1 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. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples (he who was about to betray Him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
John 12 marks a major transition in John’s Gospel, as John begins his account of what we know as Holy Week, which ends with the cross and empty tomb. This particular week is the most significant in all of human history, as the Cross of Calvary is the great divide between all human beings. Depending on how you personally view the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ determines on which side of the divide you stand. You are either saved or lost. You either love Christ, or you hate Him, and the opening 11 verses in chapter 12 which we’re looking at today give us a graphic illustration of this great divide.
Lazarus’ family invited Jesus to dinner on the Saturday before Holy Week. This was the day before His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The significance of what Mary did was lost on most of those who were there - Judas in particular - but this was the moment when Jesus was symbolically set apart for burial, even though His death was still six days away.
We know from Matthew and Mark’s accounts that this meal was hosted by Simon the leper. This would have been someone that Jesus had healed of leprosy. Of course, we know that Lazarus was there, so there were at least two people at the dinner who had personally benefitted from Jesus’ miracles. It would seem this was a celebration or even a ‘thank you’ meal given in honour of Jesus for what He had done. As usual, context is important. To host such a meal at this particular time was risky, because Jesus was a wanted man. John 11:57 says, “The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest Him.” So those in attendance that day were, in the eyes of the Sanhedrin at least, guilty of treason for not reporting where Jesus was.
But they held this celebration meal openly, and as we see later on, it was only a matter of time before the authorities found out about it, resulting in them deciding that Lazarus should also die. Verses 10 and 11: “So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.”
During this meal, Lazarus’ sister Mary did something remarkable by anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. This was no random act, and it shows us that of all the people there that day, it was possibly only Mary who knew for certain that Jesus was about to die. Soon He would surrender His life on the cross for the sins of the world, and it would seem that Mary was the only one who understood it, despite the fact that Jesus had already told His disciples what was about to happen.
In Mark 10:33-34 He said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise.” You’d think Jesus could not have made it any clearer, but as all the Gospel accounts show, they just didn’t get it. But Mary did.
The question is, why was it only Mary who seemed to understand? Part of the answer is in where we find her in John 12 - at the feet of Jesus. On another occasion Jesus was invited to the home of the sisters Mary and Martha, and here we see a remarkable contrast between them. “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42)
When Lazarus died and Mary went out to meet Him, we see her doing the same thing. “When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” (John 11:32)
And now, at the home of Simon the leper, Mary was again at the feet of Jesus, anointing Him and wiping His feet with her hair. It’s been said before that Martha, as we see in Luke 10 was the one with the servant heart, while Mary was the one whose heart wanted to learn from Jesus.
Both are important. There is always a place and a need for Christian service in the Church as there are many needs both in the Church and outside the Church, but as Jesus said to Martha, Mary had “chosen the good portion.” The NIV translation says, “Mary has chosen what is better.” The point is that if we don’t know the heart of God (as much as He has chosen to reveal Himself to us), our Christian service will not be as effective as it can and should be. And how do we learn to know the heart of God? By doing the same as Mary - by spending time at the feet of Jesus, by studying and learning from His Word, the Bible.
2 Peter 3:18 says we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” The way we grow in the knowledge of Jesus is by following Mary’s example by getting into the Word of God.
It was because of Mary’s love for and devotion to Jesus that she not only gained the head knowledge of what was to happen to Him, but this understanding also compelled her to do something so extravagant for Him. There is also an interesting footnote to what Mary did in verse 3 which has a personal application for each of us. “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” This seems rather obvious, but when we look at the first part of the same verse, we see that Mary had dried Jesus’ feet with her hair.
William McDonald writes, “Needless to say, Mary herself would have carried the fragrance of the perfume for some time after this. Thus when Christ is worshipped, the worshippers themselves carry away something of the fragrance of that moment. No house is so filled with pleasant aroma as the house where Jesus is given His rightful place.”
The fragrance didn’t only come from Jesus Himself, but from Mary too, as she went about the house. As the Church, when we take the Gospel message into this world which is so lost and so full of hopelessness and despair, we are carrying the sweet fragrance of the hope of Christ to those who need to hear it. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”
John gives us a more concise account of Jesus’ reply to Judas’ and the other disciples’ objection to Mary’s act of extravagance, but both Matthew and Mark say, “Truly, I say to you, wherever this Gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:13, Mark 13:9)
History has proven the words of Jesus here to be true. What Mary did that day remains a tribute to a woman whose heart was devoted to Jesus, and she quite rightly is remembered as a heroine of the Christian faith. Mary was always to be found “at the feet of Jesus,” so to speak. She was the one, who at great personal expense, anointed Jesus in preparation for His burial, and this wonderful story has been retold many times. Apart from Mary’s act of devotion to Jesus, we know very little else about this celebration meal held in Jesus’ honour.
We’re able to learn so much from Martha and Mary, these sisters who were so different, yet had so much in common, and they give us an insight into how we, as members of a Church family are able to love and serve Christ and each other. Martha, it would seem, was one of those dependable people who could be relied upon to do what was needed. She had a servant-heart, and her passion was to be practical in the way she expressed her faith in Jesus, but we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking her practical approach displayed a lack of faith. Like her sister, Martha had a deep love for and a deep faith in Jesus.
Mary had what one might call a freer spirit. Her priority was to spend time with Jesus, rather than cooking and serving meals like Martha. These two women were so different; yet, they had a lot in common, and we are reminded in John 11:5 of the most important thing they had in common: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul uses the analogy of the different parts of the body to teach how we are all individually and differently gifted as members of the Church. Whether you are a Martha or a Mary, there is a place for each of us in the Body of Christ - His Church. Whatever our personality type, we are able to love and serve Jesus in our own way, knowing that first and foremost He loves us, because He loves His bride the Church. He laid down His life for His Church.
There has been a fair amount of misinterpretation of Jesus’ words in verse 8, just after He defends Mary’s act of devotion. “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:7-8) Some have even suggested that Jesus meant that we shouldn’t really concern ourselves with the poor, but of course, He would never have said such a thing. In his commentary, the Bible teacher Kenneth Gangel paraphrases Jesus in verses 8 and 9, “Leave her alone. In God’s great plan, suffering and death for sin has already begun and this woman shows her love for me at a time when I am already headed for the tomb. As for the poor, taking care of them is a good and Biblical act of righteousness and you should do it. However, you’ll have ample opportunity to demonstrate that concern; I’ll be gone within a week.”
With the exception of Judas Iscariot, who was at the meal provided in honour of Jesus in John 12, we see people who are committed to the cause of Christ, regardless of the risks they took that day, but then we come to the opposite end of the great divide created by the Cross of Calvary - those whose hearts were hardened by the sin of unbelief. “When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (John 12:9–11)
As we saw last week, the bare facts of the raising of Lazarus was a huge problem for the enemies of Jesus. Jesus had long been a threat to the religious rulers, but now the fact that Lazarus was walking around, very much alive, added to their predicament.
Here again we see the depravity of the human heart in this insane hatred of Jesus. Lazarus had done nothing wrong. When Jesus called him out of his tomb, Lazarus had no control over what happened, yet the chief priests considered him worthy of death. He was regarded as a threat and an enemy, but those who are witnesses of the grace and mercy of God are always targets for persecution and even martyrdom. There are some commentators who suggest that because the chief priests were Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, they wanted to get rid of the evidence by getting rid of Lazarus.
J. C. Ryle wrote: “They could not deny the fact of his having been raised again. Living, and moving, and eating, and drinking within two miles of Jerusalem, after lying four days in the grave, Lazarus was a witness to the truth of Christ’s Messiahship, whom they could not possibly answer or put to silence.” And so their simple solution as we’re told in verse 10, was to have Lazarus put to death as well.
Interestingly enough, apart from a brief reference to Lazarus on Palm Sunday in verse 17, this is the last we hear about him in the Bible.
Did they succeed in executing Lazarus? We don’t have the answer to that question. Stephen was murdered some two years later, and is generally regarded as the first Christian martyr, but whether he was the first or not, what we do know is this: Those who hate Jesus Christ will always be threatened by those who bear witness for the cause of the Gospel. We may not have been physically raised from the dead, but we must not underestimate the power of God as we boldly proclaim the truth about Jesus, as we take the fragrant truth of the Gospel into the world.
Why is it that of all the countless different religions in the world, it is the Christian faith which is so universally hated and persecuted more than any other? It is because the Christian faith is the only truth, and the only way rebellious sinners can be reconciled to a holy God is through saving faith in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus remains a threat to the non-believing world, just as He did 2000 years ago.
I made the point earlier that the Church is made up of Marthas and Marys - people with different gifts and talents in the Church. It’s an illustration which has been used many times before, but do we have the courage of our convictions to be considered a Lazarus too? Verse 11 says, “because of him (Lazarus) many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.”
In which ways does our faith in Christ challenge others to consider the authenticity of the Gospel? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
And the apostle Peter writes, “In your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Of course, it is only God who saves. You will never argue anyone into the Kingdom, but how effective is our witness to the lost, especially to those we love the most? Are we faithfully and Biblically presenting the true Gospel message?
Do we even know what the Gospel is? Quite simply, the Gospel is the good news that Jesus died for us all, and by believing in Him, we receive forgiveness for our sins - the sins which condemn us all. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
Those are the facts that people need to hear. They need to know that there is hope, and that we can be reconciled to God, because Jesus has paid the price of their sin, if they would just believe in Him.
In the three siblings from Bethany, we are given a wonderful insight into how we can effectively share the Gospel message with the lost. Mary teaches us the value of spending time at the feet of Jesus, learning from Him and His Word. Martha is the practical one, getting her hands dirty and expressing her heart for service. And then there is Lazarus. Your experience of the touch of God in your life might not be as dramatic as his, but if you know the grace and mercy of God, you have a message of hope to share in the world.
Homegroup Study Notes
Read John 12:1-8
Read also Luke 10:38-42
Discuss the differences between Martha and Mary, and what their examples teach us about serving God as members of His Church.
What do you think Jesus meant when He said to Martha that Mary “has chosen what is better?”
The text makes it very clear how far from grace Judas had fallen by now, yet he does have a valid point in verse 5.
Bearing in mind what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10, and to Judas in John 12:7-8, what are we able to learn about the importance of a) worship, and b) knowing God’s Word as a priority, and how does this knowledge give us a better understanding of Christian service?
Nowhere in the Bible are any words said by Lazarus recorded for us, yet he was such a powerful witness for the grace of God, that his own life was in danger. (See verses 10-11)
What can we learn from Lazarus’ example?
The world will tell us that for the most part, we are basically good, yet history has long ago exposed that lie. What is your understanding of the doctrine of total depravity?