INTRODUCTION

There has been a lot of activity, between John 11:54-55, none of which is mentioned by John. I think it would be useful to highlight some of those missing events.

1. Healing of the ten lepers, Luke 17:11-17.

2. The parables of the widow and the judge and the Pharisee and the tax collector, Luke 18:1-14.

3. Teaching on divorce, Matthew 19:1-12 / Mark 10:1-12.

4. Blessing little children, Matthew 19:13-15.

5. The rich young ruler, Matthew 19:16-30.

6. The parable of the wicked tenants, Matthew 21:33-46.

7. The healing of Bartimaeus and another, Matthew 20:29-34.

8. Meeting with Zacchaeus, the parable of the pounds, journey to Jerusalem, Luke 19:1-28.

Here in John 12, we have the last public words and deeds of Jesus. In John 13-17 we read about Jesus’ private conversations with the apostles and in John 18 we read about His betrayal, arrest and trials.

In John 12:1-11 we find the same incident recorded in Matthew 26:6-13 / Mark 14:3-9.

As we approach this text, many people make the mistake of mixing this Simon, with the Simon we find in Luke’s account in Luke 7:36-50. The Simon referred to here in Mathew’s account is the Simon who had been cured of leprosy, and possibly out of thankfulness hosted a dinner in his home in honour of Jesus.

Robertson, in his commentary, says the following.

‘This anointing has nothing in common with that given by Luke, except the fact of a woman anointing the Saviour’s feet, and the name Simon, which was common. The former was in Galilee; this is at Bethany near Jerusalem. There the host despised the woman who anointed; here, her brother is one of the guests, and her sister an active attendant. There the woman was a sinner, a notoriously bad woman; here it is the devout Mary who ‘sat at the Lord’s feet and heard his words,’ months before. There the host thought it strange that Jesus allowed her to touch him; here the disciples complained of the waste. There the Saviour gave assurance of forgiveness, here of perpetual and world-wide honour. Especially notice that here the woman who anoints is anticipating his speedy death and burial, of which at the former time he had never distinctly spoken. In view of all these differences, it is absurd to represent the two anointings as the same, and outrageous on such slender grounds to cast reproach on Mary of Bethany.’

JESUS ANOINTED AT BETHANY

‘Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.’ John 12:1-11

Here in John 12:1, we find some confusion over the timing. Matthew 26:2 and Mark 16:1 suggest that this occurred at different times. It may have been that Jesus arrived on Friday but the dinner took place on Tuesday.

Jesus returns from Ephraim to Bethany after spending some time there. This coming Passover would occur after His death on the cross but before His resurrection. Jesus was walking into danger and the rulers were determined to kill Him, John 11:53.

He was going deliberately to His death, Mark 10:32-34. The rulers didn’t want to arrest Him during the feast, Matthew 26:4-5, but He over-ruled their plans.

Now the ‘supper’ is the main meal, usually in the evening and it was a dinner in Jesus’ honour. It was in the house of Simon the leper, Matthew 26:6 / Mark 14:1, probably one whom Jesus had healed. Assuming Simon was host, there were 15 men present, Simon, Jesus, the twelve and Lazarus, and Martha ‘served’, John 12:2 / Luke 10:40.

Jesus has the opportunity to spend some last moments with the people He loves, His good friends Lazarus and the sisters. These must have been very precious moments for the Lord as He knew His time was drawing closer. It seems likely that a four-day gap occurred between John 12:1 and John 12:2.

Mary is mentioned, John 12:3, but in Matthew and Mark she isn’t named. She took ‘a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume,’, John 12:3, its value was around 300 denarii which is equal to 300 days’ wages for a working man, John 12:5 / Matthew 20:2.

The nard that Mary used is better known as spikenard, an expensive perfume imported from India. It was far more expensive than the ordinary man in the street could ever hope to be able to afford, and it is possible that this had been a much-prized possession of the woman. It was highly scented and was normally used on the hair as a perfume and oil together.

She ‘anointed the feet of Jesus’, John 12:3. Matthew 26:7 and Mark 14:3 tell that she anointed His head also. Anointing the head was a way of honouring a special guest, Psalm 23:5 / Luke 7:46.

John recalls that Mary’s loving act went beyond the customary practice, John 12:3. A respectable Jewish woman wouldn’t let down her hair in public because in doing so, she might be regarded as a woman of loose morality but Mary was forgetful of propriety under the compulsion of love.

This was the second time something such as this had happened to the Lord, Luke 7:38, and it was a great act of humility for Mary to wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair as the washing of feet was normally done by a servant.

The fact that John was present is proven by him remembering the strong scent filling the house, John 12:3. Note that each time we meet Mary in the narrative we find her at the feet of Jesus, we see that here, and in Luke 10:39 / John 11:32.

In John 12:4-6 we see Judas Iscariot objects to the ‘wasting’ of this expensive perfume. At first glance we may even have some sympathy for Judas as the poor of the region would have benefited greatly from the money to be made by selling the perfume.

However, Mary’s act is an act of love towards her Master and Mary had her priorities right she could have sold it and given the money to the poor. She chose instead to use it to anoint Jesus and seized an opportunity she would never have again.

It was a personal expression of her true feelings and her thanks for the raising of her brother Lazarus just a few weeks earlier, John 11:38-44. When we examine the motive behind Judas’ apparent indignation, one sees a rather sad picture.

John the author, explains that Judas was the treasurer of the group and was guilty of stealing the pennies, John 12:6. He wanted the money in the bag so he could help himself to a portion of it.

Jesus demands total honesty from His followers and here, amid the group of believers is this thief. Judas, the man who was to sell the Lord for thirty pieces of silver was already guilty, Matthew 26:14-16.

The lesson to be learnt here is interesting, anyone, given the responsibility of keeping the ‘church finds’ needs to calculate the spending without error. They must keep unquestionable account of all entrusted to them and they must be unscrupulously honest, ready to give account at all times.

A hint toward balance is given in John 12:7-8. We must balance our giving as individuals as well as a church and we need to ensure we don’t squander the Lord’s money on trivialities such as expensive gardens and excessive buildings and decorations while people around the building are starving either physically or spiritually. Balance in all things is always demanded of the Christian.

Mary was being criticized by Judas, and if we seek the parallel account in the Gospels, by the other disciples present, Jesus comes to her rescue.

‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial’, John 12:7. Mary believed that Jesus was soon to meet His end and she knew she wouldn’t have the opportunity to show her love by being involved with the preparation of His body, so symbolically she did it now.

Nothing can take away from the great love that this act expressed to our Lord. Mary had taken her opportunity to express her love. Jesus was soon to depart, the poor were always present to give an expression of love, John 12:8, but alas, Jesus did not. Jesus said that this act of love would be her memorial wherever the Gospel was preached, Matthew 26:13 / Mark 14:9.

‘The great crowd’, John 12:9, refers to those mentioned in John 11:55-56. Hearing of His arrival in Bethany obviously, His coming to the feast, they go to see Jesus and Lazarus, John 12:9. The latter is living proof of the power of Jesus, and not surprisingly ‘many were going away and believing in Jesus’, John 12:11.

The chief priests saw a developing mass movement in support of Jesus, John 12:11 / John 1:45, and so, they plotted ‘to put Lazarus also to death’, John 12:10. He was a double embarrassment to the Sadduceean Chief Priests. He was a living demonstration of Jesus’ divine power, and a demonstration of the falsity of Sadduceean teaching, Acts 4:1ff.

Conclusion

When Mary anointed Jesus, it was a beautiful act of love in service for her Master, and just as Christ said, Matthew 26:13 / Mark 14:9, we still speak about her act of love today. This is just one of the things she will be always remembered for, but what about us today? What will people remember about us when we go to be with the Lord?

I’ve often say and believe this with all my heart that I could preach a hundred of the best sermons you’ve ever heard preached and most people would forget them within a few days or weeks or months.

But if I were to do one act of kindness for someone, Matthew 10:42, they would remember that one act of kindness all the days of their lives.

Some people will be remembered for their Bible knowledge, some will be remembered because they were great preachers of God’s Word, some will be remembered as great cooks or bakers.

Some as great singers, great hosts but then there will always be some Mary’s around, who lovingly serve the Lord without making a song and dance about it. Those little acts of love speak louder than words. What will you be remembered for doing!

You can always tell its election time in the UK as the political parties begin to promise many good things to come, especially for the poor. In our world today, there are many countries who are really poverty struck, we read about it in the newspaper and see it in front of our eyes on the TV screen. We only have to walk down our city centres to see the hundreds of homeless people sleeping rough on the streets.

I guess the question is, what are we doing about it? What are we doing to help these people? We will always have the poor among us which means there will always be an opportunity for us to help meet some of those needs, Deuteronomy 15:11 / Mark 14:7 / John 12:8 / Galatians 2:10.