MAIN POINT: The enemy, the thief, the pragmatist, and the worshipper; which are you? POINT #1 – THE & THE : What they mean for evil God uses for His glory and our good. Mark 14:1-11 ESV, “It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” The Passover commemorated the day that God rescued his people Israel from slavery in Egypt. Passover is so named because of the command from God to the Israelites to smear lambs blood over their doors and on the door posts and the Angel of death passed over their home. The sandhedrin, the chief priests and the scribe were looking for a stealthy way to arrest Jesus and kill him. But these feasts were not ideal. The crowds would be massive. The scribes and the chief priests. They feared and hated Jesus all at the same time. He was a threat to their status and influence among the people. Mark 14:10-11 ESV, “ 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.” Why would Judas have such a visceral reaction to this woman anointing Jesus with all that expensive perfume? Jesus knew, Judas knew, but no one else knew that Judas was slowly stealing from their treasury.Some try to overcomplicate Judas and why he did what he did, but the truth is that Judas was a greedy, selfish thief. The ENEMY wants to steal, kill, and destroy. POINT #2 – THE : Our practicality can get in the way of extravagant worship. Mark 14:3-5 ESV, “ 3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, [a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii [b] and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.” 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii [b] and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.” The world will see us following Jesus and will wonder. “Why would anyone invite Jesus to come into their life and tell them what to do?” “Why would anyone give up their freedom to have success, makes lots of money, and make rational decisions for your family? All for some carpenter who lived 2000 years ago." POINT #3 – THE : Mary loves Jesus so much, that she worships him extravagantly. Mark 14:6-9 ESV, “ 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” She has done what she could. She gave her grandest gift ever. It still pales in comparison of what our savior Jesus is worthy to receive. I love that Jesus even sets her name in stone for all eternity. “what she has done will be told in memory of her.”