Joh 12:1-8 | KingComments | STEP | After His stay in the city of Ephraim ( ), the Lord returns to Bethany. It is six days before the Passover. It does not add ‘the feast of the Jews’. This time our attention is drawn to what this feast means to the Lord. At this feast He will surrender Himself in death as the true Passover Lamb. On His way to Jerusalem He travels through Bethany, where He is the guest of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The fact that Lazarus is present will have given a unique shine to this visit. This wonderful shine is further enhanced by the act Mary is about to perform on the Lord Jesus. Lazarus is mentioned as a special attendee, for the reason that he had died, but that Christ had raised him from the dead. The Life-giving and the one made alive belong together. Thus believers may always come together with Him Who has given them life i.e. who were made alive by Him. A supper is made by Martha for the Lord and served by her. Serving Martha is mentioned here in an appreciative sense. She serves without commenting on the Lord Jesus and her sister ( ). Lazarus is one of those reclining at the table with Him. Nowhere do we read of Lazarus that he spoke a word. He is a wonderful example of a true worshiper. Without words he enjoys the fellowship with his Lord with all his heart. In what a new way he will have looked at Him, full of gratitude and admiration.

‏ John 12:1-8

Back in Bethany

After His stay in the city of Ephraim (Jn 11:54), the Lord returns to Bethany. It is six days before the Passover. It does not add ‘the feast of the Jews’. This time our attention is drawn to what this feast means to the Lord. At this feast He will surrender Himself in death as the true Passover Lamb.

On His way to Jerusalem He travels through Bethany, where He is the guest of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The fact that Lazarus is present will have given a unique shine to this visit. This wonderful shine is further enhanced by the act Mary is about to perform on the Lord Jesus. Lazarus is mentioned as a special attendee, for the reason that he had died, but that Christ had raised him from the dead. The Life-giving and the one made alive belong together. Thus believers may always come together with Him Who has given them life i.e. who were made alive by Him.

A supper is made by Martha for the Lord and served by her. Serving Martha is mentioned here in an appreciative sense. She serves without commenting on the Lord Jesus and her sister (Lk 10:38-42). Lazarus is one of those reclining at the table with Him. Nowhere do we read of Lazarus that he spoke a word. He is a wonderful example of a true worshiper. Without words he enjoys the fellowship with his Lord with all his heart. In what a new way he will have looked at Him, full of gratitude and admiration.

Mary Anoints the Lord Jesus

After have heard some things about Lazarus and Martha, who both have their own place in this scene, our attention is turned to Mary. What she does, also without words, is special. She has had no special prophetic revelation. She acts according to the spiritual feeling of her heart that has found everything in the Christ of God, a heart that senses the danger of death He is in. Others may think of His wonders and that He would save Himself, like He did for example when they wanted to throw Him down the cliff in Nazareth (Lk 4:28-30), but Mary thinks of His death and His burial. With this in mind she anoints Him, her Lord.

For this purpose she uses a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard. Like David before, she doesn’t want to offer an offering that doesn’t cost her anything (2Sam 24:24). For her Lord only the best is enough. She stoops down and anoints His feet with the perfume. His feet speak of the fact that He, the Son of God, has come to earth, sent by the Father to explain Him. She wipes His feet with her hair. Her long hair is her honor (1Cor 11:15a). As it were, she puts her honor over the feet of the Lord to wipe them. The result is that her hair is anointed with the same precious perfume and spreads the same delicious fragrance.

Through her dedication, of which the long hair as a veil also speaks (1Cor 11:15b), the pleasant fragrance of the Lord Jesus is enjoyed by those around her. The entire house is filled with the fragrance of the perfume (cf. Song 1:12) so that all those present can enjoy it. If a believer worships Christ in the meeting by praising Him, others enjoy it.

Judas Responds to the Act of Mary

Not all those present enjoy the act of Mary. There are some who cannot appreciate what she has done to the Lord. We know from other Gospels that the disciples criticize it. Here this criticism is expressed through Judas. John calls him the man “who was intending to betray Him” so that the contrast with the act of Mary is presented in the strongest possible way.

The reason for the criticism of Judas concerns the amount Mary spent for her anointing. He knows how to estimate the amount. If we consider that a denarius is the salary for a day’s work (Mt 20:2), the perfume of Mary has cost an annual salary. We can convert this to today. As of January 1, 2008, the gross minimum daily wage for someone twenty-three years of age or older is €61,62, which is slightly more than €50,00 net. For convenience, we assume €50,00. This means that the perfume of Mary converted to today represents a value of €15.000,00. What a waste when you consider how much it could have helped the poor. At least that is how Judas makes it appear through his words.

The true reason is that he wanted to enrich himself with it. He is not interested in the poor. He only thinks about himself. Apart from Judas’ evil motives, there are also many Christians who reason like Judas. They say that a time of worship is a waste of time because the needs in the world are great. Bringing the gospel or helping people in need is much more important to them than worship.

Undeniably, the things mentioned are important things that need to be done. But when we say that such activities are more important than to worship the Son and the Father, we are saying that people are more important than God. Precisely in this Gospel, this one according to John, the Lord Jesus indicates what the Father seeks and that is: worshipers (Jn 4:23). Mary is such a person. The fact that the Father seeks them means that, irreverently, they are not for the taking, but that they are fairly rare (cf. Lk 17:12-18).

It is remarkable that the Lord has entrusted the care of the disciples’ finances to Judas. Couldn’t He better have entrusted this to Matthew? As a tax collector Matthew had learned to deal with money. Although a service for the Lord often fits in with what we do or have done in society, that is not standard procedure for the task the Lord gives His own. The fact that He gave Judas control of the finances does not mean that He did so because Judas was a thief. He put Judas to the test with it, just like He put Adam and Eve to the test and just like He often puts us to the test.

If He puts any human being to the test, it is not because He wants to know how he will react, but to persuade that person to show his dependence on Him in that. If man does that, he will accomplish his task for the glory of God. If man does not do that, he will fail to his own damage and disgrace.

Reaction of the Lord

The Lord rebukes Judas. He does not do this by exposing Judas’ hypocrisy, but by expressing His appreciation for the act of Mary in contrast to the hypocritical behavior of Judas. He justifies her act, an act that should not have been stopped. What she did, He worked in grace in her heart because she sat at His feet to listen to His word (Lk 10:39).

To those who take that attitude toward Him, He can show what is in His mind through which spiritual feelings toward Him are formed. Someone who has been formed in this way knows what He is entitled to, without the need to explicitly make His will known.

By listening to Him, Mary has understood that her beloved Lord will die and be buried. He has said it repeatedly, but the disciples have not understood it. She did. She is therefore not at His tomb, like the other women who wanted to anoint Him, but will come too late because He has already risen. What the women intended to do out of love, but also in ignorance, Mary has already done here.

So very few people have felt anything of what awaited the Lord and what occupied Him. How rare believers still are who, through their close contact with His Word, know what He has accomplished through His death, burial, resurrection and glorification, and honor Him for that by dedicating their life to Him.

He further points out that they will always have the poor with them, while they will not always have Him with them. The poor would always be there and with that the opportunities to help them. He will soon leave them and then they will no longer be able to do to Him what was still possible now.

Mary understood that and showed it. She has set the priorities correctly. She has saved and spent her money on perfume for the Lord. She did not use the perfume for her brother’s burial, but kept it for the Lord’s burial. He should always and everywhere take the first place. The things that are done to Him are more important than the things that are done for Him.