PONDERING... Anointing Jesus

John 12:1-3  Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  2  So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.  3  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.

The Last Week

From this point on, John focuses on the last week before Jesus is crucified. This is almost half of the entire gospel (10 out of 21 chapters)! 

Two observation can be made from this.

1. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, every Gospel writer focuses a significant amount of time on this week (approximately 25% of Matthew and Luke, and nearly 40% of Mark). 

2. Knowing His time was drawing near, Jesus did not waste any of it. Everything He did was deliberate. We obviously need to pay attention to what He chose to do.

Who Washed What? (Varying Accounts)

(Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50)

There are four accounts, including this one, of a woman anointing Jesus and wiping His feet with her hair (one per Gospel). Only John gives the woman a name, Mary the sister of Lazarus. The accounts in Matthew and Mark are very similar, and share the most in common with the John account. The Luke account has more differences. The commonality of these accounts is frequently discussed/debated. Was it the same Mary in each? Did she anoint His feet only or His head, as well. Were there tears involved? Was the woman a prostitute (see Luke account)?

At the end of the day, it does not matter. Chances are the Matthew and Mark accounts are one in the same. The time and place seem to be identical. I think it is reasonable to assume the John account corresponds, as well. (Side Note: Though some will argue that there is a 4 day difference between when the accounts occurred, Matthew and Mark only mention that the Pharisees were talking 2 days before the Passover, and then we are taken to Jesus in Bethany. There is no reason to assume this could not have taken place around the same time, but slightly before. The Gospels are less concerned with chronology than substance.) Nonetheless, it is not a stretch to believe that this could have happened to Jesus more than once. This does not change the powerful message.

The Action

Martha is serving. This is her heart. She is a servant. She serves. 

Lazarus is reclining. Amazing! This was a dead man some short while ago!

Mary is... anointing/washing Jesus?

• She seems to have done this during the evening meal, which is unusual. Jewish women never reclined at the table with men, especially during supper. They usually served the meal. 
• She takes down her hair in public, which no Jewish woman would ever do. It would have been considered indecent and immodest. Only her husband was to see her hair. 
• She touches his feet (which was considered degrading). ...
• Wiping the feet of Jesus with her hair (considered a woman’s crown and glory) took away all of her dignity. 
• The perfume normally would have been kept for her dowry. She now has no dowry. -(A Youth Worker's Commentary on John Volume 2)

The Application

1. Mary's Sacrifice

-This was everything. This cost would likely never be replaced by earthly means. 

-This was socially unacceptable.

2. Jesus' Worth

-Kings are anointed.

-Jesus is worth more than everything we possess.

3. Our Response

-Nothing is worth the cost of not giving Jesus your all.

Song of Solomon 1:3, 12 3  your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. ... 12 She: While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance.

PONDERING... Time and Jesus (The Resurrection of Lazarus Part 2: vs 7-16)

Disclaimer: This is a very famous passage of scripture, and will be addressed in several parts. However, I do not want to take for granted that everyone is familiar with how this passage ends. This is the account of Jesus raising Lazarus, His friend, from the dead. In the account, we learn that Jesus allowed this all to happen for a purpose. Lazarus died, and Jesus brought Him back...teaching us, and those who witnessed the event, much about Himself.

John 11:7-16  Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  8  The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"  9  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  10  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  11  After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."  12  The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."  13  Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.  14  Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,  15  and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  16  So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

In these next few lessons, we'll be looking at the lessons Jesus taught through this situation. Today, we'll look at what He had to say about the time we're given in this life.

1. The Length is Determined by God 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  8  The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"  9  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  

The disciples question why Jesus is wanting to go back to the area where they are trying to kill Him. Jesus responds with this statement about time. The Jews divided time into two 12 hour parts. So, He was referring to the "daytime". 

We all have an appointed time to die. This appointment is made by God. Jesus, as He frequently does in John's gospel, is pointing out that it is not yet "His time". 

2. But, It's Limited...Don't Waste It; Do What God Sends You to Do! (Same Verses)

Also, we see that this time we're given is limited. There were 12 hours in the day, then night came. We are given a specific amount of time here on earth, and then we die. 

Jesus did not sqwander this time. Knowing it was not yet His time, He used the time He had to serve the Father. We should do the same.

3. Live In the Light, Don't Stumble 10  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

Jesus is the Light! We are to walk in Him, in His Word. Not walking in the light of what He teaches is stumbling in darkness.

4. Death is Sleep for Believers 11  After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."  12  The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."  13  Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.  14  Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,  15  and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." 

This is our blessed hope as believers. This is not the case for the lost.

PONDERING... John 10:30-42

John 10:30-42  I and the Father are one."  31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.  32  Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"  33  The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."  34  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?  35  If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—  36  do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  37  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  38  but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."  39  Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.  40  He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.  41  And many came to him. And they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."  42  And many believed in him there.

The setting here is crucial. Jesus has just explained His sheep vs non-sheep metaphor making it abundantly clear that He is claiming to be God. The Jews, taking this as blasphemy (calling yourself God, if you are not, is the highest offense), are preparing to stone Him. This isn't metaphorical, or mental. They have rocks in their hands! Because of Jesus' disposition, and due to the distanced way we tend to read the Bible, it is easy to miss this vital point. This entire discourse is happening while stones are raised to be thrown. This scene is intense and deadly. Let's not miss that!

I. Why do they want to kill Him? 

30 I and the Father are one."  31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone him

1. He is God.

I think, as Christians, we have become so comfortable with the truth of Jesus as God, or at least I hope it is truth to you and not merely a notion, that we sometimes forget how controversial this is. To claim to be God is huge. If you're not God and you claim this, you're crazy. If you are God and you claim this, I better be listening. These Jews had been waiting for a Messiah, one that would ride in and save their people physically...a warrior. They were not expecting Jesus. They did have a healthy respect for God. Unfortunately, they had transplanted truths about God with teaching made by men. So, they missed Him. When Jesus shows up claiming to be God, they are deeply offended. This is blasphemy...a capital crime.

II. How did Jesus respond?

1. Points to what He's doing.

32  Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"  33  The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."

Now remember, rocks are being held here. I've heard it taught that this whole discourse is a sort of distraction to buy Jesus some time. That could be, but it is nonetheless purposeful. He calls into question their motivations first while pointing them back to Himself. He asks them which one of the miraculous signs they are stoning Him for. They, of course, say it is not the signs, but His blasphemous words. Interestingly, they do not deny the signs.

2. Points out why He, above all others, can be called God.

34  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?  35  If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—  36  do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? 

In the next staments, we see Jesus' view of the Bible...that is cannot be broken; it is completely true (we have discussed this at length before). Then, Jesus makes this statement that could be really confusing. He says that in the Bible, God, big G, calls people gods, little g. Now, first there is a semantic difference between a "god" and the God. Fake vs Real. But, what is a Jesus talking about here?

He's quoting Psalm 82. This Psalm addresses the rulers of Israel who had not been ruling justly. They were thus called "because of their authority and power; and because they do, in some sort, represent the divine majesty, in the government of nations and kingdoms"- Gill. 

He's pointing out that the word god had been used to speak of people who were definitely not God. In fact, people who had not even done their jobs well. Why, then, is it wrong to call the only one "whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world(vs 36)" God?

3. Appeals again that they believe.

37  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  38  but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."  

Then, we see more Amazing Grace. These people are trying to kill Him, and He asks them to believe. He appeals to them. 'If you won't hear my words, consider the signs. So, by them you may then realize the truth.' In the face of death, He hasn't stopped loving them.

4. Leaves.

39  Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.  40  He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.  

Let's not miss the miraculous here. How did Jesus manage to escape the mob? It was not yet His hour!

III. What happened when He left?

41  And many came to him. And they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."  42  And many believed in him there.

1. He still preached

First, let's note what He didn't do. He didn't, as I may have been tempted, just give up. He went to back to this place not to just "chill", but He continued to teach. How do we know this? Because many believed. Believed what? If He wasn't teaching, what were they believing?

2. And there was a difference

a. Signs vs Preaching

All we know this second group was exposed to was John's and Jesus' teaching. They may have witnessed a miraculous sign, but we don't know that for sure. All we know is that they heard from John (though they saw no sign from him), recognized in Jesus the fulfillment of what they heard, and believed in Him!

The Jewish leaders had seen and heard, but would not believe.

b. Person vs Society

In my English classes, we talk about different types of conflicts in literature. One of the popular conflicts that has gotten a lot of lime-light of late is Person vs Society. Here, your character or characters fight against the, usually repressive, status quo. It's man against the world! Odds are overcome, and the world becomes a better place...etc. These stories, especially in our incredibly safe society, are really enjoyable to read. We root for the underdog without really having any sense of his struggle. We can't. For us, it is just a fun read.

The people who accepted Christ here were opposing their society head on. The Jewish rulers had rejected Him as a blasphemous heretic. To align yourself with Jesus was to have your life ruined. Remember the blind man's parents in chapter 9? They were afraid of falling out of favor with the Jewish leaders. This decision was drastic.

IV. Final Thoughts

1. Do you believe Jesus is God? Does that register?

2. Are you willing to be rejected for His sake?

3. Are you willing to tell others about Him, even when they reject you?