Extravagant Worship

Worshipers are to enforce the victory of Jesus Christ. Worship is warfare in that it chases away the darkness to create a path for Holy Spirit to join us. True worshipers usher in the Presence of the Lord. They celebrate who God is and what He is going to do before He does it. The sister of Lazarus, Mary, demonstrated the characteristics of extravagant worship when she anointed Jesus at her home in Bethany.
 
Six days before the Passover, Mary and Martha prepared a dinner for Jesus, his disciples, and other guests who knew that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Mary was prepared to demonstrate her love, devotion, and thanks to Jesus through an act of complete submission and extravagance. She brought to the table an alabaster jar filled with about a pound of the purest nard. This extremely expensive perfume probably came from the root and spike of the nard plant found in northern India.
 
In the presence of all these people, Mary broke her alabaster jar (probably carved from translucent gypsum) and poured the perfume on the feet of Jesus as she wiped them with her hair. (John 12:3) "Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray Him said, 'That perfume was worth a year's wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.'" (John 12:5 - NLT) "Jesus replied, 'Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.'" (John 12:7-8 - NLT)
 
The stories in the book of Matthew and Mark tell of a different occurrence of Jesus being worshiped in the home of Simon, the leper. They do not name the woman who poured the oil on the head of Jesus. The disciples grumbled when they observed the act of worship, not seeing it this way. Jesus said to them, "...She has done all that she could to honor me. I promise you that as this wonderful gospel spreads all over the world, the story of her lavish devotion to me will be mentioned in memory of her." (Mark 14:8-9 - TPT)
 
Let's look at the components of Mary's extravagant act of worship. I think we can learn from them. Even before pouring out the expensive nard, Mary thought about what was going to happen to Jesus. Unlike the disciples who were in denial, she believed what Jesus told them—He was going to die. So, Mary planned a way to honor Jesus with her worship. Her worship was extremely costly and sacrificial. She was not ashamed to humble herself in front of Jesus and others as she went all out to demonstrate her love and devotion. Mary did not hold back but poured every drop of perfume from the jar onto Jesus.
 
To those at the table with Jesus, Mary's act of worship was shocking! They were not thinking about the future and the truth that this might be their last opportunity to show their devotion to their Lord. As we get closer to the time when Jesus was crucified, we need to contemplate how we might worship our Savior. Our worship should be sacrificial, extravagant, and celebratory. He is worthy of everything we can give to Him!