“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up
from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They
were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple,
“What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?” Now the chief
priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he
should let them know, so that they might arrest Him.
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to
Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a
dinner for Him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining
with Him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from
pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The
house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of
His disciples (he who was about to betray Him), said, “Why was this ointment
not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not
because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of
the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said,
“Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For the
poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.”” (John
11:55–12:8, ESV)
We are now into the last week. Passover was coming close. The
people had begun the pilgrimage from their homes to Jerusalem in order to
purify themselves before the Passover. The whole nation was readying itself for
this special time of their year. And with that preparation came the expectation
that Jesus would again return to Jerusalem with all of the other Jewish males.
They were on the watch for Him. The people were instructed to be on the alert
and notify them if anyone saw Him. Truly the time for the big clash was about
to happen, and anticipation was high.
Sure enough, six days before the Passover Jesus left the
wilderness area of Ephraim in order to return to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus’
home in Bethany just a couple of miles from Jerusalem. This sixth day was most likely
Saturday, the day before we read that He triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Happy
to see Him they gave a dinner for Him there. Again, Martha was busy serving
them while Lazarus reclined with Him at the table. This was a last moment of
rest before everything would quickly change. This was the last night before
Jesus made His public entrance and was recognized by the whole nation. It was
the last night before people would go from bowing before Him to turning on Him
and demanding His crucifixion. It was a time with friends, and they were
enjoying one another. The sisters who so deeply loved him along with their
brother who He had previously raised from the dead all embraced Him fully on
that night.
It was as they were reclining that several pieces of the final
plan were put into motion. The first piece unfolded when Mary took a pound of a
very expensive ointment which we read was from pure nard and began to anoint
His feet and then wipe them with her own hair. Imagine the scene as she
lovingly massaged this ointment into His feet that had traveled so far for this
time and then as she tenderly wiped His feet with her own hair. Everyone there
must have had their eyes fixed on this and they all were taking in the scene.
Mary had taken this expensive and special ointment and freely and delicately
rubbed the feet of her Lord. This is what “anoint” means and this is what she
did. It was a special act done by her showing her regard for Him, and there was
no cost that she would not gladly pay in order to do this. The expense of the
nard was not a barrier, nor did it give her pause to think what better might
have been done with the money. This was truly a high tribute flowing from her
love and devotion.
The next piece that began to fall into place was the
response of one of the observers—one of the twelve, one of Jesus’ chosen
disciples. Judas responded to this with revolt. He criticized the action
pointing to how this very expensive nard could have been sold for 300 denarii
and the money given to the poor. Three hundred denarii was a big deal to them.
For many of the common laborers it would have amounted to a whole year’s wages,
and here Mary was wasting it on feet. What a noble thought? How thoughtful
Judas was toward the poor? Hogwash!! Judas did not care about the poor. Judas
cared about his own pocketbook. We read in this passage that Judas was the
keeper of the money bag and he had been embezzling from it. He had been
stealing from it for his own gain, and if Mary had sold the nard and given the
money to them to distribute to the needy then he would have had access to that
money as well. Of course, this was no surprise to Jesus. He already knew this
as we read earlier in John. But in the Father’s timing Judas rebellion had not
yet been revealed and maybe not even come to a head until this moment when his
true colors began to surface before everyone else.
Jesus told Judas to back off, to leave her alone. He said
that what she had left was to serve another purpose. Mary was to be able to
keep the ointment until it was used again at His burial. We already know that
when Jesus called for Lazarus’ tomb to be opened that they were reluctant
because of the stench that would burst out. It was not uncommon to cover bodies
in expensive perfumes at the time of their burial in order to mask these
smells.
These ointments were a key part aspect pointing to the real
reason that Jesus came. Even in Matthew chapter 2 when the wise men came to see
him they brought with them gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). When
Jesus hung on the cross a drink of wine and myrrh was offered to Him in order
to deaden the pain (Mark 15:23). And when Nicodemus joined Joseph of Arimathea
to prepare Him for burial, Nicodemus brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about seventy-five pounds in weight.” (John 19:39, ESV) Jesus told them to let
Mary keep the ointment, setting it aside for the time when it would be prepared
for use on His body at His burial.
While this Mary was not specifically identified as going to
the tomb on the Sunday of His resurrection (the first day of the week), we read
in Luke that the ladies had indeed prepared ointments for Him. “It was the day
of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with Him
from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they
returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested
according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn,
they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.” (Luke 23:54–24:1,
ESV)
Truly, as Jesus had said the time of His death
was close. The poor were going to be around for as long as man exists in this
place, but He was here for a specific period of time and that time was at hand.
And without Christ neither the poor nor the rich had any hope for life. Mary,
and Martha, and Nicodemus cherished the time they had with Him, and I don’t
think they took a single day for granted.
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