A woman’s place is….. People finish this sentence many different ways because society places so many different expectations on women. "A woman’s place is in the home, running the household by: loving her husband, caring for her children, balancing the books, answering the phone, preparing meals, cleaning the house, doing the shopping, and running errands." "A woman’s place is at work, earning extra income and making a contribution with the unique skills God gave her to use." "A woman’s place is in the community, being the home room mom at school, volunteering for service organizations and carpooling for other mom’s so that they can finish all the work they have to do."

As a woman does all that is demanded of her, how does she evaluate her experience? Does she express contentment and fulfillment with her situation in life? Is she enthusiastic about all she gets to do? More often than not, women give an evaluation that is quite different. Women say things like: "There’s just so much to do, how will I ever get it all done?" Or, "Life is so hectic and busy!" Or, "I feel so worn out and tired all the time." Instead of feeling content, fulfilled, joyful, and at peace, women express feelings of discontentment, dissatisfaction, frustration, and anxiety.

A woman can get so tied up and busy with the expectations of the world that she misses spending time in the most important place. The place where it is most necessary for a woman to be that is too often neglected is at the feet of Jesus, listening to His Word and worshipping Him. A woman’s place is at the feet of Jesus.

Are days filled with anxiety and frustration what God intended for a woman’s life to be like? No. We feel this way because of a choice we have made. A choice not to spend time at Jesus’ feet listening to His Word and worshipping Him. We give ourselves to what we value most. If time spent with Jesus is missing in our lives, we need to evaluate our values and make sure they are His values and not those of the world.

When the need to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word becomes the topic of discussion, it often times spurs an emotional response that goes something like this: "Time with Jesus, how could I ever fit even one more thing into my already hectic life? I don’t have time to sit still at Jesus’ feet. I have to be busy doing something." The misconception we have is that when Jesus asks us to sit at His feet, He is asking us to do more than we are already doing. The reality is that for most, when we learn what Jesus really wants us to do, by listening to Him, we discover that He wants us to do less, not more. He wants us to do less so that we don’t neglect the key necessity of life—time with Him.

On their way to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples made a stop in the village of Bethany. While there, Martha welcomed them into her home. With house guests, an expectation of society was that Martha and her sister Mary busy themselves serving their guests, doing things like offering refreshments and making sure they were comfortable. Martha, in keeping with these expectations, immediately got busy. Mary, on the other hand, was focused on what Jesus expected her to do. Jesus wanted Mary to listen to His word, intent on obeying what He said, so she sat at His feet doing just that.

Martha got busy doing many things to care for her house guests. We might expect that Jesus would have commended Martha for all the work she did. After all, aren’t we supposed to do acts of service for the Lord? While serving the Lord is important, it is never appropriate when we do so much for the Lord that we neglect to spend time with the Lord.

Hostess preparations drew Martha away from Jesus.

All that Martha did for Jesus drew her away from Jesus. Martha felt compelled that she HAD TO do all the acts of service she performed for her guests. In reality, Martha did much more than was really necessary. In all of her doing, Martha was distracted from Jesus. How sad! Busyness too often comes between us and Jesus. It substitutes shallow frenzy for a deep, abiding fellowship with Him. It feeds the ego when we look over all the things we are doing, but it starves the inner person of the place only Jesus can fill. Busyness fills a calendar, but squeezes out Jesus. Busyness brings barrenness in the place of the blessing we receive when we are with Jesus.

Martha valued busyness, performance, and doing more over abiding with Jesus, listening to His Word. Because of Martha’s value system, she was too busy to listen to Jesus because she chose to be too busy, not because she had to be so busy. She had a choice to make and so do we.

It bothered Martha that she was left alone to do all the work.

While Mary sat, Martha stewed. She was upset that Mary was just sitting there leaving her to do all the work herself. Martha couldn’t understand why Jesus didn’t do something about the inequalities that were so obvious to her. She asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself?"

Have you ever been there? Have you had a pity party for yourself because of how overworked you are? Have you been critical of others because of how many more things you are doing compared to them? When we find ourselves in these situations, we need to examine our lives. We need to evaluate whether or not we are overdoing it. A sure indication that we are doing too much is when we are distracted from Jesus and "don’t have time" to be with Him.

Did you notice how Martha stated her problem? Martha did not ask Jesus why she did not get the opportunity Mary had to be with Him. Instead, she asked why Mary was allowed to leave her to do all the work. She was upset because Mary wasn’t working, not because of her opportunity to be with and listen to Jesus. Martha thought that what Jesus needed to do was to make Mary help her. What was really needed was for Jesus to point out gently what Martha was missing.

Martha was anxious and upset about many things.

The first thing Jesus addresses in His response to Martha is her emotional state. She was anxious and upset about all of the things that still needed to be done for Jesus. If she listened to Jesus’ Word, she would have discovered that she too could have been with Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet, instead of running around being bothered by all that wasn’t getting done.

When we focus our lives on doing all that we expect of ourselves or all that others expect of us without finding out first what Jesus expects, we will end up feeling the same way Martha did, anxious and upset about all we have to do. It doesn’t have to be this way. Mary’s life encourages us that there is another path to take.

Mary made the better choice (10:42).

The world called out for Martha and Mary to jump on the treadmill of performance and do many more things for Jesus, but Jesus wanted them to focus instead on only one thing. At the crossroads of decision, Martha chose to do many things for Jesus; whereas, Mary chose the good part. She chose to do the one thing that is necessary—spending time with Jesus, listening to Him, finding out what He expected of her.

Jesus asks us to spend time with Him, listening to His Word, and in doing so, He requires no more of us than what the Father required of Him. Joanna Weaver in her book, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" makes the following observation about Jesus’ example:

He was never in a hurry. He knew who he was and where he was going. He wasn’t held hostage to the world’s demands or even its desperate needs. "I only do what the Father tells me to do," Jesus told His disciples (pg. 8)

No one has more important things to do than Jesus did. No one has more demands put on him or her than Jesus did. Yet, we don’t find Him anxious and upset about all that He had to do. In fact, the more life pressured Jesus, the more committed He was to step away to spend time with the Father to find out what He wanted of Him. Jesus focused on the one thing that is needed. Because He did, His life was simplified. He only needed to do what the Father told Him to do. Jesus lived what He was telling Martha to do with Him.

When we do the one thing that is needed, we too will find our lives simplified. Instead of continuing to do more and more as the world expects only to experience frustration and anxiety, we can instead concentrate on doing what Jesus leads us to do and we won’t have to worry about everything else.

The essential need of life is spending time with Jesus, listening to His Word. Being with Jesus must come before what we do for Jesus.

The world’s values: Busy is better.

Jesus’ values: Listening to Jesus is better.

Which value system have we embraced? We have a choice. The thought that we don’t have the time to spend with Jesus, listening to His Word, because we are too busy is a lie. The truth is that we can let go of many things, but time with Jesus is never one of them. Time with Jesus is a necessity.

Transition: The world distracts us from time with Jesus by pressuring us to do more. The world also intimidates us to keep us from worshipping Jesus by criticizing us for giving our best to Him instead of giving our best to what it values most.

Here again we find Mary at the feet of Jesus. In fact, in all three occasions the gospels mention her, she is at His feet. Mary’s consistent position demonstrates her love and devotion for Jesus.

The religious leaders wanted Jesus dead for some time. They were at the point where they had enough of Him and resolved they would intensify their efforts to find a sly way to arrest and kill Him. Though determined to get rid of Jesus, those planning His execution felt it was necessary to proceed with utmost caution as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were approaching.

The Passover was the annual Jewish feast to commemorate when the angel of the Lord passed over the homes of the Hebrews on the night when all the Egyptian firstborn were killed. The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed the Passover meal and lasted for seven days.

The reason it was risky to attempt arresting and killing Jesus during Passover is that the population of Jerusalem doubled during this feast. It was a time when the crowds were excitable and the threat of riots was a concern. The religious leaders could not be sure that they would be able to control the people and persuade them to take their side against Jesus. Little did they know that they would receive unexpected help from one of Jesus’ disciples. Judas’ agreement to hand Jesus over to them convinced them to change their time line for His crucifixion.

In the midst of His betrayal and rejection, Mary worshipped Jesus (14:3).

Between the accounts of the plan to arrest Jesus, Mark contrasts the betrayal of Judas and the hatred of the religious leaders with the devoted love of Mary. Mary was at the home of Simon the Leper in the village of Bethany for a meal. While Jesus reclined at the table, Mary worshiped Him. Mark does not identify the woman who worshipped Jesus as Mary, but John does in his gospel (John 12:3).

Mary poured costly perfume over Jesus head and feet.

Mary broke open the neck of an alabaster jar and poured the costly perfume on Jesus’ head. John tells us that she poured the remaining contents out on the Jesus’ feet and then humbly and worshipfully wiped His feet with her hair. Mary did not merely put a drop of perfume here and there. Rather, she lavishly poured out the entire bottle.

Mary gave her best to express her devoted love.

The priceless jar of perfume Mary broke open was probably the most expensive possession she owned. It was her best stuff. Why did Mary make such an expensive sacrifice? She did it because she was devoted to Jesus and loved Him. For Mary, Jesus was worthy of her all in all. He was worthy of only the best. Because of what Jesus meant to Mary, only an extravagant and fervent expression of devotion and worship would do.

Because Mary valued Jesus most, her costly sacrifice was worth it.

Mary spontaneously and sacrificially worshipped Jesus with no concerns for what others would think of her action. Positioned at the feet of Jesus and focused on giving her all in worship, Mary unexpectedly found herself being verbally attacked by angry critics. Mark does not name those who reacted indignantly at the "waste" of all the costly perfume. Matthew says it was the disciples (Matthew 26:8), while John says it was Judas (John 12:4-5). Judas probably originated the objection that others later picked up. It was probably Judas who expressed the most vigorous and vocal dissent for what Mary did as the treasurer and soon to be traitor of the group. Here is Judas’ assessment of the situation.

The perfume was worth a whole year’s wages ($35,000-$40,000 in today’s economy)

The money from its sale should have been given to the poor.

It was the custom for Jews to give gifts to the needy on the evening of Passover. What a remarkable gift Mary could have doled out to the poor by selling her bottle of perfume and giving away all the money from its sale. With poor people in need of food and clothing, Mary dumped it all out on Jesus. What a waste, or so thought Judas. Judas and the other disciples harshly criticized Mary for what she did.

Because Judas valued money most, Mary’s costly sacrifice was a waste.

Judas’ concern was not really for the poor. His value system was centered on money. The more he had in his pockets, the happier he was. Judas was insensitive and harsh towards Mary because He didn’t value Jesus like she did. Judas was blind and insensitive to the appropriateness of Mary’s worship because all he could focus on was the money that was evaporating before his eyes.

Jesus defended what Mary did (14:6-9).

His assessment of the situation was that:

Mary did a fitting thing at an opportune time.

The disciples thought that they shared the mind of Jesus. They thought that He would join them in their evaluation of Mary’s actions. They were badly mistaken. Jesus came between Mary and her attackers to defend her. What she did was not an inappropriate waste, but instead it was a fitting and beautiful act of selfless love, devotion, and worship.

Today, we give flowers to those whom we love while they are still with us so that they can appreciate them. It is sad when we neglect people and wait to give flowers until the time of their funeral. At the funeral, it is really too late. We have missed our opportunity. Mary didn’t miss her opportunity.

Mary’s worship was not only appropriate, but also timely. Jesus was not going to be physically with the disciples much longer. The poor, they would always have with them. There would be continuing opportunities to help meet their needs. While they could help the poor any time they wanted to, the time for the disciples to worship at Jesus’ feet while He was physically with them was quickly running out.

Jesus interpreted Mary’s act as preparation for His death and burial.

Mary gave what she could while she could. The motivation of her sacrificial act was love and devotion, but Jesus interpreted it as a fitting way to anoint His body beforehand in preparation for His death and burial. Was Mary aware of this aspect of what she was doing? Perhaps not, but the text does not tell us. It is possible that she had a greater sensitivity to what was about to happen than the disciples did. Remember what we learned from Luke 10. Mary was a good listener. Perhaps she was more in tune to what was about to happen because she listened more attentively to the passion predictions Jesus shared on a regular basis.

Still today we proclaim what Mary did in her memory.

Jesus said to Mary in His closing comments, "I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." We are doing that right now. It is fitting that Mary’s example is shared wherever the gospel is preached because her actions serve as a demonstration of how we should respond to Jesus for who He is and for what He has done to change our lives forever. Because Jesus gave all on the cross in order that we might be saved, it is appropriate that we respond by giving our all to Him as a thank you letter for what He has done. Like Mary, when we love Jesus, and sacrificially worship Him, we leave a legacy that others will remember. A legacy that reminds people not so much of what we have done, but what Jesus has done that makes Him worthy of our acts of sacrificial worship.

In the midst of Mary’s expression of devoted love, there was great hatred and jealousy by another who followed Jesus around—Judas. Judas was on the inside. He was one of the Twelve. Just the same, while He knew a lot about Jesus, He didn’t know Jesus. He didn’t care to know Jesus or worship Him, because something else was more important—Money. Money was so important to Judas that He was willing to betray Jesus for the funds the religious leaders promised for doing so.

We will devote everything to pursue what is most important to us (14:10-11).

For Mary, Jesus was most important.

Because Jesus was most important, she worshipped Him extravagantly without concern of the expense because He was worth everything to her.

For Judas, Money was most important.

Since money was everything to Judas, Jesus was not worth the costly perfume poured out on His body. Because he valued money more than anything or anyone else, he regarded Mary’s act of worship as wasteful.

The world’s values: Giving our best to Jesus is a waste.

The world says, "Why would you waste your money by giving it to Jesus?" "Why would you waste your time spending it with Jesus?" "Why would you waste your energy and talents, giving them to serve Jesus?"

The committed follower of Jesus says, "He is worth it! He is worth my time! He is worth all I give to Him to express my worship."

Mary serves as our example by her attentive ear to the words of Jesus and by her devoted worship of Him. Perhaps some are here this morning who don’t understand Mary’s actions. Mary’s extravagant worship of Jesus will seem strange to the person who doesn’t personally know Him. Mary’s time spent abiding at the feet of Jesus’, fellowshipping with Him will seem foreign to a person who does not have a personal relationship with the Lord.

We will not worship Jesus if we don’t know Him. We won’t spend time with Him if we are without a relationship. If you do not know Jesus in a personal way, have you identified the problem? The problem is the sin that comes between you and Him. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and that the penalty that we earn by our sin is death (Romans 6:23), or separation from God. Have you come to the point in your life that you are ready to admit that you are a sinner who can’t make it to God on your own?

For those who have come face to face with the reality of their own sin and need of God’s help, the Bible contains good news. Romans 5:8 says that, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 1 Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit." The good news is that Christ died for your sins and mine and paid the penalty of death for us. Have you come to the realization that Christ died in our place to pay for our sins?

The good news is that we can be delivered from sin’s penalty and saved from God’s judgment for sin by trusting Christ as our personal Savior. John 3:36 makes clear the choice we need to make and the results of that choice- "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him." When we trust Jesus, we have eternal life. If we reject Him, we will be forever separated from a life and relationship with Jesus.

Christ suffered for our sins so that we could be brought into a relationship with God that will last for eternity. The way we enter into this relationship is through trusting in Christ. We must come to the end of ourselves and forsake our own efforts to get to God. We can never get to God by our works. The Bible tells us that it is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5). We are delivered from the sin that separates us from God through trusting in Christ and not by the works we do. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast." Have you come to the point that you are ready to believe in Jesus? Why don’t you trust in Him, right now, right where you are seated?!

For those of us who already know the Savior in a personal way, "How have we been investing our lives?" We will invest in that which is most important to us. We will spend our resources of time and money on what we value most. Remember as kids when we saw something at the store that we really wanted? For the next several days or weeks, we would spend our time and energy earning extra money to pay for the possession we dreamed of having in our hands. All the sacrifices we made seemed small because of the value we put on the prize we were after. We invest in what we value. How much do we value Jesus? How we handle money and how we choose to spend our time reveals much about the depth of our commitment to follow Christ. Is Jesus worth our time? Is it worth it to give up everything for Him? Mary, a committed follower of Jesus Christ said clearly by her actions, "Yes, He is worth it." What are we saying by what we do with our time, our money, and our lives? Jesus deserves our very best! Are we giving it to Him?