MARY ANOINTS JESUS AT BETHANY – JOHN 12:1-8 Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all things and Master Teacher, we humbly come into Your presence to seek Your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to these Holy Scriptures. We earnestly pray for enlightenment as we study together, and we ask You, Father, to open our eyes to see the truths contained in these words. Open our minds to comprehend that which we are reading, and open our hearts to receive the message that You have for us. Finally, dear Father, we ask for the strength and courage to live our lives in a manner of the called, constantly giving You the glory, honor, and praise that You deserve. We claim these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. In the final week before He would be pinned to the Cross, Jesus went to Bethany, about two miles outside the city of Jerusalem, to the house of His friends. John 12:2, 3 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Jesus taught us that whenever two or three gather in His name, He would be in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). And here, in this house in Bethany, we see the components of the church in the three who opened their house to Him as we observe Martha working, Lazarus witnessing, and Mary worshiping. Martha Working This is the same Martha who, a few months previously, said, “Lord, tell my sister to get in here in the kitchen and give me a hand.” “Martha, you’re troubled by many things,” Jesus had said. “One thing is needful, but you’re striving and stressing and troubled about many things” (see Luke 10:41). The same is true of us. How often we are so busy, but not very blessed. People come to simply spend time with us, but we make fancy desserts, vacuum the carpets, wash the windows, mow the lawn, sweep the walks—and by the time they get there, we have a headache and want them to leave. “One thing I desired, Martha,” said Jesus, “sitting at My feet, Mary has chosen better.” Martha evidently learned this lesson, because now, several months later, the scene is repeated again. Martha is still working—only this time it’s not for one guest, but for seventeen: Jesus, His disciples, Simon (mentioned in Luke’s account), Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Martha’s still in the kitchen—but this time she’s not complaining. Good for her. Certain of you are workers by nature, Martha-like in your mind-set. That’s good, as long as you’re not complaining and striving, feeling obligated, burned-out, or hassled. If you can work joyfully as unto the Lord, great! The body of Christ desperately needs Marthas. I thank the Lord for the Marthas who serve joyfully, helping people practically. If such is your role, I commend you. Lazarus Witnessing Although Lazarus never speaks a word, he’s a major witness. Jesus would be doing the teaching, the speaking, and the sharing. But Lazarus was the proof of the pudding (verse 9) because witnessing is not only what you say. More importantly, it’s what you are. Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses (Acts 1:8). In other words, it’s as if Jesus said, “Like Lazarus, you were dead. Your countenance was drab; you reeked of the grave; you were bound up in all sorts of stuff. But I freed you. And now you shall be My witnesses because people will look at the difference in you and be amazed.” I like what Samuel Chadwick, the classic Methodist evangelist and educator of the 1900s, said: “If God is at work week by week raising men from the dead, there will always be people coming to see how it is done. You cannot find an empty church that has conversion as its leading feature. Do you want to know how to fill empty chapels? Here is the answer: Get your Lazarus.” I’m convinced that churches see their sanctuaries packed to overflowing because a lot of folks go to see people being baptized Sunday after Sunday. It intrigues, interests, stimulates, and draws. And not only does conversion fill empty churches—it fills empty lives. If you are finding your own joy diminishing, let me ask you this question: How long has it been since you’ve shared with an unbeliever? You see, saved sinners not only cause joy in heaven (Luke 15:10), but they bring about feasting and merriment in our own hearts as well (Luke 15:23, 24). Living your life before the unbeliever in such a way that he’ll be curious about the gospel is the key not only to filling empty churches, but also to filling empty Christians. Find Lazarus. Be Lazarus. Evangelize. Mary Worshiping Mary is a symbol of the beauty of worship. Worship is costly. It might cost you a relationship even as it cost Mary when, in pouring the ointment upon the feet of Jesus, she was pouring out her very dowry. If we are true worshipers, people in our lives might shy away from us a bit and call us crazy. “Lifting hands, singing songs, praising, and kneeling are signs of fanaticism. I’m not interested in that or in you if that’s what you’re going to do,” they might say. Worship can be costly. It cost Mary not simply her alabaster box and oil, but she would be analyzed and criticized by Judas. So will we be. When David danced before the Lord with all his might, stripped down to his undergarments, his wife mocked him (2 Samuel 6:20). David went on to continue worshiping the Lord all the days of his life. But Michal “had no child unto the day of her death” (2 Samuel 6:23). The same is still true. Those who critique or find fault with worship will experience barrenness, dryness, and a lack of productivity. Ask Michal. Ask Judas. Then ask Mary about worshiping.… The ointment she poured out upon Jesus was not used several days earlier on her brother Lazarus possibly because she was saving it for Jesus’ burial. Yet she did not use it at His burial either, for it was Mary Magdalene who went to anoint His body with perfume and spice on Easter morning—not Mary of Bethany. Nor was Mary of Bethany at the foot of the Cross. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there—but not Mary of Bethany. Why did Mary of Bethany seemingly have no part in the death and burial of her Lord? Because Mary evidently understood something no one else comprehended. Although Jesus had spoken directly to His disciples, saying, “I’m going to die, be buried, and rise again after three days,” they didn’t get it. Mary is the only one who understood what was going to happen. She alone saw the big picture. She alone understood there was no need to save the ointment for Jesus’ burial—because He wasn’t going to stay buried. There was no need to go with the other Marys to the Cross—because that wouldn’t be the end of the story. How did Mary have such profound insight? I suggest it was because she was at His feet constantly, expressively, and expectantly. Be a worshiper in your morning devotions and in your evening watches. Be a worshiper in church on Sundays and Wednesdays. Be a worshiper and watch and see what will happen, for, like Mary, you’ll hear the Lord’s heart and know things others don’t. John 12:4, 5 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? I find it interesting that the first recorded utterance of Judas the traitor is, “Why?” John 12:6, 7 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus to Judas. “Mary saved this ointment for My burial. But she’s giving it to Me now.” John 12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. In other words, Jesus says, “You’ll always have opportunity for activity, but don’t miss these precious moments of intimacy.” Do you have moments of intimacy with Jesus? If not, then you don’t know what you’re missing. Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:32:06 +0000
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