John 12: A Faith That Offers Nothing Is Good for Nothing

Introduction

"A faith that offers nothing is a faith that is good for nothing." That is the title Davide Di Domenico gave to this message, preached one evening at the Pentecostal Evangelical Christian Church of Seriate, in Italy. The text is one of the best-known passages in the Gospels: John 12:1-8, the meal at Bethany, six days before the Passover.

Around the table are Simon, the former leper, Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, Martha who serves, and the disciples. Everyone knows Jesus, and everyone has a story to tell about him. Then Mary opens a jar of pure nard, extremely costly, and pours it on Jesus' feet. The preacher pauses on this contrast: "Knowing Jesus and worshiping Jesus are not the same thing."

The whole message turns on one question, which he puts to each person: how much is Christ worth to me?

Outline of the Message

1. Knowing Jesus Is Not Enough

Mark places the scene at the home of Simon the leper, who had presumably been healed, since lepers could not live in society (Mark 14:3).
The picture looks peaceful, but outside, some of the Jews want to put Jesus to death: the raising of Lazarus has grown too big and the crowds are following him. For the preacher, this is also the episode that triggers, in Judas' heart, the decision to betray Jesus.
Lazarus has a powerful testimony, Martha serves, and the presence of the Lord is felt on every side. Yet having known Jesus for a long time and having experiences to share is one thing; truly valuing his presence is another.
"Knowing Jesus and esteeming Jesus are not the same thing. Knowing Jesus and giving value to Jesus are not the same thing."

2. Worship Has a Price That Not Everyone Understands

A denarius was a day's wage. Three hundred denarii is roughly a year's salary. The preacher invites each person to multiply what they earn in one day by three hundred, to measure what Mary invested to honor the Lord.
The gesture seems out of proportion. Someone could have said, "What an exaggeration! You could have done less."
"The day you choose to truly worship the Lord, it will cost you something, and that cost will not always be understood by everyone." People will ask you: is it really worth it?
When a person truly understands who Jesus is, no cost is too high. Someone who decides to follow the Lord generally does so fully, with their whole being.

3. Advice From Those Who Do Nothing

When you want to do something for God, unsolicited advice arrives. Mark speaks of the disciples; John specifies that it was Judas.
During the World Cup, the preacher says, Italy has sixty million national team coaches, some of whom cannot juggle a ball three times. Or take highway construction sites, where one man works while three or four others watch him and explain how to do it.
It is sometimes the same in the Church: people want to tell you how to use your resources, your knowledge, your gifts and your talents, and this advice often comes from those who have never done anything.
An Italian song, which he smilingly calls "Psalm 151," says: "You can give more." Mary gave everything; the others were shocked because she was doing "too much." Things seem like too much when you do not measure the worth of the Lord.
Naaman, the Syrian general, had imagined in advance how his healing should go. When Elisha simply sends word that he should wash seven times in the Jordan, he becomes angry. His servants reply: what matters is the result. Do what he told you (2 Kings 5). Let us, too, start by doing what the Lord has called us to do.
Moses sums it up: what does the Lord require of you, except to love him with all your heart and all your soul (Deuteronomy 10:12)? Jesus declares that Mary's gesture is not a waste. People are still talking about it more than two thousand years later.

4. Mary Loses Her Money for Christ, Judas Loses Christ for His Money

Judas had heard Jesus' teachings. He had probably performed miracles when Jesus sent the disciples out on mission, to the point that they came back saying even the demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17). He had seen Jesus walk on water, multiply the loaves and raise Lazarus.
"Mary was saying: Jesus is worth more than my perfume. Judas was saying: this perfume is worth more than Jesus." This is the view of a man who had not been transformed, who had not been born again. Judas makes an economic assessment of Christ.
Serving the Lord does have a cost, that is true. Being there that evening has a cost: a brother traveled many miles to come and serve, and those who prepare the worship and the Word give time and energy to it.
The Bible also calls us to support the Church. On the subject of giving, it says that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:6).
"At that moment Mary loses her money for Christ, and Judas, shortly afterward, will lose Christ for his money," for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). The Word of God is a mirror: how much is Christ worth to me?

5. True Love Gives Up Something

Paul writes that what things were gain to him, those he has counted as loss for Christ (Philippians 3:7).
When a plague strikes Israel because of David's sin, he refuses the threshing floor offered to him for the sacrifice: "I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God which cost me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24).
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Authentic devotion always involves something: our time, our resources, our comfort, our reputation, our priorities, our energy.
Mary does not offer something she no longer needs. According to the preacher, this perfume was usually kept by women for their wedding night; Mary was probably not yet married. She gives Jesus the best, what she would have set aside for her future husband.
Authentic worship exposes hearts. Judas' objection sounds spiritual: feeding the poor. But John specifies that he spoke this way because he was a thief. "Not every right objection comes from a right motivation."
You can have an hour of worship in the evening and leave the Lord at the bottom of your thoughts all week. Daily sacrifice is sometimes missing, and all that remains is a religious motivation.

6. She Has Done What She Could

The first to defend you when you do something for the Lord is the Lord himself. Mary answers the others with nothing: in that room, for her, there was only Jesus.
Jesus does not say that Mary did everything or that she did the maximum. He says she did what she could (Mark 14:8). This destroys two extremes: "I cannot do everything that other person does, so I will do nothing," and "What I can do is too little."
"Jesus will never ask us for more than we can do." If I can give a hundred, I must give a hundred; if I can give ninety, I must give ninety. We must stop using our limits to justify what we do not do.

7. Some Opportunities Come Only Once

Mary had only one opportunity, and she did not waste it. She knew that evening was the right evening to anoint the Lord.
"If you miss this train, you will not catch it again." Some forms of obedience are tied to a particular moment: asking someone's forgiveness while the heart is softened, asking the Lord's forgiveness before the heart hardens through persistent sin, speaking about Christ to someone when the opportunity arises.
In Mark 16, women buy spices to go and anoint Jesus' body, but he is no longer there: he has risen. Mary had already performed this service in advance. She probably did not know all that she was doing, yet her gesture was prophetic: wherever the Gospel is preached, she will be spoken of too (Mark 14:9).
God wants a faith that dares, and he wants to teach us to remove our limits.

8. A Life That Spreads a Fragrance

"The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment." God wants our life to spread a fragrance: the aroma of life to those on the way to salvation, the aroma of death to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).
This fragrance was born from the fact that Mary was turned toward Jesus alone. Judas, Simon, Lazarus, Martha and the disciples no longer counted. When Jesus is the only goal of our life, no price is enough to repay him for what he has done.
Mary pours something precious on Jesus' body. Six days later, Jesus pours out something precious for her and for all of us. "For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Christian sacrifice does not try to buy God's love; it is born when we realize the love Jesus had for us. What held Jesus on the cross was not a heroic ideal, but his love for you and for me.
Davide Di Domenico concludes with a personal wish: that the Lord might one day say of him that he did everything he could, no more and no less. Not out of merit, since everything is grace, but because the Lord rewards what is done for him. "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:21).

Key Takeaways

You can be close to Jesus, have seen him at work, and still not worship him. Knowing Jesus and giving him value are not the same thing.
Authentic worship has a cost, and that cost will often be judged excessive by those who do not measure the worth of the Lord.
Mary lost her perfume for Christ; Judas lost Christ for money. The real question is: how much is Christ worth to me?
Jesus does not ask for more than we can give, but he expects us to do what we can, without hiding behind our limits.
Sacrifice does not buy God's love: it responds to the love of Jesus, who gave everything on the cross.

Personal Application

If you answered honestly, how much is Christ worth to you today: in time, in resources, in priorities?
Are you offering the Lord your best, or what you no longer need?
What limit do you use to justify what you do not do, when you could do "what you can"?
Is there an opportunity right now that you risk letting pass: a forgiveness to ask for, a person to talk to about Christ, a step of obedience?
Are other people's opinions holding you back from what God is calling you to do?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Judas object to Mary's gesture in John 12?

Judas says the perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor. The objection sounds spiritual, but John specifies that he spoke this way because he was a thief and took what was put into the money box. For Davide Di Domenico, not every right objection comes from a right motivation.

What does "she has done what she could" mean?

Jesus does not say that Mary did everything, but that she did what was within her reach. The preacher sees in this the end of two excuses: "I cannot do as much as someone else, so I do nothing" and "what I can do is too little." The Lord does not ask for more than we can give.

What does "a faith that offers nothing is good for nothing" mean?

Knowing Jesus and worshiping him are not the same thing. Authentic worship always costs something: time, resources, comfort, sometimes reputation. This sacrifice is not meant to buy God's love; it responds to the love of Jesus, who gave his life for us.