April 21, 2019
Scripture:
Hymn 344 - Jesus, my Saviour, to Bethlehem came,
Prayer
Before we get into the Psalm we are going to look at today, I want to look at a couple verses in Isaiah about the suffering Jesus had while here on earth. Suffering is pain or trials. Jesus suffered different ways when he was down here.
Isaiah 53: 5-3
Jesus suffered… for man - vs. 5 with man - vs 4 from man - vs 3
As we learned about in Psalm 22 Jesus suffered for us. He went through a lot and ultimately died for us.
He suffered with man. In the Gospels we see Jesus crying with man and carrying their sorrows. We can cast all on Him.
Lastly he suffered from man. This is what we are looking at today in Psalms.
Psalm 69: 1-4, 7-9, 12-19
vs. 1-3 In this chapter David could be talking about his own life, but we can see the parallel in Jesus’ time on earth. These first verse seem to be more personal sufferings. They could’ve been when he was in the desert fasting.
vs. 4 There were many good things Jesus did that people hated him for. Stuff they didn’t have a reason for. Not until the cross did they hurt him physically but I’m sure their words did.
Just a thought about the end of verse four. God had built a beautiful relationship with man in the garden of Eden.Satan destroyed it. God restored it though the cross.
vs. 7,8 Jesus wasn’t even accepted in his own town. People knew who he was and where he came from. They thought he wasn’t good enough to teach them.
vs. 9 Jesus visited the temple a couple times while he was here and he didn’t like that people were selling thing in it. He got a small whip, drove them all out and turned over their tables.
vs. 12 A lot of people were against Jesus. Pilate and Herod became friends over this. Even the lowest people talked against him.
vs. 13-19 These verses are a prayer of deliverance. We know he wasn’t deliver from the cross though. In the garden he said he was there to do the father’s will.
This is just but the beginning of the suffering Jesus went though down here. We know a lot about the physical suffering He went though, but we will never know all about the mental and spiritual suffering. I’m sure the rejection of the people he came to save hurt Him a lot.
John 12:1-22
Last week we saw the positions of Martha, Lazarus, and Mary serving, communion, and worshiping. Everyone is able to do all three
The place where they were eating was filled with the odour of Mary’s ointment. Judas Iscariot didn’t criticize Martha or Lazarus for what they did, but he criticized the one who performed this special action of true worshiping. Mary’s action cost her something. The ointment she used was very costly. Although she went to that cost she was in a very humble place - the feet of Jesus. As those who seek to live for the Lord, do you find it easy to be a worshiper?
Mary was oblivious to all else because there was Somebody in her sight and heart that meant a great deal to her. The Lord appreciated this action very much, and it can be enjoyed by others as well. Worship is not a natural response. It takes occupation with Christ. It means so much to the Lord that the enemy wants to stop it. Here he tried to interrupt the worship.
Worship is the overflow of a heart filled with Christ. Lord’s Day morning calls for worship. What does Mary know about Jesus at this point? Jesus hadn’t died for her yet, but He had been giving insight into who He was. She saw Him, not just as One who is a disciple, but One who called disciples and came from glory. She had a sense of the fact that He was going to be buried. She saw the anger of those who had been after Him as well as those who tried to kill Lazarus. What affect did it have on her as one who believed on Him? She had the person of Christ in her own home - how precious. It is important to serve and have communion, but worshiping takes a special spirit.
Mary didn’t say anything in defense. Jesus is the One who defends her. Judas Iscariot had no feeling for these things at all. He saw it as a waste - as in it could have gone in his pocket.
Three hundred pence shows its value. It was a years wages at that time. She poured it on His feet. She took a low position showing honour. Also, a woman’t hair is her glory - she laid her glory at His feet.
Judas Iscariot said what he did for personal reasons. Jesus came to her defense. This was not waste in His eyes. She seemed to enter in a little more then the disciples. Maybe it was a little comfort the Lord in His final hours. What did it mean to the Lord to have someone value Him like that?
Some people came to see Lazarus. He had become a little bit of an attraction. The Chief Priests had starting consulting about putting Lazaurs to death because so many of the Jews were believing on Jesus because of him. They had seen Jesus’ divine power. No one else was bring people back from the dead. Today when people see a life changed through the Gospel it can be a living testimony.
Hymn 290 Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him!
Prayer