True Worship

John 12 puts a costly act of worship right in the middle of dinner. Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair. Judas sees a year’s wages going to waste. Mary sees Jesus as worth more than anything she could keep. True worship turns on that difference: calculating the value of the perfume or recognizing the value of Jesus.

The picture of Mary at Jesus’ feet runs through three very different moments. Luke shows her sitting and listening while Martha stays busy with everything that needs doing. Jesus calls Mary’s choice better. John 11 shows her falling at his feet when Lazarus has died and her whole world has fallen apart. John 12 shows her there again, this time pouring out her most valuable possession. Different seasons, different circumstances, different emotions, the same posture. That posture says Jesus is above her, knows more than her, and deserves her surrender.

Biblical worship also challenges the need to stay comfortable. The lifted hands, the bowed heads, and the women clasping the risen Jesus’ feet make worship more than an inward feeling. True worship is not about finding a posture that feels comfortable. True worship means becoming comfortable with what Jesus wants.

Mary’s perfume brings the cost into focus. A year’s wages poured out at Jesus’ feet looks excessive to a room busy thinking about what else the money could accomplish. David’s refusal to offer God something that costs nothing exposes the garage sale approach to worship: bargaining over the least amount of time, money, or life that God can have. Mary’s sacrifice refuses that bargain.

Mark’s account widens the criticism beyond Judas. The objection about helping the poor sounds holy, but a noble cause can mask a disconnected heart. Jesus is not just another noble cause. True worship gives him presence and sacrifice, even when that devotion looks foolish to people committed to efficiency and guaranteed returns.

God’s ownership finally changes the whole calculation. First Chronicles declares that every offering already comes from his hand. The rented house makes the point plain: a place can feel completely owned while somebody else’s name remains on the deed. God’s name is on the deed of everything. True worship returns what already belongs to him, until surrender stops feeling like a religious toll and becomes a natural response to receiving another breath.

---

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [37:27] - What Looks Like Wasted Money
• [38:52] - Mary Anoints Jesus’ Feet
• [40:11] - The Same Posture in Every Season
• [43:37] - Becoming Comfortable With Biblical Worship
• [46:56] - The Cost of True Worship
• [50:20] - When the Whole Room Objects
• [52:46] - Sacrifice That Draws Criticism
• [54:52] - Everything Comes From God
• [55:25] - Whose Name Is on the Deed?
• [58:37] - An Invitation to Pour It Out

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.” [39:05]

Mark 14:3-5
“And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.” [50:44]

1 Chronicles 29:14
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” [54:52]

Observation questions

1. In John 12:1–8, what details show the cost and personal nature of Mary’s offering? What does Judas focus on instead? [47:28]
2. Across Mary’s moments of listening, grieving, and giving, what changes in her circumstances, and what stays the same in her response to Jesus? [43:12]
3. Comparing John 12:1–8 with Mark 14:3–5, who objects to the offering, what reason do they give, and how do they treat Mary? [50:44]
4. What does the rented-house illustration help explain about the source and ownership of the gifts described in 1 Chronicles 29:14? [57:22]

Interpretation questions

1. How does Mary’s place at Jesus’ feet help explain the meaning of her costly offering in John 12? What does that posture communicate beyond the value of the perfume? [43:37]
2. Why might Mary’s offering look wasteful to someone focused on the perfume’s price but fitting to someone focused on Jesus’ worth? Does the cost alone make an offering true worship? [49:49]
3. How can concern for a good cause become a way to avoid personal surrender? In John 12:1–8, how do Judas’s motives and Jesus’ response help distinguish genuine care for the poor from an excuse to criticize Mary? [51:50]
4. How does recognizing God as the owner of everything change the meaning of sacrifice? Why might this make giving feel less like paying a religious toll and more like gratitude? [57:36]

Application questions

1. Which part of Mary’s story feels closest to your life right now: ordinary busyness, grief, or gratitude? What might coming to Jesus look like in that season, without pretending your feelings are different than they are? [43:22]
2. When you make room for Jesus, what most often pulls your attention back to everything that needs doing? What small change could help you spend time with him rather than only doing things for him? [41:34]
3. Are there expressions of worship, such as kneeling, lifting your hands, or bowing your head, that feel uncomfortable to you? How might you explore that discomfort honestly while keeping your attention on Jesus rather than on how others respond? [46:34]
4. Where do you notice yourself asking how little time, money, or attention you can give God? What might a willing, thoughtful offering look like in that area this week? [49:02]
5. Have you ever dismissed someone’s devotion to Jesus as excessive or allowed fear of criticism to hold back your own? What could help you respond differently next time? [53:20]
6. Think of something you strongly consider your own—your schedule, savings, home, or abilities. How might remembering that it belongs to God change one decision you face this week? [57:40]