What Does Freedom from the Love of Money Look Like?
00:00:00.000 | [Music]
00:00:04.000 | The love of money is spiritual death.
00:00:08.000 | So, what does it look like when the love of money has been put to death in a heart?
00:00:13.000 | What does the antithesis of the love of money look like in a real life?
00:00:18.000 | Thankfully, we get an incredible glimpse of this very thing in John chapter 12.
00:00:23.000 | There we read this.
00:00:25.000 | "Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
00:00:32.000 | So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
00:00:38.000 | Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair.
00:00:48.000 | The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume, but Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, he who was about to betray him, said,
00:00:56.000 | 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'
00:01:02.000 | He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief,
00:01:07.000 | and having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
00:01:12.000 | Jesus said, 'Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
00:01:18.000 | For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.'"
00:01:24.000 | Here's Pastor John in a 2011 sermon to explain.
00:01:29.000 | Jesus is inexpressibly wonderful, and Mary is inexpressibly affectionate.
00:01:39.000 | They match. That's beautiful.
00:01:44.000 | It's the point of the story.
00:01:47.000 | Look, look Judas, look Bethlehem, look world.
00:01:52.000 | Look, she's putting it on his feet.
00:01:57.000 | His dirty, smelly, human feet.
00:02:05.000 | Why?
00:02:07.000 | Because the least of Jesus is worthy of the best of us.
00:02:15.000 | Look Judas, look Bethlehem, look world.
00:02:20.000 | She's wiping it off with her hair.
00:02:28.000 | Why?
00:02:30.000 | Why not a nice, clean, soft towel?
00:02:36.000 | That's what Jesus used a few hours later.
00:02:42.000 | Do you remember how Peter responded in Luke 5
00:02:50.000 | to the miraculous catch of fish at the word of Jesus?
00:02:57.000 | Remember that?
00:02:59.000 | "We've been fishing all night, won't work."
00:03:02.000 | Okay, you say throw it down, we'll throw it down.
00:03:05.000 | And they pull up so much fish, two boats start to sink.
00:03:08.000 | What does Peter do?
00:03:10.000 | He falls flat on his face and says,
00:03:14.000 | "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
00:03:19.000 | Jesus hadn't said a word about his sin.
00:03:22.000 | He just treated him super good.
00:03:25.000 | Over the top good.
00:03:28.000 | And in that presence of grace,
00:03:32.000 | so it works for me, I feel most unworthy.
00:03:38.000 | I think Mary was just overwhelmed with what was there before her
00:03:44.000 | and how unworthy she was.
00:03:50.000 | Jesus, cleanness and sweetness of aroma befits you.
00:03:57.000 | Your purity and holiness and power and grace,
00:04:01.000 | sweetness and cleanness befits you.
00:04:04.000 | But as for me, odors and dirt befit me.
00:04:09.000 | My hair is the cleanest, most beautiful thing that I have.
00:04:16.000 | And if I could serve to magnify your purity and your sweetness,
00:04:22.000 | it would honor me to turn my hair into a rag for your feet.
00:04:29.000 | This is a wonderful thing.
00:04:31.000 | This is a beautiful thing when the affections of a woman
00:04:35.000 | match the worth of Jesus.
00:04:38.000 | Look, Judas. Look, Bethlehem.
00:04:42.000 | Look, world. Look at the room.
00:04:46.000 | Verse 3, "The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."
00:04:53.000 | Heartfelt, personal, intense, warm, affectionate, authentic worship
00:05:01.000 | never stays private.
00:05:05.000 | It will be out. Others will know it.
00:05:08.000 | They'll see it off your face if it was private in this room during corporate worship.
00:05:14.000 | Meeting Jesus the way she met Jesus with this outflow of over-the-top affection
00:05:20.000 | never is a merely private thing.
00:05:23.000 | The fragrance of Christ can be smelled.
00:05:28.000 | Lavish, heartfelt, sacrificial, grateful display of affection for Jesus
00:05:35.000 | and everybody was blessed in the whole banquet.
00:05:41.000 | Leave her alone.
00:05:44.000 | I won't be around very long and I'm the issue here.
00:05:47.000 | My worth is the issue here.
00:05:49.000 | She sees it, you don't. She feels it, you don't.
00:05:52.000 | Leave her alone. You don't understand at all what's going on here.
00:05:56.000 | Judas, leave her alone, Judas, because the poor you always have with you.
00:06:00.000 | Verse 8, "Judas, let me start by giving you the benefit of the doubt.
00:06:06.000 | You love the poor?
00:06:08.000 | Guess what? The rest of your life, serve the poor.
00:06:14.000 | They're always going to be there.
00:06:16.000 | In fact, Judas, you better love the poor.
00:06:19.000 | I love the poor.
00:06:21.000 | So, you may now feel free with no obstacle from Mary at all
00:06:26.000 | to love the poor the rest of your days.
00:06:30.000 | Go ahead.
00:06:32.000 | Judas, I know you, you don't love the poor.
00:06:36.000 | And you don't love me.
00:06:38.000 | You love money.
00:06:40.000 | In five days you'll sell me for 30 pieces of silver.
00:06:44.000 | Listen, Judas.
00:06:46.000 | Listen, Bethlehem.
00:06:48.000 | Listen, world, to the Apostle Paul.
00:06:51.000 | Where did he learn this?
00:06:53.000 | Where did Paul learn this?
00:06:58.000 | We brought nothing into the world.
00:07:01.000 | We will take nothing out of the world.
00:07:04.000 | We have food and clothing.
00:07:07.000 | With these, we will be content.
00:07:11.000 | But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,
00:07:17.000 | into a snare,
00:07:19.000 | into many hurtful and senseless desires
00:07:24.000 | that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
00:07:28.000 | For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
00:07:33.000 | And by this kind of craving,
00:07:36.000 | some have wandered away from the faith,
00:07:39.000 | oh Judas,
00:07:40.000 | and pierced themselves with many pangs.
00:07:44.000 | The love of money is suicidal.
00:07:49.000 | Jesus said it.
00:07:50.000 | Paul said it.
00:07:51.000 | Judas proved it.
00:07:53.000 | Do you love money?
00:07:56.000 | Do you want to be rich?
00:07:58.000 | That's what the Bible says.
00:07:59.000 | If you want to be rich, you're on a suicidal track.
00:08:04.000 | Money is deadly.
00:08:06.000 | I mean money, not just the love of it.
00:08:10.000 | It's deadly.
00:08:12.000 | We have to handle it.
00:08:14.000 | We have to make it.
00:08:15.000 | We have to use it.
00:08:18.000 | But like fire in our hands.
00:08:22.000 | Judas, Bethlehem,
00:08:26.000 | if you can't see me and my worth,
00:08:30.000 | you're going to die
00:08:33.000 | and never see me again.
00:08:35.000 | Wow, that is potent.
00:08:37.000 | It's one of my favorite clips from the John Piper Sermon Archive.
00:08:40.000 | It was preached on November 5th, 2011
00:08:43.000 | in a message titled,
00:08:45.000 | "Leave Her Alone, Judas.
00:08:47.000 | This is for My Burial."
00:08:49.000 | You can find the entire thing at DesiringGod.org.
00:08:53.000 | And thanks for joining us today on the podcast for our feed, our archive,
00:08:57.000 | or to email us a question of your own,
00:08:59.000 | or to email me your favorite John Piper sermon clips.
00:09:02.000 | Go to DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn.
00:09:07.000 | And that concludes episode number 1499,
00:09:11.000 | meaning our next one is episode 1500.
00:09:14.000 | It's incredible.
00:09:15.000 | 90 months ago, 90 months ago,
00:09:18.000 | we started this little podcast.
00:09:20.000 | You started to listen and sending in questions,
00:09:22.000 | and it all snowballed from there.
00:09:24.000 | And here we are.
00:09:25.000 | God is so very kind to us.
00:09:27.000 | And next time on Friday,
00:09:30.000 | we're going to get Pastor John back in the studio
00:09:32.000 | and reminisce a little bit over the podcast,
00:09:35.000 | but to do it through the eyes of Pastor John
00:09:37.000 | and what he's learned over these seven years
00:09:39.000 | about his own rhythms and habits of productivity.
00:09:43.000 | That should be really interesting.
00:09:45.000 | I am Tony Reinke.
00:09:46.000 | We'll see you next time for episode 1500 on Friday.
00:09:51.000 | Take care.
00:09:53.000 | [end]
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00:09:57.000 | [end]
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