What Do You Worship?

What do you Worship?

John 12:1-19

What do you worship? That may seem like an easy question. Most of us would immediately say, "God." But before we answer too quickly, it may help to define worship. To worship is to bow down. It is to assign worth. It is to arrange your life around something because you believe it is valuable. Worship is not merely singing songs on Sunday. Worship is what captures your heart, commands your loyalty, occupies your thoughts, shapes your decisions, and receives your affection.

The truth is that everyone worships something. The question is not whether we worship. The question is what we worship. There is often a difference between what we claim to worship and what we actually worship. So perhaps the better question is this: What do you functionally worship? What is your god? What governs your life?

Consider a young mother who spends hours scrolling through social media. She constantly compares her family, home, appearance, and children to everyone else. A compliment makes her day. A critical comment ruins it. She carefully manages what others see, hoping to appear like she has it all together.

She would never say that reputation is her god. She sincerely professes faith in Christ. Yet her emotional world rises and falls on the opinions of others. She feels secure when she is admired and shaken when she is criticized.

Her issue is not social media. Her issue is worship. The approval of people has become her functional savior. She looks to others for the significance, identity, and security that only Christ can provide. What she worships is revealed by what she fears losing the most. When reputation becomes ultimate, as one writer has noted, people become big and God becomes small.

Whatever we worship becomes the lens through which we view everything else. That is exactly what John shows us in this passage. Everyone encounters Jesus, but they respond very differently because they worship different things. Mary worships Jesus with extravagant devotion. Judas worships money. The religious leaders worship themselves and their position. The crowds long for political deliverance from Roman oppression.

And John wants us to ask the same question as we approach John 12: What do you worship? What do you actually worship? What governs your life? Your decisions? Your joys? Your fears? What do you worship?

Extravagant Worship of Jesus (John 12:1-3)

What we worship is often revealed by what we are willing to sacrifice for. In this opening scene, Mary shows us what it looks like when Jesus becomes someone's greatest treasure. John 12:1-3 says,

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 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. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

John takes us back to Bethany, where Jesus had recently raised Lazarus from the dead. The miracle had sent shockwaves throughout the region and intensified the religious leaders' determination to kill Jesus. John also reminds us that this takes place six days before Passover. The cross is now only days away. Yet before entering Jerusalem, Jesus spends time among friends who love Him.

A dinner is prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha serves, expressing her love for Christ in practical ministry. Lazarus reclines at the table as living proof of Jesus' power. Just days earlier he had been wrapped in grave clothes. Now he is sharing a meal with the One who called him from the tomb. Every glance toward Lazarus was a reminder that Jesus has authority over death.

And then there is Mary. While Martha serves and Lazarus reclines, Mary prepares to worship. What follows is one of the most beautiful acts of devotion in all the Gospels. In a room filled with guests, conversations, and celebration, Mary focuses her attention entirely on Jesus. While everyone else is enjoying the meal, she sees an opportunity to express what is in her heart.

John tells us that Mary "took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard." This was not a small bottle of perfume purchased on impulse. Nard was imported from the Himalayas of India and was considered one of the most precious fragrances in the ancient world. It was rare, costly, and often kept as a family treasure. Some families viewed it as a form of savings or inheritance. Its value was roughly three hundred denarii, nearly a year's wages for a common laborer approximately $40,000 in today's money.

Matthew and Mark tell us she anointed His head. John emphasizes that she anointed His feet. Together they paint a picture of lavish devotion. Mary is not carefully measuring out a few drops. She is pouring it out freely. She is holding nothing back. John tells us she then wiped His feet with her hair.

To us, that may seem unusual. To those gathered in the room, it would have been shocking. In Jewish culture, a woman's hair was considered a mark of beauty and dignity. Respectable women did not normally let their hair down in public. Yet Mary is unconcerned with appearances. She is not worried about protecting her image or concerned with what others think. Her attention is entirely fixed on Jesus.

This is what worship looks like. Let me point out 4 aspects of Mary’s worship. Notice first that her worship is costly. Mary gives something of immense value because she believes Jesus is worth more. Worship always involves sacrifice. We reveal what we treasure by what we are willing to surrender. Time, money, comfort, reputation, opportunities, ambitions. The things we gladly place at Jesus' feet reveal what we believe about His worth.

Notice also that her worship is humble. Mary places herself at the lowest place in the room, at the feet of Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, this seems to be Mary's favorite place. She sat at His feet to learn (Luke 10:39). She fell at His feet in sorrow when Lazarus died (John 11:32). Now she worships at His feet in gratitude. Those who see Christ most clearly are usually the least concerned with exalting themselves.

Notice also that her worship is affectionate. This is not cold religion or mere duty. Mary is overwhelmed with love for Christ. She has witnessed His compassion. She has heard His teaching. She has watched Him call her brother from the grave. Her worship flows from a heart that treasures Jesus. John adds one final detail: "The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

Notice finally that Mary's worship did not stay private. John tells us that "the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." Everyone in the room was affected by her devotion to Christ. The same is true in the life of a church. When a congregation treasures Jesus, it creates a certain aroma. People sense humility rather than pride. Generosity rather than greed. Service rather than self-promotion. Joy rather than cynicism. The worship of Christ does not remain confined to individual hearts. It shapes the culture of an entire church. One of the greatest gifts we can give our community is a congregation captivated by the worth of Jesus.

Mary's act of worship forces us to ask a simple but searching question: Is Jesus worth it? Is He worthy of our devotion, obedience, sacrifice, and affection? Mary certainly thought so. She treasured Him. She believed He was worthy of her very best, so she gladly poured out something costly because she had come to see that Christ was more valuable than anything she possessed.

The truth is that we all sacrifice for what we worship. We make time for what we value, spend money on what we treasure, and rearrange our lives around what matters most to us. The question is not whether we sacrifice but for whom or for what. What receives your best attention, deepest affection, and greatest devotion? What are you most afraid of losing? What do you believe you must have in order to be happy? The answers to those questions often reveal what we truly worship.

Think about how people prepare for something they are excited about. If there is a movie they have been waiting months to see, they buy tickets in advance. They arrive early. They silence their phones before it starts. They use the restroom beforehand so they do not miss anything. They arrange their schedule around it because they do not want distractions. Why? Because they value it.

Now consider how we approach gathering with God's people for worship. Do we prepare our hearts? Do we arrive ready to hear from God’s Word? Do we remove distractions and come expecting to meet with Christ through His people and His Word? Our preparation often reveals our priorities. The way we approach worship says something about what we believe is happening when the church gathers. If we truly believe we are meeting with the living God, hearing His Word, and encouraging one another in Christ, then that reality should shape the way we prepare and the value we place upon it.

The same principle extends beyond Sunday worship. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to serve the Lord? Are you willing to give up convenience to disciple someone? Are you willing to surrender an evening to encourage a struggling brother or sister? Are you willing to use your resources to advance the gospel, open your home in hospitality, or serve when no one notices? Worship is not merely expressed in what we sing. It is revealed in what we gladly give up for the sake of Christ. The things we are willing to sacrifice for often reveal what we truly treasure.

What makes Mary's worship even more remarkable is that she worships Jesus before the cross. She has not yet seen the empty tomb or heard the proclamation of the resurrection. Yet she pours out her treasure at His feet. We stand on the other side of Calvary. We know that Jesus willingly went to the cross for sinners, bore the wrath of God in our place, died for our sins, and rose again in victory. We know that through faith in Him we are forgiven, justified, adopted, and promised eternal life. If Mary found Jesus worthy before the cross, how much more should we find Him worthy after the cross?

Mary saw the surpassing worth of Jesus and responded with extravagant devotion. The question is whether we see Him the same way. Is Jesus merely useful to you, or is He beautiful to you? Is He merely someone who helps you, or is He the treasure of your life? When Christ becomes our greatest treasure, worship no longer feels extravagant. It becomes the natural response of a heart that has seen His worth.

Excessive Worship of Money (John 12:4-6)

Mary's worship fills the house with a beautiful fragrance. But not everyone in the room is impressed. John 12:4-5 says:

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'

At first glance, Judas sounds spiritual. His concern appears practical, compassionate, and responsible, but John immediately exposes what is really happening in his heart. Three hundred denarii was a tremendous amount of money. Surely it would have been better to sell the perfume and use the proceeds to help the poor. Yet John lets us behind the curtain. Judas' concern was not compassion. It was greed.

John 12:6: He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

What is striking is that Judas and Mary are looking at the exact same event and seeing two completely different things. Mary sees a Savior worthy of worship. Judas sees a financial asset being wasted. Mary sees Jesus as a treasure. Judas sees Jesus as less valuable than money. That is what worship does. What we worship becomes the lens through which we interpret everything else.

Judas does not openly reject Jesus. He remains among the disciples. He participates in ministry. He continues to speak religious language. He would have appeared a faithful disciple, yet beneath the surface, his heart belongs to something else. Money has captured his affections.

This is why Jesus warned, "No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money" (Matt. 6:24). Jesus did not say serving both would be difficult. He said it was impossible. Eventually one master will command our loyalty. For Judas, money was not merely a possession. It was a god.

The worship of money is often difficult to recognize because it disguises itself in respectable forms. We call it wisdom, responsibility, or financial security. Yet money may be our functional god financial gain determines our decisions more than obedience to Christ, when generosity feels difficult but spending on ourselves feels easy, when our mood rises and falls with our bank account, or when losing money creates more fear than grieving God with sin. It may also reveal itself when we constantly compare what we have to what others possess, becoming dissatisfied with God's provision and measuring our worth by what we own rather than by our identity in Christ.

Scripture never teaches that money itself is evil. The issue is not having money. The issue is whether money has us. Do we trust it, treasure it, and serve it more than Christ? Judas' story reminds us that it is possible to appear like one Jesus’ disciples while being spiritually devoted to something else. He heard Christ's teaching, witnessed His miracles, and walked with Him for years. Yet his heart belonged to money.

In the end, the perfume Judas considered too valuable to pour out for Jesus was worth less to him than thirty pieces of silver. The man who complained about wasting money would soon sell the Son of God for the price of a slave. The contrast could not be greater. Mary gave up wealth because she treasured Jesus. Judas gave up Jesus because he treasured wealth. The tragedy only deepens in the next scene, where others will reject Jesus not for money, but for themselves.

And that forces us to ask: When our desires, decisions, fears, and priorities are examined, which master do they reveal? Do they reveal a heart that treasures Christ above all else, or a heart quietly bowing before the altar of money?

Envious Worship of Self (John 12:9-11; 19)

The worship of self is often revealed by how we respond when someone else receives the attention, praise, or influence that we desire. In this passage, the religious leaders show us what happens when protecting our position becomes more important than submitting to Christ.

John 12:9-11 says:

"When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus."

Then in verse 19:

"So the Pharisees said to one another, 'You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.'"

If Mary reveals the worship of Christ and Judas reveals the worship of money, the religious leaders reveal the worship of self.

A large crowd gathers in Bethany. They come to see Jesus, but they also come to see Lazarus. News of the miracle has spread throughout the region. The man who had been dead for four days is now alive. Every conversation about Lazarus eventually leads to Jesus, and every glance at Lazarus is a reminder that Jesus has authority over death itself.

Yet instead of leading the chief priests to faith, the miracle hardens their opposition. John tells us that they begin plotting to kill Lazarus as well. Think about how astonishing that is. A dead man has been raised to life, and their response is not worship but murder. Rather than considering the evidence, they want to eliminate the evidence.

Why? John tells us: "because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus." That phrase exposes their hearts. People are leaving them and following Christ. Their influence is shrinking and their control is slipping away. They are not concerned about truth. They are concerned about themselves. The chief priests have seen the miracles, heard the teaching, and witnessed the evidence.

Their problem is not a lack of information. Their problem is that they love their position more than they love the truth. Their frustration reaches a climax in verse 19. As Jesus enters Jerusalem and the crowds celebrate Him, the Pharisees say, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him." Of course, they are exaggerating. Not literally everyone has gone after Jesus. But that is how it feels to them. Everywhere they turn, people are talking about Christ. Everywhere they look, Jesus is receiving attention. The spotlight is no longer on them. Their influence is shrinking while His is growing.

At the heart of their response is envy. They cannot tolerate Jesus receiving the glory they desire for themselves. The worship of self always struggles when someone else is exalted. It feels threatened by another person's success and resentful of another person's praise. This idol is far more common than we often realize. We may never say, "I worship myself," but our hearts often reveal it. We feel overlooked when someone else receives recognition. We become defensive when corrected. We compare ourselves to others, resent their success, and crave appreciation. We want to be noticed, admired, and affirmed.

How does envy function as a god? It is the church member who serves faithfully but becomes bitter when someone else receives recognition. It is the employee who cannot celebrate a coworker's promotion because he believes he deserved it. It is the pastor who becomes discouraged, because another church is growing faster than his own. In each case, the worship of the heart is revealed.

The religious leaders stand in stark contrast to John the Baptist. When the crowds left John and followed Jesus, John responded by saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). That is the language of true worship. The chief priests wanted the opposite. They wanted themselves to increase and Jesus to decrease.

The tragedy of self-worship is that it enslaves us. We become trapped in comparison, competition, insecurity, and jealousy. We spend our lives protecting our place instead of enjoying God's grace. The gospel frees us from that burden. Because our identity is secure in Christ, we do not need to fight for significance. Because wke are accepted by God, we do not need the approval of everyone else. Because Christ is our treasure, we can rejoice when He receives glory, even if we do not.

The chief priests could not do that. They were so committed to protecting themselves that they were willing to oppose the very Son of God. Their response leaves us with a searching question: Are we content for Christ to increase even when it means we decrease? Or are we secretly competing for the glory that belongs to Him alone?

Friends, it is hard to admit that we worship ourselves. Most of us would never say it out loud. But one of the clearest indicators of self-worship is envy. When someone else succeeds, receives recognition, gains influence, or is blessed in a way we desire, what happens in our hearts? Do we rejoice, or do we become resentful? Do we celebrate God's grace in their life, or do we quietly wish the attention would return to us? Envy is often a check-engine light on the dashboard of the soul. It reveals that something deeper is going on beneath the surface.

So ask yourself some hard questions. Are you frustrated when others receive praise and your work goes unnoticed? Do you struggle when someone else gets the opportunity you wanted? Are you more concerned about your reputation than Christ's glory? Do you find yourself comparing your family, your ministry, your success, your gifts, or your accomplishments to those around you? When someone else's influence grows, do you celebrate God's work in them or feel threatened by it? Those reactions often reveal what we treasure most.

John the Baptist understood this when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The chief priests could not say that. They saw Jesus gaining followers and felt threatened. They saw His influence growing and became jealous. They saw people turning to Him and responded with hostility. Their envy exposed their worship. They wanted the glory that belonged to Christ. The same danger lives in every human heart. The question is whether we will recognize it, repent of it, and gladly give Jesus the place that belongs to Him alone.

Expectant Worship of Deliverance (John 12:7-8; 12–18)

Many people come to Jesus because they want something from Him. They want relief, protection, blessing, healing, success, or deliverance from difficult circumstances. In this final section, the crowds gather around Jesus because they are longing for salvation. Yet while they rightly recognize Jesus as King, they misunderstand the kind of deliverance He has come to bring. Jesus' response to Judas provides an important clue about what is about to happen. John 12:7-8 says:

"Jesus said, 'Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.'"

Then John records Jesus' triumphal entry:

"The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!' And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

'Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey's colt!'

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign." (John 12:12-18)

Jesus' words in verses 7-8 reveal that while everyone else is focused on celebration, He is focused on sacrifice. While the crowds are preparing for what they believe will be a coronation, Jesus is preparing for His burial. While others are looking ahead to a throne, Jesus is looking ahead to a cross. Mary's act of worship has prepared Him for burial, and Jesus knows that His hour is drawing near.

The next day, Jesus enters Jerusalem. The city is overflowing with pilgrims who have come to celebrate the Passover. News of Lazarus's resurrection has spread throughout the region, and the crowds hear that Jesus is approaching, and they rush out to meet Him carrying palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"

The crowd is not wrong to call Jesus King. He is the promised Messiah, the Son of David, and the Savior sent by God. The problem is not that they expect too much from Jesus. The problem is that they expect the wrong thing from Jesus. Throughout Jewish history, palm branches had become symbols of victory, freedom, and national hope. The people longed for a leader who would throw off Roman oppression and restore Israel to greatness. They wanted liberation from Rome and the restoration of national glory. They were looking for a conquering king.

Yet Jesus enters Jerusalem in a way that immediately challenges their expectations. Instead of riding a war horse like a military conqueror, He rides a donkey. John tells us this fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.

Everything about His entrance communicates humility, peace, and gentleness. The contrast is striking. The crowd is thinking about Rome. Jesus is thinking about sin. The crowd is looking for political deliverance. Jesus has come to accomplish eternal redemption. In many ways, Mary understood more than the crowds. Her anointing pointed forward to Jesus' burial. Even unknowingly, her actions point that His mission would involve suffering and sacrifice. The crowds, however, wanted a crown without a cross.

The reality is that our greatest need has never been political, economic, social, or cultural. Our greatest need is reconciliation with God. We have all sinned against our Creator. We have worshiped ourselves rather than Him. We stand guilty before a holy God and unable to save ourselves. That is why Jesus came.

The King rode into Jerusalem knowing exactly what awaited Him. He knew the crowds cheering "Hosanna" would soon disappear. He knew betrayal, arrest, mockery, and crucifixion lay ahead. He knew He would bear the sins of His people and endure the wrath of God in their place. Yet He came willingly. The deliverance Jesus offers is far greater than the deliverance the crowds desired. Through His death and resurrection, He rescues sinners from guilt, reconciles them to God, defeats death, and secures eternal life for all who trust in Him.

Are we like the crowd? We can come to Jesus wanting Him to fix our circumstances while missing our deepest need. We want Him to remove our suffering, solve our problems, or make life easier. Yet Jesus did not come primarily to make us comfortable. He came to make us right with God. The crowds wanted deliverance. Jesus offered salvation. The crowds wanted freedom from Rome. Jesus came to free them from sin. The crowds wanted a king who would change their circumstances. Jesus came as a King who would change their hearts.

And so the question that has echoed throughout this passage returns one final time: What do you worship?

Mary worshiped Jesus because she treasured Him. Judas worshiped money. The religious leaders worshiped themselves and their position. The crowds wanted deliverance. The same Jesus stood before all of them, yet their responses revealed the true condition of their hearts.

What we worship shapes how we respond to Christ. There is a world of difference between wanting the gifts of Christ and wanting Christ Himself. That is what makes Mary's worship so remarkable. She did not approach Jesus as a means to an end. She simply loved Him. She treasured Him. She saw His worth and responded with extravagant devotion. The crowds wanted something different. They wanted a king who would solve their immediate problems. Again, they wanted a crown without a cross. They wanted deliverance without sacrifice.

We don’t want to make the same mistake. We can begin to treat Jesus as the means of obtaining what we truly desire rather than seeing Him as the treasure we truly desire. The real test of worship is not what we do when Jesus gives us what we want. The real test is whether we still treasure Him when He doesn’t.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus is the Christ. He willingly walked the road to Calvary, bore the wrath of God for sinners, and accomplished the deliverance we could never accomplish for ourselves. Through His death and resurrection, sinners are forgiven, reconciled to God, adopted into His family, and given the hope of eternal life. And this is true for all who truly believe. Those who worship him as Savior.

Jesus is worthy of worship. Not simply because He blesses us, but because He is glorious. Not simply because He helps us, but because He is the Savior. Not simply because He gives life, but because He is life.

Mary understood what many others missed. She saw something beautiful in Christ. She saw something worthy in Christ. She saw something infinitely valuable in Christ. And because she did, pouring out her treasure at His feet did not seem excessive. It seemed entirely reasonable.

What Mary saw, Judas missed. What Mary treasured, the chief priests despised. What Mary worshiped, the crowds misunderstood. Yet Mary was right. Jesus is worthy of far more than a year's wages of perfume. He is worthy because He is the Son of God. He is worthy because He left the glory of heaven to enter our world. He is worthy because He willingly walked toward the cross. He is worthy because His body would be broken and His blood would be shed for sinners like us. He is worthy because through His death our sins are forgiven, our guilt is removed, and we are reconciled to God.

And one day the whole world will see what Mary saw. The glory that was hidden in Bethany will be revealed to every eye. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Lamb who was slain will receive the worship He deserves from people of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Until that day, may our lives carry the fragrance of wholehearted devotion to Christ. May our homes, our conversations, our priorities, and our worship point to His surpassing worth. And when the world looks at our devotion to Jesus and calls it excessive, may we remember Mary. For when you have seen the beauty of Christ, when you have been forgiven by His blood, when you have been loved by such a Savior, no sacrifice seems too great. Jesus is worthy. Worthy of our worship. Worthy of our obedience. Worthy of our treasure. Worthy of our lives.