Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
April 23, 2023
INTRO
Thirteen days from today, the world will witness something that hasn’t happened for 70 years: the coronation of a new King of England. (SLIDE 2) Charles Philip Arthur George of the House of Windsor will be crowned King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, at 11:00am.
Anyone going to watch the coronation? Apparently there are going to be watch-parties around the world, and Buckingham Palace has actually released an official watch-party recipe called “Coronation Quiche.”
Coronation preparations have been happening for 8 months. This elaborate ceremony is such a unique event and most people alive today have never seen it. The last coronation of a monarch in England was the crowning of 27 year-old Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953. (SLIDE 3)
What is unique about a coronation is that this is not merely a political or civic event. It is actually a service of Christian worship, held in a church, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, bathed in Scripture, with hymns sung by a choir and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and with the pinnacle moment of the ceremony being the anointing of the King or Queen with holy oil.
This moment of the anointing is considered so sacred that they won’t show it on television.
(SLIDE 4) Back in 1953 at the coronation of Elizabeth, as the guests and dignitaries grew silent, the queen sat in King Edward’s chair, a throne that is over 700 years old. Four Knights of the Garter held a golden canopy over the throne to shield eyes from view. Then the Archbishop dipped his finger into the holy oil, and anointed the Queen in the form of a cross, as he said these words:
“Be thy Hands anointed with holy Oil. Be thy Breast anointed with holy Oil. Be thy Head anointed with holy Oil: as kings, priests, and prophets were anointed: And as Solomon was anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, so be thou anointed, blessed, and consecrated Queen over the Peoples, whom the Lord thy God hath given thee to rule and govern, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
You see, it is believed that the role of governing is a calling from God, a sacred task to which the monarch has been set apart, consecrated, and given an authority that is derived from and dependent upon God’s own divine authority. Whether anyone in secular England still believes this today, we can’t be sure! But this anointing is followed by a procession with Lord and Ladies, Dukes and Duchesses in tow, heading to the palace to sit on the throne in a show of divine power to rule.
(SLIDE 5, title) Our text today describes another anointing, a consecrating of a King for the sacred task of ruling with divine authority over the entire cosmos. But this anointing has a bit of a shock. It doesn’t happen in the hollowed halls of an Abby or in the grand chambers of a palace. The oil isn’t applied by a priest. The procession afterward is not full of pomp and attended by dignitaries. And this King is not enthroned on a gilded chair.
This King is anointed in private at a dinner party by a humble woman and her friends, he is led on a procession on a donkey, his closest followers end up abandoning him, and he is enthroned on a cross.
You see, in our study of the Gospel of John, we are now turning toward the cross. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the 7th miracle of the gospel of John, this was the last straw for the religious leaders. They wanted Jesus dead.
But this was what he came to do…to be the one man that would die for the people. To be enthroned as King in his death and resurrection, and to fulfill all of God’s promises and to make a way for our redemption.
The first step: He must be anointed for this sacred task. That’s what the word “Messiah” means: Anointed One. And he must have a coronation.
PROP — This is what we are going to see in our text this morning: The humble anointing of Jesus and triumphal procession into Jerusalem reveal the very heart of God. We see the goodness of Jesus that welcomes us to come to him.
Open with me to John 12:1-19. Let’s read this account of Jesus’ coronation as King. READ John 12:1-19.
ORG SENT — This passage is filled with ironies, symbolism, and deeper meaning that reveal Jesus’ very heart for us and what kind of King he is. So, let’s look in detail at this coronation of Jesus.
MAIN 1 — Coronation (vv. 1-19). (SLIDE 6a)
It is the weekend prior to the Passover, which is the annual festival that celebrated the Israelites’ release from bondage in Egypt, when the Lamb’s blood on the door saved God’s people from the angel of death as it swept over Egypt, killing all the firstborn sons.
Now, Jesus is traveling back to Bethany where Lazarus lived and, once again, Martha is in charge. A dinner is held in Jesus’ honor with Lazarus in attendance, this man who had been raised from the dead! All the disciples are also there, and suddenly something unexpected happens.
In comes Mary, Lazarus’ sister. (SLIDE 6b) She breaks open a jar of perfume, about 11 ounces of oil extracted from the root of a plant grown in India, worth over 300 denarii, which is the equivalent of more than $50,000 dollars today. She pours all of it on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair. Either Mary was a wealthy woman, or this was a family heirloom that had been passed down to her.
Think about what is happening here:
Just days before, Lazarus was dead and in the grave. Mary and Martha were stricken with grief. And Jesus himself wept at the ugly reality of death. Then he displayed his power over death itself, raising Lazarus by simply calling his name.
And here, Mary shows her gratitude. She recognizes that there is something special about Jesus. Here was a wealthy and respectable woman, pouring tens-of-thousands of dollars worth of perfume on Jesus’ feet, then wiping his feet with her hair. It was all at once a priceless gift and a humiliation. It was a sign of Jesus’ worth and her unworthiness. (SLIDE 6c)
Imagine Mary’s humility at this moment. Washing someone’s feet was the role of a servant or slave. This is why Peter attempts to rebuff Jesus in John 13 when Jesus washes his disciples’ feet!
Interestingly, the disciples need to be taught to wash one another’s feet! But here Mary does it of her own accord! She is a bright contrast to their dullness! She is an example of faith, an example of servanthood, an example of proper worship.
ILLUST — As a Jewish woman, to let your hair down from the typical braids and pinnings in public would have been shocking and somewhat scandalous. It was a sign of humiliation in the best sense. It was a sign that she was in complete humble surrender to Jesus as Lord.
This was her proper worship: (SLIDE 6d)
(SLIDE 6e) She doesn’t care how much it costs, she is going to break the jar and anoint Jesus.
(SLIDE 6f) She doesn’t care what people think, she is going to let her hair down to wipe his feet.
APPLY — Oh, that we would worship with such abandon and such sacrifice!
This is so symbolic — the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (v. 3).
This symbolizes that her act of humility and love extend far beyond the event itself, and that the glory of Jesus and his reign as the Anointed One will fill everything, everywhere as one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord of the entire cosmos!
But Judas has a huge problem with this. In verses 4-6 he complains that this perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. But John reports with hindsight that Judas had deceit in his heart. He didn’t really care for the poor. He was the keeper of the money bag, so he wanted an influx of cash so he could help himself to some of the proceeds.
And the Jewish leaders also have a problem with this. In verses 9-11, the Jewish leaders feel threatened and jealous of the large crowds that are following Jesus. They make plans to not only kill Jesus, but to kill Lazarus as well, a walking/talking advertisement of Jesus’ authority and power.
You see, Judas and the Jewish leaders are both foils for Mary. They embody the opposite of her response to Jesus. She embodies sacrifice and surrender, unlike Judas who expresses greed and selfishness. She embodies humility and trust, unlike the Jewish leaders who express jealousy and unbelief.
Sandwiched right in the middle are the only words of Jesus that are recorded in this account. Look at his response in verses 7-8 again. (SLIDE 7a) READ vv. 7-8.
We have to remember the purpose of anointing. (SLIDE 7b) It is to consecrate someone for a divine task. It is to set someone apart, to make a public confession of their calling to exercise divine authority to speak God’s words and rule on God’s behalf.
But wait, why is Jesus talking about burial? ILLUST — In the ancient Jewish world, it was common for families to spend extravagant amounts of money on spices and perfumes during burial in order to mask the smell of decay and to honor the dead.
Here is the irony of this anointing: Jesus is being consecrated for death. (SLIDE 7c) This is his coronation as King, but he is a King who will conquer and ascend to his throne by dying. What? To many people, this doesn’t make sense!
Like so many others in the gospel of John, Mary signaled more than she knew.
Interestingly, the parallel account of this event in Mark 14 says that it is this event and Jesus’ sharp rebuke that prompt Judas to approach the Jewish leaders with the proposal to betray Jesus.
This is the last straw for Judas. How can Jesus be King if he is dead and in the grave? This was the dividing line. And it is the dividing line for so many today. How can his ascension to the throne be through the humiliation of the cross? How can we worship a King who looks like a failure to the world?
The key to understanding this comes from the quotation that Jesus makes in verse 8.
He quotes from Deuteronomy 15:11. (SLIDE 7d) This is a chapter of the Old Testament Law about canceling debts. Every 7 years the Israelites were to cancel debts and restore people who were crushed by financial burdens and estranged from each other. This chapter specifically calls God’s people to be openhanded and generous with the poor, not tightfisted and grumpy. It is a call to extend grace, a gift you don’t deserve.
This is not only a rebuke to Judas, it symbolizes what Jesus came to do: He came to cancel our debt, the debt of our sin. (SLIDE 7e) He came to buy us back, to redeem and restore us. He came when we were needy, crushed by the weight of our sin, and estranged from God. And he paid the price for you and for me when we were helpless and lost, saving us by his grace!
When the crowds in the triumphal procession the next day shout, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” They, like Mary, are speaking better than they know. They are quoting Psalm 118, a Messianic psalm that they think means that Jesus is going to merely save them from the Romans. But in fact, he is doing something deeper, something eternal.
John is careful to note that Jesus rode on a donkey, which is a symbol of peace. He quotes Zechariah 9, a prophecy about the peace that will come when God reaches out to save his people. But this peace comes in an unexpected way: Through a King who is anointed to go to the cross to die as the Savior of the World.
Friends, this reveals something about the very heart of God. (SLIDE 8, blank)
Mary recognized it. She saw the tender heart of God when Jesus wept. She saw the awesome power of God when Lazarus came out of the grave. And she recognized something of the holiness, glory, authority, and anointing of Jesus.
What does she do? She chooses to humble herself before him. She comes to him with her most precious earthly possession, literally laying herself at his feet in gratitude and worship. She took a bold step, humiliating herself in front of others, trusting that Jesus would accept her, that he wouldn’t turn her away.
But this might give some of us pause. Could Jesus really accept me? When we think of the ugliness and shame of our sin, or when we tremble at the power and authority of the very Son of God, we might wonder how we could possibly approach such a King as Jesus.
ILLUST — Pastor and theologian A.W. Tozer captured this feeling well in his classic work The Knowledge of the Holy. Tozer says, (SLIDE 9) “Sin has made us timid and self-conscious, as well it might. Years of rebellion against God have bred in us a fear that cannot be overcome in a day. The captured rebel does not enter willingly the presence of the king he had so long fought unsuccessfully to overthrow. But if he is truly penitent he may come, trusting only in the loving-kindness of his Lord.”
You see, Tozer says that in light of the holiness, power, and perfection of God, we must come with humility and repentance. He says, “If we would be welcomed as the Prodigal was, we must come as the Prodigal came.” Desperate.
And we might wonder, like the Prodigal Son, what the response of our Heavenly Father will be. Will he be angry? Will he reject me? Will he throw me away?
Tozer went on to write, (SLIDE 10) “Now someone, who in spite of his past sins, honestly wants to become reconciled to God may cautiously inquire, “If I come to God, how will he act toward me? What kind of disposition has he? What will I find him to be like?” The answer is that he will be found to be exactly like Jesus…the penitent will find him merciful; the self-condemned will find him generous and kind. To the frightened he is friendly, to the poor in spirit he is forgiving, to the ignorant, considerate; to the weak, gentle; to the stranger, hospitable.”
This is what Mary realized and what Judas and the Jewish leaders could not see. And this is why her humble act of gratitude and worship becomes the coronation of the King, the anointing for his sacred task, the start of Jesus’ march to the cross so that by his substitutionary death and his victorious resurrection we could be welcomed into the very presence of God purely by his grace.
APPLY (SLIDE 11, blank)
You see, I think what Mary came to understand is what we should call a proper fear of the Lord.
ILLUST — My daughter Annabelle asked me a couple nights ago, “Daddy, what does it mean to fear God?”
I said something like this: “It is when we recognize how powerful, glorious, and great God is, and when we also realize how weak, pitiful, and small we are. Then we wonder at God’s kindness to us because we know we don’t deserve it.”
You see, sometimes we think of fearing God like we fear natural disasters, or getting in trouble with our boss, or getting an audit letter from the IRS. We tend to fear power greater than us, shame that would destroy us, or authorities over us that can turn our lives upside down. This fear that drives us away, fear that makes us want to hide or flee. It is the kind of fear of a sinner when a holy God shows up, like Adam and Eve hiding in the Garden.
But dear friends, let me share with you some good news: In the gospel of Jesus Christ, our fear of the Lord is now transformed into an invitation to know the goodness of God displayed in our Savior Jesus.
ILLUST — Charles Spurgeon said that without Christ, we could not draw near to God because we are full of sin. He once preached, (SLIDE 12) “If you don’t know Christ, you will never come to God. Your fear must link itself with the goodness of God as displayed in the person of his dear Son, or else it cannot be a seeking fear, a fear toward the Lord. It will be a fleeing fear—a fear that will drive you further and yet further away from God, into greater and deeper darkness, into dire destruction.”
ILLUST — English theologian Michael Reeves put it this way: (SLIDE 13) “It is the devil’s work to promote a fear of God that makes people afraid of God such that they want to flee from God. The Spirit’s work is the exact opposite: to produce in us a wonderful fear that wins and draws us to God.”
This is what Mary felt. You see, unlike Judas who wanted to betray Jesus and the Jewish leaders who wanted him dead, Mary had a fear of the Lord, a sense of the greatness of Jesus, a sense that her proper response was to surrender everything, to humble herself at his feet in worship, to draw near, and to marvel at his goodness.
That’s what I want us to do this morning. We are going to sing a new song called “The Goodness of Jesus” that is an invitation to come to him, to draw near to him, and to lay our lives at his feet.