Always be Prepared
John 11:55-12:11?
Rev. Dr. Michael Koplitz
John 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover bo purify themselves. 56 So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him?
John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for 1three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he ahad the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. 8 “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
John 12:9 The alarge crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, bwhom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
Are you ready for anything? What do I mean? If you were to meet the LORD today are you ready? My experience tells me that most of us are not ready. There is always tomorrow, right? What happens if you do not have any tomorrows? Anything is possible.
Jesus goes to the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha before he enters Jerusalem. He had a meal with them, which was the custom of the day. At the conclusion of dinner, Mary poured a huge amount of perfumed oil on his feet and wiped his feet with her hair. Women did not let their hair down and definitely only allowed their husband to touch the hair. An interesting custom of Jesus’ day was that they believed that a married woman’s hair stored the seed of life that she received from her husband. Today, orthodox Jewish women cover their hair. This is usually done with a wig. It is considered an intimate violation if a man touching a woman’s hair if he is not married to her. Therefore, Mary is showing her love for Jesus and desire to take their relationship to the next level. She made that very clear.
Jesus’ reaction may not have been the one that Mary was expecting. It probably surprised the people in the room that Jesus took the anointing as a foreshadowing of his death. Spikenard perfume was used to anoint the body of a deceased loved one. The author took this story to be a foreshadowing narrative. If Jesus' words about death are removed, we have a love story. Certainly, Mary could not have been the only woman who loved Jesus. Even with the death comments, I think you can see the love story.
People loved Jesus. Oh yes, there were people who were not quite that thrilled with Jesus’ ministry. After all, Jesus was upsetting the apple cart in several ways. Everything that Jesus said and did in all four Gospels was for the people. He did nothing for himself. Therefore, if he had a romantic relationship with Mary, he would have been out of character. Jesus acted like a prophet, and he knew prophets went to Jerusalem to die. He was on his way to Jerusalem with a huge entrance. Therefore, having any kind of intimate relationship would not have worked.
However, Jesus thanked Mary for her concern about his life. Jesus turned that concern around from toward himself to all his followers. Jesus wants a relationship with all of his followers. Obviously, to us, the relationship is spiritual. Mary could not have a physical relationship with Jesus, and we cannot either. However, Mary and we can have a spiritual relationship.
Another aspect in this story is the questions I asked at the beginning. Are you ready to meet the LORD and Jesus today? This is going to happen in two ways. The first way is the second coming of Jesus. Wait, a moment and look. No, Jesus has not returned yet. Therefore, the second way has to be acknowledged. When the angel of death comes to visit, it will take us on a trip to the LORD’s court and we will meet Jesus. Jesus will be either helping us to defend our life or he will be the prosecutor of all we did. I am sure there is some objection to that statement. It is written in the Revelation that this will happen. Therefore, we have to be ready to meet Jesus every day.
The road of life has numerous potholes. In other words, there is no assurance that we will be here tomorrow. There are always health concerns, like a heart attack. ?There are accidental concerns, like being hit by a bus. It is something that we rarely think about. When the time arrives, will you be ready?
Ready for what? There may be some questions about events in your life and especially anything that has not been attended to, that should have been. Therefore, if you have sinned against a person and have not apologized, you should do it immediately. This is one of several items that you may have left open on your plate. ?These areas of concern need to be determined now and resolved. ?
This narrative can be viewed as a warning from Jesus. He was ready to face death. I would guess that he wanted to do even more for humanity. There was only so much he could do, but because of the attitude of Judean leaders, it would not happen. He brought the knowledge of the secret to getting into heaven with him. His willingness to die for the LORD’s message made him a prophet. The LORD raised Jesus three days after his death and burial, thus proving to the world that Jesus’ words and actions were those as if they were done by the LORD.
Today you hear that it is wise to have a Will so that upon death all the material positions you own are dealt with in the manner you want. I bet most, if not all, of you have a Will. Do you have a spiritual Will? That is a different story in certain ways. Connecting to the LORD is a daily process. Connecting to Jesus is a daily process. Freeing your soul from any sin done against another person must also be resolved. If you have any broken relations that need to be patched, today is the day to start patching. ?
Jesus was ready for the next step. Are you?
