The Gospel of John | Week 16

In John 12, everything begins to shift.

After eleven chapters revealing who Jesus is—Creator, Messiah, Good Shepherd, Resurrection and the Life—we now enter the final week before the cross. This chapter begins with extravagant worship and ends with extreme opposition.

In this message, we focus on one powerful scene: Mary anointing Jesus in Bethany.

While Martha serves and Lazarus witnesses, Mary worships. She breaks open a jar of costly perfume—worth a year’s wages—and pours it out on Jesus. What some called waste, Jesus called beautiful.

But standing in the same room are two very different hearts:

• A heart of generosity

• A heart of selfishness

Judas criticizes. Mary worships.

One gives out of gratitude. One calculates for personal gain.

This sermon is a heart check for all of us.

Are we generous?

Do we see worship as waste?

What truly has our heart?

You’ll discover:

Why the enemy of generosity is selfishness

What extravagant giving really means (it’s not about the amount)

The three biblical levels of giving: tithe, offering, and extravagant sacrifice

Why generosity flows from gratitude

How the Gospel itself is the ultimate picture of extravagant love

Mary understood something: Jesus was worth everything.

And 2,000 years later, we’re still talking about her act of worship—just as He said we would.

Nothing you pour out for Jesus in love is ever wasted.