The Lead Up

Mark 14:1-11

      What would you do if you knew you only had few days until you were tortured and killed? This is a hard question. There are so many options available. I mean, it’s not like you have to worry about paying for what you do. The debt dies with you! Go to Vegas? Disney? Skydiving? You are going to die anyway, so why not jump out of a perfectly good airplane!  What would you do? Take a moment to think about it. Did you take a moment?

      Jesus spends His last few days on earth before His crucifixion eating with friends. Our text today has Jesus eating with several undesirables. We have a man who has the nickname “The Leper”. In his day, this was almost a death sentence. Very much like Ebola in our news, once you had the disease, you carried the stigma with you for the rest of your life. And Jesus chooses to spend time eating with him. Shouldn’t Jesus be eating with kings?

      And there is a woman there who also has a reputation. She remains nameless down through history, but her act of sacrifice and kindness is remembered. How would you like to spend history and the nameless woman?

      This is a rub for many people. We want to be remembered by name. We want people to remember US, not just what we did. We name things after us. We write books. We edit our entry in Wikipedia. We monitor our web presence. We write memoirs. We think about our legacy. We don’t want to drop into history forgotten.

      This nameless woman remains nameless, but what she did survives. She got it right. She didn’t matter. What she did mattered. She could be at Jesus’ feet performing a small act of kindness and she had it right.

      Notice that she is preparing Him for burial. The disciples are in denial about His upcoming death, but this woman gets it. She is there acknowledging the truth: Jesus is going to die. The others in the room don’t seem to be paying attention to what is important. They are dragged off into a side conversation about the value of the perfume and how many poor people could have been helped with the money. I can see the cell phones coming out and the calculators going. The menu experts were telling the accountants how much each meal would cost.

      Jesus hears the scuffle. They are getting her involved. They are blaming her for the waste. They have their fingers out, and they know how to point. Jesus tells them to put their fingers back in their holsters. They are in the wrong about this whole event. She has it right. They might be forgotten, but what she did will be remembered.

      This is too much for Judas. He goes out and takes the final step. He does what he has been planning for a while. He makes the final arrangements. He accepts the terms of sale. He signs on the dotted line.

      Where are you going to put your signature? With the woman, or with Judas?

Time Management

Mark 11:11

      There is one thing that we all have the same amount of today, regardless of who we are. We have 24 hours today. We never have more and one day we will have less. But before that final day, we have 24 hours each and every day. The richest and the poorest among us still only have 24. The most entrepreneurial among us and the laziest both have 24. It is what we do with what we have that make the difference.

      One other thing about time that makes a difference is timing. Knowing when to do something is often as important as the what to do. If the timing is off, the right thing can be the wrong thing. Anyone who has bought stock understands this. We recently bought some stock. Within a few weeks our stock had risen in value about twelve percent. If only I had sold it then! Timing. Now our initial investment is down about twelve percent. If we had sold at the up time, and then repurchased at this down time, we would be up over $1000. Timing. Instead, we are down.

      Purchasing the newest high-demand product on the first day it is available will cost you a premium, compared to waiting a few months and then making the purchase. Prices always drop. So if you don’t NEED it on the first day, be patient. But you don’t want to wait years. If you have your eyes on a fast computer, soon that fast computer will be out of date. No matter how cheaply you can purchase it, you are not getting a good deal.

      Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem, His final destination here on Earth. He has come to give His life so that we might live. He arrives late in the day, looks around and then returns to His hotel for the night, Motel One. During festival times, everyone opened up their houses for out of town guests. Jesus and His disciples are staying in a town only a couple of miles away. Every town around Jerusalem would have been crowded with visitors. Since Jesus was poor He couldn’t afford a suite at the Hilton with a view overlooking the Temple.

      Why didn’t Jesus begin His final teaching when he arrived at the Temple? Timing! He has arrived, being greeted as the Promised Deliverer, the Messiah. There have been cheers and crowds that would make anyone feel important. This was before tickertape, but the branches laid down and waved in celebration would have been quite a sight. His motorcade route was lined with people. And after He passed the crowd filled in the street and followed Him. And all this without Twitter!

      And yet, Jesus turns around and goes back to Bethany where He spends the night. We know nothing about Jesus’ activities that evening. We don’t know if He talked with His disciples or had tea and light refreshments. We do know He didn’t start His countdown ministry that evening in the Temple. He waited.

      Knowing when to go forward and when to wait are essential decision points in our lives. And I don’t have any formulaic answer that will help you know which is which.

SEX!

Proverbs 5:1-14

It takes two to tango, the old song lyric goes. To put it bluntly, prostitutes would have no job if the John’s didn’t show up and pay. We can’t put the blame on the women. The men are just as guilty as they are.

The next three chapters of Proverbs are filled with exhortation and illustration of what happens when anyone gets involved sexually with someone outside the bonds of marriage. Our culture dismisses this premise, but it is proved wrong by the facts. The best place for children to grow up and the most satisfying sexual relationships are within a lifelong marriage, man and woman. Despite the cultural trend away from marriage, the facts remain the same. So let’s begin to dive into the text.

Verse three give us a poignant picture of the thrill of an elicit sexual encounter. Lips dripping with honey, who wouldn’t want to dive in?  These kinds of encounters must be thrilling in that moment. The pleasure must override all the negative consequences that will inevitably come (vv4-6). Having talked to hundreds of divorced and divorcing couples down through the years, I have never heard of such a breakup that was filled with joy. Even the best, if there is such a thing on the negative side of this equation, have their pain.

If you get involved, be ready for aimless living. The pain will be greater than the reward. The pleasure is short-lived, while the pain is long-lasting. Read carefully the negative consequences of these types of choices. Read it again. Yikes!

Verse eight gives us some good advice, which we will hear stated several different ways in the coming chapters. The writer tells us to avoid even getting close to the temptation. Alcoholics need to stay away from places that sell and consume alcohol. Problem shoppers need to stay away from the places they purchase things. Notice he tells us to choose a different path, one that takes us far from the temptation.

Too often believers try to see how close they can get to the temptation. They want to walk the thin line between sin and righteousness. The writer tells us to do just the opposite: choose a path far from the temptation. We get to choose the path. At the end of your life, you will regret walking over the line. You will probably have lost what is most valuable.