Love Contrasted, John 12:1-8
Scripture
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. 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.” (John 12:1-8 NIV)
Introduction
In an article in Christian Woman Today, Karen Weaver, tells the story of having taught a vacation Bible school class on the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. After the lesson, I went over the review questions and asked, “Who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver?” Without hesitating, her 7-year-old son, Kenny, replied, “I know! It was ‘Judas the Scariest!”
Transition
Today’s text, John 12:1-8, is the recorded the account of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointing the feet of Jesus with pure nard, that is, a very expensive perfume. In this passage, Mary displays what is in her heart; love for Jesus.
Just a few versus later, the love of Mary is contrasted by the love of Judas. Upon seeing Mary wasting this precious perfume on the feet of Jesus, he accuses her of not caring for the poor. Judas motivation is plainly not that the perfume, the pure or genuine nard, could have been sold for the poor.
His concern is for himself, as the text plainly states, greed was his motivation, for he was the treasurer and he was helping himself to disciple’s money. As I enter the text it is with the aim of examining love contrasted: The love of Mary for her Lord and the love of Judas for the things of this world.
Exposition
There is a lot to “unpack” (Exegete) in this passage of Scripture. Indeed, as with the entire Bible, there are layers of meaning and multitudes of application for believers. This entire chapter of Scripture abounds with truth.
There are no miracles or lengthy discourses of Jesus in John 12. Rather, we read the accounts of the beginning of Jesus last week of His earthly ministry. In this passage we see illustrated the attitudes of the people toward Christ.
While there is much impactful doctrinal material to be found in John 12, it is the attitudes of the people in response to Christ that will be our focus.
I ask you to consider your own attitude toward Christ as we examine the attitudes toward Him that we find present in John 12. While we long to transform society, while we pray continually for God to use this Church, us, to be a light to the Illinois Valley, if we are to change the world with regard to its attitude toward Jesus, we must first consider our own attitude toward Christ.
How will God ever trust us to be faithful stewards of the great blessing of ministry which I believe is just on the horizon for this church, if we will not first be wise stewards of what He has already entrusted to us?
Before we seek to impact them for Christ, let us be personally and continually impacted by Christ. Then we will be ready for the blessing of God which I am compelled to believe lies just at the horizon for First Congregational Church.
Our focus must always be on following after Jesus personally and sharing His love corporately; internally reaching out to one another as we share His love together; externally as together we create “come and see” opportunities as a church to gather the unchurched, unbelieving, lost world to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them in plain, loving, and biblical terms.
This is our focus. This is our mission. We have covenanted together to “Follow Jesus and to share His love.” So, in order to share His love effectively, we must be permeated by it, completely! In order to live, as the Bible says, in the world but not be of the world, we must first be disciples of Jesus and then make more disciples of Jesus.
The great omission of the modern Christian Church is our lack of personal and corporate focus on the Great Commission. This is tragic! For it is in giving away the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we become channels of blessing.
Illustration
I don’t know what comes to your mind when you hear the word “fat“, but I have a good idea. In America fat is nearly always a dirty word. We spend billions of dollars on pills, diet books, and exercise machines to help us loose excess fat.
I hadn’t heard a good word about fat in years—that is, until I met Dr. Paul Brand. “Fat is absolutely gorgeous,” says Brand, a medical doctor who has worked with lepers in India. “When I perform surgery, I marvel at the shimmering, lush layers of fat that spread apart as I open up the body. Those cells insulate against cold, provide protection for the valuable organs underneath, and give a firm, healthy appearance to the whole body.” I had never thought of fat quite like that! “But those are just side benefits,” he continues. “The real value of fat is as a storehouse. Locked in those fat cells are the treasures of the human body. When I run or work or expend any energy, fat cells make that possible. They act as banker cells. It’s absolutely beautiful to observe the cooperation among those cells!”
Dr. Brand applies the analogy of fat to the body of Christ. Each individual Christian in a relatively wealthy country like America is called to be a fat cell. America has a treasure house of wealth and spiritual resources. The challenge to us, as Christians, is to wisely use those resources for the rest of the body.
Ever since talking to Dr. Brand, I have taken sort of a whimsical pleasure once each month in thinking of myself as a fat cell on the day I write out checks for Christian organizations. It has helped my attitude. No longer do I concentrate on how I could have used that money I am giving away; rather, I contemplate my privilege to funnel those resources back into Christ’s body to help accomplish his work all around the world.” (Philip Yancey in “World Concern Update,” January 1982. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 1.)
All along we way, we rest in His divine sovereignty. We trust that He who has begun a good work in us will see it through to completion. (Philippians 1:6) We find comfort in Him who loves us enough to die on the cross. We find our hope in His resurrection. We find ultimate satisfaction in His ultimate glorification!
There are several attitudes toward Christ which are presented in John chapter 12. (Towns, 21st Century Commentary, John) In the order that they appear:
(1) Martha (12:2) Tireless service.
(2) Lazarus (12:2) Speechless adoration.
(3) Mary (12:3) Sacrificial worship.
(4) Judas Iscariot (12:4-6) Inbred selfishness
(5) Chief priests (12:10-11) Calculated craft.
(6) Pharisees (12:19) Confounded frustration.
(7) Greeks (12:20) Spiritual curiosity.
(8) Crowd (12:34) Blinded questions.
(9) Some rulers (12:42) Secret belief.
Of all of these, though, the contrast of attitude toward Christ is most striking between Mary and Judas. When we consider their attitudes we easily see ourselves illustrated, don’t we? What about us?
Consider our own attitudes toward Christ. Are we like fat cells, storing up energy, Holy Spirit empowerment, to give it away; being blessed so that we might be a blessing? Or are we busy collecting energy, things, stuff, for our own concern?
Is our focus, Like Mary, upon giving away the treasures of our life for the sake of Christ; as she pour out the very expensive perfume upon Jesus feet, in love, in adoration, in preparation for His impending burial?
Imagine, Mary didn’t know perfectly what would come in the life of Jesus. At this point none of the disciples know. She only knew that she had received life from Jesus and wanted to shower Him with love; even to the point of anointing his feet with expensive perfume and using her own hair to wipe it on Him.
Or, beloved, is our focus like that Judas, who gave the false outward witness of religious piety, false concern for the poor, simply so he could more easily build his own bank account? Are we receiving the blessing of God as stockpile for personal enrichment? Or are we receiving so that we can give it away?
These are questions which get at the very heart of our motivations for religious activity, our purposes in following after Christ. Judas seems to have been a part of the disciples largely for his own gain.
Judas wanted to know what was in it for him. Perhaps it wasn’t always this way. Maybe in the beginning he followed Jesus because he recognized the unique beauty of Jesus. Perhaps he became jaded over time or maybe he started out on the path of repentance but his old ways got the better of him. Perhaps it was spiritual blindness. Only God knows what led Judas to the place where he was at.
We should be slow to judge Judas and quick to consider our own motives. What character type points to us? Are we like Martha with her tireless service, Lazarus with speechless adoration, Mary with sacrificial worship, Judas Iscariot ingrained selfishness, the Chief priests who were calculated and crafty, the Pharisees who were confounded with frustration at Jesus?
What about the Greeks who were spiritual curios or the crowd who were blinded questions? Are we like some rulers in the story who had a secret belief in Jesus, unwilling to share their faith for fear of what others would think?
Mary’s love for Jesus was unaffected by others; she gave loved Jesus regardless of the cost personally, financially, or socially; she loved Jesus radically.
Illustration
Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton headed an Antarctic expedition attempting to reach the South Pole in 1908. They came closer than any before but, 97 miles short of the pole, had to turn back.
In his diary Shackleton told of the time when their food supplies were exhausted save for one last ration of hardtack, a dried sort of biscuit, that was distributed to each man. Some of the men took snow, melted it, and made tea while consuming their biscuit. Others, however, stowed the hardtack in their food sacks, saving it for a last moment of hungry desperation.
The fire was built up, and weary, exhausted men climbed into their sleeping bags to face a restless sleep, tossing and turning. Shackleton said that he was almost asleep when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of his most trusted men sitting up in his bag and looking about to see if anyone was watching.
Shackleton’s heart sank within him as this man began to reach toward the food sack of the man next to him.
Shackleton watched as the man opened the food sack and took his own hardtack and put it in the other man’s sack.” (Harold J. Sala, Heroes, (Promise, 1998); quoted in “To Illustrate,” Leadership, Vol. 21, no. 4, (Fall 2000).
There are those, like Judas, who store up for themselves; those whose affections are not for Christ, not for others for the sake of Christ, but are for self alone.
There are others, like Mary, who lavished the Lord to the point of kneeling before Him, not in fear, but in adoration, love, devotion, because she adored Jesus. She had seen with her own eyes and felt with her own heart the great divine love of this man sent from God and there was nothing that would stop her from showering her affection upon Him!
Social norms; don’t care! Stigma of a woman interrupting the scene in a male dominated society; too bad! Judge me for my poor social graces as I lavish my Lord’s feet with perfume costing the equivalent of a year’s wages, and apply it with my hair; I care not what men say, what men think! God alone is my judge and this man who stands before you is no man; He is His Son; my savior!
Conclusion
There are some who follow Christ for perceived benefits. There are others who are conduits of the love of God in Christ; those who receive grace, bask in it, and pass it on to others. There are Judas types, Mary types, and many in between.
Compulsory religion won’t do. Selfish ambition will fail. Only the genuine love of God revealed in Christ has the power to change the soul of mankind, and reconcile him unto His God.
Today, my invitation is simple: consider prayerfully which one you shall be. Amen.
