John 12:1-11

AN ACT OF LOVEWITH OMINOUS OVERTONES

Text 12:1-11

1

Jesus therefore six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead.

2

So they made him a supper there: and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him.

3

Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

4

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that should betray him, saith,

5

Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor?

6

Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein.

7

Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying.

8

For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.

9

The common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there: and they came, not for Jesus-' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

10

But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death;

11

because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

Queries

a.

Why did Mary do such an extravagant thing?

b.

What motive was behind Judas-' proposal (John 12:5)?

c.

What is the meaning of Jesus-' answer (John 12:7-8)?

Paraphrase (and harmony) [1]

Friday afternoon, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany which is just outside of Jerusalem. Lazarus, the beloved friend whom Jesus had raised from the dead, was living here with his sisters, Mary and Martha. There, in the house of one of the faithful disciples, Simon the leper, they made a supper for Jesus out of love and gratitude to Him. And the resurrected Lazarus was one of those who reclined at the table with Jesus. Martha, as usual, was cooking and serving.
Sometime during the supper Mary approached Jesus with an alabaster jar containing a pound of very rare and costly perfume. Deliberately she broke the neck off the jar and began to pour the ointment upon Jesus-' head. Then she poured the last of the ointment upon His feet and wiped the excess from His feet with her hair. The perfume was very precious and expensive and thus highly fragrant; so fragrant that its odor filled the whole house.
Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus-' disciples (the one who was later to betray Him for money), stirred up the other disciples, saying, Why all this waste? This perfume could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor. And so all the disciples began to reproach her. Judas, however, did not say this because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the general funds of the twelve disciples and was stealing from them continually. Jesus replied, Leave her alone! Why are you troubling her? She has done a beautiful deed to me. You are not to criticize her for thus having kept this treasure with which to anoint me. You always have the poor with you and there are always opportunities to good for them. But you will not always have opportunity to perform loving deeds for me, for you will not always have me with you as I am now with you and need your loving concern. Mary, realizing that I will soon be departing in death, has shown her love for me before my departure by preparing my body for burial with this anointment. And I say to you most emphatically that, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what Mary has done will be told in memory of her great love for me and faith in me.
When the great crowd of the Jews gathered for the Passover heard that Jesus was in Bethany many of them came to Bethany. They came, not only because Jesus was there, but also to see Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So it was, then, that the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus, along with Jesus, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting the rulers to follow Jesus.
[1] Note: We have taken the liberty of harmonizing John's account of Mary's anointing with those of Matthew and Mark in our paraphrase in order that the reader may receive the full beauty and significance of it.

Summary

On His way to the final and tragic last Passover, Jesus pays a last visit with certain of His beloved friends in Bethany. Out of their love for Him they prepare a supper for Him. Mary, the devoted and discerning one, spontaneously expresses her adoration by anointing Jesus with very expensive perfume. Judas agitates the other disciples to criticize her, wishing he could have gotten control of the money represented by the perfume. Jesus commends her and predicts that her deed will be memorialized. The multitudes flock out to see both Jesus and Lazarus, the dead man returned to life, and the rulers plan to kill both Lazarus and Jesus.

Comment

We have already discussed incidents which take place in the interval of time between Chapter s eleven and twelve (see the introduction to chapter twelve and Map #6, John 10:11-21). Although this anointing does not occur exactly within the last week, for convenience-' sake we have placed it on our map of the last week (cf. Map #7, John 14:25-31).

Jesus probably arrived in Bethany on Friday afternoonthe Friday of the week before the last Passover week. We believe He arrived Friday because we count backward six days before Thursday (excluding Thursday). Thursday happened to be the 14th of Nisan for this particular Passover (the day on which the lamb was slain and eaten) and we reckon this as the day upon which the Passover began. Furthermore, we believe that Jesus would, at this time, make a point of not traveling on the Sabbath. The Sabbath began, according to the Jews, Friday night just after sunset and upon the appearance of the first three stars in the heavens. Although as R. C. Foster says, There is never a single instance in the N. T. where it is affirmed Jesus obeyed this tradition (of not traveling over seven-eighths of a mile on the Sabbath), we think He must have exercised a cautious expediency here that the Jewish rulers not be any more agitated than they were. He had just before (11ff54) withdrawn from sharply antagonistic environments to avoid precipitous clashes with the rulers. And so it seems most probable to us that Jesus hurried to arrive in Bethany Friday afternoon to avoid breaking the Sabbath tradition and provoking the rulers before He might have an opportunity to rest.

Arriving late in the afternoon Jesus finds that some of His closest friends have gathered at the home of Simon the leper and are there preparing a supper in His honor. It is the other gospel writers that tell us the supper was held in the home of Simon (cf. Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9). Simon's leprosy, whether present or past, seems so incidental that the gospel writers do not bother to inform us. We assume that he had been previously healed by Jesus. The gospel writers do inform us that Lazarus, the one whom Jesus had raised from the dead, was there, and that his sister Martha served and his other sister Mary gave Jesus a very costly gift. All of this indicates the supper and was being expressed by all present in their own way and gratitude on the part of Lazarus and his sisters and perhaps on the part of Simon.

The word therefore in John 12:3 gives us a hint into the spontaneity of Mary's deed. The spirit of love and gratitude that pervaded the suppe rand was being expressed by all present in their own way was dwelling also in the heart of Mary. What could she do to express her gratefulness to Jesusshe was not as good at cooking and serving as Martha. Suddenly she thought of the very precious and expensive perfume which she had purchased for use at the Master's burial. The Greek word used here is nardou (nord) which is a fragrant oil, procured from the stem of a plant that grows in India. One pound of it, due to its genuine (pistikes) essence and the great distance from which it was imported, was worth three hundred denarii (cf. John 12:5) (about $51.00 then, or, multiplied by 100, about $5,100 now) which is about a year's wages!

According to both Matthew and Mark, she began to pour the precious litran murou (Greek for litre of myrrh) upon the Lord's head. This was usually the extent of customary anointing. Yet, so John supplements the synoptics, she used the entire pound (a large amount of perfume) and anointed His feet also. Abandoning the proprieties of the day, she let her hair down in public and wiped the excess of the ointment from Jesus-' feet. It was bad enough to violate the custom of the day and loosen her tresses in public, but to wipe a man's feet with it was unthinkable! Her love and gratitude was uninhibited and unreserved indeed! She gave, not a part, but all of her treasure. She would not cease until she had also laid her pride and honor at His feet in worship and adoration.

One can well imagine why perfume of such quality and quantity is described as filling the entire house with its fragrance. If Judas and the others had not seen Mary's deed, they certainly would have known when the jar was broken and its contents poured out. Perhaps it was the fragrance of the nard that caused Judas to estimate its value.

Whereas the two other gospel writers tell us that all the disciples were indignant and complained of what they called waste, John informs us that Judas was the instigator of the murmuring. Judas had persuaded the others to criticize Mary as being extravagantly wasteful. He even suggested that the money should have been given to the poor. But Judas was not at all interested in the poor! He was interested in Judas. He was the treasurer for the general fund of the Master and His twelve disciples. It seems that good people everywhere were eager to help Jesus in His ministry (cf. Luke 8:1-3) or, through Him and His disciples, give their alms to the poor. Judas was appointed treasurer of the little band. It is recorded here by John that Judas was stealing from the purse all the while he was keeping it. He allowed his heart to be obsessed with the inordinate desire for moneythat was all his mind dwelt on. The very moment Mary began to anoint Jesus with the precious perfume, Judas began to estimate the value of the perfume and enviously criticize because he had no opportunity to get his hands on the money. We wonder why Jesus, knowing Judas to be a thief all along, allowed him to continue as the treasurer. Why does the Lord allow men to go on stubbornly in their own willful ways todaywhy does He not strike them dead as He did Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-42)? For the same reason He allowed Judas to continue. He is longsuffering toward all men, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Judas was given a superabundance of grace and divine motivation to change, but he would not. Judas was not forced to steal. He was given every opportunity to exercise his free will to choose between good and evil, He simply chose to sell his soul to the devil for a few pieces of money. Judas was not only a thief, but he was a hypocrite. He pretended to be concerned for the welfare of the poor when he was not the least interested in them. Judas is not only criticizing Mary but is pointing his innuendo at Jesus, also, inferring that Jesus is allowing to be lavished upon Himself what should have been given to the poor. It is the way of sinners, should each of us admit it, to seek to justify one's own sins by finding fault with another (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:12).

Jesus rebukes the disciples for their carping at Mary. Mark reports that Jesus ordered them, Leave her alone. Both Matthew and Mark report Him as saying, Why do you trouble her? The phrase, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying, probably means, Do not criticize her and destroy her happiness but allow her the joy of knowing that the purpose for which she has kept this precious ointment, the anointing of my body for burial, is now being accomplished. Jesus certainly did not mean that she was to be allowed to keep part of it for a later anointing of His dead body, for she did not keep any of it, but broke the jar and poured it all out upon Him here.

Evidently, Mary had purchased this costly perfume for the very purpose of preparing the Lord's body for burial. The plain predictions Jesus Himself made concerning His death (cf. Matthew 16:21; Matthew 20:17; Mark 10:32-33; Luke 18:31-34; John 7:33; John 8:21-23; John 10:11; John 10:17-18) and the very evident hostility of the Jewish rulers gave Mary cause to expect His death soon. The other two gospel writers tell us that Jesus said she was anointing His body beforehand for burial. Perhaps she felt, in view of the hostility of the rulers, she would be unable to perform the loving deed of caring for His body after deathso she would throw propriety to the winds and perform this beautiful deed upon Him now before His death.

The second part of the Lord's reply is also interesting. Mark records it this way, For ye have the poor always with you, and whensoever ye will ye can do them good but me ye have not always. Jesus would not always be with them in the fleshbut while He was with them in the flesh He desired their companionship, their support and their loving concern as He faced the horror of the cross. There would always be opportunities to help the poor, but there would only be a few opportunities to help the Son of God bear the burden of the cross. Yes, He would be with them always, even after His death by His Spirit, but during His earthly ministry He was with them in a special dispensation and needed their fellowship in a special way. As Hendriksen puts it, He is telling them that just now anointing him in anticipation of His burial is more important than the care of the poor. It is always correct to worship and adore Jesusit is never out of place. No gift given to Him is ever too extravagant. As one writer has said, Where Jesus is anointed the poor will never suffer. If all the Judases would become Marys the Lord's church could take care of the poor.
How the disciples must have regretted their actions here in later days. How they must have felt the shame of criticizing Mary when they themselves allowed these precious opportunities of showing loving concern pass by. All are guilty of itespecially Christians.
There is a story about Thomas Carlyle which illustrates this so very well. Thomas Carlyle loved Jane Welsh Carlyle, but he was a cross-tempered, irritable creature and he never made life happy for her. She died very unexpectedly one day. A biographer tells us of Carlyle's feelings when he lost her. He was looking through her papers, her notebooks and journals and old scenes came mercilessly back to him in the vistas of mournful memory. In his long sleepless nights, he recognized too late what she had felt and suffered under his childish irritabilities. His faults rose up in remorseless judgment, and as he had thought too little of them before, so now he exaggerated them to himself in his helpless repentance. -Oh!-' he cried again and again, -if I could see her but once more, were it but for five minutes, to let her know that I always loved her through all that. She never did know it, never.-' There is a time for doing and for saying things; and, when that time is past, they can never be said and they can never be done, My friend, is this you? Is it me? Are we like the carping, childish disciples letting golden opportunities to worship and serve the Lord slip by, or are we like the devoted and faithful Mary, giving ourselves and our treasures extravagantly, unreservedly out of our deep love for His salvation. If you have something to do for the Lord that you are putting offdo it today!

This anointing by Mary certainly expressed a greater comprehension and understanding of the Lord's teaching on her part than the disciples manifested. When He plainly predicted His death to them they refused to believe Him. They stumbled at the idea of a cross for their Messiah (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23). But Mary believed Him and did what she could to express her loving concern.

Matthew and Mark tell us Jesus promised that Mary would be memorialized throughout the world because of her deed of faith and love. And indeed she has been, for her story, as John recorded it, has been told in the four corners of the earth and men and women have been drawn to Christ through it.
Great numbers of the pilgrims going up to the Feast of Passover and of those already in Jerusalem learned that Jesus the miracle worker and Lazarus, object of His most astounding miracle, were in Bethany. So they came, in great numbers, to see both of these men whose names and deeds were on the lips of the hundreds of thousands gathered for the feast. They were intensely interested, as one might imagine, in seeing and, if possible, talking to Lazarus who had been called back from the realm of the dead. You would be that interested, tooespecially if the former dead man had been restored to life by one claiming to be Messiah, King, Saviour. There before their eyes stood irrefutable proof to substantiate Jesus-' claims.
Word of the swelling tide of popularity toward Jesus and the increasing following He was gaining quickly reached the ears of the chief priests. Immediately they met in their council-chambers and made plans to kill Lazarus just as they had before put into action their plan to kill Jesus. The evidence presented for Jesus by the presence of a living Lazarus was so powerful that great multitudes of the common people were aligning themselves with Jesus. The rulers could see only one solutionkill Lazarus and get rid of the evidence. As Bro. Seth Wilson puts it, Can you imagine trying to kill a man (Lazarus) who will not stay dead? Lazarus has been dead onceusually enough for most menbut now he is alive again and the chief priests plan to put him to death again!
The same procedure is used, in a less violent manner, by the enemies of Christianity today. Rather than surrender to the overwhelming quantity and irrefutable quality of evidence for Christ and His claims, unbelievers spend fortunes and talents of a lifetime trying to discredit the evidence.
Before closing this section we quote a few outlines of this anointing by various authors:

Reasons for recording this? by R. C. Foster

(1)

It was an extraordinary example of supreme devotion to Jesus.

(2)

The particular fitness of the event (preparation for burial).

(3)

It offers explanation for the fall of Judas (cf. Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11). (Matthew and Mark introduce the anointing where they do, out of chronological order, for the purpose of giving a connected account of the conduct of Judas.) (All parentheses mine.)

Mary's Noble Act by Wm. Hendriksen

I.

Its Character.

A.

It was prompted by thankfulness. love answered love.

B.

It was unique in its understandingness.

C.

It was regal in its lavishness.

D.

It was beautiful in its timeliness. Now was the proper time for Mary's noble act.

II.

Its Evaluation.

A.

By Judas: To what purpose is this waste? (Matthew 26:8)

B.

By Jesus: She has performed a noble deed (a beautiful work, Mark 14:6).. what this woman has done will be told for a memorial of her (Matthew 26:13).

In this action of Mary we see three things about love.

by Wm. Barclay.

(a)

We see love's extravagance.

(b)

We see love's humility.

(c)

We see love's entire unselfconsciousness.

Quiz

1.

Upon what day did Jesus most probably arrive in Bethany? Why?

2.

What is nard? Where does it come from? How expensive was the jar of nard which Mary had purchased?

3.

What is the significance of the fact that Mary anointed both His head and His feet? What is the significance of Mary's wiping the feet of Jesus with her hair?

4.

Was Judas the only one who objected to the anointing? Why did he criticize? What was the bag that Judas carried?

5.

Jesus knew that Judas was stealingwhy allow him to continue with the band of disciples?

6.

Why did Jesus say, ... but me ye have not always.?

7.

Why did the chief priests plan to kill Lazarus?