This is the fifth week of the Lenten season and today we’ll be taking a look at an event in the life of Jesus that revealed true love.
So, let’s take a look at the passage starting in the 12th chapter of John, verses 1 through 8
John 12:1-8
“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’ 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.”
Wow! What a story! Now, we need to remember that in this passage Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem, as in all of the passages we have looked at in this Lenten season. He knows that in Jerusalem He will be handed over to the Jewish rulers for trial and finally to the Romans to be put to death.
This is something that He has explained to His disciples but the understanding of His words were hidden from them.
As it says in Luke 10:31-34
“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’
“He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him and spit on Him; they will flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.”
“The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about.”
So, here they are, on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. And, on their way they are passing through Bethany and are invited to a dinner in honor of Jesus. Jesus is the guest of honor.
So, let’s take a look at the guests and their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, we’ve got Simon the leper. It doesn’t state explicitly in the text that Simon the leper is there but he is the host of the party! We know that the dinner was held at the home of Simon the leper because says in Mark 14:3
“While He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.”
Now, we also know that Simon the leper is no longer a leper because if he were still a leper he would need to live outside the town of Bethany. If he were still a leper no one but Jesus would most likely even go into his home. And, if he were still a leper it would be a very noisy dinner because Simon would need to constantly be yelling at the top of his voice, “Unclean, unclean!”
This would make normal conversation very difficult indeed.
So, why is Simon the leper no longer a leper? Because Jesus had healed him. Consequently, Simon is grateful for his deliverance from a dreaded disease and to show his gratitude he throws a dinner party with Jesus as the guest of honor!
Now, healing a leper was impossible back then. We only see it in the Old Testament with the healing of Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram (2 Kings 5). We also see the healing from leprosy in the incident with Miriam, the sister of Moses, after she repented of her sin of pride. But, the healing was always because of the hand of God moving in a miraculous way. So, this healing of Simon the leper was certainly a big deal!
Then, we’ve got Lazarus! Now, Lazarus had been dead and buried! Now, there’s not a sentence you hear very often is it? Lazarus had been dead and buried, so, that was the end of him, right? But … he’s at the dinner! And, not only is he at the dinner but he’s pushed right up to the table. So, how could he be at the dinner with Jesus? Lazarus doesn’t have any recollection of this but Jesus brought him back to life after he’d been in the tomb for four days!
How much do you think the dead body of a man hears? Usually not very much but when Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus come forth!” Lazarus heard Him and obeyed! Lazarus was alive again!
Now, if you think being healed of leprosy was a big deal, what do you think about a man being raised from the dead? Do you think Lazarus was grateful? We know that Mary and Martha were grateful. But, here was the former dead man, reclining at the table with Jesus, chatting up a storm, eating his fill and looking with awe at the One who had raised him from the dead.
Then, there’s Martha. Don’t you thank the Lord for the Martha’s of the world? If there were no Martha’s in the world very little would get done!
We know that Martha had needed to get her priorities adjusted by Jesus in the past when she complained to Jesus about Mary’s idleness. But, here she is, once again, doing what needs to be done so that the guest of honor and the others do not go hungry. There is no complaining from Martha this time just faithful service with a quiet, servant’s heart.
Then there’s Mary. Mary with her alabaster jar of embalming ointment. Mary with what quite possibly was her life savings! Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with all she had of value.
Do you see what’s going on here? It appears that Mary and Martha were unmarried and that while Lazarus was alive she had somehow accumulated this small fortune of perfume. This perfume could have been sold and used as life giving support if Lazarus would die and if she and Martha needed to provide for themselves.
Martha and Mary lived in a man’s world within the Jewish community. When Lazarus died they faced some very difficult days ahead. Lazarus, their provider of all that was needed to sustain life was gone. Now this valuable oil could possibly sustain their lives for awhile if they sold it and used it to support themselves. But, in comes Jesus who raises Lazarus back to life which in essence gives Martha and Mary their lives back! So, now in a show of great thankfulness, gratitude and worship Mary is giving her life, her life savings, back to Jesus as an act of love. Here we see a beautiful act of worship and the fragrance of this act of worship is filling the entire house.
Now, if you want to take a beautiful scene and turn it on its head you want to listen to what Judas Iscariot says as he observes this situation.
It says in John 12:4-6
“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.”
Old Judas must have been beside himself.
His eyes must have been bugging out of his head when he saw Mary break that jar and she started pouring that ointment over the feet of Jesus. All that money wasted! It was just too much! But, at least he attempted to put a good spin on the whole event by feigning concern for the poor. Here is poor old Lazarus. Reclining next to the healer of incurable diseases, reclining next to the One who can give life to the dead with a verbal command, reclining next to the Son of God Himself and he’s worried about the ointment!
There’s so much going on. So many characters in this event that you almost forget that it’s all about Jesus! Jesus the healer. Jesus the life giver. Jesus the instructor. Jesus the object of worship. Jesus the Son of the Living God!
And, Jesus is why we’re here today! It’s not about the building. It’s not about the decorations. It’s not about the music. It’s not about the meal after church. It’s not about our friends. It’s not about the preacher.
It’s about Jesus, the healer, the giver of life, the One and Only Son of God, given for our salvation and raised from the dead!
Now, here’s the thing. We are all in this story! If we assume that we are all born again and that we are all saved by grace through faith in Christ we are all in this story! So, if you are a child of God, which character are you! Which character am I? We are all of them!!!
We are like Simon the Leper who was healed but instead of being healed from leprosy we have been healed from the deadly disease of slavery to sin.
If we have come to Christ for salvation He has delivered us from the incurable disease of a sinful nature that was enslaved to sin. Just as leprosy was incurable in the time of Christ so sin is the disease that ravages us without the healing of Christ!
As it says in Romans 6:17-18
“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
If we have come to Christ for salvation He has created in us a new spiritual life from a life that was once dead to God. We are like Lazarus who was given new life by Christ!
As it says in Ephesians 2:4-5
“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”
If we have come to be a follower of Jesus we are all busy like Martha doing the will of the Father. Completing the tasks He has set before us. Working in His great kingdom!
As it says in one of our memory Scriptures, Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
If we have come to be a son or daughter of God we will worship completely like Mary! Not holding anything back! Not worrying about the what the future brings. Not caring about what others will think. Only caring about what the Master thinks. Giving our very lives in honor of the Master and trusting Him for all of our futures.
Can you identify with each of these characters, or, perhaps you can identify more readily with one of the disciples, just observing, not speaking out with Judas and not worshiping Christ with Mary, just stopping off for dinner on the way to Jerusalem for the Passover.
There’s a song by a group called Solomon’s Wish that is written from the perspective of one of the silent disciples. From the perspective of someone who had seen the healing of Simon the Leper, someone who had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, someone who had observed Martha’s gift of selfless service, someone who had wondered over Mary’s act of total worship.
In the first verse of this song the disciple is pondering the act of worship by Mary which has just taken place at the dinner given in honor of Jesus.
And the disciple says:
We all stood in wonder
Passing silent judgment down
Casting her off as crazy
Made me feel more comfortable somehow
Expecting anger, I was
Taken back by His reply
His approval of her adoration
Made me question mine
Would I pour my every sacrifice?
Could I ever go that far?
Just to wash Your feet with my life
Like Mary's alabaster jar
And, in the second verse, the disciple is reflecting on the sacrifice of Mary while observing the crucifixion of the healing, life giving Master and the disciple says:
Relentless in my memory
Her unbound hair and spilled perfume
As I stand here on this hillside
Watching prophesy come true
And if yesterday could be tomorrow
I would change today
Just to be the one knelt shamelessly
Giving everything away
I would pour my every sacrifice
In awe of who You are
Just to wash Your feet with my life
Like Mary's alabaster jar
This disciple was in torment over not worshiping Christ when he had the chance.
Are you missing that chance?
Are you being as thankful for His healing of your life as you should be?
Are you praising God for your new life in Christ?
Are you serving Jesus out of a heart of love for Him?
Are you worshiping Jesus with the totality of your being, giving all of your present and future to Him as an offering of worship?
Is it any wonder that the world is not attracted to Jesus when it seems that most of His followers are not attracted to Him either?
Prayer (including blessing for the dinner after church)
Benediction:
Philippians 4.23
“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
