Jesus is Worthy

If you have a Bible, I invite you to open with me to Matthew chapter 26. Love is a strange thing and love makes you do strange things. My wife is the only girl I ever dated, which sounds noble until you realize I was so socially awkward growing up that I was just afraid to talk to girls. So when God provided a girl who would talk to me, I held on to her. So we just celebrated our wedding anniversary and I was reminded of a gift that she gave me one year. It was a scrapbook that contained a variety of letters I had written to her over the course of our relationship.

And I want to risk any semblance of reputation I might have by sharing just a really small portion from one of those letters. So she had just moved off to college. I was still in high school and I missed her. Now, we were technically just friends at this point, but you know how that goes. I wanted to be more than friends. Apparently we had just talked on the phone when I wrote this letter to her, and this is what it said. “Dear Heather, dude, I am so glad you called tonight.” “Dude,” what kind of opening is that? Guys, I know when you write a letter like this to a girl, you pour over every word.

I have no clue what compelled me to think that the first word out of the chute should be, “Dude.” So I continued. “I’ve wanted to call you Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today but I just figured you were too busy.” You’re not supposed to say that.

You’re supposed to say that you’ve been really busy. Apparently, I was not. “When I heard your voice…” I wrote, “When I heard your voice, it was so awesome that I can’t explain how I felt. You sounded so awesome.” Is this not the most lame thing you’ve ever heard? Awesome twice? It got worse. It got three pages of worse, but I’m not going to read… So I’m going to jump right to the end, okay? So this was my rousing conclusion, “Dude, I’m not just wasting ink when I say this…” Wasting ink, I mean, can you tell I never had a girlfriend?

This is painful. In front of this many people, this is really painful. “My life isn’t the same without you around and I miss having you to talk with and spend time with. I miss you something fierce.” Fierce, really? Really, fierce? “Praying for you, dude…” For those counting, that’s three dude mentions in a total of eight lines. “In Christ.” Don’t blame this on him. This is not his fault. This is your fault. “In Christ, David.” That was my letter to… Oh, don’t cheer. No, why are you cheering? Why are you clapping? It’s because you feel sorry for me. No, maybe you’re clapping for my wife. She’s in here somewhere. You’re like, “Oh, praise God that he provided somebody for that guy.”

Does Your Heart Belong To Jesus?

Maybe you’re clapping for yourself because you’re glad you didn’t write that letter. So these words that admittedly seem ridiculous to you reflect a relationship with my wife, a relationship marked by adoration, affection, longing, ultimately love. And my simple question for every one of you this morning is this, “Do these words describe your relationship right now to Jesus?” Adoration, affection, longing, ultimately love.

And for the next few moments, I want to ask every single person in this stadium one simple question, not asking the person beside you in front of you or behind you, I’m asking every single one of you, “Does your heart belong to Jesus?” And if your heart does not resound with a loud yes to that question, then just so you know where this is all headed, at the end of the next few moments, I’m going to invite students and leaders across this stadium to stand where you are and say, “Today I am giving my heart to Jesus.” You say, “What does that mean? What does it mean for my heart to belong to Jesus?”

Well, let’s hear from Matthew chapter 26, verse 1. “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’ Then the chief priest and the elders of the people in the palace of the high priest whose name was Caiaphas, they gathered and they scheme to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ‘But not during the festival,’ they said, ‘or there may be a riot among the people.’ While Jesus was in Bethany, in the home of Simon the leper, A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ They asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.'”

“Aware of this, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you’ll always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.’ Then one of the 12, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priest and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’ So they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver. From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.” So imagine the scene. Religious leaders are conspiring to catch and kill Jesus. One disciple prepares to pedal Jesus for a paltry sum, while the other disciples have no clue what’s about to happen, even though Jesus has told them he’s about to die.

So they gather with others at Simon’s house where our attention is curiously drawn to a quiet woman. Matthew leaves her unnamed, uniquely enabling you and me to imagine ourselves in her shoes. Unlike the disciples, she realizes Jesus is about to die and she holds an alabaster flask, a very expensive perfume in her hands, worth about a year’s wages. So just imagine, a $50,000, a hundred thousand dollars flask of perfume. There’s a reason Matthew says “very expensive.” She takes it and trembling, she treads over toward Jesus. She stops by his side, he looks up at her, and in a moment, sure to shock the entire room, she removes the lid from the flask and starts pouring the perfume on his head. You can smell the fragrance as it fills the air and you can feel the awkward tension that accompanies it as drops of expensive oil now cascaded down Jesus’s face.

The disciples can’t stay quiet. “Why this waste?” They cry, shaming this woman who now stands in silence with nothing but an empty flask in her fingertips. “This ointment could have been sold for a lot of money. That money could have gone to help the poor. Just think of all the hungry who could have food, all the sick who could receive care, all the enslaved and oppressed who could be blessed. But instead, she wasted it, pouring it on his head.” And Jesus replies, “This is no waste. This,” Jesus says, “is beauty.”

Where the disciples assign shame, Jesus ascribes honor. “This woman has done a beautiful thing to me.” So what does that mean? Doesn’t Jesus care about justice? Doesn’t Jesus care about the poor, hungry, sick, enslaved, and oppressed? Absolutely, he does. That’s clear throughout Jesus’ life and ministry, including the scripture we studied this morning in Matthew chapter 25.

Selfless Love Springs From Supreme Love For God

But what’s clear here in Matthew chapter 26 is that selfless love for others springs from supreme love for God, a point that we are all prone to miss just like the disciples in this passage. Let me illustrate, when we think of social injustice today, we think of an issue like sex trafficking. Entire movements have risen among college students to combat the sale of men or women and children for sex around the world. And it’s right to fight injustice like this. It’s altogether right to stand for the enslaved. Yet at the same time, we go to conferences, listen to speakers, watch documentaries, and raise money across college campuses to help stop sex trafficking, almost 90% of college males and over 30% of college females are viewing pornography in dorms and apartments on computers, tablets, and phones, statistics that aren’t limited to secular campuses.

According to one recent study of evangelical Christian colleges, nearly 80% of male undergraduate students have viewed pornography in the last year, 60% of them view it every week. So need I remind us of the clear link between pornography and sex trafficking. Not only do all who indulge in pornography disregard Christ by degrading women and children, men made in his image, in the process they also create a demand for more prostitutes, which in turn promotes sex trafficking around the world.

Do we see the hypocrisy of our own hearts? There lies within us a capacity to convince ourselves that we’re fighting injustice when the reality is we’re fueling it. And you might be wondering, “What does this have to do with Matthew 26?” It has everything to do with Matthew 26. Whether it’s poverty or sex trafficking or any number of issues, there is something within each of us that is prone to passionately defend a cause while we personally disregard Christ. See it in these disciples, see it in yourself, myself, the subtle yet sinful propensity in all of us to advocate for justice while ignoring Jesus.

This woman in Matthew chapter 26 was not about to ignore Jesus. So what did she know that these disciples didn’t know that we need to know? So let’s put ourselves for a moment in her shoes and see two simple yet significant truths that this woman realized that every one of us in this room needs to realize. One, she realized the significance of Jesus’ death. She realized the significance of Jesus’ death. Matthew intentionally tells us this story in between a plot to kill Jesus and a plan to betray him. He introduces the whole story in verse two with Jesus’s own prediction that when the Passover comes, the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified, which is not the first time Jesus foretold this, a stunning reality when you look at Jesus in light of other religious leaders. Think about it with me. For every other religious leader in world history, their death was the tragic end of their story.

The focus in every other world religion is on their leader’s life and teachings, whoever it may be. But whether it was Muhammad dying at 62, Confucius at 72, the Buddha dying at 80, Moses dying at 120 years old, all of these leaders’ deaths marked the end of their mission. Not so with Jesus. No, with Jesus, it’s completely the opposite. Jesus was constantly talking about his death, anticipating his death, foretelling his death in such a way that the central symbol of Christianity for the last 2000 years has been what? A across, a place, a portrait of death. The entire story revolves around the reality that Jesus is about to die. And this woman realized the significance of this. She realized that Jesus’ death was not an unfortunate ending that he didn’t see coming. She realized Jesus’ death was the focal reason for which he came in the first place.

Why Did Jesus Come?

Remember the big picture story, why Jesus came. Since the creation of man and woman in the image of God, every one of us has rebelled against God. It looks different in each of our lives, but every one of us in this room has turned aside from God’s ways to our ways. We have all rebelled against our creator. This is the God who beckons storm clouds and they come, the God who tells the wind and the rain when to blow and where to fall and they do it immediately. The God who says to the mountains, “You go here,” and to the seas, “You stop there,” and they do it. Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the creator until you get to men and women and you and I have the audacity to look at him in the face and say, “No.” All of us have turned from God. We are guilty before God and we deserve judgment from God.

A politically correct, biblically illiterate culture and church balk at this idea, but it is crystal clear. We saw it in Matthew 25 this morning. Judgment is coming and eternal heaven and an eternal hell are real and it makes sense. God is good and holy and just, so when he comes to us in our sin, he cannot just pass over it. Some people say, “Well, God is loving. Why doesn’t he just forgive our sins?” But as soon as we ask this, we realize that God’s forgiveness of sinners is a threat to his character.

If God simply overlooks sin and acquits sinners, then he’s neither good nor just. If there was a courtroom judge today who knowingly acquitted guilty criminals, we would want that judge off the bench in a heartbeat. Why? Because he’s not just. Even as we decry unjust systems in our society today, we decry them because we expect justice and so with God. If God is just and we are guilty, then the question is no longer why it’s difficult for God to forgive sins. Instead, the question is how it’s possible for God to forgive sins.

And the only answer to that question is the death of Jesus Christ, which is why the cross of Jesus Christ is the climax of all history. God so loved a sinful world that he sent his son to die in our place for our sins. Christ came to endure the condemnation we deserve. He came to bear the holy wrath that we warrant. Jesus was born to die for sinners like you and me, which sounds like a somber story until you realize he didn’t stay dead for long. He rose from the dead. We’re not talking reincarnation, resuscitation, we’re talking resurrection. We’re not talking, “Went to heaven, came back, wrote a bestselling book about it.” We’re talking dead for three days, then walking around alive. This is the greatest news in all the world. Sin has been conquered, death has been defeated. An everlasting life is available to everyone in the world.

I’m not presuming to know all this woman in Matthew 26 knew about what Jesus’ death would mean, but I do know this. Her life is a clarion call to every single student and leader in this stadium to see the significance of Jesus’ death, which then leads to the second truth this woman realized that we all need to realize. She realized the significance of Jesus’ death and she realized the purpose of her life.

She realized the purpose of her life is to pour out her heart in sacrificial, selfless, satisfying devotion to Christ. We’re not talking here about some touchy-feely notion of giving your heart to Jesus. See this woman’s heart on display in what she does, in her sacrificial devotion, pouring out expensive perfume. This woman knows that love for Christ costs. She would’ve nothing to do with the half-hearted, lukewarm, comfortable, casual commitments to Christ so common in North American Christianity today.

Jesus Is Worthy Of Our Selfless Devotion

See her selfless devotion. It’s like she doesn’t care what this may mean for her, what others may say about her, or how others may respond to her. Oh, to all in this room for whom following Christ may mean rejection or reproach from family or friends, behold a crowd who stands ready to shame her and watch this humble unnamed woman walk right through the midst of them up to Jesus, risking who she is and what she owns, to pour out her offering on him in sacrificial, selfless, satisfying devotion. Ask the question why? Why does this woman do this? Why does this woman risk her reputation and pour out what was likely her most prized possession? The answer is simple yet profound. Why does she do it? Because she believes Jesus is worth it. Why does she take the risk? Because she knows that Jesus is her reward. She’s like another unnamed person.

Matthew chapter 13, verse 44, remember that quick story? A man walking in a field who one day stumbled upon a treasure hidden in that field that nobody else knew about. Man realized that this treasure was worth more than everything else he had put together. So what did he do? He covered up the treasure, he went back to town, and he sold everything he had. The text says, “With joy, he sold everything he had.” You can imagine people coming up to him saying, “What are you doing? Why are you selling everything you have?” He responds, “I’m going to buy that field over there.” They say, “You’re crazy. Are you going to buy that field over there?” And he smiles and he says, “I’ve got a hunch.” He smiles because inside he knows that he has found something that’s worth losing everything for.

Oh, students and leaders across this room, Jesus is someone worth losing everything for. Hear the voices of an unnamed man, an unnamed woman in Matthew crying out over all the marketers and messengers who are spending billions of dollars today to sell you the lie that the purpose of your life is to get these possessions or that position this to acclaim or that achievement. Hear this unnamed man and woman shouting to you, “Don’t buy it.

Jesus alone is worthy of your life.” He alone is worthy. Jesus is worthy of your unashamed, unrestrained, undivided, unadulterated devotion. Jesus is worthy of so much more than casual acceptance or nominal adherence. Hear this, he’s worthy of supreme adoration and total affection. In sum, Jesus is worthy of all your heart. So does he have it? Does your heart right where you are sitting belong to Jesus? I’m not asking you if you care for this cause or that cause. I’m asking an eternally more important question, “Do you care for Christ?”

Do You Care For Christ?

Consider John Wesley, one of the most influential preachers and leaders in Christian history. He graduated with honors from Oxford University and was ordained as a minister in the Church of England. His theology grounded in God’s word, his faith active in the world. He distributed food and clothing to families and orphans in slums. He regularly visited inmates in prisons and workhouses in London. He studied the Bible daily, diligently. He attended multiple worship services every Sunday in addition to other services all week long. He prayed and fasted regularly. He gave generously and sacrificially to the poor. He even moved as a missionary to what was then the British colony of Georgia to work among American Indians. Yet after all of that, Wesley came back to England, after serving as a missionary and he wrote in his journal, “I who went to America to convert others was never myself converted to God.”

He wasn’t a Christian. He went to college, studied the Bible, worshiped fast and prayed, preached, gave, moved overseas as a missionary, but he didn’t know Christ. And I share this illustration because I’m convinced that there are students across this stadium right now who are trying to manufacture a heart for missions, but you are missing a heart for Christ. I would even take that as… Stay silent with me for a minute. Just receive this. I would even take that a step further and say that I’m convinced that there are leaders across this room, student ministers, staff members right now who are trying to manufacture a heart for missions, but you’re missing heart for Christ. And I want to plead with you today, don’t miss him.

Missions was never intended to be your life. Christ is intended to be your life. Missions is the overflow of a life in love with Christ. See it here, because this woman pours out her heart in devotion to Jesus, he declares “Truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Oh, students and leaders, this is what matters. “This is what lasts. This is the beautiful life,” Jesus says. It may look like a waste according to this world, but this is the life that counts. It’s the life in love with Christ. So I ask you, is this your life?

Is Your Life Marked By Love For Christ?

Is your life marked by love for Christ? I’m not asking how involved you are in campus ministry or church. I’m not asking how many Bible studies you attend or lead. I’m not asking how many mission trips you have been on. I’m not even asking if you’ve recited a prayer at some point in your life. I’m asking you, does your heart belong to Jesus? And if your heart does not resound with a loud yes to that most important of all questions, then I want to invite you today for the first time to give him your heart.

Oh, how have I prayed for this moment right now and how I want to plead with you now, Urbana, don’t try to manufacture a heart for missions while missing a heart for Christ. So in just a moment, I’m going to invite students and leaders across the stadium to stand. If you would say today, for the first time, “I need, I want to give Jesus my heart.” Maybe you’ve known for a long time that you are not a Christian.

And right now in this holy moment, you are realizing the significance of Jesus’ death for you. Today you’re realizing the purpose of your life is to turn from your sin and yourself and to trust in Jesus as your savior and Lord. In just a moment, I’m going to invite you to stand and in your standing to say, “Today and from this day forward, I pour out my life in sacrificial, selfless, satisfying devotion to Christ.” Or maybe you’re like John Wesley who was a student, a leader. And right now in this holy moment, the spirit of God is opening your eyes to the reality that you have missed the point. You’ve been busy in religious activity for Christ devoid of relational intimacy with Christ. And today you would say, “Enough, I need, I want a real personal relationship with Jesus. Far before I want to work for him, I want to worship him. More than I want to change the world for Jesus, I just want Jesus. I want to pour out my life in sacrificial, selfless, satisfying devotion to him.”

So regardless of who you are, all cross this stadium, I’m going to ask you to stand. If you would say today, “For the first time, I’m giving my heart to Jesus.” And when you stand, there are ushers spread across this stadium with these glow sticks. And they’re going to come to you and they’re going to hand you one of these. I’m going to invite you to break it and in the darkness of this room to hold it up. And that light in your hand is going to shine in this stadium as a picture of a heart being poured out to Christ for the first time. As lights go on across this room, every one of them will tell the story of a student or leader who is deciding today that Jesus is worthy of their heart and life.

An Invitation To Accept The Gospel

So I want to invite you, right now, if for the first time you would say, “With this unnamed woman, I realize the significance of Jesus’ death for me, I realize the purpose of my life is to pour it out in devotion to him. I want to give Jesus my heart,” then I invite you to stand where you are right now. Jesus, some people might say it’s a lot of risk standing in front of a stadium like this full of people. Hear the testimony of an unnamed woman in Matthew chapter 26 saying, “The reward is worth it. Jesus is someone worth losing everything for.” So here’s what we’re going to do. People standing all across this room, in the bottom of this stadium, there is a room full of people who want to pray with you, encourage you, celebrate God’s grace in you, give you some resources to serve you in the days ahead.

So in just a moment, I’m going to ask everybody in the stadium to stand in just a moment. When that happens, I’m going to invite those of you with glow sticks to grab your things, if you want a friend to come with you, and make your way down to Entry A in the bottom level of this arena. Ushers will help guide you there to Entry A to help you get to the correct room where, again, people are going to be waiting. They want to encourage you, pray with you, give you some resources. So at this point, let me ask everybody, I think we have a reason for altogether standing and worshiping in this room right now. Let’s join with some new brothers and sisters in Christ as they start to make their way toward Entry A.

As they start to make their way toward Entry A, I want to challenge the rest of us today. It may be that in reading this story this morning, some of you who may already have a relationship with Christ may have realized that your heart has grown distant from him in this way or that way. You’ve wandered from intimacy with him. And if that’s you, I just want to invite you to return to him. He loves you so much. He desires intimacy with you.

And maybe there’s some confession of sin that needs to take place in your heart. Maybe there’s a deeper level of surrender that needs to take place in your life. Maybe you need to go down to Entry A as well with these others who are making their way there. People there would love to pray with you, encourage you. Whether it’s going to that room, maybe it’s praying where you are alone or with people around you, or maybe just singing to him with all your heart.

Let’s take the next couple of moments to simply do whatever we need to do to express affection, adoration, longing, and ultimately love for Christ in each one of our lives.