Can you believe we are here? Passion Week.

Mark slows way down. Every scene carries weight.

Exodus 12 is in the background—the Lamb, the blood, judgment passing over.

And now the true Lamb is just days from being slain.

In this passage, Mark gives us three postures toward Jesus.

Not random stories. Not disconnected moments.

Three different responses that reveal how we truly value Christ.

In this sermon we walk through:

1) The Critic – Close to Jesus, but cold in heart. Calculating. Evaluating worship through efficiency. Resistant to costly devotion.

2) The Worshiper – Breaking the jar. Pouring it all out. Not measured. Not strategic. Just love. Jesus calls it “beautiful.”

3) The Self-Seeker – Same week. Same Jesus. Different heart. While one pours, another negotiates.

Then we circle back and ask the deeper questions:

1. We do what we love.

2. We give to what we value.

3. We only serve one Master.

This text isn’t ultimately about ointment.

It’s about allegiance.

The critic protects himself.

The worshiper pours out to Jesus.

The self-seeker sells.

And here’s the grace:

The One who is betrayed still goes to the cross.

For critics.

For self-seekers.

For imperfect worshipers.

Lord, You are worthy.

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In this message from Mark 12:35–44, Jesus stops debating His opponents and begins teaching His disciples—and in doing so, He exposes a gap that can exist between what we know and how we live.

After a long day of confrontation in the temple, Jesus turns His attention to the hearts of those listening. He warns about religious leaders whose faith is visible but not dependent, impressive but not obedient. Their knowledge of Scripture never leads to trust in God.

Then, in quiet contrast, Jesus points to a poor widow who gives everything she has. Her offering isn’t flashy or celebrated, but it is marked by dependence. In the middle of a broken system, her faith still dares to trust God.

The big idea of this passage is simple and searching: faith is measured by faithful follow-up. Right understanding of who Christ is leads to worship, obedience, and surrender—not performance or control.

In this sermon, we consider two profiles:

Disciplined minds with faithless actions

Dependent hearts with faithful response

Jesus uses money as the example not because it is everything, but because it reveals what we trust, what we fear losing, and where we find security.

The question this passage presses on us is not merely, How much do you know?

It is, How much do you trust God?

We pray that God would expose the gap between belief and action, free us from performative faith, and teach us to live with dependent hearts that trust Him with all that we have.

Scripture: Mark 12:35–44 (ESV)

Big Idea: Faith is measured by faithful follow-up

We’re back in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus continues to reveal His authority — in His teaching, His miracles, and His call to respond. In Mark 12:1–12, Jesus tells a parable that brings everything into focus: God is patient, the Son is rejected, and yet God’s plan cannot be stopped. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Each of us must answer the question — What will you do with Jesus?