Transformation through Worship and Commitment – A Look at Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 

In this sermon, “Change Jesus Makes, John 12.1-8,” Pastor Timothy R. Carter explores the characters of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, focusing primarily on transforming their attitudes towards Jesus. It starts by emphasizing volunteering to serve and how one should behave while helping others.  

The discourse delves into these Biblical figures with each other’s complex relationships. It further details their transformation after witnessing Lazarus’s resurrection, leading to a shift in their ways of worshiping Jesus. The sermon emphasizes the importance of serving and studying God’s words, even during criticism, and ends with a strong call to worship openly and wholeheartedly.

 

00:00 Introduction and Call for Volunteers 

01:01 The Story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 

05:36 The Significance of Mary and Martha’s Actions 

10:51 The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus 

16:10 The Impact of Lazarus’s Resurrection 

17:03 The Story of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary 

17:59 The Role of Service in Worship 

18:31 The Significance of the Spikenard Perfume 

22:27 The Extravagance of Mary’s Worship 

24:31 Facing Criticism in Worship 

28:22 The Right to Worship Extravagantly 

30:12 The Transformation of Martha and Mary 

33:16 The Call to Serve and Worship 

33:34 Closing Prayer and Reflection 

SERMON

Call for Volunteers

Locate, please, John Chapter 11.  I would like to ask for two volunteers.    

Please pass a water bottle out. These water bottles are given to each person.  Do not drink this water.  It’s good water so you can drink it afterward, but wait until after the illustration.    

The Story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 

 John 11, we’re going to read from John chapter 12.  But in John 11, we see the death of Lazarus.  Do you remember who Lazarus’s sisters are?  Mary and Martha. 

When do we meet Mary and Martha?  We meet Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10.  Do you remember the story?  Let’s turn over there and look. Before we look at John, let’s review Luke chapter 10.  

This is when we first meet Mary Martha and Lazarus.  Lazarus isn’t here, but we know Mary and Lot paid as Lazarus’ sisters because of later.  In Luke 10.38-42.  Now, it happened as they went that he entered a particular village. That’s when Jesus entered the town. 

And a companionate woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. Now that was her, wasn’t it? She welcomed him. We see right off that She’s a welcoming person. Martha, why would a woman have a house in the first century? 

That’s not common. Usually, the man has a house, and the woman is subservient to him somehow. It’s viewed as his house, but this says it’s Martha’s. Snow, does that mean She’s not married? Does that mean She’s wealthy? We don’t. 

It’s obvious She’s not wealthy because she lives in Bethany.  Do you know what Bethany means?  Bethany is the place of the poor people. Bethany is the projects in our day and time we have in our city, in every town, there’s the city across the track, the part of the city across the tracks, The city where the projects are, the welfare people, the people in low-income families.  Now, there’s nothing wrong at all with being in that situation. 

That doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person. It doesn’t mean you’re evil. It doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you. But just understanding society, that’s what Bethany is. It’s the poor people, the people of low-income families. 

Martha welcomes him into her house. She’s not welcoming him into a large mansion. She’s welcoming him into a place on the poor side of town. Martha welcomed him into her house, and had a sister called Mary, comes from the name of Miriam, Moses’s sister.¹ⁱ Yeah, we know Mary is named after Moses’s sister, the savior of the savior.  Miriam saved Moses from death by taking him, putting him in the basket, and setting him off in the river Nile. 

Mary is considered a hero to the Jewish people because it’s a derivative of Miriam. Miriam Is seen as a hero to the Jewish people. She’s named after Miriam, who also sat at Jesus’ feet.  Where is Mary?  Sitting at Jesus’ feet. 

Why would she do that?  Why would she sit at Jesus’s feet? She sat there to listen to him. She’s eager to hear what he has to say. 

She’s eager to learn from him.  We know little about Mary’s character, intentions, intellect, and emotional status simply because of her position.  She’s sitting at the feet of Jesus. Would you trade places with Mary?  

Would you sit there and listen to Jesus talk? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to Sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him?   But Martha was distracted with much serving.  And she approached him saying, okay. 

Significance of Mary and Martha’s Actions 

Is it wrong to serve? No. She’s distracted by serving. Is Martha doing something wrong? We learned She’s welcoming and then gets distracted by the service.  

Throughout the whole bible, the Old Testament and the New, we learn that serving is admirable. Remember, Joshua served Moses.  Serving leads you into a position of a humble heart so that you can lead people with love and gentleness.  Serving is of a good quality. She’s distracted by doing something good. 

Why did Jesus say he came?  Jesus came to serve. Jesus said, I didn’t come to be served, but I came to serve (Jesus said, I didn’t come to be served, but I came to serve (Mark 10:45). 

We see that Martha is doing a good thing, but She’s distracted as She’s doing this good thing.  And she comes up to Jesus.  She says, Lord, do you not care?  That reminds me of the disciples when they were on the boat, and they woke him up and said, do you not care that we’re going to perish by storm? They’re questioning his motive.  

That’s what She’s doing. She approaches Jesus and questions his motive.  This is also a scolding.  She’s getting home to him like a mother who would scold a child.  She’s approaching him as if she has authority over him. 

She’s chastising him. She’s scolding him, getting on to him as if he did something wrong.  That’s the tone that She’s coming to him with.  Don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone?  Have you ever done work in the kitchen and felt like nobody else is helping you? 

I cooked all this food, and nobody helped me. I’ve got all these dishes to clean up, and nobody helped me. Oh, no. My biscuits were burning, but the soup was boiling, and I spilled the food on the floor. The dog keeps coming in here, trying to get food. It’s between my feet. 

All this chaos is going on. I don’t have but two hands.  That’s the feeling I get from off. She feels overwhelmed because She’s trying to do too much at once.  For this feeling, she runs to Jesus.  

If you ever feel overwhelmed, go to Jesus. So she goes to the right place, but she goes with the wrong attitude. But she goes to Jesus and scolds him, questioning his character and motive. You don’t even care that my sister left me there alone. Lord, have mercy.  

We see a difference between Mary and Martha. Martha is serving. She’s doing a good thing, but yet she reacts inappropriately.  But Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus.  Now, Jesus responds to Martha by telling her that Martha’s not doing her action of serving isn’t wrong, but what Mary is doing is the better thing. 

What Mary is doing is the better thing. I will not take that away from her.  What Mary is doing is learning. Serving God is good, but understanding the word is even better. That’s what Jesus is saying. She’s learning the word of God. 

Learning the word is even better than serving. Serving is wonderful, but learning the word is even better. We see this difference between Mary and Martha in their attitudes. Martha has this desire to serve. She’s always active, and Mary is the academic one wanting to learn. 

We even see this in our church world today. I’m not trying to point out call names. That’s not the point. But we know this attitude of people, where some people serve more and others study more. We see learning as an act of serving. 

We see this activity from some, and we see this studying from others. We see this; sometimes, these two people want to judge one another. Mary and Martha, as siblings, they’re in an argument. I have argued with my siblings. You’ve probably argued with your siblings.  

That’s what’s happening. His siblings argue, but they run, but she runs to Jesus. That’ll tell, but she blames it on Jesus. You don’t even care that she has left me.  

 

Death and Resurrection of Lazarus 

Now, let’s go over to John chapter 11.  That’s where we meet Mary and Martha.  In John 11, we hear that Lazarus is dead. Now, Lazarus lives in the town of Bethany.  Jesus is in Bethany, but it’s in a different Bethany. 

Bethany, there’s more than one location called Bethany. Jesus is in another town called Bethany, and he gets a message from Mary and Martha. The message tells him, “The one you love is sick.”  Why didn’t they give further explanation? I don’t know. 

Maybe they were paying the messenger per character. Perhaps they were paying per letter. I don’t know. They didn’t just see it; it didn’t seem to be a complete message. But they tell him the one that you love is sick.  

And Jesus responds this sickness is not unto death.  That doesn’t make much sense because we know the story. Lazarus died.  When Lazarus dies, what’s the response? Jesus tells his disciples Lazarus is asleep. 

We’re going to go back to Bethany. The disciples said, wait a minute. Don’t you remember? Over in chapter 10, they were ready to kill you. We just escaped. They are trying to kill all of us in chapter 10. 

We don’t need to go back over there. We even have to doubt Thomas saying, okay.  Then let’s go. All of us will go back. Jesus, if you want to go, we’ll go back there ready, to die with you.  

Now, that’s a man of faith. We call him Doubting Thomas, yet this man is of faith. This is a man of commitment. This is a man saying if they’re going to kill you, Jesus, I’m ready to die with you, too. If you believe we must go in there prepared to die, then I’ll go with you. 

I’ll stand with you until the death.  Jesus says, Let’s go back.  And they’re afraid they’re going to die.  But they’re but they go anyway.  They go back to the place where they just escaped the stone. 

When they get back there, Martha hears.  The same Martha complained to Jesus earlier about Mary. This is Martha, so She’s trying to scold him again. Let’s be gracious with her because Her brother’s dead. She is grieving.  

She is in a point of mourning. She’s sad because her brother is dead. And She’s pointing out that not only does it appear She’s scolding and blaming him, but She’s also pointing out that I had faith in you, Jesus. I know that if you had been here, you have the power to rescue him. I know I’ve seen you help other people. 

I know that you have healed other people. I know you’ve healed Those people with leprosy. I know you’ve opened the blinded eyes. I know you’ve done these miracles. If you had been here, you could have had the power to stop Lazarus’s sickness, and he would not have died.  This is a statement of faith.  

Martha goes back and talks to Mary, whispers in Mary’s ear, and Mary comes out. And when Mary comes out, people recognize the professional mourners here That Mary is leaving. They think She’s going to the graveside to mourn. 

They follow her, and she goes up to Jesus.  They expect her to go to the graveyard, but she goes to where Jesus is.  And there, Jesus has this audience now.  He goes to the grave. And in front of these people, He calls Lazarus to come forth.  

Lazarus gets up and comes out of the grave. When Lazarus emerges from the grave, he says, loosen and let him go. There’s a lot to this story, but I’m rushing through it quickly. Lazarus is raised from the dead. The brother of Martha and Mary, he’s been in the ground, been in the grave for four days. 

Do you remember what Martha said earlier?  Before Martha told Jesus in the King James, “Lord, by this time he stinketh”” (John 11.39). 

He stinks.  His body is decaying.  All of his insides Have relaxed because he’s.  He stinks.  She knows he’s. 

She believes he’s. Lazarus comes out of the grave.   

 

Impact of Lazarus’s Resurrection 

They have this idea that they’ll never see him again, except at the resurrection, yet he comes out of the grave. Do you imagine that would change your perspective?  Do you imagine how that would change you?  

You go out to the cemetery.  Somebody’s been in the ground for four days. You know they’re buried for four days. And then you see the grave open up, and they come alive.  You would not doubt the power of God after that. 

There was no reason to doubt whatever because you see the resurrection power of Jesus. That’s what’s happening. He got up from the grave.    

Meet Martha, and Mary 

In Chapter 12.1  

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been dead. We know this is the same Lazarus he had raised from the dead.  There, they made him supper, and Martha served. There she is again, busy serving.  She is there again serving.  

But Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.  Lazarus isn’t in the kitchen helping her. Martha is serving, but Lazarus is sitting at the table, Relaxing with Jesus. Where would you rather be? She’s there. 

 

Role of Service in Worship

Now, again, there’s nothing wrong with serving. We ought to serve. Jesus even came to serve. Serving is wonderful.  Lazarus sits there with Jesus. 

Imagine talking with Lazarus and Jesus. Imagine what he and Jesus would have been talking about. Imagine the stories Lazarus would have. What would tell you what it was like being dead for four days? What did it feel like coming out of the grave and being wrapped up like a mummy? What would his stories be like?  

 

Significance of the Spikenard Perfume 

Hold up your water bottle (the illustration) 

Then Mary took a pound of a very costly oil of Spikenard.  Stop right there.  Hold up your water bottle.  Does that feel heavy?  

That’s approximately a pound. That’s 16.9 ounces.  This Spikenard is about this amount.  Imagine having perfume in a bottle.  

It’s an alabaster box, but our perfume typically comes in bottles. Imagine this being an expensive perfume you know of Chanel Number 5.  Or Obsession. 

I don’t know what perfumes are expensive. Imagine this being Chanel number 5, a pound of Chanel. 

Whatever the most expensive perfume is, having a pound of it.  How much would that cost?  That would be expensive. 

Have you ever bought a pound? I’m not talking about Dollar General; It’s a classy store. Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s  

Even Belk bought a pound of perfume at once. They said Doug has. Merry Christmas.  That was a nice Christmas present, Merry Christmas, buying a pound of perfume, that’s expensive.  This is what she brought in. Just imagine her bringing this in full of expensive perfume.  The text tells us how pricey this is.  

This is a year’s wage. Now she lives in Bethany, so lives in the projects. What’s the average salary in Hartwell, Ga? The average wage of a person living in the projects is slightly less than $20,000 a year. The Yearly Minimum Wage in Hartwell, Ga for 2023 is $15,080.00 / year. We will say $20,000 for this illustration.

Let’s imagine, for easy math, $20,000. Imagine this bottle is worth $20,000. That’s a lot of money. Right?  $20,000 for this.  She brings in a bottle of perfume. 

It’s an alabaster box, but for our understanding, It’s a bottle. She brings in a bottle of perfume worth $20,000.  What in the world is she going to do with a perfume worth $20,000? What would you do if you had perfume worth $20,000?  

Sell it? It’d be up on eBay quickly, wouldn’t it?  You probably wouldn’t have it for long. You sell that and then go on vacation or pay off the car.  

$20,000 is a lot of money, especially for perfume.    

Extravagance of Mary’s Worship 

Martha is in the kitchen cooking.  Lazarus is sitting at the table reclining.  Mary took a pound of very costly oil from Spikenard.  

Matthew and Mark tell us that she poured it on his head and body.  John focuses on his feet.  She poured it on his head, his body, and his feet. If we look at Mark and Matthew, she pours it on his head, body, and feet—$ 20,000.  

Anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.  First, it was undignified for a woman to take her hair down in public.  A woman had to keep her hair up and hidden.  It was very sensual (her motive was not sensual. The culture would see letting her hair down as sensual².)  Only the husband should know the women’s hair like this because they thought it was provocative. 

She takes her hair down To wipe his feet, so that would have been disgracing herself.  She’s cleaning his feet so that She’s disgracing herself again. She’s showing that she is lower than him.  She’s washing his feet. With $20,000 of perfume, She’s washing his feet, letting her hair down to clean his feet. 

She has put herself low and exalted him.  And the house was filled with a fragrance of the oil. I imagine it would. A pound of perfume being broken open fills the whole house with a fragrance.  The one of his disciples now Mark tells us all of his disciples. 

But here, from John, we realized that It’s led by one.   

Facing Criticism in Worship 

Have you ever noticed that when you give to God, those people want to complain? When you give to God through service, some people stand back and complain. She’s always in the kitchen cleaning. She’s always over there cleaning the bathroom. 

She’s always decorating. She’s always over there cutting the grass. He’s always doing something, trying to get attention in that church. Some people complain about your service. Some people complain about what you give financially. 

Some people complain. He did what he gave all the time. He, yeah, he bought those chairs. He purchased that recliner. He bought the oregon. 

He bought the drums. He’s always showing off how much money he makes. Some people complain about that. Some people even complain because you desire to worship. When you clap your hands, even if you get Pentecostal with it and do a little dance or jump up and down, you all know the glory and run the aisles.  Sometimes, people will sit back and be critical. 

You know, the only reason he’s doing that is because he’s trying to draw attention to himself.  Or every time we come to church, that boy’s always loud. He can speak in tongues, but he’s not supposed to be that loud about it. He got to go home and speak in tongues. I can’t even hear what’s going on. 

Some people complain when you worship God.  That’s what we see happening here.  The disciples are complaining because Mary is worshiping Jesus. She’s worshiping Jesus more than 10% She’s worshiping Jesus more than 10 % of her income.  This is $20,000.  

Again, It’s not $20,000 to her, but It’s the equivalent of our $20,000. It’s more than 10 % of her yearly income. It’s more than what she would earn in a year or about what you would earn in a year.  It’s okay to give God extravagantly. It’s okay to give God a free-will offering, but there will be those times when you choose to give to God. 

There will be those who are critical of what you do.  Notice when that person is vital. Notice what they sound like. When they criticize your worship, this is what they sound like.  But 1 of his disciples, Judas, is scariest.  If you criticize other people’s worship, you sound like Judas.  

When other people criticize your worship, then they sound like Judas.  Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray him, asked why this was not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor. (That’s a year’s wage.)  But because he was a thief and had the money box, he used to take what was put in it. 

If you criticize somebody else’s worship, then you sound like Judas. 

If you criticize somebody else’s worship, then you sound like Judas. 

That’s what it sounds like. If you criticize somebody else’s worship, then you sound like Judas.  Even if you try to make it sound pious and say It’s just not dignified. We shouldn’t act that way.  You sound like Judas. 

Even when you say I shouldn’t have given that much. I spent too much money on that. You sound like Judas. Help us, Lord.  That’s what you sound like. 

Right to Worship Extravagantly 

According to God’s word, we have the right to give extravagantly to the Lord. We have the right to give to God as much as we want to give to God. We can give to him even when other people criticize. We still have the right to give to him.  Notice how Jesus responds to the criticism.  Jesus says, let her alone.  

She has kept this for the day of my burial.  He’s not buried yet, but he accepts her worship as being for his burial.  For the poor, you have with you always, but me, you do not have always.  I’m here now.  She chooses to worship me. 

It’s okay to go out and give to the poor. Jesus isn’t saying It’s wrong to give to the poor, but It’s more important to worship him. Focus your worship on Jesus. We ought to focus our worship on him. Put the criticism to the side. 

Whatever other people say, regardless of what others say, let them say whatever they want. Turn a deaf ear to it and worship Jesus the way you want to worship and worthy to be praised. Lift him. He is worthy to be praised.  

Let’s praise him. Let’s give extravagantly to him. Let’s give him our service. Let’s give him our worship.  

Transformation of Martha and Mary 

Now, all I want us to recognize is Jesus’s changes things.  We went back to Luke chapter 10 to see Mary and Martha.  Then, we see Martha is criticizing.  Martha criticizes Jesus for allowing Mary to worship by listening to the word.  Then she tells Jesus if you had been here.  

She watches the resurrection.  And now, in this story, Martha is silent even when others are complaining.  Martha is not complaining. She continues to serve.  

 

This is my conjecture. 

It seems to me that then because She’s not involved, it would have been part of her finances that Mary was given.  

She’s in the house with Martha.  Martha gave $20,000. She lives in Bethany. If you lived in Bethany and if you lived in the project and you’re in the house with your sibling who’s taking $20,000 and busting it open, would you feel like, hey, you could have sold that, we could have paid off the house, dummy? 

Martha had a right to complain but didn’t Martha is silent. I believe it was because her heart changed. Watching the resurrection changed her perspective of Jesus. She already had accurate theology.  

Would you go back and read it? She already understands that Jesus is God’s son, yet something in her has changed. She is no longer complaining and criticizing What Jesus is doing and what Jesus is not doing.   

Mary Changed 

Mary changed.  Mary changes.  She moved from listening to the word to active worship. 

She moved from receiving the word to giving to the Lord. Something inside of her changed. Listening to the word put something inside her where she says, I can’t take it anymore. I got to give of what I have. I got to give him everything that I am. I have to give him all that I have because he is worthy.  

Listening to his words changed her. Watching the resurrection changed her to the point where she just had to give to him.  We need to give all of ourselves to him.  When other people criticize, let them criticize.  

But let’s criticize other’s worship because we don’t want to sound like Jews.   

Call to Serve and Worship 

It would be better to serve him like Martha and Mary.  Let’s just serve him. Let’s just give to him.  

Whatever we have, he gave it to us. Let’s give it back to him.   

Closing Prayer and Reflection 

Let’s go to the Lord and pray.  Lord, we praise you.  

We praise you. We praise you. We praise you. Lord, we thank you. Thank you, Lord, because you are so wonderful.  

Thank you, Lord, because you are a wonderful God.  Thank you for this opportunity. We have to study your word. Thank you, Lord, because you have taught us of your greatness.  Thank you for teaching us about your wonderful work. Help us, Lord, to see what you have done, to learn to praise you for what you have done, and to expect what you are doing. 

 We know you put Mount Olivet Church of God here for a reason. We know that you’re not done here. We know that you have a plan. Help us to be involved in your plan. Help us give to you and your ministry to accomplish your desire. 

Help us, Lord, to truly worship you.  Lord, you are worthy to be praised.  You are worthy of praise.  We serve a wonderful God. 

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1. The common English version of Maria originates from the Latin form used in the New Testament, which is derived from the Greek names Μαριάμ (Mariam) and Μαρία (Maria). These Greek names, which can be used interchangeably, trace back to the Hebrew name מִרְיָם (Miryam). This name was famously carried by Moses’s sister in the Old Testament. ↩︎
2. In the Talmud (Berachot 24a), it is noted that the visibility of a married woman’s hair was regarded with the same level of modesty as the exposure of her private parts, leading to a prohibition against reciting blessings in the presence of a woman without a head covering.
   This viewpoint underscores the significance of modesty within Jewish tradition. Additionally, the Talmud recounts the story of Kimhit, a woman celebrated for her piety, who was the mother of several high priests.
   She was particularly commended for her diligence in ensuring that her hair always remained covered, even within the privacy of her home (Yoma 47a; Leviticus Rabbah 20:11). See: Jewish Practices & Rituals: Covering of the Head on Covering of the Head (jewishvirtuallibrary.org) 
     ↩︎