 10:9 joins inward belief and outward confession. For someone who believes in Jesus but tends to keep faith private, what might a clear public step of faith look like now? [49:46]
Jesus has already done everything needed for sinners to come home. How does that truth confront the habit of trying to fix yourself before coming to him, and what would coming to him honestly look like today? [44:22]

Sermon Clips

34s

“``The best news that I can give you the best news I can give you is that everything that was needed to be accomplished, Jesus already did. Which means your responsibility is not to fix it, to figure it out, to save yourself. Your responsibility is to recognize you can't fix it. That I need somebody bigger than me. I need someone greater than me. I need the one who can call people out of the grave just by saying their name.”

39s

“The death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus is the hinge point for everything we do and believe. No. No. I don't think you missed it. I think you missed it. The death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus is the hinge point for everything we do and believe. Amen. Right? We look back to that moment so that I can have hope and purpose to continue forward. This is what it's about. This is the mission. This is why Jesus came, so that you can have life. But he has to go into the dirt before he can step into his glory.”

48s

“The third thing that we can pull out of this passage is that faith isn't just believing Jesus exists. It's believing he's worth following. Faith isn't just believing Jesus exists. It's believing that he's worth following. Everybody in that room, at one point, saw Jesus heal somebody, teach something, do some incredible miracle, raise Lazarus from the dead. Like, there's all kinds of evidence that Jesus had put throughout the last couple of years, and they witnessed it. And still you had two different responses in this group. You have some that wanna silence it, silence the evidence, and you have others that are saying, no. No. No. I wanna believe. I wanna keep going.”

30s

“Worship always looks wasteful to those who don't treasure the things of Jesus. It always looks like, man, like, why are you wasting your time every Sunday for a couple of hours? Why are you wasting Wednesday night? Why are you doing this with your family? Because it looks wasteful to the outsider who does not yet know that Jesus has come to call them from the grave. See, in this moment, Mary was honoring Jesus. She was worshiping. Mary saw a savior. Judah saw a price tag.”

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